herbanrenewal

My 100 shares were a Christmas/birthday gift from my son a few years ago. As a frequent cruiser I call it the gift that keeps on giving - I've gotten more obc than the cost of the stock... BUT I do have some major concerns for NCL. I'm currently on the Breakaway Rome/Greece cruise. Both the Athens port and Florence port of call were cancelled "due to weather." In both cases MSC ship on same route made it into ports. For many this was "the trip of a lifetime" that they saved for years to afford, mostly for the two cancelled ports. So many people are angry/complaining/ Never Again with NCL comments. In the past during similar bad weather they pushed ahead during the night to make up lost time and spent the fuel to full throttle to port. It seems to me that the short sighted skipping of major ports may not be the best fiscal decision by corporate.

How do you edit title?

Santorini Even though only one other ship in port it was slow getting tenders- last numbered tender was after noon, with 1 or more hour wait for cable car. All excursions were cancelled because to new port was closed due to wind. We opted to stay onboard.

Nov5 Mykonos Everything you pictured in a Greek Islad

Nov 4 Athens was cancelled due to winds- couldn’t get into port. Since we’ve been there before no big deal to us though a lot of folks were upset. Really, if they say it’s not safe, I defer gladly to their judgment

Nov 3 we shared my sapphire benifit for dinner at Cagney. Our waiter recognized us from last years cruise on Dawn- even remembering we wanted our lemon tea with meal not after. Amazing

Easy trip from Rome to Civitavecchia port by train. This is my first time staying in studio room. My friend I usually travel with is always hot, while I’m always cold so we decided to try studios this trip. Really compact and efficient. I’m quite pleased with my little room. Also love the coffee machine in lounge- fresh ground cappuccino whenever I want.

I guess what I'm most concerned about on b2bs is my MacBook and the contents of my safe. I've stayed on the ship on previous b2bs just so i have valuables in my possession during transfer.

No - Rome Greek Islands, then transAtlantic next week on Breakaway

I have a couple laundry coupons from other NCL cruises. I'll be doing b2b, 28 days total. Will I be able to use the old coupons? I'm hoping to be able to get one free bag of laundry each week.

When I looked at the topic i thought it said Questions about Heaven ... of course its Haven... don't know why i opened thread - my chances of getting into Haven are not dissimilar to my chances of getting into Heaven

Copied from a post on another website. I assume the same would be true in December, but you can contact Santorini-view.com to verify off-peak hours.

This has been a major complaint of mine on every cruise. I can't go to any venue without noise cancelling earplugs. I am hard of hearing; I still can only listen to music when outside of a venue. My apple watch is constantly alarming because of dangerous decibel ratings. If I try to see a show I am totally unable to hear conversation (or any vocal comment) for hours after.

We are doing a back to back, Nov2-12, Nov 12-28, from Rome Civitavecchia port. We are interested in going to Tarquinia for the day. Does the bus also run on Sunday? I've tried various websites to try to find a Sunday schedule but unsuccessfully. I find the times for trains on Sunday but the 7:15 (too early) and 11:15 times (no time in Tarquinia to get back to the ship in time) just wont work. We are in our mid 70s and don't want to rent a car. Any other suggestions?

Does the bus also run on Sunday? I've tried various websites to try to find a Sunday schedule but unsuccessfully. I find the times for trains on Sunday but the 7:15 and 11:15 times won't work. (I'm on a B2B and looking for something to do on the connecting day.)

of course the important thing is to realize that prices change with how well the cruise is selling, and any way you are reminded to recheck prices will get that upgrade or price reduction for you.

Right, but the emails remind me to check again. In the last 2 years I've upgraded or gotten FCC on every trip I booked (6 last year, 7 this year)

I'm a big fan of Transatlantic cruises. One thing I've noted is that filling the ship in the last few months drops prices., Look at the same voyage for this April for an idea of what the price may be this time next year. For example, similar cruise on Getaway in '24 the balcony is just $300 more than OV. My cruise this November, my studio sold out early, then opportunities for upgrading - I now have a balcony for just $94 more than I originally paid for a solo studio. I book when i find a cruise I want, then in the months approaching final payment I check every time there's a new promo. If price changes drastically you can get upgrade.

it seems to me to be a perfect use for a little bit of left over non refundable OBC

If you're technologically challenged like me: Log out of NCL site. Close the webpage. Go to settings to delete browsing history. (This is Android PC- not sure how to delete history in Apple Safari.) Go back to ncl website and Exp[ore, Find a cruise search for your sailing and do a mock booking - it wont double book you since you quit after you check out available cabins because you quit before you register and pay. This is obvious to most people, but as a mid 70s senior I had to ask how to do this.

Do "dummy booking" to see how many cabins are available in the class you are interested in. If the ship is undersold you have an excellent shot for upgrading. Unless there are a lot of unsold suites chances are it is less likely. Another thing to watch - when you're checking see if the current price makes it worth just upgrading. My next TA i found my offer was almost same as getting my choice of available balconies from my studio booking. Dropped the upgrade bid and have a midship balcony.

Has anyone been to Perivolos Beach, Santorini in November? I booked NCL tour for 5 hours at this beach. The main attraction here seems to be the black sand beach and crystal clear water. Only other comments are restaurants and hotels. I'm not sure what to do in this area in November.

nonexistent? An example since you obviously cant relate - I bought a November cruise in studio. A balcony is now selling for less than $100 more than i paid for the studio. A phone call got the new deal, after final payment was made. another cruise I received $464 future cruise credit after a price drop. They had my money, but both cruises gave me more for the money I had paid. I'll take that "nonexistent" benefit of a phone call!

One area i think NCL phone is especially useful is price adjustments. Their policies allow rebooking before final payment due date. The cruise consultants know if the package is really a better deal (lower price can mean losing sign-on perks). After final payment you can upgrade to a better cabin if prices change, or get a future cruise credit. I've had better luck with the call-in number than with a travel agent or a personal cruise consultant.

My experience has been that the best exchange rate is a bank in country you are visiting with a US bank debit card that doesn't charge for using ATMs. Several years ago my travel friend ordered hers from Wells Fargo at home. I got mine at a bank in Spain. I got significantly more Euros for my $200 than she did. It was a while ago so I don't remember exact numbers. But now she waits, too. A couple years ago when the exchange rate was really good I got a few hundred Euros, and since that time I've only done cruises so I have a decent stash of Euros. Between credit cards, self guided walks and pre-paid tours I've not used too much cash.