complawyer

i havent been to grand stirrup cay in years, but as i recall, the tender boats come in quite often, i think we spent about 2 hrs on their beach then took the tender back. personally, i'd prefer to stay on the ship, last time i was there, i was underwhelmed to say the least. i know its been highly upgraded, but i would personally not feel i missed anything not going ashore. ( the opinions expressed herein are strictly my own)

i  believe you will love the getaway, we've been on about 8 different ncl ships and the getaway was by far my favorite. we just really liked the vibe. enjoyed eating on the waterfront, unless youre sailing through the thanksgiving week, most kids will be in school

i can only speak from experience, by grandson is now 20 and has cruised with us since he was 10. when he turned 18 he received all his accrued latitude points

cans of soda are never included, they cost about $2.50 + gratuity. If you didnt have a suite before your upgrade, chances are the cocktails are not included either

i have tried to work this out mathematically. we are platinum plus and will have 229 points after our next cruise in march.

if you book 2 haven suite 14 day cruise, you will get 56 points per year. after 10 years you still only have 560 points and still need 

140 more.i'm 72 and this just isnt going to happen.  also i found out that the free cruise is a 7 day balcony. hardly worth the effort or the total costs i think. 

ive checked with other cruise lines, no big difference in prices, although i  have noticed nclmini suites are actually larger than rcl juniorsuites. remember, the goal of any big corporation is to make money for its shareholders. like everyting else in life, you get what you pay for, although nc lhas a really bad rep for nickel and dimeing its passengers once they are on board

betterstick with the jade.the star has a habit and history of mechanical problems, and consequently cancelling ports

my understanding is that these problems have not as yet been fixed. we are sailing fromsantiago on march 14th and havebeen advised that due to the ongoing mechanical problems,2 of the ports have been cancelled. ironically, we took the star on its 1st southeast asian tour dec2016 through jan 2017, and the mechanical problems were identical.

as they say,anything is possible, however free upgrades are highly unlikely. besides, ncl has a weird definition of upgrade. as far as they are concerned a upgrade can be the same type of cabin but in a different location. there is probably noway anyone will get a "free upgrade" from say a mini suite to the haven

god bless your wife. my wife wont go on a cruise unless we get a haven. that being said, the butler can help you unpack, but i dont use him for that. we request that in themorning he bring a pot of fresh coffee, and hot water for tea, as well as assorted pastries. in the afternoon, i usually have him bring a plate of crackers, assorted meats and cheeses, as well as fresh fruits. throughout the day, if we're not ashore, i have him bring fresh cookies.

my grandson when he was younger would call the butler and havehim bring over a pizza. finally, sometimes back from a shore excursion, if imreally wiped out, i have him bring an ice cold beer. they are there to assist you. also, at the start of the cruise, i slip him $50, and at the end another $50+ depending on how his attitude and service was throughout the cruise. Also an additional $50 to the concierge. by the way, i rarely need services of the concierge, its not like hecanget me front row seats for a broadway show, but he has a certain amount of clout getting dinner reservations for the specialty restaurants, but most importantly, he can get you off the ship in a matter of minutes. this is great when 2-3000 people are trying to disembark at once. the only drawback to the haven,is once you book a haven suite it's almost impossible to settle for anything else

most ncl ships start boarding around 11:30-12:00. dont wait any longer than 12:30. also ncl insists all their passengers be on board at least 2 hours before sailing

the only things you should really think about prior reservations, are the specialty restaurants, and if there is a must see tour. actually the only specialty restaurants that seems to fill out quicker than the others is le bistro and teppanyaki. remember, however, there are a few 1000 other people on board so if it's someting you really want to see, ie; the comedian, its best to get there early. i think those shows have very limited seating

idont bother pre booking shows. if they are must sees, get there a little early. the only "saves seats are if you are in a haven or a suite. if so, there are reserved seats, talk to the concierge. if you arent in either, you need to get thereearly

sadly and tragically "NO".they even own oceania and regency and these to wont match either

no question about it, no brainer: Greece and Turkey, especially if you dock in santorini,mykonos, corfu or ephesus (the ruins there are amazing

ihave discussed this question before. it appears that regardless of the offer, ncl manipulates the original price, and discounts from there. if you look at the bottom line, the actual price you pay for a cabin, will not change even after the so-called sale is over. 

better safe than sorry, take your printed e docs not your phone

just think about the logic of this question. regardless if the initial deposit,the cost of the cabin remains the same, and you will just need to pay more when the final accounting comes do. i believe recently ncl is running a $50 deposit promo, but only up to mini suites. suites and/or haven suites require $1500 deposit. so in reality, the bigger the deposit you put down, the less you need to pay later. you are really not saving anything. also if you cancel within the appropriate amount of time you get the deposit back anyway. if you cabin is $3500, and you put down a dollar deposit, you will still owe  $3499.so ask your self where is the real savings

probably not, unless you intend to use it a lot. service at sea is still lousy. cruise critic recommend you wait until you reach a port, and try any place that offers free wi-fi

i have taken over 15 cruises on ncl, and never have seen the fares drop dramatically, i do believe thatif the fares do go down prior to payment in full you can get the reduction

no major difference except the mini-suite is slightly larger than the balcony. if you check any of the ncl ships when it comes up book, look at the balcony and then the mini-suite. also mini is slightly higher in costs. 

i have cruised with ncl at least once a year since 2010 and am a platinum plus member. is it just my imagination, but has anyone noticed that when ever ncl has a so-called sale, be it 30% off, $1000 off, the actual costs of the cabin remain the same. I have also noticed that when the run the 3rd person sails for free, the price for the other 2 people goes up.    Are they actually giving the public a true sale.  Whenever I call to inquire about a cabin, they always seem to manipulate or quote a price much higher than I mathematically worked out. Any thoughts or am I just mathematically challenged

while we have never sailed on a disney cruise, we have taken over 15 with norwegian, the last 5 in the haven, I assure you, there is nothing to compare to the haven suites. My wife is so spoiled she wont go on a cruise unless I book a haven suite ( i dont blame her) Your butler always takes good care of you, and the concierge is worth the price of admission, if nothing else, at disembarkation, he can get you off the ship, and to your luggage within 10-15 minutes. By the way, we are currently booked for the 10/2019 transatlantic sailing on the getaway ( our 3rd time on this ship) it's a fantastic ship, and we are really looking forward to the 19 days. The intinerery is amazing. Cant wait to cruise down the seine river in paris. We are also going to renew our vows as its our 50th anniversary.  

Hope to see you on board

complawyer