Chris_2448

On ‎11‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 2:22 PM, timf2001 said:

Linking to travel agent sites is not permitted on CruiseCritic, but consider using Google and you should be able to find it.

At this inventory site cru con , how do you see the inventory for any given cruise? I did a search for my cruise but it gives you basically the same top 10 cabins available for the category, basically showing the same thing NCL shows on a mock booking.

Do you remember what the minimum bid was for the Haven Spa Suite?

Just back from 9/16 NE/Canada cruise on Escape. We are a couple from Virginia in our early 70s. I guess you could call me a Norwegian cheerleader, but not so much that I won't call a foul if I see one. We have sailed RCI about 5 times, but have settled on NCL as our line of choice.

 

I will try to break this up into coherent segment, as it may take up some space and my desk at work keeps calling me.

 

PRE-CRUISE

 

I booked this trip well over a year ago. Originally booked the Gem but switched to Escape. Not really a big fan of the mega-ships, but decided to give it a try.

 

Booked a Deck 15 angled spa balcony (15756) and was very pleased with the choice. Interestingly, the fare was less than booking a balcony and then purchasing spa passes. I did make a half-hearted bid for spa mini and spa

Haven suite. Got rejection notice two days before sailing.

 

We originally planned to drive from southern Virginia to New York before sanity raised its head. The thought of 10 hours minimum each way including potty and food & ga breaks was to much to contemplate. Wound up booking Saturday morning United flight to Newark. Spent Friday night at Richmond airport hotel that included parking for week for $99.00

 

Arrived in Newark before noon, collected bags and called Lyft. Waited five minutes for ride to take us to the Hyatt Regency on the Hudson in Jersey City. Car fare was $22.50 plus tip.

 

We assumed we would not get our room that early and would have to store our bags until 4:00 check in. The clerk smiled and immediately gave us a 5th floor room overlooking the bridge and the Statue of Liberty. We were able to eat lunch and rest before heading into city. I had visions of watching Escape make its way up the river, but sleep took over.

 

One neat thing about the hotel it is right next to PATH station going to WTC and transferring to Times Square. We headed out about 4:30. Walked around, ate dinner at Junior's and saw a show. I resisted the urge to have a piece of the cheesecake. The trip back to Jersey City was a little dicey. We screwed up and got off at the wrong stop. Our GPS gave a rather circuitous route to the Trade Center. After a long walk and a lot of cussing (by me) we made it. While fishing for our fare cards two very nice Transit cops swiped their cards to get us through the turnstiles. Just made the final train to Jersey City. Whew!

 

EMBARKATION

 

After breakfast and checkout we again contacted Lyft. You need to be aware that the online fare calculators do not take into account the $15.00 Tunnel fees and time of day. The trip cost more than expected but we arrived at Cruise Terminal just before noon.

 

I was expecting the boarding process to be a nightmare considering there were some 4,000 pax boarding. BEST EMBARK EVER!! In less than 20 minutes from clearing the scanners we were walking onto the ship and lunch at Taste shortly after noon.

 

I said earlier that I would call fouls as I saw them. The safety drill was a hot mess. Not sure but I assume they hold drill in the theater for the forward cabins and the MDRs for the aft, with every one else in the Atrium. I would guess there were at least a 1000 mostly standing shoulder to shoulder as there were not nearly enough seats available. And as usual, there are the stragglers who do not seem to know or care about the time. It seem to go on for ever. And of course, the elevators afterward were impossible.

 

MORE TO FOLLOW

Even when you call NCL directly depending on who you get you might night be able to choose a specific room.

I was trying to book a specific room on the Escape for a May 2019 cruise right after it was posted. The room I wanted was not on the "Suggested Room" list so I decided to call. The Category was BA which has approx. 160 rooms. The CS rep said there were only 15 available which were the same 15 that came up when I tried booking. I told her that it can't be possible that there are only 15 rooms left as the cruise was just listed a few day's ago. After much frustration I just told her to forget it.

I then called back a few day's later and the CS Rep this time knew what he was doing. I was able to book the room I wanted. I guess NCL doesn't train the CS reps very well.

It appears NCL upped their "Govt Taxes, Fees &Port Expenses". I did a mock booking today of a cruise I'm already booked on and noticed an increase of $52 PP. Anyone know what that's about?

NCL Escape - May12th 2019 to Bermuda Category M9

Our booking Price (2/10/18) -- Item (per person) -- 4/24/18 Mock Booking Price

$1,549.00 -- Cruise Fare -- $1,549.00

$200.85 -- Govt Taxes,Fees & Port Expenses -- $252.85

$138.40 -- Choice PromoSVCHG -- $138.40

$1,888.25 -- Total -- $1,940.25

Can you give a hint of what site had a lower price? Every time I look all sites have the exact price as NCL with the exception of sometimes they offer paying your gratuities.

Other then size difference, is there any difference of what complimentary SPA offerings you get between a "Spa Balcony" B9 and a "Spa Mini Suite" M9? Do they both come with complimentary access to both the Mandara Spa and Thermal Suite?

Thanks,

Chris

I tried calling with no luck. They basically told me no rooms were available on the port side (on 4 different decks).

ncl booking website is horrible and it is one of the worse ones. if you need a specific cabin, it is best to book with a travel agent or do it over the phone

 

i had a similar problem when i booked my Escape cruise. I wanted an inside cabin on deck 5, their online booking engine only put me on like deck 12. there was no way to change decks. i had to do it over the phone

Did NCL do away with this feature? You used to be able to search to see if a specific stateroom in your category was available. It was a box right above their suggested rooms. When I went to book a BA category stateroom on the Escape for May 2019 it only listed 10 rooms available with no box to search. The 10 rooms were all in sequential order.

I called NCL yesterday and the rep said that's because those were the only rooms left. I said that's impossible. It's a cruise in May 2019 and there is no way all the other rooms were booked already. When I asked about specific rooms she said they were all unavailable. Basically nothing was available for the category on the port side of the ship.

For the hell of it, I tried booking the same thing for the cruise before and after the one I wanted and the 10 same rooms came up as the only ones available.

This is obviously not a coincidence and my only thought is that NCL releases blocks of staterooms at a time for some reason and no longer allows you to search for specific rooms.

Thank you.

Is this something new (that the casino is open at night)? I always thought they remained closed the entire time in port in Bermuda. I had heard that the cruise lines were trying to get that changed but didn't realize it had actually changed?

It can actually handle 8 ships. Seen it many times.

PC can handle 6, but one terminal is only for port of call.

Yes they do. We just got off the Liberty on 10/3 and we used a porter. We by- passed the long line and went right through immigration with no wait.

Money conspicuously in hand might save you as much as half an hour.

I don't think that's accurate. They keep all the slips tips or not.

I wasn't stating if they kept the receipts or not. I was just saying that you don't have to sign unless your leaving a non cash tip. If the bill is 0... there is nothing to sign for.

As far as what they do with the receipts, on my cruise a few years ago most of the bar tenders just threw them away.

The only time you actually need to sign the receipt is if you add a non cash tip. Most bar tenders will hand you the receipt but you don't have to sign it.

Nice. Ours went down. Priced a few weeks ago it was $57.80 PP for the premium package. Now it's $57.00 PP. That's at $14.40 savings for the two of us. Enough for a free drink...oh wait, we have the drink package.

We are on the Sept. 24th Liberty of the Seas cruise. St. Johns was initially scheduled for Sept 28th but is no longer on the itinerary.

It looks as though St. John / New Brunswick has been removed from this upcoming NE/Canada cruises in the fall. Anyone have any idea why?

Thanks,

Chris

When is the Quantum first scheduled cruise out of NY? Does she go right back out today?

What time is Quantum due into Cape Liberty on Monday?

What time is the Quantum due in Cape Liberty on November 10th?

I believe when you cancel, they only cancel the remaining day's. You still get charged for the day's you already used.

My theory on this is that they give you the receipt to sign to see if they can get an extra tip as most people don't carry cash so if they did't there would be no chance of getting the extra tip.

Just called and got $700 of my Liberty of the Seas cruise.

I don't believe you actually have to sign the receipts. I believe they give you the receipt and ask you to in an effort to get an extra tip. We had the package on the Explorer last year and I never signed the receipt they gave me. Sometimes they would not even give the receipt especially in the MDR.

I don't know who told you that but unless I'm wrong (anyone feel free to correct me) there is no way you will be boarding on deck 9. Most ships board on deck one or there about.