A few different questions.... Norwegian Getaway cruise

[mrsemmaclairemoor]

Hi all, 

 

Planning on booking a cruise on the Norwegian Getaway on 24th February 2023.

The itinerary is:

Day 1 & 2 - stay in NY

Day 3 - Embark NY

Days 4 & 5 - at sea

Day 6 - San Juan

Day 7 - Saint Kitts

Day 8 - Barbados

Day 9 - St Lucia

Day 10 - Antigua

Day 11 - St Thomas

Day 12 - Puerto Plata

Days 13 & 14 - at sea. 

Day 15 - back in NY - fly home (UK)

 

I have a couple of questions if anyone can help me out please, this is my first time to the US and first cruise of this type. 

 

1) Ports of call - are you able to get off at most ports of call and hit the beach for the day? or is it better to book excursions.

2) I know New York will be cold at this time of year but hoping for warmer weather on the cruise. Are the sea days travelling from New York, likely to be freezing? I expect the first one will but not sure how long it takes to hit the warmer weather (obviously I know whether can always change but just to give me a rough idea).

3) The cruise I am looking at has the Premium drinks package included - do I have to pay gratuities on top of this and if so, does anyone know how much?

4) Does anyone know how much the daily service charge is for the cruise?

Thank you in advance for any replies.

[PTC DAWG]

NCL.com is your friend

[www3traveler]

Welcome,

Days 3, 4, and 14 should be cold.

 

Yes there is a gratutity on drink packages and speciality dinning packages in ADDITION to the Daily Service chare.  I am not sure what those fee are at the moment.

 

Enjoy your cruise.  The Getaway is a wonderful ship with a great staff.

 

[kochleffel]

You might want to inquire in the Ports of Call forums, where there is a separate subforum for each Caribbean port.

 

On the gratuities: I believe that the terms of booking are different in the U.K. from those in the U.S. U.K. residents might know the answer, but the information ought also to be available on NCL's U.K. site.

[ggTexasGal]

1 hour ago, mrsemmaclairemoor said:

 

3) The cruise I am looking at has the Premium drinks package included - do I have to pay gratuities on top of this and if so, does anyone know how much?

4) Does anyone know how much the daily service charge is for the cruise?

Question #3:  Yes, if you accept the drink package you will pay 20% on the "Value" of the package, per day.  So, 12 day cruise @ $99.00 per person/per day = $18.90 (pp) x 12 days = $226.80 Per Person (USD)!

 

Question #4:  Yes, answer straight off NCL.com...

Why is there a service charge?
The reason there's a fixed service charge is an important one: Our Crew (as are the crew from other lines) is encouraged to work together as a team. Staff members including complimentary restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and behind-the-scenes support staff are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that your service charge supports. How much is the charge? Onboard Service Charges are additional.

 

How much are the service charges?

For bookings made on or after April 1, 2020, that prepay their service charges before their sail date:

• • $18.50 USD per person per day for The Haven and Suites;
  • $18.00 USD per person per day for Club Balcony Suite;
  • $15.50 USD per person per day for all other stateroom types

[billslowsky]

3 hours ago, mrsemmaclairemoor said:

2) I know New York will be cold at this time of year but hoping for warmer weather on the cruise. Are the sea days travelling from New York, likely to be freezing? I expect the first one will but not sure how long it takes to hit the warmer weather (obviously I know whether can always change but just to give me a rough idea).

 

It doesn't warm up much until 2 days after departing.  Same with the return, the last sea day can be chilly.  If you want horror stories, google "bomb cyclone NCL" from January 2018.  I sailed a little after that, we had some rough spots, but nothing like that.

[julig22]

3 hours ago, ggTexasGal said:

Question #3:  Yes, if you accept the drink package you will pay 20% on the "Value" of the package, per day.  So, 12 day cruise @ $99.00 per person/per day = $18.90 (pp) x 12 days = $226.80 Per Person (USD)!

 

Question #4:  Yes, answer straight off NCL.com...

Why is there a service charge?
The reason there's a fixed service charge is an important one: Our Crew (as are the crew from other lines) is encouraged to work together as a team. Staff members including complimentary restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and behind-the-scenes support staff are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that your service charge supports. How much is the charge? Onboard Service Charges are additional.

 

How much are the service charges?

For bookings made on or after April 1, 2020, that prepay their service charges before their sail date:

• • $18.50 USD per person per day for The Haven and Suites;
  • $18.00 USD per person per day for Club Balcony Suite;
  • $15.50 USD per person per day for all other stateroom types

Only true if this is a US booking.  DSC and drink packages are handled differently depending on where the booking was made - they may be included in the cruise fare.  OP is in UK, so it would depend on policies in place when they booked.

Edited November 24, 2021 by julig22

[Yinster]

5 hours ago, mrsemmaclairemoor said:

Hi all, 

 

Planning on booking a cruise on the Norwegian Getaway on 24th February 2023.

The itinerary is:

Day 1 & 2 - stay in NY

Day 3 - Embark NY

Days 4 & 5 - at sea

Day 6 - San Juan

Day 7 - Saint Kitts

Day 8 - Barbados

Day 9 - St Lucia

Day 10 - Antigua

Day 11 - St Thomas

Day 12 - Puerto Plata

Days 13 & 14 - at sea. 

Day 15 - back in NY - fly home (UK)

 

1) Ports of call - are you able to get off at most ports of call and hit the beach for the day? or is it better to book excursions.

 

3) The cruise I am looking at has the Premium drinks package included - do I have to pay gratuities on top of this and if so, does anyone know how much?

 

Hopefully by the time you sail in 2023, everything will be almost pre Covid times.

 

Depending on the Covid situation, will depend on the ports. If it was kinda of back to normal then you can do whatever you wish when the ship gets to a port. Hit the beach if you want or explore it in an excursion whether it's a ship one or your own. It's your holiday. So it's a personal choice.

 

As for the drinks package, then in the UK there is no extra charges. Especially with the premium drink package. Just swipe your pass when ordering and there should no charge towards your bill. With the normal drink package, all drinks above $15 you pay the extra. Order by glass as I'm not sure about bottles with the premium as we never order bottles of alcohol. Just glasses.

 

 

Regarding daily service  charges, we pay them before we sail. One extra cost to not worry about at the end of the cruise.

Edited November 24, 2021 by Yinster

[MoCruiseFan]

11 hours ago, mrsemmaclairemoor said:

1) Ports of call - are you able to get off at most ports of call and hit the beach for the day? or is it better to book excursions.

2) I know New York will be cold at this time of year but hoping for warmer weather on the cruise. Are the sea days traveling from New York, likely to be freezing? I expect the first one will but not sure how long it takes to hit the warmer weather (obviously I know whether can always change but just to give me a rough idea).

3) The cruise I am looking at has the Premium drinks package included - do I have to pay gratuities on top of this and if so, does anyone know how much?

4) Does anyone know how much the daily service charge is for the cruise?

Thank you in advance for any replies.

1) You can get off of the ship at any port as long as you are back by the assigned time.

2) The NCL web site gives you average high/low temps for each port for the month you will be there.
3) You do not HAVE TO tip anyone.  in most places it is customary to do so.  Packages have a tip built in.
4) DSC is normally $15 a day per person but is higher for premium cabins

[katiecat]

Very nice itinerary for some great beach days.

[mrsemmaclairemoor]

Thank you all so much for this info - it has been really helpful 

[robandlil]

We just had a day in San Juan PR.  We took a taxi to the San Juan beach club in Isle Verde.  They provided beach loungers, umbrella, towels, and an alacarte lunch with a drink in their roof top cafe.  Would do it again in a heart beat.  I believe it was $50pp and reservations are needed.

[robandlil]

We also left out of NY.  While docked, in NY, we had to pay tax on our drinks even though we had the drinks package.  It was a nominal cost of about $1.25 a drink.

[robandlil]

You must be vaccinated and test negative at the dock in NY, or they will turn you away.  We tested 2 days earlier to make sure there were no unhappy surprises.