julig22

True. And take complaints with a grain of salt from people who've never tried to book their own flights - it isn't always that easy to get from point A to point B at a convenient time, let alone at an affordable cost!

To simplify, you get 3x points, so if you buy 2CNs, you actually pay $250, get 750 in points, worth $7.50. But you can also use those points for a room upgrade - which is where the value comes in. 30,000 points ($300 in statement credit) can be worth thousands if you use them for an upgrade.

Same here. NCL doesn't give dividends, I bought it for OBC. Maybe someday if I have reason to sell, I'll care....but until then, owning stock doesn't make me a NCL defender/cheerleader.

Sadly, that's a big nope, I've tried. Points aren't transferrable, meaning your name has to be on the reservation. And you can't have more than 1 reservation in your name.

Reverse process, charter flights from Frankfurt to Tromso. 1 arriving 1 day pre-cruise, 1 arriving day of. In both cases, there were people on connecting flights that were delayed, charters waited. But they weren't very long delays, so that probably helped.

I have a private tour booked in Ketchikan later this year. And it picks up at Ward Cove. A happy find for me! NCL also invested heavily in Icy Straight Point, building a dock and skytram.

Some ships have solo studios, which are inside and smaller than a regular cabin - and there is a studio lounge. At the beginning of 2024 they introduced a solo category for inside, ov and balcony. A little cheaper than paying double occupancy, these are regular cabins. If the ship happens to have a solo lounge, you also have access. So it helps to be specific when talking about solo cabins.

The same way that the FAS benefits, BOGO airfare, shuttles in some ports, tenders etc. are included in cruise fare. Mostly I'd include it because people that aren't taking NCL excursions aren't necessarily expecting to have to pay when their plan is to simply explore the port.

Drop off would be the same place as the $10-$20 shuttles.

Solo cabins are no different than other cabins, although I suspect than NCL chose the less popular locations. And since some people are adverse to being in a connecting room, I would presume that there are some. But you'd have to look at the deck plans on the ship to find them - or call someone at NCL

I often choose my cruises because of the unique itineraries. Unique very often equates to industrial docks - itinerary wouldn't be unique if they only stopped at ports built for cruise ships. But I'm a little miffed at the charging for transportation to the city when it's not within reasonable walking distance. Shuttles are free for Alaska, I personally think they should be free at other ports as well.

Neets Bay Bear Encounter was my favorite- but it's not always offered, might not be available depending on the season and length of time in port.

That's pretty much what's been said at various Q&As or behind the scenes tours. Other than perishables, provisioning is done at embarkation ports. Except for Salmon, which does come from Alaska.

That's another DUH. Nowhere has anyone said you aren't "spending" $300 for your upgrade. But you seem to have forgotten your catch phrase of "additional spending" this time. In case you've forgotten...

My favorite balcony of all time, because of the location, is on the Sun and just happens to be one of the balconies now designated as solo. Was able to snag it for the repo cruise - Vancouver/Alaska to Hawaii in October.

Duh. And if I can spend $300 in "real money" to get a $1,500 credit, that's what I'm going to do. And if the difference in fare is not significantly more than $300, I don't use points, I pay the difference with the card (and get more points) I guess you don't understand how spending $125 on a cruise next gets you $250 towards another cruise either. Sheesh. There is NO extra spending involved anywhere, anyway, anyhow.

And if the difference between an OV and a balcony isn't significant, I pay the difference, save my points for the next cruise. Worst case scenario would be that I take a statement credit. Still NO extra money spent.

Wash, rinse, repeat. NO, my investment is the rewards of spending that I would do anyway, regardless of what credit card I choose to use. And I use the rewards to pay for something that I would have to pay for otherwise. Aside from sometimes using my NCL card while I'm traveling (no foreign fees) I only use the NCL card for NCL purchases that I would normally make. And it's free, no annual fees. Do I use it to buy airfare, pay for hotels, etc - absolutely not. I use other cards, depending on their "rewards" program.

Why does NCL allow me to reprice my cruise if the price drops - isn't that costing them revenue? Other cruise lines charge re-booking/cancellation fees. Your definition of getting something for nothing is just as fuzzy as thinking that getting a 5x return on my "investment" is somehow spending more. Yea, I took marketing. Obviously it's not the card for you.

Same here. Too much fuzzy logic (or lack therof) to wrap my mind around how using points for an upgrade I'd be paying for anyway, at more than 5x the return I'd get if I just cashed in the points for a statement credit, is extra spending. They didn't address that in any of my math or accounting classes.

My thoughts exactly. And I've never been asked for my DOB, email address only when confirming where to send the confirmation. Unless the "scammer" has some sort of inside access (TA/PCC), they really couldn't count on being able to book the upgraded room when it opened up. Since I'm not privy to how the bid process works at that point, I can only speculate that a vacant room goes into the open-for-purchase pile first, before it's available. So grudge/revenge jumps to mind, or a random prank. @Laszlo no, they do not keep your passport info on file. Or at least not in a place where an agent would have access. It's been debated whether or not they keep it at all. There is no requirement to even have a passport in order to make a reservation - and if you are a first-time cruiser, that info is only entered when you check-in at day 21.

You must be using some sort of new math. When I opt to use points for an upgrade, I am using points instead of cash to book the same cabin I would have booked without points. So if a $1,500 upgrade is only equal to $300 when I use points, I'm spending $1,200 LESS. But if you don't get it, that's fine.

Nope.

I would definitely call to at least find out what's up. A couple of years ago they cancelled my excursions to JFK for lack of interest and didn't have a transfer. And it was halfway through the cruise before they notified me. Fortunately for me they decided to arrange for a transfer after I complained.

Spending more to get points - not really, at least I don't. But there's a caveat to that. I do charge my casino play (which isn't excessive) - so I charge $100, I get 309 points, which covers the $3 service fee, plus some. So basically a wash if I took a statement credit. But I use my points for upgrades - my OV to balcony upgrade cost me $300 in points, current price difference is about $1,500. No annual fee, no foreign transaction fees don't hurt the value to me either. But I'm leaving soon for NCL cruise #23, not too hard to build up points. And I pay my card off monthly, so no worries about interest rates.