JandC_Cruising

Try posting your question on the Roll Call for that cruise. Someone who is booked on the cruise could look in their planner to see cost.

Yes. $12.95/day +20%Gratuity per person.

No. They have not run "discounts" on the FAS+ since they created that program.

Call your group specialist and they will assist. Given they work specifically with larger groups, I would hope they are given a bit more "access" to the dinner reservation system. (full disclosure: I don't know that for sure) As others have said, they only release a % of the reservations to the pre-booking. We've had to make changes to plans upon boarding in the past and have done some on embarkation day without issues. There is a staffed central table to make any dining arrangements when you board. It is usually at Teppanyaki or near Guest Services.

yes. Before final payment, simply call and have them re-price your cruise. The only caveat is that you will be subject to the promotions going on at the time of your re-price. So, for example if you had done the Buy-one-Get-one Airfare with your original booking and then the price goes down and but the Airfare promo is no longer active, then you would loose that benefit. We have repriced cruises many times before final payment without issues.

This is exactly right. I've seen a variance in the taxes often. I don't know what the tax rate is in San Juan, but 9% tax on $15 is $1.35, so those charges are not out of the realm of reasonable, assuming either 1 drink or 2 drinks per swipe. One of the bartenders in the Vibe last March on the Joy out of Miami told me that he held back the swipes once it was "sail-away" and would then put the drinks through once we were in International waters. Sure enough my drinks in the Vibe after 4pm were not charged tax.

Start researching now. For the most part, unless the ship is scheduled for a dry-dock, the restaurants, entertainment venues, and basic features of the ship will not change. Excursions are port specific, so as soon as you see them posted as bookable, expect those to be firm. It may take time for more excursions to appear, but some will book up and then disappear. Entertainment is more of a mystery. You will not know until cruise time who the various bands, singers, comedians, magicians, etc. will be as those contracts are relatively short, However, you can expect in the Escape that there will be comedy and "Howl at the Moon" in Headliners, an assortment of bands in Syd Normans, singers and such all around the ship. We've been on the Escape a number of times since 2019 and will be on her again in December. "Choir of Man" has been on ship for years. Seen it ever time on board.. The ship is one of our favorites.

I am the coffee-boy every morning with our Premium Plus upgrade. Never an issue ordering two at a time.

You can see who makes what charges on your TV monitor or you can ask for a current statement from Guest services at any point during the cruise. Even if it all goes to one final credit card, the statement shows whose keycard was swiped. Here's a snip from one of our past cruises where you can see where DW's card was swiped vs. all the other times when it was mine (no other "source" listed)

It is about maximum "NEW" revenue stream! There are thousands of variables in their "mysterious" algorithm. However, the original cabin fare is not a factor...nothing is changing that original payment, so factoring that into the algorithm makes zero financial sense. If two customers are bidding on a balcony and there is only one to give, then the higher bid will win regardless of the original price each paid for their original cabin. Here are two examples Customer A: "Inside" and is bidding 150pp on a Balcony Customer B: "Oceanview" and is bidding 100pp on a Balcony Customer A Wins!!!! NCL is getting $300 additional in revenue. (vs. $200 additional if B wins) That is the NEW REVENUE regardless of what these two customer's originally paid for their cabin. But, if you add one more customer to the mix: Customer A is in an "Inside" and is bidding 200pp on a Balcony Customer B is in an "Oceanview" and is bidding 100pp on a Balcony Customer C is in an "inside" and is bidding $100 for an Oceanview Well now here is what happens: Customer B is awarded the Balcony (+200) Customer C is awarded the Oceanview (+200) NCL Nets an extra $400 total by upgrading B&C and leaving A in their inside even though they bid higher. What any of those customers already paid for their original cabin is meaningless. The PlusGrade algorithm is daisy-chaining upgrades to figure out the largest new revenue stream for NCL.

One of our favorite Specialty restaurants in the fleet is Pincho's Tapas. It is only on the Escape and we have enjoyed each time we have sailed her. It will be open for lunch on sea days (at least it was a couple of years ago) and that was a nice change of pace. For lunch we shared one of our specialty dinners (then did the same another night at Food Republic). I know there has been talk about some of these (order four dishes locations per specialty meal) restaurants not allowing sharing any longer, but we have never had an issue. Like every other ship, we love Le Bistro and also Bayamo (called Ocean Blue on other ships). Enjoy the Escape. It is one of our favorites in the fleet. We are back on her in December for the Holidays!

I do not think that the Getaway offers "Haven Spa Cabins" any longer. Last year, NCL seemed to eliminate all their "Spa" cabins across the fleet...Those were the cabin classes that INCLUDED access to the Thermal spas. H9: Haven Spa Suite M9: Club Balcony Spa Cabin B9: Balcony Spa Cabin All those cabins were changed to standard Haven, Club Balcony, and Balcony cabins without the Thermal Spa access. Current deck plans on NCL's website are updated to reflect the changes. You now need to purchase the Thermal Spa pass separately. I believe if you booked one of those category cabins prior to the "reclassification", then you still get the access, but if you are trying to book a new cruise on one the ships, these old classifications are not available any longer.

I think this is a bit of semantics. I agree many are "invited" by receiving and an email or some other notification to bid....However, IF the upgrade link works, then by default "you have been invited". The point is that not all customers are allowed into the bidding process. Many "Big Box" travel sites do not get "invited" and therefore, you will be able to bid. In fact, you can easily check if you are eligible (assuming bidding has started for your booking) by going to: https://upgrade.plusgrade.com/offer/NCL/ That said, I'm not sure what the OP (and friend) are expecting to do if they do not use the computer. The bidding process is done electronically. You need to use your computer or phone app to access the bidding platform. I've never heard of anyone calling in their bid since the bidding is run by a third party (Plusgrade).

Last January we flew in and out of West Palm and took Brightline up to get a flight. We taxied to the Brightline station (less than 15 minutes) and purchased tickets for the next train. Plenty of seating on the train so there was no need to pre-purchase.

Yes....The Escape has a door going from the Vibe into the Haven interior. It is right next to the Vibe restrooms and opens with a Haven keycard. It leads to a staircase that takes you down to the Haven Deck 18 cabins. Took a screen shot from an youtube video.

That is definitely the text book definition of a "FIRST WORLD PROBLEM"! 🤪

I'm right there with ya!

So, If you are still unclear, I'll try to explain: - The Premium Drinks Package (included with Free at Sea) covers any cocktail or mocktail that is under $15. If you select a beverage that is greater than $15, then you simply must pay the difference +20% gratuity. For example a $15 cocktail is free, while a $17 cocktail will only cost you an extra $2.40. - This package does not include specialty coffees or teas, does not include bottles/boxes of water You can definitely order an Irish Coffee at a bar and they will use some other brand of Irish Cream without getting charged anything extra. (it is under $15). If you ask for it with Baiiley's however, they will tag you with a slight upcharge. Just like ordering a vodka tonic with something other than the "well" vodka. Hope that helps a bit.

I agree. And I was one of the "others" that mentioned that too in my post 😉 Little to no "Sail-Away Rates" is certainly the case right now, given the high occupancy of all cruises. NCL (and other lines) are not needing to offer that lowest fare to fill the cabins right now. However, as you are aware, when they are available to book, they are always less than the lowest priced cabin in that category. If one doesn't want/need the beverage package or the specialty meals, and doesn't care if they are "assigned" a cabin, then looking for that rate (if it is available) can be a savings.

You are looking for what NCL calls "SAIL AWAY" rates. Those will give you a cabin in the class you choose, but you will not be able to "select" your specific cabin. These also come stripped of the Free at Sea promos (except for the $50 Shore Excursion credit for guest #1) Unfortunately, given the high occupancy of most ships, many of the sailings I've looked at have that rate "sold out". You can also simply chose your cabin as normal and receive the $50 Excursion Credit and free internet minutes and "deselect" the drinks package and/or Specialty Dining. This will reduce your price by the cost of those benefit's 20% gratuities.

There are no penalties for no shows. even if the whole party misses the reservation, you will not be charged.

Keep checking on a regular basis for excursions. They will populate over time as they solidify contracts with local port tour companies. Once an excursion is visible, you can pre-book and pay for it, even if it is before final payment of the cruise. We have booked plenty of excursions long before final payment over the years, particularly when it was an excursion we knew we wanted.

@NCteacherlovescruisingNo worries. Just book for the 6 people and show up with 5. We've done that exact thing multiple times since they only show even number reservations. You will not get charged. The host will ask if each of you plan on using a specialty meal credit or if you are paying a la carte when you check-in for the reservation. Enjoy.

No...they all look like regular walk in showers that run along the full side wall of the bathroom.

We were on the Getaway this past summer July into August) from Lisbon to Southampton. It was an AMAZING deal when we booked. We had a great cruise, but did miss (Le Verdon - Bordeaux) and Zeebrugee (Belgium) due to bad seas and an inability to get into port. We had zero issues with the time in the ports we did visit (Vigo, La Coruna, Bilbao, Rotterdam, Le Havre). All those ports had full days with plenty of options of things to do. You cannot predict the weather and need to go with the flow. We had some rain and some hot days. We made the most of the extra two sea days. in fact one of them ended up being a beautiful day on the sea. It was simply too rough to go into Zeebrugge that morning. We really enjoyed the Getaway as it was our first time on her. It has a nice thermal spa and Vibe. We had great meals, enjoyed the shows, and all in all had a very fun time. If the price is right for you, book it!