complawyer

that's what im talking about. it's nice to see at least once, but after that, meh. i also had a thought. since gsc is ncl's private beach, shouldnt passengers get a reduction in port charges? do they pay to have to dock in their own port. same with harvest caye just saying!

i wasnt even concerned about that, although we did get 50% back,and i didnt even ask for it. as an aside, one of the points on this particular excursion was a shooting range. you could shoot anything from an m16, a 50 caliber machine gun, even an ak47. remember, my grandson at the time was 17. also note prior to being drafted in1968, i had never fired any type of weapon, after discharge in1970, to date i have never fired or lifted any type of weapon. i bought my grandson a clip, got him the m16, told him to put it on single shot, as automatic would have gone trough the clip instantly, and told him to go to town. this was a complete firing range. after he was done, i told him this was the one and only time in his life i was going to let him fire a weapon. got a great shot of him holding an m16 next to hid cheek

not really. a few years back before covid reared its ugly head, we were on the jade with my grandson and his friend. they had no problems with the room, my grandson was 19 and his friend was 20., a year before that we had the 2 bedroom on the epic with my grandson and another of his friends. my grandson stood over 6 ft at the time. also remember that there is a pull out couch available also. i believe the perks associated with any suite outweighs the smaller room size onthe 2 bedroom. besides, depending on there ages, they may only use the room to sleep. if they are under 18 ncl has a great program for teens. i joke that once we got on board the ship, we only saw the 2 boys for shore excursions, and dinner. they both used to roll in after 2, they met some other teens, had a great time and either hung out at o'sheehan's or onthe dance floor. dont worry about the size of the room. the only thing i would warn you about is once youve stayed in a haven its tough to book anything else

they were very glad and relieved that i wasnt carrying. lol.

as far as i'm concerned, if great stirrup caye is one of the ports, i'm staying on the ship and enjoying the lack of other people. i have often commented that sharing a beach with 2-3000 of my closest friends is not something i want to, unless i can share a few beers with chiefmate (lol)

look at the deckplans and see which cabins connect, then merely call ncl and proceed to book them both. for a major experience, and assuming your travel budget will allow, book the haven 2 bedroom suite, or if no haven on your ship book the 2 bedroom. the rooms are virtually identical and the experience is amazing. if you want to save some money, book a club balcony, and an indoor cabin just across the hall

i had to add this as you asked for least favorite. im a vietnam vet, and a couple of years back we were on the ncl star. one of the ports was saigon (even though its ho chi minh city) it will always be saigon to me. anyway, one of the shore excursions was to cu chi. i served there with the 25th infantry back in 1969-1970, and i wanted to show my wife and grandson where i was for a year. important to note the tour guide was 42, this was 2016, and the war ended in 1975. he kept talking about the"american war" and how they could forgive but not forget. my 1st thought was what exactly was the "american war". at the end of the tour there was a 20 minute film kind of like a newsreel, but to me it seemed like a propaganda film for the viet cong. even m grandson walked out after 5 minutes. he was 17 at the time well he wasnt even born when the war ended, so there was nothing for him to forget, and after pouring billions of dollars into the country how dare he say they wouldnt forgive. my point is as a vet, i couldnt have been more offended by this piece of s**t. when we got back to the ship, i immediately went to the shore excursion desk, told them about this tour guide and calmly indicated that if i had a .45 with me, i probably would have blown his head off. and im a very peaceful person. sometimes, some people just rub you the wrong way this was my worst shore excursion by far, and its probably the only one i can really b**ch about and we've been sailing with ncl since 2010

actually,based on their costs, and the specific port, i'd rather get off the ship and hire a cab or just walk around, shop and/or take pictures. the costs of some of these excursions are oftentimes outrageous. we've hired a cab in naples, rome, florence, marseiles, tenerife, and ive walked around cozumel, grand cayman, juneau etc. the most interesting ones, have been to pompeii,ephesus, and tulum, but i'm into seeing ancient ruins, and i anticipate i will take the ncl excursion for the seine river cruise in paris

for years i booked thru casinos at sea. one fine day i get a phone call from an ncl cruise consultant. the 1st thing i asked was what can they do for me that i cant do for myself, since i never had any trouble booking . they advised that t he process would be easier so for a few years i gave her a try. while she was a wonderful human being, whenever i called her, her figures were always different than mine (and usually higher) i used to get so frustrated, i had to have mu wife talk to her, as i couldnt deal with it any longer. one dy i decided to call cas to check if my cc was actually giving me a deal, and lo and behold, a brand new world of offers, prices and choices (including a comped club balcony suite) that heretofore my cc knew nothing about. this new person i found on casinos at sea i believe is a godsend as far as working reservations go. i look up a cruise on ncl website, tell her what a i want for the cabin, and voila! i get a confirmation in the email. im not putting down or bad mouthing the cruise consultants, i just prefer to no longer use that service

same as the others, you can decline the drink package with no penalties, and you DONT have to book either the guarantee or sailaway cabins.

it's like asking someone, should i buy a ford or a chevy (assuming you cant afford a lexus, or a mercedes) we've sailed ncl for the past 12 years. while we've been plagued with assorted minor frustrations, by and large, im usually satisfied with the overall ncl experience. we've taken our grandson (who is now 23) on numerous ncl cruises since he was 12. we've also brought along one of his friends on a few other cruises. ive checked royal carribbean ( im not crazy about the number of people their ships carry) celebrity, and i find generally, for the average cabin, or even a suite, ncl's are bigger. i looked at a jr suite on rccland sq footage wise it was about the same as the club balcony on an ncl ship. if youre traveling on spring break, youre bound to find a bunch of families sailing, regardless f which line you choose. whenever, we took or grandson, he met other teens and had a marvelous time. we hardly ever saw him during t he cruise, except for excursions, and teppanyaki dinner, the best advice i can give you and total we've been on over 25 cruises, decide where you want to go, how much you want to spend, and what type of cabin will fit your needs (i suggest the 2 bedroom suite offered by ncl if it's in your budget). then decide which cruise line meets these needs. i always say, regardless of it's faults, ncl always gives me the best bang for my buck. it takes me to places i want to see, at prices of which i am comfortable paying. in any event, whichever you choose, bon voyage, and i hope you and your family have a great cruise!

well, we'll be on the bliss to alaska in about 3 weeks, im anxious to see where i get get my free "excursions" . just what i want is a tram ride free or otherwise.

that's great if youre traveling alone. we're booked on the star from london to copenhagaen sept 16th to 26th. 1st port is paris. i want to take the seine river cruise. its like $250 per person or more. the $50 off will bring it down to $450, and we get the additional 15% off for being sapphire. so figure another $75. making the cost $375. while the $50 beats a stick in the eye, even with the additional 15%, $375 still is a long, long way from "FREE" shore excursions. realize, i'm not bitching about it, i always sail with ncl, it's just a little frustrating that what they offer and what you actually get arent even close i'd still like to buy you a beer one day. we seem to be on the same page more often than not!

hey, spanish guy1970. i think a whole lot more people actually get it, im just more vocal about it. about a year or so ago, i posted a question "is this really a sale"? all you have to do is follow the numbers when trying to book and you'll see what ive always said "ncl doesnt give away ice cubes in winter" although, to be fair, having researched other cruise lines, cabin choices and itineraries, i still feel ncl gives it passengers the best bang for the buck , i just wish they would be more transparent with their so called sales. one of my main pet peeves is the free excursions. $50 off is such a far cry from free

while i was disappointed in missing some ports (as indicated previously) we flew in to hong kong 3 days early, it was a 14 day cruise, and we had flights going home after 3 days in singapore. when we got on the ship, we were offered (1) a full refund. this didnt do us any good as what were we supposed to do for the next 17 days. ncl actually came to the rescue for a change. the other option they offered was to reduce the price of this cruise by 50%. we had a penthouse suite and 3 people, and in addition a 50% reduction if the fare on any subsequent cruise we wanted to take, (talk about a no brainer) this hong kong to singapore ended up costing $ 3750 total for the 3 of us, and next year, i booked a 2 bedroom suite on the epic from barcelona. me, my wife, grandson and his friend again for a little over $3500. never saw any offer to match that again.

well for a change i was actually surprised. yesterday morning i booked a cruise for next july. copenhagen to london, british isles. i needed the 2 bedroom, and it was $17,000. after reading the post indicating the 40% off, my boyish curiosity got the better of me so i checked at around 10 last night. Low and behold, it went down to 15,000! i guess miracles do happen (sometimes)

if youve been following these amazing (sarcasm intended) sales for the past few years, you will notice that any amount off doesnt change the cost of the cruise. they just jack up the price and claim it's a sale. for the generous 3rd and 4th guests are free, ncl just redistributes the costs between the 1st 2 people and calls it a sale.

while i feel your pain, that's one of the risks you take when you book a cruise. no cruise line has control of the weather or any conditions that might effect a particular port. a few years ago we took the 1st ncl cruise for southeast asia. hong kong to singapore. one of the ports was hanoi. the ship had mechanical problems and couldnt dock in hanoi, taipai or cambodia. im a vietnam veteran, and i probably wanted to see hanoi much more than anyone on your ship wanted to see greenland (an ice covered wasteland) nice to visit but i wouldnt want to live there. not only was i massively disappointed, i was majorly p***ed off. just like you, we were not advised until we got on the ship. as the say in the funny papers, "S**T Happens!

that's the bottom line on this post. tip if you want to (especially if the service is really good) dont tip if you dont want to. there is no right or wrong answer. since the "gratuities" are already factored into the price of the cruise, you are perfectly within your rights not to add any more money as a tip. however, as most things in life, it's really not that simple! most of the people working on a cruise ship are from 3rd world countries, dont make a great deal of money on these cruises, work hellacious hours without much time off, live in very cramped quarters, and most of their pay is sent back to their families. while im not trying to tug at your heartstrings or bring a tear to your eye, to me, being on a cruise ship along with the attached bells and whistles, is a luxury, even if youre in an inside cabin (note im not criticizing inside cabins). we're on a floating 5 star hotel. the food and drinks flow, youre going to exotic places around the world. (my wife and i have been to places i never even dreamed of ever seeing, but for the cruises we've been on), is it so horrible to cough up a few bucks for the people that are performing a service for you. we go to vegas quite frequently, and if im doing well and on a streak, i always tip the blackjack or pai gow dealer. if you want a better seat, it's called the vegas handshake ($20) usually takes care of business, and we have a casino host where all we need to do is give him a call and there's a comped room waiting. he always gets the handshake, as should your butler and concierge if youre fortunate enough to book a haven. think of it this way, the next time you dock in an exotic port, if we're lucky enough to be able to be on this ship (or any cruise ship, cruise line) for that matter, im sure you can find it in your heart (and certainly in your wallet or purse) to leave an extra few dollars as a tip. the new disney wish, features a cocktail for $5,000. while personally i think that's obscene, if you can afford to order one, and dont leave a tip for the bartender, you should continue the cruise with a sign on your back "cheap s.o.b." sorry for the length of this post, but i'm sure you get the picture that i'm a very strong proponent and advocate of leaving an extra tip, no matter who is serving me. ok chiefmate, have fun with this one!

this is like the tipping thread.. pre-pay if you want to, dont prepay and pay at the end. there is no upside or downside to either, other than you'll have a cheaper bill at the end

mine are always cash tips. this insures that the person i'm tipping gets the money

if youre in the haven, there is a special area for you and a separate check in area.

you dont need to research, read,learn or anything else. you dont need to overthink this issue. regardless of what it's called , if you want to trip extra, do it. if not dont! and cruiseny4 life, you're coming across as an entitled grump. dont tip if you dont want to. no one really cares about the rationale, and no one will get on your case if you choose not to tip any extra just remember, it doesnt hurt to leave a few dollars extra. i assure you, whoever is serving you, regardless of the venue (bartender, cocktail waitress, waiter/waitress, blackjack dealer) they will all appreciate the extra $$$

your cruise docs should have the correct address of the terminal. i just show the cabbie where i want to go.

old fart cruisers. the 20% added to large parties is so the waiter/waitress doesnt get stiffed if the people at the table are cheap tippers. a dinner for 8 can easily add up to a few hundred dollars. if your bill came out to $300 20% is $60. or roughly $8.00 per person. that's not outrageous when ytou think about it. sometimes the 20% comes to to be less than i would actually leave as a tip, so i make up the difference in cash. if it's a restaurant i frequent regularly, and have a favorite server, i always tip a little higher. never less than 20%