graphicguy

I correct myself. Just gave another glance, the dates are in October, not November. Apologies.

Hope to see you on board.

Would love that! We’ll eventually cross paths. I’ve played the tournaments by the Noodle place. Agree about the way they designed that area. I remember the back of my chair bumping into the railing for the restaurant in addition to the smoke issue. Cash games were in the back of the casino. Smoke was better but still noticeable. When I got into a lengthy cash game (3-4-5 hours) my throat was sore, my sinuses were runny and my clothes stank by the time I got back to my cabin.

November!

Boy, do I get it. I've played in too many tourneys where someone (usually a player) tries to "intimidate" a dealer to the player's advantage. To have a dealer make any statement as to how anyone should play a hand in a Hold'em Game should have resulted in the dealer being replaced. Playing against the dealer? Say blackjack or playing against the house as in craps? Hey, pitboss make any comment you want. But, dealers commenting on player vs player? NOPE! I don't mind tournaments. I play them when/if I can. I've mentioned before, I'm of the mind, once I beat you in a tourney, you're out. I don't want to keep coming back to play you again after you've had a chance to observe how I play and you can adjust accordingly. I think that's why I prefer cash games. I don't like the players at the table? I can get up and leave. In a tourney, I'm in until and if someone puts me out. The only other thing that bothers me about NCL's Hold'em tournaments, it seems they are held in the smoking areas of the casino. Don't want to get into that debate. I'm a non-smoker and the smoke in that part of the casino bothers me and really does affect my play. All that said, I'd love to sit at your table any time.

Bought NCL at $11.10/share. With the OBC I get, that’s a mighty nice ROI.

Not weird. I think we all like sharing our mutual love for cruising. Things are a little slow right now, but will get more exciting in the next couple of weeks. It's always dicey when posting live from the ship as there seems to be some sort of incompatibility with ship internet and CC. Videos are next to impossible to post (even very brief ones), pictures sometimes post upside down or sideways, etc. But, I'll try to make it as live as I can.

Solo Solstice 7 day out of L.A. in a Sky Suite with AI, upgrade drinks, upgrade WiFi, $600 OBC and tips for ~$2,800. Thinking of pulling the trigger on that one.

Based on what I’m being told, the guest count of July sailings on the Getaway should be around 2,800-3,000.

Is it disappointing the OP's cruise was cancelled? Sure. Was S/He made whole? Absolutely, and then some, but getting a full refund and another FCC equal to the original fare. All-in-all, very good compensation for the cancellation. If you can be even a slight bit flexible (and you always have to be when traveling), this will easily work out in the OP's favor. Book another cruise with the refund, and use the FCC to book another cruise further down the line. I know personally, keeping up with all the threads here is something I try to do, but am rarely successful at. So, while we've offered plenty of explanations and opinions, the OP may not follow this thread any more, or didn't get the answer S/He wanted.

She said all sailings through July were supposed to sail at 70%. It's always a little dicey when someone tries to predict the amount of guests, at least until you board and can direct that question to upper level crew or Customer Service representatives. My last NCL cruise was Fall of last year. That sailing (to Alaska) only sailed at 40% capacity. I'm sure it's more than that now. Sailed Royal Ovation of the Seas this past Spring. That sailing was at capacity.

I am sailing the Getaway in a couple of weeks. I have been in contact with the pre-cruise concierge, who told me they expect the July 9 sailing to sail at 70% capacity. She also said they expect to ramp up to 100% capacity by the end of Summer/beginning of Fall.

Then some of the border crossings I’ve made into Canada didn’t get the message. Twice I had to show a negative COVID test at the Canadian border.

Misspoke by calling WiFi extra charges a tip. They actually are charging to connect. I am doing all the work to get my device(s) connected, not NCL!

You’ve hit most (if not all) of the points about nickels and dimes…tips, service charges, etc. Those who complain do have a point. NCL adds tips to the WiFi package. Really? Why am I tipping your internet router? Still, all in all, NCL is a good value when comparing packages from other lines, with the possible exception of Celebrity, which was mentioned previously. But, even with Celebrity, some people complained they didn’t want all the “perks” Celebrity offered in their “INCLUDED” sailings. So, they offered a “SAIL ONLY’ package with no perks. Then, people complained about that. So, no matter what, someone is going to beef.

OP…not sure where your confusion is. You are getting a FULL fare refund. Plus, a Future Cruise Credit for the same amount as the original fare. You understand you’re making out very well on this deal. You are not out of pocket for anything and you are getting a free cruise (via the FCC0 in the process. That’s an excellent deal.

I do agree about all the “extra” charges. But, I have also sailed enough to know what to look for. I always get a little frosted when I book a hotel at one rate and see things like “resort fees”. Same for airlines….for an industry that’s notorious for dreadful customer service, it galls me that they want to charge more than the fare. If you’re new to cruising, the “extras” might be surprising. But, I also recognize that there’s a whole lot of extra service from bar staff, wait staff, cabin staff, entertainment, etc that goes into a cruise. So, I can justify the extra fees (somewhat). As a total cost, I look at the drink package, for example. It’s free, but you have to pay the gratuities on the package. That figures to be $20/pp/pd. That’s way cheaper than buying a drink package on any other cruise line. Even Carnival would charge $60+18% gratuities pp/pd for their drink package. Royal’s is roughly $80-$90 pp/pd (although they offer discounts depending on when/where you book it). Still, way more than NCL. NCL’s free Specialty Dining package is indeed free…except for gratuities…which figures out to be $18 per restaurant. How many Specialty restaurants are included is based on your Latitudes rung and the cabin you booked (the higher the cabin category, the more Specialty Restaurants diners you get). Royal also has a Specialty Dining package. But, like their Drink package, they make it difficult to find the cost associated with it pre-booking. I think that’s intentional so guests can’t make an “apples to apples” comparison to other cruise lines’ charges. I just sailed on the Ovation of the Seas a few months ago. And, I had a 3 Specialty Dining package. I know it was somewhere around $100 pp. Figure $35 pp/per venue if you go a la carte in picking and choosing your dining venues. I haven’t sailed Carnival in a while, so I can’t find anything on any dining packages they offer. Bottom line, $ for $, I think NCL, which a bit cloak and dagger on their nomenclature and their charges, is still the value leader on these main pachages. Frankly, the only cruise line I found that was pretty up front was Celebrity. They tell you they’re “all inclusive” sailings have no hidden charges. And, they’re right. I didn’t pay a nickel for drinks, they included tips, and they give an OBC to cover some Specialty Dinning venues and perhaps an excursion or two. They’re fares tend to be higher (except they have a great solo fare sale going on right now).

Instead of NCL targeting those who will be entering the U.S. from another country with the letter, it looks like they just did a shotgun mailing to every one who has a cruise booked with them, regardless of geographic locale. Lazy on their part? Maybe. They’d have to do a search and separate everyone out whose address is listed outside of the U.S. I’m sure that takes some time and effort. But, it would have alleviated the confusion. The end result of the letter is anyone traveling to the U.S. from another country to take an NCL cruise is no longer required to be tested before crossing the boarder into the U.S. It’s a repeat of the airlines lifting the requirement, but it also means if you’re crossing by vehicle, by another boat, by foot, any conveyance, you no longer have to show a negative COVID test. The NCL sailings out of the U.S., still require a negative COVID test upon embarkation.

Already started looking at dates….😉

Beautiful ships…great service. FREE AT SEA generally speaking.. -Free beers, wines, liquors, soft drinks (they do charge 20% of drink package pricing to cover tips) -Free Specialty Dinners “. “. “. “. “. Dining “. “. “. : “ Specialty Dining is very good, BTW -$50 credit per cabin for each NCL booked excursion -Some free internet minutes

Thanks! Have been to Orlando several times for business meetings. Never cruised out of Orlando, though. Always sailed out of Miami or Ft Lauderdale.

On the same cruise (July 9). Are you saying Orlando (MCO or I Drive is 1.5 hours away from the port? That changes my plans. What about CoCo B each. Same?

I give a couple of cruise lines credit. Namely, Celebrity and NCL. From the get go, and a year ago, they stated in no unequivocal manner, they were requiring either ALL guests to be tested and vaccinated (NCL, who has been unwavering until recently regarding to vaccinations for children being optional), or all Adult guests needed to be tested and fully vaccinated. Neither changed for changes sake, depending on which way the wind was blowing. They were steadfast in sticking with their protocols. Some of the others tried to sail based on separating guests based on vaccination status, then they said they were implementing vaccination requirements, all the while people trying to get exemptions based on some alledged religious, health, or “personal beliefs”. That didn’t work out well at all. Those cruise lines finally adapted the protocols that NCL and Celebrity initiated, and continue to support. Soon, it will be over a year since the testing protocols have been in place. Since then 70%-95+% (depending on age category) have been vaccinated. Testing today isn’t as critical as it was a year ago, as a result. I think the cruise lines are closer to lifting the testing requirements than they were even just 3 short months ago. I can see them lifting the testing sooner (say within the next 30-60-90 days) than later. Non-vaccinated cruisers? Maybe they will be the only ones who have to be tested. Or maybe, given the blessing to vaccinate children, COVID vaccines will be a permanent protocol to sail.

Well..things are moving along. This showed up in the mail today….

Done both. Both are great cities. I do like me some Vancouver, though. That said, flying into a non-U.S. city to sail has a few more steps…namely customs.