JandC_Cruising

Yes. It runs throughout the Bermuda cruise season.

The Escape is the only ship scheduled for Amber Cove today (according to the Amber Cove calendar https://ambercove.com/Port-Schedule.aspx) so there is no conflict with Carnival ships. Odyssey of the Seas and Oceania Insignia are currently at Taino Bay.

I can't offer any advice or thoughts on getting the wrong info. It sounds like a simple error that you got resolved. Regarding the flights you have now received, it is very common to get booked on airlines that charge for baggage. Very few airlines offer free baggage in the US (Southwest is one). If you had booked your own flight on Delta or Air Canada, you would also be paying baggage with their standard fares. (unless you have status on those airlines) Additionally many airlines offer their lowest fare without seat selection. United and American both have fares that will only provide seats at check-in. On all these airlines they will charge you to "pick your seat" or "check a bag", so this is not really an NCL thing, but rather a factor of getting "free airfare". It is not surprising that NCL will select the most economical fare. If you end up on an airline where you have status, then you can take advantage of that status. We have status on United. We get free baggage and Economy Plus seats on NCL booked flights for them because of that. But we still have to do that through the airline. When we've received Delta flights, we have been able to select some "no charge" seats (in the back of the plane), but still had to pay for bags since we have no status on Delta.

I'm not 100% sure how it works with European bookings, but in the US, we've always been able to apply CN certs after the initial deposit. This has worked for our own "already booked cruises" as well as for CN certs that we transferred to a family member who already had her booking in place and had only put the deposit down. After the transfer is successful and your friend logs into their account, the CN certs should show a a selectable method of payment. Again, that's at least how it works on the US site.

The Haven Deluxe Owners Suite on the Joy comes with 3 bottles of alcohol and mixers of your choice. Those are the only 2 cabins on that ship with that benefit. Otherwise, you can purchase a setup as mentioned above.

This is not completely true. We've called many times after final payment to move up to a new cabin and then after getting that new cabin been able to bid on another. It is true that if you WIN a bid, you will not be able to bid on another upgrade. You need to start the bidding process all over with a link that has you in your new cabin. Any prior bids to go up were linked to your original cabin as you mentioned Call up the contact number at plusgrade or NCL. This happened to us before and I think the NCL rep was able to reset something so the updated booking gets transmitted to Plusgrade (the 3rd party bidding company). Within a day we had a new link to the bidding pages and were able to place new bids Hope that helps.

This is actually a very easy process. We have done it a couple of times without any issues. You can do it on the phone with an agent or by emailing the pertinent information to cruisenext@ncl.com. Here is what you need: 1. Your Latitudes Account Number 2. The Cruise Next Certificate Number you wish to transfer 3. The full name and Latitudes Account Number for the recipient. It they do not have one, just have them sign-up online. New registrants will get a Latitude number through that process. You do not need to have cruised yet to get an account number. It typically will take about 24-48 hrs for the certificate to show up in the recipient's account.

I can tell you from personal experience we have always been able to share the bottles of wine with anyone at the table. Most recently, we sailed with 3 adult children. We had the P+ and they only had the standard package. We ordered two bottles of P+ wine with every dinner (typically one red and one white) and all enjoyed the wine of their choice. On another cruise, we even once shared our bottle of Veuve at Le Bistro with a single mom who was with her young son sitting next to us. We just asked the waiter if we could pour her the rest of the bottle and he happily ran to get a third glass.

If "The List" you are referring to is an actual drink list or menu with prices, then what you are seeing applies to those who did not purchase the drink package. Those people will need to pay the cost of the drink PLUS the 20% gratuity. Because you got the drink package, you already paid your gratuity for any drink that is $15 or less. However, if you purchase a drink that is over the $15 max of the program, you will pay that difference +20%.... A $20 drink will cost you $6 ($5 overage +$1 tip).

You didn't. We have always upgraded to the P+ for all the same reasons you mentioned. Additionally since our first cruise back from the shut-down (and we've done 3 already) we've been adding 2 extra meals and upgrading our wifi. The new FAS+ is a great deal to wrap all the upgrades together - plus an additional $50 off excursions for guest #2. We are big whiskey drinkers and visit Maltings/Tobacco Road each night for our Old Fashions and Scotches. We have not faced significant outages in any cruise yet, but are on the Encore in two weeks and hope we don't see the same issues you saw. Happy Cruising!

With the P+ package, each guest with the package may order a select bottle of wine free of charge. The bottles covered are highlighted on each of the wine lists (usually with a bold *). Example attached: In our experience when a desired "free" bottle was not available, the server (or wine steward) has offered to give us a comparably priced bottle without charge. I agree, that nicer bottles and even premium glasses (>$15) are not kept at most of the bars throughout the ship. That said, we have never struggled find a premium glass or champagne (Veuve or Moet) throughout the ship. What the OP experienced is certainly an issue as so many do get the P+ to enjoy the nice champagnes.

We were on the Joy in a 2BR Haven in June to Bermuda. As is always the case, the Haven was packed and with good weather, the courtyard pool and Haven sun deck were always full. The one place we felt there was not enough staff to handle the crowd was drink service on the Sun Deck. There were just too many guest with too few staff taking and running drink orders. We simply had to resort to going down to the bar ourselves. (yeah...first world problems). We tried ordering food for lunch one day up there and after too long a wait, just went to the restaurant. Funny thing was the server was running our food up to the deck (45 minutes later) and saw us sitting in the restaurant. We had just sat down so he dropped the food at our table with an apology for such a long wait. The bar staff did great handling the crowd downstairs throughout the day. We had amazing service in the restaurant for every meal (breakfasts, lunches, and dinners). We only had one night when we waited 5 minutes for a table (we were a party of 5). The concierge staff (led by Patrick) was fantastic and knew all 5 of us by name by the second day and I felt did a great job juggling the large number of passengers.

You can apply them to existing reservations to pay down the balance due. We have done that a number of times. We've booked several cruises when we didn't have any CN certificates in our accounts. Then we've purchased CN certs on a cruise. Within a couple of days of returning from that cruise, the certificates were in our account and then we applied them to our already booked cruise.

One alternative is to simply drop your bags off and then explore the area. Return to the ship later and check-in will likely be much less crowded. I've not done this, but I've heard from others who have done exactly that at the NY cruise port and visited the USS Intrepid next to the port before even checking in.

If you pre-pay your Daily Service charges for the original cabin BEFORE you win an upgrade bid, you will not need to pay any additional DSC, even if you get put in a cabin with a higher DSC rate. (ie pre-pay DSC for Balcony and win upgrade to Haven, you will not be charged additional DSC) Also, If you win an upgrade, you will not get new "Free-at-Sea" perks that were not part of your original booking. You will keep whatever perks you received/opted into with your original cabin. Two exceptions that come to mind: 1. If you are upgrading to (or from) a Spa Cabin. That particular perk stays with the cabin not your booking. If you upgrade into a Spa Cabin, you will get access to the Thermal Spa. If you upgrade "out" of a Spa Cabin (say a Spa balcony or suite to a standard Haven cabin) you will lose your free access to the Thermal Spa. 2. If you win an upgrade to the Haven, you get all the perks of the Haven (except extra Free-at-Sea if you had not selected) and you do not get the extra Latitude nights that come when booking the Haven outright.

We have not been in the Vibe on the Encore (yet...we sail her in January). We have been in the Vibe on the Escape, Joy, and Epic (Posh Club). But, as is the case with the Vibe on each of the ships, there are limited areas that will get shade and those areas are completely dependent upon the time of day, heading of the ship, etc. If you are considering purchasing the Vibe pass, then you likely also see that they offer the few cabanas for "weekly rental" as well and those offer shade at an expense. They will setup umbrellas around the deck. However, our experience has been that those are only reliable for port days. Sea days are unpredictable. Even on beautiful days at sea, the winds often require the staff to lower the shades for safety reasons. In general, the seats at bar are the best chance for shade and the seating areas next to the bar can be shaded, again depending on the time and position of ship.

I think those *'s are indeed indicators that they consider those pours "Experiences". While I am not 100%, that would make sense. With "Experiences", you will get a 40% discount if you have the Premium Plus (20% with just the drink package). But I can tell you all those others (without *) are free with the Plus package...I drank my fair share of the Whistle Pig. Cheers!

That is NOT TRUE if you are talking about the Premium Drink Package (which is the standard drink package included with the Free at Sea). As described by Bird Travels above, that standard package includes only drinks that are $15 or less. That is a huge selection of drinks with the "well" alcohols at each of the bar. However, there are many pours (of booze and wine) that are more than $15. Any drink ordered that costs more than $15 per glass is charges the difference plus 20%. ie: a $20 drink will be charged to your on board account as $6.00 ($5 +$1 gratuity) However, if you upgrade to the Premium Plus drink Package ($29 per day +20% grat) you can get those higher end drinks (Whiskey's, Vodka's, Tequillas, etc.) without extra charges. Whiskey's/Ryes, such as Gentleman Jack, Woodford Reserve, Whistle Pig all exceed the $15 per pour. We are big whiskey drinkers and that is a major reason we always upgrade to the Premium Plus; so we can enjoy those selections without the extra fees. Items such as Louis XIII is not considered a "drink", but is classified as an "Experience". You will not get that for free in any of the drink packages. They will discount the cost by either 20% or 40% depending upon which drink package you have (premium or premium plus)

Yes....the sales rep should be able to cancel your WiFi upgrade and credit that $89 back to the CC you use for payment first. Then they can apply your FAS+ upgrade and charge you for that separately.

Sorry, I do not recall, but i know they are included

Here's the approach I would use. 1. Try working with the airline when you initially check your luggage. Ask if they can re-route your bags because you changed your plans and are staying in LA after that leg. With luck, perhaps they will let you do that..... IF THAT DOESN'T WORK, 2. Check your luggage to your final destination, BUT bring another carry-on sized piece of luggage that you can use for your short LA stay. Your other luggage will arrive at your final destination and get held at that airlines baggage claim office until you arrive home a couple of days later. I guess that does depend upon your comfort level that your luggage will be fine for a couple of days, but you can always call the airline after it arrives and tell them you got delayed and stuck in LA on emergency and will not get home for another couple of days.

You are all set! We upgrade to the Premium Plus every cruise. We love the bottled AquaPana at every meal, drink premium bourbons each night pre-dinner, get 2 bottles of wine at every meal, free specialty coffee's and energy drinks, boxes of water anytime throughout the day. Some will tell you it's not worth it, but if you take advantage of all the benefits, it will be. Enjoy.

Marriot properties we've used pre or post NY cruises Sheraton Times Square on 7th and 52nd and Fairfield on West 58th.. Both are short cab rides from pier. Of course there are dozens of Marriott properties in mid-town NY that can serve as a 2 day base to enjoy NYC pre-cruise.

If you pre-pay your Daily Service Charge prior to your upgrade, you are all set. You will not face any extra DSC charge. You will only have to pay the higher DSC if you do not pre-pay and let it go to your on-board account. Then, you will be charged the prevailing rate for your new room. You will only face an additional insurance fee if you (a) purchased NCL insurance AND (b) push your total pp expense into a higher "level" as @MeHeartCruising explained.

Hello all, We just stumbled upon this cruise yesterday and decided to book before the pricing, which seemed a bit odd, changed. We booked a Spa Club Balcony Suite for $1819pp! The Spa Balcony (B9) is priced at $2,619, but the Spa Club Suite is significantly less....Didn't make sense to us, so we booked it. Is there some reason we are not thinking of as to why the Spa Club Balcony Suite would be priced so low? Even a standard balcony is priced higher than the Spa Club Balcony Suite.