Originally Posted by
Ph1l1pncl
...It would have views over the Apron so would be a good location for a Lounge, better than Aspire and the BA Lounge...
A few observations here, from someone who frequents numerous business lounges, then to be honest when travelling through NCL I tend to attempt to spend as little time between arrival & flight departure to the extent that I avoid the Aspire lounge "like the plague".
At times It's frankly "horrid" & early mornings is often full of drunk noisy Geordies off on one of the many bucket & spade IT's, who have gained access through tour company promotion / bank concession on premium accounts/ or simply subscribe to "priority pass". The vast majority see it as simply a cheap way of getting totally inebriated & can't pass up the opportunity of something for nothing / greed.
There are many instances where it is necessary for staff to restrict access even to those who may otherwise qualify for entrance,
To add to this it's pretty dingy and the choice of food is basic & predictable & in reality better quality food is available on the public concourse "for a price", but often it's a price worth paying.
Now they also have an Aspire Plus section which is available to ticketed "business class" passengers though it's actually no better, being less busy (predictably!), then it may offer a bit more peace & quiet, but little else, about 30% natural light vs. zero natural light in Aspire & this is only from pier,then only obstructed & limited (i.e. useless) views. The food is shared as are other facilities, so really little more than a semi quiet annex.
I don't fly BA out of NCL these days but used to and as such can't comment on their current offering, but suffice to say that it was completley the opposite of the Aspire Lounge & as well as being upstairs with 100% daylight & full view of the apron, it was civilised being populated with pax who knew how to behave, also offering a "slightly" improved buffet food.
As such it is obvious to me that BA will never allow themselves to become involved with a load of bucket & spade Geordies & IF new lounges are the order of the day, will ensure that they maintain the exclusivity necessary to address bad behaviour.
One final & positive observation, I was recently in an AA business lounge at MIA, & they had an excellent system to control excessive /binge drinking. They did this by administering free alcohol purchase vouchers (usually 2) to all (over 21) persons who were admitted to the lounge. More vouchers were readily available as & when guests required them, but they had to ask & if necessary could be controlled. What it controlled was the "group drinking" mentality when habitually one member of a group wanders to the bar with large group orders feeding an ever more intoxicated bunch. This is IMHO something that ought to be introduced at Aspire, but then ....