complawyer

heyrussiamomm, ok if after 125 pages and god knows how many posts, if you still find who bid what and what was the outcome, still to be interesting and informative, please continue to read on. i only suggest t hat regardless of someone else's bid whether it gets accepted or rejected, what cabin they bid on for the upgrade, and what they bid, in reality has no bearing whatsoever on any one else. how can someone else's bid an any specific cabin, on and specific sailing date or ship, possibly be any help to you in either planning or strategizing your particular plans? if some one bids on the haven deluxe owners suite on the prima, how does that help you if youre sailing on the dawn? moreover how does it help you if youre on the exact same sailing, but can only afford to bid on an upgrade from a balcony to a club suite? isnt it 100% easier and more certain of success if you just book the cabin you want, rather than booking a lower category cabin in the hopes that an upgrade will come your way. even if you bid, the most certain way to get the cabin is to place the max bid. other than that, to upgrade form an inside to oceanview, ocean view to balcony, isnt worth the hassle, if i want the balcony, i'm going to book the balcony from the get go, or merely book whichever cabin is within my price range, it wasnt my intent to stir up a tempest in a tea cup, i was only trying to point out that i think this horse has more than been beaten to death

so zelliott, can you honestly say, you really care about whether or not someone else's bid was accepted, what cabin they bid on, and what was the bid, and further do you honestly care whose bids were turned down. if you wish to bid for an upgrade, and you get it, good for you. if you dontget it, isay again, youre no worse off that stayingin the cabin you originally booked what effect can this information have on you and your choices? regardless of your answers, dont you think 125 pages and ongoing on this 1 topic has now become excessive

as you have, i have never had less than a spotless cabin, whenever it was available, regardless of the cabin, former mid ship mini suite, club balcony, suite or haven suite. they have always been in tip top shape when we settled in. and yes, the correct response is to merely get hold of the cabin steward, point out the problem(s) and im absolutely certain it will be quickly rectified. but as a good friend of mine once put it very succinctly, "some people would complain even if they were hung with a new rope"

well then jrt.mom, if you readily acknowledge that you're to cheap to offer much, why even bother. i know even a broken watch is right at least twice a day, but if i know that my bid is so low that there is a 0 chance of accepting, isnt this an exercise in futility? would you not be better served just booking a cabin you really want?

do you mean not really as i'm not raining on a parade, or not really that it's not time to end this discussion. if its the 1st, and there is anything i can add to help you out, just respond once more to this post, if it's the latter, i guess people will keep asking. personally, it matters not to me who gets upgraded what they bid, and who does not

a 2 bedroom suite will work wonders on any ncl ship you choose, plus you get all the perks that accompany the suites. we have taken our grandson on many cruises when he was 12 thru 18, and (1) he enjoyed the kids club until he turned 13 and then the entourage designed especially for teens (2) he was jazzed at being able to utilize the 24 hr on call butler to order pizza to the cabin. the 4 of you will get to eat breakfast and lunch at the private dining rooms, priority embarkation and disembarkation, if the sisters get a little restless with each other the pull out sofa is very comfortable.

while i dont mean to rain on anyone else's parade, we are now on page 125 of this post. some people will get upgrade notifications, some others will not. it has been posted before, ncl has absolutely no obligation to offer anyone an upgrade choice. for those of you that bid and are successful, great, for those of you that bid and are unsuccessful you are no worse off then the cabin you originally booked. whether or not anyone else got the upgrade is completely irrelevant to anyone else's chances for the same. isnt it time we put this post to rest?

hey schmoop!. i think you're comparing apples to oranges. i dont think any restaurant on board a cruise ship, or a hotel would sit anyone at a table as you described. most of the time, even before we finish a meal, the waiter comes over with his utensil to wipe away the crumbs. i have never been seated at any table where there are dirty napkins, the staff always comes by and askes "are you finished" and then proceeds to take away the dirty glasses, dishes, silverware and napkins, if you end up with a dirty knife/ fork or spoon, or lipstick/coffee cup stained glass, it was probably a dishwashing problem, and im sure the staff will rectify it immediately certainly not on the same level as finding schmootz (jewish word for dirt and dust) in your cabin. also remember ncl has reduced the daily room cleaning from twice to once, making it extremely difficult for the stewards to finish. while that's no justification, it might help to understand the problem. beside, and i'm sure good buddy chief mate will agree, a little extra time at the bar (especially sugarcane) never hurt anyone LOL!

my all time favorite helper will strike again. the $20 vegas handshake to the cabin steward on the 1st day will do wonders. personally, in 25 ncl cruises over the past 12 years, i have never encountered this problem. on the other hand, i have often left bottles of beer and soda in the fridge for the enjoyment of the next passengers, or i have told the steward he is more than welcome to take the bottles for him/herself. and for my really good buddy, chief mate jrk, while i agree with you in principal most of the time, i dont think it's totally unreasonable to expect a totally clean cabin when you get in. i can forgive leftover ncl dailies, but a dirty bathroom, UGH! personally, on the last night of the cruise, wego through the cabin, and make sure nothing is a mess for the next group.

venice to trieste is slightly over an hour. btw trieste itself is a beautiful port city. last year we stayed in venice for 3 days prior to the cruise, hired a shuttle to drive us to trieste, spent a night in an amazing hotel, and the next morning a shuttle bus as there waiting to take us directly to the ship, only about15 minutes. in the past we have also hired a cab in civitavecchia to drive us to rome, around the citry and back, and also in liverno to pisa . we also hired a can from the dock in naples to the amalfi coats. t was on my bucket list.

on the QT, whenever we've stayed in a haven, i only had 1 problem with a butler not brining me cans of soda. but after a few days, he relented and brought 4 cans. usually, we arent charged for them either. by the way, $20-50 at the start of the cruise to the butler goes a long way to getting what you want again, just sayin"

hey panoramaof thepast!! while i dont consider myself a tea totaler, and take full advantage of the basic drink package, i am addicted to pepsi, and it broke my heart when ncl switched to coke. that being said, however, cans of soda can be bought onboard. i think it's about $3.00 per can. i also enjoy a cold cola with my breakfast. so, i would ask the cabin steward or any bartender if you can buy a 6 pack. if youre in a suite, the butler might just bring you the 6 pack at no charge, this is assuming that you wish to pay the price. if you dont get the drink package, im sure the cost of a weeks worth of diet coke is a decent price offset. just sayin"

hey quack2. you'll get the docs online within 24 hrs as prior posts above have indicated. it may not have the same level of excitement as getting a stack of docs in the mail, but for me the excitement is (1) getting any type of notification that im ready to board (2) actually being on the ship

if you happen to be on another cruise prior to using your fcc, there are usually brochures at the cruise next desk or by shore excursions that show what cruises are available. we picked out a b2b 19 days cruise on the dawn when we were on the jewel trans canal last january.

we've brought back souvenir food items many times, went through ncl security no questions asked. i think she'll be fine bringing the cheese on board, as long as it's not an entire wheel

by the way, SIX is an amazing show!

checking this list, buyer beware, spirit is one of the worst rated airlines

i would do it as soon as you get on board the ship

if you check, you will find a bunch of posts about bogo some pro, but i think mostly con. i have posted often, never, ever allow ncl to book your flights. yours is a major case in point. if you are still within the cancellation period, i would suggest you do yourself and ALL your traveling companions a massive favor, cancel and book your own air reservations. by the way, hopefully you are aware that southampton is a little more than an hour away from lodon heathrow airport, and hopefully you have made prior arrangements either on your own or through ncl for transportation to the cruise terminal. are your friends arriving at heathrow the same day of ship departure. if so, thats not so good. we're leaving from los angeles, july 25th, arriving at heathrow on the 26th. booked into a hotel for that night, then onto southampton the following day. also. make sure they have arranged transportation from reykjavik to the airport, and make sure that ncl has arranged the flight with enough wiggle room, for (1) getting off the ship (2) getting to the airport with enough time to check in for the return flight. IMHO,booking airfare through ncl may be cheaper in the long run, but look at the problems and headaches occurring because of it. classic example of "pennywise dollar foolish" i hope it all works out for you let us know what happens!

chances of prices on anything going down are pretty slim (if not all together non existent) that being said however, cabin costs are all subjective and in line with what you want and which cabins you wish to book read many posts from chiefmate jrk, and you'll find he's happy as a clam being in an inside cabin. some people arent happy unless they're in a suite or haven and dont mind paying accordingly. i'm currently looking at a 14 day cruise from reykjavik to southampton ,on the star. a forward facing balcony suite (with the attached perks) is currently $7600. i find that for the amount of days on the cruise, and everything that's included, is not an unreasonable price. lesser cabins, club balcony and below are also priced cheaper. we're also currently booked on a back2back 10 days each 1st leg, venice to athens, 2nd leg, athens to tel aviv. this is a total of 20 days, and we have a club balcony suite. total for the entire voyage is slightly over $10,000. again, for the total days, and the ports, i think is cost is more than fair. you're thinking about land based vacations from now on, but i have a sister that lives in orlando, and a week at disneyworld (with all the bells and whistles) can run well over a minimum of $7,000. try and get an inexpensive rate for maui. while i never presume as to tell any one how to spend their money, if you take the time to do some research, are semi-flexible, i think you can still find some decent (not cheap) but decent cruise fares. i have posted before, that when it comes to booking vacations, i'm overly anal, but in the end, if you want a cruise i believe that ncl still gives you the best "bang for your buck" factoring in price and itinerary.

if he was that petty, you should be glad his current status is "EX"

and unless the concierge was feeling overly generous that evening (fat chance) they had to pat for their meal.

ncl offers the same "sale" in different forms, and has done so for the past few years. however the so-called sale reads, the price rarely changes, and if it does, certainly not for the benefit of the cruiser. i have posted before, for some inexplicable reason, ncl's method of doing math, is wholly and totally different from the average person. wait a few days until this wonderful memorial day sale is over, check again and you'll see maybe a different offer, but the bottom line price you pay for your cabin probably wont have changed. if you're looking to book a cruise one year out, dont sweat it, you'll have much time

i thought you indicated your choices were between the ncl joy and rcl?

no question, the haven hands down!!!. we took our grandson on many cruises on ncl ships, and he never failed to make friends. ncl also offers (or they did inthe past) things for kids of all ages, for teens 13-18 they have the "entourage" especially designed for teens. up until he was 19 and no longer eligible, we singed him up and he met tons of kids and they hung out. i joke that we saw him when we got on the ship, and then not until we disembarkation. we only requested that he check in periodically throughout the day, and meet up with us a few times for dinner. if your'e going to compare the2 ships, in addition to the privacy issue, you need to (at least i would) compare cabin size, itinerary and estimated number of fellow passengers. our first suite was on the spirit from new orleans a few years back, at that time our grandson was about 14, he was overjoyed that he could call the butler (randy) and order pizza whenever he wanted. definitely go with ncl