VPMJ

5 minutes ago, GA Dave said:

It does the same thing with Haven cabins, even though they always get all five for free.  It is because you have to approve the gratuities.

Thanks, the approval must be a new thing I guess. Or new to me, anyway. 

5 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

depends on how many days it is and whether or not the current promo gives the kids the soda package. It will list the service charges separately if you go into the price breakdown

 

 

Thanks, that's what it is. They must be doing it differently now. I appreciate your help!

5 minutes ago, euro cruiser said:

With only five days I would probably just stay in Rome the entire time, there is so much to see and do there that you can only scratch the surface in five days.  Also, if that five days includes your arrival day, it's less time since you'll lose at least half of that first day to arriving, airport, transfers, etc. and likely be somewhat jet-lagged as well.

 

Calabria is not a day trip from Rome but you could get there for an overnight, how easy or difficult that will be depends on exactly where in Calabria you are headed.

 

Aquilonia is closer but you can't get all the way there by train.   You could take a high speed train to Foggia (three hours from Rome) and drive about 50 miles from there to Aquilonia, or you could take a train to either Caserta (one hour train ride plus 90 mile drive) or Naples (one hour, ten minute train ride plus 90 mile drive). 

 

In an area like Aquilonia I think you'd want a car to explore, you could also drive the entire way from Rome, it's about 200 miles each way.

OK, thank you. I have to price some options out and run them by my husband. Your info is very helpful! 

5 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

 

When I click on a cruise that is included in the offer it takes me to a page that says "Two Free Offers are included with your stateroom. You may continue or add up to two more." It automatically had the shore excurisons and wifi added but you could also add the bev package on and specialty dining. It may be doing it this way to give you the option of whether or not your want to pay the service charges on those items.

I don't know, but when I click add beverage package offer it adds another $555 to the price (2 adults in room with 2 kids). Isn't that too high for service charges on just the beverage package alone?

4 minutes ago, Nic6318 said:

Hi

 

The more you spend the more you get. It's sort of like buying your free offers. You just decide on what you want and then determine if you are better off buying the free offers or paying as you go. (don't forget the associated gratuities that will be extra with dining and beverage package)

 

hope this helps

Maybe they have changed things because we just did 2 cruises since August in Balcony cabins and had all 5 offers. This is strange now.

Just now, ColeThornton said:

What type of cabin are you looking at?  It looks like the amount of perks is based on cabin type.

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-deals/choice?intcmp=pro_hpb_DISC301219

Balcony cabins. Should be all 5 on Balcony according to your link. Went on 2 cruises the past several months in Balcony and had all offers. Hmmmmm....

Hello, The banner on the NCL site still has the "take all 5 offers free" offer (like it has for months), but I have been searching many cruises for all different times of the year and they are all showing up with 2 offers only...wifi and shore excursion credit only (and you can't even swap them out). What am I missing?

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

As a place to start, I would maybe check out a few guidebooks from your library or do some reading online and decide how much of Italy you want to see vs how much time you have.  What interests you?  As eurocruiser suggests, it may be important to visit the area where your husband's family comes from.

 

Also think about how you want to get around. There are fully guided bus tours where you only have to show up and almost everything else is taken care of.  There are also travel agencies that will arrange some of the basics (hotels, transportation from city to city) but leave you more on your own in terms of how to spend your time.  Or you may be more independent sorts who want to get around on our own via the Italian train system, which is extensive, or even by car. 

 

Fair warning, if you are mainly planning to visit larger cities where lots of tourists flock, having a car is generally more of a hassle than a help. Most cities have traffic zones (ZTL) where you can get a ticket if you drive without the proper authorization. Also, many cities now have a significant number of pedestrian zones around the city center. And third, parking is very expensive and may not be available near your hotel.

Thank you! Ideally, we would like to see quite a bit, but wondering about the cost of a long trip for 4 (includes our 2 teens). So maybe just a few days, around 5 or so to add on to the cruise. I don't want to add too much cost to the cruise cost. 

We would probably like a guided tour, but would consider other options. Do you have recommendations for who could help arrange budget friendly travel in Italy? Thanks!

2 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

Does your husband know where his ancestors lived in Italy?  Maybe he'd be interested in seeing that area.

 

 

His family is from Calabria and Aquilonia. It looks like maybe we can get there by train from Rome....am I right? Or is it too far for a few days of travel?

2 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

How much time do you have? You could easily spend a couple days in Rome or many other cities. Traveling by train, city center to city center is very easy.

Time is somewhat flexible and I think it would depend on the cost involved. Estimating 5 days or so?

Hello, we have never been to Italy and are considering a cruise that leaves out of, and returns to Rome in August. There are stops in Naples and Florence/Pisa (Livorno) plus Greece and Croatia. My husband is Italian and would like to spend some time in Italy. Does anyone have suggestions for spending some time in Italy prior to the cruise. Probably touring some of the towns (mentioned above ) that we are not visiting on the cruise. Suggestions please… I don’t even know where to start!

2 hours ago, Cruise4Twos said:

I just received onboard credit from NCL since my room category dropped in price after I paid in full. Note that I booked directly thru NCL.

1 hour ago, Matman1215 said:

This recently happened to us. We called and NCL gave us 25% of the reduction in OBC. They will only do this once, so if you call today and receive the OBC and next week it goes down even more, they will not give you any additional. We booked directly through NCL.

 

We booked an H6 and there were 6 left when we saw the first reduction, so we waited. It was further reduced and we called because there were only 3 left at that time. It has since gone down again. The timing is usually a gamble and it's nice that they provide anything after final payment.

1 hour ago, Cruise4Twos said:

Yes NCL gave us 25% of the reduction in OBC. They said they will only do this once.  It was further reduced. Tried calling again but it didn't work. I agree that the timing is usually a gamble and it's nice that they provide anything after final payment.

 Thank you all. We are 53 days out. Wondering if I should just go with this price drop or wait even longer?  At what point did you find the second set of further reductions? 

 Hello, I see that the cruise price has dropped for our November cruise. It is already paid in full. I could swear that I read somewhere about people receiving onboard credit if their cruise and there room category dropped in price.  Can I call and receive an onboard credit?

 Also, what about the additional $50 excursion perk that has been recently offered? I see some people getting that added to their cruise, but wonder if that applies to us since we are already paid in full?

Thank you in advance! 

Thank you all! I won't pack any! 🙂

Hi, Do you bring the NCL towels off the ship with you on port days? Are they bulky? In the past when we have cruised another line, we brought thin towels from home to bring to ports since the ship towels were heavy and bulky. What do you typically do? Trying to pack less this time. Thanks!

Hello, Can you disembark at the ports at the time listed on the itinerary, or is that the time the ship gets into port? For example, the itinerary says we arrive in Roatan at 10 am....is that when we can get off the ship? 

Thanks in advance!

Hello,

My DH, kids and I would all like to access the NCL app for chatting (I know there is a charge) and planning, Does everyone make a different account and sign in with our reservation number? Or should we all sign in under one account? I'm assuming it's the first option, but want to make sure......Thanks!

Hello,

Can someone please link the current Escape dailies here. I want to try to plan out shows, comedy shows, and dinners. Thanks!

Hello, I want to book shows on the Escape in November, but only After Midnight is bookable. Is the other main show The Choir of Man? It says book on board. Also, how long are they? Thanks!

Our cruise with the airfare promotion is coming up in a few weeks. We are happy with our flights. We were given direct flights in both directions on American...Newark/Miami. Flying two days early and getting in at 2pm. The flight after we disembark is not until 7:45 pm, but since it's direct we are happy and have booked a day rate at a hotel ($89) for an extra day of swimming. Originally, our return seats were not together, but a call to American quickly fixed that (they put in we were a family and they opened up upgraded seats for us to be together). 

Hi, taking our first NCL cruise in 2 weeks. Now another family wants us to also go with them in November on a different NCL cruise. I see there is a 20% past cruiser discount but it looks like it is only for cruises after 2020. 

Also, I see the Cruise Next Certificates, but not sure we can use them if the cruise is 2 or 2 1/2 months later? The "get all promotions" special is running now, and I don't want to miss that either by waiting until late August to book the November cruise. What would you do? Thanks!

Hello, we will be arriving 2 days prior to our NCL cruise which embarks out of Miami in a few weeks. We want to stay in South Beach for the 2 nights at a place that is reasonably priced and either on the beach or near it, with a pool,  in an area with restaurants and things to do. We will have our 2 kids (14 and 12) with us. Can you please recommend hotels? We are unfamiliar and the listings are numerous. Thanks in advance!

Hello. Is it possible to modify a specialty dining reservation party size? For example if the reservation is for 6 people and only 4 people ultimately decide to go?

1 minute ago, esm54687 said:

on average around 1.5 - 2.0 hours after general boarding begins. 

Thank you!

4 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Priority boarding starts before 11:00. General boarding before 11:30. 

 

O'Sheehan's and the Buffet open at 11:30 for lunch

 

The Main Dining Room (Taste/Savor) opens at noon. 

 

Enjoy!

Thanks a bunch! Do you know what time we can access our room (to dump the carry-ons)?