ClarkBHM

Yep! I accidentally fell asleep when I was checking email late on the first night of our cruise and burned up my entire package by morning. They generously restored it for me, but I wouldn't count on them to do that in the future.

I'm someone who loves to collect currency, rare coins, foreign coins and bills, etc. While I like the idea of handing out $2 bills or presidential dollar coins, etc., I realized that if you're outside of the US it's an oddity that causes inconvenience for the other party. Sure, they may smile as you hand them a $2, but in the back of their minds their thinking how much of a b*tch it'll be to deal with it. If you're in port, their local bank may or may not take it, so they are stuck with trying to give it out as change to some other American tourist. If they are crew on the ship, they have to figure out the best way to deposit it so that they can send it back to their family in their home country. So sure, if you want to tip that way, feel free. There is nothing stopping you. But don't believe that their smile doesn't mask their hidden annoyance in now having to handle the problem that you just gave them.

Actually had a ship turn around on day 2 while we were away. Best of both worlds I guess?

Make sure you ask about the kid's menu. We took our kids to Teppanyaki many years ago and they were charged the full price. No one ever mentioned that there was a special kids menu...

Agree that that seems odd. We had adjoining balconies on the Wonder of the Seas and it was already opened for us when we boarded. Seems odd that Norwegian wouldn't/couldn't do the same thing.

Oh, I don't doubt it'll be nice. We're actually on the same Bermuda itinerary as when were on the Escape in 2019. When we were exploring options for the year, we knew that this was a relatively easy trip to plan out and since we had fun last time, we might as well go again. My commentary was more directed towards being forced to pay Haven prices on the newer ship if you are wanting a 2-BR suite like the older ships had.

Hello world! I've been slowly catching up on this thread over the matter of a few weeks. It's certainly an active one! We're looking forward to our fourth NCL cruise this June in a 2-BR Haven suite in the Joy. We'd previously been in the 2-BR suites on the Gem (outside the Haven), the Dawn (no Haven), and most recently in the Haven on the Escape. Talking about the price increases, it doesn't really help that the 2-BR suites on the newer ships are in the Haven without any options outside of it. We have certainly appreciated having access to the concierge and the butler on the Gem and Dawn and didn't really miss the Haven. And while the Haven on the Escape was great, I'm not sure it's worth the $$$ difference just to have courtyard access. Nevertheless, we're in the Haven on the Joy, so I might as well enjoy it!

Lots and lots of differing opinions, and lots of disagreements. I suggest searching the forums.

In this case, you get what you pay for. The "insurance" that NCL offered was practically worthless. A third party trip insurance provider will be able to give you something you can use. But, the greater the benefit that you want to insure, the more you will have to pay. We just booked a $13k cruise on the Joy for this summer. We bought "cancel for any reason" insurance which is certainly expensive ($800 for the four of us) but when we factor it into the overall cost of the vacation, it's well worth the peace of mind. We know it works too--we had to utilize it to cover an April 2020 vacation as covid shut everything down. Anyway, really sorry for the OP because it's a sucky situation. I would hope that NCL would accommodate you on a future cruise. In the meantime, the rest of us can try to learn from this misfortune.

Yes, the beds in the second bedroom are fine. I even climbed up into the top bunk to see how comfortable it is. I'm 6'0 and was not cramped up top. If you're just using the lower bunk there should be no problem.

Just wanted to thank everyone for this conversation. We'll be there in June and I had the same question, but you answered it.