fstuff1

5 hours ago, Smitheroo said:

well, I'm old. Maybe that is the reason.  

before electricity was invented? 🙂

4 hours ago, Random Cruizer said:

I hear you--I actually liked my IV on Beyond last summer.  For some reason it really opened up the room and made it seem bigger than the verandah made a verandah room feel.  Not sure why--so I'm pretty happy with either.  But I don't think they are the same thing, either.

i've had iv on e-class.

once the novelty wore off, i stopped using the fake balcony area.

my bed was near the bathroom so the couch was near the window.

i found it more comfortable to sit on the couch and lean against the arm rest if i wanted to look out the window.

thus why i view iv as a fancy ov at balcony prices

33 minutes ago, alanstarr said:

<Getaway starlink>

I posted these in another thread, but these were the upgrade options on Day 2 of my 10-day and 13-day cruises  (B2B).  
 

- Unlimited Internet pricing for 10day cruise: $30/day

day 2 would be 9 x 30 = $270 - $100 trade-in for promo 100min = $170

This is normal, like on all other ship.

- Unlimited Internet pricing for 13day cruise should be $25/day. you get a $5/day discount for long cruises.

But your day 2 is $330, which makes it $330/12 = $27.50/day

You only save $2.50/day on Getaway for long cruises. 

This is even worse than Breakaway! 😮

(On my long Breakaway cruise last year it was $25/day, just like any other ship on a long cruise.)

So Breakaway class has a small internet pricing penalty if taking long cruises. 😞

Breakaway long cruise internet pricing last year:

On 8/11/2023 at 11:57 AM, DCGuy64 said:

A friend of mine was on Breakaway just last week and said the Starlink internet was fine. He only complained about the cost, since he upgraded from the FAS to unlimited @ $200 pp. But no issues with the internet itself.

Trade in value for the promo internet minutes is lower on Breakaway class than any other ncl ship, probably because of Starlnk:

1 hour ago, UKstages said:

i believe the breakaway internet is now powered by starlink.
does the getaway have starlink?

i dunno… but NCL could be pricing the starlink product differently.

Looks like it was installed on getaway back in Aug but not turned on yet.

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2955799-starlink/

so that could explain the price difference.

also, viva will have starlink and i sail her next week.

i'll find out how much the trade in for promo min is

On 11/7/2022 at 9:49 AM, fstuff1 said:

<Breakaway>

I'm on my 14day cruise and trade in value for 300min is only $145, not $200. 😞

(See attached pic)

 

So doing the math:

13 x $25 is $325 - $145 is $180.

180/13 is $13.85/day.

 

Incedentally, for a 7 day cruise:

6 x $30 is $180 - $100 trade in is 80.

80/6 is $13.33/day.

 

So no per day savings for a longer cruise. 😞

 

 

A friend is taking a long cruise on Getaway (exact clone of Breakaway).
Only getting $145 credit for promo 300min for the upgrade to unlimited. 😞

Also, the upgrade price didnt get cheaper past the 2nd day after embarkation where as the other ships i mentioned in this thread got cheaper till there was 10 days left (14day cruise so 4 days after embarkation).

so for some reason the internet upgrade for breakaway/getaway is different 

6 hours ago, destar said:

Just received an offer from Amex gold card, spend $1000 direct with NCL and get $200 credit. Offer must be added to card 1st, and redeem by 12/29/23.

got it  on my free amex.

plus also had an offer for carnival

thx

On 10/2/2023 at 3:35 PM, Grimix said:

I’m on the Encore right now and thought I’d share a tip (might have been shared before) for giving your whole cabin internet. I’m using my wireless travel router to share my connection (we upgraded to the FAS+ so have 2 unlimited) to the cabin with the same SSID (network name) we have at home. So the kids are able to log in without my credentials and do their homework on their chromebooks.

 

It’s not hard to do, but if you’re not tech savvy it might be (I write software for a living…) Just thought I’d throw it out there for those who know how to use a travel router that it does work!

I’m using a tp-link AC750 I’ve had for several years. Only around $40 on Amazon.

i'm looking for a battery powered portable router.

i upgrade to unlimited basic wifi and connect the router to ship wifi. I put the router in my pocket.

my phone logs into the router.

any of my friends around me also can log on to the router.

does such a battery powered portable router exist?

5 hours ago, kwokpot said:

 

For example in this mailing we chose the Jan 7th sailing in AQ on the Ascent and when we called it had All Included, and this one includes the gratuities since we booked it in August so we lucked out. But you can't tell from the mailer that it incudes all included.

wow.. nice offers for 103 code back in Aug.
the current postcards for 103 offers are just regular veranda or ocean view. 😞

7 hours ago, gold1953 said:

lol.. sure did .. we were adrift with tugs pushing us

That's quick reaction from the tugs. 😮

Tugs assigned to the ship stay with the ship even while docked? (I would have figured once docked, they move on to another ship entering/leaving the harbor)

7 hours ago, KKB said:

FYI...porthole balconies are so narrow you cannot face the chairs forward, only sideways toward each other.

😮

ok, i placed a min bid on sunset veranda.

Interestingly, i see this terms & conditions:

I acknowledge that I will keep the same amenities that I have on my current booking; no additional amenities will be added as the result of my upgrade (except for bids into Royal, Edge Villa, Penthouse, Reflection and Iconic Suites, which will receive amenity inclusion of the Premium Beverage Package and Premium Wifi).

Captain's Club Points will be earned based on the original stateroom category purchased, and not the category of the upgraded stateroom.

Does that mean if i win Aqua i dont get access to Blu?
Or if i win sky suite, i dont get access to Luminie or the Retreat Lounge?

6 hours ago, KKB said:

FYI...porthole balconies are so narrow you cannot face the chairs forward, only sideways toward each other.

It's a fully covered, mostly enclosed balcony--just curious, how is that different than an IV w/ the window down?

(again, just curious; I am ambivalent about IV cabins...)

To me a balcony is something you step out, like into a separate room.

12 minutes ago, gold1953 said:

We were sitting at OVC and felt the ship shudder and power went out. I asked a crew member what happed and he said "problem in the kitchen" We were adrift for sure.

oh.. the ship's power cord got unplugged from the pier 😛

On 8/23/2023 at 8:48 PM, fstuff1 said:

Ncl joy 10 day cruise.

Activated the  150min internet on day 3.

No 'upsell to unlimited' popup.

It  activated like normal.

 

Will try activating 2 days after embarkation on  next 10day cruise

Next 10 day cruise is next month.

Hopefully i remember to take screenshots of the upgrade popup offer when i activate the promo 150min 2days after embarkation

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

Is that because the food at LCG is not very good?  Is it an all you can eat place?  Or is there a menu?

all you can eat. there is a menu but no limit on what you can order.

i had multiple multiple multiple seafood(?) shiskabobs. dont remember the meat but ordered alot of them.

plus theres a salad buffet style.

if $45 normal price, i'd do it for $22.50 again.

if $60, not worth $30 for me.

yes, it's 7.50 difference but one has to draw the line somewhere.

32 minutes ago, LMHSRN said:

All you have to do is call the Move-Up program and have them invite you to bid.  Easy Peasey

oh didnt know that.
but I've been happy with what my host was getting me before the recent changes to mimic how Royal does it.
Now, for the past few months, it's free cruises directly from Blue Chip via postcards with a pre-set list of cruises.

hosts had a hard time doing anything about cruises not on those lists.

But i've just read this week that Hosts can once again get cruises that people pick.

3 minutes ago, LMHSRN said:

Have always been able to utilize Move-Up program with BC booking.

Interesting. I've never gotten the Moveup offer till today and i'm Elite Plus with all being free casino cruises.
But i use a 3rd party casino hosting company

15 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I know it’s inconvenient but if you pay less than others why expect to have the same experience booking restaurants?  I make individual reservations for a reason.

 

If you have flexibility:

On my Solstice cruise last month, employees were regularly offering 35%+ off specialty dining on certain restaurants on certain days.

That's a bigger discount than a multi-day dining package.

Pre-covid, i got 50% off for both Le petite chef (both versions) and Lawn club grill (dinner) while onboard.

Now, Le Petite chef increased the price from $45 to $60. I would still do version 1 for 50% off if i've never seen it before for the novelty but not v2.

if Lawn Club Grill is now also $60, i wouldn't do it even for 50% off if i'm traveling solo.

5 hours ago, gold1953 said:

 The mooring posts ripped out of the concrete pier. 

First time we heard ECHO ECHO ECHO onboard !!

had to look that up.
echo = possible collision with another ship or ship adrift

Also, Delta= damage to ship 

And seems like italian contractors cut some corners in building the pier. 😛

In the past, free casino cruises were not eligible to bid for upgrades.

But i just an email to bid for an upgrade on my 7day Jan 2024 Ascent cruise.

I'm in a rare deluxe porthole, which is basically a hull balcony. It's a real step out balcony. (I consider Infinite Verandas as OV with windows that open.)

Anyway, here are my minimum upgrade bid prices:

Sunset veranda $50/person (so i assume $100 if going solo), Infinite Veranda $45/person, Concierge $100/person , Aqua $150/person

Sky suite $1k person, sunset ss $1025/person, aqua sunset ss $1045/person

and it goes up from there.

Now that Blue Chip is switching to Royal Caribbean's way of doing casino things, I guess this is one of the changes.

No, i'm not bidding. I've never been in a porthole balcony before so i want to try it.

But if i was to bid, i'd bid minimum on sunset and pray. 😛

Also, in my opinion, Aqua is not worth +$300 (i'm solo) for Blu and free yoga classes.

I could buy specialty dining for cheaper than $300, especially if they're offering 35%+ off like on my Solstice cruise last month.

4 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

A little more insight to the cabin makeup compared to Ascent/Beyond: 

 

24 more Sky Suites 

6 more Celebrity Suites 

31 more Aqua Class cabins 

21 less Concierge Class cabins 

62 less Infinite Verandas (E1/E2/E3/ES)

6 more Standard Veranda (SV/P1/P2 and the four new V1 cabins)

4 less Ocean View cabins 

6 more Inside Cabins 

 

i hope Lumunie and Blu restaurants are bigger to accommodate all that additional revenue.. er.. i mean customers.

and a bigger yoga class room for all those additional AQUA's. (yoga classes are free for them.)
On the Beyond, i think the yoga class room could only hold 12 people. 😮
You had to get there 10+ min early to get a spot.

Then a pretty young  instructor joined mid-cruise. and now more guys all of a sudden wanted to do yoga. hm...
But that also meant getting to the class 20+ min earlier near the end of the cruise.

5 hours ago, Lastdance said:

I totally agree and Europe with a TA is excellent!  Also, my Capital One came up with a 2 per cent extra discount for all new cruises; not a lot, but every little bit counts when you send it to your TA.

get a costco visa.

it gives 3% for all travel.

you need a costco membership first, so if there's not costco near you...

move.

Costco is worth it

😛

5 hours ago, tfred said:

that is the meat of the cruise market these days. All the profit is there especially with ALL the people who have never cruised anywhere. Big ships=Big ports 

 

Other lines with smaller ships can do the more interesting itineraries. 

Edge ships arent that big. only 3k pax.

I can't think of a port an Edge ship can't go that ncl's smallest ship (2k pax) can.
 

10 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

I did hold a SS for 1/4/26. Total with prepaid grats is $5,475.

Come on @GenerationX, @KKB, @Silkroad, @Mrs_Tiki, @Irishredhead21.

mac_tlc

total for 2 people in a ss with prepaid tips was $5475? 😮

congrats on that amazing price

1 hour ago, hcat said:

 we like " spreadsheet"

hm...