LAFFNVEGAS

I think I would have checked if we could get into the Pinnacle 😄

Sorry this is totally NOT correct, some agencies might split the cost while others if agent is 100% paid by commission it comes from their commission. The only time the agency is covering it all is when they have a group and that is actually coming from the cruise line.

I have been in the consumer finance industry for well over 40 years, in the late 80's early 90's Barclays tried to be part of the credit card industry and failed. But they wanted to stay with it so in the mid 90's they were one of the first to start issuing credit cards with extremely high interest and high fees to those with marginal credit. They took off, they issued lots of card to those with less than perfect credit and those who had no credit. There whole outlook in treating customers changed. Those in the banking and finance industry basically looked down to those with the Barclays card. But Barclay's was making money from the high interest rates and numerous fees they charged, by around 2002 to 2003 they were starting to suffer with charge off from this client base and their fees could not outrun the loss so they needed to expand their portfolio of better quality credit which was when they started to go to corporations such as Holland America and Princess to offer a Co Branded card. Twenty years later Barclays now mostly has co branded cards with many corporations but they still charge a higher rate of interest, have high fees and their customer service and mentality is the same as they are treating their 2nd chance customer that continues delinquency patterns. There are many companies that have left them for this reason. Apple used them as their co-branded card but left Barclays in 2020 unfortunately Goldman Sachs is not working out for them. Unknown where Apple will turn to with GS pulling out (rumor it could be Chase). Other cruise lines such as Norwegian use Bank of America, B of A is on the strict side with credit and credit scoring so some NCL passengers complain about not getting approved. I do have their card and quite easy to use for my earned credit with no hassle. For my HAL cruises I use my Capital One Venture X unless I am trying to build miles on my Citi American Airlines card. Barclays unfortunately is not a good bank /card issuer for Holland America but it has been close to 20 years they have been using them.I do strongly feel HAL would be better to cut ties with Barclays.

We have been in NCL Suites 13 times now starting back to 2009 the last 7 have been in "The Haven" I have to say that I frankly am getting really tired and bored with the evening Haven Dining. Menu really has not changed in years. Don't get me wrong I absolutely LOVE breakfast, and lunch is pretty good but we found the evening meals to not be good and quality low. I know the reason for this is they want us out and about dining in the specialty restaurants and we do. With the Free at Sea 7 day cruise you get two, then being Sapphire we get another two and we actually paid ala carte for one night in Q. But after dining our first night in Haven to not have a great meal we actually went to Manhattan Dining Room one night and it was amazing. Oddly we found the quality excellent and maybe even a bit better than Haven at night. I think our upcoming cruises we will be going to Manhattan a few more times.

I have not read all 246 pages here but wanted to tell you about a recent experience with B of A NCL Mastercard. On the third of April I decided to apply on like for the card, in all the years the card has been out I figured I already had the Capital One VentureX and two America Airlines one is the Executive card that gets me into the Lounges and the other gets be 2X points at restaurants. I did not feel I needed any other cards but we planned to purchase at least 6 Cruise Next and book two new NCL cruises as well as I have a Bliss cruise in November to pay off so figured I may be work having for the extra points. I was approved instantly for a large limit matching my AA Executive card and CapOne. It appeared I should get the card in time to change the card I already registered which was Cap One. We were sailing on the Joy April 14th but flying to NYC on the 13th early in the morning. On Friday before when it had been 9 days and no card I called B of A to see if they could give me the full card number and exp. after numerous security questions which I expected (we were already bank customers with our auto loan with them) they gave me all the info and said NCL should be able to change it. Well unfortunately that was wrong, we were staying in the Haven and the Concierge attempted to try to change the number and could not, he even called the Finance office and they claimed they could only change with having the card. My next thought was to go to the CruiseNext Desk, we all know how they want to Sell Sell Sell those 😁This was embarkation night so the desk was not yet busy. I spoke with Rob and explained what we wanted to do, he made a phone call and basically got the same answer as the Concierge gave. He then said all is not lost if that card I applied for was under my name, how about my husband applies for the card on board.....yes if you apply for the card on board they get authorization to place all your charges from the cruise on this new card. We both agreed that is crazy because there is no card but they allow them to do that. So on his ipad we applied for my husband and he was approved instantly not quite as high a limit but it will easy pay for a Haven Suite lol This too will get the 20k bonus points and since we would be charging more than $1000 with the Cruise Next he would meet the $1000 requirement for the bonus points. So all ended well with getting more points over all than planned. BTW, my card arrived on Monday after we left and we arrived home from the Joy last Sunday and husband's card arrived on Monday. All our on board charges were on his new card which I paid off right away and used my card to pay $1500 against our November cruise and that is now paid off. I know the best value is for upgrades but we will either book Club Suites or Haven. I will use the points to pay off NCL charges that come through. With 3 cruises to pay for that will add up. Also if you are interested in booking on board, they book you in the lowest category meta you are wanting for us we are paying the price of an MC and moved to MA for our January TA cruise plus they gave us extra ship board credit for that cruise. So moral of this long story is if you are thinking applying for the card and you are within 2 weeks wait till you get on board and if you want extra points have your spouse apply 😉

Hi Jacqui, I just now today had the chance to get caught up on your thread. Love your pictures and food porn pics.

We just disembarked on Sunday and had wonderful time. Enjoy you cruise!!

I only wish with the changes they would add Onda to Bliss like Encore has but since they did not do that with Joy doubt they will for Bliss. I would have preferred to do the Encore TA return but I booked almost 2 years ago for a 2 bedroom Haven(a good friend is joining my husband and I) to go on the Bliss in November and the price is just too good to cancel so I booked the Bliss TA return to Miami for February. This way it spreads my cruising out about every 3 months. Plus the flight cost to London are cheaper in late January compared to flying in December. What is interesting is the Dry Dock time is about the same as Joy but they did a lot more with Joy with expanding and totally remodeling the Spa.

I suspect that is what will be happening to Bliss when she goes into Dry Dock in January 2025. I cannot find any information on what exactly they are doing but a few crew from the Joy I spoke with this past week said they thought that was what they were doing to Bliss. She leaves out of Miami on January 4th for 13 days to Southampton and does not return till Feb 2, 2025 for a 13 day cruising that leave 17 days between when she arrives and when she leaves. I am booked on the return and have booked air so hope all goes as planned.

Thanks Jacqui, we are already enjoying lunch on board in The Haven Restaurant

Wishing Everyone a Very Special Voyage!!!🥰

Thanks so much for the Bon Voyages from all of you 🥰 We are here at the Marriott Marquis that is located at Time Square. Our first time to the Big Apple although I was actually here 50 years ago for a college trip but that was a life time ago 😂 I have to admit with all the travels we have done NYC is very different for us. Almost a bit intimidating and that says a lot since we live in touristy Las Vegas. We do hope to do this cruise again and next time stay in NYC a bit longer and take in a show. This hotel is amazing, we are impressed with the hotel room that I booked through NCL I have decided not to do a Live From, the NCL Board is not like this HAL Board. Everyone is family here. While we may roam to another cruise line we are always at home here. That says so much for everyone here. I know some of you are friends on FB and I will be reporting there and doing my What’s for dinner on NCL. You can find me there. We have been cruising a lot this is number 5 since last September on the Westerdam. Although we are returning to the Westerdam in August 😁 We are enjoying breakfast , while the buffet is expensive but it’s NY it’s actually really good with amazing bagels 😋

I honestly do not believe this is correct unless your Travel Agent has a negotiated special rate that is extremely low or high $ SBC, I know of several instances of Travel Agent SBC from group pricing and personal gift from Travel Agent where the AARP credit was added with no problems. I have found that adding AARP credit takes a lot more persistence. The Over Seas Call Centers people tend to give NO quickly and not willing to try to add it, mostly due to they cannot and they must call into a supervisor. I have found that they do not like doing that and may even just hang up on you if it is something they cannot handle. Basically to get the AARP credit added it takes in most cases several phone calls and reaching someone that is willing to call their "Lead" supervisor to get it added. The Travel Agent must be willing to not take NO for an answer and must be persistence in telling the agent that you have already sent in everything needed to qualify. Saying you have not sent in required proof is the next thing they give an excuse for after saying it is not combinable.

Sorry I should have posted this earlier. I just realized they had a great web camera for PTZtv in Bermuda, we will be there Wednesday through Friday next week and wanted to see where it showed the ships.