luv2kroooz

Yes, Mr Del Rio appears to be a consummate micro-manager, fine tuning every detail over and again in order to maximize revenue. All cruise lines are experiencing changes and revisions to the product, but we don't see the ongoing, recurring changes and revisions on other cruise lines.

Expect nothing from NCL but a response via email thanking you for choosing them, they value you, they've read your complaint, they will do nothing to help, but hope to see you again onboard We resolve all issues on onboard before departing the ship.

Educate yourselves! There are so many great vacations out there right now outside of the cruise space. I am typing this from a land based resort where we just spent three nights. Live entertainment every night including comedy, dealing pianos, singers. Christmas decorations everywhere. Indoor pool and hot tubs. No surcharges, surcharges, etc. It is wonderful and compares very favorably from a pricing perspective. We have enjoyed cruising in the past. I can't see us booking a cruise on any cruise ship in the near term. Someone else will have to subsidize their COVID losses. It ain't going to be us.

@seemoreroyals that is a very good point. Even if only a fraction pay the higher DSC, NCL is still better off cash flow wise. All cruise lines need cash at this time and are evidently stopping at nothing to increase cash flow.

I can confirm what debenson0723 said above. Just call NCL. Simple, easy process.

For solo rates, better to look on MSC or NCL. Carnival not usually very solo friendly. Of course, you can't sail from Charleston on MSC or NCL and you wouldn't get the Fun Ship experience.

Bingo. Their high priced "market to fill" strategy is currently achieving 80% capacity. That means 20% of cabins are vacant and are not contributing to the service charge pool. Therefore, the per person contribution has to be higher which can only happen by increasing the base price and then collecting 20% of the higher price. This is why the daily service charge increased by like $4 per person, per day.

Us too. Beware it gets better....in addition to their industry leading DSC of $20 per person per day, NCL recently raised the price of the most restrictive drink package at sea to $109 per person per day. When you apply their industry leading 20% beverage service charge, the daily per person rate for the beverage package service charge is now $21.80 per person per day for their "free at sea" beverage package. No thanks.

Sorry this is happening to you at this late date. Based on the number of posts I've seen regarding "unforeseen port congestion", it sounds like it would be well to either make sure your trip insurance covers missed ports or sail another cruise line. Itineraries are always subject to change, but, in my experience, Norwegian Cruise Lines has a significantly higher level of "unforeseen port congestion" caused by its own fleet than other lines.

Hi. I looked for an answer to my question, but didn't find one. With all of the bundled fares and pre cruise purchases, we are having difficulty spending our shareholder OBC. I am wondering if the Princess Plus package can be purchased onboard the ship on embarkation day for the cruise duration. If so, do you know if I may use my SH OBC to offset the total cost of Princess Plus? Thank you.

I certainly can understand why that would be unpopular, but I also wouldn't disagree with you for making the very personal and intentional choice to do so. Unfortunately, the shi* rolls downhill. If you are faced with a situation where you believe you haven't received a substantial portion of what you paid for, you either have to eat the cost or try to recoup your potential losses. If it is a supply chain issue, I imagine no substitute product would even be available onboard. What is interesting to me is that I read on the Celebrity board or on here is that there were no supply chain issues on a recent Celebrity sailing, so who knows, maybe it is ship and homeport specific. I do know there are limits on quantities of spirits here in our local stores.

I don't blame you and would probably do the same. I certainly understand that there can be supply chain issues NCL may not be able to control. However, it is not the customers fault either. If they can't deliver the product, then refund the money. I don't understand why any company would expect a customer to pay for a product that is not deliverable. And putting an asterisk with a disclaimer subject to availability doesn't change my opinion. Deliver what is advertised or refund the money paid, instead of under delivering and keeping the money.

It is becoming harder and harder to spend the shareholder OBC on Norwegian. We used to buy cruisenext with ours, too. Oh well. Carnival corporation brands allow you total flexibility to use SH credits on specialty dining gratuities, daily gratuities, casino, etc. Which can result in true savings off the overall cash outlay on the vacation. On Norwegian, we have to spend it on things we rarely need like overpriced shore tours, specialty dining and spa services.

For clarity, I am Diamond level and have been for many years. I rarely sail on Carnival, though. I would focus more on perks that matter to passengers....in my opinion, a free pin or logo item is a nice gesture, but they really don't have any value to us and we never know where we are supposed to go to get these. A lunch in the middle of a steady where the busy senior officers and cruise director have to attend is also not important to us and probably not to them. The free drink is a start, but I feel like it's use is limited to a dining room during brunch. Just load a couple drinks on my card each day and let me use them at my convenience and give me a dinner in the steakhouse to use any day, and an hour or so of internet and I'd be happy.

I think you will find similar complaints from repeat passengers on all of the lines. I think change is good thing and we sail lots of different lines because we like the variety. Well, actually used to....with all the cutbacks, price increases, etc, we have been doing land based vacations. Much better value for us. Carnival is definitely not Celebrity, not do I think it pretends to be....different target market, different price point, different customer base. In the end, I think you get what you pay for. We sail Carnival for Caribbean fun in the sun, in your face cruising. But, yes, Celebrity is a more refined, experience with a variety of itineraries. I hope to sail Celebrity one day to check it out for myself.

Probably true about customs in NYC. I recall a cruise out of Galveston, we pulled up to the dock at like 4am and none of the pierside workers had started their shift. So, we just hung out pierside waiting to be tied up to the pier around 6am.

We've sailed from Galveston twice due to some great pricing. We have to fly, though, which makes it tough. Airports are over an hour away, and there is limited independent ground transportation options. Agree that it is probably a drive- to port. Yes, MSC continues to attempt to disrupt CCL, RCL, and NCL here in the states.

Thank you for setting that straight. I see you just corrected someone else's use of the word "need" to "desire". You are our resident English grammar cop....haha! Poor word usage aside, I think certain situations call for opinion, but I also think certain situations call for factual information. I was trying to make the point to the poster that there was no mention of quality of job performance in the SEC filings, and the poster opining that this is cleaning house due to job performance is factually inaccurate, not to mention slanderous to the impacted employees. Performance based layoffs are not usually disclosed in SEC filings. From the SEC filing... Item 7.01Regulation FD Disclosure. The Company is undergoing a broad and ongoing effort to improve operating efficiencies, including cost minimization initiatives, to strengthen the foundation for sustained, profitable growth. As part of this initiative, on December 14, 2022, the Company carried out a workforce reduction and rightsizing to better align the Company’s workforce with its strategic priorities and prepare for its future growth, resulting in an approximately 9% reduction in current and planned shoreside roles. Finally, the very nature that this was required to be disclosed in an SEC filing via the 8K says something to me and is intended to speak to current and potential investors. The 8K can report good news, but typically does not. Yet, I have seen phrases like "smart move" and "no big deal" being used to describe these layoffs. Anyway, thanks again for the correction. Happy cruising.

I have not seen or read anything (except your comment) that would infer anything about quality of job performance. What exactly are you talking about?

Bingo. And these layoffs in the face of Del Rio recent bloviating about record setting bookings, record setting passengers fares, record setting onboard revenue, record growth, 2023 profits well in excess of pre pandemic. Yada, yada, yada. Talk is cheap. The SEC filings tell a different narrative.

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/finance/norwegian-cruise-line-holdings-cuts-shoreside-workforce-9 I didn't this coming. Every time I listen to Mr. del Rio on an earnings call or in CNBC, he is talking about how NCLH is experiencing record growth and is on pace to surprise 2019 bookings. Yet, it is reportedly laying off 9% of it's shoreside workforce.

For anyone that has sailed Prima, do they have entertainment in the atrium? It looks so "chopped up" to me. Maybe this is NCL's way of disbursing crowds because the Atrium used to get pretty busy. In the past, there have been Caribbean bands or house cover bands as well as numerous cooking demonstrations, game shows, Q&A with officers, movies, kids club activities, latitudes rewards seminars, etc. It was like the hub of the ship. I understand they have Price is Right in the main lounge, but how about all of the other random entertainment? Thank you!

I have not personally experienced Prima, but from what I have read and seen on social media, complaints seem to be centered around the specific design flaws, not the fact that the ship is different. For example, there is lots of space dedicated to indoor specialty restaurants and shopping, yet it is reported that 2 of the main nighttime entertainment venues can hold 50 guests - comedy club and Syd's. So the demand for these venues greatly exceeds capacity. Additionally, many public outdoor areas are either taken up by "for-fee" activities and experiences. For example, the main pool deck is very small in exchange for multi level go- carts, darts, ping pong, mini golf. I believe the upper open decks at the aft of the ship are all reserved for Haven and/or Vibe, and off limits to the majority of passengers. While these changes are definitely different compare to the previous ships, I think a case can be made that these changes have greatly decreased the passenger experience for non Haven guests. Many cruisers come on onboard with an expectation of having a fair chance of experiencing the entertainment. Yet it has been reported that the entertainment venues require advance reservations and all reservations are often taken by the time the ship leaves it's homeport on day 1 of the cruise. Based upon what I have read and seen, I would probably prefer Jewel class or Breakaway class over Prima, even though the ships are older. At least, I have a chance to see the entertainment or enjoy a cup of coffee out on the upper aft open decks. I guess to anyone sailing Prima, go with an open mind and then decide for yourself. Have a good cruise.

There is a recent thread on here titled.... Life from Bliss LA to Mia Dec2 .... Which indicates wine sharing was allowed but Moet was limited to plus passengers only.

Ditto what everyone else has said....non benefit. Enjoy your cruise, nonetheless.