First time - So many newbie questions

[Twinbooty]

As the title says, we have pulled the plug on our first ever cruise which is 10 nights Croatia and Greek isles on NCL Getaway.  Took the Drinks and WIFI package and we are in a Club Balcony suite.  Trying to get organised but have a number of questions that may seem simple so hopefully can be answered quickly. 🙂 

 

1)  We have a free one off clothes press for Club Balcony – Is there a limit on items or can we effectively get all our tops/shirts done in the one go and hung up to save any future ironing

2)  When at sea (Greek Isles and Italy) or anchored will we still have mobile coverage with our normal provider EE or is it patchy when out at sea.  The WIFI package, now ive took it, looks terrible.  Wish i had taken the Specialty dining instead (can i change pre cruise)

3)  We have the drinks package, are the in room mini fridge drinks included or can we get room service ?
 

4)  Does room service cost for drinks or food in Club Balcony?

5)  If we upgraded to the Haven package, is there an extra cost for room service or is that included and is there extra tips for butler as we have prepaid all the gratuities?

6)  Has anyone been on Getaway recently and can tell me what table games there is in the casino and if anyone knows what the Video Poker games are.....ie is there Double Double Poker etc ?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Essiesmom]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  I have asked the mods to move your thread to the forum here for NCL, since you are asking about a specific ship/line.  EM

[Twinbooty]

38 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  I have asked the mods to move your thread to the forum here for NCL, since you are asking about a specific ship/line.  EM

Thank you. I wasn't able to post it in NCL so very much appreciated. 

[kgmorris]

(1) You will have a bag to fill and they should give you something to fill out and a little "certificate" to put in the bag.  It is not that big, about the size of a medium pillow case. You can also get things pressed as well.

(2) Hopefully someone can help with this.

(3) This doesn't include the fridge drinks, you can get room service but they do charge.  We usually take a "Yeti" style cup and the bartenders have placed drinking in this for us.  The drinks are free, but you have to go to one of the bars.

(4) Yes

(5) It is included and you can even ask for little treats, the Haven is a whole other experience that will spoil you.  We do the pre-paid as well, but usually leave the butler and room stewards a little extra gift.  Optional and up to you.

(6) Hopefully someone can help with this.

[worktocruise610]

56 minutes ago, Twinbooty said:

As the title says, we have pulled the plug on our first ever cruise which is 10 nights Croatia and Greek isles on NCL Getaway.  Took the Drinks and WIFI package and we are in a Club Balcony suite.  Trying to get organised but have a number of questions that may seem simple so hopefully can be answered quickly. 🙂 

 

1)  We have a free one off clothes press for Club Balcony – Is there a limit on items or can we effectively get all our tops/shirts done in the one go and hung up to save any future ironing

2)  When at sea (Greek Isles and Italy) or anchored will we still have mobile coverage with our normal provider EE or is it patchy when out at sea.  The WIFI package, now ive took it, looks terrible.  Wish i had taken the Specialty dining instead (can i change pre cruise)

3)  We have the drinks package, are the in room mini fridge drinks included or can we get room service ?
 

4)  Does room service cost for drinks or food in Club Balcony?

5)  If we upgraded to the Haven package, is there an extra cost for room service or is that included and is there extra tips for butler as we have prepaid all the gratuities?

6)  Has anyone been on Getaway recently and can tell me what table games there is in the casino and if anyone knows what the Video Poker games are.....ie is there Double Double Poker etc ?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! I will try to answer as best I can, but there are many others on here who know more that’s me and I know they will chime in…

3) mini fridge is not included and costs a lot, ask your room steward to empty it so you’re not tempted, and can use it for other stuff

4) I believe room service costs for Club, my recollection is only Haven guests do not pay

5) upgrade to Haven- room service free, but DSC costs more ( I think about $3 pp per day, maybe more) butlers are not part of that so tipping them is your discretion 

 

that’s all I know, like I said, there are more experienced posters on here so if they say something different than me, you should probably listen to them 🤣

 

have a great time and enjoy your cruise! 

[ClevelandCruisin]

We just ask the steward to take everything out of the fridge. Usually ends up in a drawer.

 

I couldn't tell you all the table games besides roulette, blackjack and such.  Maybe in birds review of the encore you can see photos of the casino machines.

[Twinbooty]

Thanks for the responses. Think I understand all but still waiting on mobile reception in question 2 if anyone can help and if you think I could change my free at sea package to dining instead of WiFi as not sure the package will make a dent in what I need work wise. 😀 

[SoDonewithitAll]

2 minutes ago, Twinbooty said:

Thanks for the responses. Think I understand all but still waiting on mobile reception in question 2 if anyone can help and if you think I could change my free at sea package to dining instead of WiFi as not sure the package will make a dent in what I need work wise. 😀 

I don't know if this applies to your situation, but you should be able to upgrade the "free wifi" that comes with your package to a more robust wifi package by paying the difference between the plan they give you and the plan that you want. 

[Two Wheels Only]

4 hours ago, Twinbooty said:

...is there extra tips for butler as we have prepaid all the gratuities?

 

Neither butler nor concierge is included in the DSC. Tip them however much/little that you want. 

[kochleffel]

You shouldn't expect any normal mobile service while at sea, only while very close to shore and not always then. (Even when you're close enough to shore, some areas may have no service.) But be careful: cruise ships have their own mobile towers that your phone may connect to, with expensive roaming charges. It's prudent to put your phone in airplane mode except when you're on shore or in port.

 

[J0Y0US]

Adding my question here:

Do the packages go on sale at all or is the price the price leading up to the cruise? Going on Sept 11 and wonder if I should just book the Internet/Drink or hold off?

 

Will be doing research on if we should do the Drink upgrade and which of the two internet we should do.

[Twinbooty]

Just adding a few more hopefully for help.

 

1) I chose to pay service charges up front of £240.  Does that mean all charges on food and drink are.covered and additional tips are discretionary to servers or if example we drank A LOT, will I expect more service charges at the end.

 

2)  The cost of our cruise is coming down quite a bit already. I assume we are stuck at our locked in price yeah. 😀

[SpainAlien]

54 minutes ago, Twinbooty said:

Just adding a few more hopefully for help.

 

1) I chose to pay service charges up front of £240.  Does that mean all charges on food and drink are.covered and additional tips are discretionary to servers or if example we drank A LOT, will I expect more service charges at the end.

 

2)  The cost of our cruise is coming down quite a bit already. I assume we are stuck at our locked in price yeah. 😀

Once you have prepaid your service charges you don't have to tip anymore (Except butler and concierge in Have if you upgrade) however if you want to give an extra dollar/euro or two to a particularly nice bar tender or waiter you can.  It is customary to tip a couple of bucks to who ever brings your room service if you get it and any drinks ordered on room service will be charged at bar prices despite you having the drinks package

 

Regarding the price of your cruise unfortunately (assuming you booked in UK) there is nothing you can do other than monitor the price of the Haven and if it comes down sufficiently upgrade to that however please be aware that they will only upgrade you if there is an extra cost never a price reduction 

 

Don't use your mobile at sea except on wifi, make sure it is either turned off or in flight mode even if it is in your safe because it will connect to the closest network and download emails, etc and as previously stated some of these networks are expensive. 

 

[KeithJenner]

Regarding mobile coverage, you do sometimes pick up a service in these areas, but it is not at all reliable. I don’t know your specific itinerary, but certainly when sailing around Greece you do sometimes travel quite close to some islands and pick up signal for a while.

 

I wouldn’t rely on it though. You may not get the signal and there is also the problem that if you turn roaming on your phone then you may end up catching the ships cellular when there is no land service and this can be costly.

 

I’d wait until you are docked (when the ship cellular is usually turned off and you will likely get good service), or just buy a WiFi package.

[Twinbooty]

Thanks all.  So helpful.  

[Wildcatllamas]

As to gratuities - I have sailed a couple of times with the drink package and the specialty dining. I always prepay my gratuities but I also bring extra money to tip those folks who definitely deserve it. I have had some bartenders that weren't very good but others have been on top of the game and I have always tipped them extra. Once they knew me I could walk up and they would already be working on what I like to drink.

 

I have tipped my room steward extra if they have gone above and beyond just keeping the room clean and turn down service. I usually bring bottles of sparkling wine onboard and I had one steward who brought an ice bucket for the wine and kept it chilled for me.

 

This goes for the wait staff in the restaurants/main dining room as well. Some have been amazing and I tip them extra. Others just so-so.

 

As to the butlers. I have had over the top butlers and on one cruise I rarely saw my butler. The great one I tipped him $300 for the 9 night cruise. The poor one I think I gave him $10 a day. I always place my tips in a thank you card with the butler's name on it and a short note of how much I enjoyed them. Sailing in the Haven or any of the suites is amazing but like one poster said you will be spoiled and not want to go back to a regular cabin.

 

Enjoy your trip!