xriva

Just because something is written in a contract it does not mean it is legal. The better the customer protection laws where you live, the better for you.

If you both signed the contract, it is legally binding. It doesn't mean you can't take them to arbitration (which is also in the contract), but you agreed to be bound by the terms when you booked.

We purchased the UDP on a couple of cruises, and also took it as the package. We don't have kids in tow, my wife doesn't like the buffet, so for us it makes sense. We get a Platinum discount which makes up for the Le Bistro meal we get anyway, so it's a reasonable purchase for us. For you, it doesn't make sense. Freestyle cruising.

Why are you trying to make our decision seem incorrect?

I could ask, Why would anyone bring their kids on a cruise? How are you ever going to relax if you have to watch the kids all the time? How are you going to go to late shows if the kids have to be in bed? Isn't the whole point of cruising all the entertainment?

hat worries me most is if I am going to have to listen to all this kind of complaining on board the ship? Or, will they just suck it up and act like reasonable people...

I have found most onboard to be non-bitchy. Not everyone is friendly, but most are. Just say "Howdy!" to everyone you pass in the hallways.

As someone mentioned previously, the percentage of cruisers that are on CC is small, and the chronic complainer community is smaller still. I've found the best place to be when in the guest services line is behind a chronic complainer, because your request, no matter how insane, is going to sound reasonable.

And another thought:

 

Frankly the whole mega-ship concept seems flawed. Of course there are economies of scale, but they aren't selling soap, the demand for which is pretty steady over time, so the bigger the factory the more profit to be made...

I agree with the megaship comment. I tend to sail just to sail - I love Transatlantics - but the main problem I see is that the bigger the ship, the less places it can go.

There are only so many ports in the Caribbean (we generally sail over Christmas), and we've been to most of the ones where NCL calls. I don't see the point of going on the same class ship to the same three ports year after year.

So, eventually I'm going to have to move to another line just because I don't really get the magic of the Breakaway class. FDR's fatal mistake with the nickel and dime approach is that I'm not likely to go to Regent or Oceania.

Cruises are resorts. NCL (and other lines) mega ships are like DisneyWorld. Some people go, year after year, bitch about the higher prices, stand in the same lines, and do the same rides. Think about the Getaway - St Martin, St Thomas, Nassau, over and over, week after week. You'll never do a Panama crossing on the Breakaway class - it won't fit (this may change when the new canal opens.) All it can do is Caribbean milk runs unless it moves to Europe.

The ship is now the destination. Now, I have friends that go to DisneyWorld every year. I couldn't do it. I need some variety.

When someone decides it's time for a more upscale resort, maybe try to get away from the kids and the crowds, NCLH has Oceania and Regent, but you have to be motivated to move up. The motivation comes from how NCL treated you while you were there. I'm not motivated to stay within the family, and I'm Platinum.

I think all the nickel and diming is designed to get the base fare as low as possible to fill the ships. Once you're onboard, you're going to pay what you're asked, because there's not much choice at that point.

My wife found a handicap balcony on the final Epic crossing this year for $849 each. It was just after my 55th birthday. We went. It was a lovely trip. I will say that it did not cost $1700. However, to her, it was cheap, because some people only see the base fare. ("Holy crap! 11 days! $849! Balcony!") After I paid all the bills (WiFi, gratuities, photos, drinks, excursions, Chef's Table, cash tips, taxes, fees, port charges, service charges, pet sitter charges at home, etc.), it was assuredly not an $1700 trip.

But it was cheap.

Maybe FDR knows what he's doing.

Asking as we have a 7pm reservation and I have us booked into the Illusionarium for the 8:45 show on the Getaway, if that makes any difference.

You know the Illusionarium is a dinner show, right? (Not that I wouldn't eat at Moderno's just for the meat parade.) The dinner has a salad, a main (mini-filet and shrimp with potatoes) and dessert (four dessert bites.) So, you might want Moderno's another night, when you won't be given more food later.

If you have Google Voice, you can send/receive texts over WiFi - you just need a WiFi package from the ship.

We use Google Voice and Facebook Messenger from the ship all the time.

I think it's the first in a series of speciality cruise lines. After guilt-ridden Yuppie parents take their teenagers to work in the jungle for a week "for vacation", the next year, they can take a cruise on a ship that takes them to an island for three days of family counseling and therapy.

Uber is also in Miami and can be cheaper than a taxi.

My guilty pleasure is that I love bad reviews [emoji5] the crazier the better. <snip!>.

Don't forget the rumor posts which are also fun. "My dentist's receptionist's adopted daughter was on the Gem last month and she heard from a guy at dinner that Cagney's was going vegetarian!"

We have sailed in the Haven twice, both on Transatlantics, and it was amazing, but as others have mentioned, I'm not sure you would get all of the benefits on a cruise where you are spending most of the time in ports.

On a trip where we will spend a lot of time in the room - like a repo cruise - I would consider it strongly. On port cruises, I would just get a balcony and pocket the savings for another cruise.

I suppose that is true if you plan to sell your stock at a profit. Does NCLH offer a dividend? I can't seem to find a history if one was ever offered.

No, they don't. I think it was mentioned on the call that it is being considered.

I listened to the answer (thanks to OP for the transcript), and what I heard was a CEO talking to investors. Unfortunately, some of those investors are also passengers. The investor in me thought, "That's why the stock is up." The passenger thought, "I'm a piece of meat with a wallet."

Did they call collect?

Some people do no research - you can tell by some of the repetitious questions here on CC. Many of the questions can easily be answered on ncl.com - and if you don't know that site exists (but you found CC??) - a quick Google search would find it. I had not thought about the "the travel agent will handle it" possibility, since we book almost all of our travel ourselves (we do use our PCC for the base cruises.)

We are obsessive planners because I don't like surprises. Some people don't plan at all. Some people don't know what a cruise is - search for "stupid cruise questions" for examples. (My favorite was "Why does my room have a view of this ugly city?" with the probable cause that the ship hasn't left port yet.)

Yes, I'm late on this, but a couple of clarifications. My wife and I were on the Epic's TA from Miami, so we weren't in Europe until the trip completed. She asked a waiter at O'Sheehan's for a fruit plate with just watermelon as part of her meal, and when she didn't finish it, she walked out with it as she has done before - and got stopped by one of the managers (a vacation zero, but they don't have cards for those.) She said there was a policy that no food could be taken out of the restaurant. We had the same waiter the next day, and when my wife mentioned losing her special order plate, he said he was told a passenger got sick from eating food that had been taken back to the room and not properly refrigerated. That prompted the policy change. (This sounded like a cover story to me.)

My wife was told this afternoon on the Epic by one of the managers in O'Sheehan's that she couldn't take food back to the room. She had asked the waiter for a fruit plate with just watermelon, and he delivered a pile of watermelon slices.

So, the extra got thrown away. This is a waste of food. There is a fridge in the room - waiters have been wrapping cheesecake at Cagney's for years, because she's not ready for dessert immediately after finishing a steak.

I suppose drunks sloshing drinks around from bar to bar to room is fine, but snacks for later are evil.

If their goal was to cut down on room service, why did they add all those new food items to the RS menu?

Also, if the goal is to cut room service, why can't you take food to your room any longer? My wife was taking some fruit from O'Sheehan's on the Epic this afternoon and got stopped. She was told you can't take food yo your room, but you can order it from room service. ***? The food she would have eaten later got thrown away, and she never bothered to call for more, she just got annoyed. How is this FreeStyle?

Anyone know if the milkshakes are truly malted? I'm a big fan of milk shakes, but not malted. Although I could just as easily order it un-malted. Or de-malted. Or whichever.

You can order either. Malted shakes are a separate item.

I've never seen a restriction mentioned. You're still paying for it. If you will roll your clothes, and use two bags (double bag), you can get a huge quantity in the bag. My wife takes pride in how much she can stuff in them. Ask your room steward for extra bags. They are pretty thin and tear easily.

My wife's great accomplishment last cruise was getting so much packed into one bag, that it came back in two bags! Rolling does the trick.

I've written negatively about the Epic before but always try to temper my remarks like you have. Two things bothered me, the cabin bathroom set up and very little chance of actually seeing the water from the ship; that's a weird complaint I guess because I haven't seen it stated before, but I found it hard to remember I was on a ship..

That was my major complaint. The Epic was built for people who don't want to know they're on a ship. It's a resort that floats. 678 Ocean Place on the Breakaway class fixed this for me.

My wife loves the Epic.

A change in cruising ... mostly nickels and dimes.

My wife and I went once, and we were in the group invited to go in early (I don't remember why - Latitudes rank, maybe?)

My wife was hoping to take photos.

The people that got there ahead of us descended on the display like starving dogs. We saw one man pick up EVERY chocolate from one of the trays (replacing most back on the tray).

I was so skeeved out, I had to leave. I didn't sample anything.

And these were VIPs. I can only imagine what it was like when the masses arrived.

I don't miss it. It was an excellent way to breed disease.

The aft is traditionally considered a smoother ride than forward. The forward cabins will rise and fall with the waves more than other parts of the ship, and the stabilizers won't help with up and down motion. So, anyone prone to seasickness (or afraid of it) might prefer further back.

My brother-in-law - a career sailor in the Navy and merchant marine - said if you start feeling queasy, go out on deck, look at the horizon, and get some fresh air. (It's always worked for me.)

Aft cabins give you a view of the port as you sail away in the sunset (depending on the direction you're sailing.)

On the Jewel class it's $100 for 250 minutes or 75 cents a minute. There are specials available at various times. Latitudes members get a few extra minutes. Don't know about the BA class.

If you sign up from your device (very easy to do) and are supposed to get bonus minutes (first day, Latitudes), you will have to go to the Internet Cafe and have them added to your account.

The real question you should ask yourself is, "Is the cost reasonable for me to not have to worry about my bar tab onboard?"

Everyone obsesses about whether you will drink enough to "make money", but the real question is how much would you pay to not have to keep track at all? That's what the UBP gives you.