Bestvalue82

alot of $ in this world. blessed to be on this side of the convo getting to "ponder" who can sepnd 20k on a suite then the person who has to clean it.

can you explain the "trick"

is it something like use OBC for credits but then just cash out instead of playing?

Hi all,

I spoke with Royal but im alittle leary of what they said. I have the royal CC so i got the bonus 25k pts which is 250$ and then i have $200 in random OBC from my travel agent.  So im entering my cruise with $450 in OBC. The agent said that any OBC that is not used on the ship will be credited to your CC after the sailing? can anyone shed light on this/confirm? on the NCLs i have taken usually the credits are "nonrefundable" aka use or or lose it. Im sure i can find places to used 450$ bux but just was wondering if there is leftover. Thanks all

-G

3 minutes ago, shof515 said:

there is a multistory parking garage right next to the terminal and lots of  parking lots near the cruise terminal that is used for overflow if the garage is fill

ty

hi all

Q about the terminal lot, it says

Do you have parking at the terminal and how much does it cost?
Parking is guaranteed upon your arrival. Parking is $25 per day, payable by cash or credit. Vehicles taking up more than once spot will be charged double.

the parking is guaranteed part is odd as in parking lots have finite spaces. anyone ever run into a capcity issue?  thanks

1 minute ago, TheBucketLister said:

Straight from Royal Caribbean (first paragraph):

 

“The gratuity applies to individual guests of all ages and stateroom categories.”

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-service-gratuity-expense

Thanks for that. It gets confusing when people that are directly booking your vacations give different answers.

5 minutes ago, JennyB1977 said:

I was told onboard in 2019 that gratuities apply to all ages. I suppose it is your option to go to guest services and remove them....🤷‍♀️

May I be so bold as to ask why you would think children are exempt from being charged gratuities?

Im not concerned if they are exempt or not, i just like to know the full cost of the vacation when i am planning. 

Hi all,

I have called and chatted and gotten a couple different answers.

Scenario

6 night balcony (anthem) 2 adults , 3 yr old, 7 month old

1. Phone Rep A said 16 pp but children dont pay

2. Phone Rep B said 16 pp but only the 3 yr old pays

3. Chat rep said 16 pp and you can ask for the baby not to pay on board

Anyone want to share the correct answer if you know it?

Thanks

This is the energy NCL is going on now (TBO with the amount of debt they had to take during covid, they really dont  have a choice right? if we want to be honest.)

The CEO of PPG, a Fortune 500 paint company, was asked if he would lower prices if costs come down. His response: “This is the new price and if you don't like it, please don't place purchase orders.”

Loyal NCL 15+ cruises.

Currently annoyed by their more insane marketing then normal. Free Free FREE FREEE everything is FREEE 2nd guest, your mother, your dog your goldifsh airfare free, Freeeeeeeee.   O but its actually 2x higher then at anytime precovid AFTER you click to the "summary screen"  the clickbait rates on sites have to stop so annoying "$699" balcony  O well thats PP not for 1st and 2nd guest (family of four)..... sorry.   OK /rant off.

Anyway

just got back from a NCL getaway cruise, first once since covid. Just as we left off, NCL are the hardest working people / most professional workers i ever seen, pre covid and now post. I enjoy going on ships just to see them in action. And idc if they talk bad behind our backs all i see if is face to face smiles and helpful attitudes. 

Cheers all! 

I dont post to much I just usually read, but I have been on 10+ NCL cruises last one was alaska on the bliss, amazing! . Love  NCL never had a issue after the first few cruises I learned the game and set my expectations and just history from there.

Of course prices go up and with a roaring economy etc all those factors might have something to do with it. It just seems its starting to go up quite a bit for what you actually get.

Ill just use 1 example, a 7 day Bahamas cruise from NYC to just get away from the cold, i snagged those foo $679 on average balconey and then use the cruise next etc. (back in  '12 they were like ($429 and the beverage package was actually free) im seeing these cruises now like 1k - 1300!  we are talking "port canveral and a private island that you better hope they can tender that day :) (inside joke)   

if you want to drink etc you are looking at $4-5k a couple for this vacation. We all know NCL been scaling back some things like food quality etc but overall its still awesome. anyone else feel like the value is starting to outweigh the vacation?

just my 2 cents, chime in with your opinion. 

cheers

Hello,

Just got back from another great NCL vacation for the buck.

been cruising with NCL for past 6 years this review will show some of the changes as the N in NCL stand for nickel and dime :')

So this review is for more of the value oriented person that knows what a cruise is all about, wont go into great detail about everything just a rundown about how I perceived it.

The ship is a sister to the bearkaway from NYC so was pretty familiar with it, overall spotless clean and only fault I really see on both the ships is the physical pool size for 4k people, other then that no other times in any dining areas MDR taste etc did we wait for more then 10 mins to do something. Ship was full as well.

Staff was just as they always are, working nonstop with smiles and forced good mornings sometimes. The work ethic of these employees is amazing as always. Cabin was always clean, ship is 24/7 wiped down, everything is nonstop. It just always amazing to see logistics of how a cruise operates. Yes i know they are paid peanuts compared to the job they do, thats why you can always tip, I leave a $20 for the cabin and tip my MDR $40 on day 7, we usually sit in section 39 near the window to have some light as the middle is to dark steakhouse feel.

Dailys were ok, filled up the day plenty of freebies to do and shows to pass the time, shows were lacking as its mostly a port ship so they just had a couple, only the 730 was full 930 was spotty.

Food is amazing, as it always it. Now i know alot of foodies may disagree with the amazing statement but the MDR menus were revamped appetizers and the mains were great. The prime rib was thick, the butter salmon was ridiculous, the short rib melted, and the final day 7 Lamb shank was heaven. these 3 course meals would run you Easy $100 a pop in a basic restaurant. Most nights I grabbed 2 entrees just because to many good choices.

Garden Cafe was good, not just basic they had the pulled pork a bacon and cheese pizza that was addicting. They do need to step up on their burgers though, they cook them so much they become pucks, but thats prob for safety. overall I mean food on NCl i have sailed with is always 9/10 I cant complain.

Onto the ports, quick thing I write this review form the viewpoint of Inside cabin $625 with prepaid tips and 1 cruise next deposit. the wife and I net total on the actual cruise before other spending was only $1350.

so the ports.. Honduras, went to tabyana beach party, honduras itself is a ****hole, wow does NCL need to put some money into that port and the people. Jeez taking the bus the the beach was like watching the news of syria brutal. Quietest bus ride ever as everyone prob thinking the same thing. The beach was ok they didnt really bother you buying stuff but if you did it was all really cheap, cheapest by far of the ports.

OK HARVEST KEY the talked about hyped up harvest key, Honestly all i can say about this port is, GO F yourself NCL. ya we get it you put mucho bank into it to build it and ya its nice but srsly Bleed your customers dry some more, i knew already what i was walking into, it was just a beach day everything else was $$$$$$$$$$

coming form a strirrup cay where you can use your UBP and have a nice BBQ and stay all day, harvest key disaapointed majorly. Heres the blunt review you want a ship of 4k people to get off a ship walk 1/4 mile to start spending more $ on drinks and food when the ship of free food and drinks is looking at you? come on. this was by far the most overheard talking point in peoples conversations walking around. But alas people were spending so NCL happy happy. Tip go to the liquor store and buy a bottle, they wont let you take the bottle but they will let you open it up and pour into a water bottle to go to the beach with :-) thanks Francisco.

Other then that, Not enough palm trees and shade, beach was and mixed with shells made walking sucky and water was murky. Seaweed was minimal wasnt the slimy kind just the red grapevine stuff, no problem with that, comapred to the waters of grand stirrup no comparison, you cant even swim in the lagoon as its only for watersports.... Very overrated hype on this port sorry to dissapoint people.

Costmaya was nice, port built up 10 secs of the port gates full on desert for miles. Went to choccoban great guide was neat to see the ruins worth the $100

Cozumel, this port made the trip. Was built up major tourist area. Plenty of shopping HAGGLE PEOPLE they say $20 you say $1 meet them at $5 the prices they were throwing out made LOL just random prices for anything they were selling was great fun shopping. We went to PLaya mia for the $85 was 100000% worth it, AWESOME place wish we had more time only abour 3 hours there. EVerything is included food alcholo watersports etc. pools slides umberllas shade blue water, soft sand. I thought it was gonna suck because it was the "thing to do" was great. The water park was AMAZING most fun i had in awhile trying to get up all those slides and rafts everywhere. great time.

You know if you are a NCL cruiser the nonstop peddling of INVICTA watches and china/india made box sets etc etc etc and the $25 photos etc etc, Ya i know they need to make $ but there prices and all there trash that they sell just start to wear on you as the days go on. Just grab a drink and ignore all that noise so your sailcard doesnt melt down. TIP dont prebuy the net you can wait a day and save a day $30-40 depending on what package you get. Yes they have the NEW streaming packing for $50 more pffff. and their Iconcierge is now $14.95 instead of $7.95. come on just to stay in touch with each other.

Overall i love NCL just be guarded and buy only what you want, the food itself is worth the price of admission

Cheers all!

-G

PS got a nice surprise as they changed their lat rewards and thought i was gonna need another cruise for silver, looks like they honored current members with previous tier levels as i have 48 points now and am now gold, im sure they will "update" their database in the near future to roll that one back :-)