MisterFidgetpants

I do have fun with my own group, but we do wish more people onboard participated in NCL's formal night, as it provides for a better overall experience for everyone on the ship, not just our group. Again, it makes it seem like people are on the same page for the one night, and taking part of something as a larger group, even a larger society if you will.

What is this better overall experience? NCL doesn't even serve lobster anymore or a midnight gala party. They don't do anything to make the night different than a "regular" night. There are more pay-for photo opportunities. I don't think being forced to wear a suit makes something necessarily a better overall experience for me when there's no compelling reason to do so. Cruise ship photos are not a compelling reason.

NCL have adopted the Freestyle choice philosophy and so we will dress how we wish, eat when we want, and be entertained how we choose. We'll have a great time because nothing is forced on us that we don't want. You are not forced either. You feel silly being one of a few in your suit. That's insecurity. Get over it and feel great dressed to the nines, or go somewhere that you can be assured the majority of people also take pleasure from formal / most people dressing up. Because right now to spend money on something you don't enjoy looks like a waste from where I sit.

Amen! However, it's a losing battle at this point, Sandy. Attire trends in cruises are going in the wrong direction and getting less nice.

Stop being so insecure and dress how you enjoy and don't mind what others do. I don't see what is so different or special about these nights on cruises. They look and feel and have the same food as other nights anyways. Yes, it is a prime time to get portrait photos if that is what you want to do.

Here's the thing; you consider something fun, but that fun is diminished if you don't have crowd participation. Can't you have fun with your own group??? I've chosen a cruise line with Freestyle choice. I can dress formal, I can dress casual, and I have no expectation that the rest of the crowd will participate and it doesn't have a negative impact on me. I just don't hand that sort of power over my happiness to a stranger I don't know and won't see again.

Now, if formal attire was a barrier to entry for special events, special food, special entertainment, etc., I may reconsider the Freestyle choice concept because those are things that impact my enjoyment.

Says for 6 days or longer and Sky is not listed (since it is not a 6 day cruise).

What is the program available on the 3/4 day cruises in regards to buying a FCC?

Again, you can dress up for any cruise line every night, that's not considered part of NCL's freestyle, and people need to stop saying it in relation to NCL. The only dresscode related thing that NCL does is allow people to not dress as nice if they choose. I liked Carnival's formal night, as well as Royal Caribbean's. However, I am in my 20's, Princess and Holland America are not really my demographic yet. Plus, NCL's ships are very nice, so that's a plus.

 

Also, I liked you CC name.

All the cruise lines in reality allow anyone to dress however they want. HAL and princess are more rigid when it comes to formal nights however.

Don't sell Princess short. Gorgeous ships and great service. 20s is not too young. We are considering HAL if a good deal comes up but do have some hesitations due to strictness and average clientele being much older and not a family friendly line.

I assure you even when we choose casual we are not slobs. One does not equal the other. You are young and your sweeping generalizations will mature with time and experience.

The ability to do as you wish is Freestyle choice. If you can't do as you wish and feel comfortable because others aren't doing the same thing as you the Freestyle concept may not be the best use of your time and money

I more of meant there is nothing I can do about others not dressing up. But if you have suggestions as to how one would achieve this, let me know. Otherwise, it's like the MayNay said, "when naught, do naught" am I right? Lastly, if any positives have come of this post, it's that there are more supports of formal night than I had originally thought, and it has also brought attention to the matter. ;)

Doc, I think if you enjoy dressing formal, dress formal, and that is fantastic. You can do it every night if you want, and that's exactly what Freestyle choice is about. Do what feels good. We do what feels good. If that means dressing formal so we feel good, we do. If that means dressing casual so we feel good, we do. So we're choosing a cruise line that gives us that Freestyle choice. I don't really feel impacted much by those around me. The cruise line sets the tone and ambiance and resort casual is the 21st century way.

Now, I'm really not the type to try to bully others to "go away" or anything, so I hope this comes across right, but if the ambiance and experience of formal night is something you take great pleasure from, perhaps you should be looking at HAL or Princess cruise lines and not NCL and Carnival which are more family oriented and casual. If you feel out of place or not enjoying yourself because of what others around you do (or are not doing) look for something that delivers a more well-rounded experience closer to what you enjoy. You may find greener grass.

We paid off a Royal Caribbean cruise two months earlier than scheduled final payment date through our travel agent; we had a bit of extra money unexpectedly and decided it would be nice to have one less thing to think about.

Big mistake. Well, not the biggest mistake ever or anything, but it turned into aggravation.

Called in on a price drop and the TA was having a hard time adjusting the invoice and getting partial refund. TA had to call Royal Caribbean who were only willing to offer a discounted upgrade (did not want, and was besides the point anyways) or to offer the difference in the lower rate as OBC. This was unacceptable. The TA had to go a few rounds with Royal Caribbean to get a partial refund to us. If we had not paid early we would not have had to deal with that at all.

From now on I will pay when the payment is due (or a few days before at most so I don't miss the date). Lesson learned.

It seems people have a variety of different experiences, so, of course, your mileage may vary as they say.

While an "international coffee" may not be available at the pool deck bar, I would think that any restaurant would be able to handle this simple request. They all have coffee, right? And they serve coctails, right? In fact, I am pretty sure we have ordered these with our dessert before. And, if memory serves, I would swear they have a few on the bar menus at least at some of the bars.

Would this be a part of UBP or do I just order a shot of what I want on UBP and dump it into coffee? DOesn't make a huge difference either way I suppose, but do like to know "the way". Thanks!

It may depend on the ship, but most of the bars don't have any coffee at all. You can bring a cup of coffee from the buffet or somewhere else and order a shot of something to pour into it. I don't know if they will do anything more complicated than that (i.e. take your coffee and use it as part of a cocktail recipe).

Thanks for the tip. We are used to ordering these "international" coffees on Royal Caribbean in the dining room with desert. Was hoping it would be available in MDR on NCL.

Are any spiked coffees includes? Plain coffee but "Mexican" or "Irish" style?

Like I said, you CAN dress up every night in any cruise line , not just NCL.

Agreed. If that is what you enjoy, do it.

That part of freestyle is not unique to NCL, and I don't know why some people keep saying it.

No one has said it. The problem is your comprehension. Freestyle choice means to choose what you like best.

To those that say 10% participate, you're incorrect, we have ways found it to be between 30-45%, depending on the type of people onboard.

It could be 10%, it could be 45%, or any other number lower, in between, or higher. Whatever you saw on one ship from one spot at one time is not really scientific data.

There are so many negative opinions on people throwing on some nice clothes for NCL's formal night.

Haven't read them on here.

It's sad and I'm not sure why people dislike it so much.

You don't need to understand the particulars of why someone likes something or does not. Boiled down; some people prefer to dress up. Some prefer NOT to dress up. That's Freestyle choice. This is very easy to understand. If you lack a fundamental basic understanding of something, perhaps it is best to reserve judging it as "sad". Gather more data first.

Nothing anyone can do about it though I guess. Enjoy your cruises.

Sure you can do quite a bit about it. You can choose to take control of yourself and dress however you find comfortable any and all nights. We chose NCL for Freestyle choice. I am sure some will be dressed more formal than us. I am sure some will be dressed more casual than us. I am sure I will not be impacted by their choices.

If you booked the offer before May the gratuity is still included. If you booked the new June offer you pay gratuity.

Exactly. New promotion terms for new bookings. Very simple.

But it does say that the only things covered by the contract is your transportation and ordinary vessel food. So, everything else is not covered under the contract, so the DSC, drink prices, prices of UBP and UDP, specialty restaurants charges, automatic gratuities, etc., can all be changed at anytime.

I have an invoice when I paid my deposit stating what packages are included at that price. It would be an absurd statement to make claiming that is not a contract. Yes. Prices are subject to change on something not already purchased or contracted for. But they are not subject to retroactive price increases for items invoiced.

I deal extensively with contracts. I'm familiar with how they work. I was posting the contract for the person who had not read it and was guessing. There is no need to guess. The contract is available for all to read.

I guess I am reading it different than you. No where does it say the amount of service charges at the time of booking or that it will stay at that rate, just that it is automatically added. It does say things can be adjusted though by you.

And nowhere does it say pricing is subject to change after they take your money except for the land travel portion. The contract is written to protect the company. If it was intended to be a policy that they can change things on a whim it would be in the contract.

A lack of wording does not imply ability to change scope. The wording is explicit.

Have you read your cruise contract...I am guessing there is something about them being able to change tipping procedures/pricing. Most contracts usually have something like that...that basically says things are subject to change.

I, for one, have read the contract. There's no need to guess. And no, that wording does not exist. The contract is all that matters really. The website is just marketing material.

http://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/Guest_Ticket_Contract_03_2014.pdf

Did the website state that the DSC will be $12 per day on the date of your cruise?

Did the website also state that the specialty restaurants will never have gratuities added? If that is the case then your opinion is correct.

The website states DSC is at guest discretion, so anyone that felt "wronged" by booking at one rate and being charged a higher one is completely within their rights to ask for it to be modified back to the original amount.

I think Out to Sea makes a valid point. You book, you put down a deposit and pay with certain terms and conditions, and it is aggravating when the company keeps changing those terms and conditions. We got UBP as a free promo, no extra service charges were added on and I would not expect them to change those terms. The new terms are for new bookings.

You are trying to dismay others from dressing up by giving them false statistics. Norwegian's Night Out is not a mandatory formal night, but it's the night they set aside as an optional formal night

The free-style cruise comment is a bit off.

Come on friend, quit trying to pull the wool over my eyes and telling me it is nighttime

You are absolutely incorrect. There is way way way more than 10% that do it. You are trying to dismay others from dressing up by giving them false statistics. Norwegian's Night Out is not a mandatory formal night, but it's the night they set aside as an optional formal night, meaning a night where more people may be dressed up than other nights. They also take pictures this night because more people are dressed up. On my last Gem cruise, we found it to be around 45% participating. Don't try to convince people on here that there are not alot that do it, it's just not correct.

 

Click this link http://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/cruise-calendar , and read what it says under "Norwegians Night Out." The first two words are "dress up."

Why dress down the other nights then in your case? Dress up every night. It's Freestyle choice.

How can we make sure we get a childs crib? Can't find it anywhere on the website. Do we just request once we are onboard? Thanks

Who goes on a cruise and only drinks one or two drinks a day?

Plenty of people have that much or less.

It would be a valid topic if there were any indication whatsoever that NCL was planning on charging an extra gratuity for Sky passengers who will have the UBP included in their base fare. For the moment this is not happening, and they cannot raise the final payment balance of the many people who have already booked Sky cruises for 2016.

 

Anyway, this thread is about the June Freestyle Choice promotion, and Sky cruises from 2016 onward are specifically excluded from that offer.

Oh I thought the gratuity charged was for all UBP given by the company. Did not realize it only applied to current June promo UBP

The complaint is not valid, the deal is still really good.

Our upcoming Sky cruise we booked for 229 per person with UBP included. Gratuity DSC will be $52 per person. If we were charged the package gratuity that is about another $40 per person for 4 days.

So over $180 in gratuities for a 4 day cruise. when taken in context, over $90 in service charges for a $229 fare is a significant percentage.

now that Sky is going all inclusive next year people will have to factor that into their booking. It's only a deal if you drink enough to make it worthwhile. If you only have 1 or 2 a day it isn't such a deal.

So it's certainly a valid topic where basically the gratuity per person per day on the Sky will be about $23. That's more than any full luxury line.

Just a different perspective.

Given that cruise lines can add fees any time they want, yes, they can make the gratuities retroactive to people who booked before the new charges take effect.

I don't think they can do that.

Ummm, the Continental breakfast items are still free and have no delivery charge. Just saying. You may want to know what the new room service fees are before posting, just saying.

The continental menu is coffee and bread. Read what I said again. We should lobby for fruit yogurt and cereal

Unfortunately the first person that paid this fee legitimized it to the company.

Realistically we can lobby for a Continental breakfast menu that has fruit yogurt and cereal like it used to.

Clawback is the name if the game