JandC_Cruising

5 minutes ago, 9tee2Sea said:

I believe ( in my opinion), it's a $50 credit for the first person.  The first person gets $50, off, the second pays full price ( less any latitude discounts).  I may be wrong, but that is my thinking of how the excursion credits work.

Yes.  You are correct with the basic free at sea. 

 Although we have Free at Sea Plus, which does provide $50 credit to both passenger #1 and #2. 

In either case, the Retail value of these (and other excursions and activities) are less than $50, and it seems for those, the system doesn't take the $50 off when you are pre-booking as it does for any excursion or activity that is more than $50.

So we are Platinum and very well versed in the NCL programs.

However, in all this time, we have never pre-booked an excursion which is less than the $50 ShoreEx credit that comes with Free at Sea. 

For our cruise later this year, all our other excursions, which we booked and paid for already, were discounted $50 for F@S, then discounted 10% for being Platinum.  

Example:  Standard $119 excursions, is $69 with $50 Credit, then discounted for Platinum to $62.10.

This is the way it has worked for years.

We are now trying to book Kayaks at Harvest Caye.  The standard cost is $35. 

So, when we book, the price should be "ZERO", when the $50 F@S credit is applied.

But when checking out, they want the $31.50 paid up-front, which is simply the Platinum Discounted price.  

Is that typical for these "less than $50" bookings?

Are they simply going to credit us the $31.50 on board? 

@BirdTravels  I'm sure you know the answer 🤔

Mind you, I have no problem spending the extra OBC when we receive it, but figured I would ask if I am missing something here.

TIA

3 hours ago, baobaodarcy said:

Tagging onto this comment for people that have taken the Norwegian Prima.  It's scheduled to arrive at 11 am, and I booked an outside bus tour at 11:45 am that is right off the port.  Is that cutting it too close?  😬

I would contact the company you booked with and inquire if they are waiting for the guests to disembark.  Gerainger is not big town.  It is likely that the bus tour is expecting most/if not all of their guests to come off the ship.  In that case, you would be fine.   No sense for the bus to leave if nobody has gotten off the ship yet.  

49 minutes ago, SteveM812 said:

Under Vibe it literally says too early to book.

Try posting a question to others on your roll call to see if anyone has successfully purchased passes on your cruise.  
perhaps it is “sold out”.  
 

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Port Valet is actually paid for by airline and port fees, according to the Port of Seattle. If I were a Seattle resident, I'd be quite upset if my tax dollars were funding vacationers luggage transfers.

There are many cities that subsidize services of all types in order to pull tourism dollars into the area.  This is exactly that type of service.  Think how much more revenue gets generated throughout the city every time a cruise ship disembarks.  They are making it easier for the tourists to run around the city for the day without the concern of their bags.  They can do all sorts of shopping and sightseeing before catching a red-eye eastward back to their home.

Oh....and for each $ spent at Pike Place Market on a seafood lunch or a Venti Mochaccino at the  the original Starbucks, the city and state capture sales tax revenues back from that tourist.  

1 hour ago, SteveM812 said:

I recently booked the Viva out of San Juan for February ‘25. While booking it says the Vibe is “too soon to book” and come back 120 days out. The only offering is a cabana rental. Is this a new policy? A glitch? Or does this mean the Vibe is already sold out 11 months in advance? 

There is definitely not a firm policy about "when" the Vibe passes first become available.  

We are booked on the Prima in July 2025 and I can buy the passes today, if I wanted to do so.

$329pp for 10-day.

53 minutes ago, stellarose33 said:

so my question is we have the speciality dining with FAS. so only one night for two meals (hubby and I ) correct?

As @zqvol said...depends on what cabin your purchased AND the length of the cruise.

Here's the chart from the Free At Sea Terms and Conditions:

3 hours ago, 2flacruisers said:

Does the Escape still have a dedicated cigar lounge?

Yes.  it is next to Tobacco Road bar on deck 8 - starboard side.

30 minutes ago, ddlb said:

 I understand I can get a bottle of wine with each meal when dining instead of ordering by the glass. Am I allowed  to share this bottle of wine with anyone dining with me who may not have the package?  

So, We've never had a problem sharing our FAS+ bottles of wine with others.  We've traveled with our adult children and we had the upgraded package, they did not, but we always shared all our bottles at dinner without any issue.

31 minutes ago, ddlb said:

n addition, the package includes two specialty dining dinners. Do I have to use both of them only for myself or could I use one for me and one for a person dining with me?

Your dinners are specifically assigned to you.  They are non-transferable and therefore cannot be "used" for another person.

32 minutes ago, ddlb said:

I presume the Starbucks coffee can be ordered at no charge when in the main dining room or possibly other dining rooms? Or can you only get it at Starbucks?

With the upgraded package, you will not be charged for any specialty coffees.  The only exception is if you try to use the "automatic" machine in the buffet.  DO NOT DO THAT.

We get cappuccinos at dinner most every evening with dessert.

34 minutes ago, ddlb said:

Am I allowed to order a bottle of water when dining to take to my cabin or do I have to always get it from a bar?

We drink at least 1 bottle of Aqua Pana with every lunch and dinner.  At dinner, we will often ask the waiter for one more bottle toward the end (actually they often already have one for us). We then will leave with that extra bottle and return it to our cabin for our evening.  You can also find Aqua Pana at many bars (or boxes of water) throughout the ship.

36 minutes ago, ddlb said:

Most important are chocolate martinis included in the premium plus drink package or do you have to pay that extra  $3.60?

INCLUDED!  Enjoy at your heart's content!

1 hour ago, garnet115 said:

Which would you choose an why?  I've never been to any of the places on either itinerary, and having trouble deciding.  I'm leaning towards Italy/Greece, but would love input from the CC hive mind!  Thanks.

It sounds like you are willing to do both itineraries and even hope to do both someday.  If that is the case, pick the ship that you like the best.

For us, that would be the Escape, hands down, over the Epic. Do Greece/Italy, but on a different ship.  Just one cruiser's opinion 

15 minutes ago, bjtravelnews said:

Hello everyone!  For those of you sailing on the Joy more recently, do you recall where you could make dining and show reservations on the ship after boarding,  The restaurant I wanted to book didn't have any available reservations and I want to try to get one as soon as I board. 

Not as important for the shows, but would be nice to know.  Thanks so much!

For shows, you can go to the Theatre Box office - Forward Starboard on Deck 7.

They will have a print out of all the scheduled entertainment for your cruise.

For dinner, They will have a table setup at Teppanyaki or next to guest services, both on Deck 6 no more than 25 yards from one another.

3 minutes ago, boxedmoon said:

If you will be in the same cabin they will allow it to be used even if you are the 2nd person. The deposit doesn't need to come from passenger #1.

EXACTLY THIS!

As long as you are on the reservation with your correct Latitudes account number, you or an NCL rep will be able to grab your certificates and apply them to the booking.  

Sometimes we have certificates in my name and sometimes they are in DW's name.  Once both of us are on the booking, either one of us, or the sales rep have been able to pull the certificates necessary.

For NCL's policy, see here:

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/cruise-travel-documents

3 minutes ago, RWK1952 said:

Since our cruise next March currently only includes one French stop at Le Havre, I thought maybe another French port might also be a possibility.  Bordeaux is one that other ships stop at I know.

We were supposed to go to Bordeaux (Le Verdon) on that cruise but it was cancelled due to rough seas in the Bay of Biscay.  

La Coruna may be a pretty even swap for Vigo as you can do many of the same excursions from those two ports.

7 hours ago, RWK1952 said:

It appears that NCL is removing the Vigo Spain port stop from their itineraries.  Any ideas which port they might be replacing it with?

We were on the Getaway last summer from Lisbon to Southampton.  We stopped at Vigo, La Coruna, and Bilbao in Spain.  We enjoyed all three ports.  Perhaps one of those other two will replace Vigo.

41 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

Gosh that’s unfortunate, it was such a great service.  Another nickel saved for NCL.  

We have yet to do a cruise out of Seattle, but had heard of the service and figured we would use it one day....was it a "free service"?  just curious since you are putting in the cost cutting category. 

I would think many would actually pay $'s .  I know we would if, like many, we were on a red-eye flight back home.   

52 minutes ago, motravelerken said:

I am looking to book a cruise on the Norwegian Epic in the summer of 2025. Category of room is Balcony (BB). I am pretty sure the answer is no to this question but if I have 2 adult aged children (ages 19 and 21), can we have 4 people staying in 1 Balcony room?  I think not but just curious. If the children were under 18, would the answer be yes. Would they be able to sleep 4 to a cabin if it was a family balcony even if it was 4 adults? 

Only you can decide if the cabin will have enough space for you, but there are plenty of Balcony cabins on the Epic (as well as other NCL ships) with a 4 person capacity.  NCL doesn't care the age of the occupants as long as there is at least one 21yo or older.

Simply look at the deck plans and you can see the capacity for each style of cabin.  

Here is a screen shot of the Epic's 14th floor cabin listing.  see "accommodates" column.

• The Escape is the smallest as it is only on the Starboard side of the ship, but still nice.  The small size does mean a smaller crowd.  Given the growing popularity, I'd expect them to expand it sooner rather than later by moving the entry to the port side to double capacity.   
• The Joy not only now has both sides, but has the added upper deck since the refurbishing last month. 
• The Encore is essentially the same as the Joy, but with one major flaw (IMHO).  It doesn't have fully cushioned loungers.  They went cheap and did canvas loungers with affixed head pillows.  These are not nearly as comfortable.
• The Getaway and Breakaway are on both sides, but only have a double raised hot-tub on the starboard side.  That said, the tubs have a high canopy cover to offer shade while in the them.
• The Prima and Viva look beautiful and are now in the Aft.  We cannot wait to try them (we have future cruises booked on each) 

I really wish the Encore had the nicer loungers.  If it did, it would be our favorite as it has all the other attributes. Both sides, two hot-tubs, and plenty of seating.  The Joy vibe wins over the Encore (even though we like the Encore as a ship more than the Joy).

1 hour ago, schmoopie17 said:

She's quite what?

Quite cute? Quite a handful? Quite adept at locating cookies and hash browns? 

 

Okay, I'll be quite/quiet now. 😁

 

Oops...well..."Quite a handful" is really how most of us will think when we meet her!   But dear mom and dad have NEVER seen her act that way before.

IT'S OFFICIAL!  🏆

Congratulations to the newest member of the "Dead Horse Club" to:

"74 Latitudes Points - Should I be granted Platinum?"

Previous honorees:

• "My 15YO Doesn't Eat Much - Can they eat off the child's menu for free?"
• "My Friend Doesn't Drink Much - Can I buy them drinks on my package?"
• "My 16YO Is So Quite - She can be on the Haven sun deck, right?"
• "My Sister is Passenger 3 - Can she use one of my specialty meals?

Others?  

On 3/28/2024 at 2:35 AM, Exuberant said:

I'm at 74 latitudes points aka probably the most painful number of points. I've got a 14 day cruise coming up and have heard that some people have been lucky in having a higher status honored when they are super close. I'm curious if anyone here has experience with this and can provide a data point or best way to go about trying to get them to honor platinum this time...

I will give you a real life data point that is EXACTLY the same. A cruise as Gold left us at 74 points as well.  We did not get any "bump" as most everyone on this thread is indicating is the policy.  Our next cruise was a 9-day and, again, as indicated, there was no benefits added after night one.  Of course our Platinum status was earned within 24hrs of completing that cruise.

My only story of a benefit, was the watch salesperson offering me an extra 10% off as a "special Platinum discount", since I was "so close"...LOL!  I'm sure he was offering the same 10% off to the next potential customer as a "First timer benefit".

So specifically answering your 74 point situation,  enjoy your next cruise as Gold!

14 minutes ago, bluefish17 said:

Have an upcoming cruise out of Miami on Prima and am fortunate to be in Haven. I'm wondering how the Haven check-in is, particularly baggage drop off.

I know the Miami porters are aggressive about grabbing bags. Since I don't have a color printer, I'd like to have NCL put on my luggage tags. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

First of all, colors do not matter.  They are simply indicators for ship, not cabin category, so do not worry about the color.  Black and white printer is fine.

Also, for baggage drop off, just give your bags to any of the porters.  They are all great and will handle the bags well (I usually give them a $20 bill and we've never had any issues for what it's worth).

In Miami, you will be met at the entry to the terminal and up the escalators then to the Haven check-in to the left.

2 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

Well, that was short-lived! No sooner did we get our 3rd CN applied, our sailing was cancelled. Oh, well, it was fun while it lasted! 😅

I saw the general notice.  That stinks.

Maybe the CN's will re-appear in your account quickly.

We cancelled a cruise on the Joy for next March (which had 3 CN's on it from the last triple up promo) a few weeks ago and our deposits were back in our account in 48hrs.  We booked the Viva for 2026 with the two of those the following day.   Then we were able to add the 3rd to a cruise later this year when they launched this new triple up.

Hopefully you get the same turn-around as we did and you can triple up a different cruise before the promo ends on Monday.

10 minutes ago, Guindalf said:

I prefer anything else to starbucks - I don't like burnt coffee!

LOL!  For years I've said that Starbuck's strategy has always been to make horrible coffee.  That way nobody buys a simple $2.50 cup of coffee with cream or sugar, but needs to doctor the stuff up at $5-$6 per cup!!!!

21 minutes ago, eva2015 said:

With this promotion, do you have to use 3 or up to 3?  If we only have 2 credits, can we "double up"? 

You can use one, two or three......so yes...you can double up with the two CN you currently have in your possession.