Lancer1568

We are booked on the Escape in June. We are already thinking about another NCL cruise for Thanksgiving 2018. If we use CruiseNext while we are onboard the Escape, I understand there is a $100 "use it now" OBC for putting down a $250 deposit. I presume each of us (me, my wife, and 2 kids) would need to put down a deposit to book the next cruise, $1000 total -- would we then get $400 OBC? Or, if not, how exactly does it work?

 

 

The great thing about NCL is that the certificates are transferable so you can just buy as many as you are going to buy in your name. No need to confuse matters trying to put them in your kids names. As other posters will tell you, you use one certificate per stateroom or 2 certificates to book a Haven Suite as your deposit (although you may have put an additional cash deposit with the certificates to book the Haven). Periodically, they have specials where you can use 2 certificates per stateroom on regular bookings which is obviously a good deal since its basically free money. Always buy at least 2 certificates to get the maximum benefit. They used to make you pay for these and then credit you with on board credit but on our last cruise they just charged us half price for the certificate we bought.

Just adding my two cents. I think how many times you have booked a cruise on NCL should count more towards loyalty then what cabin level you were able to afford. I've been in all levels of cabins on different cruise lines. That said, I enjoy NCL the best so with my new booking it appears my loyalty is with them so far. I think rewards should be given according to that and not if you booked a suite. There are plenty of other rewards and perks that are given to suite passengers....i know, cause I was one a few times.

 

 

and just my two cents is that I think all the cruise lines should hand out loyalty points based upon your total dollar spend on a cruise. If I stay in the cheapest cabin and don't buy anything in the shops, no excursions, no spa purchases, no beverages etc etc then my business is not generating as much for the cruise line as someone who pays for a suite spends hundreds or even thousands of dollars while on board. All of the business one does with the cruise line should be rewarded which will have the result for the cruise lines of bringing the most profitable passengers back more often.

We have sailed Breakaway twice and are booked again for March 12/17 in the Haven. I know there is a lot of time between suite boarding and the time one is required to be aboard. DH and I are debating whether it's a good idea for me to embark with the family' date=' leave the ship to do my 16km run, and be back onboard by 1:30pm. I think it's a fantastic opportunity to run along the Hudson River, DH is worried I'll miss the ship!

Anyone with experience is welcome to comment. I am well aware of the hypothetical situations that may arise :)

 

 

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Once you have boarded, you can leave the ship and return just like you would at a port stop. At least that's what I believe.

They will let you substitute a new passenger for your husband. Did you book direct with NCL or a Travel Agent? Call them and make change.

Hi, we are an Aussie couple looking for some advice please on the above shore excursion. We are pretty new cruisers.

We will be on the Regatta on June 15th in Skagway between 8am and 6pm. This tour has either been withdrawn or sold out on the ships excursion list.

Would you consider this tour of 7.5 hours, departing at 8.30am (bus first) be safe enough to book with Chilkoot tours which would arrive back at 4.30pm?

From what I can read from the train time table it would leave Fraser at 2.45pm and suggests a 1.75 hour journey back.

Doesn't leave a lot of room for mishaps and wonder if the Regatta has withdrawn the tour for that reason.

Thanks

On two visits to Skagway, we rented a car from Avis (there is a local rent a car company also but I can't remember name) and driven up the Klondike Highway as far as Emerald Lake which is a bit past Carcross. Was an easy very scenic drive and cost much less than booking the excursion. If you do this drive, you will need to bring your passports with you off of the ship since there is a border crossing into Canada and back into the U.S.

So my understanding from our O Cruise Consultant is that no separate Russian visa is needed if all we do in St. Petersburg are O excursions. Is this correct in everyone's experience? I'm just paranoid enough to have this nightmare about being refused at check-in if we don't have Russian visas of our own. How does the check-in staff even know whether or not we might have arranged our own tours? How does the "no separate visa" get policed in St. Petersburg? And relying on the blanket cruise visa also means no walking around on our own I believe.

 

Of course, this is a separate question from whether or not we should consider any private tours - in which case I know we'd need our own visas.

As I am sure many posts will tell you, you do not need Visa for Russia if you plan to stay on boat or use cruise line excursions OR you can book with various private tour companies that will include the visa in their package. We were there in June of 2016 and use TJ travel and they were absolutely wonderful. We had 3 days and did the 3 day tour which was St Petersburg on days 1 and 3 and high speed train to Moscow on day 2. Only 10 people per group so was really good experience. Highly recommend. There are other travel companies that get equally high reviews here so go look at the port section for more info. Enjoy.

I am NOT an impulsive person, and I tend to research the heck out of just about everything. I didn't do that for our upcoming cruise... and I am seriously starting to regret my choice.

 

We are booked on the Norwegian Getaway for my 50th birthday in March. (We've never sailed Norwegian). I had taken a cursory look at all the cruise lines, and this was the only 7 day cruise that hit the islands that we haven't been to yet. It goes to Belize, Roatan, Cozumel, and Costa Maya. All new destinations for us. Also, we love to snorkel, and these are top notch snorkling locals.

 

Well... now that I'm starting to read more about this cruise, the more I'm getting that sinking feeling that is telling me I booked the wrong cruise. Here is what I discovered that was a surprise to me.

 

1. in order to get into the "good pool" (i.e. quiet and adult only) you have to get to the port and on the boat as early as possible.. rush to the guest services counter, and PAY $99 per person for the week, for the privilege of the nice pool.

2. We don't drink much, however, on cruises, we tend to drink a lot of frozen "umbrella" type drinks. the Ultimate Beverage Package costs more than our cruise. And I looked at the drink prices, and they are outrageous.. (20-30% more than on Princess, or Royal Caribbean).

3. I didn't realize that we weren't really going to Belize.. but, instead their private island, for a day on the beach. (they didn't really state that when we booked). Because of that... there are no snorkeling excursions there. One of the best places in the world to snorkel and dive... and we are going to miss it.

4. I didn't realize that the shows aren't included. From what I understand, there are currently 2 shows that are free. Any other shows we want to see. (Illusionarium, or comedy shows, etc... ) is additional.

5. You can have breakfast in your cabin.. but only if you get a cold breakfast. If you want a hot food... it'll cost you.

6. No promenade. One of our favorite things to do on a cruise is to walk the promenade, and enjoy, not only the exercise.. but the quietness. Instead, they put shops restaurants and bars along the short outside walkway. There goes the peace and quiet.

 

To me, it seems like this is more like the Carnival Cruise I took decades ago, when I swore that I would never cruise Carnival again.. it was a party ship. We aren't party people.

 

I'm just sick about this.

 

Can someone either reassure me that it won't be so bad, or

offer a suggestion to get out of it?

You will love the Getaway. We have cruised on NCL, RCL, Carnival, Princess, Azamara and most recently Oceania. The Geteway may be the best ship we have been on. When cruising NCL we always eat in the specialty restaurants. True that costs extra but not too much when you buy the specialty dining package and it is well worth it. There are a lot of entertainment options on the ship and some of them do charge an extra fee but we thought the extra fee entertainment was well worth it. Have a great time.

" But you should know that a taxi will run about 30 euros"

 

Does this mean I'll need to convert some US$ to euros, or is there a chance the taxi driver will be willing to take US$ for the fare? I hadn't intended to exchange any currency, if it could be helped.

As others no doubt will post, there are ATMS in the airport so you can use your debit card to obtain a small amount of Euros or just exchange some US cash at your departure airport or at Barcelona from the currency exchange in the airport. Although the exchange rates at airports are usually REALLY bad, if you are not exchanging much it doesn't matter. And many taxis take both debit and credit cards now. I cannot remember if the ones we used in Barcelona did or not but am sure someone will soon reply with that info. Have a great trip.

Excellent info guys.

 

One last question. It's a 90 minute drive to my nearest port (San Francisco). We visit the city once or twice a year and it would be easy to schedule these visits for times the cruise ship is in port. If I were to do multiple Bon Voyage Experiences over the next few years, can I get multiple fdc's/fcc's and stack them for a future trip? Is there a limit?

You can purchase multiple Future Cruise Deposits when you are on the ship but you can only redeem ONE certificate per person per cruise.

We have been on Oceania Cruises quite a number of times (both their smaller "R" class ships and larger ones, eg Riviera). We would like to try other cruise lines serving simlar markets and are very keen to try Viking Ocean cruises (not Viking River cruises).

 

We were wondering if cruisers who have been on both Oceania, and on Viking Ocean , whether they can tell us their experience when comparing these two cruise lines?

 

Also, for cruisers, who have been on both Oceania and Azamara, whether they can also relate to us their experience when comparing these two companies?

 

Thanking you in advance.

We have been on many cruises but on Oceania only once and Azamara twice so we are hardly as knowledgeable as many on cruise critic. We like Oceania better than Azamara. The food is substantially better and we found the service to be better as well. The ships were virtually identical but somehow Oceania was better.

 

We did notice more senior office interaction with passengers on Azamara which you will often see described on these boards but that is not something that we value but others do. The Azamara concept of overnights and late nights in port does make for some wonderful itineraries and we no doubt will sail with them again when they have such an itinerary but we will sail with Oceania again regardless.

As other people will no doubt tell you, your butler can really do a lot of stuff for you. Our butler was able to get us additional reservations in the two (we were on Insignia) specialty restaurants seemingly anytime that we asked. Also, you can order room service from the main dining room menu or the specialty menus and your butler will serve it course by course in your suite. Even if you dine out, a late dessert order of the Tiramasu from Toscana is always a good idea.

Dear CCers,

 

We are trying to decide between an NCL cruise that we have booked for January 17 and an equivalent Oceania cruise--same time frame. The O cruise would be $1k more for the both of us.

 

Is Oceania worth the extra 1k? If so, how and why?

If you are staying in a suite on Ncl where you get the free drink package specialty dining etc etc then although NCL will not be as nice as Oceania the suite percs there are very nice and the specialty dining is excellent.

 

Hands down Oceania has best food but as mentioned above the NCL specialty dining is good. Oceania also offers much better service with waiters around the pool etc that actually wait on you and bring you drinks frequently. Chairs around the pool are easier to find.

 

NCL will offer a much livelier ship with the Oceania being more sedate.

 

Finally cabins..this depends on which Oceania ship you are looking at. If it is one of the R ships (everything but Marina and Riviera) the basic balcony cabins are tastefully decorated etc but small and the bathroom especially the shower is just ridiculously small. On an R ship, I would want a Penthouse to get decent room.

 

It really depends on what is important to you on a cruise. If you want lively party atmosphere and water slides etc then go for one of the newer NCL ships and get a suite and enjoy all the wonderful percs. If you like fine dining and calm elegance then Oceania is the right call.

Hi everyone,

 

My parents are booked on Marina August 15. This cruise has two stops in Belgium so they were worried about going there. They called Oceania and were told the were monitoring the situation, no changes yet. They did say that they had a lot of cancellations and later told them that the only way they would cancel a cruise was if it didn't hit their minimum guest number. So my question is, does anyone know what their minimum number would be? I'd have to think a ship would need to be nearly empty before they would cancel. Has anyone heard of them cancelling a cruise?

 

Thanks,

Rob

 

 

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Usually cruise lines will skip a port if they believe that it is unsafe to visit that port but it would be very very unusual to actually cancel a cruise.

Nordski,

 

Are you saying that AZ will honor my level on RCL even thought it is showing my X number?

If it is not clear, the Celebrity and Az program is combined. only one number and awards earned on either go to the total. And if you have RCCL status you can reciprocate.

Hi, we are trying to decide on an easy economical way of getting to Florence without all the hassle of 2 buses and trains ,taxis etc .Can anyone advise us on tour companies that don't charge the earth and will give us a few hours by ourselves to wander around? Thanks in advance .

When we were in Livorno on the the NCL Jade, they offered a shuttle bus direct to the train station for $12 round trip. This made taking the train to Florence much quicker and easier. No need to worry about taxi or public buses to get to the train station in Livorno. We have been to Livorno 4 or 5 times on other cruise lines and NCL was the only one to offer the shuttle to the train station. Not sure if the Epic will have it but if they do, it is best way to go.

Thanks

Sorry I thought the Insignia had the new grill in the Terrace already guess I was mistaken

They do have grill station in the Terrace on Insignia. At dinner they had some LARGE shrimp, lobster tails, ny strip, chicken and fish. Was grilled to order on request. This was on the Cape Town to Miami cruise ending January 4

Has anyone done this? If so, why did you and are you glad you did or would you switch back/to a different cruise line?

 

We're loyal X cruisers (Elite Plus well on our way to Zenith), but the changes X has made recently have put us off. We enjoy getting dressed up on formal nights, now they have "Evening Chic". We always book a higher end suite that used to come with some special perks, like a private bar/lounge, but now that's being offered to cabins that paid 1/2 what we paid. It seems it's all about the deals and the discounts. I get it that there is competition out there, but it's watering down the brand.

 

We've looked at several O cruises. We like the cabins (PH Suite) and we understand the food is excellent (very important to us). The price is comparable, maybe a little more but not much. The only thing we're not wild about is the overnights in port. If I book a cruise I want to be sailing not docked. Minor though.

 

Share your thoughts.

We recently completed our first Oceania cruise (35 days Cape Town to Miami) on the Insignia. We were in a Penthouse which comes with Butler service. We have been on two Celebrity cruises once in a balcony and once in a suite. The butler service on Oceania was head and shoulders better than the butler service on Celebrity. The food on Oceania was the best we have ever had on 15 plus cruises although the food in the Celebrity specialty restaurants is outstanding.

 

We found Oceania to be more relaxing and comfortable and loved the occasional extra port time given by overnights and/or late departures. There are no formal nights on Oceania so if you are looking for formal nights, you won't find them.

 

We will definitely cruise on both lines again.

Hi Pam,

I didn't know Kindle allows you to share books onto other devices. I'll have to see what DH has on his!

As long as kindles are registered to same account you can download on multiple devices. Although I don't use them all, I have about 25 devices registered on my Amazon kindle account. Some books may only be downloaded on a maximum of 5 devices at one time but you can always remove the title from a device and download on another

No not correct - unlike Celebrity you are not charged gratuities

Also, you pay for a drink that is not included in the package at whatever the price of the drink ...not the OVERAGE as is the policy on some other cruise lines.

We just returned from the 9/30 Quest cruise which was our second Azamara cruise and since we have read so much great information on these forums, wanted to share some thoughts.

 

Great cruise. There were 6 of us in our group and we all had a wonderful time.

 

The things we really LIKE

 

Longer stays in port. This really makes the sightseeing much more rewarding.

 

Included drinks without having to show your cruise card or sign a receipt. We have purchased the drink packages on Princess, Norwegian and Celebrity on previous cruises which gives you the same benefit as the included drinks but constantly showing your card and waiting on a receipt is an annoyance and it was relaxing not to deal with that.

 

Things that we did not like.

 

The buffet and the dining room both close at 9 PM. The hot tubs close at 8 PM. If you really take advantage of the later departures to enjoy the port, you often return to the ship at 6, 7 or even 8. If you want to take a minute to unwind or enjoy the hot tub before dinner..oops its closed and furthermore no dinner to enjoy either if you don't make it by 9 PM. Another gripe is that there is nowhere to get anything at all to eat except room service after 9. Although room service was prompt and good, if you are out on the ship and just want a cookie or something, no way to get it.

 

The shower. Really?

 

Again, we all had a great time.

Hi all,

 

DH and I are considering the 6/23/16 Baltic cruise on the Quest and I have a question about the logistics of embarkation day (in Stockholm in this case) when the ship doesn't depart until the next afternoon.

 

Because of the length of the cruise (10 days) we would fly in on embarkation day to explore Stockholm and give ourselves the extra day on the Copenhagen end. When would things like muster occur? I realize that muster is mandatory, so I am curious about how it is handled when some passengers might be tempted to simply drop luggage at the port and then only turn up in time to sleep.

 

There are two possible icelandair flights from NYC that land in Stockholm that day, and taking the later one makes the logistics of the trip more manageable for DH with the demnds of his job, but if we have to be on the ship at say 4:30pm for muster, it makes sense for us to think about the earlier flight.

 

Thanks in advance for all your help!

Just back from the Quest. We were scheduled to sail at 6 pm on the 30th but there was bad weather so the Captain decided to stay at Barcelona and depart at 8 pm on Oct 1 so we ended up with an overnight. We missed the muster but they had a makeup drill at 5 pm the next day which unfortunately we also missed. They left us a voice mail instructing us to read the emergency procedures carefully and memorize our Muster Station which we did promptly...no big deal at all.

 

I have sailed on other lines and missed the muster drill and attended a make up the next morning at sea.

 

Bottom line enjoy your sightseeing and the Muster Drill will take care of itself.

We'll be arriving in the port of Malaga for one day. Should we sightsee there or spend 4 hours on a bus(to and fro) to see the Alhambra?

Thanks

Alhambra. We used spain day tours and they were excellent.

[quote name='peteukmcr']Before this thread is closed at my request. Here are the facts

1. NCL cancelled our cruise
2. NCL offered price protection on 4 unsuitable alternatives
3. NCL offered a complete and full refund if we cancelled (which is not the norm in the UK).
4. NCL promised to pay for flight changes if we still cruised with them
5. NCL promised to pay for flight cancellations if we did not cruise with NCL
6. NCL offered for us to transfer to another cruise without price protection

End of.

NCL have not honoured their agreement

I don't care what you say, other than I will thank the poster who advised the UK small claims court. No disrespect but those of you in the U.S. are not in the UK, have nit booked in the UK so are not experts on what happens here.[/QUOTE]
Thank you for posting here. It is good for all of us to see how the various cruise companies can and do mistreat customers. I am not sure why some people feel like they have to question and doubt people who have a problem but that is how it goes on these boards.

We look forward to and appreciate your insight.

 

We visited Bermuda for a day on a Princess cruise and want to spend more time there. Princess visits Bermuda very rarely and only for a day. Celebrity, NCL, and RCCL all offer visits of two or, usually, 3 days in Bermuda. We don't know which (if any) to try. Celebrity Summit seems most similar to Princess. However, we are thinking of going this October, if we can make it work. This only leaves Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Dawn, and Liberty of the Seas.

 

We have cruised Princess exclusively and for the last 10 years. We have enjoyed ships of various sizes (Pacific, Dawn, Island, Sapphire/Diamond). We have special dietary needs and usually select Anytime Dining, with a table for two. Often we will request the same table at the same time each night. We rarely attend the shows in the main theater, but we might attend them more often if they were better. Usually, we just relax after dinner. Maybe take a stroll on the outdoor Promenade.

 

We love the International Cafe. MUTs is OK in the evening for a movie. We do not spend anytime at the pool or sunbathing. We like to sit on the shady promenade. We also like to walk on the promenade several times a day; this is an important feature for us.

 

Our concerns are that the ships that we are considering offer features we don't really care about, perhaps at the expense of those we do enjoy. We are also very concerned about the food quality. I have been looking at as many pictures of the food as I can and it seems we may need to pay extra for the same quality of food that is included on Princess. Of course, if the base price is lower, maybe it doesn't matter. We don't like lots of schedules on a vacation and would not want to worry a lot about reserving restaurants and shows. We don't drink, so drink packages are not important. We don't gamble, so the casino size/quality is not important to us, unless a lot smoke drifts from it into areas of the ship we want to spend time in. We will probably book an inside initially so we are not risking as much on a cruise line that isn't a good match for us. (We usually book mini suites on Princess, but the new furniture is so uncomfortable that we may rethink this in the future.)

 

We really loved Bermuda and would like to return, but are not sure if we will like cruising on either NCL or RCCL. We would appreciate any guidance you can offer. We are willing to try a new style of cruising to see if we like it.

We have cruised more on Princess than any other line (9 times so far) but have cruised Norwegian 3 times (our last three cruises) and have absolutely loved Norwegian. We found the entertainment to be better and loved dining at all of the different specialty restaurants. My advice is just budget in the dining package if you don't get it as part of the booking promo. Have fun.

It's $95 per person but if you buy a specialty restaurant package it will be cheaper. There are 2 ways to do it. You can ask the sommelier to arrange one on a specific day, with a menu of your choice ( there are 3 available)and you can also ask who'd you'd like the host to be. They will try but can't guarantee. Otherwise tell them you'd be interested in attending one of the scheduled dinners. Depending on cruise length there will be 2 to 3 per cruise.

how many people do you need in your group for them to arrange one for you? Will it be just your group or will it be open to others? I know the regularly scheduled dinners include multiple groups but had not heard of the possibility of having a chef's dinner specially organized