New to Norwegian, but not to cruising

[Bondfan531]

Hello all! My husband and I are not new to cruising--have been on a few CCL cruises (Elation & Dream) but have decided after seeing the Dawn in port two weeks ago in New Orleans while we boarded the Dream, to give it a try in Feb. 2016. I've been searching through different Dawn posts and pics and trying to find all the info I can to make a good comparison. We are looking at the 7 day out of New Orleans for Feb. 2016 to Roatan, Harvest Caye, Cozumel, & Costa Maya. Not all that excited about two Mexico ports on one run, but it is what it is. I wasn't really all that thrilled with 3 sea days on the Dream either. Is there anything I should be aware of? I noticed with booking an oceanview you can choose the beverage package, but there is no option to prepay gratuities. Or am I over looking that option? Also, are the service charges and gratuities one and the same? Or different things?

[ColinIllinois]

Check the NCL Frequently Asked Questions for what the difference between the Service Charge and gratuities are:

 

http://www.ncl.com/faq

 

Lots of good additional info there that you may find helpful.

Edited April 14, 2015 by ColinIllinois

[travelmatron]

There is a daily service charge added to your bill. It is a per person fee and is charged to everyone in the cabin over a certain age (3 I think). It can be pre-paid if you wish after booking. It covers staff that you would normally tip on some other lines, and additional support personnel.

 

You will see an additional fee of an 18% gratuity on your bill for drinks and specialty restaurants. I believe the beverage package also includes the 18% gratuity, so in effect, it's already pre-paid. Additional tipping/gratuities are at your own discretion. Any additional tips can be paid in cash or by charging the amount to your on board account at the time of service or at the end of your cruise.

[klingoncruiser]

We miss the 4 port runs out of NOLA. We live in Texas so we are using the new port out of Houston. We also LIKE Costa Maya. I know people fuss about it, but it really is a great place if you spend the day over in the little town next to the port.

 

We can't wait to try the new NCL island port of Harvest Cay next year as well.

 

I guess we really are port people and not ship people in the end.

 

There has been a lot of discussion about the new tipping thingy. As someone said, try the FAQ's. We sailed at Spring Break but did not really notice much of a difference at that point.