Rou-Dyliq

For what it's worth - the one cruise I was in Aqua, I found I liked the MDR better. The food in MDR was very very good, and the service I had was excellent. I was not a fan of the food in Blu. I personally don't think you're losing out at all by eating in the MDR - many others will argue with me but that was my experience. I haven't been in a suite yet so can't comment on Luminae.

Four shots were fired from inside an apartment complex. No one was injured. Thousands of people own guns and live near airports. Anyone could at anytime step outside and fire at planes. This situation held almost no increase in the odds of that happening, yet they diverted planes.

I live in San Diego, and the bolded statement is absolutely not true. This building is well within shooting distance of incoming planes, and IMO this was the right call to make considering this guy was randomly shooting, and clearly trying to hurt or kill others. If he randomly or on purpose shot into the air while a plane was approaching, it could very well have been very bad. Yes, thousands of people own guns. Many within shooting distance of landing airplanes, but those thousands of people are not ACTIVELY shooting into the air unlike this guy.

If you ask posters like maywell you and I are the only people looking else where, I do not see this current business model holding steady for NCL, it has got new people in the door now but time will tell how many repeat the Experience. I too was a Sheehan Sheep, by that I mean I would follow his direction of the line faithfully without question, because he had a transparency about him that made you feel valued, not just a piggybank to squeeze. This article has repeated my very own thoughts on next quarter glad to see I'm not crazy, even if I was branded a complainer here by some. Happy cruising all no matter what boat you're on.

My next two cruises are booked with Celebrity. I really like their product, as far as balcony cabin to balcony cabin comparisons go. I haven't been in their suites. I priced two cruises for next December, same basic itinerary. Even if I went with the "best" promotion on Celebrity's sailing, NCL was a tad bit more expensive. NCL was on a newer ship, but would not include as many perks.

I've enjoyed NCL, but am not happy with the major price increases that run along with minor value decrease (my opinion but what is changing is a value decrease to me). What bothers me more is they WAY they roll them out, and do not always honor what was in place when the passenger booked. What they offered just might have been the deciding factor for someone to book and I find that disregard for customer satisfaction arrogant at best and deceptive at worst.

I'm not one to let a little seaweed bother me BUT it is awful this year in Cancun. I could not actually get in the water on one beach there was so much of it. It looked like solid land it was so dense. But other beaches just a few miles away were fine. There was seaweed but not like that - just a bit of it washing up on the beach and not very noticeable in the water. I'm sure you can probably find a beach wherever you're going that isn't terribly bad but you might have to research the beaches individually and make sure you're looking at reviews or photos that are from July of this year to present.

At 8sec into the video. Next to coffee machine the are 3 pyramid shaped boxes on a tray. Any idea what those could be???

Those are Tea Forte tea bags. They are wonderful teas.

I also have to lose weight for surgery. It's a hip replacement so I'm limited on what I can do. I joined the Y, and am doing water aerobics. Although, they aren't really what you think of when you think water aerobics. They are more like water tabata classes and they are tough. It's working - 10 pounds in a month but I am way out of shape. I'm also doing a little bit of overhaul on my diet, but nothing drastic. Cutting out processed foods is about it. 20 pounds in 45 days might be optimistic but depending on how fit you already are it's possible. I did a liquid diet through kaiser I could not stick with and I saw a bunch of people drop that much in 6 weeks, but they were really big and really out of shape.

People keep talking about how these great perk packages have to be paid for somehow. I booked a cruise to Bermuda the week before the new CEO implemented the UPB, UBP, 3rd guest sails free and OBC promo. The cruise fare itself went up commensurately. I did rebook under the package as I did save some money, I can't remember how much but it was just under $100, than if I had purchased those perks seperately, including the 3rd person. I didn't make out like a bandit, and neither did anyone else who took advantage of these offers.

I am incredibly unsettled by what appears to me the spaghetti against the wall approach to increasing revenue. Oh lets' try this, wait what about that, oh you don't like that, we'll take it back (the whole no food in your room thing). There ought to be some benefit for the increase in charges, and reduction of value in other areas. I'm not booking another cruise until this settles out and I know what product I'm going to get when I set foot on the ship.

Being from the Midwest this is the way we eat our tenderloins....Just thought it odd that Le Bistro would serve this :D:eek::rolleyes:

And now I'm both homesick AND hungry, lol.

In the deluxe owner's suites with two bedrooms, are there two hairdryers? Also, in Le Bistro, has anyone tried the pork tenderloin and if so, how did you like it?

Last time I was on the Dawn, 2013, the concierge was located in the Star Bar. I saw our butler all the time in the hallway, but also had a phone to call him with should we have needed him.

I actually am so upset by not just the changes, but they way they are being handled, and the "social media flack" comment by the CEO that I just canceled my booking for 2016. Too bad, because I was very excited about the Escape. I just can't justify giving money to someone who is such a jerk about his past customer base and to a company that seems to delight in springing changes on people. At least the guests who follow the cruise forums have some idea but the people who don't? Man I would be livid if I did not get what I thought I paid for with no notice. And before you guys say "if you got as a perk you didn't pay for it" yeah I did. It's all figured into the fare. Before those perks came out the fare was a lot lower as I had originally booked it the month previous to when they offered this package. I only gained about $50 with the increased fare.

I would not do this except through NCL excursions - on our tour we had three boat breakdowns and had to pick up passengers from another boat that had broken down in the middle of the river. Literally. They were passing people from one boat to ours over the water. We were very late back, I think an hour past the time the ship was supposed to leave port. Way too much that can go wrong on that tour. It was an awesome excursion though, I think my favorite of the whole cruise.

Starbucks intentionally over-roasts their beans. They do it to extract more caffeine and it gives the Starbucks buzz. I know the guy that designed their roasters, he is a reliable source.

Well, for me, I'd rather have a pleasant tasting cup of coffee with less caffeine than a somewhat burnt taste with more of a buzz. I can always drink another cup I guess!

I am not much of an true espresso expert - I have an espresso machine at home and use both ESE pods and grind my own but I don't get into the minutae of it. I absolutely hate the over-roasted taste of most American brands. I like best the taste of espresso I got in Northern Italy. I mostly buy Caffe Molinari pods and I'm lucky enough to have an excellent local roasting company where I buy beans for my own grinding. Lavazza pods do a pretty good job in my opinion. The machine in the suite delivers a decent cup of coffee for me, it's strong enough but is not that over-roasted starbucks taste. I can make a caramel macchiato in the morning with the Lavazza machine in the suites that knocks the snot out of Starbucks.

The Brewpub decided it for us - the beer selections on all other cruises were so dismal that this is like a shining beacon of hope for my husband, lol.

True the pearly king does get packed. I heard chips ahoy has left the dawn I hope he's back in July . He was a fun bartender!

 

 

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Oh no! He was our favorite bartender and my husband still talks about him. We were looking forward to seeing him again in October!

yeah I know they aren't the same - we've stayed in the corner one before and were in the middles ones as guests. This works out so much better for our group of three :) Thanks much for your answers everyone!

We're pretty far out - the cruise is not til October.

My friends and I booked two different staterooms, one a minisuite and one a corner DOS on the Dawn. A DOS with the extra bedroom has become available. Does anyone know if we can move both our reservations to that DOS without a cancellation penalty? I understand we will be giving up the promos we have, but the current promos work out in our favor anyway. I have a message into my PCC but no return call yet.

I booked a Bermuda cruise for 2015 for what I thought was ridiculously early but I wanted a specific suite. So thankful I did, I checked prices today and they are up $600 per person from when I booked it.

That would be very nice if you do that....how would we communicate the information? :confused:

OK I finally checked with the wine shop and the best price he can get me on a Three Palms is for the 2010 vintage at $72. He also recommended the Decoy line as the poster above did as a more reasonable alternative without sacrificing much if anything in quality.

You would be surprised how many live right in the middle of wine country and don't know about the many excellent boutique wineries this state has. Duckhorn is very well known for their merlots, but they are a boutique winery and don't produce a lot. The vintage I bought was the 2009 - although I don't think you can wrong with any of them. I did buy it here in California where it is less expensive than it would be in the Midwest. Main stream liquor stores in the Midwest very likely won't carry it but a specialty wine shop might be able to order it for you.

Good luck with finding it at a reasonable price. If you like I can check with my favorite wine shop next time I'm in town to see what they have and what it goes for.

You might check your local wine shops and maybe bev-mo. I did NOT pay that much for a bottle of wine. I like my wine, and I insist on quality, but I would never pay $95 for a bottle. I'm too miserly for that :P I got it on sale at a local wine shop during an event.

Oh and glad I could help solve the mystery. I remember there was a pinot noir like for me, took me a year to figure out which one it was, lol.

I would be willing to bet it's from Duckhorn Vineyards. They have very very good merlots. Now which one it is, I would have no idea. There are two I particularly like although all of them I've tried have been exceptional, my two favorites are Paraduxx and Three Palms. Yum. Now I'm thirsty...

Edited to add: I just noticed the Paraduxx is a blend... not that I went to the wine rack to get a glass or anything :P

We did this excursion 12/11. Loved it! As far as the comments about it being strenuous, no it wasn't. I am considerably overweight, in my mid 40's with two bad knees and a bad hip. I am fairly active however. Now, bear in mind I did not climb the structures as I do know my limits and I could have gone up but probably not gotten back down without serious pain. But the rest of it, for me, was a piece of cake. Yes, you have to watch where you're going, yes it was slippery and muddy and the grounds were very uneven, and I thought that climbing those ruins right after a substantial shower was just not safe. But you know what? I'm responsible for my own safety. Wear the right shoes, bring the right rain gear, pack a protein bar and bring your sense of wonder and adventure. It's the adventure of a lifetime.