goldesq

this is good new regarding the weather.... when I"m on vacation, I do not want to pack winter boots. I am taking my camera, sounds like I will be coming home with beautiful pictures. ty

You definitely will NOT need boots.

There wont be snow where the GEM will be that time of year so whoever said that is wrong. I am going on the 17th as well and I think you might be ok wearing shorts during the day but need a light layer / long pants for evening. I went on a Canadian cruise that time last year and shorts were fine esp with maybe a long sleeve t-shirt or sweatshirt if you are one to get chilly. Also, the foliage wont start in Northern Maine until the last week of September/first week of October this year according to Mainefoliage.com thus the chance of our cruise seeing foliage even in Canada will be unlikely.

We are just off of the Gem this past Saturday. Yes, the grand pacific dining room is open for lunch on embarkation day until 1:30pm

How did you enjoy your cruise?

I didn't ask the CC company to ever hold the bag or eat the $120.

 

In fact, I don't know if they did. They won't tell me.

 

All I was told was that they agreed with me, and that the $120 was returned to my account. When I asked if it actually came from the merchant, they said yes, but they often say that just to make the customer feel better (that the crooked merchant didn't get to keep the money).

 

I wanted the $120 to come from Air Canada. If it actually did (which is possible), then I got $240 out of Air Canada instead of the $120 owed, which I feel is fitting because they attempted to hold my money hostage for 3 months because they were too cheap to staff properly.

 

If the bank ended up eating the $120 and simply claimed they charged it back in order to make me feel better, then that's their problem. I didn't ask them to do this, and I didn't want them to do this. I'm not going to chase them down afterwards and say, "Hey look! Air Canada paid me after holding my money hostage for 3 months! Take the $120 back!"

 

Screw that.

 

If banks are going to go the lazy route with chargebacks, I'm not going to hold their hand in the cases when I (unintentionally) get a double refund.

 

Furthermore, I've had really frustrating/annoying situations in the past where a merchant has scammed/cheated/stiffed me for a relatively small amount of money (like $30), and when I attempt to charge it back, the CC company just eats it (they will almost always eat it for small amounts like that). I really, really, really don't want the slimy merchant to get away with keeping the money, but there's literally nothing I can do to stop it, because of the bank's policy to just eat it and cut investigative/chargeback costs.

 

In short, don't hate the player, hate the game.

Sure...if that makes you feel better about it.....

I'd already called them directly and mentioned the price guarantee and they said it doesn't apply due to the fact that we're in the "penalty period" and my balance is fully paid.

Fill it out. Then if you get denied, follow up. You cant 'appeal' someone someone's verbal 'no'.

No where in the rules and TandC does it mention the 'penalty period'. If you dont fill out the form, you wont get anything. If you rely on what you were verbally told, you also wont get anything. You have nothing to lose. All you need to do is keep pointing to their own rules which do not mention a penalty period.

Unfortunately, because you kept relying on some NCL rep saying no, you might have now lost out on on NCL's own guarantee because you did not bother to fill out the form within the 48 hours. You can still give it a shot and explain why you are late completing the form.

The general rules are: What is a "Best Price. Guaranteed." Program?

It is Norwegian Cruise Line's guarantee that you will receive the lowest price available at time of booking. If within 48 hours of making your deposit you find a qualifying lower price, advertised to the general public on ncl.com or on a piece of communication directly from Norwegian, Norwegian Cruise Line will offer you the option to take the new reduced price or to receive an Onboard Credit (OBC) equal to 110% of the price difference.

The specific TandC are:

Terms & Conditions

To qualify for the on-board credit, your "Best Price. Guaranteed." claim form must be submitted online within 48 hours of making a fully deposited booking. NCL reserves the right to verify all claims. Go to ncl.com to submit a "Best Price. Guaranteed." claim. Fully complete the "Best Price. Guaranteed." Claim Form by providing all requested information, including the lower rate amount and where it can be found. The lower rate must be (a) for the same ship, sail date, stateroom category and number of guests, and (b) available for booking at the time NCL reviews your completed claim form. Restrictions: available to full individual tariff bookings with deposited cruise fare only; claims must be submitted at least 7 days prior to sailing; guarantee offer does not apply to government fees and taxes and/or fuel supplement (if applicable); lower rates must be publicly advertised fares available to the general public; guarantee offer is not combinable with an NCL fare reduction; guarantee offer excludes: rates from TV and Radio ads, group rates, qualified rates, membership programs, charters or other travel agent promotions not offered by Norwegian Cruise Line to the general public. Offer "does not apply to stateroom guarantees and" excludes travel agent discounts off commission. The on-board credit is non-refundable, non-transferable and has no cash value. Any unused portion of the on-board credit will be forfeited. "Best Price. Guaranteed." program may be discontinued or changed at any time.

Yes, there will be a main dining room open at noon on embarkation day.

 

NCL is in the middle of transitioning their menus fleetwide. The old MDR lunch menu (which we had on a cruise last week) includes a Shrimp Burger on Pretzel Bun (guacamole, crispy onions, curly fries).

OMG!!! Yes..that was it. Its sadly the best meal I have on the cruise particularly bc of the bun.

Do you know if the GEM's menu has changed yet?

Thanks.....I was more curious about the dining room being open. I can do without a pretzel bun. LOL. Thanks again!

I booked on the 1st and paid in full on the 2nd for a 10/1 sailing on Escape.

When I booked there was a $15 difference between a balcony on deck 14 and one on deck 11. So I took the one on deck 14. Today, the price dropped $150 for the one I got on 14 and it dropped about $400 for the one on deck 11. I'm thoroughly disgusted. I called and they won't do anything except give me $35 OBC. It's my first booking with NCL and looking like it's going to be the last based on their customer service over the phone.

 

Also, she said I could "upgrade" to a family balcony on deck 8. For basically the same price or something like $5 more than what I've already paid. I asked her what about the cabin was an "upgrade" and she said she "thinks it's bigger". But I checked the floor plan and square footage and I got on the NCL live chat and can't figure out any difference at all except that it might be a connecting room which I have no use for.

It took literally 5 seconds to find this:

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/best-price-guarantee

Is it possible to have lunch in the dining room on embarkation day? I know you can do this on Princess but cant recall if I have done this before on NCL. I think we did it on BA but cant recall for sure. I keep remembering a seafood or salmon sandwich on a pretzel bun on embarkation day in am empty dining room (I know weird but its something I remember bc I love pretzel buns).

I contacted my CC and whey were helpful advising me to call NCL again and check the status before starting any actions. They also gave me the names of the VP, CEO, Mr. Andrew Stuart, 7665 Corporate Drive, Miami, Fl 33126, to write about my dissatisfaction.

 

They also gave me the web address for the South Eastern Florida BBB. Interestingly, they had 491 complaints in the past 12 months and about 400+ resolved.

 

Again, the wait on hold was over 35 minutes. Later, she said it was mailed on the 26th. She requested I give it until next Wednesday, Sept. 7 to arrive before I take action to have the check reprinted. And, yes, I'd have to wait on hold, again. I mentioned that the message before being placed on hold says that if you are calling about a refund they would be processed 5 days after return from the cruise.

 

I will wait and I think I will write Mr. Stuart and include some other issues like having sales persons all over the main floor, in the way, selling jewelry, art work and the high cost of playing one game of Bingo.

A bit of advice: when you write a letter about something so substantial about a $3K refund that is owed to you, don't toss in unnecessary dribble like sales people and bingo prices. It detracts from the real issue. It also doesnt make you look too serious.

Also, when you called your credit card company, you should have been a bit more aggressive and demanded that they start a charge back. You werent calling for NCL contact information. You were calling for help with a refund which they didnt help you do.

Not really relevant here, but yes, I got $240 back for the $120 they owed me, for the reasons you stated.

 

Air Canada didn't see that I charged back (or the CC company just ate it), so I also got my regular $120 processed after 12 weeks.

 

I did not call up Air Canada begging for them to take the money back.

 

This "double dip" was their fault. They didn't staff properly, and were holding my money hostage for 3 months. I didn't set out to double dip, but I felt they didn't deserve for me to chase them down to return it once I got it twice as a result of having to charge back due to their unethical refund practices.

 

And 7 weeks or 12 weeks doesn't really matter. Anything more than 2 weeks is unacceptable for a refund for unused services, especially an amount like $3000.

 

NCL will not let you pay 7 weeks late, so they should refund money owed to you in a timely fashion.

You DID double dip. You should have called your CC company and told them you finally received the money back from the airline. Why should the CC company get stuck holding the bag when you were eventually made whole? Its really isnt right.

You can't dispute it with the CC company. It doesn't work that way. The CC company is not going to get involved in this situation. The advice that people give to go through the CC company is never correct, and people that think that will work are delusional.

You are 100% incorrect. The OP can dispute it with his CC or with NCL. He should try and get the refund first through NCL but if he has problems with NCL, or if he wants to go first to the CC, he can.

The CC company will probably ask if they took any steps to get the refund on their own and what steps were taken. They might ask him this over the phone or they might ask him to fill out some paperwork. Either way, the credit card company might freeze the $2K and provisionally return it (especially if he is a good customer) AND/OR then contact NCL on behalf of the OP and try and resolve the issue. When NCL responds, the OP might need to send a response back (with proof or paperwork regarding the cancellation policy) or NCL does not respond within a set amount of time, the CC company might just return the money to the OP.

The CC company most certainly would want to get involved because their customer is the OP and they want to keep their customer happy.

I have never once contacted my CC with an issue similar to this and not had it resolve in my favor. Granted, it hasnt been for $2K (tops maybe $1600) but close enough and similar situation enough. Also, I think Amex (and customers with higher credit ratings or credit history with that card) is quicker to resolve issues than other cards.

They would not give you the UBP now. It's too close to sailing. Bookings made within 30 days of sailing do not get perks. Those are your bargain prices, but any bookings at this time are probably going to be guarantee cabins. Consider yourself lucky if you didn't pay the 18% on the UBP.

I booked 8/25 for the Gem on 9/17 mini-suite and got 2 perks....thus much less than 30 days and got perks.

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The Mongolian Grill station on some ships is VERY popular too. They never made that an option for dinner. closed promptly at 2:30

EVERYTHING I read about the seafood place on vist tells me its lunch only

I've read it was Open Daily from 2pm till 10pm because it's very popular

 

Maybe some recent cruisers can post about it. What did you have? Prices?

 

Also I read they are bringing Fresh Local fish in from Each Port and you can order it right from the Seafood Shack or have it in the Dining Room

I had raw oysters on afternoon at the Seafood Shack. I asked what kind the oysters were. The chef there said they were brought in the day before from Naples. I did not love them but every oyster is different. I like salty oysters and these were not. (I should have asked about the saltiness). But, if they were from Naples the day before, that seems fresh enough as long as they were actually caught the day before.

I did not see local fish listed on the menu at the Seafood Shack though. I saw lobster, John Dory, crab cakes, soup and lobster rolls, etc (whats listed on the menu posted online). Maybe they have specials?

The times are 2-10PM though no one ever seemed to be there that late. When I ate there at 4, no one was there either. Frankly, I think the location is terrible.

NB: The tour company I used for Marseilles was http://www.taxi-provencetours.com

Can you recommend a private tour company, I will be sailing on the Vista in Oct.

A private tour company for what country/port? I listed the ones I used and would recommend all.

Just got off the Vista this morning. Disembarkation began at 7 am. We were in zone 23, got called at 8, and were in airport by 8:45. Easy to get off and retrieve luggage. Take a taxi instead of Carnival Shuttle. Standard rate of 39€, 2 people and 2 bags and a carry on.

Frankly, I loved the shuttle Carnival had. My flight was at 255 PM so I got off Vista almost last at about 915 am and walked right to the shuttle. The lines for taxes in Athens were soooo long. I was at the airport in 50 minutes-ish. As soon as I got on the shuttle it left because there were so many. Mine was not even filled. Took me right to the front door of the terminal and gave me my luggage. Easy peasy.

Unless you use their air program, you will be responsible for fee changes ( if you booked air on your own) when ports change for disembarkation. If they say different, get it in writing.

Not having a tandoor section is a poor reason.

Ephesus and the Terrace Steps were 2 to 2 1/2 hours.....maybe 3.

That should give u a good idea of what you should def set aside in terms of time. I think it was 1/2 hour to get there.

I just posted last night my excursions in a separate posting. You can check my list there. I did not like the Athens Panaramic and La Plaka.

Another reason to skip Vista or at least wait. :(

That's a pretty sad reason.....food.....

I had a wonderful time on my 5/14 Vista cruise !