bortman23

Thanks for all who responded. I was mainly asking of times when I'm not in port. Basically I'm debating whether or not I'm going to pay for the unlimited wifi (I'm on NCL so I have the 150min). Our ship leaves on a Wed from Quebec City, with two sea days during the week, where I'll need to be connected for work. I have a great roaming plan that gives me a huge amount of roaming coverage in Canada and the USA. I guess the real question is how far coverage usually extends off shore in Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Thanks for sharing all the coverage maps, seems like I might have to bite the bullet and buy the package even though I only need it for a couple days... TY!

Hi all, Anyone have experience with cell phone reception in Eastern Canada? I'm Canadian and have a cruise out of Quebec City to NYC. How good or bad is reception while sailing between Quebec, Nfld, NS? I have a plan that give me (basically) unlimited roaming. So I'm wondering if I'll have reception or if there will be dead spots. TY!

That's because there's no TSA in Canada 😉 We have the CATSA (Canadian Air Transport Security Authority). I love having Nexus as that gets me expedited security in Canada.

As @eileeshb mentioned, iMessage for iPhone is something completely different than traditional SMS (aka "texting") which uses a network from a cell company. Recently google rolled out RCS for Android phones in the messages app. All pixel phones should support it now, with other android phones using it depending on the brand etc. It's fundamentally the same as iMessage, but for android. My brother was on a cruise in April and was able to message me (not on a cruise) with no issues. He was in airplane mode with the wifi turned on; but with his internet package turned off. It appears that Android users no longer need to have iPhone envy when on NCL: https://www.androidpolice.com/how-to-enable-disable-rcs-chat-google-messages/

Very true. There's no difference to booking on your own, or booking through the cruise line, the only exception is that people expect the cruise line to help them (much the way a travel agent would). Still a crappy situation to be in either way.

2.5 hours? I'd say so, assuming 1.5 hours for dinner, I think you'll have a fair amount of time. Depending on how long you'll need in your room? We arrived 30min early so we could get good seats. We loved the show.

Give us trip updates in here 🤪

It's never a bad idea to remove items from your cart, but in reality it's any invoice or cruise contract item that this policy affects, examples are: Air that was not originally added to the reservation Essential Travel Protection Ground transfers Land items, such as pre and post hotels and cruisetours Excursions etc won't cause you're cruise to be cancelled.

Side question to this discussion, but has anyone every participated in any of the "couple" or Newlywed themed games/shows? They seem very hetero-focused games "husbands do this" "wives do that" etc. Not sure how well it would go over with the crowd if not all the couples were straight.

I have a 2025 trip booked already 😂

Few things stand out to me, some have been mentioned by others: - I've never seen a pop-up to add excursions or transfers etc, on the NCL app, or site - I've added and left MANY things in my cart, but always get a warning and often an email stating my cart is "about to expire" - I doubt that this individual only added the transfers to their cart, seems sus. - I experienced a glitch recently where I paid $25 for an excursion and had the site tell me it went through on my CC, but then a day or so later recieved an email stating I had an outstanding amount. I called and sorted it out over the phone with no issues (payment never went through so it was processed again). - I am SHOCKED that there was no email saying "you have an outstanding balance, please pay or your cruise will be cancelled" at LEAST one warning should be issued. - I've never used uplift, and I have an odd feeling it must of something to do with that? Since uplift paid for the cruise, adding the transfer cost threw off the amounts? Like lift is paying for the $4600 cost but now the $100+ transfers are added to the contract but not paid for (again, at min one warning email should be issued). - Even if this is the individual's fault NCL should 100% reimburse them with a FCC. Why risk bad press over $100+!? Seems so irrational.

I have a group booking for an upcoming cruise in Jan 2024. You need 5 rooms to get a discount, and the discount varies depending on the amount of time before your cruise: Number of days booked before the sail date. We all managed to get the 10% discount. There are perks everyone can choose form, but most people go with $100 OBC per stateroom. Also, the lead coordinator (in this case me), gets a refund of the average price of one person's cruise fare for every 5 staterooms booked. Since we have 5 booked, i'll get a refund of the average price of one person's fare (refunded to my credit card), at the time of final payment. Let me know if you have any other questions!

Legionaries is spread when a person breathes in small droplets of water in the air that contain the bacteria (HVAC, Steam/Showers etc). It is not spread person to person. This is a well known/understood bacteria. I don't think chlorinated water makes much difference, let alone spraying lysol in the shower. There is zero chance NCL doesn't have a plan to deal with something like this. If it's still an ongoing issue, then they should be very clear about what they're doing. If it were some widespread HVAC issue (causing widespread cases), it would be a major issue. Since it isn't, it seems more an isolated incident.

With so many flights a day between YYZ and NYC I would feel confident that even if something happened you'd be able to get onto another flight quickly (at a cost of course, but at that point "it is what it is").

Does anyone have experience using the Free at Sea (2nd flies free) and then adding this Premium Air?

Once booked, as others have mentioned, the airline and NCL don't communicate etc (unless needed). If the airline lets you change it, it would be best to confirm with the airline (on the phone). If you change your flight directly with the airline, you wouldn't be a no show for the original flight (since you wouldn't be a ticketed passenger anymore). The "no show" concern is because of the airline, not NCL. So if you booked your own flights, then wanted to change your outbound, they wouldn't cancel your return, so this would be not different (if the airline lets your change it). Just think of NCL as a travel agent doing booking on your behalf. If you do contact the airline and change your flight, just make sure you have email/paper confirmations after.

We upgraded to the FAS+ package on our recent prima sailing (Jan 15), and the sailing was slightly over capacity (capacity is based on double occupancy, and there are some rooms that sleep more than two). The ship felt busy, but nothing unmanageable for us. We LOVED having the premium plus beverage package. You can get certain bottles of wine and champagne at dinner. We never had any trouble getting served, but we avoided the busy bars at peak time (atrium etc). We always grabbed bottles (well boxes) of water when headed back to the room, and every day when we left for an excursion. That said, depending on how busy being prepared to make advance reservations will go a long way. We booked four specialty dining reservations 120 days out and had no issues getting what we wanted. The issue I have found with the ship is that even though there are more places to eat, they are smaller. People are creatures of habit, so everyone would still go to the buffet even though other places were open for Breakfast/Lunch etc. We often went to Indulge for the grab and go breakfast, or Hudson's for lunch (it was empty when we arrived and didn't even full up at the peak time). We never had any trouble getting food. The ship is a new design and people like to complain. It's a beautiful ship.

Just booked this 10686 for a May 2025 cruise! Figured I'd book super early to get this room. Looks amazing. The video i've seen on youtube for 10686 looks pre-refurb. I assume it's exactly as the 10186 photos above. TY

My mom got the email and the coupon, sadly I did not 😞

Ditto here, we got a $633 FCC, always worth checking after final payment to see if there's a drop.

Great tip!

I always pay on the final payment date. I don't see any advantage to pay it early.

Personally I'm fine with the change, but my dad was very much looking forward to T&C and had already been doing lots of research. They leave on a cruise in March that goes to most of these ports. So was annoyed/disappointed.

oh very interesting. Thanks. Maybe this is the cause.

lol oops 🤣