Beaumont Barbie

We’ve had the NCL MC for a year and a half. We use the card for everything and pay it off every month. 
 

We used points to upgrade from an inside to a balcony for our 20-day Panama Canal in October 2023, 11-day Europe and 12-day Greek Isles (B2B) in 2025. Using points saved us approximately $5,000, $3,500 and $3,500 respectively. 
 

if you’re happy with a balcony cabin, cabin upgrades are the best use of points. 

58 minutes ago, karinad said:With the agency I'm going to use it is only the balcony and higher that comes with paid gratuities and $150.OBC. I understand that when using points to upgrade that you only get the benefits of the original booking but if I pay to upgrade from outside to balcony would I get the benefits that go along with the balcony because I am paying for it?

The OBC is a TA perk. You need to ask your TA if you would get it. 

5 hours ago, herbanrenewal said:

how do i use points? I tried the links in opening post of this thread but it doesn't work

 

I really like your user name!

3 hours ago, Aliely said:

My apologies in advance If this topic has already been discussed in this form, but I am wondering if anyone has ever used MasterCard reward points to do an accessible cabin upgrade. TIA

I have not. I would think you would need to request the upgrade very early because of the limited number of accessible cabins. Although, I have heard of pax booked in an accessible cabin when they don’t need one being moved to another cabin. I hope someone who has done it is able to provide a more knowledgeable answer. 

1 hour ago, SeaWatcher65 said:

Has anyone found value in using the NCL credit card points?  I'm searching through the posts and I don't see any value compared to just taking a statement credit, or even better yet, using a different credit card that gives more points and other benefits like travel insurance with Chase Sapphire.  It makes no sense to exchange points for a $200 on board credit instead of just using the same number of points for a statement credit.  I guess, if I paid for the NCL cruise with the credit card, I'd get 3 points for every dollar spent.  Is that the main advantage?  

https://www.ncl.com/world-points

The biggest benefit is using points for a cabin upgrade. We upgraded from an inside to a balcony for our 20-day Panama Canal cruise and saved $5,000, which is more than we paid for the inside. If you routinely book higher than a balcony, this would not benefit you. 

20 hours ago, julig22 said:

Just scored a sweet upgrade deal, for anyone who is debating the value of the CC upgrades.  Cost to upgrade from my OV to balcony would be a little over $3K on my upcoming cruise.  Minimum bid to upgrade would have been $80 x 2 ($160 total) and no guarantee for any upgrade, let alone at a minimum bid. So I used my $300 in points value and my balcony was just assigned - I'm not picky so just did the online redemption, took less than 24 hours for new cabin assignment.

Cruise is still 2 months away, so of course prices could go down some but very doubtful that a paid upgrade would be less than $300. And while I've had good luck with bids in the past, don't really want to chance it.

I'm happy.

We upgraded from an inside to a balcony for our 20-day Panama Canal Cruise. Saved $5,000, which is more than the cost of the inside cabin! Score!

I just accomplished our first double meta upgrade for our 20-day 10/2023 Panama Canal cruise. Saved $5,000!!! Cha-Ching!

We’re still NEGATIVE. 

Our OnPoint appointment was at 6:00 tonight. We logged into the Zoom call at 5:54. The proctor came on at 6:03. There were some issues with her audio, which she corrected after a few moments. We used our free government tests. Proctor verified our negative results. Email with results received at 6:19. Screenshot results. We are ready to sail in two days. 
 

I would use OnPoint again. 
 

- Tina

On 7/20/2022 at 9:44 AM, Project-College said:

We test early morning on the 3rd for the 8/5 Oasis cruise.  Is that what your on?

We are on NCL Spirit 10-day Alaska out of Seattle. 

Our test is scheduled for 8/3 at 6:00 pm. We sail on 8/5. I will let everyone know how it goes. I've seen a few negative YouTube videos, but I trust my CruiseCritic community more than YouTube. If it doesn't go well, we'll find another way to get tested.

On 7/13/2022 at 6:54 PM, bunzini said:

So I looked up the On Point testing.  Is it my understanding that we use the government issued tests we got through the mail?  And what if there is not a center near us, is it done with a video call?

Your test will be done by video. 

We tied down the chairs on our roof terrace when we noticed that Anthem is returning to Halifax. They’re reversing back to the pier now by the looks of it. They were quite late leaving and can’t have been far out when they turned around.

 

Does anyone know why they are returning to Halifax?

 

 

 

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is it true that we can carry on 2 unopened bottles of wine per room? I was recently told this but don’t want to try this unless l know it is true. We will be on the Adventure of the Seas in December. Thanks!!

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My husband and I will be in Trujillo on January 7, 2015 on the Norwegian Jewel. I located two independent cruise excursion "companies" that allow booking in advance:

http://www.bananabeachbums.com/, Banana Beach Resort located resort 30 minutes from the cruise ship port. They offer a Beach Day Break, Snorkel Tour, Garifuna Coast Boat Ride and North Coast Nature Trail. Each tour includes transportation to and from the port, a beach break at the resort's beach and a welcome drink. Stand-up paddle boards and sea kayaks can also be rented at an hourly rate, but only a few are available.

http://www.bestoftrujillo.com/, Bodden Tours offers a Starfish Sandbar and Cayo Blanco Snorkel by Boat Tour, Guaymoreto Lagoon & Mangroves by Boat Tour, Campamento Beach Resort Beach Break, and Trujillo Fishing Experience.

Tours through each vendor range from $30 for the Beach Day Break excursion to $90/hour (two hour minimun) for the fishing experience.

We booked the Guaymoreto Lagoon & Mangroves by Boat Tour through Bodden Tours via e-mail. The owner, Victor Bodden, operates tours in Roatan, Honduras with excellent tripadvisor ratings. Victor responded to my initial e-mail inquiry within minutes with a confirmation and detailed meeting place instructions. We pay for our excursion in US cash upon arrival; no pre-payment or deposit requested.

I will post a follow-up review post cruise.