complawyer

checking this list, buyer beware, spirit is one of the worst rated airlines

i would do it as soon as you get on board the ship

if you check, you will find a bunch of posts about bogo some pro, but i think mostly con. i have posted often, never, ever allow ncl to book your flights. yours is a major case in point. if you are still within the cancellation period, i would suggest you do yourself and ALL your traveling companions a massive favor, cancel and book your own air reservations. by the way, hopefully you are aware that southampton is a little more than an hour away from lodon heathrow airport, and hopefully you have made prior arrangements either on your own or through ncl for transportation to the cruise terminal. are your friends arriving at heathrow the same day of ship departure. if so, thats not so good. we're leaving from los angeles, july 25th, arriving at heathrow on the 26th. booked into a hotel for that night, then onto southampton the following day. also. make sure they have arranged transportation from reykjavik to the airport, and make sure that ncl has arranged the flight with enough wiggle room, for (1) getting off the ship (2) getting to the airport with enough time to check in for the return flight. IMHO,booking airfare through ncl may be cheaper in the long run, but look at the problems and headaches occurring because of it. classic example of "pennywise dollar foolish" i hope it all works out for you let us know what happens!

chances of prices on anything going down are pretty slim (if not all together non existent) that being said however, cabin costs are all subjective and in line with what you want and which cabins you wish to book read many posts from chiefmate jrk, and you'll find he's happy as a clam being in an inside cabin. some people arent happy unless they're in a suite or haven and dont mind paying accordingly. i'm currently looking at a 14 day cruise from reykjavik to southampton ,on the star. a forward facing balcony suite (with the attached perks) is currently $7600. i find that for the amount of days on the cruise, and everything that's included, is not an unreasonable price. lesser cabins, club balcony and below are also priced cheaper. we're also currently booked on a back2back 10 days each 1st leg, venice to athens, 2nd leg, athens to tel aviv. this is a total of 20 days, and we have a club balcony suite. total for the entire voyage is slightly over $10,000. again, for the total days, and the ports, i think is cost is more than fair. you're thinking about land based vacations from now on, but i have a sister that lives in orlando, and a week at disneyworld (with all the bells and whistles) can run well over a minimum of $7,000. try and get an inexpensive rate for maui. while i never presume as to tell any one how to spend their money, if you take the time to do some research, are semi-flexible, i think you can still find some decent (not cheap) but decent cruise fares. i have posted before, that when it comes to booking vacations, i'm overly anal, but in the end, if you want a cruise i believe that ncl still gives you the best "bang for your buck" factoring in price and itinerary.

if he was that petty, you should be glad his current status is "EX"

and unless the concierge was feeling overly generous that evening (fat chance) they had to pat for their meal.

ncl offers the same "sale" in different forms, and has done so for the past few years. however the so-called sale reads, the price rarely changes, and if it does, certainly not for the benefit of the cruiser. i have posted before, for some inexplicable reason, ncl's method of doing math, is wholly and totally different from the average person. wait a few days until this wonderful memorial day sale is over, check again and you'll see maybe a different offer, but the bottom line price you pay for your cabin probably wont have changed. if you're looking to book a cruise one year out, dont sweat it, you'll have much time

i thought you indicated your choices were between the ncl joy and rcl?

no question, the haven hands down!!!. we took our grandson on many cruises on ncl ships, and he never failed to make friends. ncl also offers (or they did inthe past) things for kids of all ages, for teens 13-18 they have the "entourage" especially designed for teens. up until he was 19 and no longer eligible, we singed him up and he met tons of kids and they hung out. i joke that we saw him when we got on the ship, and then not until we disembarkation. we only requested that he check in periodically throughout the day, and meet up with us a few times for dinner. if your'e going to compare the2 ships, in addition to the privacy issue, you need to (at least i would) compare cabin size, itinerary and estimated number of fellow passengers. our first suite was on the spirit from new orleans a few years back, at that time our grandson was about 14, he was overjoyed that he could call the butler (randy) and order pizza whenever he wanted. definitely go with ncl

you can invite whomever you wish, you'll just have to escort them to the haven and then to your cabin. it takes a special key card to access the haven complex.

if you can afford it and it's what you want, go for it. no need to get feedback either pro or con from other people. their opinions should have 0 effect on your decision.

1st thing i would do when i get onboard, is go to the shore excursion desk and ask. its unlikely that ALL the shore excursions are sold out in every port. we were on the bliss last july. unfortunately, in the ports of call, they were in the industrial parts of the city, and no outside tour vendors or cabs were anywhere to be found. i hope on your cruise the ship docks at better locations. there wasnt even anywhere to walk around and sightsee. we took one whale watching tour, but ive seen more whales in my bathtub then on this tour. (LOL)

while i certainly sympathize with your problem, ( i have posted numerous times) avoid booking air through ncl like the plague, dont let this unfortunate incident turn you of to cruising with ncl in the future. i have sailed with them at least 25x's in the past 1 years, and any problems thatarose were merely minor inconveniences! In the past i have jokingly complained that the only major problem i have ever had with ncl, is that their hamburger buns fall apart before im finished with the burger. big problem, no? i find that by and large, ncl offers the best bang for your buck, as far as price, cabin selection and itinerary, so please dont let this one lousy experience give you a bad taste for ncl. BTW, the opinions expressed herein, are strictly my own, and i am in no way affiliated with the ncl corp. so please dont think i;m an ncl cheerleader

if youre only going to avail yourself of specialty dining for 1 night, please be aware that you are doing yourself a major disservice. depending on the ship, le bistro, moderno or teppanyaki are wonderful choices, and i try to do any of them once per cruise in addition to cagney's for the other 2 people, it's ok for them t o pay for ala carte. if theyre in a separate cabin, they should have received the dining package as one of the perks

if the only problem you have is the cancellation of a restaurant reservation, consider yourself lucky at the very least and blessed at the most. with so many other options available, as don henley once quoted "get over it" look at the other sign of the coin. you could have kept the reservation, sat down to dinner, and been disappointed with your meal. relax, and enjoy the ride. to me after 25 ncl cruises, cagney's still wins hands down!!!

cruise critic has censored me before for what i thought were innocuous posts. so i hope they dont find this one offensive but.... who books a cruise for the hull art, and who would care. isnt the cabin, the services, the onboard staff, food, beverages, entertainment and of course price and itinerary the main contributing factors in booking, most of the time other than the embarkation, i dont pay any more attention to the hull art. i do believe the art on the bliss by wyland is rather outstanding though

well if the pcc doesnt feellike responding, just dial the ncl # and speak with whoever answers, im sure there are enough on ncl staff that would be more than willing to help you. we are fortunate to be able to book through CAS, and other than ridiculous wait times on the phone, someone is always there to help. i did have a pcc in the past, and if she didnt pick up when i called, i always got a call back within an hour. guess its just the luck of the draw.

but why pray tell would you want to do this? i would just book through the agent, or leave the reservation as is with the cruise consultant

i believe no matter how badly the passenger needs the air. with so many horror stories about ncl air, even with the bogo promo, i'll pass and do my own booking. if you check the airlines diligently, and keep checking, you'll almost always find a decent fare. it may not be a cheap as those offered through ncl but imho, the benefit of being able to pick and choose overrides the risks presented by ncl. we're going on a b2b july 27th through aug 10th, found a great fare (business class from lax to london non stop, and premium economy from stockholm back to los angeles on british airways. we're also booked on the dawn from capetown to barcelona next march. it's a little early to book, but we can go premium economy on delta, and 1st class coming back from barcelona. i believe that both of these fares are reasonable. its 10 + hrs to london, its a red eye flight, and being in business class with seats hat fold down into a bed, more than makes up for 2 seats in economy even if one is free. coming back from barcelona, in 1st class cant be beat.we're going in a few days early, and staying a few days after in all the cities. so as the old saying goes, booking air through ncl may be penny-wise but dollar foolish

dcguy64. you are generally correct in principal, but in this case the op was checked in the ship, a card was issued, a picture most likely would have been taken when they checked in, and i would hope that the picture corresponded to the card issue. IMHO, there was no excuse for what happened to the op. the only possible excuse was that there happened to be another "john Doe" that could have been confused with "john doe jr". absent that possibility, i still maintain, ncl ahs no excuse

im sorry, so what is your point? the card was issued when the ship was 1st boarded. there should be no problems using it. my passport reads samuel, but i never use that. ive been sam for over 50 years, and before that sammy. Just to avoid this type of hassle, i book under samuel, but i would never have anticipated the problem that op faced. it should have been 100% cleared up the1st time she approached guest services

there is no "dress code" per se. you can wear capris to any dining room on board. the only strict requirement is that men must wear collared shirts in le bistro. i usually just wear jeans or dressy type sweat pants (i agree this is probably an oxymoron) so dont worry. there are no formal nights, but you can dress up t have your photos taken.

wow, out of all the posts ive ever read about people having problems with/on ncl cruises, this was the worst. i absolutely "HATE" inefficiency, and it seems the staff on your ship takes the cake for this one . i would have been screaming my head off and probably been put off the ship. such simple problem to resolve, and yet they made you go through hell. i have often stood up for ncl and commented a number of these so called problems were of the 1st world category. in this case, ncl should totally be ashamed of themselves to allow this to have happened to you and ruin your cruise. it begs the question, how can ncl justify declining your card, when you have it, you're physically on board, and more likely than not, they took your picture when you boarded the ship. shame on ncl for treating a passenger so poorly. No excuse at all

ignore the timer completely. whenever the offer changes, if you check the prices they stay more or less the same 70% 2nd person in cabin, price didnt change. 50% off,price didnt change. other than the bogo airfare, the perks dining, drinks, wi-fi, shore excursions, have stayed more or less the same for the past few years. many posters, have already stated that they are unhappy with ncl booking their flights. i have personally posted that i prefer to book on my own so i can pick and choose dates, seats and times. i assure you, if you watch the time tick down to zero and you check the next day or the day after, you'll see a brand new timer with more or less the same offers. check the cabin prices currently offered, then check in a few days. i think you'll end up agreeing with me. in the immortal words of me: Y'all ain't missing' nuthin'

while some of the ncl fleet offers bells and whistles that others do not, for the sheer joy of being on a cruise ship (and we've been on most of the ncl fleet) to me it doesnt matter. it's the journey that counts. obviously, on some, the food might be better, the entertainment better, the general overall vibe of the ship, the attitude of the staff, they are all going to be different to some degree. just get on board with the only expectation of having a great time, and disregard the rest. personally, i dont need many bells or whistles. at 75, im not going rock climbing, go cart racing, water sliding or lazer tagging. i am going to enjoy the comforts of the ship im on. whichever it may be. a relaxing drink at the bar, a leisurely lunch, a nice dinner, maybe go to the theater (or maybe not) catch a lounge singer, or just chill on my balcony with my kindle. anyway you do the cruise, you should have an great time! just think of all the people that are unable to cruise