hallux

2 minutes ago, DorothyB said:

I thought they were supposed to be returned?

They are?  Ooops. I've had a couple places tell me in the past that I didn't need to stop by the desk on checkout day and I could just walk out so I just do that and take the card (if I get one anymore since I signed up for Hilton Honors and just use the app to check in/out and open my door).

1 hour ago, roddy good boy said:

Thanks for the hotel card tip! I stay in enough hotels to supply the whole family! Like you, I’ll just use it to keep up with my stateroom key.

I actually ended up with 3x more than I needed on my last trip - I brought one and planned to use the app for the hotel to unlock the door but they didn't have my room ready in time so the desk assigned a different room and gave me 2x cards to get in!

12 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Lately seems less in your face.

There are a couple reasons - the Note 7 was so long ago and they were blocked so hard that they're certainly not being used, plus it's part of the cruise contract that the Note 7 is not allowed on the ship.

@stellarose33 I usually bring an old hotel keycard to use in that slot, but I usually pull it out enough to turn off the power when I leave the room.  I just do that so I don't leave my keycard in there by accident.

37 minutes ago, roddy good boy said:

I’ve never had one of my devices catch on fire,

Most people don't, but the possibility that it could happen is enough as fire at sea is a problem...

I've been on the Escape in a Studio.  There is no bar in the lounge, just the wine dispenser as explained by @debenson0723  She is 100% correct in that the solo/Studio experience and lounge is what you make of it.  On my Escape cruise I went to the lounge as soon as I could get into cabins, met some people and hung around with them for much of the trip.

I want to say my solo coordinators have been good, but the one on my last cruise had a hard time controlling the large group (over 100!) and I kind of gave up on it after the first two nights. There's the opposite, my first solo cruise (where I actually met Deb!) I had an amazing solo coordinator but I think I saw that he's now moved up to Cruise Director

6 hours ago, 14ersco said:

The new USB ports in the bedside lamp appear to be affected by pulling your card when leaving the room. So you need to leave a card in the slot by the door to charge.

I would expect this, they don't want people charging devices when they're not in the cabin.  Cabin stewards are even asked to unplug devices they find plugged in when they visit a cabin.

7 minutes ago, stinkyharriet said:

I actually prefer the smaller studio cabins to an inside cabin

After a 15-night Panama Canal cruise in an inside cabin on the Bliss I actually think I would have preferred a Studio.  That closet in the inside was HORRIBLY designed and I have no idea how FOUR people (it had two Pullman beds in it) could go a week in such a cabin!  In the future - it's balcony or Studio.  I took the inside because it was a little cheaper than the Studio.

20 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

Of the items left on the menu at Le Bistro, Dover Sole may be the best I've had. 

That's my go-to meal there!!

7 hours ago, Matahari47 said:

Our steward said that they are usually only for one person but they stuck an extra bed in.

I find this hard to believe.  The Studio cabins (the only ones on the ship ACTUALLY originally designed for one passenger) have no room to stick an extra bed in.

53 minutes ago, stellarose33 said:

1. no mini golf?

I believe that was removed and never replaced when they installed the exhaust scrubbers during the pandemic.

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

I always ordered to apps and no soup/salad in the past. No change in dining package.

 

Is there a link to a change to the dining package? Or is it a bunch of poor assumptions. 

Is it an assumption?  Yes.  But as noted by someone else, NCL is historically bad at updating all information when changes happen.  I would be pleasantly surprised if they did not make the change I suggested was happening.  What you did in the past is not an indicator of future NCL.

However, this:

1 hour ago, slidemaster5 said:

We were told by the waiter: You can pick 2 appetizers, 1 entree, 2 sides, 1 dessert.

is encouraging.  BUT, we need to remember that these menus have JUST released. It's possible they're still filtering things down.  You can't turn an aircraft carrier like you turn your Honda...

9 minutes ago, Panhandle Couple said:

Of course we don't know how much of anything removed was actually ordered consistently.

and that's what has me wondering why all the teeth-gnashing over the menu cuts.  Sure it's a drop in options, but how often did any of the people complaining about fewer choices actually order the items removed?

Of more interest to me, based on the wording of what you were previously allowed on an SDP credit - were the apps, salads and soups previously combined like this?  Looking at a menu posted to another website - NO.  This may signal a change in THAT offering - one item from appetizers, one entree, one dessert rather than getting one soup/salad, one app, one entree, one dessert.

@julig22 I think I see a LITTLE of @RocketMan275's logic.  Some of it really depends on the cruise and what the fares are.

In my case - I'd book an OV and upgrade to a BA.  That upgrade is 30,000 points.  30,000 points redeemed in another way such as a statement credit is worth $300, but on some cruises the difference in cost from OV to BA is not even $300 (speaking strictly of guarantee cabins, lowest price for the category), extrapolated because there is no 30,000 point redemption except for the stateroom upgrade unless you do the statement credit.

There are other things to consider in that example though, I think...

Available Ubers are roaming near the port.  I ordered one at 11 AM on a Bliss disembarkation day and got a driver within minutes and if it wasn't for a traffic snarl because of a family trying to fit 10lbs of stuff in a 5lb bag (the guy had to call in a buddy to get the overflow, security/traffic control were NOT happy) I would have been in the car within 10 minutes or so.  Getting off the ship was a whole other story, but I was also on a bigger ship.

8 hours ago, ngrund said:

really no reason to close/cancel it-there is no annual fee

In fact - some say it's detrimental to you to close or cancel the account rather than leave it dormant and let the issuer close it after a period of inactivity.

10 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

But now you have me thinking (dangerous, I know). How exactly do you apply the points to an NCL reservation to get the upgrade? What's the process like? Do you get to pick your cabin? (Location is very important to us)...

Quite valid considerations.  I'm not sure but I may find out soon enough as I found a trip quite interesting to me and I can book an OV cabin to then upgrade to a balcony.

7 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

The big danger of a branded credit card like the NCL card is the temptation to spend more to get more points.  You wind up justifying additional spending because of the points.

I spend no more than I would normally, I just put as much of what I do spend on THAT card.  It's my default for tap-to-pay on my phone.

3 minutes ago, FranciscoFamily said:

 I was looking at it again last night and thinking about it this way, lol!  I think we might do it!

Unless you plan on sailing NCL again, that would be fine.  If you ever plan to sail NCL again, you're leaving points on the table by redeeming the bonus strictly for OBC.  Plus - the OBC is in, I think, $50 increments, you won't redeem the full 21,000 points for OBC, you'd need 25,000 for $250 of OBC.

Before you ask - that OBC can NOT be used for CruiseNext purchase.

13 hours ago, stinkyharriet said:

I think it replaced the Illusionarium.

Looking at the deck plans, the Illusionarium is in the same location Q is on the ships that have Q.  On the bright side, for those that liked the Broadway event in that venue, I've seen similar in Q on another ship so it may come there as well.  Q on the ships that have had it as a full specialty restaurant also have a stage in there.

13 hours ago, FranciscoFamily said:

and no incentive to use it as onboard credit then it may not be worth it.

You're right, there is no incentive to use it as OBC.  Actually, there is if your sole purpose is to get the credit for a single cruise.  The sign up bonus is your incentive - get the card, spend the required amount to get the bonus, request that your points be applied to OBC for your cruise.  Your $1,000 spend to get the bonus gets you points worth $20,000 of spending on non-NCL purchases.

If they told you something that counters this section of the guest conduct policy they may want to review it -

The minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on Norwegian Cruise Line ships is 21. Guests who are 18 - 20 years of age can purchase and consume beer or wine when the ship is in international waters (3 miles out of US territorial waters). The age modification does not apply for Alaska and Hawaii sailings. The parent or legal guardian must be onboard the sailing with the young adult and present themselves at the Front Desk so they can sign the form allowing the consumption of beer and wine only. A notarized Parent Consent Form or any other document allowing for temporary guardianship for the purposes of the sailing only will not be accepted.

It even says how to go about getting it set up (I bolded that).  Best suggestion - give that a try on board, the worst they can say is no...

https://www.ncl.com/faq/guest-conduct-policy

16 minutes ago, ngrund said:

and just use it for NCL.

I don't cruise enough in expensive enough cabins to benefit from this use case. I charge almost everything to the card and have amassed almost 20k points in a year in addition to the sign up bonus.

10 hours ago, mking8288 said:

OP is sailing mid month on the Breakaway, out of Miami terminal  ... Jun 16 — Jun 23 2024 - 7 nights Caribbean: Great Stirrup Cay & Dominican Republic  

I'm so glad someone is cataloging what cruises other CC members are on... 🤪

11 hours ago, Jellybean326 said:

What phone service do you have? First time cruiser and I'm wondering how I'm going to communicate with my family. If any past cruisers have been able to do this and also have Verizon please reply to this

iMessage is independent of the carrier, it runs strictly over the data network as long as both parties have iPhones have their devices defaulting to the Messages protocol for messaging other iPhone users.

4 minutes ago, Le Pappy said:

but we are completely unfamiliar with how things work on NCL, and POA specifically.

What things, exactly?

A tip - at the top of the thread list in the NCL forum is a drop-down, that is a list of ships in the NCL fleet, you can select the ship name and it's a pre-filled search for threads about that ship.  Start there...

Free At Sea questions?  Browse the thread list - several questions about it have been asked in the last week or two and it's THOROUGHLY explained in those threads and the many others that came before them.

1 hour ago, Sayuil said:

Thanks for sharing this. Yes my son is 5 yr old. My TA Confirmed exactly what you shared but they were not sure about Upcharge dinning like Brazilian steakhouse or Teppenyanki. Any idea ?

Yes, Teppanyaki and Moderno are included as well.  If you get any extra meals beyond your included Free At Sea meals, be sure to book Teppanyaki or Moderno FIRST.

1 hour ago, schmoopie17 said:

This is going to be our plan from LAX to the port, since we arrive a day early, staying at an airport hotel. My question is, how do you know the time and the location for the transfer if we decide to do this? I'm sure we'll end up scheduling the transfer ahead of time, just wondering about the logistics. If it's too much of a hassle, we might look into alternate arrangements.

Both times I sailed from LA I flew in the day before and used the NCL transfer.  Both times I used the hotel shuttle and returned to one of the baggage claim areas as directed by the TA I used for each trip.  I believe there's an NCL rep at each baggage claim to meet arriving airline passengers.