alwalaska

I'm actually glad they were doing maintenance. Earlier today my cruise said "Default Voyage Name" instead of the cruise name and when I went to click into it, it said "Page not found". Since my cruise has already been canceled once, the heart skipped a couple of beats until I realized the whole site was having problems.

Interesting, yes, I did see them on the non-booking deck plans, that was how I learned about them. I haven't seen them when I tried doing fake bookings and the lady from World Points didn't have any of them on her list, but they were available. Good to know that they at least show up in the available cabins list typically. Not sure why I wasn't seeing them.

Yeah - I told the person I talked to about that, but... they don't care if they have incorrect info. There are still FAQ entries about 2016 and 2017 out there. It is really frustrating for people like me who like to research and know what is going to happen in different situations. Although, one website glitch just helped me get the cabin that I really wanted. There is a whole section of cabins on Deck 10 of the Spirit that don't show up on any booking site I have found, including NCLs. I had originally booked the port side cabin at the back of deck 10 before NCL canceled my cruise, but it was already gone on the 2024 cruise. I asked the World Points person when I was getting my points back from the canceled cruise if the other cabin was still available for the cruise I was looking at. She typed it in and said yet. Then, when my FCC came in and I tried to upgrade to that cabin via the World Points phone line, I was told it wasn't available. I asked them to type in the number and they said they only had a list, they could not type anything in, so I gave up and was sad. I decided to call my amazing TA and ask if she could see if the cabin was available and then I figured I would call back until I got someone at WP who knew how their software worked. She not only found that it was still available, she moved me to it. I was a happy camper and glad NCL hadn't fixed the problem yet. The point of this story is that about 3 weeks ago I was talking to tech support at NCL and I mentioned the missing cabins on Deck 10. He said he would report it to that group, but the cabins are still not available to be booked unless you know they are there and have access to one of the travel agent portals where you can type in actual cabin numbers rather than scrolling through lists.

@possum52 Thank you so much. That was exactly the info I was looking for. The NSW port website has us docking in Eden, but thank you for the warning that it might change. It is always better to be forewarned since I typically do my own thing or private tours vs ship tours. We are on the NCL Spirit and she is pretty small, but if they are working on the port, I don't know if that matters. I am so excited for this trip. I appreciate all of the time you spend out on these forums helping people like me.

So sorry to hear this. Great attitude. I hope that you are able to stay healthy well into the future and start cruising again when you feel safe doing so.

Sydney I like to watch all of the sites as the ship starts its journey. We are leaving Sydney from White Bay. How long should we plan on staying outside before heading inside for dinner and show and all? We don't leave until 6pm in Feb if that matters. We'll have taken the ferry one or more times during our pre-cruise stay, but I love going under bridges when on a big ship, plus things look different from a cruise ship. Eden Where does the ship dock in Eden? Is it by the information center off Weecoon St? Also, if we are headed to Tasmania after Eden, should we be able to see Boyd's Tower on the way? I like trying to find interesting things as we sail by. If yes, any idea how long after sail away it will take to get that far? My 2025 trip just became a Feb 2024 trip and I'm an obsessive planner, so I thank everyone ahead of time for their help (in case I forget later) and also for your patience through my many questions.

Thank you so much for putting this together. I was to Melbourne on my own, but didn't have any great options picked out yet. I appreciate the hard work.

Thank you. I am definitely looking at the different options for doing just that. What I have found though is that everyone is non-refundable, even if the ship does not make it into town. My travel insurance doesn't cover missed activities unless the trip is "interrupted" where we have to go home or be hospitalized, etc. Do you know if everything is usually sold out, or if we can book when we get there? NCL doesn't have any excursions out yet, but I find they are usually almost twice the cost of the local tours, which doesn't make financial sense either. Someone said that there were usually people on the pier selling tours, so unless I can find someone who will offer a refund if the ship doesn't make it, that is what we will likely be doing.

Thanks, I didn't realize they could/would do that. Good to know. I know AmEx will give you a temporary number to start charging right away, but every bank and program is different.

I decided to chat with NCL, but we know that isn't necessarily any different from asking someone on here. They said the $4.95 does apply to the continental breakfast like BirdTravels posted the picture on the tag. When I mentioned the FAQ and provided the link, they said they would turn that into the correct department. I also noticed on that same FAQ page information about booking a trip in 2016 and taking it in 2017, so it doesn't look like anyone is in charge of maintaining that page.

A good sign that a bot or AI is answering your comments.

New comment Sorry, I think I misinterpreted that you were hoping to use the bonus points (see below at original comment), but I bet you just want to pay with it. I'd give yourself 5-7 business days unless you already have a bank account with BofA according to the article. Original Comment Remember too, even though you may be able to use it immediately (I really can't remember what happened when we got ours last year), but it takes at least until the end of the billing cycle or maybe even longer for the points to post to your account. You are probably already too late for July 13 this year. American Express gave me a temporary number and code immediately, but their agent said their points lag 2 billing cycles. So, I spent the last of my required 3k today, my first billing cycle ends July 17, but I likely won't see my bonus points until at least August 17. 😞

That is part of the reason why I read that the continental breakfast didn't have a service fee for anyone, but I did decide to check with the people on the Chat at NCL and they confirm what you said and what I believed before I read the FAQ. My husband laughs because when I'm talking to hotel employees I frequently know more about the rewards program than the employees do. Thanks for sharing your breakfast paper.

Here is the link of the FAQ page that I copied that from: Frequently Asked Questions (ncl.com). I had to read it 3 times because we had to pay in Feb as well. Now, this is me being a computer person reading the AND between continental breakfast and the info about suites as making it both things do not have a service charge. It really doesn't surprise me though that NCL has something that is either unclear or out and out wrong on its website.

I feel the same way about first-class or premium seats on airplanes. Trying to work some magic since I no longer have 18 months to plan and get ready to buy the plane tickets.

I was on another forum today and people were asking about free dining locations and continental breakfast from room service was included. On our Dawn cruise in Feb I could have sworn there was a charge for it. Today, after someone posted a click from NCL, I went and looked it up in the FAQ and I copied the info below. I'm guessing they walked it back. Does anyone have recent experience with this? Is Norwegian Cruise Line now charging for room service? Norwegian Cruise Line has introduced an enhanced room service menu. The new menu offers an expanded selection for breakfast, in addition to a wider variety of options available 24 hours. Individual items on the menu remain available on a complimentary basis and a convenience charge of up to $9.95 USD will be added to each order placed (Morning coffee, continental breakfast and orders placed by guests sailing in The Haven will not attract a charge)*. A 20% gratuity and beverage service charge will be added for non-complimentary beverages and special occasion items. *Prices subject to change.

That was what I thought too. It doesn't surprise me though that the system isn't configured to catch all exceptions to the rule.

Sorry for the confusion, I have my Australia/New Zealand on the Spirit picked out for the FCC. I was just curious what itinerary had such a premium for balconies. Alaska makes total sense. I saw some Alaska itineraries with interiors at $247 plus taxes and fees. That is crazy. I just can't afford any other cruises right now with the AUS/NZ trip that we will be taking in Feb this year instead of next. I reached Sapphire on my last cruise but think I may never get to Diamond. Yeah, I'm anxiously waiting to do my upgrade as soon as the FCC comes out and applies it. My TA has been a great help through this mess of trying to figure everything out. She did apply my Next Cruise as soon as it came back, but we decided waiting to do the upgrade would be safest. The WP person when I called to get my points back from the 2025 canceled cruise said she thought it would be OK to do the upgrade before the FCC, but I really don't want to take any chances on losing that 20% or the 60k points.

That is definitely a sweet deal. Do you mind sharing what cruise? I'm very anxiously awaiting the 23rd so that my TA can apply the 20% FCC to my new Spirit cruise to replace my canceled one, and then I will be doing an upgrade and seeing how much it was worth. As long as it is worth the $600, I'm good. I really want a balcony but don't want to pay for it.

I would ask your TA for a new printout of your confirmation with all of the codes on it. That still is not a guarantee that everything will show up, but I find it much more correct than what I see when I log into my account. At one point I thought I found it on the NCL page under My Account, but I couldn't find it today. There is a thread somewhere here in the NCL area with all of the codes and abbreviations. Also, my TA said today that she could see a bunch of WP info on my reservation within her system that in the past she could never see. Maybe your TA will be able to see your

They expire 5 years from the end of the billing cycle from when they were earned. Some of us don't cruise all the time, or we have multiple cards that we use and when trying to save up for a big purchase like a double-meta upgrade, it can take a while. Other travel credit cards I have transfer the points to the group sponsoring the card (Hilton, Marriott, AA, Hawaiian Air, etc) and they don't expire OR they stay active as long as you are earning or using points.

I agree with Mike as long as you plan on taking another cruise before the points expire. I'm not used to credit card points expiring, so I have to keep an eye on these.

Me too. Plus I need to call WP because I don't have my points back yet either.

Thank you!

I saw some pictures where it looks like the cruise ships have to dock quite a long way from town. Does anyone know about how long it takes to tender, one-way? Also, do the ships use their own boats, or are tenders provided by the town? Sometimes this seems to affect how quickly people can get to shore. Thanks in advance for any help.