Maddysdaddy

Spend a day (or afternoon) on one of the "Hop On- Hop Off" bus tours. You can stay on the bus for a couple of hours and see most of the "Miami Hot Spots", or stretch your time out by getting off and exploring a particular area, then getting on the next bus to continue the tour. We did this after our cruise last year and got to see places that our friend that lives in town had never been to - and he's lived there for 20 years!:)

Agreed. This is what my family does whenever we have a few days in an unfamiliar city. For our upcoming trip, we have a tour of Miami scheduled for the first morning we're there, and then we have the rest of that day and all of the next to go back to explore those places that jumped out at us.

Lucky you weren't born thirty years earlier! You'd never have left the house.

As a child of the early 70's, I left the house - I was just a good kid who listened to his grandmother and made sure he carried multiple emergency quarters for the payphone... ;)

Why take them at all?

I wouldn't feel comfortable walking from my house to the corner store, let alone in a foreign country, being stranded without a way to call for assistance and/or to pay for anything that may arise in an emergency situation.

Hi all.

On past cruises, all of the excursions that my family and I have participated in have been on dry land, so I have had no issues carrying my wallet and phone.

For our upcoming NCL cruise, we are on two snorkeling excursions (through NCL), and I am wondering what the heck to do with those items while we are in the water. Leaving them on the excursion boat seems risky, but so does taking them in the water in a waterproof bag (which may not be so waterproof or could get lost).

What do people do in this situation? All advice greatly appreciated.

Very much appreciate the quick response. Yes - I had assumed that the salon was part of the spa, so it's nice to hear that it's not.

If I'm reading NCL's website correctly, it appears that the spa is only available for those 18 and older. Has anyone ever run across any days/times set aside for something like a mother/daughter mani-pedi, where the daughter is under 18?

My wife and daughter go regularly at home, and I would like to treat them (if possible) while they are on board.

Thx.

Well now I'm getting concerned...

I have booked a beach day at the Colonial Hilton and was planning to walk from the pier there with my wife and young daughter, since it appears to be quite close. Am I better off taking a cab?

They are offering my family the 'opportunity' to move from an M6 to a Haven Courtyard Penthouse with Balcony for only $1000 pp or to a Haven Spa Suite with Balcony for only $1500 pp.

And a week later, another email. The Haven Courtyard Penthouse with Balcony is still $1000 USD/pp, but the Spa Suite with Balcony has dropped from $1500 to $1250 USD/pp.

Have to say that I'm somewhat surprised that a cruise over the Easter break is not sold out. Maybe it won't be as crowded as I was picturing in my mind (although it probably will be - who am I kidding). If only they hadn't taken away the OBC over $1000 that I had purchased at $1.11 Cdn instead of $1.40 which is the exchange today, I might actually have considered an upsell (but that's a gripe for another day and another thread).

Do you know if you book in cdn, will the upsell be in cdn? I only ask because one upsell rep said yes but it sounded like she wasn't sure and the other said in usd buy she too wasn't 100% sure...

 

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I paid in CDN, but the email from NCL clearly said that the cost of the upgrade would be in USD.

Ran it by my wife, and her response ranged between "no" and "hell no".

She made the point that we already have a mini-suite with a large balcony, so we have a quiet place to sit outside if there is too much commotion on deck. She also pointed out that based on our past cruises, all we ever do in the room is sleep and shower, so it makes no sense to pay for an upgrade to a "better" room.

I have a very smart wife.

Just to be clear, the email did say:

We would like to offer you an exciting opportunity upgrade your current stateroom to a Haven Suite for an additional $1000 - $1500 per passenger (based on double occupancy in USD).

So just confirming that the offer is in USD and not Cdn, and we are on a 7 day cruise on the Escape.

They are offering my family the 'opportunity' to move from an M6 to a Haven Courtyard Penthouse with Balcony for only $1000 pp or to a Haven Spa Suite with Balcony for only $1500 pp.

I assume this wouldn't be at the $1.11 Cdn/USD rate I booked the cruise at fourteen months ago, so it would cost me about $4500/$6500 Cdn on top of what I have already paid, in order to change cabins.

How is more than doubling the cost of my cruise - to use the words from the email - "an exciting opportunity upgrade your current stateroom"? (hey NCL - might want to proofread your emails - I think you're missing a "to")

Other than the private restaurant, and a tiny and (maybe) less busy pool, what am I missing about the Haven that would justify this extra cost? I'm not being snarky - we've just never sailed NCL before, so I have no idea if this is the greatest offer in the history of cruising and I'd be a fool not to snap it up.

Thanks all.

My only previous cruising experience was on Disney, where alcohol was much less "in your face" than what it appears to be on NCL (at least how people on CC seem to describe it). On those sailings, I couldn't recall more than a handful of instances where I saw individuals with drinks outside of a lounge or next to their deck chair. Good to know that bringing/having a few drinks on our balcony won't be a problem.

The beauty of the M6 is that if you have a port side cabin, after you enter "your hall", you pass the side entry into the District Brew house, and also into Food Republic. So convenient to duck in there on the way to and from.:p

Nope - starboard. Hopefully the extra steps will burn off the excess calories from the alcohol.

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but do drinks ordered in a "bar" need to be consumed in that venue, or are passengers at liberty to walk around the ship with them? We're in an M6 on Deck 8, and would love to be able to drink mojitos on our balcony (or coffee & Bailey's in the morning).

Second question - do both my wife and I need to be present to obtain drinks with our UBP, or can I take both her and my cards(? - I assume that is how NCL does it) to the bar to get two drinks?

Thanks.

My favourite ! I like 3 olives though.

Perhaps I should have scrolled to the end of the thread before responding above...

One olive, splash of dry vermouth and Bombay Gin! You'll these!

This is bad, bad advice. OP please ignore!!!!

What you really want is a splash of dry vermouth, Bombay Sapphire and three olives.

As posted on another thread:

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Me (a year ago): Hi Caterer. I’m having a party and I’d like you to prepare a dinner for 200 on Date X.

Caterer: Sounds great. I’d love to do the job. I’d normally charge $60 per person, but if you pay me in advance, I’ll only charge you $50 a head.

Me: Fantastic. I’d like to take advantage of that deal. Here’s my credit card. Please go ahead and charge $10,000 on it.

--------------------------------

One week before Date X

--------------------------------

Caterer: I wanted to let you know that because the cost of food has gone up since you booked, I’m only prepared to give you 50 meals at $50 per person. Here’s your other $7500 back – thanks for letting me use it for the last 12 months. By the way, if you want the other 150 meals, it will now cost you $65 per person.

Me: We had a contract. I paid you for 200 meals at $50 per meal, and you agreed to that. The rise in food prices is your problem, not mine. If we had agreed to pay for 50 meals up front and then you’d charge the going rate for the other 150 at the time of the party, that’s a different story – but you contracted for a fixed price at the time we met.

Restricting OBC is not the issue. The issue is HOW NCL has implemented it.

Agreed wholeheartedly. This is what I posted on another of the many threads on this.

----------------------

As posted previously, I'm one of those who has been affected by this.

I booked my cruise over a year ago at a rate of $1.11 and was told that I could purchase as much OBC as I wanted at that rate. I could have purchased USD at that time at about $1.15, but based on what I was told, I gave my money to NCL. That is how I budgeted for my cruise, and they have had long-term use of my money under the terms of that agreement.

Now NCL has come back to say that they've changed their mind about the promotion, and everything I purchased over $1000 is being cancelled.

As a result, for my family to have the same experience on the cruise/gambling/shopping/etc, I would have to purchase USD at just under $1.45.

I have no objection to the imposition of a $1000 limit, but what I do object to is that NCL has not grandfathered my purchases, thereby adding many, many hundreds of dollars to my vacation at the last minute.

Is a business entitled to terminate a promotion at any time if it makes financial sense? Absolutely. Are they legally entitled to impose it retroactively? Maybe they are under Florida law, but as a Canadian attorney, I'm now aware of what legal theory that would be - under the terms of the cruise contract, I don't see them having that right.

I'll wait to see what the investigations department of my credit card comes back with, and then I'll consider whether I'll seek to pursue the matter under the dispute resolution provisions of the contract. Yes, that would cost me more than what I'm losing, but if people don't object to these types of actions, NCL will have no disincentive to continuing to act in this manner.

Consider this - what if NCL emailed everyone tomorrow to say "Yes, you do have the unlimited beverage promotion, but some people have been abusing it by ordering drinks that they never finish or take one sip of it and then leave it. This is an abuse of the program and is costing us too much money. So, notwithstanding that you have the UBP and everyone who has previously sailed with that promotion had unlimited beverages, we're capping it at six drinks a day. Please feel free to purchase as many extra beverages as you wish at $11 per." I have a feeling that those saying "too bad, so sad" would be the first ones jumping up and down saying that NCL can't change the rules of the game retroactively.

========================

So, NCL is going to credit you back USD, right?. What is the exchange rate today?

 

Let's say you bought $5,000 USD and it cost you $5,700 at $1.14 CAD.

 

Now NCL credits your card with $5,000 USD and the current exchange rate is $1.39 CAD for every $1 USD. Aren't you getting back $6,950 CAD?

 

Seems to me you're still doing OK.

No. NCL is refunding in Canadian currency, as that is what the obc was purchased in.

That's the issue - this decision will now cost me an extra 30+ cents on the dollar because I didn't hedge when I booked the cruise based on their representation to me that I could purchase whatever obc I wanted at the rate I locked in at.

Each $1000 cost me $1100 at the NCL rate. Had they not offered to sell it to me at that, I could have purchased $1000 from the bank at $1150 when I booked my cruise. For me to re-purchase $1000 at the bank now, will cost me just under $1450.

I was willing to spend on board in the shops and in the casino at $1.11 or $1.15 (if the $1k limit had been in place at the time I booked). There is no way that is happening at almost $1.45.

As posted previously, I'm one of those who has been affected by this.

I booked my cruise over a year ago at a rate of $1.11 and was told that I could purchase as much OBC as I wanted at that rate. I could have purchased USD at that time at about $1.15, but based on what I was told, I gave my money to NCL. That is how I budgeted for my cruise, and they have had long-term use of my money under the terms of that agreement.

Now NCL has come back to say that they've changed their mind about the promotion, and everything I purchased over $1000 is being cancelled.

As a result, for my family to have the same experience on the cruise/gambling/shopping/etc, I would have to purchase USD at just under $1.45.

I have no objection to the imposition of a $1000 limit, but what I do object to is that NCL has not grandfathered my purchases, thereby adding many, many hundreds of dollars to my vacation at the last minute.

Is a business entitled to terminate a promotion at any time if it makes financial sense? Absolutely. Are they legally entitled to impose it retroactively? Maybe there is under Florida law, but as a Canadian attorney, I'm now aware of what legal theory that would be - under the terms of the cruise contract, I don't see them having that right.

I'll wait to see what the investigations department of my credit card comes back with, and then I'll consider whether I'll seek to pursue the matter under the dispute resolution provisions of the contract. Yes, that would cost me more than what I'm losing, but if people don't object to these types of actions, NCL will have no disincentive to continuing to act in this manner.

Consider this - what if NCL emailed everyone tomorrow to say "Yes, you do have the unlimited beverage promotion, but some people have been abusing it by ordering drinks that they never finish or take one sip of it and then leave it. This is an abuse of the program and is costing us too much money. So, notwithstanding that you have the UBP and everyone who has previously sailed with that promotion had unlimited beverages, we're capping it at six drinks a day. Please feel free to purchase as many extra beverages as you wish at $11 per." I have a feeling that those saying "too bad, so sad" would be the first ones jumping up and down saying that NCL can't change the rules of the game retroactively.

There is no financial loss here at all. If you purchased $5,000 in OBC and NCL lets you keep $1,000 OBC and refunds the remaining $4,000 you have no financial loss?.

Think this one through. I purchased obc at $1.11 when I could have purchased US cash at $1.15. Now to replace excess obc because they didn't grandfather my purchase, I'll have to buy US cash at $1.45. How is that not a loss?

At the end of the day, it means that we won't be making any purchases in the shops and I won't be going into the casino (which I would have done had I hedged at $1.15). Seems like a lose/lose for both me and NCL, since I won't be dropping a few grand in the casino.

As I posted on the other thread, as soon as I received the email saying they were refunding everything over $1000, I put in a call to Visa. They couldn't give me a firm answer, but said that they would investigate since the refund wasn't initiated by me.

If Visa is prepared to step up to the plate, I would suggest that others call their credit card companies. NCL hearing from Visa and MC will have more effect than calls from angry Canucks.

Please tell me that you are in contact with NCL about all this. I feel like if we all start calling and demanding action, or at the very least, expressing our displeasure, they will at least acknowledge that they handled this poorly and will (hopefully) being alerting customers and refunding monies promptly.

Not yet. After I received the email from NCL this afternoon saying they were refunding everything over $1000, I put in a call to Visa, who are investigating, since it was NCL who initiated the refund and not me.

I don't want a refund. I want the OBC that I paid for a year ago. Change the policy going forward - that's fair. Don't keep my money for months and months and then say "sorry, changed my mind".

Me (a year ago): Hi Caterer. I’m having a party and I’d like you to prepare a dinner for 200 on Date X.

Caterer: Sounds great. I’d love to do the job. I’d normally charge $60 per person, but if you pay me in advance, I’ll only charge you $50 a head.

Me: Fantastic. I’d like to take advantage of that deal. Here’s my credit card. Please go ahead and charge $10,000 on it.

--------------------------------

One week before Date X

--------------------------------

Caterer: I wanted to let you know that because the cost of food has gone up since you booked, I’m only prepared to give you 50 meals at $50 per person. Here’s your other $7500 back – thanks for letting me use it for the last 12 months. By the way, if you want the other 150 meals, it will now cost you $65 per person.

Me: We had a contract. I paid you for 200 meals at $50 per meal, and you agreed to that. The rise in food prices is your problem, not mine. If we had agreed to pay for 50 meals up front and then you’d charge the going rate for the other 150 at the time of the party, that’s a different story – but you contracted for a fixed price at the time we met.