JandC_Cruising

LoL. You are a faster Typer than I am!

Are you latitude gold or higher? You also get a latitude discount % if you are and that is removed after the $50 credit, The overall discount will differ depending upon the actual cost.

Beginner lessons on How to run the Bridge!?!?!? Sign me up!

@Two Wheels Onlyis the Guru of cabin setup and balcony sizes on NCL. That is not a joke! Since we joined Cruise Critic in 2019, I search for his posts about cabins on every NCL ship we sail if I have a question about a cabin we’re considering Balcony depth? He’s your man! Like the bed closer to the balcony? Two wheels has you covered!

To this point I 100% agree! NCL is not good in being sure their left hand even knows there is a right hand on the body at times. Enough planning had to be done to change the route and notify the currently booked cruisers, but is their only web guy on vacation?!?! Change the cruise on your own website for pete’s sake!

Actually, my specific response was drectly quoting someone who was dumping it on NCL claiming they " still seen to find new ways to screw their customers". As for doling out "compensation", if a change is made at the last minute or even after final payment, sure. But this cruise, according to the letter, is October 10, 2024 Do you know how many things can change over time? This cruise in question is over 15 Months from now! NCL cannot dole out compensation for every cruise that has to be changed over a full year from now. That's a bit unreasonable, IMHO. Semantics, regarding "new cruise" or "itinerary change"...Here is an example where they learned a cruise needed to be changed and they are notifying customers as early as they possibly can. Seems like good communication to me. If the customers are told they cannot cancel without penalty (Non-US customers) THEN I would have a problem.

Ummmm....if you don't believe that Ireland has imposed the restrictions, so be it. I guess you really have a bug up something about NCL. But, to dump this on NCL is absurd! They have been given new restrictions and have to alter the cruise. They "assembled" a new cruise itinerary and notified their customers promptly with over 15 months notice. This is certainly disappointing to anyone who has booked this cruise, BUT it's for OCTOBER OF 2024! There is plenty of time to simply cancel if the new cruise destinations are not of interest. Honestly, What do you expect NCL to do? Ignore the restrictions , just drop anchor and invade the various Irish ports!

That is absolutely true! It is unfortunate that so many fall within the spectrum of confused to outright deceived. In the end the CN certs are a good deal, however, my advise to anyone who is considering buying for the first time is this: 1. Get the sales pitch within the first couple of days of your cruise AND WALK AWAY WITHOUT PURCHASING! You are not getting the last car on the lot! The same deal is available right up to the last evening of your cruise. Walk away and come back another time after..... 2. Go back to your cabin and review all the material again 3. Ask fellow cruisers to explain it to you. Preferably someone who has purchased/used in the past -- a fellow cruiser has no skin in the game! 4. If you feel you understand it and want to participate, go back to CN desk and get the pitch again from another salesperson (particularly if you feel the first selling was not clear). 5. Buy the CN"s if you are clear Happy Cruising!

Over the past several years, I have: been notified AND not notified OBC split between my wife and myself AND/ not split between my wife and myself waited only 24hrs to appear AND waited a week to appear Seen it listed as OBC in the header of my Booking AND sometimes NOT listed there. It seems much of they way it happens changes like the phases of the moon! That said, I do always see it within a week and it is always shown in your booking under "PURCHASED ITEMS"...again, sometimes it has been split between the two of us ($50 each, for example). Although on our cruise in 28 days it is listed as $100 for ME!!!!!!! Sorry honey...you can't steal my OBC to pay for your pedicure this time 🤣

YES!!!! We have applied CN certs on sailings long after we booked on multiple occassions. In fact, our very first NCL cruise a number of years ago, we had bought our first CN's and came home to apply it to another cruise we already had booked. Several times, we have had no CN's in our account, Booked a trip, paid the $250 deposit on CC, gone on a different cruise, purchased CN's and then come back and applied (2) to the already booked cruise. Additionally, a few weeks ago, they did a "triple-up" CN deal. We had an existing booking for 2024 that already had 2 CN applied. I went online and plunked the 3rd one down several weeks after we had originally booked.

It seems as if you did not understand how the purchase of CN certificates worked. Certainly there has been a bunch of conversation regarding how the CN salespeople "confuse" purchasers to think they are getting an even better deal...but the fact remains, if you are planning to cruise again (and you have the funds), buying CN certs are a good deal. As you stated, you RECEIVED $1000 in CN certs your first time buying and were charged $500! You DID receive $500 in OBC....It was automatically used to reduce the CN certificate cost!

Upon retrieving her luggage at baggage claim (if necessary) she will see/find/meet the NCL agents there. They will mark her as arrived. Since it will be 10AM, the shuttles will have been going between the airport and pier already, bringing disembarking passengers back to EWR. She will be led to the shuttle bus area and put on the next bus scheduled to go. They don't wait too long at that point, since the bus needs to get back to the pier for another return trip. The drive from EWR to the pier on a Sunday (typical departure day) will be 30-40min (depending upon traffic)

Assuming you put everyone in the cabin on the same credit card for your on-board account, then yes. When you setup your on-board account that way, all the charges go against the one card and any OBC will get applied as charges are incurred for all in the cabin.

Thanks! That sounds similar to what we saw on the Joy in March. Found this link of a dinner show called "Junk" from several months ago in that space. Looked fun too. We enjoy all that stuff and even an small upcharged meal on a 9-day cruise is worth it in our mind just to change things up a bit.

We are on the Getaway on 7/30 out of Lisbon and have most everything planned out. But still plotting out at least one or two more meals. We are curious if the Illusionarium Dinner Shows are currently being performed. If they are, were they lunch or dinner? For those who have sailed recently on her, can you answer? We did the lunch show on the Escape a bit ago, and while the food was just OK, it was a change of pace. Perhaps they no longer are doing the dinner portion and simply have a "Broadway Review" style show on a sea day? They did this on the Joy in March and it was a nice diversion all the same. Thanks J&C

Yes! that is the issue with the Cavern Club on the Joy...It is long and narrow...In March the flow of people coming in through those doors on the right, was non stop. We were standing probably where you were in the top picture and anyone sitting in those seats behind were simply being blocked by everyone coming in and trying to find a place to stand. It was significantly more crowded than your picture. There was nobody monitoring/limiting the occupancy within the club so it was a free for all. The next evening we simply sat at the bar outside and enjoyed the music from there.

You can use it to help pay for an upgrade bid. If you do the bidding there is a spot to apply FCC as partial payment if you win the bid.

I guess I wasn't as clear as I could have been. (more common for me than I would hope 🤣) I believe if you call NCL to BOOK YOUR CRUISE, they can check the status of the Vibe at that moment as well. They can add the Vibe to the booking and then, since it is inside 120Days, will have you pay the full cruise price + the Vibe. If they tell you the Vibe is fully booked, you just say, "thank you...no need to book the cruise then"

As mentioned, it is per person. Also as @golf4me2010suggests, you could ask on the roll call. Or, you could call NCL directly to do the booking and while doing that, ask them to check for you. If it is available, they should be able to immediately add it to your booking and then take the full payment (cruise and additions) all at once.

It was pretty good sound as it was coming through the speakers right around the outside bar. But it also wasn't so loud that you couldn't have a conversation. Enjoy!

Vibe on the Joy was $229 on our cruise this past March. You need to book it early online if it is a high-season cruise. It was sold out on our cruise and our one friend forgot to book...she couldn't get a pass on board. Vibe on Getaway at the end of this month is $269 for the 9-day cruise. Varies by time, ship, and itinerary a bit.

Several of the shows (Comedy and Howl at the Moon) can be booked once on board. We have done so at the touch screens as recently as our cruise on the Joy in March. They are not available to book until departure day. If you book a spot, you will be able to go in when the doors open (30min early?). If you do not, you will wait in the open seating line. They typically will let those in line take open seats 15min(?) before show (not sure the exact timing there...sorry) There will also be a print-out you can find at guest services (or Haven concierge desk) with the planned schedule of entertainment for the cruise. Oh...and The Cavern Club and Sid Normans are First Come First Serve only...you need to get there early to get a seat. And, if you get any seat other then close up front, let it be known you will have dozens standing all around you by the time the shows start. In March the Cavern club was packed like a sardine can. Tip (if you are ok not "seeing" the band), you can sit outside at the Waterfront bar, enjoy drinks and hear all the music piped out to you. On a nice evening sail, it is a wonderful spot!

Excellent point to note. Definitely consider whether you brother will take advantage of the full value of the meal (App, Salad, entrée, sides, dessert). Certainly if they are going to, the package is the best deal. A full dinner at Cagney's, Ocean Blue, & Le Bistro will run $90 to $130 or more, when charged a la carte. But a light eater, who doesn't take advantage of all the courses should go a la carte in some of the restaurants.

No...the SDP's are Non-Transferable, so YOU cannot buy the "discounted" upgraded 2-meal SDP and then allow HIM to use the extra 2 meals assigned to YOU. You CAN buy him a 2-meal SDP at the standard price. That is what we did last year when travelling with our adult children in the 2-BR on the Joy. We had the Free at Sea, but we purchased 2-meal package for the other 3 people so we could all enjoy the specialty meals together without paying a la carte at those.

For what it's worth, we like getting Vibe passes and the Escape's Vibe is still only the Starboard side of the ship (at least that was the case last time we were on her in early 2022). The Joy has both Port and Starboard and two hot tubs (ok...warm tubs 🤪). We LOVE Pinchos Tapas bar on the Escape....probably our favorite sea day lunch on any ship. For our money, time, and itineraries we typically take, we would love them to add the Thermal Spa on the Joy...Get rid of the Laser Tag or the Galaxy Pavilion.... While we don't "hate" the OL, we really haven't put it to much use on either the Joy or Encore. Quick bite one or two afternoons, but on warm weather cruises, we would likely only use it a lot if it was bad weather and then our thought is that it would be a mad house. Finally, not that it is repeatable, but after multiple times on both, I'm up in the Joy casino more than I am up in the Escape casino....💰