Maddysdaddy

Thanks for this.

Fingers crossed that the booking agent was right when she told me that I could change the name at no cost or cancel the 4th person outright, as long as I made the decision before the PIF date.

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So after an hour fifty, I got cut off yet again!!!! So now we're up to about 4 hours in total on hold after being cut off three times (as kvetched about above).

Figured I would give it one more shot and would try to game the system by hitting "new booking" and surprise, surprise, I was connected in less than three minutes.

Saved about $250 (since our cruise was only 50% off) and threw on a phantom person #4 in case we decide to take one of my daughter's friends - apparently my daughter has a twin sister named Jane that none of us ever knew about - it's like a Lifetime movie of the week.

Sorry, probably a dumb question, but what's a PCC and how do I get one?

SHARE!!! Do it! :D

I've tweeted them, but see that they stopped tweeting over 2 hours ago.

All they were saying to people was the form answer of "We apologize for the intermittent technical difficulties", so.... basically the complete opposite of customer service.

How about a "We're sorry to have wasted your time. Please DM us your phone number and we'll have someone call you?"

I was on hold hearing about "how we'll be with you shortly" for an hour and thirty eight minutes before their line went dead.

Tried again and spent just under 45 minutes before the same thing happened.

Now I'm at 28 minutes and still hearing about how I should share my memorable NCL experiences on social media - thinking they might not want me to share this....

Weird... I purchased OBC's online two days ago and paid 16% on the exchange, which was the same exchange rate that I paid on my booking. Don't get me wrong, 16% is a whole lot better than the 28% the bank is giving, but I'd love to get the extra 9% benefit that you received.

Just purchased OBC's and they were at $1.16, which is what my cruise was at when I booked it a couple of days ago.

Of course, the RBC wants almost $1.27 on the exchange, so still a 10% benefit from NCL.

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At the risk of being labeled "Capt. Obvious", if you think there is the slightest chance you may have to cancel don't purchase those in advance. Several have reported timely issues getting refunds as Cliff and Sparks pointed out.

You're not Capt. Obvious at all. Normally this is not something I would even think of doing prior to cruising, but NCL has not yet adjusted their spread between Cdn. and US currency to reflect the huge drop in the Cdn. dollar over the past few months, so it is extremely advantageous for me to purchase the OBC's now.

If I pre pay tips or purchase OBC's or from the "Gift" area of the NCL site and later have to cancel my cruise, would the cost of either or both be refunded?

Thanks in advance.

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Are the onboard credits refundable if the trip is cancelled? They're a great deal, but a lot can happen in the next 14 months before my family sails.

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Thanks for the tip. i tried what you said about logging in, but unfortunaetly i couldn't do it. does it show up automaticallyin CDN$. I didn't book my cruise through NCL but through an US T/A. Does this matter.

As I posted above, my US based TA advised that NCL did not give them the option to book in any currency other than USD.

They apologized for losing my business, but encouraged me to cancel my reservation with them and book directly over the phone with NCL to save the (about) 10% on the exchange.

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Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts.

Thanks everyone (I only wish I knew this sooner).

I just called NCL to have them price out my cruise in Cdn. dollars.

If my math is right, their internal conversion was about at 16% ($3948 US if I book online vs. $4590 Cdn if I call them and book it over the phone).

Just called RBC to get a rough estimate of what the conversion would look like if I were to do it today, and the $3948 US would be about $5050 Cdn (26.89%), so over a $500 savings to book thru NCL in Cdn dollars.

Not sure I see the Cdn. dollar going up in the next 12 months (and in the Globe & Mail this morning, there was a report that Goldman Sachs is predicting a 71 cent dollar).

Think I might be calling my US based travel agent to cancel my reservation and I'll rebook myself thru NCL. Apparently because they are based in the US, they were/are unable to book the cruise in Cdn dollars for me.

I've been in a M6. No noise at all. Awesome balcony and the deck 8 location is awesome for easy access to the waterfront and 678 OP. Not that deck 9 is bad. If you're travelling with more than 2 ppl the double sink is nice too...

Thanks Winston Wolf and SissasMomE. Based on your recommendations, I made the call and switched the room.

FYI - I will hold a lifelong grudge against the both of you if it doesn't turn out well...... ;)

Just checked, and my room (B6 - larger balcony - deck 9) has dropped about $300 as well.

Since this is our first Norweigan cruise, I'm hoping to tap into the experience of those of you who are seasoned vets. Should I keep my room and save some cash, or should I move up(?) to a mini-suite with a larger balcony (deck 8) for about what I had planned to pay for the B6?

I like the idea of the larger room, but am worried that with the mini-suite being on the Waterfront deck that it will be noisy late into the evening.

All thoughts and comments appreciated!

Can't believe I didn't think to ask this until now, but is there a movie theater on the Escape (didn't see one on the website)?

I'm an insomniac and on DCL, I could always go see a late showing of something once my wife and daughter fell asleep - I'm just not a sit alone in the bar at midnight reading a book while others are partying kind of guy.

Welcome. :) I recently sailed on NCL for the first time (Epic) after nine Disney and one Princess cruise and had a great time. I wrote a review on my blog (link is in my signature) if you are interested in reading it. I used to swear by Disney but since I have branched out to other lines I am enjoying them just as much. We also booked the Escape for 2015. :)

Thanks Holula. Just read (and really enjoyed) your review.

Freestyle dining, available specialty restaurants, dress codes, entertainment are all either covered in the Frequently Asked Questions section on NCL.com or other sections on the site. Simple to find.

 

Start here on this link then explore the site......

 

http://www.ncl.com/faq

Thanks for replying. I've been thru the NCL website, and what I'm hoping exists somewhere is something along the lines of "This may be what NCL tells you, but this is what you 'actually' need to know".

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However I will say why don't people get this promo and the difference between mini suites and real suites. Maybe ncl should change the name because I have seen so many people just not get that mini suites are NOT real suites.

As someone who has been booked on their first NCL cruise for all of 8 hours and who has only been a member of these boards for an hour, I will fess up to being confused by this promo as well.

I booked on the Escape, and the categories were Haven - Mini Suites - Balcony - etc... and the promo says that you get all 3 for booking Haven or a Suite. I assumed that since there was no booking category called "Suite" that the reference to Suite must mean a Mini Suite.

That being said, before I booked, I did do the online chat with NCL and they advised that a Mini Suite did not qualify for all 3 - which makes sense, since the cost is only incrementally more than a balcony cabin which only receives the choice of 1.

All of that to say that the wording of the promo itself 'could' be clearer for people who are new to NCL.

Hi all.

The title of the thread pretty much says it all.

My family has sailing on DCL down pat, but our March 2016 NCL Escape cruise will be our first time sailing any other cruiseline.

By reading through threads in this forum, I am picking up little things here and there, but was hoping that there was some sort of NCL FAQ (e.g. things like eating in the main dining rooms vs. upcharge restaurants / reservations vs. no reservations / what does freestyle 'actually' mean / dress codes, etc.)

Thanks in advance for putting up with this noob.

Hi all.

Wanted to say thanks to all of you for contributing to a really interesting thread. To be perfectly honest, about half of the posts here seem to be above my head (kudos to those of you who are seemingly obsessed with the minutiae of the new ship).

Just booked my family on our first non-DCL cruise - the Escape looked great from the website and the promo videos, so figured why not give it a try and see whether "The Mouse" is actually worth twice what NCL is charging, for virtually the same itinerary (my hunch is that it isn't).

There are 3 of us sailing, myself, my wife and daughter (who will be 11 when we go). Booked us into a "Larger Balcony" room (B6) on Deck 9. No particular reason why, just figured that a larger balcony room was about the same cost as a regular balcony room, so why not... If I have made a horrible mistake, please let me know.

Looking forward to learning more about sailing on NCL from the experts on the board as time goes on.