RRSeeker

There is a glass elevator in the Haven area between the lounge and pool area that goes from 17 up to 19.

23 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I really don't see any difference between using a router to share internet than using  a drink package to share drinks.

Not necessarily, you are allowed to share internet with as many people as you want with only one sign on at a time. If someone leaves the cabin they have no internet since the router is using the sign on. The router is the one signed on using the internet regardless if those in the vicinity can access it. You can hotspot with your phone on land and it is perfectly legal.
 

The drink package is whole different type of purchase and can only be used by one person so yes, getting drinks for someone else without the package is a form of stealing but definitely not equal.

I am not technologically advanced so I couldn’t do this but I don’t see it as stealing.

I think it takes persistence and lots of luck.  Check prices daily and book when you are comfortable with the price you find.  My one and only time in the Haven this past month I had already booked and fully paid for a club balcony suite then I watched the prices daily until I found a price I was willing pay. 

It actually seemed less painful to just pay to upgrade after final payment than to start out looking at a large amount due. I actually upgraded twice as the prices fell and ended up in a two bedroom. The Haven Cabins sold out shortly after I upgraded for the last time at about 85 days out so once the price dropped they sold out pretty fast.

I have Covid too from the September 10th Escape cruise.  I didn’t test positive until yesterday but had allergy symptoms since September 19th. I have no one to blame but myself since I did not take any precautions on board. So far it is pretty mild but since this is my 3rd time getting it I know it can get worse at any point.

 I did try to get my booster on September 1 but was denied by CVS since I only qualified for the new vaccine out on September 20th.  I credit get boosted last May two weeks before my cruise for being the only one of the 4 in my cabin who did not come home sick.

Booked my own flight on American and sat at the Pittsburgh airport all day, flight cancelled at 7:45 tonight (kept delaying). Quick change of plans, leaving at 2am and driving to port. Had to book parking and too late to cancel hotel for tonight. This is turning into a very expensive trip since I used frequent flyer miles for the flight it wasn’t costing too much to get there but the hotel was expensive and I still have to pay for it.

The annoying thing was when I called to cancel the hotel they wanted to charge me more than I paid for the room so I checked in online and I am only paying what I booked the room at. Doesn’t make sense since they could have resold the room if I cancelled and I just paid what I booked at.
 

Oh well, I hope we make it in time.

On 9/5/2023 at 4:30 PM, Steelers0854 said:

Excited to see this as you have been so very helpful in the Roll Call.  I generally do Live Froms on our cruises and I appreciate you dropping this in here.  Ill take you up on it and add in my own posts here instead of creating a new thread completely!

My husband and I will be on this cruise. Steelers0854, you seem to be the perfect person to ask. My husband is worried about missing the Steeler game.  Any idea on where he can watch the game?  We have unlimited internet but not streaming so doubt we can stream.  I would consider upgrading if necessary but wanted to see if you have any information.  

If I broke up with my husband every time he can't or won't go on a vacation with me I would have been divorced a long time ago.  I still go but normally with my sister or one of my adult children.  I happen to have 6 weeks vacation every year so it is easy for me to go on multiple trips with and without him.

I wouldn't break up with her unless it is more than just this that is an issue.  My advice is go on your trip and ask if she would like to join you someday in the future.  You could have fun planning a trip with her that includes her son at a time that works for her life.  She is being a responsible mother and employee which is a good trait and nothing to be upset about.

Good luck!

2 hours ago, Monica887 said:

So where IS the best price usually? Website? Travel agent? The NCL consultant people who call randomly? What about Casino at Sea (I don't have it but my frequent travel partner does)? 

 

I work on a teacher's schedule and have my own kids. I do ditch the kids sometimes and go myself, but I can only go during peak times and only for a week. There's no way to be flexible there. 

Casinos at Sea basically a discount that you pay an upgrade fee to go to a higher category but no matter what you pay for it either by losing $2000 on one cruise and the getting a discount on the next one. 
 

My last cruise in 2022 I ended up losing about $2500 in the casino, not sure how much I played though the machines but I received a free oceanview that i upgraded to a Haven 2 bedroom for my Sept 10th Escape New England/ Canada cruise. All in with free at sea and dsc is about $6,500 for 2 people. I also booked my own flights with frequent flyer miles.

I think I probably saved about the $2500 I lost. Now if you don’t enjoy the casino it doesn’t really make sense to dump money in the machines or at the tables just for a discount. I don’t plan to do a lot of gambling on this cruise because my husband doesn’t gamble so I probably won’t get many offers after this one.

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

The upgrade cost is normally the value of the cabin at the time you originally booked and the current cost of the cabin you are trying to rebook into. The casino has "paid" the cruise line the price of the cabin at time of booking.

You may be correct but mine definitely did not work that way, when I called for the last time after final payment for the two bedroom they used the current oceanview price plus my upgrade I already paid to figure it out verbally on the phone. Prior to final payment they just rebooked for me when I went from oceanview to club balcony then to penthouse suite. I would have to find all my invoices to know for sure but honestly I don’t know the prices of the oceanview at each time I changed. I know the $1849 was really high and only stayed that way for a week or so.

Today the price is $1049 which is more in line with what recall at original booking but they are guarantees and we are 24 days from the cruise. Maybe I just got lucky

I believe it is the difference in price between of the cabin you were given for "free" and the cost of the cabin you are booked in for CSA pricing purposes to determine how much an upgrade will cost.  I always watch to see how much the difference is between the two cabin prices, but I have never actually repriced after final payment, I have however, upgraded to a higher category for a lower price than it would have been at the original booking. 

Most times when there are prices drops both categories drop so there is not much of a difference but every now and then it will work out in your favor.  On my September cruise I had upgraded to a Haven Penthouse Suite but a couple weeks later after final payment the oceanview I was given given for "free" dramatically raised in price ($1849 pp) so the Haven two bedroom was only $60.00 per person more than I paid for the penthouse suite upgrade. I called and upgraded for $120 total.  Interestingly enough, the minimum bid price if I submitted a bid from penthouse suite to two bedroom was $600 per person.

I also lost the extra 2 points promo when I undegraded for my September cruise, however, the promo was still showing active on the app when I did the price check and called to rebook.  When I upgraded the Casino at Seas Rep told me I would not lose any promos but I noticed when they emailed me the invoice that I did.

I looked on my laptop and it was not available anymore then tried the app again and it still showed up.  So I called and they told me to send the screenshot from my phone but the promo was over and not much they can do.  I sent the screenshot and figured I would never hear back.  A week later they apologized, reinstated my promo and gave me a $100 obc.  Obviously it was a technical glitch but it worked in my favor.

I am not a big Starbucks fan but I actually collect the mugs when I travel.  Originally I was buying them for my daughter because she collects them but then I started to buy two every where I went. 

I was excited to see this until I found out that they will not be selling the mugs for the Escape which I will be on in September.  My husband, however will be happy because every time I buy one he says we don't need another coffee mug, which is true since I am running out of room to store them.  

10 minutes ago, Russiamomm said:

If you book through CAS, don’t you have a regular agent you work through?  I have a guy I’ve been working with for several years.  He’s great.  If you don’t have a “Casino Guy”, you should get one.  Mine is great.  😁

I have asked the good ones if I can use them and they always say the are incoming calls only. I started cruising NCL through my home casino and finally called and asked to be switched to Casinos at Sea because my casino went MSC and I enjoyed the NCL cruises so I have only been direct with them for 2 years.

I still work for a living so I only cruise once a year because I enjoy other types of vacations as well so I still do Las Vegas and a beach vacation every year.

1 minute ago, jack300s said:

Again, Thanks for the good information. We decided to just go ahead and upgrade to the Haven Penthouse Balcony Suite. There wasn't that many Haven Suites left, plus the cost difference between our bids and what we paid wasn't that big of a difference.

I am glad it worked out for you. I feel better booking direct.  Normally I bid and obsess over getting the cabin I want that I end up raising my bid to amounts I am not really comfortable with just to win.  Luckily I always lost, probably would have paid more than I could have upgraded for if I did it before they sold out. 

They changed the insider offer. However, if I look at cruises on Ncl on my phone it still exists for some cruises but on a computer it is gone for the same ones. IT glitch I assume.

3 minutes ago, tde1969 said:

I called to do this on my booking and they said I would have to cancel, take the penalty for being under 120 days and then rebook.  Did the NCL rep not know what they were talking about?

Yes, I had to call back 3 times to get someone who understood me. First rep told me an additional $5000, second one said I called the new booking phone number(I called the right number and selected the right option), third time was the charm.

I book through Casinos at Sea so I am not using the regular 800 number but that shouldn’t make a difference other than I get a discount or as they call it a ‘gift’. It was still expensive.

19 minutes ago, cruiserbear55 said:

 

  NCLs insurance is predicated on cabin prices. So I would think if your cabin price goes up, so will your insurance premium. I live in a no sales tax state, so can't be sure, but would assume if the price goes up, so would the taxes.

When I upgraded my room the taxes and port fees did not change, so I assume the tax is not based on a percentage of the total price or NCL made a mistake and forgot to charge me an additional amount.  I originally had a club balcony, upgraded to Haven Courtyard, then Two Bedroom Villa and my taxes/port fees are exactly the same on all invoices.

1 minute ago, jack300s said:

Good points.....I'm also on the same cruise. We are currently in a Club Balcony Mini Suite and have bids in for the Haven Courtyard and Forward Facing Suite. Still waiting....Does anyone know if taxes and insurance are added to the amount of the bid if accepted?

Additional insurance would be added to the booking if you are using NCL insurance.  You already paid the taxes and port fees, they do not increase with the room type.  The DSC also would not increase if you already pre-paid it. Good luck on your bidding and keep watching the prices, there are not many Haven cabins left to book at this point.

Always check the prices before bidding.

I am on the NCL Escape on Sept 10th. I was in a Haven Courtyard Balcony. Received bidding emails at around 110 days.  The bid to upgrade to a Two bedroom family villa started at $600/pp. I had no intention to bid but noticed today the two bedrooms was only $150/pp more than when I booked my cabin.  I called and upgraded for $360. 

I do get offers but I have to actually call them to find out what they are.  I was told I had a privacy notice on my account so that is why I do not receive anything in the mail.  They have since removed the "privacy" from my account many times in the past year but still no luck receiving offers in the mail.  I will say my sister who I took on her first NCL cruise with me last year gets offers all the time in the mail.  My offers are always better offers than hers for longer cruises but I would rather not wait on hold for 30 minutes just to check and see what they are.

As for the offers, after my last cruise I was told I now qualify for a "free" ocean view cabin which I used the offer for my upcoming September cruise.  Now, all my offers are for inside cabins but I always upgrade so it doesn't really matter that much to me.  I find that I do save quite a bit on the cruise using the CAS offers but it is nowhere near free.  There  are taxes and port charges, a $140/pp Admin fee (I was told by CAS is was raised to $175 but I am not sure) plus gratuities on the "free at sea" and the daily service charge so free really means at least $700/pp before upgrading and paying for insurance for a 7 day cruise.  I saved about $3,000/pp on my September cruise. If I was paying without the CAS offer I would think the cruise is overpriced and not book it but that is the current environment we are in with most everything.

My guess is she knew he wouldn’t like the cost so it was a surprise in more ways than one.

 I  know my husband would not be happy about this since he is pretty careful with money (cheap) regardless if we can afford things or not.
 

I tend to book way in advance so I can make payments monthly, this way it doesn’t annoy my husband as much paying all at once. I also watch prices and call for adjustments up to final payment.  My September cruise was booked in June 2020 and paid off way before 120 days. I ended up upgrading to Haven closer to 120 days but it still wasn’t a big sticker shock for him since it wasn’t that much to upgrade.

I wouldn’t want someone spending that much of our money without my permission. I would think your wife would have discussed it with you before committing to the trip if she knew the cost. 
 

My husband and I both spend what we want within reason but wouldn’t spend 1000’s of dollars without discussing it first.

Hopefully you are still outside of final payment and can cancel or rebook a more reasonable cabin if you really decide you want to go.

I am sailing for the first time in the Haven in September. This is a special cruise for our 40th anniversary and probably the last time I would pay that much for a cabin. The ship goes to the same places regardless if you are in an inside or Haven suite.

23 minutes ago, mugtech said:

Called Wells Fargo, got a recorded message that I no longer need to tell them of my travel plans.  Card was refused on Cyprus. 

My card was always denied in Canada unless I called before travel. I just add a travel notice on the app. Pre-pandemic we went to Canada a couple times a year so it was not an unusual type of charge on my account but I was always denied if I didn’t put the notice on my card.

My Sam’s Club Mastercard and PNC visa also have a place for travel notifications on their app.  I gather Wells Fargo stopped requiring notices but maybe check the app and see if it is listed under services. 
 

Take a picture of your passport photo, worked for me last time I had to check in 

3 hours ago, CruiseMH said:

 

As long as i know that i am below the limit of my CC i wouldn`t be embarassed at all cause i know the mistake must be on cruise lines side.

 

I can understand that NCL/ CC companies are very strict, so the first time it happens i can understand NCL:

But when solving the problem at guest services this should have been solved completely. NCL should have informed him how the CC has to look like to be accepted.

I will say my Citicard was denied several times if I didn’t notify them I was traveling. I learned to always put a travel notice on my cards after that. Embarrassing, yes but easy to fix since they text me every time I was denied I could always respond “yes” to the text and have the person run the charge again.
 

If I didn’t have cell service that would be an issue.  Never hurts to put a travel notice on your account just in case.