salty dingo

Looks like the $49 Surf & Turf at Cagney's now has an upcharge for tge SDP?

This does make sense to me. On the Oct. 20th Escape sailing, we both ordered Surf & Turf and were surprised they listed it at $49. We would not have ordered it with any upcharge. As it was, we both left most of the filet uneaten. After the apps and the lobster, there just was not room ( have to save some for dessert) and the meat lacked flavor. The upcharge will prevent a lot of wasted filet, I am sure.

There are categories with bigger balconies, sure. But seems like you are asking if you book a standard balcony cabin, does the balcony size vary depending on the deck? From what I can tell, no. They are cookie-cutter in design.

Loved the Pearl. MUCH better ship than the newer Escape we recently sailed on.

12 hours ago, chipperberg said:

Precisely why “free” is in quotations.  

Yes, but I can't resist making fun of Free at Sea!

You are good to go. They only ever ask for one card when serving drinks for a couple.

On the Pearl a few years back my parents were in a penthouse suite and we were in a connecting mini suite. They had a butler and access to a private dining room. We were able to dine with them but needed to call a supervisor to bend the rules since the staff would not seat us with them. It really was not worth the hassle.

Since it was not the haven we had full access to their suite amenities and kept the connecting door open all day. That Lavazza machine was nice, we used it a lot.

52 minutes ago, chipperberg said:

Is this true even if the dining package was “free”?  My husband and I are traveling with our 5 and 9 year old boys.  They can eat in the specialty restaurants with us with no additional charge as long as they order from the kids menu?  Thanks!  

Trust me, the dining package was not "free". You paid for the gratuities and the rest was built into the cruise fare. Kids menu would be no extra charge.

12 minutes ago, ronheg said:

Well we ended up booking our flights directly and cancelling ncl air premium.  We found it cheaper to drive to chicago and then take a non stop.  That airfare was $750 per person and we upgraded to premium class for $1365 per person.  Interesting that for $999 they would do direct economy class.

That's a good move. The upgraded class makes a big difference on an overnight flight - you can lay down and have a bed to sleep in rather than being in a torture chair all night. I have done both, and there is no comparison.

10 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Lots of people who want priority seating at prime time. 

We actually never had much of a wait at Taste or Savor when we just walked up for a table for two. Maybe we were just lucky.

I did notice many times, a large family group would be waiting in the hallway. They were told they would not be seated for the reservation until all members of the party were present. That's a good idea, because the staff is too busy to seat the same table multiple times.

2 hours ago, froglaps said:

Can I split a 10 meal specialty dining package between 2 people for 5 nights out dining?

You should be able to buy two 5 night packages instead, unless the 10 is something you got as a perk somehow.

Definitely would not advise splitting one person's meals across two people.

I recently received a Visa gift card as a reward from work. It was restricted to a long list of merchants (can't just use it anywhere Visa is accepted) and that list included Carnival, Disney and RCL but not NCL.

Just thought that was a bit odd, that NCL is not as competitive with its gift cards.

4 hours ago, Bdonnelly11 said:

 

No more toiletries or beach towels? Can anyone confirm? Sailing Breakaway Sunday...

On Escape recently there were no toiletries, except the body wash and shampoo in the shower, and soap by the sink... and they were totally adequate. I believe it is a trend in land-based hotels too to do away with toiletries, it is a trend catching on and NCL is ahead of the pack.

No beach towels in the cabin, but they are available at the pool and gangway upon request.

8 hours ago, Csmommy1 said:

Is there a reason not to go to O'Sheehan's or any of the other included restaurants?

O'Sheehan's will be an option, no reason to not go there if you prefer. The lunch menus will be the same in MDR and O'Sheehan's every day. The MDR has more attentive service but O'Sheehan's may be faster to get in and out if you are in a hurry.

33 minutes ago, USA41018 said:

Actually that $280 additional each included all the gratuities on the drinks and dining.  So for a total of less that $560  for both of us we will both get free drinks, 3 specialty dining meals, wifi, and a $50 credit per stateroom for excursions.  Since we are heading to ports that are not the most stable we will be booking excursions through NCL.  We both are moderate drinkers and enjoy cocktails and wine.

Wow! You got a great deal then. If we addded the gratuities to the higher fare, our "free" perks cost a total of $640 for the two of us.

13 minutes ago, HuliHuli said:

I don't know if Newark is an option for you, but on the chance it is, it is a ~$10 Uber to Penn station to catch Amtrak.

We flew into Newark for our recent Escape cruise. Here's what we did (and it worked out great!)

Take the Airtrain from Newark terminal to the Airtrain station (as far as it goes) and walk over the connected NJTransit station. It is $13 per person to go to Penn Station in NYC. You don't want to use Amtrak as it will be much more expensive. There is also a Penn Station in New Jersey which will be the first stop you get to... that's not the Penn Station you want! Stay on the train as far as it goes, to NYC Penn Station.

From NYC Penn, exit on the 8th ave side and go to the taxi stand. Our taxi to the pier was $8 total (not per person) and we had him drop us off across the street from Pier 88 (there is a taxi stand there.) Don't go in the "normal" way where they drop you off right at the ship (unless you have difficulty walking across the street with your bags) because the taxi may wait in line a while and the meter will be running.

Coming back to Newark NCL does offer a transfer, and you can sign up on the ship. It's odd they only offer it in one direction but that is what they do. We opted to return the same way we got there, for about the same price.

1 hour ago, waitingtogo said:

some will stick their noses up at you,,,,, but i have never seen any turned away in the last couple of years.. its your cruise  enjoy.

 

You will have people who dress up in a gown and jackets at one table and folks in shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops at the next table. I don't mind that a bit because I'm not concerned how other people look.

Best tip I can give is to steer clear of the buffet when you board, head to the Taste or Savor for a nice sit down meal.

Who pre-reserves the MDR? I thought those days were long gone.

No, for us it was worthless. It is a shame they call it a perk.

We have had many guarantee rooms over the years, and never had any problem.

I suppose some people are more susceptible to noise than others, but really, any room can have unwanted noise. For example, the walls may be insulated from noise but the doors are not, and all the doors are pretty much the same.

So, the drunk guys walking down the hall talking loudly at 4 am are going to wake you up no matter what room you are in. So in that respect, a guarantee is as good as any room you pick.

I always liked his music.

1 minute ago, nautica34 said:

Extract in a bottle 

I tried to delete my reply because you clearly stated that!😀

Deleted

On 11/1/2019 at 2:22 PM, jdvmd said:

Only about 1/3 of reservation slots are available to book before boarding.

I was told only 20% are by a NCL agent... but I would not be a bit surprised if that was a lie. I have no idea what the actual number is but there was no trouble getting the bookings we wanted as soon as we boarded.

Also, where you are willing to sit may get you a walk up table faster. At Le Bistro, our reservation guaranteed a nice table for two inside. They had some tables for two outside too, but apparently only the walk-up folks got them... there were not too desirable considering everyone walking past the restaurant could watch. 

You pay the gratuity up front. When you go to use the SDP on the ship, there will be a zero balance on the receipt. They may list the total charges you would have paid, though. One of my meals came in at over $140 for two people, but had a zero balance at the bottom.