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10 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

I'm glad I listened to this one.  Much better than some of the earlier ones.  I'm waiting for Part 2 = a focus group of "most loyal" customers that addresses the appalling downgrade in MDR food.  Deflecting that issue as subjective doesn't cut it for a menu that frequently has two entrees/night based on pasta (OVC "cuisine" in MDR).  Yup, definitely waiting for the food installment.

Couldn’t believe the downgrading of the MDR menu on our cruises earlier this month,Same ship last September the food was as good as before the shutdown.

But we went to the buffet some nights and that seemed to have improved,Ate out at the speciality restaurants a few times and they were good but price seems to of climbed.

2 hours ago, Schmoe38 said:

If I recall correctly, the request for questions came out originally in an email format. Shortly thereafter, a second email came out indicating there had been an issue with the original submissions and could we kindly re-submit.

That’s what we received Elite plus and from the UK,first email then a second one mentioning there was an issue with the first.

Have been invited lots of times usually give it a miss, last cruise which we have just returned from we attended it was out of Greece and a beautiful day, the week before( we were b2b) We got the invite but didn’t bother.Not sure if it’s Captains club status or the fact most of our cruises are back to backs.But definitely nothing to do with staterooms are these cruises we were in inside cabins.

12 hours ago, TommyD3 said:

All of my favorites like the beef tournados, rack of lamb and lobster have been removed from the menu. Believe me we were onboard last month and none of those were on any night !!!

 

Just off Relection on for 19nights, the menu in the main dinning room was poor! The starters some nights were awful to me, I hate snails don’t eat frozen shrimp and cant stand onion soup. So we did more speciality restaurants and went to the buffet! I’ve 2 back to backs booked with Celebrity next year but will travelling on other lines as well. Shame as Celebrity was always our first choice.

5 hours ago, jelayne said:

Thanks for sharing your experience.  It seems the MDR menus are not being well received by a number of passengers.  Please be sure to mention that on the post Cruise survey otherwise it won’t improve. 

Will do, seems they listened to the complaints on the buffet at dinner and have improved!

Hi tomorrow will be change over day after 9 nights from Barcelona to Civitavecchia.

so far we have had lovely weather everyday,the staff have been amazing as always.Food in the MDR has been a bit disappointing, never have I seen so many in the buffet at night! We have had two speciality meals this cruise and enjoyed them.Tried the buffet for dinner last night because the menu in the main dinning room wasn’t to our liking.Well there was lots of choice including a Portuguese themed offerings and plenty of other things,it was so good might go again tonight,because the menu in Opus there wasn’t one thing I would pick.Shame they have cut this back even on the Chic nights .nothing special on them. Good thing was rib of beef was on early in the cruise.Looking forward to the next leg 10 nts towards Greek islands and Malta, then back to Barcelona.Still got 6 Celebrity cruises booked for 2024, but also a couple of other brands booked! Dianne

On Relection at the moment, first part of b2b.MDR food as been ok but less choice than in the past.Staff have been lovely as usual, Fizzy wine was available on embarking in a number of bars complimentary from what I saw.

Still having a great time so far.Weather has been glorious and hope it stays that way, entertainment is varied. Dianne

7 hours ago, chemmo said:

Quite simply most of us cruise expecting the dining to be a highlight of our cruise experience. Most of us cruise wanting a break from the shopping, cooking and washing up too! 
 

Chicken and salmon are home ‘staples’. Whilst once or twice a cruise I may enjoy something safe and bland I have gone on holiday to enjoy something different!
 

If I was to serve up a blob of mash and the same two veg daily at home I would have complaints! Surely jacket potatoes, roast potatoes, potatoes au gratin aren’t too hard to cook in large quantities! How about a Mediterranean vegetable medley? Something we all know is a really easy but tasty veg mix….Don’t get me started on the proteins…

 

Looking at the menus provided we enjoy better variety at home!

 

Not impressed…

You are so right in my opinion! I cook good quality food at home,I expect at least the food I eat on holiday will be on par but hopefully better! 

33 minutes ago, Islander500 said:

I’ve read about the tiny bathrooms. Are they the same in all O ships? Haven’t they improved on them in newer ships?  Curious.  

Have only sailed on Oceania for the first time in June, we were on one of the small ships in a regular balcony.Shower was so cramped and both Hubby and me are slight built! Don’t know how a large person would manage. We had a lovely time though, but for me it’s unusual to not book a future cruise while onboard.

2 hours ago, SueMo said:

We, too, were looking to cruise a different line after so many downgrades in the X experience (especially food)over the years.  We have done some HAL cruises and have found them to be a little better than X in some areas and a little worse in others.  When a lot of CC posters recommended Oceania, we were hoping to find a new home.  But although they are better food-wise, their entertainment was dreadful and amenities we expected to get, such as free shuttles into city centers, weren’t available unless already offered by the port authority.  Also, two ports of call were canceled last minute, without sufficient explanation. We have a transatlantic VV booked for next year, so we’ll see how that goes.  
We recently cancelled a cruise to Australia and New Zealand and found a tour company that has set up a 13 day self drive tour, including car rentals, flights from the north island to the south, hotel rooms which include breakfast, and tickets to many attractions for not a whole lot more than the cruise would have cost us and we’ll see much more.  We did the same in Iceland a few years back and loved it.  I’m thinking our solution is to quit cruising and do more land tours!

Would agree with your comment on Oceania! We tried them a few months ago and don’t think we will cruise with them again.Entertainment was so old fashioned. Food was good but the price was a good bit more expensive, and that tiny bathroom was the smallest I’ve experienced lol

1 hour ago, KeithJenner said:

It’s a few years since I’ve done a Canary Islands cruise, but when I have the tax has only been charged when in Spanish ports.

 

I’ve never seen tax charged in the Canaries.

This was the case Keith on our cruise from Lisbon this March, Only charged the tax in Malaga and Cadiz.Canaries were not taxed.

1 minute ago, hcat said:

 I  thought we did..we are E+ and have drink package..  

bubbly not worth it anyhow!

Yea was never a fan of the sparkling wine,but it was a nice gesture to welcome guests onboard! 

3 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

At the end of the day, for me it's all about the price I ultimately pay. Celebrity and Oceania have always charged more for cruises than NCL, so if there's an additional fee on NCL I hadn't anticipated, especially one that's a one-off due to a decision by a local government, I'm still better off financially than if I'd booked with a rival line. (That doesn't mean, BTW, that Celebrity and Oceania are always more expensive for any cruise, but we base our cruising decisions chiefly on when we can take off work and the itinerary). Companies like Viking have 'free' excursions, but they cost a lot more than NCL to start with, so I have to wonder if companies that don't pass on this Spanish VAT like NCL is doing, have already accounted for that in their (higher) prices. But I could be wrong.

For us it’s about the value for money! Up to now we have had the pleasure of ove 50 cruises and have enjoyed ourselves on all,I used to book most with Celebrity and still do enjoy sailing with them but NCL have been good price wise and we have been booking them quite regularly.We prefer to sail in the Mediterranean with short flights and add a few nights at the start and end of the cruise.Long haul flights we have done in the past.But now we are retired and cruising just the two of us.Life is good to be able to travel, BonVoyage,Dianne

35 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Hard to say why NCL is charging that tax and, according to you, Oceania didn't. It's possible Oceania already builds the cost of the VAT into its price. But part of me is struggling to understand how someone who can afford Oceania is complaining about a measly VAT in the first place. 😄 O is not cheap and their drinks 'package' ain't that great (or cheap). I guess if I were worried about a few extra dollars for my drinks, maybe I can't afford the cruise in the first place. But that's just me.

Maybe it’s a British thing,but I can afford to cruise often and do so with a number of lines,When I pay in advance for something which I try to do each cruise tips,drinks.etc.I do so so I don’t have extra charges I  don’t usually haveOBC.So on a long cruise or b2b for two of us the extra few dollars mount up!NCL in my opinion should just cover this vat in the same way as all the other lines I have traveled on do.Will be very surprised if Celebrity in two weeks charge this vat.This will again be leaving Barcelona as was Oceania.

On 8/8/2023 at 12:38 AM, Covepointcruiser said:

If you need alcohol and don’t want to pay for it frequent Al Bacio during embarkation times and partake of the included “champagne”.

Wasn’t offered on our last cruises, unless we missed it lol

20 minutes ago, hcat said:

maybe  it's our drink package?

I know we do not pay at Cafe Baccio

20 minutes ago, hcat said:

maybe  it's our drink package?

I know we do not pay at Cafe Baccio

No sail away bubbly for our last 4 cruises! We get free coffee at Cafe Bacio if we want it as Elite plus.

54 minutes ago, Asawi said:

You are correct. People have been charged the whole cruise. They embarked in Barcelone but disembarked in Italy (Rome?). 

Wow that’s not good! I was going to book a b2b next year again for the med out of Barcelona 19 nts don’t like the idea of paying extra tax for two of us over the two sailings, might just stick with Celebrity or Royal 

1 minute ago, hawkeyetlse said:

Since your cruises doesn't begin and end in Spain, you won't be charged Spanish VAT from start to finish. But (unless they change things between now and November) you should expect to be charged 10% tax on drinks when in Spanish ports or anywhere near the Spanish coast. If you want, you can try to contest this on board or submit a complaint after you get home.

If that is the case and the Spanish Vat is only charged in Spanish waters, it would be like my cruises earlier in the year.But I did read that someone had been charged for the full trip.Maybe their cruise ended in Barcelona as well as it being the port the cruise sailed from.Bit confusing but NCLhave been doing this for a while.At least this time they have sent emails to warn folk.

But why is it only NCL charging these taxes? Travelled on a b2b with NCL in Feb/ March we were charged Spanish tax while in Spanish water.Traveled in June on Oceania round trip from Barcelona no extra charge! Will be doing b2b from Barcelona in two weeks with Celebrity in the past we have never been charged.NCLbooked in the Med from Barcelona to Italy in November and looks like we might be charged for the full voyage on all drinks etc.So free at sea is not what we thought we were being sold in the UK

11 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Usually Prime Rib is offered in the MDR on night #1

11 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Usually Prime Rib is offered in the MDR on night #1

On our Reflection cruise in a couple of weeks Prime Rib is on the last night, In the past it was on first night so we never did the specialty restaurants on boarding day! My husband’s favourite MDR meal.

1 hour ago, cybergremlin said:

Each and every drink throughout the cruise, we had stops in Palma and Ibiza along with starting and ending in Barcelona, rest of the stops was in France and Italy 

1 hour ago, cybergremlin said:

I also got charged in Italy, France and during day at sea, it could be down to embarkation port 

Thanks for the feed back, we are on Celebrity Reflection soon b2b from Barcelona I will post the experience 

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Hi there - we are also cruising from Barcelona, on a Transatlantic to NYC in November. Here is a copy of the letter many folks on our cruise received. We have not yet received it though.

 

My translation is that when we are in Barcelona, sailing in Spanish waters, and at our port stop in Cartagena, VAT will be applied on specialty dining (regardless of package or a la carte payment) and on any drink purchase (inclusive of the Unlimited Open Bar). Once we leave Spanish waters on day two, we will no longer be charted the VAT. 

 

Does anyone else have an interpretation of this that is different?

 

This is the same email I received over the weekend!

2 hours ago, cybergremlin said:

I was on the epic 21/7 - 30/7, starting in Barcelona and staying in the EU and was charged for each drink, out bar bill was $103.95 for the 9 days

we also received an onboard credit but it was for $14.80 X2, this was the same for everyone within our group (10 people) I didn’t query this as you all know the lines for guest services 😁

So were you charged on every drink even if not in Spanish waters? Was this with the free at sea? Thanks,Dianne

Received an email a couple of days ago from NCL

We are cruising from Barcelona in November all ports are EU,The email said there would be charges to all applicable purchases while onboard.21% on retail items from the shops, and 10% added to all drink and food bills.Including purchases made on the unlimited open bar and speciality dinning packages.I expect this to apply even on the pre purchased free at sea as we were charged on our last cruise in March on these while in Spanish waters. Strange on Oceania in June we were not charged the extra VAT even though we sailed from Barcelona.

27 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Not understanding.  Sail away does NOT include free at sea perks, only the excursion credit.  Assuming you meant GTY - which is not the same as sail away.

As to sail away, GTY or a bid for OV - you could luck out and get a nice picture window or you could get a porthole, all the way forward on deck 4.

 

Just noticed you are from the UK - maybe sail away is different?

Yes I also thought sail away had no free at sea but it seems it does in the UK, I’ll take the gamble on where we will end up as the stateroom allocated to me wasn’t great! No big deal it’s just a cheeky extra cruise we have added to this years jaunts! Thanks,Dianne