Russiamomm

I agree completely. We just got back from a “comped” casino cruise on RCL. The entire time I missed NCL. The cost of the drink package is outrageous. We didn’t get it. I spent close to $18 for a single drink on the pool deck the first day. I’ll gladly spend $20 a day on NCL for the drink package. If it weren’t for our free drinks in the casino I probably would have gone into forced sobriety for five days. LOL. Also wasn’t impressed with the free food choices. The options were literally the MDR, the buffet and pizza. I honestly don’t understand people who say that NCL nickels and dimes people. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but my opinion is that NCL is a better value. And to the OP - I do agree that NCL’s casino pricing isn’t the best. But CAS has been good to me. I’ve done several cruises booked through them and have always felt that I got good service and a good value. Can’t wait to get back on the Joy in February. I don’t think I’ll ever sail RCL again.

They match for Platinum and above. But again only for 2022 sailings. I’m really hoping they extend that. Will be a while before I can gain status on Virgin in its own right. It will be tough having one sailing with the perks and then lose them for two more sailings.

I was able to status match with my Platinum on NCL. I have two VV cruises booked, one in December and one in February. Got the Deep Blue Extras for the December sailing, but not the February one. As said above, the match is only good for 2022 sailings. I’m truly hoping they extend that.

Congrats! So hope is not lost! I’m in similar situation for our March sailing. Casino inside comp and paid for balcony upgrade. Leaves a bit of room in the budget for a good bid into the Haven!

I hope not! I’m really hoping to win an upgrade on the two sailings on the calendar. I’m too cheap to pay rack rate. 😒😂

I agree, to a certain extent. Mostly we were so excited to get the upgrade. The only thing we lost was the anticipation, being escorted on the ship and lunch the first day. For the amazing time we had, I’ll take those trade-offs. And I’ll never forget the screams of joy when we heard - especially since my friend had no idea I had put in the bid. She didn’t even know what the Haven was. Trust me, she knows now. 😂. It was a priceless moment. And a fabulous trip.

It was literally awarded after we boarded. We had even dropped our carry ons in our original cabin. We went down to change a dinner reservation and they told us. They changed out the key card right there and found someone to escort us to the old room to get our carry ons and escort us up to the Haven. One of the best days of my life. LOL and yes,it’s going to be tough to go back. 😒

We bought 100 shares years ago. We’re way in the red on the stock, but have gotten at least $1000 in OBC for it. I look at it as a tax free dividend.

We were on a 10 night Canada/NE on the Joy in September. Found out two hours after we boarded that we won a 2 BR in the Haven (from a balcony). $1300 each. It was worth every penny! Best trip ever. Waiting for bidding to open up on my 16 night TA in April. It’s going to be really hard to go back to a regular cabin. LOL

I believe they’ve recently changed the rules. The vouchers can now be used at any specialty restaurant. The bottle of wine can be gotten at any restaurant with a wine list.

It’s back for me too. Still can’t go. 😂

There should never be a situation where you lose any OBC that you got by purchasing the CNs. That OBC is (or at least should be) always used to offset the cost of the credits. They didn’t do that for me, which is what led to me having unused credit. They ultimately fixed it, but it was a pain to get it done. Other forms of non refundable OBC (that didn’t come from buying the CNs) will be lost if not spent. And it can’t be used to pay the daily service charge. It’s apples and oranges. NCL could fix all this confusion by simply stopping this game with the OBC for CNs by simply changing what they cost - $125 for each certificate as long as you buy two.

I always have some CNs in the “bank”. At the end of the day, as long as you purchase at t least two, you are paying $125 for $250 of value. They have saved me a lot of money over the years. That being said, it is extremely confusing the way they sell these, I wish they would just tell it like it is instead of confusing the matter with all this OBC nonsense. The OBC is applied against the cost of the certificates themselves, reducing the cost, but not the face value of the certificates. I do believe it’s a marketing ploy to try to get people to spend more onboard. Also, I think they’ve fixed this problem, but last year on the Breakaway the CN staff claimed that the OBC could not be used to offset the cost of the certs. Stupid me got off the ship without checking my statement closely and they had me forfeiting close to $200 in OBC. Took hour upon hour on the phone with various departments, but ultimately they refunded this “forfeited” amount. Bottom line is that CNs are a good deal, but you have to watch them like a hawk. They want to fool you into spending money onboard that you wouldn’t otherwise do. At the end of the day it will make no difference except if you fall for it you will spend more money than you otherwise would have.

I have it too. Would consider it but it overlaps with my trip on the Breakaway.

Agree. Just have to say that I’ve been in the Vibe and obviously been in Spice H2O. I just got off the Independence of the Seas with its Solarium. There is no comparison to either of the venues. While I liked the Solarium, it’s not really a private, adult only space. Everyone using the forward elevators had to walk through the Solarium to get to the main pool deck and the buffet. It was also very crowded. By comparison, Spice is its own area in the back of the ship and you don’t get the “foot traffic”. But it can get crowded. Yes, you have to pay for the Vibe, but it’s a very nice space with its own bar, hot tubs and great service. And the number of tickets sold is limited, so it’s never crowded. Just my 2 cents.

Sadly, no. The ship is beautiful, but there is no thermal spa.

Breakaway X 2 Gem X 2 Escape X 2 Epic Joy

Agreed! That was the only thing we asked for in September. Extra pods and plenty of cream. Every day we had the most beautifully arranged bowl of coffee creamers you ever saw. 😃

Good news for me. Heard back from my CAS guy. He was able to apply the code to our April transatlantic! Didn’t even have to rebook it. He was able to just apply the code and reprice it. That’s really good news because I had already used MC points to upgrade from an inside to a balcony. I would have lost those points if they had to re-book. Yeah!

I agree. They have solo gatherings every night around 5:30. Anyone that wants to can go to dinner together. So, eat alone, go with the group, or mix it up. All is good. Enjoy!

DH and I both did this tonight. We got the confirmation that we were both verified. Did the same as you - a mock booking both when logged in and logged out. Price was exactly the same. I’m thinking it may take a little time for at least some of us to update. In the meantime I have a call in to our guy to see about repricing two existing bookings.

He would qualify. And so will you as his spouse.

Me too.

We were in the Haven on the Joy in September. The pictures are accurate. They use the original Nespresso pods. That being said, I would not bring your own pods. They will give you as many as you want. Just tell your butler on the first day. We had more pods and creamer than we’d ever use every day. It was fabulous! One of the best perks of these cabins! The coffee is delicious. And the pods are expensive. I have a Nespresso at home that I use every day. The best price I’ve found is around 70 cents per pod.

My husband is already registers through ID.ME. He just logged into NCL and was able to immediately add this benefit to his account. We have two cruises booked for March and April. Called my guy at CAS to reprice both trips. 😃