Okmyx

If you eat different specialty restaurants 5 out of 7 nights, including Cagney's, you would save money if you DON'T buy the UDP.

This assumes you don't include the cost of the show, which is included the first night on several ships with UDP.

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Looking at the prices today for the supposed "Dash Sale" - I must say that the sale was actually over the weekend. Prices were less on Friday and Saturday. And I checked with a TA before booking directly with NCL and the TA told me her prices would be the same...

I checked each day over the last few days and there was no change at all on the cruise I bought. At my TA I saw a few dollar change, but it is still higher than when I bought last month. YMMV.

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It's funny you say that about the seat booking as it's just the opposite here! For my upcoming flight to the states , we're going out on AA and back on BA. We've booked the seats outbound on AA for free. BA are charging €40 each to book a seat now. It will only be free at 24 hours before departure. Same for our flights later in the year to Rome on BA, a charge to book seats. We always fly cheapest economy though and aren't any special frequent flyer levels as we use so many different airlines (9 this year I think!)

 

 

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Yeah, the earlier post about reserving seats doesn't make sense to me, either. BA charges for reserving a seat, even in business class, and only permits reservations without fee 24 hours in advance of flight. AA has always permitted seat reservations as soon as ticket is purchased. Perhaps NCL has a better deal with BA that includes seat reservations - if so, it would be one reason to consider buying via them.

Advance seat reservations on BA is just another post purchase fee that is often not included in total cost, similar to baggage fees (tho most carriers still include at least one bag for transatlantic flights).

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I wouldn't plan on it. I travel with a small bluetooth speaker which I use connected to my iPhone or iPad, and which works quite well (and better than many of the docks I've used at hotels).

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If you get on one of AA's newer planes, you'll have a fine time, seatback entertainment and all that you'd expect. They are updating most of their planes, I believe.

 

The 767-300 (sometimes called 763) is one to avoid.

 

All the 777s have on demand entertainment.

 

Do use seatguru.com as another person mentioned so you know which seats are good, and if you just hover over the seats you'll see if they have tvs or not.

 

I don't like BA and would only choose them over AA if the AA option was a 767 - trans Atlantic flights without seat back tv is just too miserable for me.

 

I should clarify that I'm only talking about economy here - no experience on AA or BA with business, alas. I travel to the US at least once a year since the late 90s, and I must admit that the only flights I've taken in all that time without seatback entertainment have been those awful AA 767s and Air India, back when I used to get a flight London-Chicago for $300 return... Ah, memories!

The AA 767-300s are some of the planes undergoing retrofit. More info:

http://www.aa.com/i18n/amrcorp/newsroom/fp_invest_intl_widebody_fleet.jsp

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It's very difficult to compare domestic flights to international since most use different planes for those routes.

FWIW, AA is currently renovating many of their international planes and I expect they will be nicer. Just be sure to review which plane you'll be on and you can determine, with some certainty, if it will be a recently updated plane or not.

As for BA, I flew them once in coach and won't jump at the chance to do so again. Business, on the other hand, I understand is excellent.

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There is a brand new airline "Norwegian Air" flying from London (Gatwick) to Ft Lauderdale... They are not connected with NCL... They are flying brand new Boeing dreamliners... The fares are a bargain around $300 US each way.

 

Just for your information.

 

TTFN

 

David

Yes, but...be aware the advertised economy fares do not include food or baggage, etc. This is a budget airline so expect additional costs. I agree that it should be an option with the 787s, tho I would suggest anyone considering this airline read reviews.

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When I was looking at prices for the Transatlantic back in April it was virtually the same price for a single occupancy balcony as for a studio - I chose the balcony!

Did you book recently?

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Nice to see a detailed review! Have a great rest of your trip.

Several NCL last minute Alaska cruises have no solo surcharge, with obstructed windows for as low as $259+fees (same price as interior) and balconies starting at $389. I wish I could squeeze that in, but airfare for me hurts the deal (air alone is ~$440 after bag fees for one), though for ~$1000 all in its tempting. Not all itineraries have these rates, but at least several of the north or south routes do (not the roundtrip Seattle or Vancouver cruises).

The second part of your answer is all I needed or wanted. That's all I will say to that. Thanks.

Perhaps I should just quote you and say "ha ha".

Sorry if I offended you, though in my experience whenever I hear someone say they don't want to know how things work yet will be upset if it doesn't work as they want it's usually best to help them understand it all. If that's not you, so be it. Just please don't complain to Verizon if you neglect to disable the cell connection because you don't know how to turn it off... ;)

Also, when I travel internationally I usually put my phone on airplane mode and then enable wifi. That's been the best for me to guarantee that the cell connection is off at all times, while still permitting use of wifi networks. Depending on which phone you have, this may also be the easiest for you, too.

But don't understand how it works. And don't really want to, ha ha. Just want assurance that if I were to use this plan my verizon bill would NOT reflect the fact I was online for a week out in the middle of the ocean.

 

 

 

Can anyone who understands these things assure me of that?

These are contradictory goals. If you want to be assured, then you need to learn how it works. It's not difficult.

Basic rule: if wifi is on and cell is off, you're fine.

But the beds were truly *flat*?

Many planes still have the old style business class seats that are angled. All newer business class have fully flat seats and many (for instance, American Air) are updating their planes with new seats. It will depend on your carrier and which exact plane they use on the flight.

When I book business overseas I always verify which plane will service the route on the day of flight so that I mitigate the chance that I will have an angled seat. However, while the fully flat seats are the best, there are some exceptions. I was on Alitalia Rome-LAX a couple years ago and the angled old school business class seat was one of the most comfortable seats I've had in years...it's wider than many of the new business class flat seats, and was just great.

And, there are other factors to consider when choosing an airline for business class. To my surprise, Delta and Alitalia had the best food options when I flew business and Air France and others were...not good. Same with service.

Does anyone know where you can store your luggage while in Vancouver? Our flight does not leave until 10:30 at night on September 1 and we disembark that morning. You can only check in 4 hours before your flight.

 

Any suggestions!!! Help

If at Canada Place, they do offer a bag check. I used it a few months ago for a similar length of time and it worked well and not expensive. It's on the same level as the cruise departures close to the exit toward the parking (and taxi line).

Also, I believe the bag check closes at 5 or 6pm.

When I was at Cagney's (twice) I thought the steaks were okay but not outstanding. I don't really care what they call them as long as they are of good-to-excellent quality. What I received was equivalent to Outback. I'm not a meat expert by any means, but I'm a fairly good consumer...and I know what's good and what's not. This isn't to say I won't return to Cagney's - I thought the sliders were excellent and a few other items. But, the emphasis on the menu and in person on how exceptional the steaks are (the hostess and the waitress went on and on regarding how great the quality of the meat was...perhaps true when compared to the buffet but not when compared to a true steakhouse).

The speciality restaurants, specifically Cagney's and Le Bistro, really shine in regards to the ambience...not the food quality.

I'm on a cruise next year with NCL and have decided to buy the UDP again since it's just over $16 per day person and at that cost I'm perfectly comfortable with the quality of the food and my expectations are set appropriately. I admit that I was quite disappointed with the quality during my earlier cruise because I believed the reports that the food was excellent, and thought that NCL would provide a very good product similar to a steakhouse chain...but I was wrong. So, in my opinion it's worth $16 but not much more, especially considering that there is some $ allocation for the same dinner in my cruise fare.

I envy all of you on the east coast for the short flights to Europe. I've traveled a number of times to Europe from the west coast and the most sleep I can get is about an hour, if that. Even in business class I'm simply uncomfortable, though it's a lot better than coach (and I try to fly business these days...I've collected quite a lot of miles to use for this).

When possible, I also try to spend a day or two on the east coast before continuing to Europe, but I often can't take the time to do so. Last time I flew coach to Europe I changed planes in New York and the locals who boarded were wide awake and talking loudly all around us the entire flight while those of us who already had a long day simply wanted to try to sleep...I am now more conscientious of the flight times to try to avoid a similar experience (or fly business!).

As for the rest...yes to iPad, books, movies, games, rest, some food but not a lot (I usually bring some trader joes almonds packets), lots of water, absolutely no alcohol or drugs, walking regularly, repeat...

Have they released details about this new program yet? What I've read is simple PR on a new program but devoid of specifics. Am I missing something, or is this what should be available on the 4th?

I doubt I'll be interested, but I think this is a very smart direction for NCL to take, assuming it's priced right.

ETA: just found the details on the $899 program. Hmm...

Depending on the day of week you arrive, you may need to allocate significant time to get to Universal Studios, and then some for parking and walking from the lot to the entrance (might be best to hire a car and driver instead of taking the time to rent, though not sure what you're doing with luggage...). I suggest leaving at 8am and hope for the best - you'll likely get there a bit early, but not by much. If you on arrive on a weekend you shouldn't have any problems getting there in time.

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I have no qualms paying $12 per day per person as a tip. I'm glad NCL is making it easy for me to provide this tip. I also tip about $5 per day to the room attendant and I've tipped a little extra to the specialty restaurants for those that made it a more enjoyable experience. Based as a percentage of my total cruise fare, I think it's very reasonable. For perspective, I'm a 20% tipper at restaurants (unless I receive subpar assistance) and so have no issues with tipping on a cruise. If anything, I'd probably increase the tip and I very much appreciate good service and by and large NCL did provide good to excellent service on my last cruise. The question of cruise staff salary is separate. In the end, I agree with others who said that it doesn't matter how they get paid as long as they get paid and if the cruise industry is able to sell more cabins by artificially showing a lower rate by excluding tips then so be it. To the customer, this is no different than airlines not including bag costs (assuming you check a bag) or resorts that charge a daily resort fee, etc.

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Having been on three tours of the kitchens as part of the Chef's Table' date=' I can tell you that meat on NCL is received frozen. All of the fruits and vegetables are received fresh. Everything is made from scratch except white bread used for toast and croissants. They even make their own salad dressings.

 

 

 

The thawing process for the meats really impressed me. They have special refrigerators to thaw the meat that take the temp up slowly and is monitored (with the checklist hanging right there for us to see) every 30 minutes or so and kept for 90 days for the inspectors that board the ship unannounced from time to time. I love those tours and have learned more each time I have been on one. [/size']

Thanks for the insight.

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In the US at least when you book a hotel room the room cleaner who normally only does your room once a day and probably has twice the number of rooms that the stewards do on the ship is paid at least the non-tipped US minimum wage and overtime. If you are at a resort that includes some meals most(not all) have a resort fee or a service charge added(and its almost always more then $12 a day). The ones I use charge 15% at least on the entire charge...so its $50+ per day for the room and meals..and they don't tell you were it goes either. and BTW even when its just a room I tip the maids anyway.

 

see for example only

http://www.ranchodeloscaballeros.com/?WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=PPC2P&DCSext.ppc_kw=rancho+de+los+caballeros&ppc_ac=Brand&ppc_ag=Brand+Broad&ppc_mt=Broad&platform=c

Resort fees are not tips, and the money does not go to the staff.

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Why not stuff you face with three, maybe four meals. Whilst at it why not ask for a few buckets full of cola to wash it down with to maximise the value of the soft drinks package too. Pure gluttony.

This is a great example of when it's appropriate to preview our comments before posting.

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Sorry to break it to you, but not everybody that books a balcony smokes. I welcome this ban with open arms, and blissfully welcome my nonsmoking neighbors next to me, all around me.

 

 

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+1

I enjoyed my balcony earlier this year and I don't smoke.

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Plenty of people have reported eating at more than one restaurant in one night. I think NCL is extremely clear with the rules, even which restaurants incur an additional charge for an additional entree. If it's not written as being prohibited, why would you consider that it might be?

Well, I'd rather be sure about the policy than assume otherwise. I'm glad others report that it is permitted. If accurate, I think this is great and if would encourage me to purchase it for my next cruise. I bought it last time and of all the meals we thought the sliders at Cagney's were the best starter, and I'd be happy going there every couple of days or so for those just to start the evening, or perhaps as a small bite during their last seating time. The ability to go to more than one restaurant in an evening certainly opens up the schedule options a bit (though it may not help the eventual gym visits...).

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To answer your general question: no limit on restaurants per night OR per trip.

Really? The way it was presented to me was that it was for a single meal per night. Do you have a link to an NCL statement about this? The only one I found is http://www.ncl.com/udp/FAQ where it doesn't specifically state that it may only be used once per night, so I could see them inferring that restriction.

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