hallux

This is the reason I first got a passport - my parents were starting to travel internationally more and they wanted someone to be able to hop a plane at a moment's notice if they needed 'rescuing'. I actually renewed mine almost a year early because they and I both had nothing planned and there wasn't going to be enough time between a trip they had planned for later in the year and one I had planned early the next year to safely renew it. It would have still been valid for my trip, but it would have been less than 6 months before renewal.

Here's a different scenario - Domestic travel in the US requires valid government-issued photo ID (soon to be RealID-compliant ID), airlines allow you to check in 24 hours before your flight, but do ZERO checks to be sure you're compliant, though I believe they do have disclaimers that you need to bring that with you. The counter agent, if you see them, will check your documents (just as is done when boarding a cruise). Would someone make the same claim that the airline "should have told me when I checked in that the ID I planned to use would or would not work" when that person gets to the counter or TSA checkpoint and they get turned away because their ID was insufficient? This is the same situation - the travel provider DID provide the traveler with the information needed as far as what identification was needed, the traveler chose to ignore it by not reading the cruise contract. The travel provider did not provide a verification service of their ID during check in (just as the airlines don't). I'm booked on a Panama Canal cruise in January, a friend is coming along in his own cabin, for his first cruise. Guess what the FIRST THING I asked him when he said he wanted to book it was. YUP - "do you have a valid passport?" And I don't have nearly as many cruises as the OP....

This is why, especially since I typically cruise solo, there are few pics of me and many pics of sights I've seen!

@Ellaleah if you can wait until you wake up on day 2 you can save some money as you won't be paying for internet on embarkation day, where you'd have use of land-based cellular data while still in port (if outside, generally) and as such would only be without connectivity for a couple hours (once out to sea and until you go to sleep). I'm debating buying internet on my cruise in January - it's a 2 week cruise and the second week is almost all port calls.

@leaveitallbehind NCL has now re-classified over 1,000 standard size staterooms across the fleet as "solo" rooms. EVERY ship now has rooms classed in that way...

LOL. I sailed out of Port Canaveral in March. I rented a car in Orlando, turned it in near the port with the free shuttle to the ship. They start shuttling people over to other ships but not NCL yet, each shuttle departure goes to only one ship. They finally call NCL, I go out, get in the van in the very back seat, another guy gets in and sits back there with me. Once it's full the van pulls away from the rental agency office and the guy asks me which ship I'm on. Confused, I respond "the only NCL ship boarding here today". Him: "umm, I think I'm on the wrong shuttle"....

Yup, I'm in NY and have an EDL...

Sure, the programming is simple. I'm sure the LAWYERS had a hand in things though. As pointed out - if NCL just says 'we'll verify your documents are in order during check in' if something is amiss when you get to the pier with something out of sorts for some reason then NCL hold responsibility. NCL just says 'it's on you to be sure you have proper documentation' and gives the requirements in the cruise contract. If you want someone to hold your hand and tell you all is right - get a good TA and tell them you want that level of service.

I have, and I don't even need my passport to do so if I wanted to!!

You've said this several times - if you were certified on an Apache would you go try to fly a Chinook? The cruises you've been on before are different from this one, meaning the requirements are different.

To be fair - he had as much prior notice as the amount of time he's ahd the cruise booked. The agreement (that apparently nobody reads, I didn't but I have the required documentation for my upcoming cruise as I DO have a passport) clearly indicates what documentation is needed for which types of cruises. This is also where having an attentive TA is helpful - they should have notified of what documentation is needed.

and it's not an NCL requirement, but a FEDERAL requirement...

I really liked the Escape! For a sun-worshipper it's one of (if not THE) best in the fleet with all the free-to-use sun-deck space. The entertainment on board was excellent as well!!

You know what, I'm not 100% certain...

I got the same thing for my January cruise (which is not closed-loop).

With FAS you pay 20% of the value of the package. When you walk in and pay for a meal 'out of pocket' (against your room bill) you pay gratuities based on the value of what you paid.

It's an upgrade cost, not an extension cost. The upgrade involves a 'surrender' of the initial plan to get credit for that toward the unlimited. Additionally - how long ago did you book? 250 minutes hasn't been the offer for several years, it's been 150 minutes per passenger for cruises 7-11 nights (300 per per passenger for longer cruises) for quite a while now.

If you use the 250 minutes you get no credit for that when upgrading. Once you use the free minutes you pay full price for any internet you buy for the rest of the cruise. Additionally - any discount for the unused (never activated) FAS internet minutes will only be available in the first couple days of the cruise.

Except it is, in the US anyway. Before final payment the deposit is 100% refundable so the customer is free to cancel and re-book at the lower rate. Understanding this, NCL just allows for a price reduction and perk adjustment (if needed) to match the current fare offering. After final payment the customer is locked into the fare and subject to cancellation penalties. NCL has ZERO obligation to offer a fare adjustment - you (being the customer) booked and paid for a cruise at a fare you were happy with, otherwise you wouldn't have made the final payment. At this point each request is evaluated (by someone) and some compensation is given or not. I recall that at one point the compensation was 25% or 50% of the difference paid in FCC.

I've reported the thread for the misleading title. OP has been here since 2004 with fewer than 30 posts and I think saw a 'trigger word' to get people to read the thread...

See my post, #9 in the thread, the same thing happened with Le Bistro for my cruise. It was resolved on Monday, 120 days before the cruise was Friday (2 weeks ago).

Since this is a "Live on..." thread, I assume more detail is coming?

Yes. About 180 miles North - ALB. I couldn't justify the extra $400 for the cruise to go on the one you're on. I'm staying the night in LA, near the airport, and still saving money by being able to use points for the flight and paying for the hotel vs. just paying for a flight on disembarkation day. I was going to have to take Monday off anyway, this way I'm waking up at a time that coincides when I'd wake up (around 7 AM ET) to make the flight home and get home around 7 PM ET which will put me on schedule to return to work Tuesday. Plus - a friend of mine, who is also cruising solo, has wanted to see some of CA which he is doing after the cruise and he might not have done it if we'd gone the other way.

OP is in the UK, they have different rules on that and I don't think they can...

A quick Google search gives me this cabin tour from earlier this year, hope it helps -