mertziek

Then there is the possibility the bag fell off the ship into the water as they were unloading bags. We saw that happen at a port where 5-7 bags went in the water. The crew did not seem too upset about it and we did not see them fish the bags out while we were watching.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you for the hotel suggestion. It sounds like San Antonio might be like why we stay in Rome and not Civitavecchia when we leave from there. More happening in Rome.

We have a cruise out of San Antonio, Chile next March but fly into Santiago. We want to go a couple of days early to do some local touring before embarking on our cruise and it looks like tours from Santiago are easier/better to book and then arrange a transfer on cruise embarkation day to the Cruiseport rather than staying in San Antonio. Any suggestions on 5* hotels in Santiago? Or do you suggest staying in San Antonio? We are looking for a good hotel location for local site seeing as well as day touring out of Santiago or San Antonio. Thank you in advance.

Since we are particular about the cabin we book and usually see those cabins booked early, we like to book as soon as we find a cruise we want to do. We’ve booked 2 years ahead several times. My husband always says he hopes we are still alive then. 😳😳😳

Ummm….BirdTravels you are wrong. Yes, we did book a Viva suite with a hot tub because of the hot tub although we preferred another much less expensive Owners’ Suite set up. Had we known in advance that there were issues with the hot tubs impacting ability to use it whenever we wanted without having to get our room steward involved, we would have changed our suite to another much less expensive suite by $1,000’s with a better interior room layout. The paltry OBC given was significantly less than the extra we paid for the hot tub suite. Also we sailed Prima before the problem occurred and were able to control our hot tub temperature plus use it without a thought given to get staff involved. The Viva hot tubs were different - as far as we were able to determine - with no ability to control the temps and keep the heat on even when not being used. That being said - we made a point of not letting it ruin our cruise but it left a sour taste because we felt duped by NCL.

I’ve looked online and searched here but didn’t find an answer. Can you explain the difference between the OS and OE designated tours? Are there restrictions who can book them? TIA

No. Safari

No not on VPN but back home recently back from a European/TA cruise so my iPad is confused with foreign sites. Clearing cache did not help but I looked at the web address and see where if I change it to just NCL.com it corrects the problem. I could not find a place to click on the currency icon but I often find my iPad is wonky that way. Thanks for suggestions/help.

Tried to do a search to see if this was asked before no results. So my NCL account is showing me pricing in euros. Is there a way to change it to US$’s? I’ve cleared my cache and still in euros. TIA

Tipping is very personal. You decide what you can afford. Also, we save our tips to the end of the cruise for our butler, steward and concierge. Some tip them as they use them. Many use the $10 pp per day rule for the butler and adjust up or down based on service. Room stewards’ tips based on service. We often tip them the same as the butler despite being part of the DSC since they do the most to keep our room tidy and clean with the concierge getting about half as much. We tip bartenders as we are served and same for waitstaff in restaurants - Haven, included restaurants and specialty ones. Haven Head maitre D’ at the end of the cruise and amount less than our butler. Around the ship, we tip as drinks are served or for dining service at the time. Again, you tip what best fits your service and your custom.

Same here. We did not like the TA on Prima for several reasons (we still had a great cruise though) but we are going with you on Viva mainly to join friends. Agree - never say never!

Same with me. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Did that and still not getting on the site.

Doing b2b round trip in Sept 2024 Boston to New England and Canada. Doing b2b round trip in July 2025 NYC to Reykjavik hoping to get to Greenland on one of the cruises since I missed it in July 2022. ☹️ We are booked to keep our same cabin for both b2b cruises which is a big plus for us! And no international airfare which is crazy expensive these days!!!

Yup, that’s why you have to decide when you want to ask for the FCC. If you wait too long, your cabin category could be sold out and then you won’t qualify for the FCC but if you request it too early, the price could further drop and you won’t qualify for another price drop FCC. Personally I’m happy if I get any FCC even if the cruise price further drops.

We are ones who cruise mainly first for our cabin and second for itinerary so we book early. I have 3 cruises already booked for 2025 and 3 for 2024 all in the cabins we prefer. If pricing drops before final payment, we have our TA reprice our cruise so it’s a win-win for us. And if pricing drops after final payment, I’ll request a one-time FCC but recognize I may not qualify for it. When we book we have already decided we are willing to pay the listed price so if we get an FCC for a price drop it’s icing on the cake for us. YMMV

Never hurts to pack your ear plugs!

I’ve been to Iceland on both the Star in late July and Prima in September. Our stops in Greenland on the Star last year were canceled due to weather. The Prima has a lot of outdoor spaces which are better suited to warm weather ports but we always found quiet places. Plus Prima is a newer ship. The Star is older and smaller so should be able to get into Isafjordur despite delays in dredging although they should be done with that for next year. We found quiet spaces and not a crowded feel to the ship. The Prima allows purchase of movies in your room unless in the Haven where they are included. The Star has channels showing different movies but not a lot of variety. I’d load movies on your iPad or laptop and bring those along to watch in your room even if on Prima. The selection is limited. Either ship was enjoyable. The biggest difference is the newness of Prima. And definitely get a balcony. The scenery is spectacular in Iceland. This is one cruise where we sail for the itinerary not the ship/cabin.

They are very picky about applying that 20% FCC to a European cruise. If your cruise is not listed as a European cruise on their menu but an Asian one, then the 20% can’t be applied. I tried to apply mine to a TA cruise starting in Europe with 3 European ports but they would not allow that since it’s technically listed as a transatlantic cruise. I even appealed to Katty Byrd and was denied.

I’d do a 2 day deviation so you have at least one entire day to see Seattle.

No the person complaining said that they were annoyed and never sailing NCL again. We were not on the Escape. But even if we had been, we find NCL to be a good fit for us and would sail with them again.

Annoyed at NCL. Never going to use them again.

Oh yes they have been on another social media site and a bit unrealistic about their complaints.