Russiamomm

Sorry, but I have to call a little BS here. I’ve never heard of anyone getting such a great upgrade for free - especially a first time cruiser without status with the cruise line or the casino. Can you provide a few more details?

You must be a bigger gambler than I am. 😂

I’m not sure what you’re referring to. As BirdTravels said, SpiceH2O is adults only and there is no fee to access it. Are you referring to the Vibe Beach Club? If so, yes, there’s a charge. But there is for anyone on the ship. I’ve never seen a CAS offer include access to the Vibe.

Lots to unload there. It’s your friend that has the certificate and not you? I’m not sure how that would work. The comps are for the cabin, but usually require the holder of the certificate to be onboard. I don’t know how they would handle it if your friend couldn’t go. If there’s a possibility he can make it, I would book for just the comp - probably an inside. You will pay the Admin fee and port charges for both of you up front. You can always call back and upgrade if he decides he can go. No loss there. If he can’t go, they will likely refund the taxes and port charges, but I don’t know if they will still let you on the ship or if there’s any possibility of refunding the Admin fees. In other words, I don’t know the answer to your question. 😂

Yes, it’s available, but you may have to ask for it.

I don’t think there’s any way to look online to see your offers - or even your status. It’s annoying. But if you call CAS they can tell you. Did you not ask the rep what your offers were? Even if there are no formal offers out there, they will usually give you a discount on the fare, depending on your play history.

I’ve only been in the Haven once - the Joy ten nights to NE/Canada in September. Started as a comped inside from CAS, paid upgrade to a balcony for about $700 for both of us. Then bid on several Haven cabins. Got the 2 BR suite with a large balcony for $1400 pp. so total was around $3500 plus gratuities/service charges/taxes/port fees. We found out we won 2 hours after we boarded. 😂. Best cruise ever!

I’ll be following this. I got an offer for a free cabin and entry into the slots tournament on the Joy in March. We booked it. Ironically, I don’t really play the slots. Im more of a Blackjack girl. But what the heck. It was cheap. 😂 Good luck to your wife and looking forward to your reports!

I also travel with a friend often. We have separate accounts. I own NCL stock and submit the form. They always split the OBC evenly between us. I don’t know why. We just work it out between ourselves.

The bid is for the entire trip and per person for two people. In other words, if you bid $50 it will cost $100, regardless of how many are in the room. If you go into a category with a higher daily service charge, that will be added as well. Same for any increase in insurance for the better room. Hope that helps!

Thanks again for all the insights. I took the cash back card with the $95 annual fee which is waived for the first year. Will get $300 statement credit after spending $3000 in first six months. The NCL deal either expired or the card I got didn’t have the offer. Either way it’s $300. I’ll wait to pay the balance on the April cruise and hope more offers pop up. Thanks again!

I hear you. I have a similar AA card. Access to the Admirals Club alone is with the cost, plus the other benefits. Where I live it’s all AA. I haven’t flown Delta in years. Hence, I don’t want another card with a huge annual fee. But I’m not opposed to getting another card if the fees are reasonable and the benefits pay for them. 😃

Thanks, all. I keep researching. The cash back offers look pretty good regardless of if I get this offer. May just go ahead and get one of the no fee cards. Couldn’t hurt.

Thanks. Is it for any Amex card or certain levels of cards? What are the fees?

I’ve traveled solo a few times, but never felt like alone. Always met people, right from Sailaway and at the solo gatherings. I’m still in touch with many of them. Others’ advice is good. Join your roll call, find your cruise’s group on “the other place”, do a pub crawl with the group if there is one, go to the Meet and Greet and go to the nightly solo gatherings. Chances are you’ll meet up with at least one other person that you “connect” with. If not, all is good too. NCL is great for solo cruisers. You’ll never feel out of place or looked down on. as far as the studios go, I’ve stayed in them twice. Loved my little room. And absolutely loved the coffee machine in the studio lounge. Best coffee on the ship and it’s free. 😃. Pre-Covid, they had the nightly solo gatherings in the studio lounge. The four I’ve done post-Covid, the gathering was in another bar onboard. Either way is fine. They will arrange group dinners, shows, etc. One more note. You don’t need to be in a Studio to go to the gatherings, even if they are in the Studio Lounge. They will prop the door open and anyone can get in during that time. There was a “bar” set up on the Epic during the solo meetup. There wasn’t one on the Escape or Breakaway, at least when I was on them. Just go and have a great time! The trip will be what you make it. I was really nervous the first time I went alone, but never regretted it and would do it again any time!

I’ve never had an Amex card. I do have an airline card which I use for just about everything and an NCL card that I use for NCL cruises. I book through CAS. I’ve read a lot about deals when you pay with an Amex. Will any card work - even the ones without an annual fee or do you need a higher level card? Also, do you need to book the cruise through A,ex Travel? what are the standard deals and what are some of the limited time bonuses? I have a cruise booked for April. Payment is due in December. Is it worth getting an Amex and using it to pay the balance? (I really don’t want another card with a high annual fee. I pay for the AA card but get a huge value for what I pay, considering how much I fly.) TIA for any tips!

Hi there. Yes, it was just a discount, not a comp. I got 20% off the fare for both of and I also had another 20% coupon that only applied to my fare from a previous cancelled cruise. I had no issues getting the meta upgrade. Took five minutes on the phone.

I never heard that. I have Costco membership, but booked through CAS. I’m also Platinum Pro on AA. I’m afraid I’m skeptical of this statement.

They will book you on the cheapest flight for them. It won’t always be a direct flight and won’t always be at a convenient time. In August they put me on a 5:15 AM flight with a connection when there were three nonstops the same day. (We flew in the day before.). Same for the return flight. I was not a happy camper. I did manage to get on the direct flight to NYC, but it took a lot of muscle using my status with AA, and it still cost me more money to do it and messed up the return flight. I don’t think I’ll ever useNCL air for a domestic flight again.

I booked the 16 night TA this week. Was the lowest category inside with FAS. I booked through CAS and got an incredible deal. I then used a meta upgrade and booked into a BB. I was surprised that we got the extra meal with the upgrade. Now if we can win a bid into the Haven we’ll be two happy cruisers!

I’ve never been on the Getaway but we were in a 2 BR Haven on the Joy in September. I have to believe they are similar. There were no steps anywhere in the suite.

I made a mistake for my Canada/NE trip out of NY last month and booked NCL Air. The times of the flights were horrible and they put me on a connecting flight when there were direct flights available. I was able to twist some arms at AA because of my status and got on a direct flight there. They had my friend on a 10PM flight back to DC when there are flights every hour. We were able to get on standby for the return flight and got home at a reasonable hour, but it was a pain in the neck. I’ll never book NCL air again to same a few hundred dollars. That being said, we just booked a transatlantic and opted for the NCL air. The savings was thousands of dollars. That’s worth it. And there’s only so many flights they can put us on. We’ll see what they do for us, but we won’t know until March. I like the analogy of a box of chocolates. That’s exactly what it’s like.

My Nespresso. On the last trip we got upgraded into the Haven. First time, but won’t be the last. Absolutely loved having the Nespresso in the room! Oh, and of course my cats. 😃

Thank you! Trying to plan my strategy. LOL

Another one that doesn’t want to search through 200+ pages for the answer. 😃 I’m looking at a 16 night transatlantic in April. If I book an inside and use points for a meta upgrade to a balcony, which cabin would be used for the upgrade process? The inside or the balcony? I want to be able to bid for a Haven room. Would I be able to? Thanks in advance.