hallux

When I sailed with my sister and her BF on the Bliss in 2019 (3 of us) we were told at Le Bistro that they could NOT have given us a 2-top table and add a chair. They're SUPPOSED to 'up-size' the table to the next higher party size when an odd number is dining.

Looks like the FAQ may have been updated with recent changes on ships (Joy and Escape I believe), BA still has Spice listed as an option - https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/smoking

Sure does! I was on the Escape last year - they had the rock variety show, the "prom night" show and (best of all) Rumours!

That shouldn't matter, all the DR needs to know is that someone wants a table for X number of people, they don't need to know WHO is dining...

One is noted on the deck plans, deck 15... https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/joy/deck-plans I don't see any post-renovation video tours, not sure if it changed when they made the OL smaller. I was on the ship in 2022, any pics I might have may no longer apply.

This is the way. If you want to prevent connecting to the CellularAtSea 'tower' on the ship or any land-based towers that may be in range, airplane mode is your friend @SAmome

Well... I didn't catch it when it happened to me. I figured I had a little OBC to use and any replacement excursion wasn't going to use most of it so I decided, maybe a little sooner in the cruise than I would have otherwise, to upgrade to unlimited internet since my net cost would have been quite low. THEN the $50 charge to recoup the shorex credit I was given when I pre-booked the excursion hit my account. OOPS

A table for 13 is probably going to be several smaller tables moved together, making a long banquet-style table. Talking from one end to the other is going to be difficult but not impossible. Definitely see the maitre'd in advance. If you want to dine as a group all trip you might consider seeing them on embarkation day and setting something up.

I booked a couple of my excursions online before my last cruise, all received the Latitudes discount without issue. Another word of warning - if you pre-booked an excursion and it ends up canceled on-board (by you or NCL) the $50 credit is not initially factored in the refund, the FULL PRICE (or Latitudes-discounted price) of the excursion is credited and then there's a $50 charge the next day to account for the $50 shorex credit you received when you pre-booked the excursion.

LOL, I was 'misplaced' one time on Mackinac Island when I was a very young lad, apparently a group of college-age ladies made sure I was reunited with my family...

Luggage might not, though. There's a cut-off for luggage drop-off at the desk, after that they can't assure the bags will make the flight.

It's not explicitly on the prohibited items list - https://www.ncl.com/prohibited-items However, it does contain a fan and it's not battery-powered so it may be subject to scrutiny and possible confiscation depending on who is evaluating it and their interpretation of the rules.

Fingers crossed! However - Bliss holds those same parties on the pool deck despite having Spice...

As others noted - there are two MDRs open for breakfast, plus the included venue in the Atrium. I'm a buffet breakfast person - the omelette station is pretty good, as is the bacon and sausage. I give another vote for Le Bistro - Steak TarTare, Baked Onion soup, the Sole is my go-to meal there. In the MDR, the seemingly 'simple' breaded Flounder is one of my favorites. On my last cruise, on the Bliss, I also had a really good meal at Cagney's. Sorry to contradict you, Bird, but on the Escape I recall the dance parties being in Spice (with photo evidence. ok, maybe not the BEST photo to show a 'hopping' dance party, it was the first I found) Comedy, theater shows, The Pour House, Howl at the Moon ('dueling pianos'). The shows in The Pour House were AMAZING. If you're a Fleetwood Mac fan, they do the Rumours album start to finish one night with some speaking interludes explaining how the album/songs came to be - you need to be in line an hour or more before show time though (I walked by around 8/8:15 for a 9:30 show and the line was already quite long).

85 isn't far off from my dad's age (turns 81 during their next cruise, a TA on Princess from the Brooklyn terminal). But he and my mom know better than to do this. In fact, as much as he might not be an NCL fan, though he's never stepped foot on an NCL ship, he found no fault with what NCL did with the group in Africa...

An interesting thought on this - they called their family on board at 5:45, but how long did it take THEM to contact 'authorities' on the ship?

Re-read their post, they had the EARLIEST!

I can't speak to the rest of it, except to say that it would be REALLY nice if Aon would not be so strict about this 'written documentation' thing (and that's THEM, not NCL). Sadly, for all Aon knows, you chose to take your time getting off the ship rather than getting off when disembarkation started. I did self walk-off with my bags on my cruise in Feb. and was also stuck in such a line, note to self, grab a picture showing the line next time. As for the quoted text, if you're before final payment you should be able to get every penny back!

Airline pilots don't make that decision, that's the operations people on the ground. The ship captain knew exactly how long he COULD wait, based on advice of the local pilots (if tides locally might be an issue), knowledge of how much time he needs to get to the next port, etc. Those shows artificially elevated the drama, and the (late) passengers were certainly helped in that I believe they were on ship-sponsored excursions...

I'm not sure how this matters to the current situation - “Never before have we ever missed catching a ship on time at a port. So we are not someone who abuses the system.” The ship doesn't know if they're on-time people or habitual 'offenders'. They took a risk, they calculated incorrectly, they eventually got back to the ship. I have to wonder if the cruise line somehow had incorrect contact information for them as there were allegedly several attempts made to contact them.

If you see a price drop prior to final payment you can absolutely call in and get the adjustment. Two caveats - you can't base the fare reduction on other categories, there MUST be a cabin available in your category to make the comparison to. You can even ask to upgrade to a higher category cabin. you have to accept the promotions at the time of re-pricing so if the number of specialty dinners or the number of internet minutes has been reduced you accept that you get fewer specialty dinners or less time on the internet.

I think people have reported previously that if you have flights you either can't get a price drop after final payment or if you do there may be an adjustment to the cost of the flights. Something to consider - when you do a price drop you agree to the current promos at the time of the request for the price adjustment, if flights are no longer offered on that cruise because it's after the final decision date for the flights then the cost comparison isn't apples to apples..

As noted by @ScubaKat, if mailed tags are not received, tags can be printed once check-in is completed and e-docs are available. The link to download and print them is in the e-docs. I have plastic sleeves with metal rings to attach them to my bag(s).

How many meals depends on the cruise length and cabin type. A balcony on a 7-night cruise will get 2 per passenger for passengers 1 and 2.

If you pick a Free At Sea fare, the only change when removing the dining and drink packages is the removal of the dining and beverage service charges. In order for there to be a change in the fare you'd have to go from the FAS fare to a sail-away fare.