Cretia

Read somewhere on these boards that Getaway was rolling out the new and improved wine lists, partnering with with Mondavi or Beringer? Cannot recall

 

It is the Mondavi family.

 

http://www.fodors.com/news/mondavi-family-develops-new-wine-list-for-norwegian-cruise-line-7347.html

 

I've been anxiously awaiting news on this as I'm a huge wine fan, but find Mondavi to be limiting with my more eclectic tastes.

 

I can't quite read the above posted list (but thank you for posting it) but now that I know there's something new out there, it's time to scour the internet for a different image.

Let me add my thanks to the ones in the thread. This is a spectacular review!

 

My husband and I will be on this itinerary next November so it's wonderful to see everything. As it's my favorite of all the tours I have lined up, though, I think I would be heartbroken to have our Cagliari stop cancelled, but you make a wonderful argument for Palma, Majorca!

 

We were considering an itinerary that included that stop and one of the things I was looking at there was the caves, so I'm delighted to see your photos.

You may have missed it, but the article that you provided a link to was already provided in this thread in the very post that you only partially quoted.

 

I'm not disagreeing with your statements, I just don't want to see the thread get repetitive.

 

My apologies. I didn't click on the pdf. To be honest, they are a pain in the butt to download and open (not to mention a couple of the computers I use do not like adobe in the slightest(!)) that since it didn't have the same title, I just leapt to the conclusion it was something different. I also know people don't like (and shouldn't in many cases) clicking through links on a message board, which is why I pulled out what I thought were the important parts.

 

The money and promotions that the crew stands to gain from the incentive programs is why most of them prefer vacation hero/STYLE cards as opposed to cash tips.

 

While I have your attention, could you clarify your statement? Does that mean that gratituites in addition to the DSC posted to the onboard account are preferred to cash tips?

 

I always like to show my appreciation appropriately, but as mentioned in my first post, I'm not sure at times what appropriately entails.

On the topic of the level of clarity in the term "Daily Service Charge", I firmly believe those people who are confused are very few and very far between. I suspect the vast majority of those who remove the DSC know exactly what they are doing.

 

With a service charge, employees are rewarded through incentive programs for meeting service levels set by the employer. This motivates the employee to treat EVERYONE with equally high standards. If the employee's level of service isn't up to standard, they won't receive potential rewards from the program, won't receive raises/promotions, and will most likely not hold onto that job for very long.

 

On this note, I read a fascinating article this summer about a software designer-turned-restauateur in San Diego who abolished tipping in favor of a service charge in his restaurant for more than six years. At the time the article was written, the restauateur was in the process of moving his restaurant from San Diego to San Francisco, where presumably he will (has?) return to the experiment.

 

For those interested, the entire article is worth the read and can be found here

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/culturebox/2013/08/tipless_restaurants_the_linkery_s_owner_explains_why_abolishing_tipping.html

 

The results in summary, for those who don't want to click through, was that it was a smashing success. The service charge allowed the restaurant to divide tips between the servers and the cooks, which improved the quality of the food (as previously the cooks felt as if they were at a disadvantage), which increased business at the restaurant, which ended up making everyone involved more money.

 

He also has a very scathing opinion of those who insist upon keeping the tipping system as is, including a food critic, who outright demanded how she was supposed to "punish" (?!?!!) the server for mistakes and a city attourney who threatened (unsuccessfully) fines and jail time over a perceived consumer deception. The restaurateur believes that in both cases, the complainer was very invested in the current power imbalance caused by the current culture.

 

I'm posting this article that is only tangential to the conversation to explain that service charges work in the U.S. because adding straight to the prices tends to make people (Americans specifically) compare end products differently (as in, people would prefer to go to a restaurant with lower prices that emphasis tips over higher priced restaurants that forbids tips even if people would end up with a higher bill plus tip at the first restaurant because of the perception that the prices are cheaper) which is why companies that have large American markets just can't up their prices and remove tips completely.

 

A second point is that such a system can and does work in the United States, would likely make our European counterparts a little happier, and get the service industry on the road to standardization internationally.

 

Finally, if more consumers urge this point of view, more companies will adopt it.

 

Full disclosure: I worked as a waitress in an area of the U.S. where tipping is very much perceived as your value as an employee, so the idea of stiffing otherwise deserving people of a tip is down-right insulting and I tend to take the notion very seriously. That said, I'm not sure there are too many Americans who haven't felt anxiety over when and where to tip appropriately, so I'm very enthusiastic about changing the system completely :p

Thanks so much everyone! I appreciate the info and advice. It looks like I'll be lugging it (or some version of it) along. It even looks like one direction will be a direct flight into Rome, so maybe carrying it as a carry-on as suggested won't be too bad.

[quote name='Fishbait17']I have a travel tempurpedic pillow ( pyou know, the donut shaped kind that's open on one end). I have degenerative disk disease in my neck pretty bad and the small donut shape is perfect for extra support under any other pillow, works just like my big contoured one. I simply ring it around the top of.my carry-on and clip it closed oth a binder clip to carry. It's awesome to have on long flights as well. I highly recommend. The memory pillow onboard did nothing for me.

Robin[/quote]

The donut shaped ones have never really worked for me, but maybe I should give it another try. I've thought about getting the little travel version of my pillow (there's one on Amazon that actually compresses into a little tube like thing), but they are only 10 inches across and I can just see myself falling off :(

[quote name='kchiumento']YES!!! I bring my contoured tempurpedic pillow everywhere. I have neck issues, so it is a must for me. I have become so high maintenance in my 40's.:eek:[/quote]

I'm aware this post is a little dated, but I'm hoping someone has an answer for me. Is the memory pillow on the pillow menu shaped like a contoured tempurpedic neck pillow?

(example: [URL]http://www.tempurpedic.com/Contoured-Pillows/Tempur-Pedic-TEMPUR-Neck-Pillow.asp[/URL] )

My neck gets really stiff without one and while I know I [U]should[/U] just bring my own to be on the safe side, we're Americans cruising out of Rome and it'd be nice to have one less thing to lug along.

Thanks!

**Note: I'm still looking for this information. If/when I find more reviews, I'll add it to this post.**

 

A quick search revealed a website called CruisePortInsider.

 

http://www.cruiseportinsider.com/roatanexcursions.html#.UrMCqFNW6E8

 

It seems to provide slightly more information about the shore excursion than the NCL description, but it's not necessarily what I would consider a review. I imagine the reason you are asking is because you are concerned that the official reviews are... let's call it...filtered, so I wanted to see if there was any review of CruisePortInsider as a reviewer. Turns out they publish e-books at Amazon.

 

http://www.amazon.com/CruisePortInsider-Guide-Roatan-2013-Bob-Haefliger-ebook/dp/B00AXBM8Y2/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1

 

The Roatan one does not appear to be highly recommended although some of the others seem to be.

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_pg_2?rh=n%3A133140011%2Cp_27%3ABob+Haefliger&page=2&sort=relevancerank&ie=UTF8&qid=1387464213

 

Now to see how much else I can find before being guilted back into doing real work this morning.

I too am glad you didn't delete this as I'm going to piggyback onto your topic.

 

I have looked at the older threads and have never seen my question answered. Of course, my eyes glaze over when the bickering about amount sets in.

 

My question is: Does anyone know if the staff have a preference on *how* they are tipped? Obviously for staff you don't see regularly (like the wait staff/bartender) cash is probably easier, but what about those off the DSC, like the butler/concierge, or those you might want to tip extra like the room steward. Is tipping with credit card (I'm not sure how to phrase that. I want to say adding the tips to your shipboard account but I'm not sure that's clear enough) acceptable or is cash greatly preferred?

 

On the Celebrity boards, people seemed fairly divided on the question, so I'm curious if the NCL regulars had insight on the NCL staff.

We haven't agreed since you had your other banned alias, but me getting upset that people are being beaten & killed with government sanction is not something which merits getting personal about.

 

I spend a LOT of money with NCL (probably much more than most, given my casino losses), and asking them to NOT subsidize atrocity should be WELL within my rights.

 

And that's what I'm doing. They seem to ignore personal emails, so I'm doing it here, in context.

 

 

Now they now why I won't buy this service..

 

While you have every right to ask NCL to not subidize what Russia is doing, I think your boycott on Stoli is midirected. As noted in the linked article, Stolichnaya is produced in Latvia.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/world/europe/facing-fury-over-antigay-law-stoli-says-russian-not-really.html?_r=0

 

Boycotts can be a good idea, but generally only work with the boycotted company has pull with the government causing the problem.

Where exactly do you suppose news outlets are getting this? It's not that I don't believe you, OP; when I google the topic, I do find plenty of news sites with the story including USA Today, which I suppose is real-ish, but not a darn one links back to a press release or interview. NCL's site also doesn't (as of the time of this writing) have a press release up about it.

 

I'm not as familiar with NCL as I am some of the other lines. Is it common for them to leak news prior to official press releases?

 

And darn it, I want to see the entire menu!

You are correct. This is the shampoo/conditioner you'll find in your penthouse/suite.

 

As for facial cleaners, I've always asked for the Elemis Pure Zest Cleansing Soap (says it's a "rich lathering vegetable soap, containing uplifting aroma to gently cleanse and refresh the skin") or Revitalise-me Soap (benefits: infused with the uplifting aromatics of thyme, basil and neroli this soap revistalises the senses whilst cleansing). I believe the Revitalise-me has replaced the Pure Zest.

 

Both my husband and I have combination skin and find these soaps excellent for both face and total body use.

 

Thanks so much for the confirmation! I tried them for the first time this morning, so I definitely would have been kicking myself if I guessed wrong.

 

And you get choices? I'm not being sarcastic at all, but I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed!

 

Overwhelmed in a good way, but still overwhelmed. Is that part of the pre-conceirge thing? I don't recall reading it on the list in any thread, but I focused with a laser-like presicion on the pillows, so I may have totally overlooked it.

Hi Barbara,

 

We're in an aft penthouse on the 1-5-14 Jewel. I have highlighted hair -- will the Elemis shampoo and conditioner be good enough for my hair? Or do you recall what "type" of shampoo and conditioner they have? Like "Volume" for "color" or ? Thanks!

 

Diane

 

We're in a haven suite upcoming too and I've been watching this thread with interest because I too have difficulties with shampoos and conditioners. Mine's not color-treated, but it's very, very fine, and tends to be dry.

 

Thanks to the other posters ITT identifying that the shampoo and conditioner are of the elemis brand, I was able to narrow down what it is likely to be.

 

Most likely, in my opinion (and maybe someone can take a peek at the bottles and see if they look familar)

 

shampoo:

http://www.timetospa.com/elemis/bath-and-shower/elemis-aromazing-shampoo-300ml/

 

conditioner:

http://www.timetospa.com/elemis/bath-and-shower/elemis-pro-vitamin-conditioner-300ml/

 

The only other type of shampoo and condition I could find of the elemis brand was this:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Elemis-Holiday-Gift-Set-Conditioner/dp/3297000767/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1386342343&sr=8-5&keywords=elemis+shampoo

 

I believe it's more likely to be the top two, but as I haven't been on my cruise yet, I can't confirm it.

 

While I linked the official site for the first two, you can actually pick them up on Amazon for $16 a piece. I like to credit where credit is due, but I'm also cheap :p

 

I purchased the shampoo and conditioner from Amazon to give it a try before we go. Your mileage may vary, of course, but I thought the potential packaging space and trouble saved from not bringing my own was worth shelling out the money even if it turns out to not work for me.

 

Now...does anyone have any specific information on facial cleansers? Or am I stuck there?

You know, with the NFL's interest in expanding the international market, they are missing out on a prime opportunity here. They could give cruise lines deals for their channel/games which would increase exposure to the game. And it's not exactly like the cruise lines are loaded with tv channels.

 

That being said, I'm not wild about traveling during the season. Traveling during the playoffs?! Blasphemy!

It looks like it's working out with the tour guide my travel agent recommended so I'm pretty happy. I've got to run the prices by DH, but I'm feeling a lot better about this than I did a few days ago.

 

Thanks everyone for chiming in!

 

Slidergirl, I have a question for you about the Vatican at night. I was told that St. Peter's Basilica wasn't open at night and that if I wanted to see it, I would have to go back for the basilica during the day. Was that your experience?

 

I think I've got a 7:30 am tour lined up now. It'll be a pain for breakfast but it's definitely a pain I can happily live with.

 

Still, the night tour did/does sound wonderful...

 

I really have to find a traveling companion that enjoys it more than DH. I'm already planning the trip back! :D

I went back to look up exactly what he said.

 

I talked to one other company about the evening tours, but they told me that the 2014 Vatican calendar hadn't even been set yet, so I backed away from that one.

 

I swear I haven't contacted any shady tour guides. This one, a personal recommendation by my travel agent who has used him - and my agent has never steered me wrong in any of her recommendations before - has the fewest number of reviews of all of the companies that I've contacted, and even he has 106 reviews, 99 excellent, the rest very good, on Trip Advisor.

 

Clearly my inability to get people to actually pay attention to what I'm saying is on me, but darned if I know what it is. Too rambling, you suppose? I try to be concise, but then I end up having to elaborate...

 

Anyway, his exact words to me were "Friday-night access to the Vatican Museums is not available in November" which is technically true. I guess since I saw the Vatican Museums had been closed down for November 1st this year that I personally made the leap to the Vatican not being open late because of the holy day the next day.

 

I guess I'll email him with the point about the calendar, although part of me wonders if I should bother (my travel agent, lucky woman! is incommunicado in Hawaii for the next couple of weeks). However, since the "not listening to half of what Cretia says" thing is pretty much universal, I'm not sure of the point of going elsewhere.

 

Thanks so much cruisemom42 and texancruzer and everyone else reading and posting! It's been a great help getting feedback and even typing all this out. I greatly appreciate you guys humoring me.

 

Edit: The cracks about people not listening to me go a bit wider than this trip and I hope no one thought I meant anyone here. As I've said, you've all been awesome. However, my husband, my coworkers, my bosses, and my parents all have the remarkable tendency to forget entire conversations I've had, multiple times, on multiple issues, with them. Why I expect a random stranger in Italy to be different is totally my craziness :p

Nooooo! I was *this close* to deciding to take the risk that the morning crowds would be slightly to somewhat more crowded versus significantly more crowded in the morning. Now I'm back to waffling.

 

Seriously, thank you all for your input. It's greatly appreciated.

 

CruiserBruce: RomeinLimo was actually one of the first companies I checked because of their huge fanbase here on Cruise Critic. Unfortunately, they only list Vatican tours during the usual tour day, so they weren't quite what I was looking for.

 

I should probably clarify my communcations issue. It's only with the companies who offer the early access Vatican tours that I've had issues with. All of the ones who offer the tours during the regular tour day have been great, just not what I was hoping for. No idea what the issue actually is.

 

texancruiser: I definitely understand that Europe is expensive :)

 

On the one hand, I'm an economist by trade and throwing money at problems is kinda what we do. On the other hand, I'm an economist by trade and if I'm going to be paying 150 euros over the price of the next nearest competitor, I am actually deeply offended if I can't figure out why. For that kind of markup, I darn well should be able to figure out why one company is worth more!!! :p

 

I wonder how one gets on the list to be able to do the early access tours. It'd be nice if I could figure out a way to get the tour guide that my travel agent hooked me up with to just do the early morning tour. Ah well, I can dream....

 

Edit: I went to the Vatican website to see if I could answer my own question about how one becomes an early morning operator and stumbled across the 2014 calendar. The preferred tour operator does the after hours Vatican tour, but when I asked about that, he said the Vatican only did the late openings May through October. I let it go, figuring that my objection that I was travelling in October was just about semantics and I shouldn't argue sematics with the Catholic Church. However, the 2014 calendar posted on the Vatican site clearly lists Friday, October 31, 2014, as the last of their late opening Fridays.

 

So...as the Friday night tour would solve all the problems listed above, do I politely ask him to recheck his calendar?

Yeah, I'm not entirely sure what the issue is, either, other than perhaps a language barrier issue. There are a lot of things I would like to see, but I always try to emphasis that I know that it is impossible to see all of them. I would just like to see as many on the list as fits in a decently paced schedule. It's more than possible that they are just misreading the part where I say I don't expect to see all of them...

 

But we go back and forth on their canned tour descriptions, which usually contain three or four items I would prefer to cut out and replace with one of the others. I should harass one of my italian speaking friends to just email for me, so we can clear it up if that is, indeed, the problem.

 

But anyway, to make sure I'm understanding you correctly, is that it's likely that there isn't going to be a significant difference in crowd size between a 9am tour and a 2pm tour?

 

And thanks so much for the quick response!

My husband and I will be in Rome on October 31, 2014. One of the main reasons we are going is because I have wanted to see the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel for years. I don't think I can express in words how important this is to me. We are planning on getting a private tour guide.

 

Now the issues:

 

DH is a lousy traveler. Hates people, hates new places, hates not knowing where he is. He's doing this trip soley for my benefit, which I love him for doing.

 

I generally get drowsy in the afternoons and since we'll be flying in the day before, I imagine jet lag will definitely make my general tendency worse. I also get headaches when I'm tired like that. Nothing that I can't work through, but all other things being equal, I would rather tour through a site I care less about than the Vatican Museums.

 

I had orginally wanted to do an early morning Vatican tour but I've been having trouble working out a company with which to spend the entire day. The companies I've found either are so much more expensive than anyone else or scheduling an entire day with them starts to become painful (some of the conversations I've had with tour operators have just been...difficult... when it comes to trying to see what we want to see. They are all private tours, so for the life of me I can't figure out why they are being so difficult but it has been).

 

DH is not crazy about the idea of booking a morning Vatican tour with one company and then another tour in the afternoon with a different company (he worries about finding the second company).

 

Through our travel agent, we found a wonderful tour company in Rome that we would really like to use. However, he only does the Vatican at 9am or 2pm and says he highly recommends doing it at 2pm as the mornings can get crowded.

 

So I thought I'd just ask for some of you that have spent more time in Rome. In (very) late October, which is supposed to be the low season, how crowded would the Vatican Museums/Sistine Chapel be in the morning? Will it be bad enough that I should consider working through a headache to try and enjoy later in the day? Or should I try to convince DH that he really needs to suck it up and let me book two companies for this day?

I know that this is meant as a joke, so I am not slamming you, but I see this kind of thing a lot on the boards and it upsets me. Are only gorgeous 20 year old bikini models allowed to wear bathing suits around the pool or at the beach? Must I wear a 19th century bathing suit that covers my entire body once I pass a certain age or if I don't have rock hard abs? I don't mind seeing 80 year old men in speedos, or 80 year old women in bikinis. Their body is not on this earth for my entertainment and mine is not here for anyone else to judge. This world is not just for the beautiful people. There, rant over.

 

On a cruise to Hawaii, I saw an older lady, who had to be 80, wearing a micro-bikini. On the one hand, it was slightly shocking; on the other hand, good for her! It takes a lot of comfort within one's skin to even attempt to wear such a thing. I couldn't do it.

 

The irony of this thread is that there are people who claim that they would not be judgemental of pajama wearing buffet visitors. However they have no problem judging those who do judge pajama wearing buffet visitors. Aren't we humans grand?

 

I would argue there's a difference between judging people for what they wear (and their outside appearance) and judging them on what they say.

 

:o

4. Well, if I'm being honest, anyone who would do #3 would likely not be someone I would want to know. Not saying that you aren't entitled to your thought processes, but if you look at someone and write them off as "trailer trash" because they aren't wearing nice clothes at 7 AM, well, that's just not me.

 

I agree with all your points, but this one most of all. I had problems with a "gentleman" on our last cruise who felt it his obligation to loudly voice his judgement on anyone around us. I imagine he felt we agreed because we never told him to shut the hell up. We really should have instead of just trying to politely change the subject. Subtlety was wasted on that one.

 

You want to judge? Fine, go ahead. Kindly keep it to yourself though. I promise you that you are just annoying the people who have to listen to you.

 

And we want to talk manners? Growing up, my mother would have washed our mouths out with soap for being so rude as to voice some of these opinions.

 

Although, I will say, while I might not actually comment, someone out in public wearing a robe so loosely closed that I could tell they are not wearing anything underneath would probably skeeve me out.

Anyone try the sclompamine patch that the doctor prescribes?

 

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Forums mobile app

 

Like the poster above, I've tried it and would not recommend it. I just had the blurred vision, but some of the side effects that could happen are pretty terrible.

 

I'm sure you've likely tried it, but I recommend ginger chews and the seaband wristlets to everyone. They work on my most ridiculous nausea. A friend who suffered from terrible morning sickness recommended them to me, so if you haven't tried them, they can work wonders for *some* (not everyone) people.

 

I also find the ginger chews to be really yummy, so that helps.

Obvoiusly, I have no reason to doubt your TA, but that is the most bizarre reason yet given for this issue. :eek: Personally, I wouldn't consider canceling the cruise just because of this screw-up. We are going on our cruise next year and I'll pay whatever the cost as I really want to experience the class. That being said, it is frustrating when you can't get a answer to a simple question. :mad:

Heh, that's actually why I'm so frustrated. I'd be happy to pay the $82 or whatever the class is with the glasses. I just can't get a straight answer as to what it is, exactly, that I've purchased.

 

As I said in my original post, I completely agree that this is a singularly bizarre reasoning. But for the life of me, I can't see what my agent would get by lying about it and since she's never struck me as a pathological liar before, I can't do much more than shake my head.

Cretia, I don't know if you're beyond final payment, but perhaps you could cancel and have your TA book a different line that sails at the same time. It might make you happier. I guess if it's after final payment, probably not so much.

 

I'm honestly not trying to be a brat here. I'm just...disconcerted by the amount of effort figuring this out is taking.

 

And to warn people who would be happy if they were getting the tasting sans glasses that it might not be the case, either.

/sigh

 

I hate bumping this thread, but wanted to let people know what my travel agent said when I asked her to find out about the comparative class.

 

She said that when she contacted Celebrity, she was told that you could not sign up for the workshop online, you had to be onboard. According to her contact at Celebrity, the $17.50 is the price for shipping the glasses home.

 

Since my agent has no reason to lie to me, I'm going to believe that, as bizarre as it sounds, that is exactly what Celebrity told her.

 

I'm not sure how anyone can defend this as simple human error anymore. Celebrity is making zero effort to let their customers know what exactly it is that they have charged us for.

 

If it weren't for the fact that getting time off from work is excruciating, I would seriously be reconsidering my cruise on Celebrity.

 

Edit: my agent noted that she was told that she could find out what day of the cruise the workshop would be on 3 or 4 weeks out. She'll be checking back with them at that time. I wonder what she'll be told then.

They know this, some are just going to force the issue to get FREE glasses because someone made an honest mistake within the website. When you place an order for 15.00 it does say.... prices start at $15.00. It does not list the different packages that are available.

 

Forgive my critique, but how is expecting a company worth approximately $7 billion to have their stuff together before updating their website wrong?

 

I picked Celebrity in part because I wanted to do the Riedel class. I booked online like I've planned to all along. I booked for $15.00 because that was the only price given; I would have booked for a higher amount to get the glasses if the website had given any options.

 

Neither myself, nor anyone here, are trying to cheat Celebrity out of anything. They've heard about this issue through customer support. There have been indications that they have staff reading these boards. And yet, it's been over a month since people started reporting the $15 price change with absolutely no word from Celebrity. For all we know (and apparently for all the phone reps know, since no consistent story line has come out), this might be a special deal from Riedel themselves clearing inventory for a new product line.

 

Darn right I'll be upset if I don't get the glasses I might not have been given the option to get included in my class because a $7 billion company can't get their crap together.