julig22

Unless your phone decides to change time on you when you reach a cell tower. I speak from experience. Setting a timer should work, calculating hours by current time only works if you know your watch/time settings will block any automatic changes.

From the FAQs But if they aren't delivered, you'd have to go the the CN desk and ask - extra coupons aren't something that the stewards probably have on their mind as they are prepping the room for new guests.

They were enforcing times when I sailed from Stockholm a few years ago. There was no place to sit BUT there were gift shops where you could kill time while waiting for your time slot. Had an interesting setup in Tokyo last month. From what I could tell, people were getting group numbers for check-in, not boarding. I have latitudes priority so went straight through from check-in, right onto the ship. And yes, I was at my assigned time. They kept trying to give me a # but the lady at the priority line waved us through. I'm wondering if that might be a more effective strategy, space permitting in the terminal. Easy to distribute #s based on assigned times, might help to get people to start following directions!

At one Q&A session (after we'd had pier runners the previous day), the captain explained how it works - at least how he handles it. First and foremost, CONTACT THE SHIP! Which means contact the Port Agent. If they know you are late they will advise you on what to do. If they don't know why you aren't onboard they will most likely leave without waiting. But it also depends on the port. Sometimes they just can't wait - there may be other ships waiting for the dock and/or channel, changing tides, or an already short time to make it to the next port. And there are reasons that all aboard is 30 minutes prior to sail time. They have manifests to complete, gangways to disengage, etc. As to contacting your friends 15 minutes after all-board time- maybe, maybe not. Once they knew they were going to be delayed, they should have called, even if they thought they still might make it to the ship on time.

I was responding to a specific comment. Sorry you didn't catch that.

I can beat that - my Transpacific cruise in October (Alaska to Hawaii) just sent out an updated itinerary. Instead of a sea day before we get to Honolulu, we're arriving early afternoon the day before. Bring on the complaints about changes - affecting excursions no less!! To be fair, I think they misread the changes, assuming the worst - and took down the post when it was pointed out that we were getting extra time in Honolulu and obviously excursions weren't affected. And I'm assuming there will be no increase in port fees, at least not for anyone that is currently booked. Fees/taxes that I assume will be higher due to docking overnight.

I've sailed/booked over 25 cruises on NCL and have never taken the FAS beverage or meal package. The TA is incorrect.

Not silly to mention - I always use a simple non-connected watch and clock, keep them set to ship time.

Oops, not Oslo, it's Helsinki. I've only been able to find 2 flights that would meet NCL's criteria - and those didn't show on Kayak LOL.

Thanks. I wouldn't expect a charter with a deviation, they'll just cancel the deviation request if they choose the charter route. But from my location they can fly me to Tromso from Oslo on the appropriate date, so we'll see.

I'd trust NCL with a charter, assuming you get to the charter flight on time. Can you give some details? I'm on the following cruise, leaving from Tromso. And still no flight info. I've requested a 1-day deviation but would be OK with a charter instead. What is the flight itinerary? I know when they do charters to Papeete, they leave from LAX.

No. You go to the end of the line - behind everyone else with priority but ahead of anyone with tender tickets that haven't been called yet.

Some of us are quite content with plain and simple and/or have food allergies or restrictions. I wouldn't eat it either.

I have. Thought it was strange - and poor planning.

Yup. I've suggested many times that they give a choice - a simple check-sheet like you get for breakfast service. I can't eat the strawberries due to allergies, so they usually do go to waste.

There is no latitudes "voucher". What people keep assuming is a voucher is simply poor placement of the instructions on the card. And nowhere in those instructions does it say to include a voucher. And I've never had to do anything but write my latitudes status on the bag & the slip. Generally speaking, you get 1 bag/week. I was just on a 12-day cruise and they said no when I asked if I got a 2nd bag, it's 1/week. So 2 bags if your cruise is 14 days or more, 3 bags if 21 days. Whether or not you would be able to slip in an additional bag, hard to say - I don't know how they keep track.

Booked for the same cruise. I just came off of the Jewel - Asia to Alaska reposition. Some stuff from places we didn't go, some generic Japan & Alaska t-shirts. If they had a "grab-bag" t-shirt sale, I missed it. The ship will be in Alaska all summer so it's possible they will restock with shirts for the various ports (we didn't go to those ports). So for Alaska to Hawaii I'd expect to see any remaining Alaska stuff, hard to say if there will be much from Hawaii - since there are only 4 cruises before they move on.

Yes, when you choose the flight option and your gateway, you choose the city. In the past, the terms did say they could substitute if there was another airport within 50 miles, but I no longer see that in the terms. But you don't get a choice of destination airports.

Your TA owns the reservation - it's up to them to contact NCL - NCL cannot assist you. The NCL-offered promotions (FAS) generally need to be the same but TA-added perks, such as free gratuities, are at the discretion of the TA.

Your return trip may be a little more of an issue, so be prepared. You will need to go through US immigration/customs at your first point of entry into the US. Which means you will need to collect your luggage at some point, then re-check it if you have another flight. How that process works depends on the airport - usually it's just a matter of taking your checked bags to a nearby location and dropping them off, then proceeding through customs/immigration/security with your carry-ons to your next flight. And if you have TSA pre-check or Global Entry, it doesn't work outside the US - so pack accordingly, since you will most likely need to take tablets/phones/laptops - sometimes cameras - out of your carryon. And remove your shoes, belt, watch... But Global Entry is wonderful when you arrive back home!

No guarantees but you can always ask for the cabin you want- it's not always a case of not knowing where they might put you. For my upcoming cruise I requested a specific cabin and they worked with me to book the OV I needed in order to get the balcony I wanted. Actually saved me about $400. Others have posted similar experiences.

If you don't want to use your points for an upgrade, take a statement credit - then you will also get points for the money you spend onboard - and can also get a statement credit for those expenses.

Just so you know, the independent contract entertainers may change. So there is always the possibility of a new comedian, new magician, new vocalist, new aerialists on your 2nd cruise. But the production shows will be the same.

The gift shop isn't run by NCL - but yea, they could probably do a little better on their destination souvenirs. On the other hand...I was all ready to go to Antarctica on the Star in February 2022 but it was cancelled maybe 6 weeks prior to sail date. So I rebooked for 2023. Fast forward to summer 2022, I was on the Star and the Antarctica t-shirts were in the "rummage" sale as it's been termed, so I bought one. Why they didn't just keep them, I don't know - although there were rumors that they were changing vendors for the gift shop.

You can always get cash in the casino, charged to your shipboard account. Since I use the NCL card that gives back 3% on NCL purchases, ultimately there is no actual charge - although I use the points for upgrades so I get back way more in that case. Not always. The points I get by using my NCL card make getting cash in the casino at least a wash, but I can usually use $300 worth of points to upgrade to a balcony, an upgrade sometimes worth over $2K. If the card you use onboard gives travel points, you might also be able to score there. NCL purchases are considered travel, it pays to check the terms of your card. Note- I pay off my credit card monthly so I'm not paying interest. If you carry a balance on your card then you'd be paying interest so it's probably not the best deal to charge cash to your onboard account.