theriac

My favorite was last year in Kusadasi where we went to Ephesus, House of the Virgin Mary, Sirince, Temple of Artemis(what's left anyway), and The Terrace house in Ephesus. This day had people in our small group worried as Turkey had been canceled for most ships last year, but Celebrity still brought us in late November. They people were so warm and friendly. It was by far the best port day I've ever had.

A close second was a few month ago in Helsinki. We went to this old little town called Porvoo and had a wonderful day seeing the sights of this beautiful, and very cold region.

On the magic a few weeks ago and the mid-tier internet plan allowed us to call on FaceTime audio or with Snapchat, but we couldn't we what's app. It was spotty during seadays but in port or at night it worked really well.

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I was on the Magic a week before you. I'm curious if you noticed a lot of flies around the ship?

I was on the week after you, and I'm curious did you notice a lot of flies in the buffet area?

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Agreed, I'm leaving on the Magic in 2 days and then again the glory on 12/23. It is fantastic the deals they have right now. I paid the upcharge for balcony but still too good to pass up.

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Log in to carnival.com go to manage and vifp club. There will be a tab that says "offers". Click that and you will see what you qualify for.

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if someone doesn't have one of the pages with a face as a book, how would they find out the movie info?

Does anyone know if Discord works on the social media plan? It's a chatting app but haven't seen it mentioned before.

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I wouldn't worry about how many drinks I can have to make it worth it, but rather embrace the fact that I know I don't have to worry about any surprises when the cruise ends with my bill. You said it yourself you prefer getting bottled water, and the premium coffees so those to me are what make the program so attractive.

How did you contact Daniel? I can only find a way through social media which I do not have a book with my face. Is there any other way to contact them?

I got one of these to Alaska in 2015. It was $50 per person plus port fees/taxes but then they gave us each $50 OBC. I had to fly from Tampa to Seattle but I couldn't not go on a cruise at that price.

I also just had a similar deal you're describing and booked the Magic thanksgiving week in a Balcony for not much more than you were quoted. These deals definitely exist.

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Are these ALWAYS the result of previous high Casino "donations", or are they just random???

Now finding a dog sitter last minute is going to be difficult over the holiday.

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I'm looking up on all the major online TAs I know of and can't find these deals at all which is unfortunate because I would book immediately.

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Does O'sheehans still have the ribs? I saw a recent menu and didn't see them listed but they are listed on the NCL site.

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reviews seem to be taking longer than usual to post. i posted mine for the Jewel sailing on the 2nd and it isnt up yet. most recent reviews are from 4 weeks ago. CC must be behind.

 

i agree with PPs. celebrity may give you free specialty coffee, but your cruise fare is also a lot higher. id rather sail NCL and pay less since i dont drink specialty coffee and dont need bottled water. i also prefer the age demographic and activities on board NCL to the older crowd that the luxury lines attract. yes,t eh pools are small, but there are plenty of chairs. most people just want to be 2 feet from the pool. if you go up a deck, plenty of seating.

I don't agree with that statement at all that Celebrity is a lot higher in price. I'm currently looking at cruises to Asia and NCL is thousands more for a similar itinerary and an inferior drink package.

Last year I did a cruise to Israel and Turkey on Celebrity which was $899 for a 12 night cruise in a Concierge Class cabin that included pre paid gratuities and a drink package. The 11 night on NCL at the same time was $1500 per person standard balcony, didn't include Turkey, and if I selected the drink package I would have had to pay that additional gratuity and not gotten specialty coffee or bottled water included.

I know there is evidence to show the other way too, but all in all the major cruise lines are all pretty similar in pricing when all is said and done.

I get your buyer beware theory but I really feel like they are misleading their own customers with the way it is presented. They make it seem like you were lucky enough to be allowed to bid when you could just go and upgrade without the "special" bidding procedure. I get that it is ultimately the responsibility of the customer but It really is misleading and I feel a bit underhanded on their part. I fortunately did my homework on the pricing but I bet many people trust NCL when they are told that they are getting a special deal.

I get the presentation may seem misleading, but for all I know in my experience I would have gotten the minisuite with the large balcony had I bid the minimum $50 per person. I chose not to take the gamble and go with the known. Would it still be misleading then since the minisuite with a large balcony was $250 more per person to directly book? Of course not since you're bidding on anything in that category.

If those people choose not to call and ask questions or do a price comparison, it is on them. They chose to make an offer they were comfortable with.

Would you feel misled if the offer was hundreds cheaper and the bid got accepted 2 weeks later only to find the price of the cruise dropped a week later? Most likely not. You may be upset you over paid, but in no way would it be misleading and I'd be willing to bet you'd think you came out in top at first.

Moral of the story is people need to do their homework, and if you're comfortable with the price to upgrade, do it, hope you win, and forget about checking on the cost of the cruise cause it will most likely make you resentful when it inevitably drops in price.

Edit- Sorry for any typos or grammatical mistakes. It's late and I'm on mobile with fat fingers.

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It almost seems as they have found an upgrade price point that they just stick with. The prices have now gone up a lot since I upgraded but the bid prices have all stayed the same.

I didn't take it as NCL trying to cheat me in anyway. If someone bids more than the room is valued at good for NCL. Everything is worth what someone is willing to pay for it so if they can get higher than the asking price I don't see any problem. Like with everything people should do research and pay what they are comfortable with.

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What cruise lines do you usually sail that give you free Starbucks, specialty cupcakes, and "glow cups"? I'm on a RC cruise right now and I assure you they charge for all of that. They also have people hounding you when you're trying to eat in the buffet or relax elsewhere on the ship to buy dining packages, something that doesn't happen on NCL.

 

As for paying for shows on NCL, that's only shows that include a specialty meal.

 

If you're just annoyed that the cruise was interrupted by weather, that's no one's fault.

Celebrity includes specialty coffees from Cafe Al Bacio if you select the drink package as a perk, and the pastries(muffins, cookies, cakes, donuts) from there are included for everyone so they could be referring to a "Starbucks" type place. I've never seen any special glow cups on any cruise so I don't know what that means though.

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I had a similar situation about a month ago. I'm booked in a balcony on the breakaway and got the upgrade list. The minimum to bid to upgrade to a minisuite was $50 per person. I looked to see if that was a good price and sure enough I could just call NCL and upgrade for $25 per person and get to pick the cabin I wanted. Naturally I just called them to upgrade and when I mentioned it to the agent they said it happens from time to time and I was lucky I caught that.

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I had booked the train but after getting pick pocketed on a city bus in just threw the train tickets out as I heard it can happen there as well. So when ingot to my hotel i booked Rome Shuttle Limo, who did my airport to Rome transfer, and was very satisfied with the quick reply. I believe it was 100 euro for the two of us and they got us from our hotel on time and to the port quickly. My father's boss also used RSL and had great results.

10/10 would use again!

whatever will bewilder me

Is this for all embarkation ports? I leave from Copenhagen in a month and haven't seen anything on NCLs site about picking a check in time. Forgive me if this is common knowledge but I usually sail with Celebrity so just figuring out the little details still.

whatever will bewilder me

I decided to stay at the AC Bella Sky as it looks like a great hotel, is not too expensive and is just a quick ride into town. Also they had a deal if you book with a Visa card breakfast was included.

whatever will bewilder me

Thanks so much for the review, great information and it makes me even more excited for my cruise on the getaway in a little over a month.

whatever will bewilder me

I'm going to be on the Getaway in about a month and have chosen to do the Berlin tour. With SPB Tours it's $105 per person including the transfer and 6 hour tour. Going so far from the port made this option very attractive and doesn't seem to cost much more than taking the train into Berlin. It also eliminates (most of)the stress of getting lost in Berlin on this short visit. We too will be docked on a Sunday(October 8th) if that matters.

whatever will bewilder me

I would love I if they offered a premium non alcohol drink package like RC or X. I have actually emailed multiple times inquiring why it's not available.

I'm looking forward to my upcoming cruise on the getaway, but so far with what's offered I seem unimpressed.

whatever will bewilder me