OrcaGirl

I might start with 1-2 days of the 2023 menus just to validate the design. And give me a reason to drag the husband to dinner in the MDR on our October cruise on the Escape. (He's a weirdo who would eat the same thing in the buffet every night if he could.)

Question for fellow researching-the-menu-in-advance enthusiasts: have you ever come across a website that includes both a cruise line's MDR menus and photos of the various items? I'm considering building something like that for NCL menus, but don't want to go to the effort if 1) it already exists, and 2) no one else would find it useful/interesting.

For me, I've been able to successfully upgrade just one person's internet by starting from the Vacation Summary page instead of the Offer Upgrades page. YMMV, but the Vacation Summary page gives me checkboxes to select the person who wants the unlimited wifi upgrade (e.g. me). If I were to go to the Offer Upgrades page, it automatically includes both passengers instead.

I can't speak to a European cruise, but on my Alaska cruise on the Bliss a couple of months ago, Splash Academy was never open when the ship was in port.

I didn't get my CruiseNext certificates back when I had to cancel ~3 weeks before the sail date.

I was able to request and receive an upgrade from regular balcony to aft balcony after final payment for a January 2023 cruise on the Epic). The agent offered a percentage (like 20% or something) of the difference in what I paid for the regular balcony compared to the current price as FCC, but I had already checked the cabin availability and asked outright: "well, this aft cabin is now less than what I originally paid, can I just transfer to it instead". It took about 15 minutes of checking with supervisors, but the change got made. (And then I had to cancel that cruise anyway due to a family medical emergency and didn't get anything back but taxes and port fees. 🤷‍♀️)

Several years back, I asked an NCL person (via online chat) why I couldn't see other excursions once I booked one for that port, and was told that it was a web glitch and would be fixed soon. 🙄 I absolutely understand the need to prevent people from double-booking, but I also like being able to review what's currently available for my specific cruise in case I change my mind or in case space becomes available on a previously full excursion. Something as straightforward as greying out anything that conflicts with previously-booked excursions would be ideal. Hey, maybe they'll make more money off of me if I end up switching to a more expensive excursion. 😉

A couple of other brunch options within walking distance of the YWCA: Fable Bar + Diner, 755 Richards St (directly across the street from Medina) Le Petite Belge, 340 Robson St OEB Breakfast Co., 1137 Marinaside Crescent (opens at 7am and you've got about an hour before the line gets crazy, or you can put your name on the waitlist via app before walking down; if the weather's nice, I order their breakfast poutine bowls for pick-up and walk over to Cooper's Park for a brunch picnic)

When I took the train from Seattle to Vancouver post-cruise in May 2023, it was a 100% booked train, and the station staff prioritized boarding by group size to help keep families together, e.g. all groups of five or more got to board first, then groups of four, three, etc. We were a group of three, and among the last people to board, but we still managed to get seats together. They have to keep some seats free for the folks boarding at the other stops between Seattle and Vancouver, so travelling as a pair you should be fine.

I haven't tried, but the terms of the discount seem to be very specific re: the eligibility period, with the goal of filling up cruises before the end of the year.

I agree with this interpretation, and will further point out the fine print on the Latitudes spa discount that says "Onboard Discounts on Spa Signature Treatments while the Ship is in Port". Only certain spa treatments are marked as 'signature', e.g. it includes the fire and ice manicure and pedicure qualifies as a 'signature treatment' but a regular pedicure doesn't. Likewise, the Aroma Stone Therapy massage gets the Latitude discount but a Deep Tissue Massage doesn't.

What sort of onboard activities are typically scheduled while docked in Bermuda? I'm assuming during the day it's a reduced slate like any other port stop, but what about at night? Do they still have production shows in the theatre, comedy, bingo or Deal or No Deal, etc like a normal evening? Or do they shift all of that to the sea days?

My apologies, I shouldn't have assumed that it was the same situation for you as it was for me. 🙂

I've found a few words of Indonesian to be very appreciated on cruise ships: Thank you: terima kasih You're welcome: sama-sama Excuse me: permisi Good morning: selamat pagi Good evening: selamat malay A few more in Tagalog: Good morning: magandang umaga Good evening: magandang hi gabi And in Swahili: Thank you: asante

Yes, the coupons and credits are displayed under "Coupons and Credits" under our NCL accounts, but it seems that for people using non-American currencies, we do not have the ability to apply them to bookings ourselves on the NCL website. It simply does not give us that option on the payments page.

For what it's worth, it was a Canadian thing. Or rather, a Canadian currency thing. The 15% off coupon defaults to USD, and it took my NCL cruise consultant escalating it to the resolutions team to get it converted to Canadian dollars and applied to a booking. But it worked and I got the cruise booked, just couldn't do it myself online.

Thank you @julig22 for posting that screenshot so I know I'm not going blind and/or missing something super obvious. I see none of those extra options on the payment page. Even when I had CruiseNext certificates to use, I had to call in to apply them. This is what I see on the payment page, for a cruise that is definitely eligible for the coupon that I've currently got:

I just tried doing a mock booking for a cruise in late December and still no obvious space to apply the discount. I can't recall ever seeing an opportunity to apply a discount online, so I'm curious what other people see. Perhaps it's a Canadian thing?

Can I ask how you apply the discount online? I don't see any spot to do that when doing a mock booking. It goes straight to asking for payment for the full amount.

A 15% off coupon for any cruise remaining in 2023 just popped up in my account, labelled “Your Exclusive Limited-Time Offer – Get An Extra 15% Off!”. According to my cruise consultant dude, the 15% comes off the already-discounted cruise fare, is combinable with FaS, and it has to be booked over the phone, not online. I'm planning to book something later this week so I'll report back if there were any surprises.

It shows up for me as one of the eligible cruises for extra latitude points if booked during August.

Glad that worked for you since I just deleted all of the digital Dailies and threw out the paper copies last week. 🤣

I haven't paid too much attention in years past, but I'm curious: do the Latitudes past guest offers follow any sort of discernable pattern? e.g. if July and August specials are about filling up the Alaska and Europe sailings for the remainder of the year, what is September typically focused on?

Hey everyone, I've sailed in a Spa Balcony on the Bliss before, but can't remember the answer to my own question: does the bed still split into two singles like other balcony cabins? If you book three adults into a Spa Balcony cabin, do all three get Thermal Spa access? Thinking of sailing on the Bliss with my mom and a family friend next year. 🤞

What about if only one person in a cabin of two is Platinum? I just turned Platinum thanks to a girls trip with the 2x points, but my husband is still a lowly Gold. On our next cruise, do I still get two meal vouchers for two?