dalgirl

A really good summary of booking strategies. If you cruise a lot and book often you will already understand the ins and outs of cabin selection, promotions, and final payment options, etc.

My main strategy is to book at the maximum time out - many times for the lowest price up to final booking and the maximum perks including large amounts of OBC offered. The cruiselines wants to hook you in early and you get the cabin you want. I do check prices up to final payment, but most of the time the original price and perks are better - booking early is just as much a strategy as booking at the last minute and you can plan better.

And I always contact my TA the last week before we sail to see if there is a free upgrade - many times there are. Of the three inside cabins we have booked in the past, two were upgraded to balcony cabins - one on the POA to a large balcony - at no extra cost.

I hope that those who complain that they were "ripped off" with a certain fare change, promotion, etc. will be a little more thoughtful in their vitriol towards the cruiselines. It is business: you win some and you may loose some, but no matter what once you commit and board the ship you should forget the price and have a wonderful time.

I recently finished a wonderful cruise through the Panama Canal on the Norwegian Jewel. Everything was great until I received my invoice. A promised $50 cabin credit was missing. The guest services desk on the ship gave me a card with a number to call for Guest Relations in Miami. After listening to the same recorded message for about 30 minutes, I finally talked to a human being. I was told there was no record of the credit, even though the website had mentioned it and the NCL cruise consultant who booked the cruise 10 month earlier mentioned it. The Guest Relations person said there was nothing he could do. In other words, "to bad, so sad." I was told I could write someone if I wanted to investigate this further. Not e-mail, a real letter. This is my eighth NCL cruise and I am a Platinum Latitudes member. You would think NCL would be a bit more appreciative of my business.

 

Lesson to all, if you are promised a cabin credit when you book, make sure it appears on your initial reservation.

Lesson to all: on your first or second day on board, check with guest relations to confirm all credits to your account. Take proof of that credit with you from home either in writing from an official NCL credit or an email from your PCC or TA confirming the credit. That will give the ship accounting dept. a chance to investigate.

Be proactive people...

If you liked the Sun, any of the other ships (except maybe the Epic) should work for you. We like the Sun least compared to the Jewel class ships, but will be back on her for 2 weeks in 2016 - we really love the NCL product.

And crews do change out, we have sailed with excellent crews and less than a year later, on the same ship, have found the crew not very responsive.

If you like the freestyle "product" then you should enjoy the other newer ships that have stepped up the concept.

When we compare the AARP and the Lattitudes price, AARP is always a better deal. NCL will actually show you the price for both so do a "fake" booking to see the price, you don't have to be a real member yet to find out if it is good for you. We also have used it for hotels and even movie tickets. It can be a really good deal.

I have never understood why people buy OBC. Put the money in a savings account if you want to sock it away with little return on your money. Then after you know what you have actually spent pay the bill with that money. And confirm any credits, etc. with accounting the first part of the cruise, not at the end when it is too late to do anything about it.

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I have actually compared the ship's Italian restaurant to Olive Garden - I guess someone else thought "since the food already tastes like Olive Garden why don't we ...."

Going to miss you Kev.....

Based on info we got on these boards we booked an inside cabin for Hawaii since we planned to spend almost all our time off ship. At the last minute we were offered a family balcony at no extra charge which we, of course, accepted.

We really spent very little time on ship - probably the least amount of time we have ever spent and that includes the port intensive European cruises. We would eat a quick breakfast in the buffet, pick up our rental car and spend the day exploring. Returning to the ship we had dinner, but almost as soon as dinner was over we went to bed - we were so busy all day that we just could not stay awake for the shows, etc.

We did enjoy using the balcony for the Na Pali coast as others have said, but that should not influence you on the extra money - you can see the same thing from any of the public decks.

Now that we have an idea of which islands appeal to us, I think we would not cruise again. But for first timers cruising is a great intro to the islands and helps you decide where you would like to return for a longer visit.

You really should not go in the day of your cruise. We were set to fly from Atlanta to Copenhagen with a connection in Chicago - a 20 minute thunderstorm in Atlanta cost us the connection and we did not arrive until a day later losing one day of sightseeing in Copenhagen, but not missing our cruise.

Giving yourself on extra day will take away the worry of arriving and getting to the ship especially since it is not in the city. Insurance takes care of the money, but not the disappointment.

Class is treating everyone you meet with respect and kindness, and showing interest in their personal uniqueness. You miss a lot by trying to figure out who is the "right person to know."

It is not the house you live in or the car you drive - lots of people with real money have that money because they don't spend it frivolously.

It is not your job - there are many worthwhile professions that pay very little money.

And it is certainly not the cabin you sleep in on a ship - some people actually prefer sleeping in an inside cabin for the darkness. Or they need a balcony because they are claustrophobic.

Having a lot of money does not determine "class." Many of us are old enough to have figured that out a long time ago;)

A couple of weeks ago it was a set $24 to the airport. The new tunnel was very nice and made the trip very quick.

Yes, that tunnel almost cut the fare in half - we were pleasantly surprised a few weeks ago.

Booking in advance gets the cabin you want, a low price (in the case of our Hawaii cruise, the lowest past final payment), and double points to get to platinum standing. It is a great thing to do.

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Cagneys is a great extra reward. Hope customer service is taking notice.

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How about another bottle of wine or even a $50 credit? My TA gives me a $25 credit when I get back to put on any cruise I have booked with them , now that is a real gift.

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I have been on a lot of independent excursions where multiple ships are together. You can even contact the operator and they will arrange to put you with another ship's group. Very common.

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Some roll calls are more active when folks get together for excursions- foreign travel especially. Others are more active for those without families who like to socialize and party- if it is school holidays you may see less activity. Sometimes it just comes down to how soon you are cruising. If it is a few months before you cruise, then it might just be slow. But if you have a while to go, just keep checking back, it could pick up. I have checked out all of my roll calls some I have joined in and some not. It really comes down to itinerary. And remember if this one never takes off it doesn't mean the next one won't- it has nothing to do with the cruise line.

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After 15 cruises we have had every kind of room (except Suite - we like to cruise 2-4 times a year, instead of once). For us the itinerary sets the room - balconies (AFT preferred) in the Caribbean, insides in Europe when every day is go, go, go and no real sea days, and ocean view when we have sea days but the weather is chilly. We found that napping in an inside is wonderful - I told DH it was like being two puppies in a crate, we will snooze the afternoon away:p

So for us itinerary and budget should dictate the room unless you have issues with insides.

In Europe many times the toilet is separated from the shower in separate rooms. It has nothing to do with being "prudish" and more to do with usage and space. I think epic will continue to do well in Europe, we sailed on her several times there and enjoyed it very much. As for BMW , if they continue to perform the same show over and over, I won't miss it at all. The new ships took the best of epics ideas and added back the promenade, "water front" - try these new ships they are excellent.

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With all the different currencies on this cruise I am hoping to avoid a lot of money changes. If we can use our credit cards for most purchases, that will be best.

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Are credit cards accepted in the museums, restaurants and shops?

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Well, then I greatly thank you for this new tip to add to my running list of tips :). I've heard good and bad things about the dip and I've heard good and bad things about the wings. How would you describe each?

Not a wing person myself, but the dip is good. It used to be great, but didn't everything:)

I'm curious why the Pride of America is not one of your favorite NCL ships? From what I can tell from photos and videos, it looks like a beautiful ship.

 

Which NCL ships do you like better?

We have taken 15 NCL cruises and have been on most of the ships - just missing the Star (next Sept.) and the Spirit (in the future). So I have a lot of experience to compare it to.

The POA is one of the older ships without a spa (I have issues, so this is important to me - not a deal breaker, but important). It took almost the whole week to find the small shops in the AFT with the computers and the coffee café. As an older ship it was in the process of being refurbished, but that was mostly to add more cabins and not to update the existing ones. Our room was actually dusty from all the construction which I am sure is now complete. I prefer a bath with a shower door, not a curtain, etc. I know, picky, picky, but there it is. And hate to say it, but it took me all week to get used to the American crew. They aren't rude by any means, but they really aren't very friendly. I love my people, but....

I also don't like the Sun for the same reason, but I am cruising on it next year in South America and I don't care for the Jade - sister ship to the POA - which I have also cruised on several times in Europe. A ship will not stop me from going where I want to go, I just roll with it. As for the Sky: short trips only good for a quick, cheap getaway. They really should sell it. People taking this ship as their first NCL cruise may never return;)

My favorite NCL ships for JUST the ship experience are the newest Getaway and Breakaway (love the spa, baths and the Waterfront), the newer jewel class ships: Pearl, Gem and Jewell and I have a soft spot for the Dawn, our first NCL cruise. When we cruised, very well maintained.

Now the Epic is a "special" ship, that we have enjoyed for the entertainment and for uniqueness, but those bathrooms....

We will be on our first X cruise in April on the Millennium and it is getting some less than stellar reviews, but it is going where I am going, so I expect to have a great time.

If the itinerary is right, the ship will be fine in my book.

Just came off the Getaway last week.

 

We have some different opinions on the food places.

 

We found the food at the buffet to be better for breakfast or lunch with dinner lacking.

 

We loved O'sheehans and ate there for breakfast and a late night snack a couple of times.

 

We too thought that the main dining rooms menu had more choices and the food was very good. Only thing i didn't realize was that all 3 main dining rooms would have the exact same menu's on the same day.

 

We also ate at Modernos. Love that salad bar and we also ate at the Italian place. What i noticed is that someone ordered the lasagna in the italian restaurant and it was the exact same piece you get for free in the main dining rooms.

 

We enjoyed the food on the Getaway very much also.

The Tropicana room is suppose to have one different specialty each night different from Taste and Savor. But I didn't care enough to go around and check. And I agree that the Buffet is not as good at night as the restaurants, but when time is a factor, you eat and go.

Oh, forgot - no crepes station in the buffet on the Getaway in the evenings - NCL, this is not cool:rolleyes:

Wait a minute...

This is the first I'm hearing of this, so I want to make sure I'm understanding it correctly...

 

You can't get wings or mozz sticks from O'Sheehans after 10pm?

Well that sucks if it's true. That was going to be my go-to late night snack if a show caused us to either have an extra early dinner or no dinner at all. Can someone confirm this?

Crazy, isn't it?? We were a few minutes late and our server "found" some mozz sticks in the back for me, but they had already changed the menus around. And I love the dip - no dip:(

I think a cruise for your first time in Hawaii is a good idea. Although POA is not one of my favorite NCL ships, it does hit the high spots (overnight in Maui and Kauai). Look at it as an inexpensive way to sleep and eat while touring the islands. After taking the week cruise we now know where we want to spend our time when we return (for us Kauai). And we rented cars on every island so that we had the freedom to go where and when we chose - and it is cheaper to rent a car than to buy expensive excursions, although my DH did take a dive trip with the ship.

Yes' date=' you must buy the Spa Pass for the week to have access to the 'wet area' in the spa. The cost is (depending on the ship and season) $199, $149, or $119. The spa is a nice area to spend time in with a common large Thalasso Therapy pool, heated loungers, hot tubs, and separate male and female areas too, all with the view of the Aft wake. I have found it well worth the price. I think the ladies especially in your family would enjoy it. You must go directly to the spa on embarkation and purchase the package, as only a limited number of passes are available.[/size']

And here I thought I would miss out on my spa experience on the Star! Yippee they have a complete spa:D