highmath

I'm not sure what kind of heads up you intended to give to newbies;

Any ship of any size will yaw "ridiculously" in rough waters, which we encountered. Ballasts and stabilizers start losing their effectiveness at a certain point. Wind gusts were up to 35 knots at one point during the sea days.

Also, I'm sorry to say, IMHO, most of your other "gripes" are irrelevant, especially for someone who has 25+ cruises under their belt.

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My replies are in red, but here is the official fine print >> https://www.ncl.com/termsandconditions/FreeAtSea-Dec2016

Needed to get some clarity around the Haven's 5 free offers. Haven't cruised with NCL since 2011 so things have changed significantly.

 

1. On the free unlimited open bar I saw some info on here that said it did not include bottled water. Is this true? If so, do they have restrictions on bringing bottled water on board with you? Does NCL offer flavored bottled waters on board?

It does not include bottled water, nor can you bring them onboard. They are available to purchase in advance for a discount. I can not recall any flavored bottles of water onboard.

 

2. Are there restrictions on the free specialty dining? I know that some restaurants are a la carte now. Are those included in the free dining or is it only the restaurants that have a set cover charge? Are any of those dinner shows included?

There are some restrictions to where and how you can use it. See the link above for all the details.

 

3. How does the free shore excursion credit work?

You get $50 to use towards excursions at every port, except the return port. It's a use it or lose it scenario.

 

4. Does the free wifi work in cabins or only in public areas?

The wifi reaches the cabins on most ships, especially the newer ones.

 

And a few general questions about the Haven:

 

1. For the in-room dining can you order only from the main dining room menu? Are the specialty restaurants or the Haven Restaurant options at all?

I believe you can order from the main and Haven menus for in-room dining. I never asked for in-room dining, so I'm not totally sure.

 

2. Any feedback on the Aft-Facing Penthouses? These suites look very nice but are not inside the Haven. Anyone stayed in them and found the distance from the Haven annoying? Or did the cabin size and nice balcony make up for it? Have stayed in Aft Corner Sky Suites on Celebrity and love those.

I never had an aft penthouse, but those who have always loved them. I guess the trade off of the distance between the Haven area and the penthouses is getting a little exercise in!

3. How is it finding a lounge chair in the areas near the Haven pool or on the private sundeck on a sea day? Is it just as crowded as the main pool area?

I'm not really a avid lounger, but I never seen the deck crowded....10 people at best.

 

Is the charge in a pending status? I just got off the same cruise and still have pending charges.

NCL usually place holds on CC for up to 7 days after the cruise.

Do you know how many Aft balconies there were left on your cruise? I have that same bid on an aft Balcony for the BA and there are 7 balconies left still.

There were 4 left when I looked this past Monday.

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What did you bid?!?

 

 

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Sorry, I thought I deleted the redact on the price... $1000... high-poor range if I remember correctly.

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FYI, they are now starting to send out declination emails if your bids were not accepted.

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Actually, they do send decline notices because I just received three emails for the three different bids I made. Oh well...at least I'm on the boat! I'll be on your sailing too. See you there!

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From the POM website and confirmed by a friend who is recently back from a cruise:

Parking is conveniently available at all cruise terminals for $20 per day (over-night) or short-term parking (daily) for a at fee of $7. Spaces are also available for over-length vehicles and trailers at special rates. Designated disabled permit parking spaces are available in each garage. All facilities are patrolled by security.[/Quote]

 

 

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Hmm.... what do you all think....additions to the fleet or replacements to some of the older ships....?

i guess you have to do a mock booking to understand what im asking.

 

 

at the first screen, you get the price categories. across the top (using breakaway as an example) the read left to right Studio-Inside-Oceanview-Balcony-Spa-Minisuite-TheHaven, with prices going up as you move right.

 

 

i understand that there are varying suites and rooms, but on the large ships, all suites have Haven Access and benefits, even if they are not in the Haven. the rooms located in the Haven cost more. So what is considered two categories up? If im in a Balcony, i would assume looking at it this way, that two categories allows me to bid on Spa and Minisuite rooms.

 

 

on the small ships, at the first screen, the price categories across the top (using the Jewel as an example) read left to right Inside-Oceanview-Balcony-Minisuite-Suite-TheHaven. In this example, i would think that two categories up from Balcony would allow me to bid on Minisuites and Suites, but not TheHaven suites.

You have to look at any of the Spa rooms as their base room type with a perk. A Spa Balcony is just a Balcony with spa décor and thermal spa access. A Spa Mini-Suite is just a Mini-suite with spa décor and thermal spa access...so on and so forth.

So to answer your original question, the spa level is not considered a category in relation to the bidding. So, if you are in a balcony, in theory you should be able to bid all the way up. What's not known is if the type of balcony room booked plays a part, i.e BX versus a B1

I have a family balcony B2 booked on the Escape and received the bid email for offers from a mini suite on up to deluxe owners suite. No spa rooms were listed as an option on my bidding page.

the large ships dont have suites, just haven. small ships are balcony-minisuite-suite-haven (where applicable).

I'm just curious to know how large ships don't have suites when they are clearly listed: deluxe owner's suite, owner's suite, deluxe spa suite, spa suite.

Also, please do not get confused with the term "The Haven" in thinking that it's a type of room. The Haven is a category of room types with exclusive access to the area. Any Villa, Suite (not mini) and Penthouse are part of The Haven. Not all rooms inclusive to The Haven are within The Haven area, for example the forward/aft facing penthouses.

https://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/cruise-accommodations/the-haven

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From my research, sushi is only available at Food Republic.

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That place was awesome. We had a split catamaran tour excursion a few years ago on the Dawn that took us out to the Planacar reef for snorkeling and a bit of down time at Passion Island. The food and drinks were great. It was our best stop on that 12 day cruise.

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Well this has thrown a wrench in my plans. I planned to surprise the wife with a quick trip on the Oct 9th sailing for our anniversary, but we too are active military and can't go.

Back to the drawing board. :-(

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Our first cruise was also a repo on the Dawn, 12 days from NYC to MIA and basically circled the Caribbean. The itinerary is in my signature.

It's was an interesting cruise that required extra planning inbound and outbound. Overall, we enjoyed it...a little too long for us at the time, especially new to cruising, but we couldn't beat the price!(#1 reason we booked) I think that if we spent that amount of time on one of the larger ships, it definitely would have been much better. I'm glad we bought into the thermal spa passes.

The highlight to many repo cruises are the unusual ports visited; (#2 reason we booked)...some good, some not so. We didn't care for Samaná, DR, but loved Willemstad, Curaçao.

Don't fret and just enjoy the high seas!

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Wow, those uncovered balconys are really open to onlookers! I'm glad im on deck 14! :p