julig22

Also doing the TP next year. Just off the Star where we had a team doing sea-day lectures and live commentary while we were down in Antarctica. Very well done and much appreciated. Team was always approachable and made themselves available for questions, all 3 were obviously very passionate about their areas of expertise. I seem to recall my cruise in Norway, which was years ago, also had lectures, can't remember if it was a passenger or a staff member. I'll definitely encourage NCL to consider doing the same for any cruise with a significant # of sea days when I do my post cruise survey. I've been told that comments on the surveys are actually read....

Production shows would repeat. Games might repeat but obviously players are different and questions for trivia-type games probably rotate. Contracted entertainment varies, some entertainers are on for a single cruise, some stay on longer.

So you are mad at NCL because Costco didn't keep you informed? When you book through a TA, NCL will not work with you, as they no longer have any connection to your reservation. So if you call NCL and try to work with them, they aren't going to help you because they can't. While I'm not necessarily a fan of NCL customer service, you probably got "terrible customer service" because you should have been calling Costco.

FYI - NCL does NOT book seats. They book 2 tickets that are totally unrelated as far as the airline is concerned. If seating is assigned when you log into the airline site, they were assigned by the airline.

B2B doesn't always mean a repeat. NCL changes itinerary often on some ships, especially when moving ships to new locations at the end of the season. Example, Star is in So. America now, Buenos Aires RT to Antarctica/Falkland. Then it will go 7 days to Rio, 15 days to Barcelona,12 days to Trieste, 15 days to Lisbon, 11 days to Southampton.

Program works pretty much the same, domestic or international. I've done a loop to/from Rome, plus a cruise ending in Rome. No real issues, although scheduling was tight coming back to the US, since you have to clear customs. Most airlines give you 1 checked baggage. I live on the west coast and all the flights seem to leave midday, so I've never been able to take any of the post cruise excursions.

It was offered on the Star, I heard $99 - but that also could have been the price after the $50 discount. The free latitudes one covered the theater, laundry, and kitchen. The paid one also takes you to the bridge I believe.

Was also going to suggest Road Scholars. Lectures do depend on the itinerary, they happen on some trips. Sometimes arranged by NCL but I think sometimes they may also occur because there is an expert on the cruise and they volunteer. Just off of the Star in Antarctica - and we had amazing lecture program. Basically 2 lectures on sea days, about the geology, biology and history of the area. It was wonderful!!! It's been awhile but I seem to recall there were some lectures on a Norway cruise years ago.

YMMV but these are currently in place (now on the Star) Latitudes (plat/sapphire as applicable): behind the scenes tours, officer dinners are coming back, ship dependent. Now offered on the Star. Meal vouchers good at any specialty restaurant, ok to duplicate but only 1 bottle of wine. Old vouchers will be used until gone. Should be fleetwide. Confirmed 2 free laundry bags on 14 day cruise. CN/OBC: NR OBC appears to be applicable to CN purchases - not what I expected but it happened this time anyway, with my SH OBC. Onboard upgrades: needed to buy CN certificates in order to make changes to existing reservations. Looks like more focus on CN, new bookings, less on functioning as pcc substitutes. Which I fully understand.

Currently onboard the Star. Per the CN manager, vouchers good at any specialty restaurant - and both can be used at the same venue. But still just 1 bottle of wine. Still using old vouchers until they run out but change is fleet wide, not ship specific. Behind the scenes tours and officer dinners are coming back, timing is ship dependent. Available for the first time on the current sailing of the Star. We also still had 2x room cleaning but that's going soon.

No, you can't call NCL if you booked through a TA. As I recall, requests for FCC used to be 14 days before and all the perks had to be the same. You might be able to get a paid upgrade to ov or balcony.

Correction, it's 72 hours.

I believe the info that comes with the flight info says it's the airline's responsibility if the cancellation is within 48 hours. NCL will assist with necessary arrangements to let you board at the next port, but at your expense. Telling a person to save receipts doesn't necessarily translate to NCL will reimburse, it's just good advice and would be necessary for an insurance claim.

Makes sense. I asked at the CN desk and they just said it's somewhat random, they are trying to bump up the Alaska market. There are a few great Alaska deals out there, depending on the cruise/cabin. I'm booked on one of the Seward to Vancouver cruises (Jewel) and my OV with picture window (onboard upgrade) is down to $549 fare as a solo. Was 3x that amount when I originally booked. And you get 4x points. Solo discount only good on inside/ov - so I'll use points to upgrade to balcony.

I usually wait until final payment for exactly this reason. My pcc once told me that changing anything after a points upgrade is extremely difficult. I tried to get FCC for a price drop and it was denied, saying the price hadn't dropped - but it had, who knows what they were using for comparison.

No actual experience with CBS but based on various conversations and other upgrade/fcc experience, no to the CBS upgrade, other than a bid. As far as I know they use your paid amount, not the cost of the cabin you are in, so you'd lose any benefit of your points. For me, I had a OV that was upgraded to OV with picture as an onboard perk. But when I used points to upgrade, I believe they used the original booking, not the upgraded cabin.

That's not exactly how the NCL bus works. It (they) will be wherever the ship docks, but you must pre-arrange the transfer (and it can sell out). You'll get luggage tags that correspond to the time your bus leaves - based on your flight time. You can carry off your luggage if you wish but really no need, as the timing is set by NCL, not you.

I'll try. Haven't found the display with the info. And they didn't give us a list at the m&g.

My no difference comment was directed to the comment I quoted - the comment about locals laughing all the way to the bank when tourists pay money for seemingly ridiculous activities. IMHO, no more ridiculous than paying to take a bus to see where movie stars live in Hollywood or where something like Game of Thrones was filmed for example. And unless I'm remembering incorrectly, the pigs at the GSC excursion do come from a local island, where they have always lived, not some farm.

For future reference - generally speaking, the ship has has little, if anything, to do with embarkation issues. Each port handles embarkation differently and the staff directing traffic, etc. work for the port, not NCL. So it might have been helpful to note what port, since the Dawn sails worldwide. I sailed from Stockholm last summer, no issues as I recall, other than people coming ahead of their scheduled time. As to boarding - the time you selected is not your boarding time, it's your arrival/check in time. Most ships I've been on list boarding time as noon (check your edocs), although not unusual to begin boarding somewhat earlier. So check in usually starts long before anyone is allowed to board. No ship can allow passengers to board before the ship is completely cleared from the prior cruise.

You are correct. I didn't take the time to calculate out the actual penalty in this instance. As of late, getting flight info more than 60 days out seems to be an exception, not the rule. And some haven't gotten theirs even 30 days out. My last 2 have come in around day 50.

Just flew to Argentina, courtesy of NCL. 75 min layover in Seattle. 1hr55min in DFW scheduled, but had a 1hr delay in SEA. So no waiting at all in DFW - but no running to get there either. Bout as good as it gets IMHO! But if that plane in Seattle had been delayed much longer there would have been an issue, regardless of who booked the flights.

Just the opposite for me - not picky and I'm flexible. Well worth the savings, at least for overseas trips. Domestic is a toss up. But I also have a distinct advantage, especially when it comes to international flights. Small regional airport, so leg 1, and sometimes leg 2, is always to a hub. So guess who gets direct flights overseas....

Question - I assumed they'd pick a MDR. Did you need to use one of your specialty dinners or is the specialty dinner part of the perk? On the Star now, officer dinner and tour both new this cruise, snagged both. Plus still on a 2x/day room schedule for this trip anyway.

Not how it works. Probably a 100% penalty to cancel air. To the OP - you could call NCL, you do have a case if your docs say a 2 day deviation. You might get them to change, although don't count on it.