huggs

Hi everyone,

I am making an inquiry for a friend who has booked a cruise on HA.

In my previous experience we were able to pre purchase OBC on a different cruise line at a much better rate of exchange than the banks etc were offering.

Can someone confirm what the current rate is on Holland American. Can you confirm that any OBC pre purchased would be at the rate in which the cruise is booked.

I truly appreciate your feedback and time taken to answer my inquiry.

Cheers,

Huggs

Just looked into this further and it would appear YES indeed they are used for sleep apnea.

http://www.pawsibilitiesunleashed.org/other-service-dogs

As much as it seems far fetched we do not have all the details and or medical information that could support the need for a sleep apnea service dog. We have no right to judge and or make assumptions .

I assume it would be about $900 then in my account to spend on board...very confused.

So I selected and paid for $1000 OBC...and paid in CDN at par....what amt will I have in my OBC when I board...will it be converted based on current exchange rate offerd by NCL that day...when we booked ..we booked at PAR...

Can anyone verify that if you have pre bought your OBC in CDN funds , that it is then converted to US credit once on board.

Here I was thinking the OBC I had bought was going to be equal but have since been told it will be converted to USD once on board.

Has any of my fellow Canucks done this lately and can you verify if you were then surprised when you got on board to find out you had less ? / what rate was used to convert it to USD $

Thanks

Hello :-)

 

I am looking into taking my mom on a cruise. She isn't wheelchair bound per say but she has issues with walking long distances and standing for long amounts of time. I was looking in to getting a fold up wheelchair and toting her around the ship but my question is for places like private islands do they have those special wheelchairs for rent that can go on the beach?

 

How hard is to navigate with a wheelchair and do people give you a hard time about that stuff? She's very self conscious about losing her mobility and some people have been quite cruel on the internet regarding overweight people in wheelchairs (she can't just get up in walk, she has a spinal problem that makes it super painful for long periods)

 

She also has an insulin pen, it doesn't require refrigeration but it does require little needles. If we brought an empty red box from home, would the crew be able to dispose of it after the cruise or would we have transport the sharps container home?

 

What ports do you find the most wheelchair friendly? And do people find it too troublesome to board a tender boat with a wheelchair? I wouldn't want her to board and debark on her own because of balance issues, I'd want her to do it in the chair or with assistance from crew.

I can understand how your mom feels. I have had my own issues with limited mobility and being overweight. For that reason may I kindly suggest you look into a scooter rental. My dear husband pushed me all around Hawaii and ports in a wheel chair and it was not easy work in warm weather..I also felt worse that he had to do this. Next cruise we rented a scooter...it was so liberating and I was not reliant on anyone to get me places. When she is able to walk,then she can. Another option could be a rollator as they are called in the US. She can push and have a place to sit and rest - again fostering her independence yet recognizing need for a mobility aid. Just depends on her abilities. Scooter can be easily rented and available in your cabin when you board...book an accessible cabin regardless -sounds like bathroom bars, and easy access shower will be better for your mom. Lots of folks with mobility issues cruise and I wish you all the best. Feel free to ask more questions and lots of wonderful folks on here will be happy to help.

PS...tell her that those that make rude or ignorant comments about those battling obesity are not worth the time of day or recognition for what is misjudged ignorance....It is their problem, not hers.

Cheers

Huggs

Are you saying that you have to pay 3% charge on any cash outs you take in the casino ?

Hi- looking for some help. I originally asked a question regarding the handicapped accessible room asking what was required to book this room. Now it looks like the person I was asking about does not want to come on the cruise because they feel they would slow everyone down. We are trying to convince him that we are on vacation and it doesn't have to be rushed. He has an amputated leg and has a prosthetic and also is now on oxygen. He is fully mobile on his own. However with his concerns, do you know how or where we can look into renting a scooter for the cruise? Thanks in advance for always helping with any questions.

First and foremost I hope this person is able to overcome their worry about "slowing | everyone down. If he rents a scooter he will have everyone trying to keep up with him :) My hubby has to use one for our upcoming cruise due to significant change in his mobility and I was able to convince him by reminding him he could be in a bar with a cold beer long before us if he so wished...tee hee !! It worked !!

Special Needs at Sea will have the scooter ready in the room ..you will need to have an accessible cabin as the scooters will not fit through other cabin doors.

Wishing you all the very best of holidays and that this gentleman choses to go and as you say, relax and just take his time and enjoy.

Cheers

My dh says the best part of cruising for me is cruise critic. I have to agree with him. I can't believe how much trouble people go to on this site to help others. I wish I was more computer literate to be able to copy threads etc. Thank you to everyone who answered my post. I so appreciate your advice and help.

 

NCL access desk told me today that if one of the 4 accessible cabins is available I would not have to pay a supplement to go from IE category to IA category. It would be a complimentary upgrade. I am often puzzled by the categories - i.e., our IE is mid-ship and so is the IA. Don't know why one is priced higher than the other but I will be happy if I get an accessible cabin.

 

Thanks again everyone.

We had an unexpected need for an accessible cabin and you will find that often after final payment more of these cabins become available. That is what made a difference for us and when upgrades were offered it freed some up as well...stay in touch with NCL access desk. They were able to get us an accessible cabin, mind at a cost but it is an AFT location so we are thrilled. I found them most helpful. When our TA called they were told nothing available...go figure. Once we got email back from NCL our TA then called and spoke to a supervisor and it was booked. Hope all goes well for your trip.

We just rented a scooter for my DH on our upcoming cruise. I wanted to just take a wheel chair but her is a fairly big fella and do not underestimate the effort to push a wheelchair around.- Make sure if you do this, it is not a transport wheel chair.

For Bayport you will need to use Special Needs at Sea... they are the only vendor supporting this port .

Regardless, have a great vacation and hope all goes well.

One of the most delicious treats I ever had was a chocolate martini on Carnival...OMG... it became my after dinner treat, and often my pre dinner treat...:p

Has anyone else been having problems logging on and not be able to pre pay the daily service charge ?

I have been trying for a few days now...next step is call TA and have her contact NCL.

Cheers

I would say it depends :). For Canadians, it does make sense to purchase OBC ahead of time. NCL offers an attractive exchange rate, when buying in advance.

 

Also, for many of us, buying OBC in advance allows folks to set aside funds for the cruise, as their monthly budget allows.

 

 

Sent from my iPad. Typos are inevitable.

Most definitely...because we have booked so far out for our upcoming cruise, I have been able to purchase OBC gift cards at PAR ! This has been a HUGE savings for our big 19 night cruise coming up.

So My agent finally got through to NCL to ask about a recent price drop. They are telling her the price has gone up significantly with the recent exchange rate (US = CDN). My trip ended up being a few hundred dollars more!

 

Anyways, on the heels of this news, I just called NCL and prepaid my grats at $180 CDN and bought $150US OBC for $161 CDN.

 

Who knows if they will up the exchange on OBC/grats, but I'm not waiting to find out. I already have the UBP included so that is great, but if you plan on eating at the restaurants or doing any shopping, you may want to buy the OBC now, and not wait until you sail.

Can someone tell me how to find out on your account what the rate was when you booked ? Our cruise was booked well over a year ago in CDN . When I go and purchase OBC gift cards - which is how I assume you are booking your OBC credit... it shows in CAD dollars and no additional cost - and I bought $100 and no charge on my credit card. I am thinking that our booking was done at a time the dollar was on par.... is buying the OBC gift cards on MY NCL the way to purchase OBC - can they be used for everything ?

I am very happy as it appears our OBC is not going to cost us any difference :)

Thanks

I wonder if the exchange was at par when you booked your cruise? For my cruise last Nov, it had been booked at par, and the at par exchange held through even though the rate changed for new bookings. My current cruise was booked recently and $100 OBC would cost $107 CAD. For my previous cruise, when I bought $100 OBC it was worth $100 USD on board.

I am not sure, but the cruise was booked Jan last year in CDN funds, so it is possible at par as the dollar was certainly much better then... this is good news for us then... I will start buying OBC over the next few pay days :p, and not tell hubby and what a nice surprise it will be to have it all paid for ahead of time and at no extra cost. We figured we were going to have to curtail any additional dining, drinking or excursions due to the dollar dropping... I am now doing the happy dance !!

I just bought $100 on a booking that has been all done in CDN funds. When I went to make payment all I was charged was charged was $100 CDN...

1. Does the face value of a gift charge change when purchased in CDN funds ?

2. Will wait and see what the charge goes through as on my credit card.

If no additional charges, I am going to be purchasing some more OBC gift cards... this will save some $$ for sure..

I just purchased $200 of on board credit for $215 after reading this thread. Just go to NCL.com and log into your reservation and select it from gifts. What a deal. What if you buy too much onboard credit...wonder if they would give you cash back...hmmmm...:cool:

When I go and look at purchasing it is in CAD dollars already :) So if I purchase $1000 then what will be charged to my credit card...I could have a good deal here !! I know our trip was paid for in CAD dollars as our our service charges when I look online on My NCL.

Can someone confirm before I hit the buy button, that I will only be charged $1000 to my credit card .

thanks

Sue

You can prepay your DSC at any time or not at all. Please do not misunderstand my statement....it was in reference to "prepaying" only. The DSC needs to be paid either in advance or on your final bill before debarkation. I always pay mine in advance just a couple days before we sail. I choose to pay this way just for the simplicity. I keep my money in my account until last minute because I would rather get the interest then NCL (or any other company for that matter). By prepaying last minute I kill two birds with one stone. I have a budgeted expense paid and to lessen the shock of the final bill on debarkation day.

 

There is no reason to pay any bill before before the actual due date. But instead when it is due to take advantage of any possible monetary gain instead of someone else :D

 

IMO

Thank you, that it what I was hoping. I would rather hold onto the $ as long as possible, but do not want it on our bill at the end !! 3 people on a 19 night cruise is not small change..,.but one we happily pay, as well as additional tips. Thank you both for your responses so quickly.

Cheers

You can prepay your DSC at any time or not at all. Please do not misunderstand my statement....it was in reference to "prepaying" only. The DSC needs to be paid either in advance or on your final bill before debarkation. I always pay mine in advance just a couple days before we sail. I choose to pay this way just for the simplicity. I keep my money in my account until last minute because I would rather get the interest then NCL (or any other company for that matter). By prepaying last minute I kill two birds with one stone. I have a budgeted expense paid and to lessen the shock of the final bill on debarkation day.

 

There is no reason to pay any bill before before the actual due date. But instead when it is due to take advantage of any possible monetary gain instead of someone else :D

 

IMO

Thank you, that it what I was hoping. I would rather hold onto the $ as long as possible, but do not want it on our bill at the end !! 3 people on a 19 night cruise is not small change..,.but one we happily pay, as well as additional tips. Thank you both for your responses so quickly.

Cheers

Hi

I am looking for advice. How soon, if you are going to pre pay your service charges does it have to be done. Does it have to be done with final payment or any time before you cruise ??

Trying to plan the budget and it would be nice if it can wait until just a few weeks before we cruise. I want to pre pay, but be nice to keep the $ in our bank vs bank of NCL.

I know someone will have the answer for me .

Thank you

Huggs aka Sue

We've enjoyed cruising out of Galveston before, and will be doing so again in February. This time we've booked a limo with Cool Tours from IAH to Galveston. So far their customer service as been excellent.

 

One of the benefits for us is that its a non-stop flight from our home airport on the west coast; very appealing and a nice change from flying all the way across the country to FLL.

Thanks Snow Cat for the perspective...we are sailing out of Bayport in April and I was starting to feel transportation cost to hotel from IAH etc was pricey but when you factor in how much cheaper and how short the flight is... then I think we are even further ahead and looking forward to seeing TEXAS :D

Took me a while to figure out that port of Galveston is not same as Bayport and the only bummer is that staying in Galveston and getting to port is not as convenient as we had hoped, so will stay nearer Bayport but hope to rent a car for a day and drive down to the Island .

It would appear you are either the kind of traveler who choses to not follow the normal rules of " professional relationships" and roles and may indeed take a bit of time to get to know your room steward, dining room waiter and or others during the course of your cruise.

I do not consider a simple kind gesture of offering to pick up something should you see it along the way for a cabin steward, or cruise staff member an insult or crossing of boundaries. It is my nature to offer assistance to lots of people as I go through life, I chose not to worry so much about offending, crossing boundaries or breaking social rules/norms as I do with following my heart and being kind and paying it forward. This is who I am ...and never plan to change .

I personally have been challenged in my own professional life due to some of these so called rules and expectations, but I have held firm to my values and beliefs and surprisingly have turned others around .. I have successfully had relationships with employees, who were friends when in a supervisory capacity. It can be done !! So I think the same holds true in this situation, but respectfully I know others do not and will not agree with me.

Either way, as long as we are always kind, respectful and treat each other with dignity it is those values that matter the most .

Thank you so much for the great "preview"of what we can expect in April 2015

Nice touch with fruit and refreshments on the forward deck - we cruised Alaska with RCL and was so disappointed that they did not have a cart on deck serving hot beverages. These touches make such a difference,

I suspect we be some of the crowd sitting in Spinakkers or lounge with cold Margaritas in hand :D if the weather is too humid .

My DH is so excited - heading out to find a book/s about the Canal to put under the Christmas Tree !! ( Good thing he does not go on here..lol )

Cheers

Huggs

FYI, this works both ways. My cousin was enroute to the UK, through the USA and got detained and refused entry to the USA due a conviction he had in Canada, and had to return back to Canada at great cost and loss of air fare . Ironically he had been driving trucks back and forth across the borders for several months without any issue, so did not anticipate any problems with flying. You never know. Essentially he needs to appeal for a pardon if he ever wishes entry into the USA again or many other countries for that matter.

Each country has their own rules and the right to refuse entry to whom they deem a risk or undesirable. Sadly past actions/ behavior will follow and impact ones ability to travel the globe.

Hopefully you can get your answers and perhaps this family member will be able to get some kind of pardon in place before the cruise.

Good luck.

I share your admiration for Norwegian's specialty restaurants, yet your callous disregard for people of modest means is abhorrent. There are a great many people (of all nationalities) for whom a single cruise is a huge financial stretch--absolutely huge. Against all odds, they scrimp and save and eventually manage to make their lifelong dream happen. We should celebrate these people, not fault them, and welcome them in our company.

Thank you for adding some compassion and class to this thread of comments.