MagnoliaBlossom

Congratulations! It really is a great way to save money on cruising.

FYI, the only advantage of moving to a BA is the midship location. The cabins and balconies are the same size. We did bid on a spa balcony even though they are technically sold out. If you are happy with the location of your current cabin you may want to save your points for another sailing or use the statement credit.

All-ready - the policy you posted is the policy that predated the new one that allows wine to be brought onboard IF you have the beverage package. Those who do NOT will have to pay the corkage.

We always travel with a four cup percolator and bring out own coffee. It’s what we like. Mine never had a cup,of coffee onboard that was as good as we drink at home. But someone in our group brought hers and they confiscated it and kept it til debarkation morning. NCL used to have four up pots which I liked much better than the pods using type they have.

Will have one night in Basel after our cruise. Does anyone have recommendations? thank you

We’re on that cruise on 12/4 and that $299 is absurd. But I guess they’re getting for enough people to keep it that high.

The thermal pass prices have really gotten ridiculous. My husband and I are “spa rats” and usually get a pass, but it’s now frequently cheaper to get a spa balcony than it is to get a balcony and buy the pass. I certainly love those heated loungers.

You’re correct, it is no refundable and says so on my amenity statement.

Just received our OBC for 12/22 and 2/23 cruises and both cruises were split $50 each. Thought it was because our shares are in both our names, but on CCL they just do $100 to the primary on the account. This is our first cruise since we bought our NCL stock and thought this was just the way NCL did it. Doesn’t make any difference to us. But interesting.

On the Star in August none of the usual events were available but they comped us $50/ cabin for compensation. I was talking to another gentleman after our visit to the CN desk and he said they got $100/cabin. I asked the CN jerk about it and he said they got more as they are ambassadors and we are lowly diamonds. What?

Yes, if they would go to the same straightforward approach that Cruise First uses that would be helpful.

This is the type of situation that led to my original question about refunding of unused OBC. I had always believed it was use it if lose it,n but at that time it could be used for DSC so not much additional onboard spending was necessary. The the rules change and people post that they received a refund of their unspent OBC. Very confusing.

No, it doesn’t, but it delays the outlay of funds. If I’m booking a cruise almost two years out, as I typically do, then I want to hold on to my money as long as possible. No point in tying up my funds before I need to.

Another bonus for using CN is that it serves as your full deposit for the entire cabin in Categories through Balcony. So you do not need to lay out the usual deposit amount, which is more than the $125 you were charged for the certificates. ordinarily I just fill out the form so I need not speak to the arrogant twits in the CN office.

I’ve not purchased any CNs for several years, courtesy of COVID and it seemed much simpler then. They could be used coward DSC so it was quite easy to use 2 certificates worth of OBC. But, I’m a natural blonde so it takes me a bit longer to get some things. on a previous thread a poster said something that obviously isn’t correct, thus leading to my confusion. Something to the effect that if you did not spend your, say $500, the remaining balance was applied against the $500 you paid for the certificates, reducing the cost to less than 500. Wouldn’t that be swell? 🤑 I agree that the quality of the CN consultants has tanked. The Future Cruise Consultants always seemed to be nice, knowledgeable, and experienced people, but it seems like now they recruiter them from used car salesman school drop outs. On the Star in August the two young people were wrong more often than they were right, rude, and very poor public speakers. No one should have given these two juveniles a microphone. Not to mention the daily phone calls to our cabin pushing the CNs

If I buy 4 CN certificates but do not use the entire $500 OBC, is it refunded to me somehow? I remember reading it but can’t remember. Also, did I read that they no longer allow CN OBC to be used for daily service charges? Thanks in advance. MB

Before we leave home I always download ten books on my kindle. Since I’m an KindleUnlimited member I can only down load ten at a time. in the past I have found free/unlimited books for children and brought them along. You can also use your iPad or laptop by using the free Kindle app.

Dittos to Coles recommendation.

On the Star in August there were no books in the library at all. I assume they had been removed as a precaution with COVID and had not been returned. it is not quite the same experience, but you could download the Kindle app to your iPad and get books from several sites for free.

Aperol spritz. Big, sassy looking drink. If it’s too bitter for you ask them add a splash of sprite.

Yes, he is. He has a great blog sorta on the insurance thread.

Call Steve at Tripinsurancestore.com and get a totally accurate answer. He doesn’t even care if you buy your insurance elsewhere, he just wants everyone to be as informed as possible.

On the Star inAugust the CN staff were not only useless, and full of misinformation but arrogant as could be. They were offering a two cabin level up grade with the same category. I.e. BC to a BA.

I do carryon only since RCCL dropped my bag into the Mississippi River some years ago. So DH and I each have a normal sized carry on. Our luggage is t the problem but you see people with enormous pieces of luggage and seemingly no awareness of their surroundings. Same hoes for self assist disembarking. no, the drop off is not listed but we’re told in the past that, then, platinums and above could do bag drop off. No one has ever told us otherwise.

Checkout this website for lots of useful information, tube maps, etc. www.londontoolkit.com