Reservations now MIA...and other possible increases on the horizon

[Kenlorz]

Breakaway doing away with their reservation system is not new news, but perhaps the following is, so decided to post.

 

We are cruising BA on May 31. We had previously booked all of our entertainment, including the Cirque Jungle Dreams show, which is supposed to be included on the first night with the UDP (which we purchased).

 

As of today, all of our previously booked entertainment is now gone from our vacation summary, including the CJD show. We have received no notification from NCL of these changes. Also, there are now only two excursions available to book for our sailing.

 

These things, coupled with the newest update from a cc member currently onboard BA stating that they are now charging 18% gratuities in the specialty restaurants has lead me to some speculations.

 

1. I'm curious if the CJD show will still be included in the UDP on the first night as it previously was or if this will be another opportunity for NCL to gain a dollar. They've cancelled the reservations, so I'm suspicious.

2. I'm also curious if the mysteriously vanishing excursion options are an indication of a price increase coming there as well.

 

While the above listed increases/exclusions are purely speculative on my part, I did want to post so that others who have upcoming BA cruises can watch their accounts for unannounced changes to avoid unwanted suprises upon boarding.

[funat55]

Is this the wave of the future?? We are sailing on the Epic on April 12th and I was told that there will be no pre booking of entertainment. I was told I could go to the box office once on board and then make reservations (apparently along with everyone else on board).

[mking8288]

Thanks for the heads up - the 1 week trial got extended and now ...

We are leaving this Sunday on the Breakaway - I checked our bookings yesterday evening and it was still there with the confirmed time for ROA and BTF - and now it's "***" happened for others except I knew better

 

It has disappeared, cancelled, no longer showing - zipped, gone, vanished ... okay, a little dramatic humor to poke fun. ;) :mad: :rolleyes: - it's not the end of the world and we've seen the shows last year already on the BA. DW isn't sure about seeing it again anyway ... got better plans onboard anyway.

 

No notifications or alert from NCL, yet - I shall give them the benefits of our doubts to "do the right things" and let us know, as a matter of courtesy ;)

The other post about the 18% auto-gratuity (UDP & UBP) won't impact us directly nor immediately, as we chose OBC instead ... so I will take a wait-n-see attitude on other increases, at this moment.

 

Looks like I'm going to get on Twitter tomorrow before 2 PM for the live Q&A with the new COO to see if I can get my 2 cents into those tweets.

Edited March 18, 2015 by mking8288

[hawkeyetlse]

1. I'm curious if the CJD show will still be included in the UDP on the first night as it previously was or if this will be another opportunity for NCL to gain a dollar.

To be fair, Cirque and Illusionarium are not specialty restaurants, so there is no reason to expect them to be included in the UDP at all. It is a nice additional perk that NCL currently offers UDP holders for the first night, but if they take it away, I think I would have more of a "nice while it lasted" attitude about it. Maybe they could replace it with a discount on dinner shows, valid throughout the cruise (along the lines of the 20% discount for à la carte dining).

[Kenlorz]

To be fair, Cirque and Illusionarium are not specialty restaurants, so there is no reason to expect them to be included in the UDP at all. It is a nice additional perk that NCL currently offers UDP holders for the first night, but if they take it away, I think I would have more of a "nice while it lasted" attitude about it. Maybe they could replace it with a discount on dinner shows, valid throughout the cruise (along the lines of the 20% discount for à la carte dining).

 

I do see your point that it is technically an entertainment and not a specialty restaurant. But it being included in the UDP and stating so on their website is directly what lead me to purchase it (we chose UBP, so yes we bought the package). We saw the $39 savings and it is what swayed us in that direction, so if it is now not included (which again is purely speculation on what MIGHT occur next), I for one would be upset.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Kenlorz

[zqvol]

Breakaway doing away with their reservation system is not new news, but perhaps the following is, so decided to post.

 

We are cruising BA on May 31. We had previously booked all of our entertainment, including the Cirque Jungle Dreams show, which is supposed to be included on the first night with the UDP (which we purchased).

 

As of today, all of our previously booked entertainment is now gone from our vacation summary, including the CJD show. We have received no notification from NCL of these changes. Also, there are now only two excursions available to book for our sailing.

 

These things, coupled with the newest update from a cc member currently onboard BA stating that they are now charging 18% gratuities in the specialty restaurants has lead me to some speculations.

 

1. I'm curious if the CJD show will still be included in the UDP on the first night as it previously was or if this will be another opportunity for NCL to gain a dollar. They've cancelled the reservations, so I'm suspicious.

2. I'm also curious if the mysteriously vanishing excursion options are an indication of a price increase coming there as well.

 

While the above listed increases/exclusions are purely speculative on my part, I did want to post so that others who have upcoming BA cruises can watch their accounts for unannounced changes to avoid unwanted suprises upon boarding.

 

Just because the items are gone from your summary does not mean that they have been canceled. NCL has a bad habit of changing what appears on those summaries all the time.

 

The vanishing excursion could simply mean that they are changing vendors OR more likely that they are currently all full.

 

I would not worry about the 18% in the specialty restaurants, that is not new, well it is new to the extent that it is 18% instead of 15 %. What the tickets say is that the cost includes an 18% gratuity.

 

All to do about nothing.

[aquarianne11]

I was told I could go to the box office once on board and then make reservations (apparently along with everyone else on board).

 

 

Wow that would be chaotic! :(

Hope everything works out fine.

[mking8288]

Just because the items are gone from your summary does not mean that they have been canceled. NCL has a bad habit of changing what appears on those summaries all the time ...

Well, to be fair to NCL - our BA reservations for next week's shows are now back in the details this morning, another new CC'ers on the Roll Call checked & passed the re-emergence findings to us, so relaying this. It was/is reasonable to "assume" shows were NOT cancelled, at least, but the "rules" for access was being changed - 4 sailings in a row on just the BA, no advance notice - just part of a "welcome abroad" note in the stateroom on embarkation day.

There's an old saying about news travel faster by word-of-mouth, and, bad news even faster & further - and I'm sure there are variants of it.

NCL isn't some mom-n-pop operations, it's a billion dollar operations now run by one of the newest rising star, A.S. as COO and going live on twitter at 2 PM today to field Q&A - some very interesting commens all over social media. Those "bad habit" as called would NOT be acceptable in my corporate culture, it certainly can, still, be tolerated. Just not a good image to project, IMHO. When is it going to get acknowledged, addressed, and, reasonably "fixed" ??

Their IT/computer systems are then "known" to be problems-prone and if it's broken, go fix it and change it. Maybe it's time for the CIO to "resign" and move on and bring in more young minds to the dream "team" and that's just my 2 cents - go ahead & flame, feel free to disagree, I say to all.

We are prepared for some chaos next week on the sailing - not a big deal to some, to others - not necessary. False alarm, maybe - maybe not, so at-ease.

 

P.S. The "Ignore List" is nice, so feel free to use it like me.

Edited March 18, 2015 by mking8288

[Kenlorz]

Reservations are back today... must have been some sort of glitch. However, since it seems to be the new norm for multiple sailings that the shows will be on a first come first serve basis, I'm not sure what use these returning ressies hold for me :p;)

[Jennyyl]

Just because the items are gone from your summary does not mean that they have been canceled. NCL has a bad habit of changing what appears on those summaries all the time.

 

The vanishing excursion could simply mean that they are changing vendors OR more likely that they are currently all full.

 

I would not worry about the 18% in the specialty restaurants, that is not new, well it is new to the extent that it is 18% instead of 15 %. What the tickets say is that the cost includes an 18% gratuity.

 

All to do about nothing.

 

huh? it's not new? I've been to several specialty restaurants and have never been charged an additional 15 percent to my $20-$30 charge.

[swedish weave]

Just because the items are gone from your summary does not mean that they have been canceled. NCL has a bad habit of changing what appears on those summaries all the time.

 

The vanishing excursion could simply mean that they are changing vendors OR more likely that they are currently all full.

 

I would not worry about the 18% in the specialty restaurants, that is not new, well it is new to the extent that it is 18% instead of 15 %. What the tickets say is that the cost includes an 18% gratuity.

 

All to do about nothing.

 

YOu have evidently not seen the other thread about the 18% gratuity on the Breakaway. It was confirmed by a person who is onboard that they were charged the gratuity for FOOD -- not drinks in the specialty restaurant. That is NEW and has not been charged before.

Edited March 18, 2015 by swedish weave

[SissasMomE]

Just because the items are gone from your summary does not mean that they have been canceled. NCL has a bad habit of changing what appears on those summaries all the time.

 

The vanishing excursion could simply mean that they are changing vendors OR more likely that they are currently all full.

 

I would not worry about the 18% in the specialty restaurants, that is not new, well it is new to the extent that it is 18% instead of 15 %. What the tickets say is that the cost includes an 18% gratuity.

 

All to do about nothing.

 

It was never 15%. There was never a gratuity added other than the DSC, or a bar tab.

 

Further, it is "much ado about nothing".

Edited March 18, 2015 by SissasMomE

[funat55]

Wow that would be chaotic! :(

Hope everything works out fine.

 

Thank you. We are going to divide and conquer once we get on board. Daughter and I will run to the spa to get passes and we will send her husband to the box office. We wanted to book Cirque for the first night but apparently we can't book anything. Hopefully we will be able to book the shows around our dinners at the specialty restaurants which we already booked. I told the NCL rep this was just plain crazy. I am going to call again after the April 5 sailing to see how things worked out for that cruise. We are the following week.

(by the way, the picture of the little girl is darling. I have 4 granddaughters)

[aquarianne11]

Thank you. We are going to divide and conquer once we get on board. Daughter and I will run to the spa to get passes and we will send her husband to the box office. We wanted to book Cirque for the first night but apparently we can't book anything. Hopefully we will be able to book the shows around our dinners at the specialty restaurants which we already booked. I told the NCL rep this was just plain crazy. I am going to call again after the April 5 sailing to see how things worked out for that cruise. We are the following week.

(by the way, the picture of the little girl is darling. I have 4 granddaughters)

 

 

Sound like a plan. Have a great cruise. :)

Thank you very much. She's my little girl.

[CasinoCruzGirl]

Breakaway doing away with their reservation system is not new news, but perhaps the following is, so decided to post.

 

We are cruising BA on May 31. We had previously booked all of our entertainment, including the Cirque Jungle Dreams show, which is supposed to be included on the first night with the UDP (which we purchased).

 

As of today, all of our previously booked entertainment is now gone from our vacation summary, including the CJD show. We have received no notification from NCL of these changes. Also, there are now only two excursions available to book for our sailing.

 

These things, coupled with the newest update from a cc member currently onboard BA stating that they are now charging 18% gratuities in the specialty restaurants has lead me to some speculations.

 

1. I'm curious if the CJD show will still be included in the UDP on the first night as it previously was or if this will be another opportunity for NCL to gain a dollar. They've cancelled the reservations, so I'm suspicious.

2. I'm also curious if the mysteriously vanishing excursion options are an indication of a price increase coming there as well.

 

While the above listed increases/exclusions are purely speculative on my part, I did want to post so that others who have upcoming BA cruises can watch their accounts for unannounced changes to avoid unwanted suprises upon boarding.

 

 

I'm booked on the breakaway for May 24th. Just checked all the reservations I made for all the shows including the first night for cirque and they are all still set up under my vacation summary so I still have reservations.

[hawkeyetlse]

I do see your point that it is technically an entertainment and not a specialty restaurant. But it being included in the UDP and stating so on their website is directly what lead me to purchase it (we chose UBP, so yes we bought the package). We saw the $39 savings and it is what swayed us in that direction, so if it is now not included (which again is purely speculation on what MIGHT occur next), I for one would be upset.

Bad news… They have apparently eliminated this extra perk from the UDP (it has been deleted from the description of the package on the Gifts & More page), and replaced it with a 25% discount on entertainment-based dining (not valid on Day 1):

A 25% Discount will be offered on all Entertainment based dining (Murder Mystery, Cirque Dreams & Dinner, Illusionarium, Supper Club, Wine Lovers, Pajama Jam), offered not valid on Day 1. Spiegel Tent/Illusionarium, Chef’s Table, Jazz Brunch, Carlo’s Bakery items, Ice Cream Bar and Gelato are not part of the package. (Dining Terms & Conditions)

[backsbanny]

Anither cutback of ncl now they eliminated this as well...this month ncl outdid itself even if they tried to piss off all their loyal fans they couldnt have done it better...what else ncl?maybe from april 1st we should pay extra gratuities for complimentary dinner as well you know gratuities for our convenience!or we might get charged extra for a knife and spoon use you know gratuity for making dishes etc

[CasinoCruzGirl]

Its getting a bit out of control. Waiting to see what's next

[Kenlorz]

CRAP!!!! I hate being right :mad:. Sure enough, I just logged into MYNCL and this is what it says under dining options for purchasing the UDP:

 

Ultimate Dining Package

 

Norwegian's Ultimate Dining Package allows you to dine in a specialty restaurant every night of your cruise, all for one set price based on the number of days. Experience our exciting Italian, Asian, Brazilian, French and signature steakhouse restaurants (varies by ship). Plus, enjoy 25% off the cover charge for all entertainment based and a la carte dining.

 

Read Terms & Conditions and FAQs.

 

Each person in your reservation wishing to take advantage of the Ultimate Dining Package must be added to cart separately.

Price: $140.42

 

 

 

 

Now, I purchased the UDP when it was still $119 and booked our all of our reservations and the Cirque show is still showing as CONFIRMED on our summary. I hope that means I'm grandfathered in for the "first day free". I did take screenshots of the old description that stated that the Cirque show was free on the first day and I will print those off and bring them with me. I don't know how far that will get me.

 

My question is... how about those who have UDP as a perk, but haven't yet had the opportunity to book their entertainment/restaurants, will they now have to pay the Cirque fee minus a 25% discount?

 

Editing to say: While the description no longer states you can do the Cirque show on the first night for free, the updated T&C does state you can, so MAYBE they haven't taken it away?:

 

Q. WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE ULTIMATE DINING PACKAGE?

A. With the Ultimate Dining Package, you can dine in any specialty restaurant every night of your cruise, including our exciting Italian, Asian, Brazilian, French and signature steakhouse restaurants. On Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Getaway and Norwegian Epic the Ultimate Dining Package will also include dining at Spiegeltent/Illusionarium on the first sailing day only. Plus, you can enjoy 20% off the cover charge for dinner at Ocean Blue and all a la carte priced restaurants (not included in Ultimate Dining Package).

Edited March 26, 2015 by Kenlorz