KateQ22003

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

As long as you don’t exceed customs limits, then you need to declare and pay duty on it. 

Unless you buy EFFY. It is manufactured in the US so there is no duty. You will have to show up with your customs form, but they just rubber stamp it.

I for one have seen a HUGE decrease in the value of NCL since Covid. I did 3 cruises to Bermuda this summer and each one had less services and amenities than the one before. It is very noticeable. What stood out most to me was the lack of staff and how overworked everyone was, and the amateur level of the theater shows. One night they even had "deal or no deal" as the featured show. Really? It is sad to me. I get they lost a lot of money during covid, but they can't expect to make it up in a year.

On 9/5/2023 at 1:07 AM, alyslee said:

Hello, we are looking at the 2 br suite on the pearl next December. What sizes are the beds?  The foldout sofa in the second bedroom is it a queen or smaller? There is one twin bunk? The bed in the bigger bedroom is one bed and it's a queen correct?  Thank you

I find the 2nd bedroom to be fine for one person, but too tight for two. The fold out bed is not a true bed; it is a hard couch that folds open. I would estimate it is the size of a double bed. It's hard as a rock and needs padding to make it even halfway palatable! The second bed folds out from the ceiling and appears to be a normal bunk. Depending on the size of your kids, and if they tend to bicker, I think being in quarters that tight may be an issue. It really is a small room. 

The bed in the main bedroom is a queen, and very nice. My suggestion as others have mentioned would be two rooms.

On 8/9/2023 at 5:21 PM, MagnoliaBlossom said:

And it’s a win for NCL if you choose between paying 18+ dollars for a decent wine vs having you to pay for the basic Bev pkg, “allowing” you to bring on your own wine, and then not have to serve you wine out of their cellar.  I notice they have discontinued their North South and East West wines from the Mondavi vineyards.  I enjoyed North South but last time I had it, it too, was no longer in the basic list.

Where are you seeing that they discontinued their East West wines from Mondavi??? They had it on the Pearl two weeks ago. That's all I drink with dinner; I am not going to be happy if that wine is gone!

Not sure if you drink red or white, but we love the NCL East-West red blend. It is a Mondavi wine, and very good. It costs $4.80 a glass over the drink package ($4.00 upcharge plus 20% tip). 

I think it depends on whether it is refundable or non-refundable. I had non-refundable credit last week on the Pearl and they would not let me use it for gratuities. They wouldn't let me use it towards cruisenext certificates either.

Another vote for Holland America. Service is top notch, and the smaller ship would be better for your mom. Not to mention ocean view vs. interior; this to me is the deciding factor.

18 hours ago, omahabob said:

It says select. Some of the others do. I missed the forward facing with large balconies, and some of the family suites. The club balcony suites, which is most of the ship, do not. There's still a decided minority of the non-Haven cabins on the ship that have butler service, and a  tiny fraction of those available fleet wide, which was my original point.

To clarify, club balcony suites are not true suites. They are glorified balconies.

1 hour ago, omahabob said:

As I said earlier, the only non-Haven suite on the Pearl that actually advertises butler service on the NCL site is the aft facing penthouse with large balcony. But as we are all aware, it would not be the first time NCL doesn't have accurate or complete information on their web site. But I suspect that if they're still offering it, they'd be motivated enough to advertise it. It makes them money, and it's funny how making money seems to motivate them better than so many other things.

That's not true. All of the non-Haven suites on the Pearl say they come with butler and concierge service except the aft suites, which say that "some" do (whatever that means!)

14 hours ago, omahabob said:

 

The Pearl was already addressed, and that includes the Jewel class. All the suites on those ships do not have butler service, or at least Norwegian does not advertise that they do. There are six such cabins that I've found, out of what, 800 or so? That's indeed rare.

 

The Sky and Star don't have a Haven, and thus are not part of the comment I made. In the grand scheme of things, their cabins don't represent a huge portion of the total number in the fleet anyway.

 

And I said cabins, not suites.

 

 

Most of the suites on the Pearl have butler service. I was in a two-bedroom non-Haven last month and will be in a forward-facing suite next week. Both were outside of the Haven, and both have butler service. Not sure which don't have the butler service; I have stayed in all levels and never not had that service.

You will receive a letter in your cabin telling you where to meet for priority tendering. The concierge will get you off the ship quickly and will move you to the front of the line if necessary. If you don't take advantage of that time slot, our experience has been that you are kind of on your own at that point!

2 hours ago, LadyBerard said:

Going on the Pearl this August.  My husband and I are platinum, plus we have two dinners for free at sea perks.  My husband's uncle and his friend are cruising with us and have no specialty dining perks.  If we want to bring them with us, how would I go about that?  Can we use our platinum certificates for my husband's uncle and his friend?

No. As I understand it, Latitudes coupons are not transferrable. 

3 hours ago, DaisyGoldberg said:

They definitely warn you about bringing home sand or shells in Bermuda. 

and sea glass.

I seem to get them whenever I am booked in a suite, but do not if in a balcony. 

1 minute ago, DorothyB said:

I wonder what would happen if mom moved into the other room and the friend is a "no show"?

It is after final payment so I'm not sure what the penalties would be to move mom Into the other room.

OK, so I admit I am late to the game, but it appears they had only made one payment of $400+? Where does the $5,000 come from? It appears to me they weren't paying on this cruise after the initial deposit and first payment; am I missing something?

Does anyone have the staff list from the Pearl?

4 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

They can’t always hold the ship for shore excursions either and don’t always. Cruise lines don’t control the docks, harbors, tides, weather conditions. 

Very good point.

39 minutes ago, Canuker said:

Question: so, the concept of 'We'll hold the ship for you' only applies to shore excursions booked through the CL and does not apply to flights booked through the CL?

Or does it vary from CL to CL?

On any given cruise there are dozens of flights bringing people to the port. They cannot be responsible for every flight in the air headed to that ship. Shore excursions are different - it is a limited distance away, and there are only a handful of them at most.

I'm not sure why NCL would be responsible for the airlines. The deal is, they make your arrangements and pay for them. They can't control what the airlines do, or what the weather does. That's why insurance is so important. 

2 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

Hi Tia, the ONLY correct answer to your question is to tip anyone you want to tip, any time you want to tip them, and give them any amount you want to give.  There is no recommended, suggested, normal, customary tip amount and what I and others tip is 100% irrelevant to your tipping decisions.  Enjoy your cruise and really enjoy the Haven!

 

This is the perfect answer.

49 days until the Pearl garden villa to Bermuda! Finally going to check an item off my bucket list 🙂

We absolutely loved HAL; the service and quality are second to none. Unfortunately they don't sail close to my home so I go with NCL, but HAL is a great product. I think you will be very happy with your choice.

It sounds to me like you had a reservation for 2 but showed up with 3? Is this right? It makes no sense you showed up and they wouldn't let one of you in. I know that seats are a real premium at Teppanyaki, but this just makes no sense. Or, did you show up and say my daughter won't be eating? I'm confused.

Yes, the tubs are gone from the 2-bedroom suite master bath. There is a beautiful, huge walk-in shower in that whole back wall where the tub was.