SuperchargedR/T

I agree!

Being in international waters, there is no governing age requirement. At that point, its at the discretion of the cruise line of which age they want to allow to drink at.

Try a BB& C for desert!

I'll bite. what is a BB & C?

Baileys, Banana & Coconut maybe?

Yes, you always have to pay gratuities on the UBP or Specialty restaurants.

They should show up under your Vacation Summary (My account) under On-Board Packages.

If you plan on drinking more than (2) Drinks a day, it may be worth the UBP (IMO). But you can choose another if you like.

Just do your reservations is all you need if youre on board.

You can make some of them online.

Its $50 off per port, not per person.

Ive only received Haven offers when Ive booked Balcony or above. When we booked an OV, we only had Balcony or Mini-Suite as our offers.

Thanks. I was looking for something like that but guess I missed it on my phone. I apologize for the duplicated thread

What are your recommendations for 3rd party insurance to at least cover the cruise and flights (cancellation,weather, flight delays, etc). I've compare a few of them but ratings are all over the place. Thanks

Thank you all for the feedback! It's very helpful! I am really leaning towards the Liberty. I've never sailed out of Port Canaveral - would that be a reason to consider the other itinerary on the Sensation out of Miami?

 

After some quick research on the Florida board, it looks like Port Canaveral is an easy $20/one-hour shuttle ride from Orlando Airport...And, Cocoa Beach is "the place" to stay pre-cruise?

 

Would love any thoughts on that as well!

 

Thanks!

I lived in Orlando for years and sailed out of PC plenty of times. PC is a nice port, however, times going through customs and boarding can take quite a bit.

Honestly, if youre flying into MCO, you can rent a car for usually less than $50 for a day through reputable sites (and thats a one way rental). To me its worth it, but Im big on having my own transportation, especially for the things to do in Orlando and Cocoa. I now live in Indiana. I took a cruise out of PC in April. Again, we rented a car. Flew into MCO and stayed in Cocoa precruise. Made a few stops around Orlando on the way to Cocoa and did my usual thing around Cocoa. Dropped off the rental in the AM, and took the free shuttle from the rental car company to the port (which drop you off right at the doors). But this is all assuming you arent flying in the same day the cruise leaves.

We then do the reverse Post-Cruise. Take the free shuttle to the rental company, and pick up our car. Then drive to Orlando and spend at least that day and night in Orlando (if not the day following as well). We usually get off early and are to Orlando well before 11. Got down to I-Drive and hang out and do the typical site seeing and stops. Ie we stay en extra day we usually hit a park. Stay in Orlando, then drop the car off at MCO, and head straight to FlightDesk (returning cars at MCO is a breeze!)

But, thats just what my two little cents are worth!

IF youre wanting to do it now, you dont have to wait until that particular PVP is in. Anyone there can do it.

I have personally used passport cards in April of this year and October of last year with CCL. I ask NCL when I was on the phone last night, however she could only direct me to the website and she did not know.

As far as the paperwork, everything appears to be correct, has my UBP, Interent, and Prepaid charges listed on the with the new updated room number. Hopefully its that smooth and there are no hiccups

*** Little Update on the whole situation!

So, I called NCL directly to explain to them I didnt want to occupy a room in which I wouldnt be using for its intended purpose. I do have to say, the woman I talked to on the phone gave me probably the best experience Ive ever had dealing with in a customer service aspect. She told me she would see what was available that she could move me to. After a few seconds of listening to some tapping on her keyboard she comes back and tells me that, if I would like, she could move me to a Balcony room, AND give me $122.89 BACK TO ME! She told me she would be willing to change the promotion code that I had, I could still keep my UBP & Internet package, and she would change it to the current promotion they are running now (which is the waived taxes and fees for Balcony and above). So she moved me to a BA class Balcony and I save myself some money in the process, and save myself from the possible upgrade charge as well.

I appreciate everyone's responses to the post and the willingness to help. Thank you for the feedback.

It sounds like their boarding process mimics Carnivals with the exception of the boarding by zone, so it should be a similar process.

**I would assume that Passport CARDS (not books) are acceptable since it is a US Customs and not a NCL requirement (instead of a Birth Certificate). Ive used them the past few times on CCL, I would assume it would be the same here (As I did not notice any information about CARDS specifically on NCL website.

My apologies.

Any tips for the embarkment or boarding process? Or maybe a better explanation of how NCL does theirs? I am used to Carnival where I can put in my CC info for the on-board spending months in advance. It definitely helps with the time during the screening and registration prior to boarding.

How long is the process with NCL from Customs to Foot-on-Ship?

Sorry for the extended posts.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I appreciate them. I guess I couldve explained the room situation a little better, but I felt like I was rambling enough in the first post, so I can explain now.

I called in originally (prior to booking a few weeks ago) and got connected with a PCC (or whatever NCL calls them). IMO, that person seemed like they were either getting off work un 5 minutes or was having a bad day or was one of those not really interested in helping those who hadnt cruised with NCL before. So, after getting that vibe, I stated I would try and figure out what we thought we may want and call back. After that interaction, I didnt know what to expect. I didnt know if thats how all of NCL customer service was, or if it was just a fluke. But with that, we kind of looked around and RCL and CCL just to re-compare what was being offered and just reconsider what we "thought we wanted". So after being able to sit down and and truly compare everything, we still decided NCL was offering a "best case scenario" situation for what we were wanting to do. So, I decided to call back an see what happen.

When I called back, I talked to a Maria (I believe). She was more than helpful to answer any and all questions I had. Out phone call was just south of an hour and twenty minutes from beginning until end. I explained to her I had cruise CCL line several times and had always stayed in a Balcony or Suite room (granted there is a price difference between the companies). Also, with this being our honeymoon, we figured we would be in the room even less than normal, and would rather save a few extra hundos for stuff to do, so I entertained the idea of a OV or Balcony. She spent a good 15-20 minutes going through the best options she could find and comparing the prices and explaining the differences on the ship. Right before we were going to decide on a different OV (the balcony was $550 more than the OV total and I just couldnt justify it honestly) she stated she wanted to look at one more thing. She then stated they still had several HC rooms available and being this close to launch date, she highly recommended taking that room for the extra room and the same price. I voice my "concern" (or curiosity rather) of it being a HC room and stated with ALL of the exact rooms being available on all of the other floors, she highly recommended taking the room for the advantage of the extra space, and it being on the "top floor for rooms" so no one would be above us. I told her I didnt know how I felt about taking a room that was intended for HC use, and assured it should be no problem at all and that if she was in the same deciding situation as myself and it being this close, she would do it. So, at from the conversation at hand, I decided to follow her advice, considering her knowledge of the situation far outweighs any that I have, especially being new to NCL. I did, however, state that I would be more than willing to give up the room if needed. She stated at that time she would not the account that we were willing to give up the room for an upgrade to a different tier. She stated that they would bump us if needed, but it would be to our benefit as they usually bump to a "better" grade room (I guess thats open to ones interpretation and perspective). Ill admit, I wouldnt mind the extra room at all, however, not at the expense of someone else troubles for not being able to occupy the room when needed. So thats how we ended up in the room.

I guess the next question is this. If i DO decide to "bid", it would most likely be at the minimum or close to minimum threshold, as we are very content with what we have (even though we dont know what to expect with a non-balcony experience). With that being said, is there anything that the Mini-Suites offer @ $50/pp that the balcony @ $25/pp dont (and by that meaning features that would be worth the difference or usable services/amenities).

The front of the ship or motion aspect of it doesnt concern us as usually on CCL, we are in an Aft-Balcony. I guess the thing that concerns me the most is not being in control. Not being in control of "where" you end up specifically or at least an idea. The $50 or $100 isnt a issue at all, I just didnt really know if it was worth it from the Risk vs Reward aspect. I understand the likelihood of being accepted at those prices is probably slim, but Im not really willing to shell out a bunch since we are content where we are at. I guess maybe the only other thing to consider is being moved by NCL themselves to a better room without charge? Or will they charge me? I know in one instance in the past (a LONG time ago) CCL somehow seemed to doble book a room and only true Suites were available, and intially tried to get me to pay the difference. Endgame we were moved and didnt pay a penny, but it wasnt a seamless transition with CCL CS either.

Any other tip or advice for being a first time NCL cruiser?

Thanks, Nick

Well hey there (to the people reading this anyways). This is probably somewhat of redundant post, but from the search I did prior to posting, there wasnt anything that was exact to my question, so I figured I would attempt to get your opinions. I will admit, I did not read through every prior post I could find, but through the 4 threads I did go through I didnt see anything; So I apologize if I missed it.

Anyways, we have solely sailed Carnival in the past. My Fiancee has been one 2 cruises, and I have been on 9 with Carnival. I am pretty familiar with the rooms and layouts (or at least what to expect) on CCL. We are taking our first NCL Cruise in November for our Honeymoon on the Getaway. I called in to NCL directly to book and they gave me the 13700 cabin, which they stated was a larger, forward window cabin. Since this is our first cruise with NCL, this is also my first experience with their bidding/upgrade system, as well as being unfamiliar with their rooms or usable space or amenities within them.

So last week I was emailed for an upgrade to either a Balcony (Starting at $25/pp) or an Mini Suite (Starting at $50/pp). So after all this rambling, my question is, do y'all feel it is worth the extra to upgrade to one of the upgrade possibilities, or should I keep what I have with the extra space? And if I should, what do you recommend I should bid in at? From what Ive seen, the room I have is significantly larger than a balcony offering, however, an extended view and balcony is nice as well.

I apologize again for the rambling, I just wanted to make sure I covered my bases and explained to I dont get slaughtered too much for being a "repeat post."

Thanks, Nick for Indiana.