complawyer

in that case, have a great time and enjoy your cruise!!!!

while the offer, in and of itself, isnt bad, i have posted before, if what you have posted flightwise, is really what you wish to do, i STRONGELY, suggest you book your own flights. that way you can pick the time of departure, estimate the arrival time, depart from wherever you wish and most importantly what category seats you want. Just google an airline, chooses multi-city and go from there. It may cost a little more, but for my money (and i dont presume to tell anyone else how to spend their's) it's well worth it. personally, i would never let ncl book/choose my flights, regardless of flights. Since you're flying from lax to oslo, visualize sitting in economy for the entire duration, then to make matters worse, visualize being stuck in the middle seat. NO THANKS!

so far, on any shore excursions we've ever booked thru ncl no one has ever (and i mean never) checked if the name corresponds with the person getting on the bus. they dont check if you have to wait in the stardust theater until your excursion is called, they just rip off the ticket when you board the bus. by the way, i find its cheaper to take the tour description that you want with you and hire a taxi. btw, we've taken dozens of excursions by/thru ncl and on our own

sorry for the late response. if the ship you're booking, has both a haven and a suite designation(not club balcony suite) you will find the size and description almost identical. there is a significant price difference, the perks are identical, the only difference is no access to the haven complex if you book a suite. personally i find that at the difference in price, i can forgo the haven pool, bar and restaurant, you still have breakfast at modeno, lunch at cagneys, and all the other goodies. butler, concierge, priority getting on/off the ship dont get me wrong, staying in the haven complex is amazing, truly a different world, but does it equate with saving a few $1000 dollars for almost the same thing?

imho, i believe its so much better to book your own flights, allowing you to determine when you want to leave/return, ( this is especially helpful on a multi-city cruise where it begins in one port and concludes in another, especially if you want to visit the cities prior to and after your cruise ) where you want to sit, allowing you to view/pick your own seat. i agree, sitting in economy, especially if you're stuck in the middle seat is unbearable at the least, and tortuous at best.

does this include departures from european ports also?

luv2kroooz. hate to argue with you on such a minor point, but "quality Broadway entertainment" is really only available in places like Broadway itself, or London's west end theater district. while the cruise shows are nice (some even entertaining) there is really no comparison. if you dont want to pay for wheel of fortune, or any other like activities, DON'T! in reality, any of those activities are of no interest to me. after 10pm. i'd rather be in my cabin reading my kindle. im 75 years old, and only choose a cruise based on both its price and itinerary. the other bells and whistles are of no furtherr consequence. im even contemplating removing the drink package (1) it saves about $500-$700 of the cruise price (2) i find i drink a whole lot more on a daily basis, because i bought the package

WOW! logan25, dont hold back, what do you really think about this option. if you dont want it, that's fine. but dont put it down. i dont know what category "7 day free cabin you get, nor the itinerary that will be offered. i do know, that if the offer entails something you dont really want, then the free part is irrelevant!

old chinese saying "never look a gift horse in the mouth"

the answer to your question is subjective. do you wish to spend the extra $$$ on the club balcony? is the larger bathroom worth the difference. you DO NOT get a bottle of champagne, just some of wine most people wont even open, much less drink. the bag of laundry comes free any way if you're platinum or above. snacks only on 2 days, and if you read prior posts, mostly cookies, possibly chocolate covered strawberries, (and only about 4-5) and you can pick up the cookies at the buffet. if its just 2 of you, the price difference my not be beneficial to you. in the alternative, just book a club balcony suite and pick where you want your cabin

so, in the end to all you nay-sayers, the concierge is a definite perk to be used and enjoyed. if you feel differently, by all means dont use his services. same with the butler. whenever i am lucky enough t be able to book a suite i utilize these people to the fullest. 1st thing i tell the butler when we meet in our cabin, is that every morning at 7:00, please bring a pot of coffee, pot of decaf, a pot of hot water, tea bags and assorted sweet rolls, pastries and croissants. like clockwork it's in our cabin every morning. also, since suites/haven have a separate check in area, the concierge is always there to greet us and have someone escort us to either cagneys, or if an actual haven are to the designated restaurant, where we can leisurely have a drink, lunch, and wait for our cabin to be ready

i also forgot to mention that people booking a suite also have access to stateside concierge services, a phone call to miami, and you can arrange most anything you want thru them

cruiseny4life hey buddy! for the past few years (post covid) we've been sailing from european ports. we've ended in rome, copenhagen, stockholm, athens, etc. my philosophy is if im sailing from europe,i may as well stay for a few days and see the sites, and believe me the sites lare well worth seeing. last year we did b2b from venice(trieste) to copehagen. this past summer, we did 19 days from southampton to stockholm. rather then hassle with trying to find transportation to the hotels, since everyone is disembarking and heading to other places, i just simplifies our getting from the ship to the hotel, if the concierge arranges it for us ahead of time.in 2024 we're planning 12 days from mauritius to capetown, and we're certainly staying a few days in both ports. next october we're booked on a b2b from venice to athens, and out again athens to tel aviv. venice is amazing, and i want to spend a few days in jerusalem, and see it there are any tours to jordan.but the bottom line, is i want the concierge to arrange transportation from the ship to my final destination. maybe someday the 4 of us can hook up on a cruise (assuming the fighting is over by then. by the way ($20 handshake for this service doesnt hurt)

usually, there are a number of cabs at each port. we usually get off the ship,( with a copy of the daily excursions) show it to the driver and negotiate a price. i just use the concierge on the the lst day to expedite our trip to the hotel.

teppanyaki is not as good as it once was, since they've changed from filet mignon to ny strip, which is also readily available daily in the main dining room. try and substitute le bistro instead or even in place of cagneys. ive had good meals and so-so meals at modernos. with their extensive salad bar, however, after stuffing myself with that, im ready to just go straight to the pineapple. this may not always work out, but since cagney's and moderno share the same kitchen, i often ask my cagneys waiter if he can bring me some of the pineapple.

cruiseny4life. hey good buddy, if you're in a suite, the butler can also escort you to dinner, and in most ships, the concierge has a specially designated area in the theater, so no need to jockey for position to get a seat

cruiseguy14. maybe i didnt explain it properly. i was talking about the last day of the cruise, and if we're planning to stay in that particular city. the concierge calls ahead for a cab, and the cabbie drives us directly to our designated hotel. we usually discuss this with him/her the day prior to disembarkation. so yes you can probably do it yourself,( but that involves trying to find a cab when most of the other passengers are trying to do the same). but it's not necessary at every port, merely the last one if you're staying for a few days. now dont you think that's something worthwhile, and removes some pressure on the last day of the cruise?

to me, the MOST significant aspects of having the services of a concierge are twofold(of course there are others, but these 2 are the most significant for my wife and myself) (1) when sailing from foreign ports, we usually like to fly in 2-3 days early, and if disembarking at a different port, stay over for a few days before flying home. i always make arrangements with the concierge, to have a taxi or a shuttle pick us up at the port and drive us to the hotel. ie, rome is about an hour away from the port. this aug we sailed from copenhagen to stockholm and he had a cab waiting for us, as our hotel was about 30 minutes from the port. the same last summer (2022) when we disembarked in copenhagen and he got us a cabto our hotel. (2) and IMHO, and ive posted this more than once, you arrange with your concierge to meet at a certain time and location to walk you off the ship. i think this beats trying to disembark with 2-3000 of your closest friends, who are blocking all the stairways. he gets us off the ship in less than 15 minutes, and directly to our luggage. (note if youre in a suite with concierge service, your luggage is in a separate priority location) to me, this alone is worth the price of admission. i concede that most of the services provided by a concierge can easily be managed by oneself, but try and get a dinner reservation in a specialty restaurant at the time you want, when it's listed as full, and then turn to your friendly, neighborhood concierge as see what rabbit he can pull out of is hat. that being said (sorry for the length of this post), if you dont use the concierge, there is no need to tip

there are usually 2 main difference between a suite at a haven suite. the most obvious is the price difference and the 2nd is as qsz06 states. no access to the haven area itself. usually the price difference is considerable. i can certainly forego the haven restaurant and the separate pool area, andsave a few thousand dollars. other than that, the perks for a "suite" and the haven are almost identical. while the designated haven area is somewhat much more opulent, the suites and their perks are just as good.

just an observation, but personally, i think if you're going to travel anywhere outside of the u.s.a. regardless of mode of transportation, it's always a good idea to have/take your passport. what's weird (imho) is that when you check in 21 days prior to embarkation, the form requests your passport information. at that point, the bells. whistles and the light bulb over her head should have alerted her about the need for a passport

i cant believe that someone would actually use lobster/no lobster as a benchmark to book a cruise. i look for price, itinerary, cabin availability. aren't those considerations much more important then whether or not you can get a lobster on any given night at sea? besides, most of the time even if its offered, its just the tail and not the entire lobster, and sometimes the tail looks more like a shrimp on steroids. we have sailed ncl from many foreign ports, and i would rather sail from those ports, then care if one night i may have lobster. by the way, choice between filet mignon and lobster tail, no brainer...steak wins, hands down, cagneys or le bistro.... here i come!

maybe you're just pushing the wrong buttons

yeah, but at least at that price the kids get to keep the kayak

you can leave your luggage with the porters at the pier, then go on and do whatever you wish. as long as you are back to check in 2 hrs prior to embarkation time.

i do exactly the same, the only difference is at the end of the evening, there are NO LEFTOVERS! LOL