LoungerOnBalcony55

17 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Be prepared to pay 16.99 for that second "Maine" lobster 🦞 tail.

THAT I actually understand. Lobster is expensive. NCL ditched it entirely years ago. I can understand not being able to handle pax putting away 4, 5, 6 at a time. 

But if I want to order the steak and freakin' spaghetti bolognese at the same time I don't want to get hassled about it. 

I eat quick. I like to get two entres, hit it and split it. No appetizer or desert nonsense. Keep that bread basket away from me. 

I'm really not looking forward to having to get into some back and forth if I'm told I can only get one entre after another. And what if I don't "sufficiently" clean the plate? Am I then forbad from from dining further? 

This entire policy seriously is the stupidest most obnoxious way they could tackle the food waste problem.  

2 hours ago, jcathers1 said:

Dumb question (perhaps), but we have never sailed out of NY before and are scheduled to for our upcoming cruise on the Mera this November. We plan to stay in lower Manhattan and take the ferry across the river, as described above. Can ferry tickets be purchased in advance, and is there a clear schedule oft their departure times?

yes but probably easier just to buy at the kiosks at the terminals

schedules are easily google-able 

1 hour ago, pittnh said:

 

And I will also say we sat on deck chairs above the smoking area on 16 and again it wafted up.  So that's a whole other area that is affected by the smokers.

Exactly. Not smoking doesn't have any negative impact on the people around you. Smoking does have a negative impact on the people around you. They should be grateful they get any designated space at all. 

I'd assume no, that YC can simply arrive and board when they like? 

5 minutes ago, melbur said:

Then be sure to avoid the smoking areas and you'll be fine 

Likewise keep your smoking limited to designated smoking areas, and all is well! 

The only public transport into Red Hook is a bus. The nearest subway stop is not walkable from the terminal with luggage. 

4 hours ago, catlady66 said:

I've not been on Wonder yet but it's refreshing to see another smoker in the forum!  I see many non-smoking cruisers lamenting that we're allowed to co-exist with them so thank you for your post!

Happy to coexist with you. Just please don't make us breath your smoke. 

How does one find out for sure? 

I actually think this is far, far, far less likely now than it was before the cabin steward/attendance shift. They're under a serious crunch for time to get their cabins done as it is. I'd not be at all surprised if a lot of stewards/attendants just said "no" and blamed it on ship policy or something as a way to not lose the time it would take to haul one down. 

3 hours ago, shoptom said:

We would be perfectly happy embarking into a clean room and not seeing the steward the entire trip.  They should have one of those breakfast door hanger type menus for service.  Empty trash, pickup dishes, we rarely need anything done for us in a week.  Our price should reflect that!

The problem here is lots of people would opt out of the cabin cleaning fee option (for your convenience), but still utterly trash the room over the course of a week and live like pigs despite claiming to not "need" service. If turnaround day means having to do a deep clean of a room that hasn't been tended to for a week you won't be getting in before 6pm. 

A lot of the people talking about how it's not that tough a gig wouldn't make it through one week working as a cabin steward or "attendant." 

9 minutes ago, MoCruiseFan said:

You never red my response then.  I am 100% OK with it.  We are not slobs and do not need our cabin cleaned but once a day.  IN fact on out last 10-day cruise I told our steward three different days to not bother cleaning our cabin since it was not messy.  Each tiem he asked if we needed clean towels which we took him up on twice.  People are getting upset over a very 1st world issue.

My concern isn't rooted in having my cabin cleaned 2x/day. Read the above excerpt from a recent Prima review. Working 7 days/week with no days off is tough enough, but going from the old schedule with a 3-hour mid-day break to 8-6 with just a half hour break every...single...day is just bone crushing. 

4 minutes ago, casofilia said:

Where are these reviews please?   Are they from passengers or stewards?

- passengers

 

Are you able to quantify why the stewards are "visibly stressed and overworked" and more so than they were before?    They always seemed to be "visibly stressed and overworked".

- they have to do more cabins in less time with less help

 

How much of it is due to the "changes in circumstances" themselves and how much to "passenger pressures" because of them?

- recent pax indicate a noticeable change in cabin service/attendant demeanor that directly correlated with the implementation of the new policy, while "passenger pressures" are they same as they were 6 months ago 

It's obviously hell on the crew. Working as a cabin steward was a grueling, sisyphean gig before the changes. The reviews I've read are near universal the "attendants" are visibly stressed and overworked - a terrible state for them and difficult one to provide good service. 

The passenger reactions seem to near universally range from strong disapproval to indifference. I've not ready any reviews where someone endorsed the change. 

Is there anything that would actually induce NCL to reverse these changes? I'm almost asking rhetorically, because as I've mentioned in related discussions I firmly believe NCL really only cares about 1st-time cruisers with no frame of reference to compare. All you lovely older folks with your elite latitudes status who do your 2-3 cruises a year will be...uh....less active...in 20-25 years, and NCL would very much like to still be in business then. 

But they have (rarely) reversed course before when they really stepped in it. To me this feels like it could be one of those times. 

4 minutes ago, Steff79 said:

the go karts was his thing too. Because of a idear of his grandson. 

What is this...a remake of the plot to "Big?" Maybe if NCL listened to their customers instead of setting strategic direction because of the whims of the multi-millionaire CEO's snot nosed little kid the product would be in better shape. 

The "dining experience" terms say one item from each of the three categories, but it doesn't mention sides. 

So if you order two sides are they going to tack on the $8 upcharge if you're paying with the dining package? 

1 hour ago, mitchtech said:

And do they add a gratuity charge?

Yes but it's done for your convenience. 

Looks like they missed GSC today....

54 minutes ago, Mrs_Tiki said:

I am on Seascape in a regular YC balcony cabin. There is room on the balcony for a lounger, and I asked, but did not receive.

What did your butler say to you when you asked? 

8 minutes ago, phissy said:

YC balconies are all pretty much the same size, except the RS and OS.

Those already have loungers.

Removing chair(s) makes adding a lounger possible.

Our attitude is that it never hurts to ask ( nicely) but, do not force the issue.

Hope for ,the best but accept the results.

You and Hamrag sound like two very different people 🙂

Just now, gmbhardy said:

We’ve had no problems requesting and getting lounger(s) on all our YC cruises.

Interesting. Were you in cabins equivalent to the normal ones on Meraviglia/Virtuosa type ships (which have pretty shallow balconies), or did you have a deeper one with more space? 

6 minutes ago, hamrag said:

If so, insist they meet your request.

I like your style, but they can't do ANYTHING you ask. I assume people don't try to have loungers placed on those balconies very often. 

12 minutes ago, hamrag said:

Have your butler bring one.

Well that's my hope, of course! I'm wondering what the odds of the answer to that request being "no." It is for sure a very tight fit...

As my handle suggests, I like having a lounger on the balcony. 

Has anyone ever pulled this off on the Meraviglia or Virtuosa? I know it would be a very tight squeeze, but I'd be solo so by removing one of the two chairs it looks doable - albeit it would need to of course be facing forward or aft.