Out to sea!

Will do! Thank you.

 

 

 

It will go by so fast. I can't believe we've waited since March. It went by much faster than I thought now that the time is here!

 

By the way, since DH has had his ID back from the CMPD, he hasn't been allowed to keep it. I told him he can have it back when he gets on the ship. LOL :p

If you are doing the Eastern, could you please post up the Dailies when you get back (or email them to me). DW and I will be sailing on the Epic in two weeks. Also, if possible, a movie list (unless it's in the Dailies). Thank you.

I frequently read on here great stories from those of you in the US saying how you managed to upgrade your cabin. For example there is a current post about how a lady was her own Upgrade Fairy - she called up NCL and because a higher grade cabin was actually cheaper than her original, she got upgraded. Or people have the opportunity to pay slightly more but for a much better cabin. Obviously that's great news and makes clients very pleased with NCL customer service.

 

Well I decided to give this a try as that is now the case for me. I originally booked an inside guarantee stateroom as this was an unexpected cruise I hadn't budgeted for, and I am fine with whatever cabin I get. However on the UK NCL website, it now costs less to book a mid ship oceanview and only slightly more for a mid ship balcony, than I paid for my guarantee inside. The sailing has a lot of cabins available and they are obviously attempting to fill them by dropping the prices.

 

The NCL rep I spoke to said I am not allowed to upgrade to an oceanview, because they have to 'maintain the price of my booking.' He just kept repeating that to me when I asked him (politely!) to explain what that means and why I cannot upgrade (even with payment) when I know there are plenty of those cabins free. He would only let me change to a balcony but still paying significantly more than if I were to create a new booking online.

 

I understand that I was just pushing my luck, I paid what I was happy to at the time and don't expect I should get upgraded just because the prices dropped, but what really annoys me is that this does not seem to be the case in the US. It should be one standard rule for everyone, not different treatment depending on where you live. To me it gives the impression that NCL value their US clients more. Anyway, it's not often I rant on here, so thanks for bearing with me and letting me vent!

I think this has more to do with law differences between the US & UK than it does NCL favoring one over the other.

Does Disney World check IDs when guests buy tickets? How would they know it was you? :confused:

I know they check ID when you're a Florida resident to ensure you're entitled to the Florida Resident discounts.

Exchange rate can make a huge difference, though this year it is almost identical to last Feb when we needed to exhange...the difference may be in how much the bank charges us to exchange ..yup another fee on top of the exchange rate..no wonder Canadian banks are doing so well!

 

As far as the card I have an RBC platinum Avion...travel insurance, trip cancelation insurance, double, sometimes triple reward miles when I use it for travel, no blackout dates and choice of which flights we want to take when using points for flights and a host of other benefits far out weigh the odd time I get hit with a foreign country exchange fee.

 

We travel several times a year so these benefits really add up! :)

I have the Capitol One card. I don't know if it's available in Canada. Same benefits as yours except I have the rewards card versus the airline miles card.

There is a benefit for those of us out of Country and to you if you travel out of a port not based in the US in the future...to pre-paying as much as you can before leaving.

 

When traveling out of country and paying with your credit card you are typically charged the currency difference and exchange fee PLUS an out of country fee..typically an additional 2.5%-4%

 

By pre- paying we save the out of country fee...which is a heck of a lot more than any interest paid these days.

 

We also prepay any ships sponsered excursions for the same reason and any excursions we are going to do that are not ship sponsered we reserve and pay deposit if required, using the card, then cash when we are traveling.

We do the same thing when traveling to an ALL Includive for a week, so we are not charged the extra which can be as high as 4% additional.

 

We travel several times a year and always do excursions so this can really add up to a big savings.

We always end up with some charges that incur the out of country fee, but for the things we know we have to or want to pay/do we try and minimize the extra expence.

Maybe you need to look for a different credit card. The one I have does not charge out of country fees (tested and verified). Now, exchange rates could make a difference in whether or not to worry about pre-paying but that probably isn't a concern for most cruisers.

The spa pass can be purchased for the week, and if they have any left they are available for a day pass. I can't comment on the price, I bought one in Marchl.

 

What's included:

Separate locker rooms with robes, towels and keyed lockers.

Showers and changing rooms.

 

In the women's locker room: Sauna with an incredible floor to ceiling window view of the ocean!, Steam, and aromatic steam room, lounge area with flavored water.

 

In the co-ed foyer: flavored water and teas

 

In the co-ed spa area:

Padded lounge chairs, heated tile loungers, sauna and steam rooms, cooling shower, padded loungers and 2 lounge beds on the aft balcony outside, thalassotherapy pool.

I hope that view is one way only, unless the women enjoy flashing passing ships! :eek:

Do the men not get a locker room! :confused:

I normally cruise Carnival but we have a few cruises planned with NCL. I have cruised on NCL once or twice but it's been years. Normally with Carnival they add on the gratuity or service charge to my sail and sign card once I am onboard.

 

Curious with NCL is there any pros or cons to do the prepay service charge or should I just let them charge it to my card once onboard?

 

Not sure if there is a benefit either way.

 

Thank you.

Pay on board. Benefit is earning savings (as meager as it may be) on the money prior to sailing.

and I'm curious can you buy a daily pass or is it for the entire length of the cruise?

Maybe I will just have a drink of the day instead.

Now that you can do in the morning! ;):D

Congratulations on finding the wallet and having it returned. :)

On a different note........did it have to be Mecklenburg? :(:mad:

One would think one needs to lower theirs to accept subpar service, based on some responses here. Kinda scary if you ask me.

 

Accept nothing less than superior service. Regardless if others have given up and accept it.

And on the other hand, feel free to pay for superior service. It's not like we're sailing on Regent you know.

Thank you! I appreciate that. :) I wish one of you worked at the NC DMV but prayers can do miracles as well. :)

What part of NC?

I do a two mile walk every morning as well. For a treat next week, I was thinking of doing my two mile walk on the ship with a Guys Burger in hand!

As an FYI, Guy's does not open until 1200 so those will have to be afternoon walks. ;)

As I mentioned, she was missing for an hour. They had an APB out for her, had staff searching all over the ship for her, etc. They almost called the coast guard and stopped the ship because they couldn't find her.

How does one go missing on a cruise ship? Unless you seriously think she was suicidal, you overacted in calling security. I go missing every night, from between 2200 and 0600 and the way I sleep, I won't be answering the door or hear the phone or pages over the loudspeaker. And if you do think she is possibly suicidal, then getting her banned from a cruise ship probably is a good thing.

My online TA took off with half my deposit and only paid NCL 1000 for upcoming cruise. I called NCL and they said no problem, just pay them directly. I called am ex and they are doing an inquiry to get back my missing $1000. Now I checked back with NCL web page and my reservation is gone! The idiots at American express screwed up somehow and got y deposit back from NCL. OMG- now on hold with NCL for 65 minutes praying I get my cabin back and my price :( What nightmare!!!

One of the reasons I will never use a TA. Sorry for your troubles.

When I booked my cruise (new to NCL) the PCC told me if we joined AARP, we would get the 5% discount and made our reservation that way. It saved us over 60.00 each and the membership for both people is only 16.00. I did not have to join until after the booking and then sent her the AARP numbers. Well worth it! We also got one of the dash sales. Since the cruise is not till May, hoping for some more perks/price drops! :)

The 5% AARP discount can be applied to any cruise that is more than 9 months out.

Some cruises may have more of a discount, but not all. I just save $50 per person on a short notice Epic cruise, dropping the price from $369 to $319 per person (13.6.% discount)

It was Royal, I found it when looking for banned stories.

 

The couple did seem as if they were trying to scam the system.

Based on banning for "seeming" to scam the system wouldn't you think all smugglers who are caught should be banned as well?

Sorry to get off topic but had to share. My SIL manages a Starbucks store. Last week a woman came in with a Starbucks cup and said her iced drink had melted that she bought THREE days ago. She demanded to talk to the manager and said she would even call the regional office if she didn't get a new drink or her money back.

 

Obviously a scam but Starbucks trains its managers to keep the customer happy so he gave her what she wanted. He can refuse to serve her in the future if she keeps doing it though.

And this is why this country is going to hell in a hand basket. It's one thing to keep your customers happy, it's a completely different thing to be an accessory to theft.

I would contact Carnival directly and speak to someone with authority and ask. Better to find out before booking.

Finally, someone, after 33 posts in this thread, posts the correct answer.

Type in "banned from carnival cruise line" in your search engine and read the stories!! One woman & her husband have been banned for life for suing the contract art seller; another was banned because CCL claimed he scratched a dresser...and it goes on and on....

Truthfully, there are only about 2 or 3 stories with dozens of sites talking about the same story.

Yes it does, you get priority debarkation with Zone 1 tickets. Could be off the ship by 0730, maybe 0800.

CARNIVAL’S FASTER TO THE FUN PACKAGE:

BOOK IT TODAY TO JUMPSTART THE FUN

Here's what it includes:

(Note: VIFP Club Platinum and Diamond members do not need to purchase this package as these and other benefits are included as part of your VIFP Club status.)

Priority Check-in with Express Boarding

The quicker you board the ship, the quicker you're holding a frosty drink.

Guaranteed Stateroom

Your stateroom will be ready as soon as you board, so you can relax or freshen up for the fun you're about to have.

Express Luggage

Your luggage will be expedited to your stateroom so you can unpack and get settled in for a great vacation!

Guest Services

You'll have a dedicated phone number and line at Guest Services so you can quickly have your questions answered.

Dining Reservations

Priority Main Dining Room and Specialty Restaurant reservations.

Tender Priority

You will have the option to choose a priority tender from the ship to shore (multiple departure times may be possible), so you can explore ashore as quickly as you would like.

Debarkation

We're always sad to see you go. But when your cruise is over, you may choose an early or late disembarkation time upon arrival to your homeport.

We'll be sailing December 7th. I'm assuming your Bahamas countdown clock is for Ecstasy, so it appears that we'll be on the sailing right after you. This will also be our 1st time on Ecstasy but we sailed her sister ship, Paradise, last year for our first cruise and loved it. :)

I'll try to leave the ship in good shape for you but there's no guarantees! :D

Ecstasy: Milburn Dumas 8/12/2013 - 1/13/2014

Thank you. Is he any good?

Hmm we were on the Liberty two weeks ago.

 

Dont remember the name of the piano player but we thought he was pretty bad and within two songs DW was ready to go. Tried it a second time and we left quickly again.

 

Never went back and everytime we looked piano bar was about empty.

Yep, did the Liberty in June and the guy sucked. Didn't sing half the lyrics to the songs, kept changing the tempo in mid song, and had no personality whatsoever. Waited in such anticipation after having spent a week with James on the Glory and it was such a letdown! :(

Any news on who's on the Ecstasy right now?