BaWBarmy

Excursions, items from the shop, speciality dining, drinks. Basically if you have any sort of credit on your account it will be used first except for paying the DSC and in the casino. I think.

I think the OBC and extra latitudes points are only available if you booked the cruise as an insider deal.

We will be on the Bliss TA very shortly. We have an inside stateroom booked and remembered that they do not come equipped with a coffee maker. Our first cruise was in an Inside stateroom but since then we have had balcony cabins and have sort of taken the coffee maker for granted. A number of circumstances lead to us booking an Inside stateroom for this cruise and my question is could I get a coffee machine in my Inside stateroom, perhaps if I ask my steward nicely and cross his palm with dollars?

Water water everywhere. What do I mean? As a resident of the UK we booked this cruise as Premium all inclusive which means we get a litre of bottled water each per day, we are also Gold latitude members (Platinum when we get off this cruise) as such we are entitled to a bottle of water each. Will we get 13 bottles of water each or will the Latitudes bottle just disappear?

Specifically related to Bliss but I'll ask here. Does anyone know how much NCL will charge for go-karting?

Last but not least. As a UK resident Gold Latitudes member we are entitled to something in place of Priority disembarkation, which is only available to US citizens, does anybody know what it is?

I took National Express .s coaches from Heathrow ....follow airport directions ..yes you may take a cart to carry luggage ...coach station is somewhere in the airport

This time out of Gatwick I.m taking the train ...Northern I think its called

I have also takena coach from Victoria station to Southampton ...go on line for better prices

Go on line to find schedules and prices

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I'm sure that this has already been asked, but what is the best transportation option from London to Southampton?

From London itself I'd take the train from Waterloo Station to Southampton and then hop in a taxi. Make sure you get the fast train though, not the one that makes all the stops.

From the airports I have no idea.

Nowhere close... over 750 rooms available.

That seems an awful lot of rooms only 17 days out and not available on the NCL website. Looks like my £55 upgrade bid might get accepted then. ;)

Uber are not allowed to operate in Barcelona. A normal city taxi should be OK.

NCL operate a shuttle but it'll probably get you to the airport way too early.

Now if they did breaded Camembert or even just a nice warm camembert without the breaded bit. Just open it and let the cheese ooze out and mop it up with a nice crusty baguette. Mmmmm that'd be worth going to O' Sheehans for. :)

You can get them in McDonalds.

If they're going to make cheesy fried sticks they could at least choose a cheese with a bit of bite.

Mozzarella may well be gooey but it's almost tasteless. Mozzarella sticks sort of sum up my view of O' Sheehans. I will eat there but only if nowhere else is open. Its the one place, on every ship I've been on, that has it, that struggles to get past average.

Shower gel is in a dispenser in the shower, as is shampoo.

There is a filter coffee maker in the stateroom with bags of coffee, milk sugar etc. replenished daily by your steward.

 

The DSC is separate and is about $13 per person per day and is added to your onboard account on a daily basis unless you pre pay it

 

The DSC is now included in the All Inclusive package, so no need to pre-pay anymore and it won't be charged to your onboard account. The All Inclusive package is the default package for cruises booked in the UK and Europe. :)

Keith beat me to it. He usually does. If you look at your confirmation or edocs towards the bottom it will tell you what is included in your price. Being from the UK your Drinks Package, associated service / gratuity (The 20%) plus the Daily Service Charge are included in your fare, you should get water delivered to your stateroom too.

UNLESS

You have booked Just Cruise as opposed to All inclusive.

My first question would be where are you from? US / Canada or Rest of the World?

Might seem trivial but it's fairly important.

Oh and expect some flak for the opt out comment. It's quite a hot topic on here. :)

We always preferred Grand Pacific. Magenta always seemed like the slightly more down market version. This is a purely personal view and it's a couple of years since we were on the Gem.

We're from the UK too and have cruised on the Gem out of NYC twice. Early September when the weather is really warm and both times we stayed for a week near enough. I love the place and it doesn't have to be expensive, once you've done the usuals, Empire State, Statue of Liberty etc. you have plenty of time to stray away from Times Square and find some great places to eat at reasonable prices and cheaper hotels. We stayed nearer to Columbus Circle first time, a place I'd never heard of, but a place I now really like. Give NYC another try, maybe when its warmer, its definitely worth it. Very wise words about the flights. We're flying back with Thomas Cook after our Bliss transatlantic, and a couple of days in NYC (gotta get my Yankees fix) its a damn site cheaper than any NCL recommended flights, although you can get it even cheaper but not always .with meals or luggage included. I'm sure if you look around you can get far cheaper hotels just a bit further from Times Square.

Hopefully you'll have a bit better luck with the cruise but you still sound as though you enjoyed it. :)

Assuming that the Sky is still sailing out of Miami (we were on it last October), when you get past the checkin and go upstairs, before you get on the ship, there is a vending machine that sells bottles of Coke products for a fairly reasonable $2.00/bottle. It takes credit cards, as well as cash. Since you are past security, NCL doesn't know/care if you bring it on the ship. Ask your room steward to clear out the minibar, and you're in business,

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Belvedere peach nectar. There is literally nothing else to say other than that. This is a MUST TRY! And try it early because it will be your regular!

CC really need a like button.

I was a Dark & Stormy fan until I tried this, and I don't usually like peach. Dark and Stormy is still very good and was available on the UBP on our last cruise, but the Belvedere Peach Nectar is my favourite.

I would think that Pepsi have a contract with NCL that they supply soda exclusively to the fleet.

At the 2012 Olympics all bags were searched at all venues and any products not from official suppliers were removed and not allowed in the venue. I think that NCL probably have the same agreement with Pepsi irrespective of which ship it is.

Never had a service problem from a bartender. All of the issues I've had, and seen at various bars on board was from other passenger's who seem to think that they are the only one's on board and demand attention the second they walk up to the bar. It just seems that some people have no concept of manner's or patience for that matter.

This was my experience on the Spirit, only once, and never seen it happen on any previous cruise. I had been waiting for the barman to finish serving, as the only person at the bar I had made eye contact with the barman, so he knew I was waiting to be served, as the previous customers were leaving the bar with their drinks a couple immediately took their place, although the rest of the bar was empty, the guy held up his Keycard and immediately ordered himself and his partner a drink, the poor barman looked sheepishly at me, as he didn't really know what to do. I helped him out by giving my order and then saying to the couple that I was there first and had been waiting. I felt like a bit of a moaning old git but I was in the right. The barman served me and then turned to them and served them.

If this had happened in a pub in the UK there would have been an apology, and if not it would probably have got ugly, I'm talking generically here, not about me in particular. In this instance there was no apology, just a stony glance at the barman.

If you are tipping to help you get preferential service with all this "a tip goes a long way" nonsense, then I feel you are just being discourteous to other passengers. This is, of course, just my opinion.

Let me explain - You did not pay 20%UK VAT was charged at 20% on the cruise margin. NO holiday from the UK is charged at 20%. Let me refer you to VAT notice 709/5 (2/2016).

 

So the issue is why were you charged 10%. If you had the UBP it is wrong plain and simple. No VAT is levied on UK products sold with VAT charged. This would go against basic VAT law you only pay once as the end user.

 

There are many complications but if you had UBP and were charged further VAT NCL need to explain the basis on which it was charged,

 

Any way I do not wish to come over as rude so sorry for being sharp but VAT is a complicated area.

Apology accepted and I also apologise for my tone.

If the UBP was a promo rather than a purchase would this affect the situation? I also noticed that the extra was only in Spanish waters, there was no additional charge/tax when in Madeira (Portuguese). Obviously there was no charge in Casablanca.

Absolute wrong about paying VAT at 20% on the cruise. The point about the 20% in INVALID.

 

The logic is I am afraid not correct at all. There is no such rate as 10% Spanish Tax. The way VAT works is simply not as you suggest. I have no idea what the 10% was but what it can not be is Spanish Tax.

 

When you look at VAT you need to consider if the cruise visits non EU ports. This one did therefore no EU VAT.

 

NCL will be charging and paying VAT on the TOMS scheme (Tour Operators Margin Scheme) and it is not 20%. To suggest otherwise is misinformed

 

This areas of VAT is horrible and frankly so complicated that no wonder Tax Counsel are earning a small fortune on this

Spanish VAT is 21%, there is a reduced rate of 10% for passenger transport, hotel and restaurant services, and other goods and services.

That would be similar to the UK rate being 20% but there is also a reduced rate for electricity, gas etc. of 5%.

I know the cruise left EU waters, I was on it.

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We had the UBP it was stated clearly on our Keycards, we were still charged the 10% on every beverage we had in Spanish waters. In our case I think over the whole trip it only came to about $5 each and it just went against the OBC we had, I didn't really think too much about it until I joined this thread.

NCL need to address this situation and inform their staff on board, because as far as I was concerned, on our Spirit cruise of Nov/Dec 2017 the 10% was a blanket charge for all beverages served in Spanish waters. The point about having already paid 20% VAT when purchasing the cruise is valid, although this seems to be an extra VAT from the Spanish government hence being charged at 10% rather than the Spanish rate of 21%.

Are you offering some?

 

 

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Do you need cash?

I'm a little confused here as to why people would be upset that there are perks available that weren't available when the booking was originally made. Its like going into a supermarket and finding that the Cornflakes are cheaper than when you bought them last week and they have a little toy in them. There is always the danger in chasing the perks that you pay a lot more for your stateroom, as well as losing deposits etc.

I'm certainly not going to phone NCL about the fact that our inside stateroom on the Bliss is now selling at 75% more than when we booked ours and I'm sure they're not going to phone me with 5 days left before final payment is due and tell me they're increasing the price of my booking. It's the same thing in reverse.

Not trying to teach anyone a lesson just trying to understand.