I just received a pre-cruise email from NCL regarding my upcoming Hawaii cruise on the Pride of America. If one didn't know anything, you'd think that there was nothing wrong about this email. But you'd be wrong. Can you guess what I'm talking about from the above sample?
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My girlfriend (RQS) and I do a lot of internet surfing for information pertaining to the cruise industry, searching for affordable fares and destinations. My Hawaii cruise is not one of these cruises. I booked the cruise long before we got serious with each other, the source of much of my information about the cruisetour being MWL. She noted that there was no casino on this ship, as it is American flagged, sailing solely in Hawaiian waters. So, I found it strange that NCL would send out a generic notice from their "Casinos at Sea" department, when there is no casino on that ship to enjoy when at sea.
Luckily, it is a reminder for people to start booking their specialty dining and their shore excursions before getting on the ship. For most people, this is the first opportunity to do pre-cruise booking. For people with a high enough loyalty status, they could start booking things 4 months before the cruise. In my case, I made Platinum status on my first Canada/New England cruise, and couldn't start booking things for Hawaii until the day after I got back from the cruise - and many of the pre-cruise reservations were no longer available for booking. (At least, I should be able to get this fixed once I am on the ship. But that's another story for another day.)
Given that I don't like making too many "donations" to any ship casino, I won't miss the "action" on my Hawaii cruise, nor will I miss passing by a de-facto smoking area. This is likely to be one of the more expensive cruises I will ever take, and I hope that it is also one of the more enjoyable cruises I will ever take as well.
