NCL Joy Cruise

[joestein514]

So, we just booked the NCL Joy cruise for 8/20 out of NYC.

 

I have only cruised with NCL once - I am used to cruising on RCL, so I have a couple of questions.

 

$50 credit for excursions - I understand it is only for the first person in a room.   Is this per excursion or per port?   If my kids book an excursion to go zip lining - they would save $50.  If we then booked an excursion for a boat trip would we also save $50?   What about Bermuda - where you are there for 2 days?

 

I was able to buy a 2 dinner upgrade for $69/person plus grat.   The rest of the meal upgrades are more money - can you buy the 2 dinner upgrade again?  Do they sell the dinner packages onboard?  

 

Are there any sales on excursions or upgrades other than what they offer all the time?

 

Also... any recommendations about getting to the PIER - we live in NJ - does it pay to take an UBER/Car service or to park there?

[BrownEyedGirl686]

56 minutes ago, joestein514 said:

So, we just booked the NCL Joy cruise for 8/20 out of NYC.

 

I have only cruised with NCL once - I am used to cruising on RCL, so I have a couple of questions.

 

$50 credit for excursions - I understand it is only for the first person in a room.   Is this per excursion or per port?   If my kids book an excursion to go zip lining - they would save $50.  If we then booked an excursion for a boat trip would we also save $50?   What about Bermuda - where you are there for 2 days?

 

I was able to buy a 2 dinner upgrade for $69/person plus grat.   The rest of the meal upgrades are more money - can you buy the 2 dinner upgrade again?  Do they sell the dinner packages onboard?  

 

Are there any sales on excursions or upgrades other than what they offer all the time?

 

Also... any recommendations about getting to the PIER - we live in NJ - does it pay to take an UBER/Car service or to park there?

We are doing this cruise in May- we live in Northern NJ - easy to drive to the port; the excursions - $50 off A Singular excursion-   Bermuda 2 days still off just one.  Idk if it’s just me but I don’t understand the dining package question — when we booked we got 2 specialty dinners.  We could buy 2 more for a total of 4.  

[joestein514]

SO I was able to buy 2 more at $69.  But I am on a 10 day cruise - I would love to buy another 2 more at the discounted price.

[BrownEyedGirl686]

1 hour ago, joestein514 said:

SO I was able to buy 2 more at $69.  But I am on a 10 day cruise - I would love to buy another 2 more at the discounted price.

Do they have an option for purchasing more than just 2??? I have the ability to add from 2-7 dinners I attached the screenshot 

[JandC_Cruising]

3 hours ago, joestein514 said:

$50 credit for excursions - I understand it is only for the first person in a room.   Is this per excursion or per port?   If my kids book an excursion to go zip lining - they would save $50.  If we then booked an excursion for a boat trip would we also save $50?   What about Bermuda - where you are there for 2 days?

The $50 Shore Excursion Credit is only for passenger 1 on your booking. It is valid for every excursion passenger 1 is signed up for.  So, your kids (since they are likely not passenger 1 on your booking) do not get $50 discount.  Only one person gets the discount.  

However, you can do multiple excursions in a day and get $50 off each. Since you are there multiple days, you can do that each day your are there.

 

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, joestein514 said:

$50 credit for excursions - I understand it is only for the first person in a room.   Is this per excursion or per port?   If my kids book an excursion to go zip lining - they would save $50.  If we then booked an excursion for a boat trip would we also save $50?   What about Bermuda - where you are there for 2 days?

 

I was able to buy a 2 dinner upgrade for $69/person plus grat.   The rest of the meal upgrades are more money - can you buy the 2 dinner upgrade again?  Do they sell the dinner packages onboard?  

 

Are there any sales on excursions or upgrades other than what they offer all the time?

The $50 excursion credit is good for Passenger 1 on the reservation only. The discount is good for any excursion taken by Passenger 1 (multiples in a port are fine). 

 

You can buy a dinner package for 2 or more meals. The "Upgrade" is good for 2 meals and you can only buy it once. IF you are buying more than 2 additional meals, then it is cheaper to cancel the upgrade and just order a package for the number of additional meals that you want. They would be good for specialty dinners and lunch at Food Republic on sea days or American Diner any day. That being said, there is no need to spend any money and just eat in the Main Dining Rooms, which are perfectly fine. Complimentary dining is available in the three MDRs, The Local Grill, and the Buffet (light breakfast and lunch are also served in the Observation Lounge buffet). 

 

2UDP	2-Meal Specialty Dining Package	$99.00 USD
3UDP	3-Meal Specialty Dining Package	$139.00 USD
4UDP	4-Meal Specialty Dining Package	$169.00 USD
5UDP	5-Meal Specialty Dining Package	$199.00 USD
6UDP	6-Meal Specialty Dining Package	$229.00 USD

 

 

[julig22]

2 hours ago, BrownEyedGirl686 said:

We are doing this cruise in May- we live in Northern NJ - easy to drive to the port; the excursions - $50 off A Singular excursion-   Bermuda 2 days still off just one.

NO.  $50 off each and every excursion that passenger #1 can manage to book.

[mking8288]

3 hours ago, joestein514 said:

... any recommendations about getting to the PIER - we live in NJ - does it pay to take an UBER/Car service or to park there?

 

You will find more parking info, discussions, tips and helps over at the East Coast forum under NY here - 

MCT / Pier 88-90-92 Parking fees going up $5 a day to $45 (all inclusive & no surcharges or surprises, etc.) starting April 1st - still a relative bargain for NYC.

see link below for detailed info, plus a few helpful pix ....

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2921461-fyi-nyc-cruise-parking-rates-going-up-april-1-2023-mct-and-bct-to-45-daily/

 

In brief, coming from NJ - you might want to park over at the Weehawkin Ferry Terminal on the NJ side, take the ferry over and walk a few short blocks, take the complimentary ferry shuttle north on 12th Ave or a short taxi ride if you rather not do the walk with luggage in tow.  

 

Also, highly recommend that you find the CC roll call and see who's who on the sailing, fellow cruisers on the sailing are often well informed with additional tips & ideas, with specifics on Q's asked here.  

 

BTW, belated welcome as someone fairly new to CC. 

 

[BrownEyedGirl686]

2 hours ago, julig22 said:

NO.  $50 off each and every excursion that passenger #1 can manage to book.

That’s at each port …right?  

[julig22]

4 minutes ago, BrownEyedGirl686 said:

That’s at each port …right?  

Any excursion offered by NCL. No limit.  Port is irrelevant.

[BrownEyedGirl686]

9 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Any excursion offered by NCL. No limit.  Port is irrelevant.

Hmm interesting I assumed only the first excursion. Thank you for the clarification.  

[joestein514]

After seeing the prices for Parking - I think we will just UBER to the pier and back.    Much cheaper than 10 days parking.