Middleager

We were on Getaway in 2021 Dec, TA cruise. Getaway is a big ship. So take some time to familiarize yourself with the ship. We liked going to the two smaller dining rooms, Taste and Savor, especially tables by the windows. They are smaller than the main dining room, and just felt better. The Shanghai noodle bar was fine, but it's right beside the casino. The first day we tried it it was fine. After that when the casino is in use, the smoke from the casino was bothersome, so we didn't go there any more. NCL needs to change the design to not have any restaurant immediately beside a smoking area. The rope climbing station is pretty good. On warmer days I tried it twice. There is one bar that sticks out of the ship. Only 2 persons fall into the sea each week, and I wasn't one of them -- just kidding. It can feel scary. I did it, but some people don't try that. We tried all the specialty dinings. Like Le Bistro but it felt crowded/rushed. Cagney and Moderno were good, but I'm a steak eater so they suit me. La Cucina was so so. Ocean Blues was so so, I ordered a lobster and it wasn't too good. I heard NCL has a challenge to source good consistent lobsters. It's a nice ship. Enjoy.

On our Epic Med b2b cruises, we had to sign up for the Wine tasting as we embarked (and re-embarked). We enjoyed it. We heard it was capacity controlled, but don't know if anyone was turned away for being full. No BST. We booked one NCL tour from our cabin, using the TV/remote. Found out the Plat discount was not applied. I went to the Shore Excursion desk to ask, the guy said that's right, the discounts are not auto applied, and he'll have to manually apply them. If we hadn't noticed and gone to ask, the discount won't be applied -- they need to fix that.

We're on the same cruise, and will stay in Cape Town for 3 days after cruise, then fly to JNB to go to Kruger NP for 6d5n. Would love to hear your experience in Kruger. After Kruger, your probably won't see as much from safaris from Cape Town, or port stops in Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Durban, or Namibia. But Addo park (Port Elizabeth) should have different species of elephants, St Lucia wetlands (Richards Bay) will have lots of hippos and crocs, etc.

The airfare is paid fare, so you'd get points with the airline (Air Canada in this case). The airline doesn't care who it was booked with, to them it's paid fare. So you just provide the aeroplan number, to cruiseline if they take it, or directly to the airline. We've got points when flying on Star Alliance airlines, when booking airfare from cruiseline.

Totally allowed. We also had 3 children, so know the challenge of finding rooms that'll take 5. In your case, it's good you have parents willing to take 1 of the kids, and help to relieve congestion in your bathroom.

So at least you had a PCC who said the request was entered, and then can see the request. At least that 's a good sign. Keep chasing after them. Hope you can get that sorted out. In the mean time, with my wife and my FCCs, we now have to find a cruise we can go on by the end of Nov.

Did you use a TA, or booked directly with NCL? And who was it told you NCL would provide FCC -- that'd be the person to put in the FCC request. We booked with a TA, and the TA put in the request, and told us in the email how much the FCC would be, and we'd get it at the completion of the respective cruises. The problem we're having is we can't see them on my wife and my accounts, but at least NCL can see them.

That's what I was told, can only go toward cruise fare. Also expires one year from date of issue (completion of the cruise that you got the FCC for), got to book and sail by that date.

Last year in Jan. we got FCCs (Future Cruise Credits) for a cancelled cruse (my daughter got Covid). We then applied the FCCs toward NCL shore excursions and thermal spa passes, for an upcoming cruise (as well as payment toward cruise fare). We just finished b2b Mediterranean cruises (Epic, 2022.11.15 and 2022.12.7). For those two cruises, the price dropped after final payment, and NCL gave us FCCs (can do that one time, for price drop). Those FCCs were applied to my wife and my accounts after we finished the sailings, but we cannot see them in our respect accounts when we log on. I called NCL and they assured me the FCCs are there, even though I don't see them. I just tried to book an NCL excursion and wanted to apply the FCCs, but there isn't a way. I called NCL, and was told those are FCCs of the type "Discount off voyage", and can only be applied toward cruise fare, and expires within the year (need to book AND SAIL). The agent doesn't know why we cannot see them on our accounts, so I requested she send an email asking that to be fixed. Anyway, so I've now also learned that there are different types of FCCs. The ones from cancelled cruises can be used toward excursions, thermal passes, etc. Then there are those that can only apply to the fare of a future cruise.

We just bought Blue Cross again, for our upcoming South Africa cruise trip. Up to 31 days, multiple trip, for 1 year.

It should be different. For us on the Jewel this past March, it was the first time Jewel started sailing after 2 years of pandemic and many cancelled cruises. Both the port of Colon and NCL were unorganized, didn't communicate well with each other. After we got off our shuttle, we saw a line to a small building booth, and another line to the cruise terminal. We then found out we're supposed to go to the first line to pay a Panama exit fee, in US cash. But we then saw a bus unloading people and they were just waved inside cruise terminal, some then came out to line up but not all of them coming back out. In the line going into the cruise terminal, we also had to show proof of vaccination, and a negative Covid test within 48hr (we did go to a clinic in Panama city to pay and get that testing). Then we continue to wheel our luggages (no porters outside), in one line, to have our passport and cruise docs checked, and leave our luggages with the porters behind that counter. After that we go line up for NCL check-in. Fortunately the ship only had 1/3 capacity, so there were line ups, but not huge long line ups. Oh, all the cabins were ready as soon as we get on ship, again because it was the first sailing of the Jewel, so there were no passengers before us. Ship capacities have been going up, and the Covid testing/vaccination requirement have changed a lot, so the check in experience going forward should be a lot different.

Well @ChiefMateJRK, we have had different experience for embarkation/check-in. Since becoming Plat, we have NOT been able to go into the express line to get to check-in counter. They were blocked off and/or staff waving us toward the general line. But you've also said you've not done embarkation at a foreign port, while our embarkations have all been at foreign ports since the pandemic, with different procedures.

Ok, so I was mistaken with the terminology. Since becoming Plat, even though there is supposed to be a line for priority check-in (not Haven, but Plats and other higher category cabins) and the general line where they may call group numbers or maybe not when there is not a lot of people sitting/waiting. We thought we should be able to go to the line for priority check-in because we are Plats, but the staff standing/blocking the entrance to that priority line for Plats, just waved us toward the general line. We shouldn't have to show up early in the boarding process, in order to go to the priority line. It should be whenever we arrive. But probably because the ships were sailing with less than half capacity those times, the general lines were not long, so it was no big deal.

I was sharing my experience with the OP about the various plat benefits, and mentioned we never got "priority" embarkation, even though there was supposed to be shorter lines for "priority embarkation" vs general lines. I even mentioned it was no big deal because the general line was not long anyway. Priority to me means being able to go to the line that has sign showing priority, not Haven, but for those with Plat status, or other higher category cabins. Priority to me doesn't mean to be first on the ship when they begin the entire embarkation of the day. Priority to me means when we get there and there is supposed to be a line for Plats, we can go to that (shorter, or empty) line rather than the general line. Next time you do embarkation, read what the lines say then you'll understand.

No problem to go together. They haven't checked for "check-in" time for any of us in recent cruises.

I never talked about going to embarkation at the "beginning" of the day, when they just started embarkation.

I never talked about going to embarkation at the "beginning" of the day, when they just started embarkation. Post covid, things have been much different. On the Jewel this past March, it was the first time Jewel re-started sailing. At Colon (most people went from Panama city that morning). The process (one line, one person taking cash for Panama exit fee, then stamp your passport), then wheel your own luggages to inside the terminal to be checked for vaccination record. Then continue to wheel your own luggages to be checked for passport/cruise-doc and hand over luggages to porters behind that counter, then go line up for check-in counters, etc. They didn't have priority lines for plats. On Epic this past Nov, it was the first time they did a turn-around (i.e. disembarkation, then embarkation) in Haifa port. When we got there at 5:30pm, there was one line outside (between train station and cruise terminal) to check your passport, then to hand over luggages to porters, then long walk in the dark to cruise terminal to line up for check-in counters, then long walks in the dark to another building, with shopping area, then long walk outside in the dark to to the ship. Several of us walked together, otherwise it can look scary for an old lady who might have had to walk by herself in the dark. Shorter faster priority line for the check-in might be nice, but the whole thing looked unorganized with few staff directing people or to give feeling we are walking to the right places.

There wasn't "group one". There were no groups, no groups called. When I said the the staff we're platinum and we should have priority embarkation. They just pointed to the big line for everyone. The ships are not sailing full. The Jewel we sailed this past end of March, was 1/3 capacity. The Epic we sailed was less than 1/2 full, and we arrived just after 5pm (11pm to leave port). So it wasn't big long lines, so we just joined the line of maybe 50 people both times. There was one line with sign Haven. We are not Haven, so we didn't go to that line. One time there was another line I think with Priority and maybe even Platinum. Nobody in that line. And one other line for everyone. It didn't take that long in the line, so not a big deal.

Welcome to Plat. The coupons for specialty dinners is supposed to be 1 per cabin, even though both my wife and I are plats. When getting the bottle of wine, we ask to take the unfinished 1/2 bottle with us. That way we have it and can bring to the next dinner and pour ourselves, without having to give a ticket and wait for it to be found and brought up. For the free bag of laundry, there is only one coupon. So we just write on the laundry bag "Platinum, free" -- you technically don't need to put in the coupon because they should have in the system to check that you do indeed have 2 plats in the room. The wines around the world tasting is pretty good. They say you have to sign up the first day onboard at the CruiseNext desk. Some say it's capacity controlled, so do this soon after you get onboard. In the 3 cruises since we became Plat, we've never been able to do priority embarkation. We tell the person who's guarding the lines we are plat and should have priority, but each time the person just waved us to the regular line. Fortunately the lines are short. After that line up to get your card, that's when the card color would show plat. Before that those staff are either untrained (not sure if they are even NCL staff, or just port staff) or don't care. If you are at a tender port, you get priority tendering. You can call, and explain you got a small group of people to go to some excursion together. They'll tell you where to go and wait. This worked out well for us when one time, a small group of us went to a diving/snorkeling excursion together.

I shared my experience and NCL's reasoning for not offering FCC this time. I've also shared at other times successes getting FCCs after final payment. You like to lecture people on the obvious. Thank you and Merry X-mas.

Epic did TA 2022.12.7-13 Lisbon to New York. We were on b2b on Epic in Med that ended in Lisbon on 2022.12.7. After New York, Epic goes to San Juan, to spend the winter in the Caribbean.

My wife and I are booked on 2023.1.12 Jade, South Africa cruise. The recent NCL promo of 2nd guest free, makes the total a lot cheaper. I contacted my TA, and he tried with 2 NCL agents, but the answer is no FCC. Even though the total is a lot cheaper, the first passenger is at higher rate, therefore no FCC. Some friends are interested with these lower rates, if they go they'll pay a much lower rate than us.

Never heard of it on any NCL cruises. If offered on our cruise, we'd sign up.

Sounds good that you got the almost free cruise some how. I'd take that over points.

We were on the Epic 2022.11.26-12.7 Rome to Lisbon (and the leg before). We were told there was a harbor pilot strike 12.6-7. Because Lisbon is a turnaround port, they cannot just skip. So they ended canceling two ports, Malaga on 12/5 and Cadiz on 12/6, in order to get to Lisbon for 12/5 10pm, before the pilot strike. We didn't get any compensation for the two missed ports. We also heard for the next leg 2022.12.7-13 Lisbon NYC would need to skip Ponta Delgada because the ship would leave on 12.8 at 2am instead of 12.7 afternoon (again due to pilot strike ending midnight of 12.7). We are now at Ponta Delgada, after disembarking Lisbon, then went to Porto, then flew to PDL. At least we get to enjoy Ponta Delgada this way. It seems like cruiseships cancel this port often.