MrsKC08

Hello fellow cruisers. 

I've got my first Norwegian cruise coming up in March on the Getaway. I've sailed other cruise lines but I'm not at all familiar with Norwegian and how things are with some things and I'm hoping that those of you that have sailed NCL would be willing to share your insight and knowledge to help a girl out.

On other cruise lines they often run specials in the cruise planners for things like drink packages, excursion discounts, activity discounts, etc. It doesn't seem that NCL does that, or at least I'm not seeing anything for my cruise which is 92 days out. I thought for sure there might be something for black Friday. Do they not offer any discounts at all for things like this?

Do they offer a "coffee card" that can be purchased on the ship for specialty coffees?

Between the VIBE pass and the Thermal Spa Pass, which would you choose and why? They seem to be roughy the same cost however I can purchase the spa pass pre-cruise where I have to try to get lucky to get the VIBE pass once I board.

Do they do "themed nights" each night of the cruise? I've only seen the 'glow party' mentioned, but we have always enjoyed doing the themed nights.

We are those that like to dress up for formal nights, but it seems with the Freestyle type of atmosphere that many don't even dress up on these NCL cruises, is that correct? Are there still some people that do dress up?

Even with show reservations (that I see have to be made on board with the exception of Burn the Floor and Million Dollar Quartet), do you still have to arrive really early for the shows to get good seats? Is there a standby line they have for those without reservations and let them in 15 minutes prior to showtime?

Are there deck parties other than the Glow Party?

Do they do a cruise critic meet n mingle like the other cruise lines do? If so, how do you register for that?

How many bottles of wine can you bring on board with you?

Can you bring bottled water and/or soda as well?

Do they do the dreaded paper straws too?

How is the in cabin tv channel lineup?

Thanks in advance to those that take the time to answer my questions. I'm also happy to hear any other tips or pointers you would have for someone who is used to other lines vs Norwegian. Tips/Tricks, etc.

Happy Cruising.

22 hours ago, cruiseelady said:

Does any one know for certain which terminal does NCL stop at in Port Canaveral?  The reason of why I ask is because terminals 1 and 3 in Port Canaveral is walking distance from Jetty Park. So I am very interested to know which terminal does NCL use.  I will arrive on NCL Gem. 

Personally I would not want to walk to those terminals from Jetty Park. 

Unfortunately this is a lesson learned and a mistake on your part. It truly doesn't matter if you aren't making calls or not, your phone will sting "ping" off of any tower, period. As mentioned several times, the best thing to do is to put on Airplane Mode and turn on the wifi. Even with connected to wifi, it still will ping even with "data" off.

This is something they are very strict on...not just for safety reasons but also for legal reasons as well. Hopefully your little will grow just enough to be able to ride. I know they will be bummed if they can't.

28 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

I'd like to further your comment.  That crew member getting a cash tip will think that they are getting more on top of auto-grats, and most likely give the guest better service.  As it has been stated earlier the only crew member that actually knows that the tips have been removed is the cabin steward. However, with their individual cash tip then being pooled those guests that remove auto-gratuities have just lowered the actual cash amount that they just gave that individual crew member.  Therefore they are most likely/potentially receiving better service while putting out less money.  

You got that right my friend!

3 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

That varies and certainly not uniform fleet wide.

And that is why I said it was our experience. :) Since the muster drill is printed on the band, that was the case. It might be different for us next week as we are sailing in the exact same cabin we sailed on last time, so our muster station will be the same. However, I might prefer a different color and they are always happy to exchange.

14 hours ago, karena1 said:

based on our discussions with staff over the years, the answer is yes.  I know when we tip at the pool deck to our servers, we totally see them tucking it into their pockets.  And when we give it to our cabin person, he does the same.  As long as you leave the tips on, or have them charged daily (we do both) then anything we give extra in cash, they keep it.

This is actually not wrong. You see them put it in their pocket as a way of holding on to it, but they do have to pool it.

19 hours ago, ladybug.2009 said:

Why?  This doesn't make any sense.  

Why would you think that it makes no sense?

12 hours ago, Tljcruiser said:

Enjoying your review so far! One question....Do your wow bands have a muster station printed on them?  My daughter and I got ours on Harmony last year and were able to use them last month on Symphony . My mom got hers on Symphony and the muster station was on the band so I am not sure if hers will be able to be reused.  Just curious if this was the case on Harmony now also?

I can answer this. They switch out your old band with a new one. Or at least that has been our experience.

19 hours ago, APDMOM said:

 

Sorry to hear the videos are not working for everyone.  It is slow to upload, since I am on free surf today.  No stream... I will check when we are home and maybe reload them through Youtube.

 

As for the wrist bands, they are $5 on MSC and $4.99 on Royal.  (Hope I did not make a typo on my Seaside review).  It is for the whole cruise.  I was also told we can use the Royal wrist bands again on another cruise as they can reprogram them.  I will try it on a next cruise that has Wow bands. 🙂  

Yes, you can reuse the wow bands on multiple ships with Royal (not sure about the MSC). But I will also add the hubby and I sat down and read through your MSC review and now we are considering it after your awesome report! We had a friend cruise it last year in December and she was not a fan...however, to be fair it was her first ever cruise and didn't have much to go on. Hearing your take really made us reconsider. Especially with their price point.

19 hours ago, APDMOM said:

@MrsKC08

I found the evening program for day one.  Thanks for catching that!  🙂

 

Day 1 Evening program (Port Canaveral):

Thank you so much for finding and posting this! :) 

On 11/7/2019 at 4:39 PM, barb65 said:

If you like the taste of a frozen chocolate milkshake, then try a Bushwacker. Another great frozen drink is a Mango Meltdown. 

The Bushwacker is my all time favorite, and although it is good on a cruise...it's not quite the same as a real Bushwaker (to be fair and honest).

On 11/9/2019 at 10:46 AM, molly361 said:

Mudslide

Now this is one of my favorites while on a cruise! Perfect dessert drink!

On 11/9/2019 at 1:39 PM, Canadian Disney Mom said:

I find the frozen ones a little harder to drink now with the cardboard straws.  By the time I get to the bottom of my drink, the straw is always soggy.  I have to learn to drink faster  🙂

 

That's why we bring our own straws these days~

12 minutes ago, Tatka said:

I would LOVE for auto-gratuities to be included into fare so smart pants won't get a free ride, however I also respect businesses which services I use (otherwise I won't use their services) and not in position to tell them how to handle their well established business. Would you like to be told how to handle your business?

I agree with you wholeheartedly~

I would love to see the day when cruiselines WON'T allow passengers to remove gratuities, and personally...with the more and more people who think it's ok to remove them, I can see that happening in the not so distant future!! Just like the deluxe drink packages (people thinking it is ok to share them as well, since the cruiseline is making "so much money anyway". 

Don't know if it is just me, but your movie clips aren't showing a video for me.

12 hours ago, pink845 said:

A few years back on one of the Oasis class ships, we decided to remove the gratuities at the outset on DAY 1.  We had a suite and there was my husband and my teenagers sharing the suite.  We were going to be doing Specialty Dining 5 out of the 7 nights and buffet the rest.   Might as well provide cash tips directly to the waiters we decided.  Oh my gosh, we got back to our cabin on the second night and the room steward came knocking asking us if "everything was okay, were there any problems, did we need anything additional in the cabin, was all well, anything more he could do for us."  I replied no all was well.  Next day, first thing once again, he was waiting outside our door when we opened it.  Boys still sleeping, again, " is all well".  I said to my husband, is something wrong that I do not know about.    And it went on and on.  It never occurred to me that "perhaps he had received notification that we had removed the gratuities from our account".   On the last day we provided him with a hefty cash gratuity for all that he had done for us.    I am thinking as I read all of these posts that he must have been informed on DAY 2 of the cruise that the gratuities had been removed and was worried.    Nowadays, we just do automatic gratuities.  I have no clue who gets what, and how much but I can walk down the hallway and hold my head high not wandering who is whispering this and that behind me.

You are exactly right! When the grats are removed it reflects negatively on the staff. Not just the room steward, but the dining staff as well. This causes issues with promotion, bonuses, more contracts in the future and the list goes on! People think that they are helping the staff more by paying cash, and removing grats, but that is simply not the case.

1 hour ago, springfire said:

Gratuities contributes a substantial profit margin for Royal, it will not go away anytime soon.

Way off base. Grats do not effect any type of bottom line or profit for Royal. It goes directly to the staff, not into Royals pockets. You are definitely wrong in your way of thinking.

Do you happen to have the evening portion of day 1 compass? I see the last image you shared ended at 5:15? Maybe a back page?

Definitely following along as well. We board as you are getting off.

Can you please confirm that the Starbucks app can be used onboard for paying for coffee? I've seen some post they can and some post they couldn't.

Thank you~

13 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

So these folks that remove grats are doing more than just cheating the staff but essentially punishing them.

Correct!

No matter what they call it, we will always dress formal. One of our favorite things about cruising.

Just now, marci22 said:

It's still there:  As a way to reward our crew members for their outstanding service, gratuities are shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams who work behind the scenes to enhance the cruise experience.

And I'm saying that they had the amounts broken out to what each department received.

1 minute ago, marci22 said:

No they're not. It includes some people we know as well as a lot of people we never see. 

Actually, they have changed how they "publicize" it as you used to find it on their website. However, we received a breakdown in our cabin and you can also find it at the guest relations counter as well. They do make it clear how it is allocated. Just ask.

15 minutes ago, Cruisin_n_Boozin said:

Am I understanding correctly that tips on your SeaPass are all or nothing?  And they aren't allocated, just pooled?  I only ask, because often times we find ourselves not going to the MDR, so I wouldn't likely tip that server (unless we actually went).  I wouldn't want to reduce my overall total tip amount, but ensure those actually serving me are the ones getting tipped.

 

You are not understanding correctly. The total grats are allocated accordingly (they will provide this to you should you request it). As for whether to remove partial grats, I am not sure about that as we always leave them on and don't stiff anyone. We tip cash extra to our room steward, wait staff and bartenders. However, those are also split among those on their shift/team. For example, if you get $50 to one bar tender at the end of your cruise, they split that among the team members that work their shift with them, whether they have served you or not. Just like here in the states at any restaurant.

10 minutes ago, springfire said:

 

The gratuity applies to individual guests of all ages and stateroom categories. As a way to reward our crew members for their outstanding service, gratuities are shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams who work behind the scenes to enhance the cruise experience.

 

I guess you find their policy clear, I do not.    The way Royal's policy is set up they can give your tips to almost anyone  on  any of  their ships.

They do publish the breakdown. It is also available on board, should you request it and need to see it. We have received it in our cabin as well.

1 hour ago, springfire said:

When you leave it up to Royal to give out your tips,  you don't know where your money goes.   

Royal is very clear about where the tips get allocated!

2 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Correct, and there are no guarantees with rocket launches, but we have a SpaceX launch scheduled for Sunday night Dec 15

Harmony should be able to get a nice view since it is scheduled for 8:38pm. The rocket will be on pad  SLC40 that afternoon

 

 

Thanks for the info John. We sail out on Harmony this coming Sunday, but I'm now assuming the launch was yesterday?

Seems like every day there is some sort of post about tipping, and it has gotten to be a little ridiculous. 

To the OP, yes...staff are aware that gratuities have been pre-paid. They have also been made aware of ANYONE who has removed said gratuities. For the life of me, I don't understand why anyone would go to the guest services counter first thing in the cruise and remove the grats. That right there shows that you are not taking them away based on the service you receive, but that you simply don't want to pay it. WHY? I'll be honest, the first time we cruise several year ago on another line, we removed the grats and then paid certain people with cash at the end of the cruise. At the time, we thought that was best. After some education from those that actually do work in the industry we quickly changed our way of thinking!

Just leave the grats...it's chump change at $14.50/day *unless you are in a suite....and goes to FAR more service people than you could ever possibly hand over a cash tip to. Then, for exceptional service...tip extra! We always give additional cash in the said envelopes to our cabin steward, head waiter, favorite bar staff, etc., on the last night of our cruise, with a personal thank you note!

Yes, we all have choices, I won't argue that fact. However, there are many people that make your cruise what it is. And before someone says that Royal should pay these people more and not expect their cruise passengers to foot the bill...realize that these people wouldn't keep taking these contracts to work on the ships if they didn't enjoy the job and feel they are fairly compensated.