StolidCruiser

Don't be nervous.  You'll have a great time.  You'll have stories to tell about your different cabin experience and how it changed the way you enjoyed the ship.

Opting to decline Cheers! will now be a challenge to keep that bar tab under control - another story to come home with.

Because you're doing things differently than you have in the past, it might just seem like your "first time".  Enjoy it!  If you don't, you'll know to go back to the old standard. 

I’ll still avoid it.  Have much more fun kickin’ it up on deck or jammin’ in one of the lounges.

That can't be it because when I mock book, I see this:

2 hours ago, cruisencrazy said:

Over 50 cruises.  Not new.  I have been cruising for over 30 years.  I know how it goes; fair or not.  Also, my husband is an international airline captain....I know how to travel.  All I am saying is, I think everyone should get the option to bid. (1) I'm not special and  (2) I booked what we would be happy with.  If my other Haven experiences had been remarkable, I might be singing a different tune.  

 

But apparently (1) you think you are and (2) you're really not.

You think everyone should get the option to bid.  NCL doesn't (and for very good reason).

As post #4 and #2 said, you're entitled to your rant and I hope you have time to put this in perspective a little better before your trip.  

50 minutes ago, coevan said:

you can bring soda in a grocery bag, does not need to be in carry on

...or, like many do, literally carry it on in the carton it comes in (that is, unless the port inspectors tear it open like a kid on Christmas and fail to tape it back closed).

Here:

12 minutes ago, killtheump said:

I am really confused (which isn’t hard to do) but if you are leaving Sunday on The Allure that itinerary was changed on May 1 according to that roll call. So I would take it up with your travel agent.

 

They changed my itinerary last week for my November 3 cruise and we have until August 8 to cancel if we want and receive a full refund.

So it would seem the OP's TA sold them a cruise  two weeks ago based on outdated information and then when the booking was made had egg on their face when coughing up their documents only days before departure.

This story just gets better and better..... and is starting to resemble Swiss cheese.

New user because couldn't remember the password of a family-held account and now wants their own to rant about their choice to forgo $8K over (at best) an itinerary change or (at worst) a clueless TA after having taken 50+ cruises (but not on this line) never experiencing something look like this before. 

Yeah, it all adds up.  I give credit to those responding with sincerity about how this story only makes the OP seem foolish instead of righteously indignant (except for the lone usual corporations-are-evil muppet).

Summer is almost over and school will be back in session.   Thankfully.

2 hours ago, Greyfox50 said:

Im booked on the May 31st sailing on The Encore. I presently have a mini-suite on deck 10, however I decided I rather have a cabin on deck 14

I phoned NCL and was told it would be an extra $30pp to make the change !!

Mini-suites on Deck 10 are in a different category than those on deck 14.  Hence the charge to make the change.

7 hours ago, 1cruisingal said:

Does anyone have the Barclay Carnival credit card that they use to purchase discounted gift cards from AARP or ALLSTATE?

 

Barclay will not allow me to use it when purchasing the discounted cards. Anyone have this issue?

I've done it several times.  Something must have changed since the last time (more than 6 months ago).

41 minutes ago, GregD said:

Also important to note that the Bahamas isn't an ECA (Emissions Controlled Area) so they're not running it through the scrubbers.

[I see a certain someone on twitter is willfully ignoring that fact.]

Wait a minute ... there are people on the internet and social media willfully ignoring facts?  That can’t possibly be true!

5 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

You can save some real money by not booking your excursions through the ship, and have s better experience; in my opinion.  

Yup - that’s your opinion.

2 hours ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

Thanks, Stolid.  And you still keep calling me by icky variations of my admittedly already-tending-towards-icky screen name.🤢

Sorry.  It's meant to be endearing but I can see it borders on creepy.  I'll try to put a better spin on it. 😉

51 minutes ago, laurierocs said:

A lot of businesses have a loyalty program whether it be a discount card or punch card. Perks for being a returning customer. After 20 cruises on the same cruise line, I would have appreciated even $25 OBC. Obviously,  they dont need to do this, it's just nice to be appreciated. 

 

 

Are platinum benefits not enough reward for your patronage?

2 minutes ago, Marie51 said:

I’m not planning anything. I just want to know where my cabin is going to be located.  My son and I both booked guarantee balconies and we were hoping to at least be somewhere near each other.

My apologies for misunderstanding your statement  "Getting frustrated as I like to plan...". 

I can understand better booking two guarantee cabins and being curious if they will be anywhere near each other.

On 7/13/2019 at 6:27 PM, Marie51 said:

My cruise is three weeks away with a guaranteed balcony cabin. I’m still waiting for a cabin assignment.  Getting frustrated as I like to plan but my own fault.

Out of curiosity, what are you planning that is contingent on your cabin assignment?

6 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

I disagree with that statement. With the lack of well known branded hotels/resorts, i.e. Hilton, Marriott and Wyndham, I presume many tourists don't fly in as much as they cruise in. My claim also happens to be backed by numerous media outlets, including https://www.travelpulse.com/news/destinations/bermuda-s-enjoying-a-tourist-boom.html, claiming 155,089 more tourists cruised to Bermuda over taking a plane. This makes sense given the sheer amount of weekly or monthly cruises (Celebrity, Royal, Carnival, Norwegian, and Insignia).

Please refer to my reworded post. I had major brain discord and can't understand why I wrote what I did orginally.

I had to contact a local colleague to refresh my memory; there is no "tourist cap" in Bermuda.  Cruisers make up about 50% of the annual tourist trade (TravelPulse's statistics are off by a good margin) that comprises roughly 30% of the GDP.  Sanctioning that would be counter-productive.

There are good reasons there are no branded hotels in Bermuda.  If you understand the history and land ownership laws, you would know the hindrances to such real estate development.  There is a very unique market for the fly-in tourist equaled by opportunity for conferences, seminars and sporting events that bolster the tourist and hospitality industry.  There is only so much rental capacity to handle fly-in multiple-day tourists but purported restriction or limitation on such tourism is inaccurate.

Bermuda is a fascinating economy with a history you could spend years digesting.  You would do well to avoid internet stories with skewed information and do some real research before making more claims.

2 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

Well, Bermuda has a yearly tourist cap, meaning that NCL can only sell their ships to a certain capacity.

Cruise passengers make up a majority of the tourist trade to Bermuda.  Any speculated restriction on berth sales because of a purported yearly tourist cap is illogical (and unsupported).

Often times it's a capacity issue.  Many (not all) blocks of cabins have alternating occupancy limits and when looking for a cruise where the algorithm hasn't been removed (typical for far-away dates) you will not be shown the options for cabins not to your occupancy choice.

If you need adjacent (or connecting) cabins, you need to call NCL since you may only book one cabin at a time online.  They may bend the rules and allow you to book actual adjacent cabins with less than full occupancy but don't count on it this far out.  They definitely want to "fill the ship" and selling triple or quad capacity cabins to a duo isn't cost effective (even if the fake "3rd and 4th sail free" promo is in place).

The same applies if your situation is reversed (a triple party looking for adjacent cabins that only hold two).

1 minute ago, jbethel11 said:

Oh. I used www.cruisemapper.com for my information: https://www.cruisemapper.com/cabins/Carnival-Pride-655. Here it says the balcony size is 85sq feet. 

The OP does not currently have a premium balcony (which does have an 85sqft balcony).  They have an extended balcony (which has a 60 sqft balcony).

58 minutes ago, jbethel11 said:

Well, think about it:

An ocean suite is only 45sq feet bigger than a premium balcony (the balconies, are the same size). Is that a dealbreaker for you?
An ocean suite has a bathtub and a double sink? Is that a dealbreaker for you?

An ocean suite comes with upgraded amenities and perks, like priority boarding. Is that a dealbreaker for you?

$400 total is a pretty substantial amount for those upgrades, however, if they are of benefit and budget, go ahead and take it!

This isn't quite correct.  On the Pride:

An extended balcony cabin (what the OP has) is 185sqft and the balcony is 60sqft.

An Ocean Suite cabin is 275sqft and the balcony is 85sqft.

A quick mock booking puts the price delta around $950 between an extended balcony and an Ocean Suite.  For $400, I'd jump on it with a traveling party of four.

1 hour ago, flyersfan1173 said:

 

So you are not allowed to bring your own small coffee machine?

No, you can’t.

You also can’t bring a rice cooker, iron, microwave or canibis seedlings.

If you smell poop on your cruise, please start class-action proceedings immediately upon your return.

18 hours ago, brillohead said:

 

 

People need to realize that disputing a fraudulent charge is supposed to be a LAST resort, not a first one.  

Do everything you can through normal channels first, before going nuclear.  

People also need to learn the difference between an erroneous charge and a fraudulent charge.  There's an important difference.

Disputing an erroneous charge with a credit card company should be a last resort.  Disputing a fraudulent charge with a credit card company should be a first resort.

13 minutes ago, js said:

Thank you all! Yes, we pay "rack rate" too but my TA discounts over $1,000 on Haven cabins (depending on the cabin) so we do get a discount instead of OBC (I can choose either) but the discount comes from the posted NCL rate.  Would love for a Guest 3-6 sail free, but don't remember if I'm getting that confused with RCCL LOL

 

Like I said, misery loves company and while it stinks we are all paying the high prices, I'm happy I'm not the only one LOL
 

 

Why does it stink? You are getting exactly the product you want for the price you are comfortable paying.  That has been our approach on our Haven bookings. 

If you feel somehow slighted that someone else, through a last-minute effort to unload inventory, paid less than "rack rate" (translation... less than you did), you can be somewhat pacified that you didn't have to gamble on a lottery-type system to "win" the stateroom you want.

I think your "idiot" point was a feeling that most don't book Haven outright and play the bidding game, which couldn't be farther from the truth based on the responses you have received.   The bidding concept is not as widely embraced as you think - it's just widely discussed here by a preponderance who enjoy booking something less than they want in hopes of getting what they really want "cheap".