jame_g

Crowne Plaza, San Pedro, 3.5 *, $75/night, 12/30 and 12/31. (Priceline)

Actually, I didn't think I'd get anything this far out so I had just submitted this bid for kicks, knowing that this would be a great price not to have to mess with making the reservation later. Now I'm almost glad they jacked the price up on me over the initially advertised rate when I actually went to book the room on another website. Hate when they do that.

The clothes you will actually wear, the book you will actually read, the camera you will actually use, and the usual personal hygiene stuff everyone needs plus your own meds. (Don't forget your IDs and personal funds/credit cards.) Maybe, just maybe one or two of the things suggested here that you actually think you will need.

Then take everything, cut it in half. After that, further cut it down so it fits in one suitcase and one carry-on per person, making sure it's no more than a 60-40 split between you and your spouse.

Pack clothes and accessories that can be mixed and matched and reworn, and that will work well for different occasions. Leave behind anything that can only be worn once, except possibly that special outfit to dress up in one night. Use accessories that can go with everything you bring (belts, purses, shoes).

Wow. If I took just half the stuff here I would need 3 suitcases. Not very reasonable for traveling. So look through this and figure out what the essentials are that you will likely need. Don't overpack! Lugging around the extra suitcases and filling up your stateroom with unneeded stuff is a sure way to make someone unhappy.

I certainly can't afford to spend what it would take to earn me 500 points by the end of the year. I'm basically planning to shift to a new card soon, just not rushing into applying for another credit card.

I thought many banks started charging to accept coins, sometimes a percentage of the value. I think people should check with their bank before running off and doing this.

Banks don't seem like any volume of loose coins that have to be counted, and these days you can't trust people handing you pre-rolled coins, they often contain the incorrect number of coins or lesser value coins in the middle of the roll.

IrishKathy, I haven't seen anything like this mentioned yet. I would certainly like to be able to get $200 off my next cruise instead of having 2 basically worthless upgrade certificates.

Does anyone know exactly how people are chosen for the upsell call??

Do they check and see what you paid for your existing cabin?? (Meaning, people who paid more $$ for their cabins are called first)

Or do they call by who booked earliest??

Or do they call first time cruisers with NCL?

Or do they call loyal NCL cruisers?

OR is it TOTALLY random?? (which seems bizarre in a way)

Only NCL knows for sure, although others have made some guesses and assumptions in how NCL might be doing this.

how long does it usually take to disembark from pride of america, is it possible to make an international flight at 10:35?

thanks

(I tried to do a search for this but the server kept timing out)

IMO, That sounds too early, especially for an international flight. I just remember that once we got off the ship, traffic was all bottlenecked trying to get out of the port area.

When I said no to the AA uspsell price, they just moved on to the next person, lol.

Upsells:

POAm, Jan 06, BA to AE, $350/pp, saved at least $1000-$1500 ttl over what it would have originally cost. Having a suite for our Hawaii ceremony and honeymoon helped make this a cruise to remember.

Pearl, Sept 07, AF to AC, $350/pp, saved between $2000-$3000 ttl over what it would have originally cost. Really looking forward to being spoiled again!

On the first upsell, I called NCL due to the information I obtained here. This was when they were still taking the calls.

On the recent upsell, both my brother and I received e-mail offers. My brother and I both called and left messages. They returned my brother's call immediately. However they did not call me back. I sent an e-mail to follow up and everything was handled by e-mail after that, using a cc already on file. We ended up being in penthouse suites next to each other.

My advice if you receive an offer and are interested, don't give up if they don't return your call. Most definitely leave a voice mail. Better yet, if they leave you an e-mail address, respond that way. It's okay to ask a simple question or two, like what stateroom numbers are available, but don't monopolize their time because they are very busy. When they are done with you, they will most liklely try to offer your stateroom to someone else and so on.

But again, definitely send an e-mail response! And monitor your e-mails. My responses were typically received within about 30 minutes.

ma_t_gus: since they contacted you, if you are interested, I would still try again! They may still have something available, even if it isn't exactly the same offer.