romalley99

1 hour ago, RVACruiser43 said:

Wow!  I was on the TransAtlantic.  Weather was too cold and windy to use the outdoor areas so those items didn’t even have more than a couple weeks usage.  I don’t know how you can blame all hose broken chairs and stools on new ship kinks.  I hope there is a good warranty on the items.

Definitely not a "new ship kink"... I think it comes down to commercial/patio furniture. Seems they went for the look over the usage... aka, form over function. All the furniture would look lovely on my patio, but certainly not ready for hundreds of "butts" per week on a ship surrounded by salt air! I was on for the crossing too, and didn't really get a good look at the outdoor areas until we got to Halifax, Bermuda and finally the Caribbean, where it was really heavily used! 

4 hours ago, jpc763 said:

There is now a Syd Norman's on the Escape.  I read it and saw a pic but know nothing more than that.

Syd Norman's has been there since mid 2020 (changed during the shutdown). 

6 hours ago, RVACruiser43 said:

Everyone has been very quiet recently.  I have a friend who claims there are some posts with damages on the ship. Cracked slides, Cracked Ocean walk glass, cracked mirrors.  Anyone have any info on what is happening?  Makes me think this is the Enterprise-A at the beginning of Star Trek V  Yikes!  Or is it fake news?

Yes, the walkway did crack on the port side. It's been blocked off and they're in contact with Ficantieri to get a new panel flown over to the ship. It might take some time to fix... 

Someone above mentioned broken bar stools... yes, also correct. Waves Bar is down to just 2 stools, and some are gone completely. 

Some of the tables in the outdoor part of Indulge are also out of commission. 

Vibe lost 7 bar stools over the last 12 days, as well as some loungers where the arms came off. 

After spending 34 days on the ship, it was interesting to see the decline of some areas.  

3 hours ago, shotodrag said:

I wonder if all these broken things would explain why the Prima didn't leave Galveston until about 11pm last night.  Hopefully they spent all that time fixing everything.

No, it was a scheduled 12 midnight departure as part of the Galveston programming for the Inaugural. 

Bid accepted today for my cruise on Oct 31st (Monday) on the Spirit! 

10 hours ago, jbcallender said:

I'm on 11/14 sailing.  We lost the overnight in Kauai, but picked up another visit to Hilo, I believe.  I have not seen a change to the Tahiti itineraries, at least as of yet.....I said earlier, for me, the whole point of the cruise is Tahiti as there are numerous other Hawaii cruises available throughout the year.

Yes, there were two changes to the two before the 11/14 sailing. We lost a day in Moorea (was an overnight), and some time in Bora Bora. Still two days, just not overnight... from my understanding of the email. 

On 10/15/2022 at 9:53 PM, TurnLeftKasey said:

I’m wondering if there are major changes?

No major changes -- actually, no changes to the interior at all. This was an unscheduled and unanticipated dry dock to correct the issue that happened in March when we ran aground in the DR. 

I'm on Spirit 10/31, 11/7 and 11/14 sailings. All three have gotten changed -- I'm not really disappointed. I'm sure it is a bummer, for some, though.  

1 hour ago, The Traveling Man said:

Just got back to our stateroom after the wine tasting.  It definitely was not what I expected.  On previous cruises we have paid for wine tastings.  There were five or six wine glasses waiting for us, each with a different wine.  The sommelier told us about the characteristics of each and suggested food pairings.  At the event we just attended, we were handed a glass as we entered and told that we could visit the several stations set up around the room for a taste of the various wines they offered.  A couple of the stations were not manned, so we poured our own.  At one of the manned stations they poured just a sip, so we just stood there until they poured more.  The wines were nothing outstanding, just the same ones we have been seeing in the restaurants and bars all week.  The one upside of the event was the opportunity to sit and talk with some friends we have sailed with before but haven’t seen in a while.  Other than that, the wine tasting event is no great loss if you miss out.

Agree!!! 

5 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

It's a free wine tasting (versus paying for a wine tasting). Everyone in our group seemed to enjoy themselves. We just drank wine. There were those who were busily taking copious notes.

5 hours ago, ColdCruise said:

I agree @BirdTravels  - a free wine tasting is better than a paid one 🥂🥂 We did a couple paid tastings in Palomar (about 22-28pp before latitudes discount),  which were good.

glad you both enjoyed ☺️ I don’t drink red wine, but when asking for a second “sip” of white, I was educated I had “already been to this station”. Just weird to me. I don’t cruise for the perks, but just my observation. 👍🏼

6 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

We’re scheduled to do this on the Prima in a couple of days.  Will let you know how that works out.  About a dozen of us Diamond or Ambassador Latitudes members did the mixology spirits tasting a couple of days ago.  Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and learn a lot about the specialty drinks available on board.  Not sure that I would pay for it, but was fun as a Latitudes perk.

I’m getting on Prima on Friday, so I’m curious to your thoughts on this perk! 

I was disappointed with this Latitudes Perk last week on Getaway. Wines Around the World is super underwhelming (sorry for those who haven't done it yet)! 

On 9/6/2022 at 5:54 PM, cruiseny4life said:

Slight change in plans! We're going to Nassau, Bahamas, Miami, and then two sea days. Original plan included Bermuda. Alas, Tropical Storm Earl has different plans for us. A hoighty toighty Ambassador shared this on Facebook, but the planner updated as well, so he's right. Also, no shade toward Ambassadors - Robbie (the Ambassador), could be the nicest guy ever! 

 

 

Didn't realize I was hoighty toighty... lol... but glad my info was correct, or else that could have been super embarrassing! 😉  Maybe we will end up on the same ship again, and we can actually meet in person and you can be the deciding vote whether I'm the "nicest guy ever". All jokes here, of course. 🙂 

Kidding aside... looks like we all had a good time... can't wait for the next! 

If anyone is going on Getaway soon, you're in for a treat!

Robbie

On 9/2/2022 at 9:35 AM, Heronymous said:

Hey everyone! I was wondering if anyone onboard the Getaway might be able to post a pic of the officer wall? (Not the senior officer contact page that was posted earlier, but the picture wall)

Thanks!

Onboard Getaway right now…

7 hours ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

Well,we are Diamond so one would think we’d have gotten the top rate.  Hmmmm.

I am Ambassador, and was given $100 on all 3 legs on Star (Jul 25, Aug 4 and Aug 14). Going on Getaway on Saturday and will see what I'm given there. 

3 hours ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

Last week on the Star it was $50 per cabin

I was also on your Star cruise, and the credit is determined by your latitudes level. 

1 hour ago, cruiserbear55 said:

Those "free" Ambassador balcony cruises cover cabin fare only. You still pay port fees, taxes, other fees they can dream up, and DSC. A free cruise to Bermuda right now would cost you $745.54 ($521.54 in fees and $224.00 for the DSC.)  If you then added the FAS drink/dining package, you'd be looking at $1062.34 for your free cruise.

   A person/couple could theoretically go on one hundred cruises at seven points per cruise to reach Ambassador. You would think after spending that huge amount of money over the years their free cruise would actually be free. But we are talking NCL here. NCLs definition of free and Merriam-Webster's definition of free don't reside in the same dictionary.

You don't even have the option to add Free At Sea Perks... and no latitudes points as well. But yes, when I booked my Ambassador cruise, it was DSC and taxes and port fees up front. Not free!

Who specifically are you looking for? 

GM is Martin 

AGM is Jocel 

CD is Simon 

F&B is Marc 

Captain is Roger Gustavsen

AFB is Lale 

Bev Manager is Kiran

just to name a few... 

As cruising continues to get back to normal, I am looking forward to giving the new perks a try (sail and sustain mixology and wines around the world) for now, I am more than happy with the $100 OBC I am getting each cruise in replace of the missing perks due to the ongoing circumstances. 

I agree with all of the above -- once you hit Platinum, you've got it all. 

Here's something interesting. All "pending" except for one which just today changed from pending to "Unable to Upgrade". Sailing on Monday 7/25 on the Star. Usually, if you don't win, it changes to "expired". Weird! 

4 hours ago, sjbdtz said:

I’d written to Klaus, who replied copying Richard J., and Tony who wrote back welcoming us.  May have changed, but I think it’s TW. 

Ok, just confirmed it's still Manny onboard, and Tony will be joining August 14th.

He copied Richard Janicki? Sadly, Richard passed away last month unexpectedly. Very sad.  

On 7/10/2022 at 4:52 PM, sjbdtz said:

Tony Winkler is the General Manager (Hotel Director)

Tony is onboard right now? I thought it was Manny (Emmanuouil)...? 

Thanks for this post! 🙂 Heading on the Star on July 25th for 30 days and looking forward to spending time onboard! Glad you enjoyed! 

Robbie 

On 7/5/2022 at 2:28 AM, cassie55 said:

Do you know who the concierge was? We're on the Star in just under 3 weeks.

The Concierge is Amit Chauhan ... amazing!! 

Just won my bid for the Joy this Sunday 6/5. Was in a Haven Suite (HJ) and now within the Haven courtyard. My bid was about the middle between poor and fair. Good Luck all!