Mscruisin

Call and ask. You have nothing to lose.

I'll give them a call.

It should run $55-65. Have you spoken to Country Inns to see if they are offering any kind of transportation for the repo? They are one of the few hotels that offers a Cruiseport shuttle - $17.50/pp, but I don't know if they would do anything for the repo. I'm assuming you're driving down from Canada and want to do a park/sleep/fly from Newark.

It is a repo but we are getting on in San Juan and getting off at Cape Liberty. We are staying overnight one night before flying home. I know Country Inn & Suites will bring you to the ship but I don't think they would pick us up there.

Does anyone know what a taxi would cost for 2 people with 2 suitcases from Cape Liberty to Springhill Suites at the airport on a Sunday or to the Country Inn & Suites in Elizabeth. Trying to make a decision. Thanks!

Just off the Gem (already posted a random thoughts/tips thread) Anyone know who I can email/contact to get a breakdown of all our onboard charges sent to me in an email? I think it was correct, but I always like to double check what was charged to our account. I know I could/should have asked for it while on the ship.. but I didn't. Thanks!

We didn't get one on the Epic in December either. They overcharged us $1400 on our credit card. I called and they admitted their mistake and refunded it 3 weeks later but I lost $100 in the deal because of the fluctuating currency rate. I wasn't happy!

If you have $50.00 or less you can cash this out at the front desk. I would think they would let you also cash out if you had $55.00 (since that's close and you can't obviously go to the casino to get it). Also, I believe at the front desk there is no 3% convenience charge.

I tried that but they wouldn't so I just spent it in the shops.

Thanks for the info. Do you know if you could have cashed it out at the Casino? I am hearing so many conflicting reports on this and would like to hear first hand if this is still an option!

I was told by casino staff that minimum withdrawl is $100. I tried cashing out $55.

After 2 hours on hold waiting to be connected to someone I finally got a guy who put me on hold again and talked to the accounting department. They could see that the OBC was purchased before leaving for the cruise and that in fact the OBC hadn't been applied properly. It was probably due to the OBC not showing up until day 3. Anyways they are refunding my credit card for the full amount and charging me the $4.89 that I owed if the OBC had have been applied on the ship. They also gave me a number to call if I incur any extra fees from this as it was their mistake. They also said the refund to my credit card will probably show up in about 5 days because of the holidays. Hopefully this works out as I was told or I will be calling back. Had me concerned for awhile.

It's been 2 weeks and no sign of a refund to my credit card. I tried calling the number that the guy had given me if. It wasn't a phone number. It is a fax number. I am going to call back to the first number and talk to them again. Very frustrating. My next step is to dispute the charge with my credit card company if this doesn't get me anywhere. I wish I had never bought the OBC in the first place.

After 2 hours on hold waiting to be connected to someone I finally got a guy who put me on hold again and talked to the accounting department. They could see that the OBC was purchased before leaving for the cruise and that in fact the OBC hadn't been applied properly. It was probably due to the OBC not showing up until day 3. Anyways they are refunding my credit card for the full amount and charging me the $4.89 that I owed if the OBC had have been applied on the ship. They also gave me a number to call if I incur any extra fees from this as it was their mistake. They also said the refund to my credit card will probably show up in about 5 days because of the holidays. Hopefully this works out as I was told or I will be calling back. Had me concerned for awhile.

Just curious, when you checked in, did you give a US credit card to charge your onboard charges to, or was it a Canadian Credit card. If it was a Canadian credit card, then this defeats the whole purpose of you purchasing your own "onboard credit" to use on the ship. I would highly dispute the way NCL handled this and it any event, it certainly wasn't in your best interest, that is for sure. Sounds like NCL may be on to us smart Canadians.

I gave my Canadian credit card but I had already bought $1500 at a rate of 1.11 which was charged and billed ahead of the cruise to my credit card in Canadian dollars. It did show up after 3 days on my sail and sign account after I questioned them at guest services. I assumed and was told at guest services that the OBC could be used for anything including withdrawing funds at the casino.

We you charged the 3% "convenience charge" at the casino when you withdrew your money?

Yes I was charged the 3% when I withdrew the money and have a copy of the paper from the casino that says it will be charged to my sail and sign card.

Just an update on my previous post. After I returned home I checked my credit card. If the $1500 OBC that I had bought before the cruise had been applied I would have owed $4.89. My account on the last night showed that I owed $4.89. When we left the ship the next morning there was no bill left outside our door. I went to guest services but the line was very long and since I thought I only owed such a small amount l left. Not sure why my account didn't reflect what they were going to charge me on the last night. Today I see they charged me $1404.89. The $1400 was the money I withdrew in the casino plus I was charged the 3% fee on top of that. I assume they will mail me a US check for the $1400 left on OBC but I have already paid the favourable exchange rate once. Now I will have to pay a really bad rate on my credit card again and only get a portion of that when I cash it in for Canadian. It appears they aren't letting you cash out in the casino anymore. Anything I bought on the ship was applied to the OBC other than the casino withdrawls. I am going to call tomorrow anyways. What's the best number to call?

Just off the Epic today. I had pre-purchased $1500 obc at a good rate. It didn't show up on my account so I had to go to guest services with proof that I had purchased it. It took 3 days to show up on my account. In that 3 days I withdrew $1400 in the casino with a 3% casino charge. I was using some of it in the casino. Once it showed up on my account and I tried to withdraw the last $100 a supervisor appeared and very rudely told me that refundable or non refundable obc could not be used in the casino. Since I had already withdrawn the $1400 they couldn't take it back but I couldn't get the last $100. They told me to go to guest services where I was told to contact their shore offices when I got home. They couldn't refund me the last $100. I ended up spending it on board. If it had of shown up on my account the first day I don't think the casino would have let me withdraw anything. I can't understand their policy because it's posted in the casino you can withdraw on your account for a fee. I think when they see it on your account that's when things change. I wouldn't chance it again. It would have been refunded hopefully after the cruise but that would have left me with no US money.

I see now. I won't panic if I don't see them the first day but I'll keep checking if they're not. I guess the certificates are just a reminder that you've purchased them. I assume if you don't use it all it will be refunded but I'll probably just cash out any unused credit anyways. That is if I have any!

Can someone please verify what the point of having OBC certificates delivered to your cabin is. Do you have to take these certificates somewhere to have the OBC added to your account or is it automatically added after you purchase it. I want to buy OBC and then use it in the casino with the added 3% they charge to take advantage of the exchange rate I got booking in Canadian dollars. Thanks!

I can't really complain since it is approximately what I'd be charged by my credit card if I'd booked in U.S. funds, but I had been hoping to save by booking in CDN through NCL. It may not have made much of a difference either way, but I'm not sure which way I would have come out ahead, since 34% is what has been used. I booked through NCL because I could pay in CDN funds. I should have calculated what they were using before I paid, as I wouldn't have booked direct if I'd realized it was 34% as I could have gotten more perks booking elsewhere.

 

Logging in, it says "43 days to go. All prices shown in CAD"

 

And I can confirm, the 34% is what I would be charged for any additional purchases as well. See pic below - $25 onboard credit = $33.33 CDN which is about 34%:

 

We have 49 days to go and when I'm logged in a $25 onboard credit=$27.78CDN which is about a 1.11 exchange rate. That's strange yours is so high.

For those who did have it added, do you have the prepaid gratuities as part of your promos when you booked your cruise? I wonder if this is part of my problem trying to prepay...or if I have to just keep trying and contact NCL directly rather than my PCC.

No it was not part of a Promo. We chose the UBP. I was just trying to pay ahead for the old DSC rate and to get the cheaper CDN exchange rate.

I just called and had it added as well for 1.11. It is due with final payment. It does show up on my account online now as well. I was told I needed to call them directly to add it. I'm not sure why some people were able to do it online themselves then.

We booked in Cdn and paid the DSC beforehand at our locked in rate of 1.11 online (before final payment). Maybe it has to be done via phone if after final payment?

Final payment is not due yet and it won't let me do it online. We're locked in at the 1.11 rate as well but I want to pay it before final payment so I can avoid the recent increase in DSC. I guess I will have to call them.

I received an email that if I prepay my DSC I will get the rate before the latest increase at the CDN exchange rate I am currently locked in at. I tried to log in and do this but I get a message that prepaying gratuities is not currently available. Can you not do it online or do you have to call them?

If you bought $100 OBC, you would be charged $110 Canadian (or whatever NCL's current exchange is). The OBC is US$. If you bought something on board for $10, your balance would be $90US. In other words, the rate takes effect on the initial purchase of the OBC.

Do you have to purchase the OBC before final payment or can you buy it right up until sailing and still get the good exchange rate. Also if you want to use it in the casino do you charge money to your online account and pay the 3%. Then it is deducted from the OBC in your account. Confused!

Hi, I have a deposit down on a Feb 2017 cruise. I just called to see what their exchange rate is but she said because it was booked in US funds, she couldn't tell. She then did a mock booking for me in CDN Funds and it was way higher than my original price in Cdn....Had it been lower, I would have cancelled and re-booked. How are you able to get the lower rate - I'm getting 1.29 :mad:

I had a deposit down on a Dec 2015 cruise. After reading this I called. Because the deposit was booked in US funds she had to cancel and rebook my cruise. My cruise had not changed in price since I booked it back in June. She was able to get my same cabin back and gave me a rate of 1.11 so I saved $350 by doing this. This made me happy. She told me I would get that rate for anything else I bought for this cruise. Hope thats true when it comes to final payment. Maybe your cruise will drop in price and you can take advantage then as well.

Thank you all, I really appreciate the advice.

 

We are experienced cruisers and we do like cooler temps. We are not beach people so we look for something other than the Caribbean. We like sightseeing and I love to take pixs, So the 'cooler' temps do not bother us one bit, as long as it really isn't around the freezing mark, where you can't enjoy yourselves walking around.

 

We did the Baltics in late August (I am a regular on the Baltics board if anyone needs any advice from that part of the world) and each day there, started with jacket until about mid day when it warmed up enough to take it off. We are jeans and light jacket type of people, so what you have told me, sounds like something we would be interested in. PLUS, not having the crowds around, that is the main thing.

 

Cheers

 

Len

We are the same as you. Would rather be cooler and less crowds. We did a Med cruise in May a few years ago and the heat and crowds in Rome were awful.

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I need some quick advice. We are looking at a 10 day Med cruise on NCL for December 9th of this year for $529, round trip from Barcelona. Ports are Cagliari, Sardinia, Palermo, Naples, Rome and Florence.

 

This seems like a great deal, but I was wondering what type of weather would we be encountering, especially temperature wise. is this a 'bad' time to be cruising the Med.

 

Thanks for all help

 

Cheers

 

Len

We are booked on this cruise as well. Good deal! Last year over Christmas we sailed out of Barcelona but to the Canary Islands and Morocco. The weather was pleasant. A little cool in the morning and evenings but warmed up nicely during the day. We just wore layers and by afternoon we were down to just a light jacket. This cruise goes the other direction but I can't seen it being really cold. There was no need for a winter coat in Barcelona but I did see locals wearing them. I guess they aren't used to temperatures in the 60's. This year could be different. You can't depend on the weather.

Mscruisin, we were on the a Jade last December 3-13 in the Eastern Mediterranean. I sat on the balcony in the morning on sea days if there was sun. We had a couple of days with 50-60 degree F temps. My husband never sat outside.

It was fun to see Stromboli volcano from the balcony.

The Jade balcony was a bargain ($75 per day with dining package); our inside cabin on the Spirit with UDP is $100 a day this year. (A balcony on the Spirit is $250 pp a day). That is why I downgraded from the ocean view and took the 5035 cabin which sounds like a great choice.

Have a great cruise.

This cruise is the Western Mediterranean whether that makes any difference in temperature I don't know. We're paying about $100 a day for a balcony with the UBP. Last year on the spirit we paid about $80 a day for the same type of room you have but no bonuses. I would take the downgrade from the ocean view as well. Sounds like your room is identical to the one we had but one floor down. Lots of room. The only minor thing I found wrong was that there was only one bedside table but that was because there is a trundle bed under one side of the bed and the table would be in the way. I gave that side to my husband. Haha!

Mscruisin, Thanks for starting this thread. I checked the prices on our cruise this October on the Spirit. We had a porthole ocean view with the dining and drink packages. A huge family inside was available today and I saved $700. That includes factoring in the $70 on taxes for the dining package. We have enough wine as Platinum cruisers so for us it was a great deal.

 

I don't mind an inside. Balcony prices for this cruise are very high compared to our other cruises.

We had a family inside (#6035) on the Spirit last December on the Canary Islands and Morocco cruise. We loved it. Lots of room for 2 people and quiet. I would take it over the porthole cabin any day. That is if you don't mind being woken early in the morning on port days. You got a good deal.