itsnotjustme

I copy all that you state. My point was the W-2G generating event(s) must have been big, not that the player won money overall. I actually presume where the winning went is back to gambling losses.

If you will not be cruising, take these steps ASAP: Most are obvious, but perhaps not the gratuities. - Cancel all excursions - they should be refunded before cancelling the cruise - Cancel the Free at Sea drink package and meals and get back the pre-paid gratuities, also B4. - Cancel hotels (if allowed) - Cancel the airlines - Then tell NCL (The Free CAS Cruise recipient likely need to do this.) $10K sounds like a lot if the balcony stateroom was free. Is much of that airfare? Any recourse with the airline? Did you purchase trip insurance - and would your situation be covered under your policy? And it must have been a nice win to owe $96K! I presume this has already been reduced for same year losses. .

Thank you for the information. It was comped from CAS I believe. In this case I did not want to wait until after the fall cruise as the 12-day in Spring of 2025 was heavily booked. Oddly, on the NCL web site all the OV and balcony cabins were guarantee only. With my travel agent, I could pick my cabin.

I am fairly new to CAS but have booked one cruise through them which was a comped 7-day inside (plus $20/person/day fee) which we upgraded to a club balcony. We take that cuise this fall. I was planning to book at 12-night Asia cruise, and through Ryan was twice told 20% off on an ocean view or Balcony. One of those times was just last week. I went to book it a few days ago, and a woman I have not spoken to before told me 10%. I noted twice being told 20% and was told I only qualify for 10%. No thanks. My TA was offering free pre-paid gratuities (worth $480) and 10 airline miles per dollar of cruise fare (worth nearly $1,000). That is worth much more than 10% off.

We almost always go to a MDR after embarking. We normally have small backpacks, and we can sit down and put them down without hauling them through the buffet. Of course, if we are in a suite, we go to the specialty restaurant serving lunch.

Maybe the news can start running a story for each passenger that misses an airline flight or a train too.

Not solo. In my prior call I had gone as far as specific fares and cabin classes.

CAS disappointed me today. I have been watching a 12-day cruise in Asia. They told me twice I could get 20% off twice this cruise, one of them just 4 days ago. I called to book today and was told only 10% off. I questioned it - and yup, 10%. My travel agent gives free pre-paid gratuities intermittently (available today) and airline miles - today at 10 miles per dollar of fare. These two perks together are worth more than the 10% CAS discount, so I booked with my TA. I am Pearl status.

The "taxes, fess, and port expenses" are the same regardless of the fare or even cabin class for each unique cruise. Different cruise, different taxes, fess, and port expenses. They are visible in tiny print when looking at the cruise listing.

We recently had a B2B out of Athens going to Israel (in September), Cypress, Turkey and more of Greece. Pre-cruise we spent three overnights giving us the remainder of the arrival day, and two full days. We filled these easily and only used public transportation. We stayed at the NEW Hotel (Marriott) using credit card award nights. It is perfectly located between the Acropolis and Syntagma Square. Post-cruise we stayed one more night at a small local hotel on the eastern coast. We chose to take the cruise transfer to the airport and picked up a rental car there. We were going to rent near the cruise port, but it would have been a long walk with luggage to the rental agency. We then drove to our hotel and dropped off our luggage and proceeded to the Archaeological Site of Sounion (Temple of Poseidon) and Archaeological Museum of Brauron. This was actually as good a day as any of the cruise ports. But what you do is up to your preferences.

My wife and I are Sapphire.

For a price difference of just around $400, I would not consider NCL air. I like being in control of flight times, airlines, seat, etc.

I am surprised you have experienced this extension of the perks. My surprise includes the fact that the concierge has that authority. Last time we were in a suite our concierge could not get us a window table in the MDR. The upgraded breakfast and lunch are the biggest perk of being in a suite (aside from the extra space)

I thought the thread would be an advertisement.

Disregard. OP provided new information.

We have done this on MSC and Carnival. I was certainly not horrid for us, but we do prefer our own table and choice of dining times.

Ports are - and will continue to be - a primary factor in my cruise selection. Why matters to me. I am on the same itinerary later in the month. Newport is one of the ports I want to visit.

I have never seen that as a covered cost on a trip insurance policy. This can and does happen and is legal. Any non-refundable fare falls in this category. Not taking a cruise after final payment/100% penalty does too. To the OP - Sorry this happened to you. I presume you either had many people or you paid not just to select, but to upgrade your seats. $500 is really high otherwise.

That is helpful.

I stand corrected. We have never had more than two Platinum or above on one cabin.

I don't think this is correct. (Perhaps someone allowed it, but I would not bank on it.) Vouchers are given for Latitude rewards status of Platinum or above. Each voucher provides dinner for two. Only two vouchers are provided per cabin, even if more than one guest has the status. Free at Sea is not a voucher and applies specifically to guests 1 and 2 in the cabin.

I had good General Tso's chicken on the Spirit (old going from Sydney to Aukland). I went back for a second serving, and it was gone/replaced by something else.

Apologies if someone has pointed this out. Pearl does receive on non-refundable OBC. $75. Better than $0.

The Wines Around the World event has not impressed me. They have a few tables each with a few wines from a country or region. You walk around from table-to-table sampling the wines. Our last one was so overcrowded there was nowhere to stand without people bumping into you, and the servers (or sommeliers) were over-subscribed just pouring wine, never mind describing it. We left 5 minutes in. The behind-the-scenes tour is decent, with the two we have participated in visiting the main galley, the theater, and the laundry. Now that we have done it twice, we will likely pass on most future cruises.

Two bottles of Bailey's.