jimb98

20 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Take all of this, throw it in a blender, and come out with the cost of my cruise.

 

I always look at the total out of pocket.  

 

If, as the example is being made, Royal charges 2x the drink package compared to NCL, that VAT line item doesn't even remotely come close to what it costs to drink on a Royal ship.  And, adding to the out of pocket, Royal's fares tend to be higher than NCL's as a general rule of thumb.

 

VAT doesn't matter as I'm better off financially with NCL than I am with Royal, Costa, even MSC's "Easy Package" is about 3X the price of FAS, but includes the VAT.  It only includes drinks up to $10 ea.  You want to move up the ladder?  It's 4X the FAS package cost.  Still not comparable by any stretch.

 

As mentioned, Costa forces you to buy drinks a la carte  and adds VAT on top of that.

 

I like the way NCL does it.

This is probably the most rational response in this whole thread, even though I don’t personally agree with charging the vat.

Thanks, I accept most of the cruising will be at night. Our sea day will be from Guadeloupe to Tobago so any thoughts on which route it would take (obviously other than South) so that we’d get the sun on the balcony and do we sail close enough to the islands to actually see them en-route?

Cruising from Barbados next January, visiting St Vincent, St. Lucia, Guadeloupe, Tobago and Grenada

Any suggestions on whether it’d be best for a balcony cabin on port or starboard, taking into account weather, views etc?

Can’t get an Aft so need advice on which side is best.?

;Cruising from Barbados next January, visiting St Vincent, St. Lucia, Guadeloupe, Tobago and Grenada

Any suggestions on whether it’d be best for a balcony cabin on port or starboard, taking into account weather, views etc?

Can’t get an Aft so need advice on which side is best.

36 minutes ago, screenname2004 said:

If gratuities are included with the cruise deal, you won't have the daily service add to your account, right? What is there to remove?

 

I had this issue with my TA, Cruise 1st who I was sure had stated everything was included. However when I received the notification from NCL about the increase in DSC I queried it with Cruise 1st who said DSC were alway levied but that I could get them taken off onboard. 
I personally thought I was misled but other than demanding transcripts of the phone calls there wasn’t much I can do. Lesson learnt.

It’s not compulsory and you can get it removed when you board.

I only state this for the UK viewers as lots of the UK based cruise deals include gratuities now.

6 hours ago, travellingscouse said:

Hi just booked a cruise for Feb 24 on the NCL Dawn. I have purchased the drinks package via the Free at Sea promotion from a UK travel agent. I am relatively new to NCL and a bit confused over the gratuities. Are they included in the drinks package? Also how do I pay for other gratuities as this wasn't included when I booked via a travel agent? Thanks in advance.!😃

Just a note to say that Daily Service Charges are not compulsory, you can remove them if you wish when you’re on board.

NCL has changed our January 2024 Asia itinerary with two stops dropped, one added and an extra sea day added. Are we entitled to cancel and claim refund of deposit?

We are UK based.

Just been informed a radical change because of ongoing port development in Melaka. Lots of port changes and an extra sea day. Does anyone booked on this cruise think this is a positive or negative change? Not having previously cruised the area I’d welcome any views.

What are your first impressions of Scenic compared to Viking?

We are considering Scenis do our first ever river cruise.

Already looked on Marella board but not much help. Obviously COVID  has limited any cruises on Marella.

I know this ship is now with Marella but I’d be keen to hear any cabin reviews from when it was with Celebrity. 
These are the nine Century Suites and would like to know any good/ bad points please.

Anyone stayed in one of these cabins? Do they have sun loungers, are they overlooked and anything else to report?

Thanks,

Jim

54 minutes ago, dronnygirl said:

I'm  pretty sure there were only chairs and table.  Hope this helps 

Thanks, it does.

On 4/27/2022 at 6:33 PM, dronnygirl said:

We've  been on Explorer 2 and were in cabin 1130, almost the back. Didn't  notice any bad vibration, in fact it was a very quiet cabin. Cases went under the bed. Really liked the cabin and would book again.

Hi Dronnygirl,

Did cabin 1130 have sun loungers as well as chairs?

I understand this is impossible to answer definitively but any advice would be helpful. We are considering a Marella back to back next February. Starts in Jamaica with Cuban Fusion to Cuba, including Carmen Islands and Mexico then second week is Pride of Panama including Columbia and Costa Rica.

What are the sea conditions most likely to be, is it common to have rough seas late February, early March?

Finally received an email from Tui this afternoon. They condescendingly explained they were trying to not inconvenience us by putting us up in a hotel for one night whilst the ship was examined by USA officials. What utter crap!

They did admit this was a major change but failed to admit they knew about this weeks/months ago. Not sure who I can officially complain to but I intend to find out.

For them to have USA approval the ship needs to be examined when it is completely empty of passengers. That is not going to happen until the end of the season and Tui have known that for months. Go figure!

Copy of my post in Roll Call Forum regarding Discovery being unable to dock at USA ports:-

Similar story here. I phoned Tui yesterday to clarify my excursions (booked online recently).

The lady said that I'd cancelled my San Juan tour. I explained that I hadn't done any such thing. She had no idea why it had happened and offered several reasons. Of course I know the real reason but didn't let on. She said my money should have been refunded; it hasn't, even today. She promised me she would phone me back; 20 hours later and no phone call.

When I logged on yesterday there was no change to my itinerary; lo and behold today it confirms Tobago and extra Antigua.

Tui are just as bad as they have always been and still treat the customer will total contempt.

Never mind £50 each going on on board account; I want my cash back and will pursue this after the event.

Anyone recently been on Discovery that can comment on temperature in the venues?Is it warm enough in the evening for short sleeves or does the air-con make it too cold?

We went on her when she first joined the fleet and the Live lounge was freezing, hoping it's better in two weeks time.

If you look on the Marella Discovery 1 Facebook page it gives you all the details of the USA banning the ship.

We've resigned ourselves to the change and will embrace it.

Put it this way, I'd rather spend an extra day in Antigua than snowy Newcastle. And pigeon point in Tobago is not a bad option at all.

With reference to the Esta application my advice would be not to apply for a 'group' of two as I did for my wife and me. Do two separate applications and it's no hassle. If you don't get to those islands Tui will reimburse you plus £50. Win/win situation.

My gripe was always that Tui treats us like imbeciles. They were like that in 1976 when I first travelled with them and nothing seems to have changed.

The staff and entertainment are excellent, it's just the admin people,

I'd wait to apply for the esta until you get further news. The esta only takes a short time to be approved but I found it a pain in the neck to complete. We're off on 4th Feb. so are just waiting for Tui to come clean and tell us what is going on. Not holding my breath.

Although they haven't confirmed anything yet it looks like Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands will be replaced by Tobago and a repeat to Antigua.

The reason is the US authorities have not passed the ship safe (reason unknown). TUI carried out some remedial but the authorities have to re-examine the ship and can only do thus when all passengers are off the ship. The captain apparently refused this so it looks like it won't be remedied until after the season. They knew about this 6 months ago. Disgraceful.

Apologies, may be £50.

The disgraceful thing is they are still selling excursions for these islands, knowing full well the ship is banned.

We are going in three weeks time but definitely concerned that the ship is not allowed onto USA islands. As expected tui have neglected to advise us about this. People are getting fifty dollars each plus refund of esta.

New name but same crap customer service.