complawyer

hey ellis 138, it just sounded like you were disappointed in the cruise you booked, and the only positive was a potential weight loss. it wasnt a knee jerk reaction, if there are things you dont like, it was merely a suggestion, to cancel and book with ncl for things you do like. personally, i have checked out celebrity on numerous occasions and find that the prices for similar cabins are much higher than ncl, and oftentimes square footage wise, the cabins were slightly smaller for the extra $$$. this may not be across the board, but it was on the cabins and prices i was researching. plus, i believe ncl offers much more choices in the way of itineraries, and length of cruise

so what can it hurt if you give the bartender an extra buck or 2?

well since you have plenty of time, and there are enough negatives why dont you merely cancel?

god bless your mother, im 76 and couldnt drink that much. based on your post, i look at it like this (i believe in overkill) say 5 mimosas at breakfast, 5 throughout the day, poolside, and 5 before or after dinner, thats 15, and i cant believe your mother can drink much more than that! that being said, but imho, and this strictly my own opinion, 5 drinks before dinner, would either put me to sleep, or i couldnt taste the meal. on one of our 1st cruises, my wife and i sat at the sushi bar. from landside experience , i always offer the sushi chefs a glass of sake, and my wife usually has 1 so i ordered the large bottle. my wife didnt want any, and i was advised that it's against ncl policy for the chefs to accept. consequently, i drank the entire bottle. couldnt walk straight after that. so once again, if she indeed can consume that much liquor per day, god bless her

they are not "necessary" as those are allegedly covered by the DSC.. However, they are most appreciated by those that receive them!

by the time the new ships roll out, at the earliest i'll be 82, at the latest 88. by that time frankly Scarlett, I wont give a ****

if youve never booked an ncl suite, you'll be amazed and delighted (imho) they're cheaper than the similar haven suites, but you cant get into the haven complex. personally, unless i can get a phenomenal deal, i'd rather book the suite, and forgo the haven pool, lounge and restaurant. the dollar savings are remarkable. one caveat. once you book a suite (or a haven) it's really tough to settle for anything else. our 1st suite was on the getaway about 6 years back, and now i joke, if i cant book a suite, my wife refuses to go. you will not be sorry. most of the other ncl ships, have breakfast in moderno and lunch in cagney's . regardless, you CANNOT go wrong with what you have booked enjoy, and even though it's early. BON VOYAGE!

you will get exactly what you would if your cabin was in the haven complex, other than access to the haven lounge, pool, and restaurant.

whatever entertainment offered on my ncl cruise or any other cruise line, doesnt even enter into my thinking as to whether to book or not. itinerary and price, are my only criteria and schmoopie, good luck, ive had my posts suspended for up to a week, for writing less innocuous posts as your most recent response to this one.

after 30 cruise with NCL over the past 14 years, i dont think you can use "better or worse" as a criteria. just different. It probably is an overgeneralization, but when you hear of mishaps at sea, it's usually on a carnival ship. RCCL, while loaded with proverbial "bells and whistles", IMO, has gotten way to big. I really dont want to be on a ship with over 5,000 of my closest friends. i have posted many times before, i choose NCL as i believe (only my opinion) that as far as itinerary, price, and size of cabins, Norwegian gives you the best bang for your buck. suites, the haven complex and the attendant perks are wonderful additions. to me, the concierge being able to get me off the ship within 15-20 minutes of docking in and of itself is worth the price of admission. the catch for excursions and open bar are as follows, and neither are really free (1) while it claims "free excursions", the reality is $50 off each excursion, and then only to the person who made the reservation and only to that person. so if you book an excursion costing $50 or less, technically it's free. ( although they really are rarer then hen's teeth) there is a "service charge" tacked onto the drink package. while on board you can order drinks with no charge, you have prepaid the service fee up front. the total amount is disclosed when you do your booking. also you are limited to drinks $15 or less (although that does give you a very wide choice) anything over the $15 limit, you pay the difference and 20% tax. you can also waive the drink package and pay per drink as you go along still not a bad deal, and i rarely go over the $15 limit!. My problem is with the unlimited drink package, i have a tendency to drink more per day then i would normally drink in a year, that being said, thank god for chivas regal!

by the way, if you're in a suite, you can ask the butler to bring a cheese and crackers plate daily

it's like advising someone sitting next to you at a blackjack table, whether to stand or draw. i have a personal policy of never trying to tell anyone how to spend their money. you need a minimum of 100 shares. right now that's about $1600. if you want to hold on to the shares long term, as an investment, it's probably not such a great deal. in return, you get $100 OBC for cruises up to but not including 14 days, and $250 OBC for anything longer than that. bird is 100% correct. if you're planning a 1 and done, (while $100 OBC is better than a stick in the eye),it's probably not worth the 1600 investment. we were lucky enough to purchase 100 shares when covid struck, and bought at $7.00, so anything is a bonus. i have found, however, that with the drinks/dining package included with the cost of the cruise, there isnt a whole lot of other stuff I could/ would spend the $100 on. we were on a 17 night cruise this past april, and got $250 OBC. Again, i'm not sure we spent it all. By the way, there are only so many NCL commemorative t-shirts that one can buy, even at the reduced sale price. or a lobster tail with dinner at a $25 upcharge.

if they dont come around that much, how dedicated can they be? just saying, LOL ive posted this before, but personally, i'd rather stay on the ship.

unless things have changed, in the past ncl charged about $75 for their shuttle. it's been a few years, but i recall taking a taxi from the airport to the ship. sorry, cant recall the fare, but i believe it was less than ncl charges. regardless, as many people will advise you, be careful if youre planning to arrive the day of departure. if anything goes wrong, weather, flight delay, etc you may miss embarkation best to go in a day before, chill out at a hotel, and then grab a cab to the ship. provides a lot more peace of mind

unless you're really into scuba diving, there isnt a great deal going on in bonaire. it's picturesque, but unless your heart was set on visiting there, personally, i wouldnt mind the extra sea day. been to aruba and curacao, if it is the same docking area, you can walk off the ship and walk to downtown curacao. it's really a nice way to spend the day. also, ive been chomping at the bit to get a chance to visit saint lucia, maybe next year. cruise wise, my dance card is filled thru the end of the year

a few years ago, we stayed 3 days in venice, hired a shuttle to trieste, spent a day/night at the hilton doubletree hotel. in their lobby was a sign up desk for an ncl shuttle for the next day. it arrived around 10:00 a.m. and took us directly to the pier. by the way, trieste is beautiful, and im sorry we didnt spend a few days exploring there, but who can resist the call of venice? charming older hotel!

twice per day in haven or suites (not to include club balcony suites)

joedoc359 hopefully youre referring to the haven bar and lounge. If so, i'll be the one with an ice cold heineken in one hand, and a glass of champagne in the other. LOL

hey! joeDoc 359 if this the sept 26-oct 6 we're booked also. while checking the available suites, it stated which suite had the slides. i was lucky enough to get 15916 w/o the obstructed view, regardless, 1st beer is on me lol

dont be concerned about what others think! you're on a cruise ship, all the food and beverages you can consume, going to interesting places, just get on the ship and enjoy your cruise. we've been on the pearl twice (although not recently) and as ive posted before, if anything goes wrong, imo, they are just petty annoyances. if someone complains about the food, unless they are posting about the entire choice of restaurants, there are many choices to try. if they are complaining about the entertainment, there are also many choices, and they cant all be bad. as my sainted grandmother once said " dont't sweat the small stuff.... it's all small stuff"

to beat an almost dead horse, any one who has sailed with ncl more than once is aware (or should be ) that the alleged "free at sea" isn't! i dont mind the gratuities added to the dinner package or the drinks package, although with the drinks package i tend to drink more than i normally would and without the added gratuities, i would probably tip anyway, I dont use the wifi EVER, only thing that i believe is total B.S. is the free shore excursions. While its true, any excursion $50 or less would be free to the 1st person in the cabin (and how many $50 or less have you been able to find)? most are not really free!. Even as an attorney, i dont want to take on NCL for false and/or misleading advertising regarding their free shore excursions. im sure their attorney's have gone over the fine print with an extra fine tooth comb to avoid that type of lawsuit. i just wish they wouldnt pull this garbage on their passengers. that being said, ive sailed with NCL 30 x's, and never worry about the excursions, sometimes i book them, most of the time we hire a cab. regardless, im happy to just be on the ship and going to exotic places

sbnuggie. that's correct, on the west coast you can check in after 9:00 p.m., and your docs should become available/printable the next day

cruise crazy, that's nice, but how much was your bid, what was the original price of room 5158, and how much was your original cabin?

final payment is due 120 prior to sailing, any time before that, you can cancel or change your reservation with no penalty (other than europe) and get the full deposit back. if there is a better offer on the table, you can rebook (as many times as you wish) as long s it's before the 120 mark. this post was with t he assumption you arent working with a travel agent

jaimelogical... the DSC for 21 days comes to $1575. remember we're in a suite and there are 3 of us. still divide by 3 it's $525 per person. even adding that to what we paid, it's still less a deal (imo)