The Traveling Man

I think what @Panhandle Couple is saying is that hackers frequently know how to spoof your caller ID. The person they call would see your phone number, even though the hacker is calling from a different location. Your TA would think it was you calling them. Unless they recognize your voice, they could be fooled by a hacker.

We have done three Trans Atlantic cruises, all on NCL big ships. We were on the Epic for one and the Getaway twice. We had options to do similar journeys on smaller ships such as the Pearl, but always preferred the larger ships. My original thinking was that the big ships would be more stable if we encountered rough seas. What we came to realize, though, is that five, six, or seven sea days can get pretty boring and monotonous if you don't have enough variety in your options for activities. The larger ships have a significant number of additional venues, more different places to hang out and enjoy your time on board. The Waterfront on the Escape is a great place to spend a quiet afternoon, reading, sipping a cool beverage, and watching the world go by.

I know that it is standard practice when preparing other types of shellfish, such as shrimp, to devein them before serving. Don't they also do that with scallops? I've never noticed any poop on any scallops I have been served.

Not at all. We most likely would have ponied up the additional cash to travel in a Balcony stateroom, anyway. We simply got a discount. A huge discount. I think I have done the best job I am capable of doing in laying out the plusses and minuses of using NCL BOA Master Card World Points for room upgrades. Yes, there are certain limitations and yes, the upgrade option may not be right for some travelers, notably those who prefer Suites or the Haven, which are beyond the scope of this type of upgrade. For the overwhelming majority of frequent NCL customers, however, a reasonable, rational, thoughtful analysis of the benefits of using World Points for upgrades ought to be compelling. If I have somehow failed to make that clear, I apologize for my lack of perspicacity. Otherwise, I think I have contributed everything I possibly can to this discussion, so I will now bow out.

Not really. We would have taken the same cruises anyway, we just got to enjoy the benefits of nicer rooms. We didn't spend any more than we otherwise would have, we just got more bang for our buck.

The same can be said about any form of financial incentive. Coupons, BOGO offers, etc. all can be enticing to anyone who lacks economic discipline, encouraging them to spend more than they otherwise would.

The upgrade is per stateroom, not per person. I have no personal knowledge of using it on a single, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. You woud only save the price difference for one person, though, not for two, so your relative per person benefit would be half as much that for a room for two.

The points are posted to your account each month when your credit card billing cycle closes out. Any purchases made during the month since the last close out will appear on your next credit card monthly statement.

Yes, you can convert the points to OBC to spend on your next cruise or to cash to reduce your credit card balance. Either way, the best rate of return you can get is 3%. If you were planning on cruising with NCL again anyway, though, and would enjoy traveling in a Balcony, you can convert those credit card points to an upgrade that could represent as much as a 30% return on the money you have spent on your card. It boils down to two things - were you planning on taking another cruise with NCL and would you be happy sailing in a Balcony. If the answer to both questions is yes and you have managed to accumulate 30,000 points, it seems to me that the choice is a no brainer. Take the 30%, leave the 3% on the table.

When I call my PCC to make a reservation, I already have done my research on room availability. I make sure that there are some desirable Balcony staterooms available as well as some OV rooms. There are several subcategories for each basic room category. You have to book at least as high a subcategory OV as you want to upgrade to a Balcony. If you want a BA, for example, you need to book an OA room, then cash in your 30,000 points for the upgrade. For a BB, you usually need to book either an OA or OB. To avoid any problems, I always try to do the upgrade during the same phone call in which I make my original reservation. It usually requires a conference call with both my PCC and the NCL / BOA World Points specialist on the line together. That way we can avoid any hiccups or disappointments. We don't commit to the OV until we are sure that we will get our upgrade to an acceptable Balcony during the same phone call. They always have been very accommodating with us, allowing us to suggest several acceptable Balcony rooms while they agree to reserve a room of our choosing. If you try to make the OV booking first, then upgrade some time later, you might be in for some difficulty in getting a Balcony room that you like. Doing it all with one call means we never have been stuck in an unacceptable room, e.g. in a noisy area under the pool deck or directly above the theater, for example. It takes a bit more work and planning to upgrade successfully using points, but I think it is well worth it. We have cruised quite frequently with NCL and have used World Points to upgrade about every third cruise. On the others we pay outright, so we pick and choose which cruises are paid in full and which ones get upgraded. We look for the more expensive cruises, usually longer than a week, where the price differential between OV and Balcony is the most. Those are the ones where we use the points for an upgrade. We pay full price only on the less expensive cruises, or when the price difference between OV and Balcony isn't enough to justify using the points. Overall, we have saved more than $25,000 on cruises over the years, usually with a return on our credit card spending of around 30%, though sometimes even higher.

Delete - duplicate response.

So depending upon what percentage of your purchases is for NCL cruises and what percentage is for other uses, you are receiving somewhere around a 2% return on your spending. If you frequently sail in Balcony staterooms and were to hold onto your points until you accumulate 30,000 points, you could easily receive 20%, 30%, or more return on your purchases. If you do save your points in anticipation of using them for an upgrade, then change your mind about that, you always can convert 10,000 points at a later time for $100.00 of either OBC or account credit. Once you have claimed those points for 2% or 3% cashback, however, they are forever lost and you no longer have the option of redeeming them for a room upgrade at a much, much better rate of return. Sorry, but unless Balcony staterooms just aren't your preference, I don't get why you would throw away so much free money.

As I stated previously, upgrades from OV to Balcony may not be everyone's cup of tea. If you cruise frequently with NCL and prefer Balconies, though, I have a hard time understanding why anyone would voluntarily give up a return of 20%, 30%, or more in favor of just 1%.

Wow, there certainly have been a lot of naysayers who responded to your question. I have had an NCL Bank of America Master Card for nine years. We have taken 30 cruises with NCL since then. The card has saved us over $25,000 over the years. It earns three points for every dollar you spend with NCL and one point for all other purchases. For each $10,000 you spend with NCL you accumulate 30,000 points, enough for an upgrade from Inside to Ocean View or from Ocean View to Balcony. We prefer to travel in Balcony staterooms, which usually cost more than $1000 per person more than Ocean Views. The cost differential on some cruises has been much more, as much as $2500 per person, or $5000 per stateroom. That means that for expenditures of $10,000 you can receive a return of as much as 50%. That's far better than the 1%, 2%, or even 3% you may be able to get on most other cashback cards. If you check some of the posts on that thread that focuses on the NCL Master Card you will find many other testimonials to the benefits of the card. If you are among those who never sail in anything less than the Haven or anything more pricey than an Inside, then the benefits of the NCL Master Card won't be of much help to you. If you like Balcony rooms, though, this card is for you.

How is it looking for this late summer / early fall? There still are lots of staterooms available on several sailings of the Sun in Alaska from July through the end of the season.

We have been looking at the Sun for this August or September. There seem to be a large number of available staterooms on several different cruises. The prices have dropped a bit since these cruises are now past their final payment deadlines. It looks like some of them, maybe most of them, will be sailing at less than full capacity. Maybe it's because the Sun is an older ship, or perhaps it's because the nine or ten day cruise lengths mean that the departures are on unusual days of the week. In either event, if you want to see Alaska, have the time available, and want to save a bit of money on a less crowded cruise, it's a good deal.

Surely you can't be serious. I am being serious, but don't call me Shirley.

There have been several threads on CC about allowing NCL to book your flights for you. Because of the location of Port Louis, your flight likely will consist of at least one layover, possibly two or more. As others have noted, NCL has a habit of scheduling close connections. Many who have used NCL for their flights have missed their connections, so my recommendation would be sure to plan on arriving early if you insist on using NCL to arrange your flights.

There are lots of interesting places to visit in Seattle that easily can be reached on foot or by taxi. You can drop your bags at the Marriott across the street from the port and enjoy the city on your own.

If you are not able to book a tour, don't throw in the towel. Many, perhaps most of the port stops in the Mediterranean offer a wealth of options for those who just want to walk off the ship and explore on foot. Taxis are usually available near the pier. They can take you to many interesting sites. You'll miss out on having a guide to point out the highlights to you, but a little research with a good guidebook, such as those by Rick Steves, can work wonders.

There always is the possibility of last minute cancellations, meaning that slots will become available once you are on the ship. Stop by the Shorex desk as soon as you board the ship. There may be availability at that time, or you can ask to be added to the standby list. If there are enough persons on the waiting list, NCL may be able to arrange for an additional bus for a popular tour. If all else fails, there may be availability on a different tour that is similar to the one you wanted. One or another of these methods may work out for you. They frequently have worked for us. Perhaps as many as half of the tours we have taken with NCL were booked after we arrived on board. On several others we received our tickets after being on the standby list for a day or two. A few times we made last minute arrangements for a private tour. Don't give up hope just because you're running into difficulties trying to book in advance.

I double checked and you're right. The place of NCLH's incorporation is Bermuda, but it's shares are listed on the NYSE. That brings about a level of oversight and places the company under a measure of being subject to many US laws. I'll leave it to the lawyers on this forum to discuss.

NCL is an American corporation, listed on the NYSE as NCLH. Its corporate headquarters is located in Miami. It owns ships which are registered in a country other than the USA. It also is the only major cruise line which owns and operates a ship which is US flagged and registered. I'm not an attorney, nor do I play one on TV, but I imagine a clever enough lawyer could find a way to bring NCL to court in the USA.

Which just goes to confirm "it's not what you know, it's who you know." We have had similar experiences on the Dawn as well as other ships. It's why we go out of our way to meet and get to know the senior officers.

With the standard Free at Sea package, that is correct, but the OP asked about Free at Sea Plus, which does provide the $50 credit to each of the first two passengers in the stateroom.