HuliHuli

5 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

sue a non-refundable credit

How do you "sue" a credit?  We might need the assistance of @Sthrngaryto institute legal proceedings against the non-refundable credit. 🤪

2 hours ago, coaster said:

Thought NCL dropped the ‘freestyle’ marketing not to long ago. OK if NCL abandoned those who loved them 20 and some years ago. Again, trying to keep an open mind. Don’t need a TA.

Freestyle is still alive and well at NCL.  I cannot imagine why they left left you after 20 years of your absence.  I'm sure an open mind and an open wallet will bring them back.

I think it's called Freestyle Cruising, i.e., having choices.  Maybe a TA could help you sort through the choices.

47 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

NCL is still showing many ports around the world for December sailings that are not going to happen as their governments have stated that they will remain closed so looking at NCL website is useless.

I disagree.  As @trivimpfound, NCL is still booking cruises that plan to visit Key West.  Whether or not those cruises actually go there is no different than any other port of call.

51 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

The OP may be asking because Key west residents voted to ban cruise ships and it passed. So no ships to Key west.

But....recently the State overturned that ban and ships should .....be able return shortly.

Well, the OP didn't say that and your answer is ambiguous at best.  So that put's us back at @trivimp's answer.

Have you searched on the NCL website for cruises including Key West?  That seems like the logical way to find out.

17 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Refundable/Non-refundable OBC was always confusing to me until I read an article on the topic. It was explained like this:

 

Basically, cruise lines want you to use money they gave you for things that they make money on. Example, they gave you $250 OBC. They want you to spend that on a beverage package where they make money so the $250 is diluted. Example, they may charge $3.00 for a soda, but that soda only costs the cruise line .50 cents. The $250 the cruise line gave you does not cost the cruise line $250.  If they allowed you to use it for gratuities, the cruise line would need to match the exact funds (no profit margin).  Does that make sense?

This is precisely what I said in Post #23.

7 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

We just booked a 14 day cruise on the Jade. I know on a 7 day, you get 2 specialty dinners, but does anyone know what it is for a 14 day? It's not a B2B. Thank you in advance.

Your question is answered on NCL's website and on your cruise confirmation document.

7 minutes ago, amunhbuu said:

Does anyone know if Windstar is continuing their Caribbean tradition of a beach party day @ pigion island in St. Lucia?  There is no mention of it on our documentation that I could find.

 

Thanks!

On our July 31st sailing, Windstar upheld the beach party tradition at Pigeon Island.  It was great!

33 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

This is what the stock has done since NCL released third quarter:

Which is consistent with what the market has done with other cruise stocks, i.e., not unique to NCLH.

13 minutes ago, pickle11 said:

I am glad you like the policy change.  After all it's only $100.  NCLH needs it more

I appreciate your comment @pickle11, but want to clarify two points.  First, it is not so much as I "like the policy change," but rather I see it as a sound business decision, i.e., NCL not indirectly contributing to a further dollar-for-dollar reduction in the cost of CruiseNext certificates.  I think there are more than enough other ways to use the shareholder benefit on board.  Of course, we can all debate that point; I'm only expressing my view.

Second, I view the Shareholder Benefit as a de facto dividend on the stock.  I'm not sure I follow your comment that "NCLH needs it more."  But by not providing it as 'cash', i.e., refundable, the stockholder benefits by $100, but the actual cost to the cruise line is only the cost basis of whatever purchase we may make in applying it onboard.  I find that fair as well.

I'm not looking to debate it further, but others may if they so choose.

31 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

This is the start of Del Rio making Cruise Next worthless.

Huh?  Let's see - you still get $500 in credit for a net $250 investment.  But you cannot pay for that credit using NCL's shareholder credit back to you.  That sounds like a wise move by FDR to close a loophole, but in no way diminishes the CruiseNext value IMHO.

6 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

 

If it was a general comment then please don't quote me as if you are teaching me something.

Sorry, I just didn't realize this forum is all about you.

8 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Well, NCL seem to think they are being granted access to Amber Cove until Taino Cruise Center in Puerta Plata opens, and a look at multiple port listing sites shows ships from NCL, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Virgin scheduled to use the facility in December of this year. While it may have been exclusive to Carnival Corp in past, right now they are sharing with other companies due to the delayed opening of the new facility.  Any day with 3 vessels listed would see the non Carnival Corp vessel displaced. 

Yes - I saw the statement on NCL saying the ship would dock at Amber Cove.  But if you're following other CC threads you know NCL has cancelled all scheduled calls to DR on recent cruises.  And the site you quoted is the very same site that states "Amber Cove is a Carnival Corporation exclusive cruise port..."  I see you left that out.  Finally, if you look at the port schedule you posted, it includes "all ships (in links) with cruises going to or leaving from Amber Cove, Dominicana, [and] Puerto Plata."  So the schedule reflects several NCL ships, but that does not tie them to Amber Cove.  Clearly @shof515has recognized (above) the subtle nuance of these schedules.

3 hours ago, shelnj18 said:

We've just gotten notification for final payment on our cruise out of New York the end of January on the Gem. We are excited but anxious too! Both of us, along with our friends, have been vaccinated and received boosters.  Just need some reassurance from some people who have cruised recently. Were people wearing masks when indoors? Were indoor venues set up to accommodate social distancing? How about excursions? I haven't told my family we are going yet and I want to be able to answer their questions. Any other thoughts that you have would be most appreciated. 

@shelnj18: If you want to know what the onboard conditions are like on NCL, all you need to do is review the cruise line's website.  See: https://www.ncl.com/sail-safe.  That is your best source of information, IMHO.

7 minutes ago, Sand and Seas said:

I think the $29.77 USD must be a mistake.  I would suggest you call NCL and have them check on that.

I think you are right @Sand and Seas.  $29.77 is an odd number; daily service charges are typically in $0.50 increments.  For my upcoming cruise in a Club Balcony, NCL says, "The convenience of pre-paying service charges allows you to plan your budget prior to your cruise giving you additional freedom while on board. A discretionary charge of $15.50 USD per person per day for all guests 3 years or older will automatically be added to your onboard account. Your service charges will total $341.00 USD for all guests."

14 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

NCL (and other lines) will dock in Amber cove if there is an open berth (ie one or less CCL family vessels in port that day).  The new port at Taino Bay (in Puerto Plata) was supposed to open in Early December but was recently pushed back (again) until at least March 2022, so several cruise lines have had to scramble and move itineraries around.  Sometimes it can take several weeks/months from when cruise lines get notice from a port before they can publish a new schedule as they have to work with other ports for berthing space, and therefore they do not announce itinerary changes until all the details are finalized.

Amber Cove is a Carnival Corporation exclusive cruise port on the Dominican Republic's north coast.  Carnival's exclusive port Amber Cove encompasses 30 acres (12 hectares / 0,12 km2) of waterfront property.  Carnival Corporation invested ~USD 85 million to develop the purpose-built cruise ship terminal Amber Cove.  So I'm curious, what "NCL [ships] (and other lines)" have docked at Amber Cove that are not part of the Carnival Corporation brands?

8 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

 

Correct, Did I say it was a mystery?

No, nor did I say that you said it was a mystery.  It was a general comment in amplification of your post.

36 minutes ago, Yesimapirate said:

My issue is that NCL didn't just wake up this week and realize they had an issue.   The change and more importantly,  the notice, should have been done earlier. 

Well you are certainly entitled to that opinion.  Maybe you can enlighten us as to when the change and the notice should have been made given your knowledge of the DR and TC port operations in today's environment where ports are updating their protocols daily.

53 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

The change is not with Stockholder benefits but with the Cruise Next rules themselves.

The change they implemented means no non-refundable credits can be used to pay for Cruise Next, it does of course impact stockholder benefits but is not limited to them, any other sources of non-refundable credits are equally impacted.

It's really not a mystery.  On NCl's website, the Terms and Conditions are quite clear as to what OBC can be used to pay for the certificates:

"Only refundable Onboard Credits and the Non-Refundable Onboard Credit given for purchasing CruiseNext deposits may be used towards your CruiseNext purchase."

1 hour ago, Yesimapirate said:

Is there a reason they simply aren't docking at Amber Cove I Puerto Plata?

 

I realize it's Carnival's dock.  Not saying it was accurate but I was told by multiple people at NCL and a travel agent that they're were doing just that.   I'll be pretty disappointed if my Dec cruise drops Puerto Plata for Nassau. I understand things change and I certainly expected it with Covid-19,  but more than a couple of weeks notice would have been nice.

NCL told me the same lie.  Amber Cove (the port) was built in part by Carnival for their brands.  I've been there and the port setting is excellent.  Amber Cove (the area) is adjacent to Taino Bay where the new port is being constructed.  There is a wealth of data on the web about their plans.  Amber Cove (the port) has pier space for two ships and even if Carnival would allow NCL to dock, I believe there are already two Carnival brand ships scheduled to be there the day we were to arrive.

6 minutes ago, MeHeartCruising said:

Again, I'm not saying the news isn't true.

The news is true and @shof515's assessment is consistent with my own assessment.  BTW, I'm on that sailing.

3 minutes ago, Altamira said:

The question was obviously posed in jest. 😁

In your opinion...😪

Both @floridacruiser14 and @Skipper305 are correct.  Also, some cruisers have had to re-verify their phone number and email as they were completing that page 21 days out.  So be sure and check those.

12 hours ago, Altamira said:

What are you guys trying to say about NCL’s cruisers? 😁

Like @ChiefMateJRKstated, I don't think I am saying anything pro or con about NCL's culture.  I think that one takeaway from this discussion is that it's YOUR choice on NCL; ditto on Windstar.  My comments were simply observations.

1 hour ago, SeaShark said:

I don't think it has anything to do with NCL or with the size of the ship. People like eating with people they know...friends, family, significant other...much more than they like eating with strangers.

This is why Windstar seems so much different - their clientele is heavily repeat customers that know each other from prior cruises.