lild428

This may be a dumb question but if a cruise does not have free 3rd and 4th guests offers, does an infant still get charged full price in the Haven categories? Seems crazy but maybe that's NCL's way to deter families from booking the Haven. I wish they had more cruises with the Kids Sail Free promo :-(

I recently saw the Priceline listing for Getaway insides around $350 - was amazed! Those cheap rates weren't on Priceline a few days later, and I didn't see them on the tracking website I've been using lately (as a side note, I like both cruises and plums).

 

Priceline has had some incredible NCL cruise prices lately.

haha yeah i noticed the price and jumped on rebooking to save almost $400 total. those prices didn't last more than a day lol hopefully they'll drop again in the upcoming weeks. i'll just check every day..

So you got the Getaway for $350 pp? That's cheap. Don't seem to see that on the price tracking website to have ever had a price that cheap for the Getaway.

/QUOTE]

 

What is the price tracking website? Sounds like a helpful tool.

 

T

 

i've never book with NCL directly.. prices are always so much higher. i just keep stalking the place i book through and watch the prices that way. don't use any kind of tool.. it only takes a minute for me to check this way.

So you got the Getaway for $350 pp? That's cheap. Don't seem to see that on the price tracking website to have ever had a price that cheap for the Getaway.

 

When you switched to IA, did you get the lower price? At that time, you should have asked Priceline to assign a cabin for you. By leaving it as a guarantee, you are leaving it to NCL to assign your cabin. Once assigned, there's nothing you can do about it unfortunately...

yes, about $350, maybe a little less, i'd have to look at my invoice.

i did get the lower price.. i switched because i figured i would get category IA by booking IA lol so i wanted to get a mid ship. i could've saved even more money by just adjusting the price. an inside guarantee (IX) was even lower in price.

Guarantees exits for virtually every meta (except for Studios and Suites). There is no such thing as an "Inside Guarantee", there will be a specific Inside cabin category (I2,IA, IC, IX, etc) that is booked as a guarantee.

 

For example. An IX guarantee means you can be placed in any Inside that is IX or better. (Which is all insides as IX is the lowest)

 

An IA guarantee means that you can be placed in an I1, I2, or an IA cabin. But not, for example, in an IB cabin.

 

 

It would be Priceline's responsibility to explain this to you (especially since they are being PAID to handle your booking) and to handle any and all issues related to your booking. They should never push you off on the cruise line.

i'll call them back later tonight then. and then i'll just stalk prices from now until december. ended up snagging the booking for like $350pp so i suppose i cannot complain too much. just some more walking. but honestly the way i was treated by ncl was ridiculous.. no matter what the circumstance

Two points need to be clarified...

 

1) When you made the change, did you book an IA category outright, or did you book an IA category guarantee?

 

2) Why call Norwegian when your booking is through Priceline? You should ALWAYS call your Travel Agent for any issues with your booking. You are wasting your time calling the cruise line on this one. Call your booking agent.

i booked an IA category.. apparently it was a guaranteed IA? i didn't even realize that existed. usually i just book outright guaranteed rooms because they're the cheapest. but this time i figured i'd be placed in category IA.. on whatever deck they decided. but instead they "upgraded" me to category I2 and i'm in the very front of the ship.

looking back at it, i should've just kept my original category of guaranteed inside.. i probably would've ended up with a better location!

Yes, you are being ridiculous thinking you should be moved. You booked a GTY cabin with a TRAVEL AGENT and you're calling Norwegian. Your booking was owned by the agent, in your case Priceline. When you book a GTY its a gamble! If you wanted a certain cabin level you should have paid more and booked the level and cabin you wanted.

 

Too bad, so sad.....

thank you for the pleasant response, really appreciate it! :)

and fyi, i called priceline first.. i'm not an idiot.. they referred me to ncl via a number they gave me

and i didn't just book a plain guaranteed room btw.. i did book a specific category.. IA

I'll try to make this painless to read:

Booked Getaway 12/6 back in July through Priceline - guaranteed inside room

Prices dropped before final payment.. like by a lot.. so I called Priceline and adjusted my booking.. changed to category IA - mid ship inside

Logged in today on ncl.com to see they assigned me cabin 9401.. category I2

I see how NCL thinks that they upgraded me.. but honestly that cabin blows when I booked a category IA.. I figured I would get something in that category.. mid ship.. wouldn't care what deck. that's why i booked it.

NCL basically told me too bad so sad, we don't care, there's nothing you can do now except pay the now almost double what i paid prices..

do I have any kind of argument here? who deals with pre cruise customer relations? everyone at ncl i have talked to has been insanely rude and unhelpful, it's made me SO angry and disappointed. i literally was on the phone for over an hour being bounced around from person/department to person/department.

am i being ridiculous thinking that i should be moved or offered something (a dinner, obc, anything)?

Is anyone aware of an excursion that hits all 3 of these? We are looking currently at Fat Fish Adventures and one other but it does not include a beach or RP stop......Our other option is to do this tour with Fat Fish then grab a can to a beach after.....Any thoughts?

I want to do this too.. we've been to Stingray City before but I'd love to go via jet ski.

Here are the two options I was looking at..

Ebanks - goes to stingray city and starfish point..

http://ebankswatersports.com/jet-ski-tours-2/sf/

fat fish - goes to stingray city, reef snorkeling, and another stop.. probably starfish point

http://www.fatfishadventures.com/our-tours/jet-ski-stingray-city-tours/

Both look like great tours!

How do you get selected to play "Let's Make A Deal"???

if i remember correctly, it has to do with your game card number.. it's all just random so good luck! we've never gotten chosen.. and one time we just sat in and watched and didn't buy in because it is entertaining to watch :p

We have not made any tour plans. Will do that when we are onboard.

The only reason I ask is because I am interested in doing a catamaran tour but it needs 2 more people in order to run (6 people total - so pretty much a private excursion lol). Google Kuralu Daysail - that's the company. So far it's my husband and I, and two other people from our ship.

Lunch and alcoholic/non alcoholic drinks are INCLUDED. $110pp. I have emailed with the owner a few times now and he only needs a minimum of 6 people to set sail. That's pretty cool - only 6 people on a huge catamaran.

Part of his email: "Thanks for contacting us and if we can get a few more from the ship, we could do something like 9am to 2:30pm. This would get you back to the ship by 3pm. We are located in West End which is about 20mins from the Cruise ship dock. A taxi is $9 per person each way, I arrange this for you.We could take you to the Jost Van Dyke area, cost is $110pp and includes lunch and drinks"

If you're interested, just let me know :)

I will also be on board Saturday ��������. I gave sailed on getaway before and you have to check out mondero for dinner one night the good is excellent. Also the water slides are a blast. But if you get a chance check out spice h20 to relax and enjoy the trip

we'll be on the boat with you! have you booked an excursion in tortola yet?

We finally leave this Saturday on a long anticipated trip on the Getaway. What are some of the must do's. I don't want to miss anything important or exciting.

we're on the same cruise as you! what're you doing in tortola?

Does anyone have a good website to see when/which ships will be in Tortola during the week of May 16-23? We are staying on the island and trying to plan our days and were wondering which days cruisers will be in town. Thanks!!

http://bviports.org/?cruiseship

that link should help you :)

It sounds like you are a lot like me. We have been cruising in interiors for the last 4-5 years just to save money and be able to cruise 2-3 times a year. I have only been in a balcony twice and that's ONLY because I was upgraded when the prices of the balconies hit below what I had paid for my interior OR because of an awesome upgrade special during booking. I can take or leave a balcony. Yes, they are nice, however I don't spend much time in the room other than sleeping, changing and showering. I'm always on the go and can't sit still. Both times I have had a balcony, I find myself forcing myself to spend more time in there to justify it...but it's never for long. We have a balcony on our upcoming cruise on Carnival Pride (second time on Carnival) and I was FORCED to get one if I wanted to sail on it because everything else was sold out. :eek: This cruise will be the MOST expensive cruise I have ever booked costing me 2 1/2 times the amount I have ever paid for any NCL cruise. I ALWAYS book ONLY when they have the kids sail free promo with NCL (since we have a little one) and I'm very cost savy when it comes to that...just to be able to cruise more. I'm hoping I don't regret paying this much since we will be on the NCL Dawn just 2 months after this cruise (at a great kids sail free promo of course). :D

 

I hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise...no matter which you decide. :)

we've only had a balcony once.. had a porthole once too.. it was nice but i don't spend much time in the room either so i always say.. if you want a balcony/view.. go upstairs to the pool deck, there's a huge balcony up there :D:D

i'm hesitant to book any kind of carnival cruise.. i've heard not so good things but then again people only like to b!itch about stuff, not praise lol we love ncl for the anytime dining and all the specialty restaurants. and the cheap prices but quality vacations.

thanks - i'm stalking airline prices right now.. waiting for them to drop too lol :cool:

For me, I would have to go with the cheaper interior room. I couldn't justify spending $700 more just to have the UBP. I think I would feel the "need" to drink more than what I normally would on any given cruise.

 

Normally what I do when cruising, I try not to spend too much on alcohol on the ship (maybe a few drinks here and there) and book places that offer an AI while in port that includes the drinks with it. We get our "fix" that way and it's all included in the price and works out great. But then again, we are not big drinkers to begin with. :)

i agree.. in nassau i'd like to spend the day at sandals royal bahamian. we did that on a pearl cruise that stopped in ocho rios.. we got a day pass for sandals grande riviera (where we ended up getting married, we liked it so much) and drank and ate our faces off lol

plus i think about all the drinks we won't be having during port days.. i'd hate to spend the night trying to "catch up" lol i can't help but be money conscious... i love getting good deals and weighing the money vs. reward. it's how we vacation 2-3 times a year. usually we do at least 2 cruises a year because we hang on to book till the prices hit rock bottom. this promo was just throwing me for a loop..

Love that idea!! Spa treatment and something fun from port!!

i know towards the end of the week they usually run a good spa promo.. like 3 things for $xx which usually ends up being a really good deal.. of course that leaves my husband free to roam the casino which might suck up any savings i get lol :rolleyes::rolleyes:

I was faced with the same decision, would love to have the balcony room and UBP but couldn't justify the $741, our typical bar bill isn't that much granted it could be more because sometimes I wouldn't have a drink b/c of the $$but I decided I could have a ton of drinks and other stuff for $700.

i'm leaning towards just getting a cheap inside room. it'd be my birthday during that week and i think i'd rather splurge on a spa treatment or do something really cool on a port day..

i'm like you.. sometimes i won't order a drink because of price.. we just came from getting married at sandals in jamaica in november so the idea of all inclusive drinks is enticing.. but i don't want to have to try to drink a ton just to justify the cost.. that could get ugly lol

Lild - we made our decision by calculating the # of drinks per day per person. They say avg drink price is $7-$8 each. Say $7 for ease of calculating. That equates to 100 drinks. 50 per day. 25 per day per person, including port days. :eek: hope this helps!

that does seem like a lot.. i'm hoping the prices will continue to drop.. we always book last minute so in some cases if prices don't go down we just don't go lol inside rooms are down to $475.. probably cuz no one is getting them because it doesn't come with a promo lol

Sorry it's $799 for a Balcony Cabin, which is cheaper than the outside cabin the following week. But I realize it's only a benefit if you can go a week earlier. Still that's a great price for balcony cabin for 7 nights.

we'd go earlier if we could... flights don't work out or are too expensive :(

Hello!

So I'm having a hard time pulling the trigger on the April 25th cruise out of Miami on the Getaway for my birthday...

In reviewing prices, I'm debating between an inside room or an oceanview to take advantage of the ultimate drink package. There is about a $700 difference (total) in price. Which means my husband and I would "need" to drink more than that to make the difference in price worth it.

Clearly NCL is keeping their oceanview and higher staterooms priced higher to help offset the promotion they are running.. which is understandable.

I'm caught between just getting an inside and paying for each drink as we go.. husband drinks way more than I do.. I can take it or leave it type of thing. Plus, the three days that we are in port, and the last day of the cruise.. that's time that we will not be taking advantage of the free drinks.

What would you decide? Honestly we don't mind inside rooms so my decision has nothing to do with window vs. no window. I'm wondering if NCL will drop prices closer to the sailing date or they'll do nothing but go up. Also, I know they say the promo ends April 6th... but something tells me they'll continue to offer it after that date... thoughts?

I wish NCL would allow only one person in the cabin to purchase a drink package.. doesn't Royal do that now?

Everything under $10 a drink is included. The DoD's are included but you cant get the special glass. You can either pay for the special glass (Drink portion still free) or simply ask for the DoD in a regular glass.

 

6&8

thanks for the response! i never get the special glass anyways so that's fine

i know this may be a stupid question... but are the fruity smoothie/drink of the day cocktails included in this as well?

i only ask because the last cruise my husband and i went on, we had CAS drink cards, but those limited us - we were not able to get the special drink of the day or fruity stuff..

Hi - anyone know the hours of operation of NCL Pearl's spa/salon?

Will be in Grand Cayman on December 12th and my fiancé and I are getting engagement pictures taken there with a local photopgrapher and I was thinking of getting my hair styled on the boat.

Anyone have a daily program that lists the hours of the salon? Trying to see if I have time before having to meet the photographer.

Any help is appreciated - thanks!! :)

Where is home for you? We live in upstate NY and it is so easy and so cheap to take the train to Penn Station and then a cab to the pier. i'll never drive again to NYC. Plus I think what they charge for parking there is ridiculous. JMO :)