yoolykeme

lol, this is hilarious.

I don't know that there is a bad cabin on 12 when in the Greek Islands.  You probably have a balcony.

If it were a deck 3 cabin, that might suck, just bc it's far away from everything else.

On 2/1/2020 at 11:21 AM, ScottnBobbi said:

We bring at least 100 in singles and fives and tip every server etc.  it makes a world of difference.  They deserve it.  Just being nice and courteous goes a long way.  The abuse that the staff is put through by many of the passengers is ridiculous.  I will look for Gene.  Thanks. 

OMG FINALLY!

I do this too, primarily bc I'm Filipino and I know how much the employees make.  I've gotten in too many arguments with people that think that not having to tip means that tipping doesn't have purpose.

I've been on NCL ships a couple of times where I didn't have a beverage package and a bartender would make drinks for us, just because i was throwing around singles and fives

21 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

2% is low. On an -away class ship, 250 of 4000 passengers is very light. The other week, there were over 800 casino guests. On small ships, there are some cruises with over 25% of the passengers are casino guests. The casino is big business for the cruise line. 

I'm obv exaggerating bc it feels like 2%, compared to the other lines that can get crazy.  I think that the max # of people I've ever stood behind at CAS was 4. 😄

It'll all make sense when you check in.  You will see a separate line for CAS, and it's the best line, bc only like 2% of the ship is CAS.  You'll definitely get free drinks in the casino.  Stock up on waters, and make sure that you tip the bartenders and waitresses.  I think that sometimes people take all-inclusive too far and don't tip.  I bring 100 dollar bills with me and sprinkle around.  You don't have to do that, but I just like tipping random dollars

Play like you usually play on land.  You may or may not get offers from NCL, but if you continue to play on land the same way, you'll probably get the same offers at the same frequency.

6 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

You do not need to book 4 months out. But you will end up eating at 9:30 pm as the reservations fill up and eventually sell out in advance and then again onboard. 

So, I've been on 25 cruises, all NCL.  Have had UDP probably on 30% of them, and then the free Platinum tickets.

I think that I've only not used 3, at most, across all those cruises.  Then again, I guess I have taken what they've given me.  Also, on bigger ships, sometimes Le Bistro has patio seating that is first-come, and I've used that a lot.

Maybe I've just been lucky.

Do people really book dinner 4 months out?  

I dont know what I want to eat on whatever night until I get on the ship and figure out what the special at the buffet is. 

KS is an Asian beach island.  You've been to the beach before, right?  Massage and cocounts.

BKK is Asian Manhattan x1000.

You can get around the beach on your own.  If someone will give you a concierge view of BKK, I'd take that

Yea, it's very indigenous and cultural.  

NCL had a bus that took you to the market.  I took the 2nd bus, and when I got off, there were passengers that we rushing to get back on the bus to go back to the ship.

That being said, you get dropped off in a very busy market.  English proficiency is very low, and the locals are obviously very poor.  Mind you, I'm Filipino by descent, and even I was taken aback.  There is a clean coffe shop/bakers, and even there, it was hard to order coffee.

That being said, it's totally safe.  The hustle isn't hard.  It's not like Cozumel, where every 2 minutes, some guy is trying to hard sell you an excursion.  Yes, there are guys that try this, but when you say no, they bow and walk away.  The people are friendly and are happy that you are there.  You can bargain with them, and if you don't buy anything they will smile and wish you well.

There are a number of beggars, and what's interesting is that the locals are quick to share what little they have.  It's not like America, where able-bodied people choose to beg.  Many of these people live without running water and sleep on dirt floors.

I suggest that you take a break from the luxurious part of cruising spend some time here.  Once you get to the market, you can map out the beach.  They have some inexpensive massage places there that look clean.  Take a local tuk tuk (not the ones that look touristy), and give the guy a dollar or 3.  USD is actually their preferred currency.

You know how you used to have an image that everything in Asia costs like a dollar or two?  Well, this is place is one where you can still experience that.

Google kiwi taxi. I did extensive research and they were the cheapest prebook. 

You could also download the grab app and see if that works, and just have someone pick you up on demand. 

With regard to returning, our driver didn't interact with the guys at the gate, so I'd say that the access restrictions are just for the arrival day. I suspect that they only care about the monopoly when you get there. 

Yea, yesterday was the last day for the phone blitz. 

5 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

 

Hmm.. Never heard of Platinum discount promo.

This new?

 

CAS cruise voucher trade in are worth $275/person.

Don't you save more with it than the 20% cet discount?

 

Platinum discount was something that ended yesterday. NCL had been doing a phone blitz all of january. 

Yes, the trade in value would have been better, but they wouldn't let me redeem it with the cruise consultant, and said that I needed to use it with CAS. In any case, I still have it as a free cruise to the caribbean, if I want, and that's worth more than the delta between the 550 discount and the diamond discount. 

1 hour ago, dbrown84 said:

Thanks.  So it looks like you didn't have an admin fee at all

Look up a couple of responses. They called the whole fare an admin fee. Apparently that's the discounted fare plus non com. 

45 minutes ago, MaryZ said:

That's not really bad.  It's an 11 night cruise. 
I would have gone to a balcony tho. 

I agree. I figure that I'll be able to do one of those offer things. 

5 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

I'm curious.... For those of you who were charged the higher admin fees, were the fees at least less than the discount?  Also, does this only apply to the cas discount (vs the Caesars casino discount)?

Check out my thread.  Last post was my booking today. 

Check out Today's booking 

On 1/30/2020 at 4:40 PM, esm54687 said:

Tomorrow is today so what was the outcome? 

I waited until today, so here's how it went.

Turns out, not ALL the cruises qualify for the 30% platinum discount.  I had to pick from their inventory.

I booked this:

https://www.ncl.com/cruises/11-day-greek-isles-and-italy-from-rome-civitavecchia-GETAWAY11CIVKOTDBVCFUJTRPIRJMKNAPLIVCIV?cruiseTour=1&embarkationport=4294953362&autoPopulate=f&destinations=4294938496 4294938434&cruiseHotel=1&numberOfGuests=4294953449&pageSize=20&duration=8052 8053&cruise=1&sortBy=Price&from=resultPage&state=undefined&sailmonths=4294940538 4294940527 4294940519 4294940534&currentPage=1&cruiseHotelAir=1&itineraryCode=GETAWAY11CIVKOTDBVCFUJTRPIRJMKNAPLIVCIV

1. 1300 base fare x 2 = 2600
2. 2600-30% Latitudes Platinum = 1820
3. 1820-20% CET Diamond = 1456
4. 1456 - 200 casino incentive - 250 Cruisenext = 1006
5. 1006 + Non-com fares, port taxes, Free at sea UDP fees + whatever BS they can tack on = $1845 for 2 people

I wasn't able to stack the CET discount and my CAS cruise voucher trade-in value.

I priced it out on the website, if if I paid retail, it would have been $2980, so whatever these discounts are saved me ~$900

I'd be interested to hear your feedback.  Thanks.

Phone is fine. 

That's really only to get past the local security at the door. It's just so that no one goes in the front doors that's not supposed to. 

Once you get to the desk, the check in agent looks you up anyway. 

Where are you cruising to that you'd rather watch your movies,rather than watch the 6 movies that the tv has on repeat, or instead of going to the theater to watch the shows? 

Just now, mnventure said:

I read somewhere else that you need to bring a universal tv remote, in order to change the source. And then it should work. I’ve never tried it. 

Oh wait.  I just realized that the TV console will probably have a button to change the source.  I doubt that they will be disabled or inaccessible. 

Should be able to.  The TVs are usually on swivels.  I usually access a USB port to charge a device.

Only thing is that I forget if the TV remote allows you to change the source.  I'm sure someone will know

3 minutes ago, drumming cruisers said:

What is CET? I booked a cruise thru CAS last month and they wouldn't let me use the $325 CAS incentive with a free cruise. 

I currently have a free cruise certificate from a land casino. Can that be used with CAS incentive ( I am Ruby) and am Platinum Plus Latitudes, and combined with that also?

CET is Caesars Entertainment, or Total rewards.

I assume that you gamble at land based casinos, so it's the Caesars/Harrahs 2nd highest rating group, which you probably know.

The certificate is worth $250 if you don't book a listed cruise, and yes, everything that you mentioned is what I am stacking

57 minutes ago, hallux said:

That's because private messaging is not enabled, to keep people from discussing/suggesting specific travel agents (bypassing the rules about posting them in the forum).

Why cant people do this? 

2 minutes ago, Kirchoff91 said:

I can't message you either. when you call ask for Mel shes the best

Okay cool, so it's better to book through casino at sea, vs the NCL cruise consultant?

8 minutes ago, Kirchoff91 said:

speak to someone in Casino at sea if you private message me ill give the female i use she was wonderful and got me a deal that was unbelievable 

I'm trying to message you, but I get this when i click on the mail icon:

You are only allowed to send 0 messages per day. Please try again later.

Can you inbox me?  thanks.