KeithJenner

Your pick up time is absolutely fine.

Yeah, if we are there on a port stop then we walk, as it is quite an easy walk, but if we wanted to use transport then we would use the local shuttle. From memory (I have never looked too hard as we do walk), I’m not sure that NCL offer a shuttle as the port shuttle does the job.

Boarding times are almost always about the same regardless of departure time. Boarding should start at around midday (usually just a bit earlier than that). More relevant though is check in time. If you arrive at midday then you will likely have quite a wait to check in and board (unless you have priority).

I can confirm that UK is 70 days. Final payment for our early September cruise is late this month.

You should be able to self disembark soon after the 6am arrival time. I have known disembarkation to start earlier than that time before. The biggest delay in getting off the ship is getting yourself and your luggage to the exit as the lifts are busy. If you are arranging a transfer then they will probably be able to pick you up from the ship, but if not then you will need to add some time (I’d guess about 30 minutes) to get the shuttle to the port exit. You should have plenty of time as a transfer before about 8am will probably get you to the airport too early.

People who don't drink enough on a cruise to make the free at sea deal worth while are certainly in the minority, but that doesn't mean that there aren't still a significant number of them. Many times I have met people at the CC meet and greet who aren't drinkers, and who don't have the beverage package. They don't tend to spend a lot of their time in the bars though, so they aren't as visible during the cruise to those of us who tend to gravitate towards those places. 🙂

There has been no bar service in Greece for people without the beverage package on NCL for about a year now.

As there is a charge for the getting the beverage package, whether that be gratuities or the free at sea charge, there will always be people who it works best for not to get it. I would say that if you are only going to have a few drinks then not being able to do so in port is unlikely to be all that much of an inconvenience. However, as I've said before, Santorini is a particularly annoying port for this because you are generally docked there until late and it isn't easy just to nip off the ship. Again, probably not too much of a problem for those who don't drink much but it does mean that you can't even order a coke to go with your evening meal.

Yeah, one thing we always know with NCL is that there are no hard and fast rules. 🙂

Yes, I think we covered that earlier. It seems that the restriction (which is only online, so can be got around my calling) may not apply all the time, but it is definitely a thing. We have not been able to book any restaurant more than once on any cruise since covid (although we have only tried it with MDRs once) and it is an often reported issue on these boards.

Yes, fixed price places only. I assume that is what the previous poster was referring to.

Interesting review. We seem to agree on most things, and my opinion of the Haven is very similar to yours. For us, the main advantage of a suite is the room (which is why we like non Haven suites). We also really enjoy breakfast in the suite dining room. I very rarely want a proper sit down lunch, so that is irrelevant to me. If we stayed in a suite on a ship with a Haven restaurant then I'm sure we would eat there a few times. I wouldn't pay a huge amount extra for those things though. It's interesting that you have had some replies with comments on how you can get more out of the Butler. I suspect that, like us, you really aren't fussed about what they do though. We find the Butler and Concierge more of an inconvenience than a benefit, so wouldn't do anything to encourage them. I remember the annoyance once, when we had VIP benefits on the Spirit and I made the mistake of mentioning to the concierge that we had a dining booking to make and he insisted on doing it for me. What I could have done in 2 minutes on the app took about 10 minutes on the phone with the concierge acting as a buffer between me and the reservation desk. Total waste of time. Anyway, I agree with your conclusions. Suites are great rooms, we would pay a bit extra for them, and the dining options are nice, but overall I can take or leave them. We enjoy the general public areas too much to feel the need to spend too much time in the Haven. The one time we were in the Haven (on the Pearl, so without the bar/restaurant), we found that we sometimes spent time there that we later regretted as we would have enjoyed being in the public bar areas more. I may stick a small bid in on our Breakaway cruise though, but at a level that is very unlikely to be accepted. However, we have a great aft cabin booked, so is there really any need?

There certainly are restrictions on complementary restaurants (for some people at least). As stated above, I made a reservation at Manhattan for our upcoming cruise and am now unable to book that restaurant again. This restriction is nothing to do with the total number of reservations. It is to do with not being able to book the same restaurant twice, which appears to be a problem with both included and speciality restaurants. There is no restriction on total reservations. As you say, they will start charging after you have booked the number of restaurants that are included in your package, but it doesn’t stop you from booking them.

Some cruises from Lisbon stop off at Gilbaltar, which is not EU, so this may explain it. This is why I say that it is so unclear though. It does seem to depend on the port of embarkation as well. Another anomoly at the moment seems to be some round trips from Rome to the Greek Islands that don’t seem to leave the EU, but I’ve not seen any mention of tax being charged for the entire cruise (although I may have missed it).

I don’t disagree with a word of that. To be clear, I was just saying how it is on NCL. I’m making no comment at all on how it should be (other than that NCL should be consistent but seem incapable of being so). You will find from previous postings that I am very critical of NCLs handling of these issues.

In our experience, yes.

When VAT is charged it is the percentage of the listed price, so your example sounds correct.

Charging people with the package hasn’t been consistent with NCL. We have cruised a few times with the package on all EU routes and never been charged the VAT. They have started and stopped doing it a few times over the years. It seems to be more consistent lately though. There were grumbles on here about it last year and they seem to be doing it again now.

As insidecabin says, it is more complicated than that. Are you asking whether they are charged on all purchases, whether in port or not? If so then it really depends, as this only happens on cruises that don’t leave the EU and it also possibly depends on where you embark. If you are talking about charges in port then this depends on the port. There is not a yes/no answer to these questions and also just because something is happening this week it doesn’t mean it will be the same next week. Unfortunately you need to sift through the information. The threads about this are not only about the UK or whether alcohol is served. There are quite a few discussions about the VAT issue as well.

There are various discussions here about this and other issues with purchasing alcohol in Europe. Id just review the first few pages of the message boards to see them. There is quite a bit of reading there. 🙂

This has been the rule in Greece for about a year now (on NCL cruises). It wouldn’t surprise me if it doesn’t change for a while.

As pointed out, it isn’t.

The website uses your location to decide which countries site to take you to For some reason it looks like your iPad still thinks it is in Europe. Check your location setting to ensure that it is set to update your current location. You haven’t got airplane mode on have you? I don’t know whether that affects location settings, but it’s possible I suppose.

Excursions that are fully covered by free at sea tend to be “on your own” options which are basically a list to the attraction. This is often our preference rather than a tour, but if you are looking for a guide then it doesn’t help much.

Yes, Suites are 130 days.