njhorseman

You also made a comment " If anything, they risked to cannibalize Regent". If Simply More didn't move O that much closer to R, which obviously it doesn't, then where's the cannibalization risk? Simply More was primarily about making O's product look closer to that of its direct competitors, particularly Viking Ocean with the added benefit of increasing revenue and profit. When Simply More was introduced fares increased, and for some of us Simply More provides little benefit because we don't drink alcohol so we would be paying for something we'll never use. Again, this isn't about moving large numbers of customers but rather providing some with incentive to move to Regent. You're failing to acknowledge that when customers have faith in their travel agent they will give a lot weight to the TA's recommendations. If you had any familiarity with the business you'd know that.

I quoted the "anecdotal evidence" in the context of my experience in this business. You haven't quoted anything to contradict that and I'm reasonably sure you have no experience in the travel business. Simply More doesn't come close to Regent's inclusions. Without getting into all the details: -Simply More only includes wine and beer at lunch and dinner. Regent includes full open bar including liquor at any time the bars/lounges are open. -Simply More provides a dollar allowance toward shore excursions while Regent offers (theoretically) unlimited shore excursions. -Regent fares always include gratuities. On Oceania gratuities are not included except under specific circumstances. -Regent has some free pre/post cruise land programs -Regent fare includes business class air from most major US and Canadian airports on intercontinental flights. Oceania fares include coach class air.

Do you have any experience in the travel business to support the notion that this isn't true? The correct measure is profit per guest. The capacity of the ship is the capacity of the ship and is of no importance. I move from O to R and NCLH makes $20 (a made up number...I have no idea of exactly what it may be) more profit per day. My neighbor moves from NCL to O and fills what used to be my spot and NCLH makes $20 more per day from my neighbor. My other neighbor moves from Carnival to NCL and NCLH have someone filling the open berth left by my first neighbor. The concept is really simple...keep your ships full and your profit as high as possible. My original reply was to a poster who said that their TA had half of their O cruisers moving to R. Clearly a substantial number of people do rely on their TA's advice...and as I stated before I was in the business and I know that it's true. Not everyone who is dissatisfied with O has to move to R. It's not as if R's ships are sailing half empty. Lots of people can move from O to SS, SB, Crystal or Explora and there will still be enough to fill R's berths. I've never suggested any conspiracy theories. I'm using my business experience...including my experience in the travel industry to suggest that NCLH had a pretty decent idea that this was an expected result of some rejiggling of the relative positioning their products.

As I stated earlier they will rely on the advice of their trusted travel agent and move to Regent if that is what the agent is recommending. (I owned a travel agency at one time so I have a pretty fair idea about how that works)

As a businessman who spent many years working for giant corporations and eventually owning several small businesses including a travel agency I know that you're absolutely wrong. "Luxury" goods and services always should carry a higher profit margin and any company that didn't price their product that way is managed by fools that are totally ignorant of psychology. Many customers actually want to pay more for luxury because it reinforces their perception that the product or service really is that much better than ordinary. Look up the concept of cognitive dissonance. As @cruisemom42 said, a classic example comes from the automobile manufacturing business. Corporations frequently market corporate twins that are are fundamentally the same vehicle under different brands with the upmarket brand being equipped with fancier fittings carrying an additional cost far less than the difference in price of the upmarket brand versus the mass market brand. Put $5,000 worth of additional equipment and fancier trimmings on a $30,000 car and watch it sell for $45 to $50,000.

There's no conspiracy theory at work here, just business strategy. Remember that there are only a relatively small, fixed number of berths to be filled on any cruise. It only takes a few people to climb the ladder to fill them. Not everyone is very concerned about price. Many are simply looking for the experience they desire. Many will rely on the advice of their trusted travel agent in making a choice of a cruise line.

So you've confirmed that NCLH's strategy is working. They're going increase their revenue by having Oceania customers move to Regent, where they'll pay more than they would have on O for a comparable cabin and itinerary. Those passengers will be replaced by NCL customers moving up to Oceania as well as former HAL, Princess and Celebrity customers moving over to O. Most of them will think O is the greatest invention since sliced bread. Looks like a good business move to me.

FYI, NCLH has never paid a dividend since they went public in 2013, so that isn't a potential source of funds available for repayment debt accumulated during the COVID era.

The OP wants to go to a hotel in NJ, not to EWR, so most of what you've stated is of no use to the OP. Only the Uber/Lyft option is valid and that was suggested in the very first reply to the OP's question. You can't take a helicopter to a hotel. The taxi fare formula you cited is to EWR. New York City taxis are not required to take you to any NJ destination other than EWR but if they agree to the fare is not set by rule but is a matter of negotiation between the taxi driver and passenger. ETS airport shuttles go to EWR airport, not to hotels. As in your other recommendations, the mass transit option goes to EWR.

You're not going to cruise on Oceania from NYC for what the OP wants to spend, under $1,000 per person. The cheapest inside cabin will cost a minimum of $1,500 per person for a 7 night cruise, and those cabins sell out quickly.

NCL does not offer an unlimited laundry package.

Or a passport card. Or an enhanced drivers license. Or for naturalized citizens an original certificate of naturalization and government-issued photo ID Or for those who were US citizens at birth but born abroad a consular report of birth abroad plus a government issued photo ID But once again, always check your cruise line's requirements as they may not accept a particular type of documentation despite it being permissible by law and regulation. In addition a closed loop cruise might call on a country that requires a passport, as is the case for some French territories in the Caribbean.

Those two possibilities are not mutually exclusive. The article says they will provide ferry service five days per week, Monday through Friday. That was not the case last year. There's no mention of how many trips per day. Just like every year we'll have to wait until the schedule is published to see the details.

Turo is a peer-to-peer car sharing platform. It's like Airbnb, but for car rentals. You're renting from the individual car owner, not from a car rental company. There's the possibility that your personal automobile insurance won't cover a Turo rental so you need to check your policy. You also don't have any idea of the honesty of the Turo listing as to the car's condition. I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't use it, I'm just suggesting that if you do you should be aware of possible negatives.

In the past upscale and luxury lines like Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, Explora Journeys and Azamara have all had this requirement. Without attempting to chase down every cruise line's rules, here are Explora Journeys' rules...which I chose because they're in the MSC family: https://explorajourneys.com/us/en/info/terms-and-conditions "5. PASSPORT AND VISAS 5.1 Guests must hold fully valid passports for the whole duration of the Journey and the expiry date must be at least 6 months after the return date. Certain countries insist on machine-readable and digital photo passports, especially Russia and USA." Although mass market lines generally do not have this requirement there are even a couple of circumstances where they do. For example Princess has this requirement: https://www.princess.com/en-us/faq/pre-cruise "We also require a passport for all guests in a travel party when minors are traveling with only one adult (21 years and older).† †We have implemented this requirement because we want to ensure that your party remains together should an emergency arise that requires one or more members to be disembarked in a non-U.S. port. We cannot guarantee that all members of your party will be allowed to disembark with just a WHTI-compliant document or birth certificate. Failure to present a valid passport for all guests traveling together will result in denial of boarding without refund of the cruise or cruisetour fare."

Please note that some cruise lines require all passengers to have a valid passport even if laws and regulations allow the use of a birth certificate and photo ID, as is the case for a closed loop Bahamas cruise. You need to check MSC 's rules just to be sure they are not requiring all passengers to have a passport.

It's just a port call on a 188 night world cruise that starts in Europe in early January and returns to Europe at its conclusion in May.

No special place. You just give it the same porters who are handling the steerage passengers' luggage.

And that id exactly why I loved riding the buses in Bermuda for so many years...until service began to deteriorate badly in the past decade or so. If you have the time riding the buses is a great way to see parts of Bermuda you might not otherwise get to, and a great way to interact with Bermuda's residents.

Also of note from the same article: Increased ferry service to St. George's this year. Two new ferries on order. Unfortunately, one will replace my favorite Bermuda ferry, the "Warbaby Fox". Why do I have a favorite ferry? Because "Warbaby" Fox was a very interesting person: https://emancipationbermuda.com/library-people/charles-h-g-warbaby-fox/

Based on other posts you've made it appears you're on the March 24 sailing of the Norwegian Getaway 4 pm is the cruise's departure time. You should be checked in and aboard by 2 pm. Porters will be available at the cruise terminal at 9:30 am, but you can only take small bags you can easily carry, perhaps no bigger than a small backpack into the Intrepid Museum and there are no baggage check facilities in the museum.

No, they are reading from a script that is quoting the same (mis)information that appears on the website.

I've cruised on NCL many times and i can assure you that the customer service agent the OP spoke to is dead wrong.

The person you spoke to has no idea of what they're talking about. The two hours refers to the initial embarkation port and the final disembarkation port. Telephone customer service agents are typically clueless about such matters.

Judith... we are well...making allowances for rapidly advancing age of course!! Perhaps someday in the near future we'll once again find ourselves on the same cruise as the two of you.