Thermal Spa Pass for Pearl 3/2/18 Sailing

I am booked on the March 3 Pearl sailing, and as with all of my cruises, I look forward to spending the bulk of my time in the spa. When the time arrived to be able to purchase the Thermal Spa pass online at the 90 day mark, I jumped online right at midnight EST to do so, and the message "not available to book" appeared. The next morning I did the same with the same message.

I looked at some other posts here and a few people said that they called Norwegian directly and were able to purchase the pass (with the $20.00) with the help of an NCL representative. So I called yesterday and was put on hold for a while and then was told that the pass would be available "at any time. Could be now. Could be a minute from now, could be next month." OK.

I called again today and talked to a different representative. She tried to help me, but then said the she would have to talk to her supervisor. I held for a few minutes, and she returned to tell me that the passes for this sailing would only be available the day of the sailing for $129.00. They will not be available online at all.

So, my guess is that those who were in suites or in the Haven were able to gooble up the passes at the 100 day mark. The rest of us are sort of out of luck on this particular sailing unless we purchase onboard.

If any of you have had a different experience and have been able to purchase the pass, I'd love to hear from you.

When we booked our NYE cruise on Pearl, our PCC told us we would be able to book the spa pass the same day as final payment. As it turns out, it was actually available exactly one month later. We got our passes then and all was well. I booked the passes online.

Our final payment for our Feb cruise on the Gem was Thanksgiving weekend and I was able to buy the spa passes on line right after making the payment (90 days out as I am not in the Haven). About an hour later someone else on our roll call mentioned that they could not purchase the passes online. I know that they are not sold out as I am able to book more passes thru my vacation planner. I wonder what kind of gremlin can cause this type of issue.

Our final payment for our Feb cruise on the Gem was Thanksgiving weekend and I was able to buy the spa passes on line right after making the payment (90 days out as I am not in the Haven). About an hour later someone else on our roll call mentioned that they could not purchase the passes online. I know that they are not sold out as I am able to book more passes thru my vacation planner. I wonder what kind of gremlin can cause this type of issue.

Not sure what the gremlin is, but one surely exists. I will do what was suggested earlier and keep checking back. Maybe NCL is opening the passes a little at a time.

We are 63 days out from our cruise and the online site still does not show it available. I’ve been checking nearly every day since we hit under 90 days.

We are 63 days out from our cruise and the online site still does not show it available. I’ve been checking nearly every day since we hit under 90 days.

I called NCL today and was able to book by phone even though it wasn’t showing online.

I called NCL today and was able to book by phone even though it wasn’t showing online.

On the Pearl for this specific sailing? Calling NCL now.

So, OK. I called NCL again, just now, for the third time. Same response. For this sailing of the Pearl on March 2, 2018 all of the passes that were available to be purchased online have been sold. I asked the representative if online passes will ever become available, and she said not for this sailing. That means those of us who were able to purchase at the 90-day mark never had a chance.

Passes will be available on a first-come-first-served basis on the day of the sailing at the full $129.00 price. I was very nice to the representative when said to her that this was somewhat unfair; that it seems like some passes should be set aside for non-suite/Haven guests who cannot book anything until the 90-day mark. She said she would note my concern. Here's what's clear: people have caught on to how wonderful the Thermal Spas are, they are in demand, NCL knows it, is capitalizing on it, and some will win and others will pay more. I'll give some thought about whether I'll fork over the entire cost on day one. I love the spa. Love. It. But out of principle I may just stay on my balcony sipping my favorite wine with an extra $129.00 in my pocket.

So, over the past seven years that I've sailed NCL I've noticed a decline in just about everything that makes cruising wonderful (all-inclusive), but an increase in everything that makes cruising undesirable (a la carte, pay-as-you-go). Many of you here at CC have voiced the same concerns. This was going to be my last cruise on NCL for a while anyway, not because of this Thermal Suite Pass incident, but because Jewel class ship itineraries were not matching my schedule or desired departure ports. However, now I'm thinking I'll give NCL a permanent pass. My last cruise on the Gem out of New York this past May wasn't as pleasant as prior NCL sailings, so the Pearl in March will be my last with NCL until they make enough positive changes for me to come back.

On the Pearl for this specific sailing? Calling NCL now.

No I’m sorry it was for escape Feb 10.