Russiamomm

Have been an NCL cheerleader for years. But I’m not married to the line. In the last 18 months we’ve done Virgin three times, one Carnival and one RCL. Will never set foot on another Carnival ship. RCL of the price is right (i.e. a casino comp). I could live on a Virgin ship. Love everything about it. We’re also booked on Cunard and Oceania this summer. Anxious to try both. But our “Go To” continues to be NCL. Always feel at home on an NCL ship.

I’m not sure of the prices for individual items. But for wash and fold there is always a mid-cruise special for a bag of laundry for $29. It’s a small paper bag. Bring a plastic laundry bag from a hotel to line the bag and roll everything really tight. You’d be surprised how much you can squeeze into that small, flimsy bag. 🤣

Keep in mind that the offer needs to be in effect when you book it. If you book outside that window you will not get the extra points.

There is no minimum time. Last week I applied for a cruise I’m doing in August and it was processed within two days.

What kind of OBC? Non-refundable OBC cannot be used on the casino. Refundable can be, but you will still pay the 3% fee.

Yes and no. I did this in October because I had an Amex offer giving me $200 statement credit when I charged $1000 to NCL. The offer came in five days before I was going to Alaska and I had already paid for everything, including the DSC. I bought $1000 of OBC to get the $200 back. BUT…. You can’t get your cash back onboard until the last day of the cruise. While you can charge cash at the casino, you are still going to pay the 3%. I used cash in the casino and cashed out the OBC on the last day.

Agree with others. Why did you send it via snail-mail? Email works great. You get an immediate confirmation with a case number. It’s never taken more than three days to get an email confirmation that the credit was applied and a new invoice showing it. Also shows up in the online account. If it’s not showing up in your account, I would call them. Or resubmit it via email.

Complete personal preference. I carry mine in my back pocket - assuming I’m wearing pants/shorts with a back pocket. 😂. Makes it really easy to whip out at any bar. 😂

Agreed. A few more details on your questions would help. I can say that the Joy is my favorite ship in the NCL fleet that I’ve been on so far. I may be biased, though, since both times were in the Haven. I’ve been on many NCL ships, but the Joy holds a special place in my heart because it was the first time we were privileged to be in the Haven. Scheduled again in April to Bermuda, and again in the Haven, I just like the ship. It’s big, but doesn’t feel huge. It’s beautiful. Has everything you could want, except a thermal suite. But that will be resolved when it gets out of dry dock next month. The Observation Lounge is wonderful. Do you have specific questions?

Yup. NCL charges the fee to pull money at the slots. I know Carnival doesn’t, and there may be some other lines that do the same. NCL is not one of them, so this doesn’t work on NCL.

I could deal with any of those issues to do this trip. Looking at a B2B, Hawaii to Papette then onward to Australia. Dream trip for me.

Hmmm. Will definitely look into that. All bucket list destinations!

Thanks! The Hawaii to Papette on the Sun in October is very tempting.

LOL. At least for me, that’s never going to happen. I was thrilled to make Pearl on my last cruise in December, but that only took taking five cruises during the year. 😂

True. My bank also reimburses all ATM fees. That’s why I usually just pull cash out of the ATM. Even if it is a wash with the NCL credit card, using the ATM keeps me somewhat on track. I know the money is there and don’t have to worry about paying it back the next month.

I always book through CAS, but the most I’ve ever been offered is a comped inside, but I always upgrade the cabin.. I don’t gamble that much. I had a similar offer last year and CAS was able to apply the coupon, as well as an additional small discount. It made the TA in the Haven very reasonable.

I’m looking at that one, Looks good to me,

Hmm. Which ship?

Unless you have high status in the casino, there is really no way around the 3% service charge. Probably best to bring cash. There is an ATM onboard. It costs $6.99 plus whatever your bank may charge. If you have an NCL MasterCard you will get the 3% back in points that can be taken as a credit to your balance, wiping out the charge.

I looked at my NCL account and have a 25% off coupon for any transatlantic or transpacific cruise in 2024. Transatlantic shows as an option on the search engine, but transpacific doesn’t. I’m going to shoot a note to my CAS guy, but wondering if others here have thoughts.

There is a 3% charge. No way around it unless you have high status in the casino.

This is a YMMV issue. I’ve won bids into the Haven twice and both times I got the extra point per night.

If you win the bid you get all the perks associated with being in the Haven. That does not include any additional alcohol unless you are in the Owners Suite.

Agreed. We’re Sapphire and Platinum on NCL. Also Pearl for CAS. We booked our first Oceania for this summer and nothing. No discounts for CAS and not even the OBC that I get on NCL for the casino status. Not complaining, but it does seem that there should be more of a connection between the lines “in the family” than there is.

Was on the Epic in December. As others have said, there is a smoking section on the top level of Posh. It is not shaded and there is no elevator that will bring you there. It’s up a flight of chairs. Also as others have said, the smoking area on 15 is close and it is covered.