romalley99

Everywhere is different. New York hands down has the best Back to Back Experience, followed by Miami. In New York, in the 20+ times I've done back to back cruises from NYC, only TWICE did I have to actually get off the ship, and that was just recently on the Prima TA Crossing and after the Inaugural 4 Day Cruise to Canada. Those are special cases, in my opinion. Other than those two, all other times, NCL invites CPB onboard into Cagenys/Moderno Restaurant and they do their passport checks and inspections there. They have in the past just stood there and let facial recognition do it's job! It's fantastic! We would meet at 7am and were done and free to go about our business about 7:30am. It beats having to get off the ship and wait in the terminal until zero count... I haven't done a B2B in Miami in quite some time, but doing it again soon on Escape. I'm hoping it is as good as it used to be (especially now since they have the new terminal).

THIS ^^^!!!! I've had this experience in Port Canaveral 5 or 6 + times. Definitely the WORST place to do a back to back.

My sailing is (somewhat) close in so there are slim pickings... There are two MC left (but only hold 2 guests), MB is Sold out, and there are about 10 MA's open. Since MA is the only category open that can hold 3, I'm assuming that is what will be assigned, and I cheekily requested my same cabin from the week prior (which still remains open), in hopes that I will not need to change cabins. Here's to hoping!

I'm not upgrading a cruise using World Points.... I've booked a Balcony outright with my points (227,900 points), 7-Day Caribbean. So my confirmation only states "BA" and not "xx - BA". So I have an email out to the Latitudes Dept in request of using my cabin mate's Diamond Upgrade, and we'll see how it goes. As always, expecting the worst, and hoping for the best. I can't see why they wouldn't do it.

Noise Boys is leaving Prima the first week of March... aka, next Sunday. This week is their closing week and they are not returning and a new cast is not coming. Donna Summer 2.0 is onboard as well as Price is Right. Indulge is still complimentary, as well as mini golf. I never really use the thermal spa so I can't answer that, but hopefully the above you find to be helpful. Robbie

This ^^

They're in the process of changing the books so that all coupons reflect the "any restaurant" verbiage. There have been times in the past when I have gotten printed copies as well, but the standard is the booklet. I'm sure all ships fleet-wide will get the new books soon.

They sure do. You tear your dinner vouchers out of the "booklet" 🙂

That's not quite true. NCL only gives one "booklet" per couple, so in this case, they will receive one Platinum booklet in the cabin on day 1. If there were 3 people in the cabin, it would be two booklets etc.

I'm not trying to upgrade to a balcony with points, I booked a balcony outright with points so my confirmation only reads "BA" and not a category before it. They got rid of the one year rule for both the Diamond upgrade and Ambassador Cruise (which is how I was able to book my Ambassador cruise, thankfully... since it previously expired)... so I'm not too worried about that. I'll be reaching out shortly to Latitudes to see if they will take this perk and apply it to this cruise... Will let you know how it works out. I'm going in with a "expect the worst but hope for the best" attitude. Let's see......

So, I really took some time today to think about how I can get to the CBS... My new question is... can the person I am sailing with use their unused Diamond Upgrade on this BoA points cruise? As mentioned above... I'm doing a balcony with points. This is an interesting scenario which I'd be interested in pursuing. If anyone knows, please shed some light for me? If not, I'll find out tomorrow hopefully and will report back! Thanks again for the insight earlier! Robbie

So, I'm planning on booking a cruise tomorrow with my NCL Bank of America Worldpoints. While pretty much everything is included, as well as taxes and fees, I'll probably have a zero balance on my confirmation. The person I am sailing with is Diamond and still has their upgrade available to use. My question is -- Can they use their Diamond Upgrade on this practically "free" cruise? I'm doing a balcony with points, and hoping to move up to a Club Balcony Suite so that we can stay in the same cabin that we are in the week before. If anyone knows, please shed some light for me? If not, I'll find out tomorrow hopefully and will report back! Robbie

I would pay just to keep the same cabin. I don't NEED to use points to upgrade, I would be willing to pay on top of the cruise booked with points to get to a CBS. I woudn't bid either as that would defeat the purpose as well 😝. When I call in to book my cruise, I will inquire and report back. I'm fully prepared to be told no, as I already have been here, but worth the shot to ask. Thanks everyone for the tips. Robbie

It's been quite some time since I've used BoA points for anything NCL. I'm looking to redeem some of my points for a 7-Day Caribbean Cruise. If I redeem my points for a Balcony, is there any way of getting to a Club Balcony, even if I have to pay for the upgrade... or am I stuck at the BA level? I know I can't use points to upgrade to a CBS, but wondering if I can do a paid upgrade? I'm doing a back to back, and have a CBS for the first leg, and I would like the same cabin for the second week I'm using BoA points for... and it's still open! TYIA

While I love NCL, I frequent many other lines as well. I might not cruise on them as much as I do NCL, but nonetheless, I still do. I don't cruise NCL simply because of loyalty; I cruise NCL because I LIKE to cruise with NCL. I could make a lengthy list of things I love about NCL and a list some things I do not. To be quite honest, I personally think NCL has one of the most LACKING loyalty programs in the business. I'm not quite sure what a pin has to do with only sailing with one line solely for loyalty, but yes, I do proudly display my pin on nights where I'm wearing a sport coat, during parties, events etc -- and yes, I also do happen to be a stockholder. No, I don't wear my pin everywhere, all day. But, since I do love NCL for the cruise experience itself and have accumulated, at this point, close to 1,000 points via their program, I think I've earned the right to display my pin on some special nights/occasions, yes. Of course, this is my POV and take it as you wish. 🙂

Last minute change to use Terminal 3 today (completely outfitted and decorated as a Carnival Terminal). Had to be totally strange to walk in and see Carnival pictures, photo backdrops, and verbiage for anyone boarding Prima today!

They did away with the ship specific pins, and when they revamped the program in January 2022, they introduced new pins in coordination with your Latitudes Level. You can pick up yours at the Cruise Next Desk onboard the ships the next time you cruise 🙂

Happy Cruising to you, too! 🙂

I believe the third ship is going to be a "Prima Plus Class" ship.

I wear my Ambassador Latitudes Pin with my name customized on it -- but I see many wearing their other tier pins all the time, especially at the party.

All the pins are available at the Cruise Next Desk in the Atrium. 🙂 Make sure to ask for all of them up until your status. They will give them!

I agree with everything you have said. I know some who have made Platinum in 2 or 3 cruises! Sadly for me, I did much of my cruising the "old fashioned way" as I like to call it, where status was accumulated by number of cruises and not by days. When they converted the program, I ended up only getting 1 point per day (which was fine), and still continued to cruise for 1 point per day for years after. I'd say out of my many NCL cruises, only a handful had a promotion applied where I got bonus points. But, I guess it is a sign of the times. My United Airlines Status renewed in January and I had an offer in my email a few weeks later asking if I would like to PURCHASE the next tier up (which would be the highest tier, Premier 1K) for the 2023 year. I mean, seriously... buying status? If I was an organic Premier 1K member, I'd be pretty upset, because it's not easy to attain. And as a top tier NCL, it almost feels the same -- the principle is the same -- buying status.

Just did 30 days on Spirit. Kids can sail on all NCL ships, but as you have said, it's not very kid friendly. There are no kid services whatsoever on Spirit. I also feel the same way about Prima. While there are many activities for the teens and older kids, there is very little for younger kids, and I have heard rumbles about many kids being bored on Prima. Seems like a direction they seem to be moving in...

Yes -- Those with excursions and priority will be called BEFORE they call Group 1 Tender Tickets. Listen for announcements. With Priority Access, you should also get a letter in your cabin regarding where to go for Priority Tendering... but it's really not needed with the Shore Excursion ticket as that gives you priority anyway 🙂

I was on the Spirit for 30 days in Oct/November 2022. French Polynesia and then Hawaii. It was very nice, and I love the refurbishment. I was on the Spirit when she was brand new and a time or two after that, and she was looking pretty rough... it was time for a face-life, and it totally did the ship justice! She looks brand new. The crew is fantastic, and the food was delicious everywhere. I loved how they were going for a more "adults-only" theme. It was lovely all around. As for the thermal suite... I was graciously gifted passes from the GM, and I don't think I went in there more than 3 times over the course of a month. Once was because I had a pounding headache and I just wanted to lay on a heated lounger for a while, and the others was because it was raining outside... But I would never spent the money for this thermal suite. It's super tiny and very few chairs. It is, however, very quiet, with nice calming music, and warm -- so it might be a nice place to read a book or just relax in peace... but for the cost, I think Spinnaker during the day would also do the trick! You will throughly enjoy your cruise on the Spirit! Robbie