JoanieBlon

I just booked a Transatlantic cruise on the Jade from Rome to NYC, sailing October 31, 2020.  I also started a roll call for this cruise, which can be found HERE 

On 10/29/2018 at 4:32 PM, Host Clarea said:

 

Here is the link to the "Friends" forum listing:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/511-friends-of-cruise-critic/

 

Here is Trainman's forum:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/678-trainman-2-and-judith/

Are we still able to do a search of roll calls by member name?  I can no longer seem to bring that option up.  Thanks.

We had Gothenburg as a scheduled port stop on the Getaway last June . NCL provided free transportation into town. We all did a canal boat tour that was very enjoyable. I found it to be a charming small town, very much worth my time.

It's not the most exciting city. I would recommend you consider staying on the ship but coming off of a TA that won't make sense. If you have never been to Norway you can get to see some fjords from Gothenburg which would be interesting.

Gothenburg is quite a rare port for NCL to visit. From memory it is just on a couple of itineraries this year.

 

You are much more likely to get this info if you post the question on the Northern Europe ports of call section.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We will be calling at the Port of Gothenburg on Norwegian Breakaway (changed from AMSTERDAM :loudcry:) on our upcoming Transatlantic cruise from Copenhagen to NYC in October 2018.

Can anyone tell me what the recent cost was for using the shuttle into the city center from the Commercial Port (Skandiahamnen), where we are scheduled to dock? I called the NCL Shore Excursion Department and the person I spoke with was clueless.

I want to know if, FROM EXPERIENCE, anyone can verify this statement concerning small, Cruise Critics members privately arranged tours. I find it hard to believe that the ship would assign a staff member to assist a NON NCL tour group of the ship because one member has Platinum status.

Not everyone is Platinum and in tender ports it is greatly helpful for those and it also gets a tour off at a good start time and you can be assured your group is together.

We have a group coordinator on board who, even in ports we do not tender in, will take groups off ahead of the regular lines. It can be a huge time saver. You also can be assured that your group is together.

link to the ncl worldpoints program: https://www.ncl.com/world-points

Without spending hours gleaning through this thread, can anyone here with experience in redeeming NCL Mastercard points tell me:

What sort of upgrade can I get using 30,000 points? I am thinking a 2 category upgrade, but I am not sure about that. BTW ~ what, exactly, is a Mega double-cross upgrade? Sounds like a voodoo spell! :cool:

Are there any specific upgrades available at 40,000 points? I know I could get a 30k upgrade and $100 in onboard credit, but that doesn't seem like the best way to use points.

I am currently at almost 30k points total for my card and have to make the decision to keep using it to get more points, or to switch back to using my Delta AmEx card and/or my United Visa card for point accumulation.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and assistance! :)

While the smaller ship, Norwegian Sun, with the same limited space, DOES have a little sofa (bed) to sit on! Stateroom 7013. We liked this quiet cabin, just off the atrium and the Champagne Bar (and close to elevators and stairs) so much, that we have booked 7012 for an upcoming cruise. GREAT for the 2 of us! :hearteyes:

Thanks, just found that out by scrolling through posts that mini suites, suites and haven are excluded

Have to wait and see if upgrade fairy comes calling.

 

Will just bank the points for Alaska next year and upgrade from an ocean view to balcony

The cruises are booked as 2 separate cruises with individual reservation numbers.

My husband and I are currently at the Gold Tier level in the NCL Latitudes program. We are booked on back to back cruises this Fall on The Breakaway ~ first the 9 day Baltic Capitols cruise RT Copenhagen followed by the Transatlantic cruise from Copenhagen to NYC. We each are currently 12 points away from Platinum status, but will achieve Platinum at completion of the Baltics cruise due to qualifying for the double Latitudes points promotion. At the start of the Transatlantic cruise we "should be" Platinum, which allows for considerably more perks than Gold.

My question is, will that change in Latitudes tiers be applied IMMEDIATELY so we can get the free meals with wine, free laundry, etc., while on our Transatlantic cruise? I called NCL, but the rep I spoke with seemed to be sort of wishy washy with her reply. She seemed to think that it would take 3 or 4 days from the conclusion of our Baltics cruise, BUT the day of the week our first leg ends might influence when NCL got around to posting the change.

Should I go to the person at the Future Cruise Desk ~ who I understand is also in charge of Latitudes issues onboard ~ and explain the situation?

If any of you has personal experience with tier changes in the middle of back to back cruises, I would very much appreciate your input! :)

when the upgrade was turned down, they are suppose to tell you why. on one of my other credit cards, i keep getting turned down because of lack of card activity. whatever the hell that means to the creditors

Thanks - I had no idea. I've only been on two ship tours in my whole life, so I don't know how they organize their tours. Does anyone know what the cancellation window is for Alla, Spb, Best Guides or any of the other reputable St. Petersburg tour companies that have branched out to Stockholm? You'd also need to check that they provide transportation or guide you on the train from Nynsahanm to Stockholm.

"Stockholm Grand Tour (from Nynashamn) [group] -

07:00 arrival30 September 2018

08:00 A warm meet and greet with your expert guide and driver on the pier

08:00 - 09:00 Drive from the port of Nynashamn to Stockholm."

Be happy in the thought of how much you are saving.

I used my BOA NCL card to book a tour with SPB tours and was charged a foreign transaction fee, had I known, and my fault for not checking, I would have used either my NFCU or Chase United card, the cards I'll take to Europe.

Did you have the card before BOA became the issuer? Perhaps if you were it was grandfathered into terms and conditions.

As soon as I redeem my 10,000 point NCL bonus, I am dumping this card. I was also charged Foreign Transaction Fees for a couple of purchases I made in Cartagena Colombia. I copied the info below from my online billing statement. I should know better than have ANY dealings with Bank of America. :mad:I don't care if it's only 78 cents. It's still more than my other cards charge. NOTHING for foreign transactions.:mad::mad:

10/17 10/18 FOREIGN TRANSACTION FEE 2040 2041 0.51

10/17 10/18 FOREIGN TRANSACTION FEE 2094 2041 0.27

TOTAL FEES FOR THIS PERIOD $0.78

We solve the problem by ONLY cruising when 99% of kids are in school. Our last cruise, Oct-5th to Oct-20th had 5 kids on the entire ship. Long cruises don't attract families with children, either.

One other thing - we used to just jam the bag full with the slip but a few trips back they sent it back and wanted us to mark down the number of items in each category on the slip. I'm o.k. with that but just was a change.

We just returned from a 15 day cruise on the Sun. The laundry special was offered over a period of about 5 days ~ not just one specific day as it has been on other cruises.

If you are very careful and also bring a roll of duct tape to repair tears in the bag, you can get A LOT into it! My husband is 6'3" and wears 3XL Tall shirts. I managed to get 9 polo shirts, 2 pairs of shorts and 9 pairs of underwear into the bag! ;p

I DO MISS the self-service laundries. Princess still has them, I think. NCL did too, years ago.

Honestly ~ I tried Haggis at a pub in Edinburgh and LOVED IT! :hearteyes: Haggis has a very similar taste to a local dish we have in Lafayette Louisiana ~ a "sausage" called BOUDIN. The main difference, IMO, is that haggis is made with oats and boudin is made with rice. ;) Also, boudin is a bit spicier.

I would love a Spanish Restaurant with Tapas in the afternoon/early evening and a formal dinner later.

My personal vote would be for Mediterranean cuisine ~ Greek, Lebanese, Turkish, etc! :hearteyes: They could even have a bit of "Zorba the Greek" music and dancing! :cool: I have never met anyone who doesn't like some aspect of eastern Mediterranean cuisine.

Yes; There is a foreign transaction fee.

On our recent trip from Prague to Paris, on a Viking River Cruise,

I had a total of $1.62 USD in foreign transaction fees !

How will I ever recover ? !

Shame on them ! (sarcasm):D

I used my NCL branded MasterCard (issued by Bank of America) several times on a recent cruise from San Francisco to Miami, with ports in Mexico, Costa Rica and Colombia. Turns out that this card charges foreign transaction fees. I won't be using it any longer for out of country purchases! :lips-sealed: I am absolutely NOT a fan of Bank of America and ONLY took the card for the initial perks. At least it has no annual fee.