littlelulu01

I've sailed the haven 2 bedroom. Like other poster mentioned, if you can get a room opposite of the haven sundeck that would be the best of both worlds. That said, $1500 is quite a bit. The itinerary is very port intensive. Not sure how much use you will get out of the courtyard. If your kids are little it's nice if they want to play in the pool because it's right outside your door. It's not a very big pool though.

If you want the privacy of your own bedroom and bathroom, the two bedroom will give you that. That balcony on your current suite is going to be much larger and can't be beat for Venice sail away.

Haven rooms and suites both eat breakfast in cagney's on the Jade so other than the actual haven use and separate bedroom/extra bath, no extra benefits. We absolutely loved it for Alaska on the Pearl. $1500 for two weeks on the Jade I would do. One week? I'd have to give that some thought. Have a great trip. We love the Jade.

We had 8598 on the Jade and loved the room. No hallway noise. Very close to blue lagoon for morning coffee. Here's a link for the review I posted on the Jade last year with pictures of 8598. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2212965

http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/Kimberlyhaney/image.jpg3_zpssupyex8a.jpg?1432479821786

I went ahead and purchased the meal package just in case rumors are correct and they do away with it and everything ends up costing more. I can always cancel it if we decide that it won't be cost effective.

It just seems odd that they include the options for up charge use but if taken they end up costing quite a bit more than just paying without the package. I was wondering if I was reading the T&C's incorrectly.

In doing a search I read some accounts of the up charge venues being an extra bonus and not counting toward the SDP total and others that say it does count if used. But most of those threads are older and I know the plans are always changing.

Trying to decide on purchase of SDP for kids. The 3 meal plan works out to about $27/meal.

From NCL t&c if we use the up charge discount then those will count towards the 3 meal plan. So am I correct that if we book illusionarium we will pay the $27 + $15=$42 whereas if we don't use one of our SDP credits we will pay $30+18%=$35?

The other up venues charge confuse me even more. If we eat sushi we pay $27+ $7 up charge and use a SDP meal credit or pay $12 for a combo plus 18%=$14 and don't use a SDP credit. I looked at menus and unless kids ate a ton of sushi it would be hard to reach the $34 cost using the SDP credit.

Just wanted to make sure I'm reading the T&C's correctly and if we use those up charge discounts we also burn up spd credits.

Epic med alternative offer for cancelled cruise was sail an entire year earlier for price protect. Some people were able to get NCL to switch to the replacement ship sailing same time frame but most unable.

You can try but if you want price protect I would see if a date in their offer can fit your schedule. This cancelled cruise does offer a surprisingly wide range of alternative dates for price protect. I think the Epic price protect alternative dates for 11 nt were about four dates in total, and a year prior to original booking.

We ended up rebooking outside the price protect offer and gave up the Haven suite and incredible perk package because the new price was way out of our range for dates that fit our schedule. Good luck.

I'm sorry for everyone whose holiday has been changed. I never really gave it any thought or read threads about cancelled cruises until I was affected.

I know it's easy to get really upset but all cruise lines charter ships and if there's enough $ to be made all will cancel. NCL does seem to be infamous for the $50/$100 obc as a token for rebooking and when people find out they are typically offended. It is what it is and what NCL has been offering for many years now.

After it happened to me I swore I'd never book another cruise that didn't have an alternative on another line should the first choice get cancelled.

The cruise companies have a contract, all are worded quite similarly, and all state the cruise line can cancel at any time and need only to refund your $. In practice they typically offer an alternative choice with price protect and will reimburse certain amount for airlines change fees. It really does no good becoming infuriated with NCL because all lines do the same thing. This is a little short notice for holiday booking but not unheard of.

The alternative sailing price protect dates for this cancel are actually much more generous than offered for my cancelled cruise. NCL re-deployed 1/3 of their fleet last August. You can imagine how many thousands were affected by this redeployment and the confusion that ensued. There's a few 30+ page threads on the subject.

If you have not received your letter and wish to take NCL up on their offer, I would not wait until you get the notification. I would find a date within their parameters for price protect, or non price protect with the whopping $50/$100 obc, find an available stateroom that fits your needs and then call the number posted earlier in this thread.

I know it takes a while to reconfigure vacation time frames etc. If airfare already purchased it might be less expensive to find another ship/line sailing same dates.

Good luck to all affected. Once you get vacation plans changed around you can get back to the fun of anticipating your vacation and forget about the hassle of this cancellation.

I hope this thread doesn't get as nasty as the August mass cancel threads got. Some pretty brutal posters on these boards and if they start in I wouldn't even acknowledge them.

I'm not sure if NCL customer service will be able to help you because your ta owns the reservation. You could see if ta can try again but seems like if there isn't one room available for both segments they probably can't sell you an upgrade. You never know if one will pop up though because others are also probably upgrading thus potentially vacating a potential room for you.

Seems like if the upsell department is in the business of selling out the ship at last min unadvertised prices they may also be able to work on getting you into two different rooms. they're winning by getting more $ from you so they may be able to do something that NCL regular booking process can't? Since you are still three weeks away I'd keep trying. Perhaps at two weeks out if there's quite a bit of inventory they can do something they normally wouldn't be able to.

If not, the ocean view rooms are not bad. We found some favorite deck spaces and enjoyed the public areas. Ship public areas never felt too crowded. People are off the ship most of the day and ship never felt crowded even on sea days. You could always treat yourselves to something special with the money you were willing to spend on the upgrade if it doesn't pan out. Good luck.

That's a tough call and you never really know which way prices will go on these b2b's. I used to think it was always a better deal to book as two separate and get twice the perks plus an opportunity to upgrade one or both would be better because the chance of certain cabins available both legs decreases closer to sailing.

But last year I saw some b2b sailings that were half the cost and reduced drastically just prior to sailing whereas if booked separately they didn't go down much.

This year I wanted to book the Jade as two separate but when I initially booked for September this year, price was half if booked as one cruise, the only perk difference was a couple extra speciality dinners and the taxes/port fees were higher if booked as two separate so I ended up booking as one cruise. I've been watching price drops for the May Jade sailings and last minute deals are still no better than I got booking far in advance. I know I'll probably be in the same boat you are in and not be able to upgrade at the last minute but with such port intensive itineraries I'm ok with that.

I still think overall your chances of upgrades are better if booked as two separate but it all depends. Not sure if you priced separately when you booked but at the time it may have been a considerable savings like mine was, which can give you piece of mind.

The whole ta thing can be a pain to have to go through them vs just being able to call NCL but if they give you a good obc it's worth it. If little difference then I just go with NCL. Always good to check first to see what the ta can give you before deciding.

Have a great trip. 16 day cruise with a great itinerary and no need to switch rooms halfway through. We were on b2b last year and 2nd half I could have upgraded from ov to balcony for like $20. My kids would not switch because they didn't want to lose their steward or pack.

Idk if it would work but always worth a try to call the upsell number yourself and try again. I've not read any account of someone in your situation but perhaps you might have some luck there.

I assume if you are on a back-to-back cruise, you pay the $179 (the pre-cruise price) per week? Or has anyone paid it once for the entirety of a back-to-back?

 

I know ... silly question - but I figured I'd ask.

$179/ week in advance seems high. Last year I didn't purchase in advance but purchased in the terminal in Venice. It was $199 for 14 nights. Make sure if you do this to save receipt. We got new ship cards for the second week (booked b2b) and I needed to show proof of purchase in order for spa to replace sticker.

Last year on board, not in advance, they sold passes for $129/week or $199 for two weeks. second day of each week they sold for $99/week but perhaps that was because they didn't sell well? Even so spa not ever crowded. You may want to call NCL and ask if the $179 advance price is for two or one week and if for two weeks have them Email you confirmation to bring with you.

Agree with quilting cruiser. Small place for relaxation and quiet and not mega ship spa experience with all the bells and whistles. I plan on getting again for our two weeks aboard the Jade med for husband and myself. Last year I was with daughters and they were very into the ship entertainment so we didn't make it to spa much. My husband isn't into shows, we don't party, and not much into casino either. If even just for sea day use and after a few port days I feel it will be worth it for husband and myself. If you're on the fence perhaps worth it to wait until on board and tour first. You won't get the discount but if anything like last year med it's not that popular so they could offer discounts second day.

Europe cruises also coming down in price for prime summer dates. Still not discounting the fall yet but today I got an email from a TA advertising the top 20 of the week travel deals. NCL balconies on several dates this summer $699 with the drink package, $200 shore ex credit and $100 obc. Balconies had been more than double this price.

Insides on the Jade sailings coming up were discounted to $499 seven nt. Some with perk choice and some without. Those sailings are still advertised at more than double for September sailings though. Certainly not conducive to booking in advance, especially with reports recently of those booked unable to upgrade with these price drops. Suite prices still quite high but limited availability on those.

I have read that most of the spa is not coed. What exactly is in the coed section of the spa? The Thalasso Therapy Pool I hope??

 

Janice

On The Jade the coed area includes heated tile loungers, the therapy pool which is size of a large hot tub that produces bubbles but no jets and has wood slats you can lay on. Rest of amenities are in separate same sex areas. Towels and ice water also available in coed area.

I was just looking to see if the thermal spa suite pass was worth the cost! Can you expand a little? I am concerned that they'll over sell and we won't get out of if what we pay.

I would call or login to your NCL and see if they offer passes. There's a discount if purchased in advance. Last year they were selling them for $199/two week and $129/one week on board upon embarkation. For med we found the spa was not very crowded and not as popular as Alaska. They offered spa pass discount day two of sailing each week @$99/week. We tried to take advantage but besides sea days we had a hard time fitting spa time in.

Shared coed area is thermal tile loungers facing front of ship and a thermal pool which is basically a hot tub size with bubbles. Men's and women's separate area includes hot tub with jets, padded chairs, sauna, steam room, I think cold plunge pool, showers and lockers.

If you're not into laying by pool it's a nice relaxing place to be.

If you find out cost for your sailing advance purchase please report. I'd like to know what discount is for longer sailing advance purchase.

When these free perks were introduced I rebooked at the same fare, and received ubp for two including grats, soda for the rest in the stateroom, udp for everyone in stateroom (not just the 1st 2), and $200 per week extra obc for med sailing. The original booking was chocolate strawberries as a perk. I know many reported at the time that fares also went up but mine didn't. Looks to me like fares have gone up a bit since then, but there's still deals to be had here and there, except for suites.

The package perk costs have gradually gone up and what you get has gradually gone down but they did start including them for inside staterooms, originally not. The perks usually last longer than they say they will but eventually change to something less valuable or to a lesser range of rooms.

I can easily see them tweaking offers depending on how a sailing is selling. Can also see the value getting less and less, which is what's happened to date, and not really something that bothers me much. They should be making a little more profit on the beverage packages. Makes those who don't want it not feel so bad that they got a few internet mins instead.

Alcohol sales are a big part of ships profit. They're going to do what they can to make as much as possible. Not everyone drinks but if everyone pays for the drinks NCL wins. Hopefully NCL will find the happy medium where they are attracting both lite, non and the heavy drinker. I don't want to pay for an AI party boat.

With the recent cutbacks in wine offerings along with an increase in cost, I highly doubt at this point they're moving toward any resemblance of a ultimate beverage package that would include speciality coffees ... Like celebrity has. I was hoping they would go in that direction. I think it's a great idea because at the rate it's going now more and more will opt out of the package figuring it's just too much to pay. Throw some free coffees in the mix and they could possibly keep a lite drinker picking the perk.

I would make sure you check in online before you get to the airport. I did it in the taxi on the way and it saved a lot of time in line. They had separate check in line for those who had already checked in online. If you don't have internet on your phone pay ship internet mins and check in online.

Also pre book taxi. There is not many right as you exit the ship so the taxi line was very long and chaotic. I found a guy on Trip advisor and he was there waiting. 45 euro to the airport and he had us there in about 20 mins.

I originally had a 10:45 am flight from Venice and after checking I got nervous and changed to a later much more inconvenient flight and had to pay change fees. In hindsight we easily would have made the 10:45 am flight.

Both weeks we were onboard the Jade it cleared at 8am so one could walk off at that point. All the luggage was sitting there easily found by coded areas. Just grab yours according to the coded area, I think it was coded by debarkation time, and walk out to find the taxi driver holding your name.

Once at VCE it is very chaotic but there are employees directing the almost gridlock of passengers. Once checked in and allowed to gate it is less chaotic.

Celebrity Email today with offer Veranda $150 obc plus classic drink package

Istanbul to Rome seven nights $855 AUD For our American friends this Converts to USD645 the OBC is in USD Cruise cost USD645,00

OBC USD150.00

Classic Drink Package seven days@$50 = USD350.00

Total cost pp USD145.00

 

I can use the OBC to pay my Gratuities my TA in Aussie got me USD $400 OBC So now the cost of this cruise for myself and the hand brake is

USD95 Per Person you might say bargain but Istanbul is a worry

have a g/day Aussie

$95 usd for a seven nt cruise. Idk. In order to get onboard you have to go to the public dock along with thousands of other tourists. If you make it on board great. If not just $95 and a limb or life with no insurance plan that would cover for injuries because the us govt has posted, "Emergency Message for U.S. Citizens: Credible Threats to Public Squares and Docks in Istanbul and Antalya."

So the offer kinda says, "I know the govt said.... and so you might not make it on board in one piece, but if you are willing to try we'll give away the cruise."

If it was the other way around and they debarked in Istanbul at least you would get the cruise before the risk. Those probably cost more though. Higher chance you'll make it on board.

Given how easy it is to get an Upsell these days, NCL is most certainly not booking many of these suites at these prices.

Take a look at the Europe availability of suites this summer. Those are selling and selling at much higher prices than I've ever seen.

My husband had sworn off cruising until I surprised him with the ak cruise in a suite. He loved it. He did get a little stir crazy last day at sea coming back to Seattle but he doesn't gamble or do the shows. We did the south sea kayak trip where they picked us up from kayak trip in a float plane and then we saw tongass. Best excursion ever. We also did a lot of hikes in ports. Coming back to our suite afterward was heaven. Just sitting on balcony for hours watching scenery was fun. Saw whales bubble feeding from spa one day. Those kind of things are pretty memorable.

I actually talked him into the two week Jade this season. But had he not had such an incredible cruise in a suite for ak I know he would not have consented to our upcoming two week non suite on the Jade. Kids and I did same sailing last year. Can't wait to return this year with him.

I agree that suite prices have seen a dramatic increase past year but in many regions they are selling out with the higher prices. much more profit to sell most suites at a much higher price and if a few left over offer upsells. They won't be reducing prices unless the rooms stop selling. You or I might look elsewhere but somebody is buying at the new prices. How about the gv on the Jade this summer ranging from 52-64k. That's pricing for two in a stateroom. All in on the 14 nt with 6 @ 70k. People are paying it though. Last year on the same sailing they gave away the gv as a bingo prize. Kids and I played for it. From my estimate bingo card sales covered this kind of fare.

NCL's med itineraries are really popular. They sell their suites for much higher as a result.

I have two deposits for med. I like the Jade itinerary much better but the Celebrity silhouette S suite, which includes access to Michaels club, luminae for meals...is actually all in (after adjusting for dining, beverage, dsc, and that we will not need spa and Internet pkg on celebrity) only $300 more than the inside on the Jade. Final payment due soon. Both 14 nt and departing same day. Leaning toward the Jade bc of itinerary but hate to give up the incredible deal on the Silhouette. I would never have considered Celebrity for med until they relaxed their dress code. Their drink pkg also includes speciality coffees, canned soda and bottled waters which for a non drinker is a big deal.

If you have a good deal on your aft suite with all those great perks, that have since been changed up, I would stick with AK. Suite prices have really gone up. If you would do Alaska next year vs this year you might want to price out your suite next year and see if it's still in your price range should you choose to give up the great deal you currently now have.

We sailed in a Haven suite on the Pearl and had an incredible week. Probably one of the best vacations I've had. Also loved Europe but we've always tacked on land journey due to how long it takes for flights. Europe is so port intensive and we were off the ship most days for the majority of the day. Suite, although nice, wouldn't be as desirable to me.

Idk how long each would be for your flights but the email I received on Europe had us flying in day before embarkation and fly out day ship returned to port. With their airfare who knows how long the flights in coach would be and no time to recover from jet lag.

Guess bottom line depends if you would rather have natural beauty, relaxation and pampering or history, hustle and bustle.

I wasn't referring to the government creating mass hysteria, i was referencing the posters on CC who feel a need to post the same thing over and over on 10 different threads who have zero plans of visiting Europe.

I apologize. I don't want to miss Kusadasi either. I thought Ephesus was the highlight of my trip. One of my daughters thought the best day of the trip was in Selcuk at the rug factory. Me not so much but everyone has their own opinions.

What is a shame is if the lines who haven't canceled yet just replace with sea day like carnival. Some of these itineraries would become a waste of time unless you are in it for the ship only activities. To pay in many cases, tens of thousands, haul your family over to Europe only to be placed on ship that has few ports doesn't sound fun.

Given what's going on in Turkey and the warnings it may be prudent for those who actually have Turkish port intensive sailings to look at alternatives. I know the fares of the NCL sailings that are not visiting turkey are way up. But some of the sailings in the next few weeks are cutting prices on remaining staterooms.

The way my insurance plan reads is that if there is an event within 30 days it will cover. If people are flying into Attaturk and can't get airline to change flight, they could probably just transfer onto flight to BCN, VCE or FCO to pick up a coordinating sailing on another line? Things to look into at this point.

:rolleyes: I never said go and be safe. I was correcting an inaccurate post. There's a big difference between examine actual fact to running around spreading paranoia. I am affected by what the cruise ships decide in the upcoming weeks and I don't appreciate the misrepresentation of facts

 

And I believe the Los Angeles area is under 500 sq miles, not 4,600

I don't think the govt in this case is trying to spread paranoia. izmir is an area less than 70 miles by 70 miles. Kusadasi is located in this radius.

We can't change the facts, and with regard to what is going on in Turkey they are not misrepresented facts and simple unfounded hysteria. Calling it 4600 square miles to make it sound like trouble is a world away doesn't make the trouble further away. There's some pretty serious warnings in this area.

Regarding the situation in Istanbul it's not a matter of just a warning. If you could equate terrorism as sharks and the world a sea, yes there's always a danger of attack. In the case of Turkey it's more like theres Sharks in the water right in front of you... and have attacked repeatedly. Get out of the water. Tourists are the bait.

The warning this morning couldn't be any clearer. Sure people swim in shark infested waters. Not all die. Terrorists won't kill everyone in the world and certainly not every tourist in Istanbul. Just the ones they can easily target. A boat load of fresh bait is what they are chomping at the bit for.

At this point... Well at a point a while back, it was safe to say that lines will not have Turkey as a port of call.

Hal's decision last week to not let passengers off the ship unless embark/debark was what they were left with because they waited too long. Is celebrity going to take the same stance? At least many insurance plans will cover cancelation if the lines still choose to embark/debark in Istanbul.

Celebrity should, actually should have some time ago, at least notify booked passengers of their plans. I can't believe that companies as big as carnival Corp and celebrity would intentionally just think the turkey situation was going away given what the govt has been saying and other lines decisions. Blaming the changes on sudden security concerns is not valid. This situation has been a world concern for sometime now, enough time that other lines successfully replaced ports of call and embarkation/debarkation ports long ago.

If In fact they have no alternative available ports of call and will Substitute with sea days they could offer up some obc for failing to make any decisions in time to get replacement ports.

Idk what they'll do about embark/debark sailings for Istanbul. Hope they found alternative and airlines can waive change fees.

The Viking Sea DID begin its inaugural cruise from the port of ISTANBUL with much fanfare and hoopla and without any security incidents according to press release dated April 4th with its sister ship going into ISTANBUL while she was leaving.' The second cruise ship of Viking Ocean Cruises, Viking Sea, has embarked on her maiden voyage from Istanbul to Venice, officially doubling the size of the company's fleet and continuing its vision for destination-focused cruises.'

There was another press release from a UK weabsite titled 'First pictures of Viking Star’s maiden voyage from Istanbul to Venice' with lots of phtographs of the ship in the port of ISTANBUL

 

The alleged itinerary changes were nothing more than rumors. At least one cruise company felt safe enough to place its ships and crews and passengers in the port of ISTANBUL. It says something..

It also says something that cruise critic cruise news article dated 3/22/16 reported, I assume not a rumor, "Viking cruises has become the latest line to alter its itineraries in light of terrorist attacks in Turkey...."

If they chose to skip their overnight in Turkey that says something as well. According to the article, the day befor a bomb went off killing 4 tourists on 3/19, Viking star set sail in the evening rather than stay the night.

Just bc a line is still embarking/debarking there does not invalidate govt warnings and make the city safe for tourists.

I take it as a sign these companies are not able or willing to change ports of call due to lack of alternative ports and loss of money.

I just don't think there is a set of subscribed intelligence that is informing these companies of no problems in Turkey. I think it's more about management decisions to still dock, pick up and drop of passengers and hope for the best in order to save $.

Haven't sailed yet but from the research I've done for getaway, similar to escape, the balconies are the same size and on the small side. I picked the spa balcony that has an extra bump out 15156 or 15756 on Escape. A few extra sq feet on balcony is worth more to me than a tub and extra sink vs shower and one sink in spa balcony. If those two rooms weren't avail then I would have picked a mini suite for extra br space, especially because on my Baltic sailing price diff was minimal.