JandC_Cruising

2 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

I did not edit anything. I quoted your words.

Those words, taken literally, implied that paying for the excursions was optional.

I simply pointed out that, as you now stated in this latest post, that payment was mandatory - so that potential readers would not think they could reserve excursion space.

So just you are very clear...you did not quote my words when your re-wrote it with the following

Here is what you posted:

15 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

There is no "even pay before final".

Excursions must be paid for at time of booking.

Here is the sentence from my original post:

On 3/24/2024 at 8:03 AM, JandC_Cruising said:

You can even pay for the excursions before you have made final payment on the cruise.

Very different words and very different meanings.

1 hour ago, cruiser2015 said:

There is no "even pay before final".

Excursions must be paid for at time of booking.

I’m not sure why you quoted me but then edited what I actually wrote in post #4
The point was you can book and pay for excursions BEFORE you have made final payment for your cruise. Yes. You need to pay for the excursion but you can do so well before you’ve done anything other than a deposit on the cruise itself. 

As Benjamin Franklin said, "nothing is certain but death and taxes"...the taxes get remitted to the various governments.

On each of our cruises, we've been charged taxes at US ports (and in Europe, particularly Spain).

the total on each cruise is usually less than $20 total.  And we are pretty active drinkers.

For those who are moaning about this, I'll ask:  Who is "nickel and diming" now?  If that $20 or so in total taxes is too much for you, book on another line that builds the tax into their fares.  Rest assured, those other lines are not eating the tax bill to Florida, New York, Spain, or any other government agency.

7 hours ago, Scubadoc said:

How early does Norwegian accept reservations for the excursions and how early do you recommend we book them?

NCL will accept reservations for their posted excursions as soon as you see them available on your cruise planner.

You can even pay for the excursions before you have made final payment on the cruise.

We have done that many times when there were excursions that were a "must-do" in our plans.

If there are excursions you want to take, and you see them available, book them ASAP.  Even Haven guests do not get priority for excursions.  They will fill up.

52 minutes ago, marktwothousand said:

thanks for all this. I thought platinum had a special waiting area but I wasn’t aware their boarding time didn’t count!

As long as you are in the terminal and fully checked in with our keycard, waiting in the terminal for boarding, they will board "Platinum and above" after the Haven, but before "Group 1", which is the boarding # given to those who arrive at the terminal the earliest, but do not have any priority status. 

Last January we were in the terminal at 9:30am and it was a cattle call at 11:30 or so, when they started boarded Platinum and above since there were so many with that status.  

9 minutes ago, shanefm3 said:

After a circular conversation with NCL, they refuse to give me a price for the thermal spa cost for a cruise out of New York on Apr 29th. The fare is now $1000 but I'd like to know ballpark cost of both spa and Wi-Fi. It seems to me to be ridiculous not to be transparent and to have to make a reservation to get this info makes no sense

 

Anyone please help me so I can make an informed decision

Try posting your question on the Roll Call for that cruise.  Someone who is booked on the cruise could look in their planner to see cost.

2 minutes ago, mattyboy said:

Do they sell just a Starbucks package once on board or is only available if you upgrade to the Drink+ package?

Any and all thoughts much appreciated

 

Yes.  $12.95/day +20%Gratuity per person.

31 minutes ago, dock said:

Does FAS+ ever go on sale? 
For our 10 night it’s currently at $499.90 pp.

Thank you. 

No.  They have not run "discounts" on the FAS+ since they created that program.

9 hours ago, kona_wahine said:

I’ve only cruised a couple times with NCL and we have a group cruising Alaska in July.  Specialty dining opened up 5 minutes ago and everything is just about gone except super late. Is that the norm? We have 5 cabins booked so I’ll try calling that department tomorrow and hopefully they can help us, as we we want to dine together as it’s a family vacation. There are 9 passengers so I couldn’t do it online anyway, I had to call tomorrow when the group NCL people are open.  I was just checking to see what was available.

 

I guess i don’t understand why they advertise the cruise with the free at sea and then you don’t end up getting the specialty dining????

Call your group specialist and they will assist.  Given they work specifically with larger groups, I would hope they are given a bit more "access" to the dinner reservation system.  (full disclosure:  I don't know that for sure)

As others have said, they only release a % of the reservations to the pre-booking.   We've had to make changes to plans upon boarding in the past and have done some on embarkation day without issues.   There is a staffed central table to make any dining arrangements when you board.  It is usually at Teppanyaki or near Guest Services.  

32 minutes ago, LobsterStalker said:

Hey all . 

I am a frequent RCI cruiser with only 1 NCL cruise , (taken 6 years ago on Breakaway). I am wondering if NCL policy is similar to RCI with regards to price drops ? With RCI if price drops before final payment , all that is needed is a call to customer service and they will match . Is NCL the same or if it is different could you please explain.

 

Thx

Cheers

 

yes.  Before final payment, simply call and have them re-price your cruise.  

The only caveat is that you will be subject to the promotions going on at the time of your re-price.

So, for example if you had done the Buy-one-Get-one Airfare with your original booking and then the price goes down and but the Airfare promo is no longer active, then you would loose that benefit.

We have repriced cruises many times before final payment without issues.

Just now, IAcruising said:

 

Yet, you assume they are the same price (or within $.50). What do you base that on? And how many drinks did you order, how often each? Were there 2 drinks on one swipe? Three?

 

A lot of variables here. It was local tax, period.

 

This is exactly right.  I've seen a variance in the taxes often.  I don't know what the tax rate is in San Juan, but 9% tax on $15 is $1.35, so those charges are not out of the realm of reasonable, assuming either 1 drink or 2 drinks per swipe.

One of the bartenders in the Vibe last March on the Joy out of Miami told me that he held back the swipes once it was "sail-away" and would then put the drinks through once we were in International waters.  Sure enough my drinks in the Vibe after 4pm were not charged tax.

5 minutes ago, dltvermont said:

We are booked on the Escape in April 2025 so quite a wait. I was wondering when it would be safe to start researching things on board, entertainment, excursions etc. I dont want to start now and have everything change before the cruise!

Start researching now.  For the most part, unless the ship is scheduled for a dry-dock, the restaurants, entertainment venues, and basic features of the ship will not change.  

Excursions are port specific, so as soon as you see them posted as bookable, expect those to be firm.  It may take time for more excursions to appear, but some will book up and then disappear.

Entertainment is more of a mystery.  You will not know until cruise time who the various bands, singers, comedians, magicians, etc. will be as those contracts are relatively short,   

However, you can expect in the Escape that there will be comedy and "Howl at the Moon" in Headliners, an assortment of bands in Syd Normans, singers and such all around the ship.

We've been on the Escape a number of times since 2019 and will be on her again in December.  "Choir of Man"  has been on ship for years.  Seen it ever time on board..

The ship is one of our favorites.

2 hours ago, mattyboy said:

Quick - question - With the Starbucks upgrade can I get a cup of Joe for my wife and I in the morning if we both have 2 cards with me? How strict are they? we will be on the Joy

I am the coffee-boy every morning with our Premium Plus upgrade. Never an issue ordering two at a time.

You can see who makes what charges on your TV monitor or you can ask for a current statement from Guest services at any point during the cruise.

Even if it all goes to one final credit card, the statement shows whose keycard was swiped.

Here's a snip from one of our past cruises where you can see where DW's card was swiped vs. all the other times when it was mine (no other "source" listed)

38 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

If it's not about maximum revenue than what

It is about maximum "NEW" revenue stream!   

There are thousands of variables in their "mysterious" algorithm.  However, the original cabin fare is not a factor...nothing is changing that original payment, so factoring that into the algorithm makes zero financial sense.

If two customers are bidding on a balcony and there is only one to give, then the higher bid will win regardless of the original price each paid for their original cabin.

Here are two examples

Customer A: "Inside" and is bidding 150pp on a Balcony

Customer B: "Oceanview" and is bidding 100pp on a Balcony

Customer A Wins!!!!  NCL is getting $300 additional in revenue.  (vs. $200 additional if B wins)

That is the NEW REVENUE regardless of what these two customer's originally paid for their cabin.

But, if you add one more customer to the mix:

Customer A is in an "Inside" and is bidding 200pp on a Balcony

Customer B is in an "Oceanview" and is bidding 100pp on a Balcony

Customer C is in an "inside" and is bidding $100 for an Oceanview

Well now here is what happens:

Customer B is awarded the Balcony (+200)

Customer C is awarded the Oceanview (+200)

NCL Nets an extra $400 total by upgrading B&C and leaving A in their inside even though they bid higher.

What any of those customers already paid for their original cabin is meaningless.

The PlusGrade algorithm is daisy-chaining upgrades to figure out the largest new revenue stream for NCL.

5 hours ago, Temple790 said:

Hi!  We have 49 days to go till our May 5th sailing on the Escape!! We were lucky enough to be able to book a Forward facing Haven Suite, and wondering if anybody can give us ideas on shows and Specialty dining restaurants to visit while aboard?

 

Thanks in advance!

One of our favorite Specialty restaurants in the fleet is Pincho's Tapas.  It is only on the Escape and we have enjoyed each time we have sailed her.  It will be open for lunch on sea days (at least it was a couple of years ago) and that was a nice change of pace.  For lunch we shared one of our specialty dinners (then did the same another night at Food Republic).  I know there has been talk about some of these (order four dishes locations per specialty meal) restaurants not allowing sharing any longer, but we have never had an issue.

Like every other ship, we love Le Bistro and also Bayamo (called Ocean Blue on other ships).

Enjoy the Escape.  It is one of our favorites in the fleet.  We are back on her in December for the Holidays!

18 hours ago, Grammymongi said:

Anyone have recent pics or videos of the Haven spa cabins and what’s included

with them?
 

I do not think that the Getaway offers "Haven Spa Cabins" any longer.  Last year, NCL seemed to eliminate all their "Spa" cabins across the fleet...Those were the cabin classes that INCLUDED access to the Thermal spas.

H9:  Haven Spa Suite

M9:  Club Balcony Spa Cabin

B9:  Balcony Spa Cabin

All those cabins were changed to standard Haven, Club Balcony, and Balcony cabins without the Thermal Spa access. Current deck plans on NCL's website are updated to reflect the changes.   You now need to purchase the Thermal Spa pass separately.  

I believe if you booked one of those category cabins prior to the "reclassification", then you still get the access, but if you are trying to book a new cruise on one the ships, these old classifications are not available any longer. 

22 minutes ago, agrimm01 said:

You don't necessarily have to be invited to bid.  Many times all you have to do is go to the upgrade link and you can bid without ever being invited.

I think this is a bit of semantics.  I agree many are "invited" by receiving and an email or some other notification to bid....However, IF the upgrade link works, then by default "you have been invited".   

The point is that not all customers are allowed into the bidding process.  Many "Big Box" travel sites do not get "invited" and therefore, you will be able to bid.

In fact, you can easily check if you are eligible (assuming bidding has started for your booking) by going to:

https://upgrade.plusgrade.com/offer/NCL/  

That said, I'm not sure what the OP (and friend) are expecting to do if they do not use the computer.  The bidding process is done electronically.  You need to use your computer or phone app to access the bidding platform.  I've never heard of anyone calling in their bid since the bidding is run by a third party (Plusgrade).

20 hours ago, love4god said:

Did you arrange it ahead of time or just jump on a shuttle at the airport?

Last January we flew in and out of West Palm and took Brightline up to get a flight. 

We taxied to the Brightline station (less than 15 minutes) and purchased tickets for the next train.  Plenty of seating on the train so there was no need to pre-purchase.

2 hours ago, TSUmom said:

This is not a door in the divider between Vibe and Haven sundecks but an interior Haven complex door

Yes....The Escape has a door going from the Vibe into the Haven interior.  It is right next to the Vibe restrooms and opens with a Haven keycard. It leads to a staircase that takes you down to the Haven Deck 18 cabins.  Took a screen shot from an youtube video.

1 hour ago, UKstages said:

there is also a logistical problem

1 hour ago, UKstages said:

if you don't get permission to travel through that door, you will have to exit the haven complex and go all the way around to enter the vibe.

That is definitely the text book definition of a "FIRST WORLD PROBLEM"!  🤪

1 minute ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

You've lost me.  I was with you up until this....  (jk) 😛

I'm right there with ya!

3 hours ago, Manchester is blue said:

I have “free at sea” within my cruise package for my forthcoming Ncl cruise.

As this is the first time I have cruised with NCL I’m a little unsure about what is, and what is not included.

One thing I’d like to know is would it be possible to order a pot,/  cup of tea from one of the bars, and also may I order an Irish coffee from the bars under the terms of my free at sea package?

Regards to all.

So, If you are still unclear, I'll try to explain:

- The Premium Drinks Package (included with Free at Sea) covers any cocktail or mocktail that is under $15.  If you select a beverage that is greater than $15, then you simply must pay the difference +20% gratuity.   For example a $15 cocktail is free, while a $17 cocktail will only cost you an extra $2.40.

- This package does not include specialty coffees or teas, does not include bottles/boxes of water

You can definitely order an Irish Coffee at a bar and they will use some other brand of Irish Cream without getting charged anything extra. (it is under $15).

If you ask for it with Baiiley's however, they will tag you with a slight upcharge.  Just like ordering a vodka tonic with something other than the "well" vodka.

Hope that helps a bit.

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Most itineraries don't offer the sail away option.  As others have stated, the OP can book a specific cabin (or guarantee cabin if it's at that point) and opt out of the drink package/gratuities.

I agree.  And I was one of the "others" that mentioned that too in my post 😉

Little to no "Sail-Away Rates"  is certainly the case right now, given the high occupancy of all cruises.  NCL (and other lines) are not needing to offer that lowest fare to fill the cabins right now.

However, as you are aware, when they are available to book, they are always less than the lowest priced cabin in that category. 

If one doesn't want/need the beverage package or the specialty meals, and doesn't care if they are "assigned" a cabin, then looking for that rate (if it is available) can be a savings.

You are looking for what NCL calls "SAIL AWAY" rates.  Those will give you a cabin in the class you choose, but you will not be able to "select" your specific cabin.  These also come stripped of the Free at Sea promos (except for the $50 Shore Excursion credit for guest #1) Unfortunately, given the high occupancy of most ships, many of the sailings I've looked at have that rate "sold out".

You can also simply chose your cabin as normal and receive the $50 Excursion Credit and free internet minutes and "deselect" the drinks package and/or Specialty Dining.  This will reduce your price by the cost of those benefit's 20% gratuities.