Al Miller

NCL cant get out of its own way. Del Rio might not be long for retirement. He's made poor calls all through the restart IMO. Maybe in the long term they will be fine but I'll bet shareholders are getting worried at this point. 

This is someone just looking to vent. Other than washy, washy, how do you "Be careful" to avoid Salmonella? Can I look at a dish with my super X-Ray vision and see the Salmonella? 

The other thing to watch out for is the "Whole Maine Lobster" offered as an upcharge. Make sure to specifically ask if it is indeed a whole lobster. I ordered one in the Solarium Bistro 2 weeks ago and all I got was 2 small lobster tails from the MDR stock. They were prettier than most of the tails in the MDR, but still a far cry from a whole Maine lobster. I didn't feel like raising any stink at the time, but I did feel like I was lied to. If they didn't have it they should have just told me so. I've seen the lobster upcharge delivered before and it has been an entire lobster, so I know they can provide it. 

While I welcome a different ship in NJ, I don't like the lack of an indoor pool for the winter months. And as a frequent solo cruiser I hate the lack of inside solos. Royal has REALLY just forsaken the solo cruiser as of late. They are practically BEGGING me to go to NCL. 

7 hours ago, FionaMG said:

It's an ongoing issue.

The fix is to log in, go to your profile, delete your C&A number, re-input it and save.

 

This cleared it up for me. Thanks!

On Anthem this week it was honestly pretty good all week. Worst part is the mesh network. You learn the dead zones. The pub on Anthem is the pits. Then right outside at Sorrentos is blazing full speed. Every once in a while your device gets stuck on a weak access point and won't switch to the closer stronger AP unless you turn off, turn on your wifi.  It was pretty good in my cabin although a couple of times it would obviously switch to a weaker AP for no apparent reason. The old TOTO on the wifi would fix it. HBO max and YouTube were no sweat.

I've never been on any of them, but those absolutely massive versions of playmakers that Indy and Freedom have are difference makers for me over Liberty if I had the choice.

On 2/4/2023 at 11:02 AM, teddy said:

We had a 1030-1100 check in time.
 

Got to the port at 1030. Onboard by 1050. 

No one was inspecting check in times as it really wasn’t necessary. 
 

A much nicer experience than boarding in Boston back in October.  No one was yelling at people as they went through security 

The longest wait was actually in traffic leading up to the porters.  Security wasn’t bad at all

 

 

Yeah, they did not have anyone directing cars to a specific unload spot this time. So some folks got to the end of the porters and they just stopped in the traffic lane and unloaded luggage. Only slightly irritating. Got there at my assigned check in time of 10am and was on board by 10:40. So even with knuckleheads stopping in the middle of the street in front of the terminal, it was pretty fast for me. I am 3 for 3 in having a good boarding process at Bayonne. Hope the streak continues .

Man, am I ready...

I got it too. Is this a message that they send through the app normally as the deadline nears? I always have mine knocked out first thing so I would not know. Perhaps testing the muster reminders functionally?

I also got a reminder to fill out my health questionnaire a day too early.

I do color too. I print maybe 50 pages in the course of a year. Mostly cruise Docs. I get the refurbished cartridges. Probably $30 for the set and they generally last me 3 years or more.

10 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

Taken a few days ago at Miami airport, there were charging stations to the right.

Wow! I cant even remember the last place I saw one of these!

14 minutes ago, twangster said:

Just like park cafe on Oasis.  i.e. - shuts down at 5pm, no evening hours.  

Didn't know that. So Oasis has a cafe promenade as well I suppose. For some reason I thought park cafe was a replacement for cafe promenade on Oasis class. Hopefully I'll find out for myself later this year on Oasis.

I know the Quantum class pubs have food for upcharge. I like the bbq nachos.

Agreed. I like cafe 270. It's hours are just so limited. Wouldn't mind having it as a late night option.

Norfolk would be an interesting option for those of us in the mid Atlantic. But they have to get their act together first. The horror stories that have come out of there recently are pretty bad. What about Philly?

On 1/14/2023 at 3:54 AM, Ray said:

A buffet at midnight? Isn't there enough food options during the rest of the day without the need to pile on even more pounds before bed? 

I get that everything in the US is so much bigger than the rest of the world but that doesnt have to include the waistlines!

I think for a lot of us its not so much about a fourth meal as much a third meal for those that sleep in on vacation and miss breakfast. Heck, on Anthem I'd settle for a cafe promenade that was bigger than a broom closet. It seems like they forgot to plan for one on the quantum ships and just jammed it in a corner at the last second. It's really a poor afterthought compared to the Oasis class park cafe.

I would like this more if you could choose what day you get it. Like if I could get the six cold ones in the bag as I am getting off at Coco Cay, that would be awesome.

I know it can take nearly a month for a new cruise to be reflected in the C&A point total. So if you've cruised in the last 4 weeks, it probably will not be reflected in this as they probably pull from the same data.

On 12/26/2022 at 9:12 PM, KathyC said:

Has the entertainment booking window opened yet?

My inlaws are on this sailing, and they keep asking me questions...I haven't sailed Quantum class since 2015, yet they keep thinking I have all the answers.  They are asking what they will need to pre-book.  I told them probably anything in the theater. Anything else?

As far as I know, you still have to wait until onboard to book shows. I will say this though, back in November barely any of the shows required reservations. And the ship was at 100%.

You will almost always spend more in gambling than the value of anything they will offer you for "Free."

There are exceptions. My brother won 1000 dollars on the first day of his cruise and spent that back out for the rest of the week. He had a few more small wins over the week and ended up with 1500 points without spending any of his own money. He got a free inside offer. So you can luck out, but you will have to put in the time. He probably spent 20 hours in the casino during the sailing. He enjoys gambling anyway so win/win for him.

The "Offers " on the website are not set in stone as to what you may get offered after the sailing. Back when they were ramping up after the shut-down you would see all kinds of stories of people getting crazy offers after spending a minimal amount. Now that capacity is back up, they don't have to be nearly as generous to fill the cabins. I got 500 points on a sailing in April and all I got was $100 off offers. Which was great and pretty much by the book. I gladly used it. But the days of crazy casino offers would seem to be a thing of the past. And also, I did not start getting the offers until the beginning of the next calendar month after we got back.

I think they are all pretty great. Odyssey has a "Playmakers" and the "indoor pool" is just a shaded pool. Other than that, I'd say check the resident shows and the slight Specialty dining differences to help you decide.

I am pretty sure they have the right to refuse to allow anything they think might be disruptive to the other passengers. So I'd venture to say it would be a "YMMV" situation. I am thinking like a guitar might be let on, but unless you are on some theme cruise or are a paid entertainer for the ship, I cant see them letting you bring a saxophone or trumpet. I could be wrong.