Russiamomm

I agree. Not to further the debate, but I really don’t understand paying for bottled (boxed) water on the ship, except maybe to have it to bring ashore. The water on the ship is basically distilled water. It’s perfectly safe to drink. In fact I think it tastes better than the Dlow water, which personally I think has an odd taste. Bring your own water bottle. Fill it from the sink, at the buffet, whatever, Any bar will give you water any time you ask - with or without ice. Almost all cabins have a refrigerator. Sorry, I just don’t get paying for water on a cruise ship.

I believe it’s non refundable. It can’t be used in the casino. I’m in the camp to take a statement credit. That is how to make it refundable, if you’re a gambler, you can also charge advances in the casino basically without a fee. NCL charges a 3% fee for advances. Charge it to your NCL card and you’ll get that 3% back in the form of points, which can be used as a statement credit against the fees. Sorry, I personally think taking the OBC is the worst use of these points. If you want a refundable credit, use the points as a statement credit.

This thread about casino status and comped/discounted cruises from the casino. It’s completely different from the Latitudes loyalty program, which is based solely on points earned simply from sailing with NCL. I agree that it’s confusing, but they are two completely different programs. In answer to your question, I agree that the real benefits from the Latitudes program start with reaching Platinum. After that the additional benefits are incremental. At least in my opinion the best perks are the two free meals, the free bag of laundry and priority boarding.

Have a fantastic time and good luck with the weather and your book!

I did a B2B on the gem in 2022. Total of 12 days. You are right that the ship is smaller than a lot of other ships in the NCL fleet. Honestly, it wasn’t my favorite. I prefer the larger ships. I found the layout to be a little odd and “disjointed”. That being said, I enjoyed the trip. The ship is in good shape and I would sail her again for the right trip at the right price. Some people love it, it just wasn’t my favorite, For your trip, the only thing I’d be concerned about is the weather. Crossing the North Atlantic in December could be chilly and choppy, further limiting the usable space on the ship. I would consider getting a thermal spa pass for the trip solely for that reason. But I didn't really care for the spa on the Gem. Perhaps I’m used to the spas on the larger ships with fantastic thermal suites. The one on the Gem was cramped, with separate saunas in the mens and women’s locker rooms. The heated stone lingers do not face the ocean and getting into the unisex hot tub was difficult. Of course this is just me and I don’t know if you are even interested in that. My friend and I did the TA on the Breakaway in April. It was one of the best trips I’ve ever done, with a lot of the same ports that your ship will take. We loved it so much that we wanted to do the reverse. When the Epic changed its itineraries for next year they added a TA from Rome to Port Canaveral on December 1. We jumped on it. We liked the idea of a larger ship and a more southerly route. Hopefully the trip will be a little warmer than sailing into NYC in December. But the Epic is a strange ship. You either love it or hate it. But traveling solo, you won’t be bothered by the strange bathroom configuration in the cabins. 😂. It also has studio cabins, which I love. I sailed on the Epic once and enjoyed it. Either way, I wouldn’t hesitate to do the trip on the Gem, but prefer the larger ship and the Southern route. Look into the Epic and join us! I do believe the trip is a little more expensive, but it’s 16 nights on the Southern route and a larger ship.

I’ve come four trips in the studios - two on the Breakaway and two on the Escape. I’ve also done solos in a balcony cabin. I absolutely loved the studio, I would chose one over a regular inside cabin or even an oceanview. (I won’t go so far as to say that I liked it more than having a balcony. 😂) NCL is arguably the best line for solo travelers. They have nightly solo meetups and go to dinner after, if you’re interested. Plenty of opportunity to meet people. I’ve made many friends on my solo cruises. The studio lounge is great, especially if you’re a coffee drinker. The coffee machine is great. They also have pastries out in the morning and snacks throughout the day. The cabins themselves are small, but bright and well designed. There’s plenty of room for a single person. Go for it! Enjoy!

Completely agree with this. Ignore anyone that offers a ride. There is a taxi stand right across rage street. Get in line or order an Uber or Lyft. Or arrange private transport.

I just looked it up on the app. There are AirBnBs in NYC.

I agree with this. We’ve stayed in many hotels around Times Square and occasionally stayed out at the airport the night before and cabbed/Ubered it in the next day. It depends on what you want to do/see and how much you want to spend. There are no cheap options, especially with a group that size. I think I’d be looking for AirBnBs by the airport in your situation, unless cost is no issue.

Everyone gets the mid-week special. There’s no specific time to use it. You can wait til two days before disembarkation to use it. I’m also Sapphire, so I get a bag free. I’m with you on paying by the item, but a little planning goes a long way and it’s well worth it to come home with mostly clean clothes,

You’d be surprised! It makes a huge difference. You wouldn’t believe how much I can get into those small, flimsy bags by rolling everything tight!

I can totally relate to this. I do it on every trip - send out every piece of laundry I have two days before disembarkation. I normally get at least one bag free, but even if I don’t, it’s worth the $30:to come home with clean, nicely folded laundry. It’s a little luxury I afford myself. I’m so totally with your wife and you!

This is how mine is showing this time. In the past it’s always shown up in the summary section, but this time it’s showing as a purchased item, all assigned to me, not to my cabin mate. I have no amount due. I had assumed it was because I asked that the credit not be split between us, but now I’m thinking this is their new way of recording the shareholder OBC.

Thanks. I’ve either never gotten one or never noticed it. 😂

I haven’t been on the GA, but have been on the BA, so I assume it’s the same. This is one of the things I much prefer about the Haven on the Joy. There is no outdoor seating in the Haven restaurant, so they use the pool area. There’s also no hot tub on the Haven sun deck. We found it awkward, eating as people were swimming or in the hot tub. Much prefer the Joy where there loungers by the pool, hot tubs on the sun deck, and an outdoor seating area in the restaurant. Not to mention the Observation lounge and the elevator in the Haven complex. All that being said, I would do it again in a heartbeat. 😃

Sorry, what 50% off deal? If you have Gold status, there will be a “coupon” in your room on embarkation. It can be used any time. If you don’t have status, there is usually a deal mid-week for $30 a bag. The bag doesn’t show up until mid week, but I’m sure the steward can get it earlier if you need it.

The two times we won a bid into the Haven we’re both from regular balcony cabins to 2BR Havens. Both bids were at the lower end of the “good” range. One was for a 10 night Canada/New England on the Joy out of NYC last September. The ship was pretty full, and we were stunned we won the bid. We had given up hope. Had boarded the ship, had lunch, dropped our carry ons in our balcony cabin and went down to change a dinner reservation. That’s where we found out we won - 2 hours after we boarded! It was a fantastic trip and hooked us on the Haven forever. LOL. the second trip was for a TA on the Breakaway this past April. The Haven had been sold out for weeks. We had pretty much resolved ourselves to not being in the Haven. Six days before sailing we got the email that we won! So it can happen even if the Haven is showing as sold out. There are sometimes cancellations. We loved the TA so much we booked the reverse in December on the Epic. We booked the Haven outright for that one. Between the military discount and a 20% off coupon that appeared in my account, we felt it was a good enough deal to just book it.

Generally speaking, it’s not an issue to be a no show on a return flight. I did that in May. But as mentioned, it might be an issue if you’re booking on the same airline for the same day.

You don’t need to buy another 100 shares. They are simply asking for a current brokerage statement showing that you still own the shares. This happened to me once. I had sent the same redacted statement that I had used for a previous cruise. They said the statement needed to be dated within 90 days of the request. Understandable. I simply printed and redacted the current statement and sent it in. The credit was posted within 24 hours. Easy Peasy.

Yes, there is a full service Starbucks on the Escape. s mentioned earlier, it is an extra charge unless you get the Starbucks package or pay for the upgraded beverage package.

Just a quick update. I heard back on my request. I had put a note in the email and on the form itself that the credit be applied only to my account - not split between me and my friend, They did it. It shows as a $100 purchased OBC, only for me. In the past it’s just shown as a credit for the cabin. So it can be done. I don’t know if it can be changed before sailing if it’s been split already. I have another cruise scheduled for Dec 1 where I didn’t make the note and the $250 was split between us. I’m not going to worry about it at this point, we‘ll work it out ourselves, but would be interesting to know if it can be adjusted prior to sailing.

That’s how I read it too, but wanted to confirm. To OP: I’ve been in the Haven three times, with another one booked in December. Twice we’ve won a bid and twice we paid outright. It’s fantastic. Just remember that the ships are filling up and the Haven cabins are highly coveted. Most people bidding do not win, I think it goes without saying to be prepared not to win. If you really want a Haven cabin, book it outright. (Understanding it’s a VERY steep cost.)

What do you mean by “normal” balcony? If the room is not titled “Haven”, it is not a Haven room and will not have access to the Haven or have any of the Haven perks. I believe the Joy does have at least one category of “suite” that is not a Haven room, but does have some perks, but no access to the Haven or most of its amenities/services. as previously stated, there are various Haven suites that vary in size. Some are not located in the Haven complex, but do carry access to the Haven and all of the Haven perks.

I wasn’t aware that the vouchers used to only be for one meal. It’s been 2 for 2 for at least the last few years. We were so excited when my travel mate reached Platinum, thinking we’d each get vouchers in our own rights, getting four specialty meals to share. But obviously we were wrong.

We won a bid on the 2BR Haven (from a regular balcony) for our transatlantic in April. TAs are a different dynamic than a normal closed loop cruise, though. We heard we won about a week before sailing. The cruise was pretty much full. I didn’t talk to anyone else in the Haven that had won a bid to get in there. They had all paid outright.