hallux

A shame, that's a FANTASTIC venue!

Except you can ask 10 people and get 10 different answers. It all depends on the fares NCL can get for a particular route on a particular date. If non-stop met their financial expectations for one sailing it may not have for another. What you can expect as a worst-case scenario is the least-desirable option from the T&C's, if you get something better then you made out well...

If they're using the BOGO airfare they don't get any say.

Probably. This kind of question is addressed in the T&C's - https://www.ncl.com/about/terms-and-conditions/promotions Specifically this: For International flights, Norwegian Cruise Line will book guests' airfare with a maximum of two connections when possible; air schedules permitting. Does that mean this is going to happen? Possibly. Also covered in the T&C's Airline-imposed personal charges such as baggage fees are not included and are paid directly to the airline. Sometimes it pays to be informed and read the terms of offers you agree to...

Nobody has, they start in January...

They're all over the ships, just go to NCL's website and look at the deck plans to see for yourself. Getaway has some mid-ship deck 10 as well, and a whole bunch on deck 9...

My previous post in this thread is a little outdated now - NCL has now categorized over 1,000 cabins fleet-wide as solo cabins. This gives some regular inside, OV and balcony rooms this designation and access to the Studio Lounge on ships that have that space. This may not always be a great price in comparison to a Studio cabin or a non solo cabin in the same category type.

Six is already on the way out. https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/norwegian-cruise-line-set-to-discontinue-7-stage-productions I am, fortunately, on one of the last sailings with Six - I disembark the Bliss on Feb. 11

I suggest you read the link I posted earlier. It covers US citizen and non-citizen travel. Other than the risk of loss, what's the aversion to just bringing your passport and residency documentation with you to have your bases covered?

NCL has a 'required documents' link at the bottom of their page, it goes here (as though they want you to know about it) - https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/cruise-travel-documents

If you read the last sentence in the OP you'd see the reference to the Joy...

These people are entitled to vacations as well. It's possible you saw a FD from when he was on vacation. For what it's worth - I've been on the Joy with Jake as the CD and I thought he was pretty good as well. I will agree with your love for Jack as I thought he was also excellent on my March cruise on the Escape.

@smokeykat I wouldn't do it that way. Use the NCL credit card to pay the $250 then get 750 points (3x the NCL spend) for future use on the card. THEN use the points you would have used for OBC to convert to statement credit in the same amount instead. The same CN manager that had the proper and clear explanation regarding OBC also suggested this path, in addition to others on this site.

So you have your two Platinum coupons plus 3 FAS meals on each cruise? You're doing two 12+ night cruises in balcony or above? No, it shouldn't, but if you're trying to book more than 3 nights on each cruise in Teppanyaki or Moderno then you'll run into issues as it doesn't recognize the Platinum status for pre-booking meals. In addition to it being in the press release about the cabin re-classification.

No changed policy, it's been the same since I bought my first CruiseNEXT in 2019. OK, maybe one changed policy in that now non-refundable OBC can't be used against the CND purchase, except that which was received as a result of the CND purchase.

Uber's surge pricing is up-front, and I've dealt with it for a cruise (and will again in January). Royal HIDES their pricing - you don't know what the excursion prices will be until after you've booked (ok, same with NCL's) but you don't know what the drink package cost will be either. There's a YouTube video about that pricing structure for visits to Coco Cay.

Have you seen what Royal does with their 'surge pricing' scheme? "Excursions" on Coco Cay can be priced different for different ships, even if they're there on the SAME DAY! Their per-day drink package cost is different depending on the ship and itinerary. People complain about NCL's "nickel and dime" tactics, I'd just LOVE to hear what they say about Royal's pricing for things.

I'll say it again. There is absolutely ZERO reason to worry about making this change. There are no tables for 1 so if you made a reservation for 2 it's going to be the exact same table. Same goes for any other odd-number party size - book for one higher and just show up with what you have, except for Teppanyaki...

So do other lines, though maybe not to the extent that NCL does.

Maybe someone can start one for it...

Royal has bumper cars on some or all of the Quantum-class ships (competitor ships in size to the BA/BA+ ships on NCL). When I sailed on Anthem there was no fee for that activity but the line was horrific, and there were several rounds where groups of kids had friends staged in line near the front so they would get off the cars and filter in with their friends. There was ZERO 'policing' of the line. That's about the closest comparison to NCL's go-karts on other lines.

Use of refundable/non-refundable OBC to purchase CN certificates is covered in the T&C's, I copied and pasted the relevant section earlier in the thread...

It's not typical, but the CN Manager on my Joy cruise last year (or maybe Escape this year) did a PERFECT job explaining it. He explained it exactly as I understand it - buy two, get credit back for one for a net BOGO of the certificates with NO OTHER on-board purchases needed to 'spend' the money. In fact, if you look at the T&C's of CruiseNext you can understand this is exactly how it works. Only refundable Onboard Credits and the Non-Refundable Onboard Credit given for purchasing CruieNext deposits may be used towards your CruiseNext purchase.

So, all the reports of folks getting airfare for $1,000 or more LESS than self-booking it are bogus? The hotel - MAYBE, as some report that NCL charges double occupancy on hotel rooms also. But this thread isn't about those things.

When dealing direct with NCL the price you see online is the price. That said - between the time I booked my cruise and the time a friend booked his the price had gone up but my PCC (who I sent my friend to) gave him the same price I got. But I have a feeling that's the only place where they have some discretion to adjust pricing.