Seminole1975

I would Google it. 

I am sorry this happened to you. I too decided against the NCL BOGO flights this summer because I could not give up the control and peace of mind.

Since it is your reservation and ticket, what would happen if you called the airline directly and tried to change the reservation yourself? 

I have read on other threads that if there is a problem with a flight (like being cancelled or delayed) NCL tells the passengers to fix it themselves thru the airlines. Just a thought.

On a related topic. I have been doing some research on the port of Malaga (Granada) Spain. We will be going there in August on the Getaway. I was on the website: What's in Port. Malaga Spain Cruise Port Guide. 

It writes about the modern terminal building that has all the necessary facilities for cruise passengers including a shopping mall with duty free shops. 

It goes on the say " As your hand luggage is checked by the port authorities itself before entering the modern terminal, there is ample opportunity to stock up on your favorite alcoholic beverage in the competitive priced tax-free shops before boarding. No carry on bags will be checked when boarding the ship. Some cruise lines i.e. NCL apparently have negotiated that the duty free store in the terminal remains closed or partially open as not to jeopardize their on board sales". 

Is this standard procedure to have the port terminal close the duty free shops for a cruise line? (So they may not serve you or let you buy it?) Or is this because NCL does not allow you to bring spirits on board? I just have never heard of this before. 

The Getaway was a floating hotel when the Olympics were in Rio. 

How do you check the inventory for the Haven everyday? When I try to do a mock booking it won’t let me see what staterooms are available. A NCL rep said that info wasn’t available on the website. 

Just put water shoes on my travel packing list. 

I entered into a chat with an NCL rep. He said that information was not available on the website. He, however, had the information. He gave me the staterooms that were still available and there were quite a few of them. 

I have looked and looked and I cannot figure this out. I have put a bid in for an upgrade. I want to look at how many staterooms are left in that category. I try to do a mock booking. When I click on the stateroom I want, it assigns me a room and goes straight to payment. 

This happened when I booked my current room too. NCL assigned us a room rather than letting me pick one myself. Is there a way to look at what staterooms are left specifically? I must be missing something.Thanks in advance.

I don't think it has been announced yet what show will replace Priscilla on the Epic.

I did read that Beetlejuice will be the main show on the Viva. That will be fun!

When in Europe we have used GetTransfer.com. They are reliable and affordable. 

Looking at excursions for our Lisbon to Rome cruise in August. If NCL cancels an excursion or changes a port, don't you get your money back? What if you change your mind and want to change your excursion or cancel it altogether? 

1 hour ago, davencl said:

It depends on the airline.  On our flight to australia this January we had United to Australia and Hawaiian back to US.  United lets you pick seats as soon as ticketed.  Hawaiian wouldn't let us pick seats until 24 hours before.  We were able to pick seats together but no guarantee.  We had good flights but:   When leaving New Zealand they had an epic rainstorm, 10 inches in 24 hours, previous record was 6 inches.  The international terminal flooded to knee deep water. (We were not in the airport at the time so didn't get caught in the flooding thank goodness)  Our flight was canceled.  Fortunately I was able to rebook a flight 2 days later(airport was closed to all air traffic for a couple of days).   Getting it rebooked was not simple.  Hawaiian air did do it but I went back and forth once with NCL.   The bottom line is NCL has no control and you must work with the airline.  The airline will tell you must work with NCL and NCL will tell you must work with the airline.  However it's the airlines responsibility and Hawaiian did make the change but I had to be very insistent.  As a result I've adjusted my "pain point" for savings.   I would have still have booked NCL air in this case as I saved $2800 but upped my saving threshold to 2K (was 1K)..  I.E. I must save at least 2K for the BOGO fare to be worth it for me.

Sounds like you had a stressful trip! It makes sense that the airline is responsible for rebooking you ultimately. NCL has a flight assistance hotline, but they say to contact the airline first. I can't believe Hawaiian airlines would not let you book seats until 24 hours ahead of time! Thank you for this information. I like your saving threshold idea. There is a lot to think about!

30 minutes ago, wil e coyote said:

Seat selection needs to be done on the airline's website or through their app, and it is subject to their rules and fees. Some airlines charge fees for "better" economy class seats, and you would be responsible for those fees if you wanted a choice seat. I've never seen NCL use Southwest, but sassycruiser did experience that. If you're flying SWA seat selection is a whole different thing.

My suggestion would be to jump onto the airline website as soon as you get your flight confirmations from NCL.

Thank you for this information. I usually buy my own tickets six months in advance or so. NCL says we will get our tickets 30-60 days before we are to leave which in my case is August 2023.

I wonder if anyone has had issues getting decent seats, like seats together with your companion, window or aisle seats. I do not want to get stuck in the middle seat if that is all that is left, for example.

Have CC members been pleased with their seats with what they have to choose from?

I still have time to buy my own tickets if need be. I have not made my final payment yet.

Could I also ask about picking out your own seats? Were you pleased with the seats you were able to get? Did you have enough time to get seats together with your party? Or get aisle or window seats? I don't want to get stuck in a middle seat. 

(We are using a BOGO fare for the first time with NCL. We are flying from Atlanta to Lisbon with a one day deviation out and from Rome to Atlanta with a two day deviation coming back) Thanks in advance.

Just be careful which ATMs you use. I have heard and read that freestanding ATMs are not always as safe as bank ATMs. You have less recourse if the machine eats your card or the money doesn’t come out or if your card gets hacked for example. Just FYI. 

We went to Italy for two weeks last year and yes it is customary to tip the guides.  I double checked with my travel agent. We did many excursions and some food/history tours and tipped the guides each time. We did mostly private tours and if I recall, we tipped at least 20 Euros. For our group food tours, it was about 10 Euros.  Of Course it was in cash. 

I always get about 100 Euros from my bank before I go, and use Bank ATMs when I get to Europe. I use a Capital one card and opened a bank account with them just to use when I travel. I have gotten charged local bank transaction fees, but not fees for exchanging money.

20 hours ago, zzdoug said:

I have never taken a cruise in Europe but in some European countries - Italy for example - it is not customary to tip in restaurants.  Usually a service charge is added to the bill.  In those places do tour guides expect to be tipped?

Thank you.

What about seat numbers? Do they pick your seats for you?

I am going to read every word of this thread soon, but in the meantime... We are from the Southern US and do not have much use for snow boots. What recommendations would you have for brands of men's boots be they water repellent, or resistant? My DH needs some for this cruise. 

We are leaving in a month on Viking from Amsterdam to Basal. We are then going to spend a few days in Zurich before heading back. Thanks.

Hope it stays this way. We are going in December from Amsterdam to Basel. Thanks.

We are planning a land trip to Italy in March 2022 (this has been rescheduled 3 times). We have a river cruise scheduled in December from Amsterdam to Basal. Fingers crossed. 

I would be out $100 pp from the deposit, but if I could save more money on another line, it might be worth it. 

Thank you everyone. I have much to think about. I appreciate it.

I recently booked a cruise on Viking for December 2022 from Amsterdam to Basel. I spoke to the representative and put down a deposit. When I got my Guest Statement, I noticed that the Final Payment date is November 30, 2021, more than a year in advance. I did not hear the representative tell me this in our conversation, nor did I see this in the fine print. 

This is my first time taking a river cruise. I called the rep back and he said that they do this because there is such a demand for their services and they want "commitments" from their passengers. For those of you who have traveled on Viking, can you tell me if this is standard procedure? I did get a sale price on the cabin. Thank you in advance for your feedback.