cruiser2015

Aside from the possible issue with having NCL air (I assume the poster was referring to the BOGO offer), I suggest the friends who were told they were not qualified to call and speak to another agent. Agents can be inconsistent in some responses. And, unlike the third couple who were told that the request was in process, expect that the other's request was dropped and it won't just show up later.

Sounds like a great item. 👍

Same issue here. Sailing 8 weeks from today, so colder still than now. We're running from LA to Miami. Mostly just 2 days on the bookends of cold weather. I'm considering stashing my winter jacket in my luggage at the airport, swapping it for a light weight. I've done that once before. LA shouldn't be very cool; will check the forecast when the time comes.

Our little kitty stays at the Malibu Pet Motel.

Now there's a bubble buster. You have a point. My exact category is not showing as available any longer on my TA's website. Only the one lower that runs about $40 pp less. On NCL's website, there are no subcategories showing at all (Club Balcony). I tried to do a mock booking and went all the way to the payment page - it still did not offer any info about available cabins (there are 3 rates in the category). So, I suppose there's a small chance to get a credit, but I'm not feeling confident at this point.

Thanks for the tip. But, I have my own air. Just FAS wifi, shorex, dining.

Perfect!. Thanks, tgloersen. I'm guessing this is for your Christmas cruise. That's quite a price drop. Enjoy your cruise!!

I just got a notice from my TA saying that Black Friday deals are now available. So, I checked pricing for my January cruise I have an MB cabin. Closest listed is an MC. Adjusting for that small difference, there is a reduction of about $720. If I can get a FCC for the price drop, how long is the certificate valid? I searched the NCL site and could not find anything except for their POM program (not applicable here).

We have our first Covid cruise (cancellations in 2020 and 2021) this January. As for packing - how about waiting until Black Friday? It could distract you from spending a lot of money - so you can use it on your cruise!

Just walk in together. Unlikely they will give you a hard time .

That'll teach 'em!

I would consider that as sub-par service.

Back in the old days, specialty restaurant servers were part of the same tip pool as the MDR staff. Is that still true today at NCL? If so, the extra 20% on the estimate "cost" would be a very reasonable tip, all in. If anyone knows the answer to this, it's you, bird.

Unless one has some applicable OBC that you don't already expect to use use for other services. It may nicely cover the DSC.

I was basically referring to "effective date". While coverage for most of what you insure (medical, luggage, delays) begins your first day of travel, cancellation coverage begins when you can no longer get back money you paid. There are several factors that go into the cost of insurance. Total cost, destination, age of passengers, what features of coverage have been selected. As for me and my DW, we are in our seventies. What I call decent coverage (not including CFAS), premiums run from about 6% of your trip cost and up. I just checked insurance that I have now for my January trip. "Effective date" is the day after the premium is paid. I also show the following extract: WHEN AN INSURED'S COVERAGE BEGINS – Provided: (a) coverage has been elected; and (b) the required premium has been paid. All coverage (except Trip Cancellation) will begin on the Scheduled Departure Date when the Insured departs for the first Travel Arrangement (or alternate Travel Arrangement if he/she must use an alternate Travel Arrangement to reach his/her Trip destination) for his/her Trip. Trip Cancellation coverage will begin on the Insured’s Effective Date. So, as to trip cancellation coverage, the policy is in effect when you pay for it and your trip costs are non-refundable.

Here's a tricky point about that effective date. As for the trip cancellation coverage, it's effective when you can't get your money back from the cruise line - essentially final payment date and/or booking date, whichever is later. So, the trip insurance coverage is liable to you for up tp 4 months for an NCL trip, if you must cancel for, say, medical reasons. I don't know if all insurance companies will consider the trip start date as the effective date in all circumstances. If they do, they have an exposure potential while their premium may end up being refunded. Of course, if there has been no claim up until the departure date they have no net expense - but the potential was still actually there.

The history of the DSC seems to be that it was the replacement for the former "standard" tip set. There were "suggested" tip amounts for the cabin steward, main dining waiter, MDR bus boy and sometimes the maitre'D of the MDR. Tips were given directly to those workers. Eventually, the cruise lines offered to provide those tips directly to the personnel by charging your ship's account and taking care of the rest. You could use the default amount; also offer more; or, remove the auto charge and pay directly as in the old days. Way back there were no specialty restaurants; when they started up, tips there were "optional" as an extra amount (presumably they got a share of the DSC, which is why tipping was optional). At some point, the DSC apparently evolved into adding additional "behind the scenes staffers" in positions other than the ones I mentioned above (obviously, those staffers are not behind anything. And, at least for NCL, only a portion is given to crew as cash; some is used to pay for some perks; some may be retained for other uses - only NCL knows for sure how it is fully used.

Yes, it can be removed.

If you are willing to give up some of that luxury treatment, Club Balconies have a walk in shower.

Another vote for itinerary. Also, the cruise is likely port intensive - you're not going to spend huge amounts of time in your suite. You would enjoy some of the luxuries, like the restaurant. The destination is the prize. And, unless you book a high end suite on the Jade, you can save a bunch of bucks.

All of these connections are making me dizzy. The router connect to the ship. Your phone connects to the router. Laptop connects to the router. Done. One connection per device. What's with hotspots, WiFi, blue tooth?

Maybe - could be one of those cute triangle tables for three. 😉

Wait a minute indeed. You're in the wrong context. If you saw my prior post, about a day earlier, you would know that my comments were regarding the NCL Veterans Discount Program. Nothing to do directly with the Shareholder benefit. I was just bringing up, using a different program, how the "rules" can be bent at times and to not accept the first answer you receive from an NCL rep - if you don't like their answer.

That sounds like the security check was to make sure you belonged at the port - as in being a passenger. That would explain why a DL did not work but that the key card did.

Critical thinking will always win out over bureaucratic foolishness.