JillK

Good point - in the case I mentioned above, I had booked with a TA and regardless of whether it was a reprice or cancel/rebook, it was on the same cruise. That being said, last week I used my NCL PCC to make a change from a 2025 Med booking I had used a CF to deposit on to a cruise in 2024. The full value of the CF was transferred to the new booking but even though the cruise changed, the booking number stayed the same.

Yes that is the Cruise First program that is being asked about on this thread. Occasionally they offer a $500 for $250 which is what I purchased in the late winter. The window for using it is shorter than a CruiseNext (which you buy onboard) but you can always transfer it to someone else should you not be able to use it.

Humm.... sounds like they don't understand the CruiseFirst program well and/or they themselves did not wish to do the change for whatever reason. I do have an NCL PCC that I book through occasionally. Generally the fare is the same as offered elsewhere so the only benefit to going this route (because essentially it is costing me more to loose the value of additional perks like OBC that another agent may offer) is that she is seasoned and can get things done quickly. I have found that when booking through outside TA's, sometimes you have to advocate and push them to do things you know from the CC community are possible. Best of luck!

Hi dmam. Will share with you my recent experience. I purchased a $500 CF to deposit on a cruise in February. In June the price had dropped by $450 so I called my TA and asked for a price adjustment as we were a few weeks before final payment. I ended up with the new price but only realized afterward that they had moved me to a different cabin (though I was not told of this change) so I imagine it was a cancel/rebook that the agent enacted in order to get me the savings. We retained the full $500 value of the CF even though I had only paid $250 to acquire it. Happy cruising.

Hi. Our family cruised on both NCL and Princess last year. My husband and I both decided that we would not return to Princess for the foreseeable future. On our Princess cruise there were lots of multi-generational families as it was over the Christmas week but there were several things that made us realize that it wasn't the right line for us at this time and would likely be a line we wouldn't consider until we are in our 70s. There was a surprising lack of entertainment options once the main lounge show was done. Everything seemed to wrap up around 11:00 and we closed down the piano bar one night at 11:20. The lighting in every dining venue on the ship is constantly BRIGHT - to the point where our paid dinner in their Italian restaurant made our kids compare it to an IKEA showroom. Between that and no background music, there was no ambiance to be had at any of our diners. Service was generally excellent though and food quality ranged from excellent to good. The medallion is great once you figure out how to wear it/where to keep it but the three times we used the app to order food/drink for delivery, nothing ever arrived. The downside to medallion is that you are now tethered to your phone for the duration of the cruise. I am the type of person who usually locks it away for the cruise and am happy to be screen-free. Impossible to pull off with Princess. Hope this helps but there are more similarities than differences between the mainstream lines these days. Best of luck and regardless of what you choose - happy cruising!

Also happened to me a few months back when I called for a reprice. I was put on hold and then told that the reprice was successful and given my new final price. They did keep the same reservation number but I didn't discover until a few days later when I was in the cruise planner that they had changed my cabin to another deck entirely. Fortunately it was mid-ship and with cabins above and below so I just let it go as it met my requirements. Not sure why this was done or why I wasn't at minimum advised but I can attest that it can in fact happen.

Reiterating what many others have said - there are far more similarities with NCL, Carnival and Royal than differences. I have also cruised Princess, Celebrity and Disney in addition to the other three lines. They are generally all comparable with each line having things they do better at and things where they aren't so strong. Generally for our family, NCL is the best fit. That being said, we cruised NCL, CCL and Princess last year and our family all agrees that CCL offered the best vacation out of the three - we were all blown away by the Carnival Panorama and wouldn't hesitate to cruise on one of CCL's newer ships in the future. Royal is great (have cruised on the Grandeur, Enchantment, Brilliance & Oasis, so not the newest and biggest) but we prefer NCL. Ultimately, we can all offer our opinions but they are just a reflection of what we value. You won't know how the NCL experience measures up to other lines for you until you go yourself. Assuming you have a comparable itinerary at a price point you are happy with, no harm in giving NCL a try. You will either be reaffirmed in your decision to stay loyal to Royal or you will find a new cruise line to enjoy!

I haven't yet done the Med, let alone my kids (18, 17, 13 & 11) but hubby and I did go without kids for a UK cruise with Royal in 2018. It was a 13 night itinerary in May 2018 and we did speak with the guy in charge of the kids club on board as he was a fellow Canadian... he mentioned that there were only about 7 kids on the cruise. Not sure what time of year you are thinking of cruising but with a longer itinerary abroad, this could be a factor in your kids' enjoyment if they like the kids club(s). We did cruise with our oldest two on the Epic in the Caribbean wayyyyy back in 2012 (my girls were 8 and 6 at the time). We LOVED the ship despite the odd configuration to the cabin with the shower being open to room with only a curtain to separate. The slides were amazing, the crew was fabulous and the specialty dining was worth every penny (pre-Free At Sea... Still have the receipts and just verified we paid $140 for Cirque Dreams & Dinner premium; $60 for La Cucina; $80 for Le Bistro and $100 for Cagney's). We had cruised with Carnival, Royal and Disney prior to this cruise and we enjoyed it so much that we have now returned to NCL several times as a couple as well as with our entire/extended family and will become Platinum with NCL on our next cruise this fall. I know ships have gotten bigger and offer more since that time, but your kids will be young enough that they should find the amenities on the ship suitable. Although I have not cruised the Med, my folks (very seasoned cruisers) have several times and have said that it is an exhausting itinerary, so there is a chance your kids will be too tired to complain about the ship like they did on the Joy at the end of the day. Lots of lead time to summer 2025 so I'm sure that you will find the right fit and lock it in when you do. Happy cruising!

It was busy but not overwhelmingly (in the sense that the service didn't suffer nor was the food not at temperature or as expected). Worth every penny in our opinion! We ended up going to the Guy's BBQ joint for dinner (pay) one night and really felt that wasn't worth the money. Just go to the free lunch on deck on sea days! Also just noticed that I said Carnival Celebration but should have said Panorama (Celebration is on our new list of Carnival ships to try)!

My family and I started booking one of our specialty dinings on the first night many cruises ago and that has now become our tradition... we always book the steakhouse for the first night of the cruise, even paying for it on embarkation day when we are not cruising with NCL and it isn't included (so last year on both the Carnival Celebration and the Ruby Princess for example). The food and service has always been good and the restaurants have never been overwhelmingly busy across any line we've been on. I started cruising in my late teens and have noticed over the years (I am now in my late 40's) embarkation is always the night I am the hungriest and can eat/enjoy the most at dinner. Inevitably for the remainder of the cruise, my appetite decreases daily (me in my early 30's would be ashamed of the large salad that I now have for lunch most days when cruising). 🙂

I'm not sure I'm seeing the risk for you here. If I understand this correctly, this would be your first cruise and you're not sure if you would want to cruise again. The nice thing about CruiseFirst is that you can buy it today and apply it to your first cruise unlike a CruiseNext which you buy while on board for your next cruise. So the only risk is if you cancel your first cruise and don't go at all, not whether or not you elect to cruise with NCL a second time in the future. As the other posters have mentioned, as long as the cruise you want to take it more than four months away, once you've decided you can buy the CruiseFirst and immediately use it to hold your reservation. If you decide to cancel before final payment and don't think you will end up being able to use it, you can transfer it/sell it to someone else (just like a CruiseNext).

If this kind of outlook is part of RCI's reasoning for the itinerary change, I suspect that those currently booked on transit or partial transit canal cruises being affected by the itinerary change would have appreciated them just saying so. It would make a lot of more sense to know there is some kind of reasoning to the decision beyond the non-sensical "to enhance your experience" line.

OK so then I wouldn't be able to use it on the July 2025 cruise if it were to be issued this year. Bummer. Thanks.

Hi. I hope someone here can provide you with a more concrete answer based on experience. In theory, if you apply the FCC upon booking, you would no longer have an an active FCC. I would expect that the monies paid toward the cruise (FCC) in a re-book situation would transfer over to the new booking. Perhaps you can try the chat feature on NCL.com to see what they have to say though I know they are notorious for giving different answers depending on who you speak with. Could ask you a question? If I understand your situation correctly, you were given an FCC that "expired" (you had to book something and apply it) within a year from issue but the cruise you would apply it to could be as much as four years away? Asking because if there is a price drop on our cruise in November (already past final payment) I would like to see if we could get an FCC and apply it to two cabins already booked for July 2025 if possible. Do you think this would be feasible? Thanks!

It is frustrating if you are person who would take measures to isolate and protect others if you felt ill to see people clearly sick out and about. On our Princess cruise last year, there was a man on a ship-sponsored shoreex that was visibly quite ill and based on my observations should have been in bed and not on a jam packed bus. He was pale, sweating and coughed consistently during the hour long bus transfer there and back. He had a mask but actually took it off when he was coughing. My son and I were sitting across from him and were very concerned we would get sick. We had brought masks for the airplane but didn't think to bring them on the shoreex so literally put our heads in our shirts. We ended up getting seated directly behind the same couple (in different seats) for the ride back and for once in my life (meek Canadian here) did something about it. Got up and asked the tour guide if we could use the seats at the very front that had a "do not sit here sign." Told him we had sat next to him the first bus ride, were travelling in two days and couldn't risk getting sick. He allowed us to move and made a few announcements to the effect of, if you are feeling ill, please use a mask. Very unpleasant. Luckily (and perhaps surprisingly) we did not get sick but that certainly was one instance of someone not choosing to isolate themselves to protect others.

I think this is a reality that we have to accept as we travel. Both my father and I tested positive after cruises last year (mine on Carnival, my father's on Royal). It's just out there now and we are as likely to pick it up as a cold or flu. My family did three cruises last year (we had planned one a year for 2020, 2021 & 2022 to get some quality time in before our eldest graduated high school so stacked them all last year). We travelled across three brands and noticed a difference in how things were handled as the year went on. In March on NCL we had the strictest requirements.... proof of vaccination, tests to get on, washy washy guy present at buffet (not unusual for NCL though), plenty of people electing to mask in common areas, test to get home. In July on Carnival it was much looser: test to get on, hardly any masks in sight and a serious lack of hand sanitizer stations in the buffet to the point that we had to actively look for them. In December on Princess there were no requirements at all and not much access to sanitizer. I think it's less scary than it was in 2020/2021 but it's not going away any time soon and whenever we gather with people in any setting (cruise ship, movie theatre, airplane) we are at risk of picking up anything communicable. We did a three day weekend trip to Chicago last month and I came home with a bad cold (tested for COVID multiple times, all negative) - one of those acceptable risks we take in order to travel.

Hope those who have these offers are able to take advantage. The only one I was ever offered was 10% off the Escape on a specific sailing in April that popped up in my account back in February I think. Would love to get an open offer like 10 or 15 % a cruise of my choice - definitely would help to defray the raising cost of travel!

I had to call and request it.

don't see it listed in myncl anywhere. I asked the TA to send me the NCL booking confirmation and it's listed on the first page, on the right-hand side under promo codes.

We also have parked at Pearson from anywhere from 8 - 15 days and never had an issue in any of the Park'N'Fly lots. We have used all tiers of them without issue. We once did a night pre-cruise at a hotel due to an early flight where we parked the car while away and also had no issues with the vehicle (but barely slept because it was a loud and uncomfortable room so would have been better off getting up at 3:00 am and going to the airport).

Oh my goodness - this is so true. I had a phenomenal offer from Carnival in February for their summer European itineraries but alas, the cost of the airfare was prohibitive. Looks like you're American so at least you had a lot of options... Up north we have far less options so you can imagine that means we have to live with high costs. For example, in 2018, the cost of flights for hubby, my two sons and myself to fly from Toronto to New Orleans for a cruise was so expensive (just over $4000 Cdn so around $3000 USD), I cancelled the seven night cruise and booked a 12 night cruise out of Manhattan that we drove to because ultimately it was significantly cheaper!

Generally, after I book I will check the fare weekly to see if there has been a price decrease. In this case, we did see two price drops which resulted in $650 (Cdn) savings vs the price we initially booked at. To be fair, this rarely happens... we generally find that we book well enough in advance (I admit, I am a planner) and the fares generally increase before final payment. I have booked both direct with NCL and using a US-based online agency in the past. This was the first time I booked in Canadian dollars through a big box agency. The fare was pricing out the same as NCL online but with a shop card after the cruise (the amount of which decreased along with the price drops but well worth it). It's always worth checking prior to final to see if you can save!

My family cruise aboard the Ruby Princess last Christmas... our kids were 18, 16, 12 & 11 while on board. The ship was beautifully decorated for the holidays, there was lots of Christmas music, full Christmas dinner on Christmas day and Santa even visited with a gift for all kids 12 and under. That being said, for us ultimately we felt it was strange to be on a ship and not at home doing what we traditionally do at Christmas and as another posted mentioned above, it felt a bit hollow and not like Christmas at all. The seas were really rough beginning when we left port on Christmas Eve and two of our kids had to retire early because they were sea sick. My 16 year old was still so sick on Christmas day she didn't even get out of bed so to be fair, this coloured the entire experience. It was truly unique and we're glad we tried it but we will plan on staying home at Christmas for the foreseeable future.

Yes for the first time ever I did. Wasn't on the original booking though so must be a new promo they were/are running when I re-priced?

I recently re-priced my cruise and was surprised to see the promo code below with new "add-ons" to my booking I wasn't expecting. Code: VALUEPAC Add Ons: 1 x Bottle of wine 1 x Fifty standard photos 1 x chocolate covered strawberries 2 x $25 casino play 2 x Bingo - (2) Six games on one card ($39.99 value) 1 x Internet Package (200 minutes) 1 x $50 Spa Discount Voucher for Guests 1&2 (18+ years)