schmoopie17

If all else fails, order a Spanky or Alfalfa.

Not sure what kinds of "extra benefits" you would expect. Maybe a friend with benefits? A 401K plan, a pension, extra weeks of vacation, good health insurance? Seriously, though...not sure what you're looking for. The good thing is deposits are refundable until final payment so if you don't get the benefits you want, you can always cancel.

So...if I restrain myself from commenting, will I get sent to the naughty room?

I recently saw a post (name withheld to protect the guilty) where he/she (again, being ambiguous) said that he/she did not have the drink package but made friends with someone who had the package *wink/wink* I saw nobody reprimand/scold/berate that person for stealing or violating the rules. But apparently this router subject is so egregious that the holier-than-thou police are all over it. There's an old saying, "Pick your battles". This battle is not a hill worth dying on. I say "Bravo" to those smart enough and tech-savvy enough to find a workaround, without "stealing" anything from anybody.

That's what we're doing for our December Miami cruise. It's a two-hour trip hitting the tourist sights. I went to college in Miami so I've seen it all, but at least it kills a couple of hours and gets us to the airport.

Waiting for one of our UK friends to stop by to give us their definition of football...😁

It's not listed as an option on our December cruise. However, we arrive at 12:00, so maybe that's why...

You know what they say, "When in Rome..." I don't have anything further to say, but based on your pictures, it's obvious you found lots to do. CIAO!

NCL often runs promos where you can use more than one Cruise Next certificate at a time.

Looks like they're monitoring CC. They're refunding the French VAT on your cruise.

I always enjoy "dinning" on cruises. What about "Norwegian.Epic"? At least he used "your" and "you're" correctly.

Excuse me for the finger failure on the spelling of principle, "Capitan". I happen to know the difference between principal and principle. I also happen to know the difference between a charge that was not charged at the time of booking and is suddenly being charged as of September 25th. So...we're supposed to budget for an unknown/unforeseeable charge? Are we psychic? Should we also budget an extra amount for the inevitable eruption of Vesuvius when we're in Naples? If so, how much do you suggest we budget?

Maybe it's my imagination, but didn't you ask the same question yesterday? EDIT: Yes you did...but I see the admin moved it to "Ask a Cruise Question". Be prepared for it to be moved again.

No problems on my end. Of course, I logged in a couple days ago and never logged out, so maybe that explains it.

In honor of the Cavern Club: John Paul George Ringo

So...on our upcoming 12 day Med cruise, Mrs. Schmoopie and I figure a total of 10 drinks between the two of us per day. That's 120 drinks at, say, an average price of $13 per drink...for a total of $1560. At 20%, the tax comes to $312. I agree that if you're shelling out thousands for a cruise, $312 may not seem like a whole lot to some people. And no, it will not break us financially. However, what you're missing is the principal. Prior to September 25th, that charge would not be that amount. When we booked the cruise (many moons ago) we didn't budget for an additional $312 to be added to our onboard account. We typically get off the ship with a zero balance in our account, or very close to it. While you and others consider $312 to be a drop in the bucket after paying big prices to cruise...I'll tell you what. Send me a check for $312 and let's see how miniscule that amount is to you then. After all, it won't break you financially. Deal?

That sounds nice, but cruise schedules are already out into 2025. Unless they do some major retooling of schedules, nothing will be done for a couple of years. Looks like we're going to be coughing up an additional 20% for drinks on our September, 2024 Mediterranean cruise.

So, this thread started out with 10% being the issue. Now we're up to 30%. Where will it end? I guess the sky's the limit.

If you're as indecisive as we are, if you book a cruise on NCL and change your mind, your refund is refundable up until final payment date. Carnival? Not so much...

In reviewing your cruise history, I have a question. Will you adopt me so I can tag along on your future cruises? Although, I turn 70 this week, so a better question would be, "Can I adopt you"? Then you could treat dear old dad to a cruise now and then. Seriously...you're blessed.

You need to post on CC to remind yourself never to book NCL again??

We were on the Prima in January. They also played trivia in the Belvedere most afternoons. Tough to get a seat when trivia players are even sitting at the bar. Although, the Chocolate Cowboy worked the Belvedere on our cruise, which made it more interesting when we were able to find a seat.

So...next year we're on a cruise that is round trip from Rome. On that same cruise are people who will be round trip from Barcelona (the dates overlap). So...those people boarding and disembarking in Barcelona will be charged VAT the entire cruise and the rest of us won't? Highly unlikely...

The Prima is still going on a TA out of New York on April 25, 2025. We have been looking at this one.

I don't see Specialty Dining excluded. And Is this specifically for France? What about Spain?