3dogmom

12 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

Wow,

I looked at that and you have an amazing deal.

 

Your upgrade from OV to Balcony does not make sense price wise.

 

Someone made a huge mistake IMHO.   Hope they don't catch it 

 

Very nice deal 

Glad I got a deal! This obviously confuses the heck outta me, so guess I got the luck of a great WP agent picking up the phone.

3 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

Are you on the 11 night sailing?

Yes

13 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

What did you pay in May of 2022?

 

I assume about $2800

 

 

$3154...this price also includes the FAS and gratuities. 

NCL Sky

1 hour ago, julig22 said:

You've totally lost me.  I thought you originally booked an inside?  If you are saying you paid $593 + points to upgrade from the inside to the balcony then it looks like you got a reasonable deal.

Yes, I paid $593 + points to upgrade from the inside to the balcony.

6 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Ripped off - maybe, maybe not.  Depends on the cruise, what you originally paid and so forth.

I booked a NE/CA cruise in July, 2022 for late September 2023.  I booked OV, price recently reduced almost 50% but I'm not eligible for any FCC.  I believe I would pay an additional $500 to upgrade to balcony (assuming they keep my existing discounts), no points involved. But it's not always straightforward, as the current balcony price is actually about $1700 more than the current OV price and with NCL sometimes you never know how they figure pricing.

Only way to even begin to know is to do a mock booking and see the difference between what you paid vs the current balcony price.

I paid $3487 for the balcony (plus the 30k points). I just did a mock booking and a Guarantee balcony is $5909. Both prices include the Free at Sea and the Prepaid Service Charges.

3 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

 I tend to believe you unnecessarily lost 30,000 points.

But maybe you can help me understand better.

 

In the same day, you booked an inside, used points to get an OV and then you were able to pay $593 to get a balcony?

 

Or did you book sometime ago, at some point used points and just recently paid to go from OV to Balcony?

 

Where I am lost is what did they use as the cash basis for your upgrade?

 

The points are a complementary upgrade and half the time it even states that on the confirmation.  So how do they value complementary?

 

Did you get more than one confirmation from the day you booked to the day you got the balcony?

 

You might be the first ever to pull that off. 

 I had almost 10 canceled on me by then because I got caught playing the b2b2b2b game using one booking number.

I booked this cruise May 9, 2022. I booked an Inside cabin. A few weeks ago I used 30k points to upgrade to a window and during that same phone call, I paid $593 to upgrade to a balcony that I chose. I have the same reservation number that I did when originally booking.

Now I'm confused...did I get ripped off or did I pull it off?😁🤔

27 minutes ago, karinad said:

Did you go through a travel agent or directly through NCL? So, the process for this to be done would be to book the inside with my agent, call WP to upgrade the inside to the outside and then call back my agent to buy the upgrade to balcony? With the agency I'm going to use it is only the balcony and higher that comes with paid gratuities and $150.OBC. I understand that when using points to upgrade that you only get the benefits of the original booking but if I pay to upgrade from outside to balcony would I get the benefits that go along with the balcony because I am paying for it? With my math I'd be saving $500. to do this process rather than cash the points out and put it towards the balcony. I'm hesitant since the cruise is only a little more than a month away. The availability seems to be all there for all categories using the next lower to the family category.

I booked directly with NCL. I called WP, used my points to upgrade to the OV, and then chose my balcony and paid for that upgrade. I didn't know WP could handle anything other than upgrading using points, but she was able to handle the entire transaction. I *think* you would use your agent for anything not point related, but possibly you can have the WP rep book the entire transaction and then transfer the booking to your TA? Not really sure how that works.

As far as benefits, I lost the 3x point accrual bonus that I received when originally booked. This didn't bother me since I'm pretty low-level on NCL....I don't even know the names of the levels! 

4 minutes ago, julig22 said:

The question is how much would it have been to simply upgrade from an inside to balcony?

Or to rephrase, how much did the points upgrade contribute to the price of the upgrade to balcony?

For me to pay for an upgrade, it would have been around $3,000.

Instead, I used 30k points to upgrade to an Oceanview and then paid $593.00 to choose my balcony cabin. If I let NCL choose the cabin it would have been $24 less.

9 hours ago, karinad said:

I had to come back to tell you about what I decided to do about my 30,000 points. The cruise I'm booking is a little over a month away. I have never booked a cruise this close to sailing. From what I'm seeing with the other NE/Ca. cruises they are not dropping in price. Instead of even taking a gamble and trying to use my points to upgrade I am just going to cash them in for a sure thing and not worry about having to cancel and lose points/money. I haven't asked any other agent about upgrading from inside to outside and then trying to see if NCL would let me pay to upgrade to a balcony from outside with cash. NCL should have something in black and white as to what's allowed like redepositing the points if needed to cancel. As any of us know that points are more precious than money. I have always used miles to book flights ever since we started travelling and the airlines have it written down if you can change or cancel a flight with miles. As one of the other posters has said not to trust what one person has told you.

For my CA/NE Oct cruise, I used 30k points to upgrade from an Inside to Outside and then paid $593 to upgrade and choose my balcony.

Hello!

I have a code GRLOBC25 listed under My Account on the NCL website. When I called NCL to upgrade my cabin, I noticed that code wasn't on my old or new invoice. When I asked about it, she could not see it on her end.  What to do? 

19 hours ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

So glad you responded!  Just for my edification, when you use points for a cruise, do you get to choose your cabin or are you restricted to certain categories.  Thanks!

To update, I paid to upgrade to an OV cabin. I then used 30k points to upgrade and select my balcony. In order to choose the balcony cabin I wanted, It was just shy of $25 more than if NCL assigned me a balcony cabin. I paid $593.00 for the upgrade. 

Thanks again for all your help!

6 minutes ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

So glad you responded!  Just for my edification, when you use points for a cruise, do you get to choose your cabin or are you restricted to certain categories.  Thanks!

No idea! 😂 Guess I'll find out if we do decide to spend all our points on one cruise.

To expand on my thoughts above after reading the last few posts, I can upgrade from an Inside to Oceanview Porthole for around $330. I'm thinking about then cashing in 30,000 points for a balcony. Can you go from Porthole to Balcony or does it have to be the larger category; Oceanview with Large Picture Window?

On 7/10/2023 at 12:10 PM, MagnoliaBlossom said:

I haven’t but someone posted very recen fly about redeeming for a cruise.  I don’t recall if it was on this thread or not, but it can be done.  Maybe if you search for it you can glean so,e information from her post.  It may have been on a social site but I don’t go there very often, so I’m thinking it was here.

That was me!

From reading this thread, I now know upgrades give you the best value to spend your points on.  I think I still may use on a 7 night cruise since I'm not sure when we'll cruise NCL again. 

I stayed at https://www.hotelvieux-quebec.com/ post cruise a few years ago and am staying 2 nights pre-cruise this October. Great location!

On 6/8/2023 at 7:35 PM, meadowlander said:

Great, you will be prepared for your next Venice call.😂

I don't know what this means...but ok?

5 hours ago, meadowlander said:

As you now know, you reached a very false conclusion. If you have a port call in  Venice don't hesitate to seek our help agsin.

I had a port stop in Venice....and docked in Venice 😀

2 hours ago, njhorseman said:

Looking at other posts you've made am I correct in saying that you're on the Norwegian Sky, docking in New York on October 11? If I am wrong, please correct my error.

 

If you're on this cruise on the Sky your ship is docking in Manhattan, as would be expected. I don't know where you got the misinformation about it docking in Bayonne, but here's the official port schedule for the Manhattan Cruise Terminal:

https://nycruise.com/manhattan-terminal/schedule-mct/

10/11/2023

MCT

Norwegian Sky

 

Thank you so much! I was looking at CruiseMapper that displays this: New York (NYC-Cape Liberty Bayonne NJ)

And yes, I'll be there on Oct. 11th. 

16 hours ago, meadowlander said:

What cruise line? I knew my port call in Orlando was actually in Port Canaveral.

 NCL Sky; Quebec to Baltimore.

Thanks for the replies.

I don't know why I said "stop"...port is more like it!  In my previous experience when a cruise line has Rome as a port, next to it will be

I just learned my stop in NYC is actually in Bayonne, NJ. Best, cheapest, fastest way to get into the city for private tours? 

Thanks!

19 minutes ago, WillCruiseForMoney said:

Guest Relations OBC of $25.

 

I have had guest relations OBC granted for a poor excursion experience.  I am sure it is used for other things as well.

Thanks so much! You triggered a memory! I was on the Breakaway last year and paid for their Cirque dinner show....both show and food were terrible! I notated this on my survey that was emailed to me after I got home. I was told I'd receive an OBC!

Under My Account, there is a code; GRLOBC25. I have no idea why I would have an OBC for $25.00. Anyone have any insight that has had this on their account?

Thanks for this thread! I applied 1 CN at time of booking and just applied my 2nd CN today, right before my final payment is due on June 4th. I didn't know you could only do this during a "promo".

Also, so glad I'm not the only one completely confused by the CN reps onboard. 

I don't want an upgrade, I want to cash in my 140,000 points for a 7 night cruise for 2.