SubSmithy

Chuck, A life time ago I lived nearby in Ridgefield. I have used InsureMyTrip.com for many years to compare and by trip insurance with good luck. Though after all the insurance that I bought, I never really looked at the details of "trip interruption" coverage until today. I realized that insurance that I had bought in the past had a restriction that limited coverage to only instances where the common carrier had a 24 hour interruption in services due to weather. So a 6 or 12 hour interruption that caused you to miss your ship would not be covered nor would mechanical failure of the plane. After talking to InsureMyTrip they turned me on to Generali Global Assistance insurance. From their coverage doc: Covered events include "Common Carrier delays and/or cancellations resulting from adverse weather, mechanical breakdown of the aircraft, ship, boat or motor coach that you were scheduled to travel on, or organized labor strikes that affect public transportation" There is no minimum time for the event. This sold me, as it addressed my major concern. The price was very reasonable. Todd

The end of January beginning of February we docked at Taino Bay. All the excursions seemed to be long distance so we hired a local cab, $60 for three people to see the some local sights. At every stop like the cathedral, there were people who charged to show you around. $5 seemed sufficient. One stop was a local chocolate maker. They called it a factory but it was tiny. The gift shop sold more Mamajuana than chocolate. (hint, taste the chocolate before you buy it.) The shopping area near the ship is pretty good. Prices are more reasonable than other ports. The pool area there looked very inviting I wish I had brought my bathing suit off of the ship. I don't remember the name of the concierge. I never did get an email ahead of the cruise. But he was amazing. New reservations, changing reservations, account issues, getting us on and off the ship, he and his team were just super efficient and accommodating. As for the bartender, his name was Kai and his underling was Maria. Kai came off as snooty and arrogant and catered to a very loud and inebriated family group that was regularly dropping $50's. After the first few days the Haven bar was not the hub that I have known it to be. We found the bar at the forward observation lounge with a piano player late in the evening was a pretty magic place to hang out. Also a shout out to the whiskey bar for their Old Fashions and Whiskey Sours. I heard from someone who was on the Encore, the following week and they said that Maria was the primary bartender and they never met Kai. So good for Maria! She is is friendly and competent and fun to be around.

So after spending some time on the phone and the chat it seems to shake out this way: The upgrade offer both online and then through my TA and NCL had no option to pay the $343 for the third guest only for 1 and 2 with 3 being charged "only" $ 243. BUT, NCL verified that guest 3 received 2 meals which works out. 1 and 2 have the two original meals, two upgrade meals and two vouchers for a dinner at Cagney's and then the Bistro. So I think I can parlay that into 4 nights of specialty dining, and a trip to an A la carte and the Haven for the other nights. I may be nit picking but its time to put the spending brakes on this trip HAHA! January cant come soon enough! Todd

Sthrngary, first I always enjoy reading your posts. I am in this same boat (pun intended). I purchased the Free At Sea Plus For three. NCL charged $343 + $343 + $243. It was purchased through my TA who was assured that the third person would receive 2 meals with the upgrade. My trip summary shows all three of us have the upgrade but doesn't detail the meals. Clicking on the detail link shows the fine print: The fees listed above cover the following: Guests 1 and 2 who are 21+ receive all Free at Sea Plus offers. Guest 1 and 2 under 21 years of age receive the Soda Package instead of the Premium Plus Beverage Package. Additional guests 21+ receive the Premium Plus Beverage Package only. So right now it appears that #3 has no dining and I will have to buy more while #1 and 2 have more dining than we need. (Including Platinum vouchers) In the past while traveling as two, a restaurant would deduct 2 meals of of one of our cards one night and then two meals off the other card on another night. Other times they would deduct a meal from each. I don't think I can count on this to even out the number of meals for all three. In the end I am just trying not to leave the cruise with unused meals while at the same time having to buy extra meals. Todd

Thank you all for the answers. I kind of thought and was hoping that was the way it would work. We do have the free at sea meals. I was just trying to figure out how many extra meals I would have to buy so we are all eating together. Thanks again Todd

I'm trying to figure out what extra dining I need to purchase. S/O and I are cruising on the Encore in January. We are both platinum. From what I have read here, we find the Latitudes desk to get our rewards vouchers for 2 dinners for 2. I have also read that these vouchers are per cabin. My sister will be joining us in the cabin and she has no latitude points and no specialty dining package. So can I use a voucher for 2 along with the specialty dining package from one of us to pay for the three of us to have dinner?