reeinaz

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I'll be doing my 1st NCL back-to-back next year. I've done several on Carnival and they were each slightly different. So I am definitely looking forward to experience it on NCL.

I've also been able to use cruise first certificates as an additional payment on already booked cruises.

On 6/18/2024 at 8:36 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

It's probably like many rules, unenforced until somebody causes a problem.  That banana in my pocket?  Nobody cares.  Three dinner plates packed with cookies, cake, hamburgers, fries, roast beef, chicken legs, jello, etc?  That's when they step in and say "whoa, not so fast there partner."

Trust me when I say, they won't stop you even with all that. LOL I bring my buffet dinner(s) back to my room often. I don't recall seeing any signage prohibiting it. 

Well, so happy I read this thread. I had been getting air confirmation emails from NCL but there were no changes. I am flying to Vancouver for an Alaskan cruise this weekend. Well, OMG. I just checked my Air Canada flight (my outbound flight to Vancouver) to see it was cancelled!!! I had previously logged in and selected my seats and gave my contact info for updates. NOTHING from Air Canada. Air Canada did not move me to another flight and I don't have access to select another flight because they were purchased by NCL. This is the first time that has been an issue and I book all my flights using NCL BOGO. So it looks like it's an Air Canada thing. I have always received communication regarding changes directly from Delta, AA, and United once I went into my flight booking to update contact information. But I called NCL and let them know and they will be rebooking me on something else. Thank goodness I was travelling in 2 days early. 

It's weird how various rules need to be enforced while others are encouraged to be ignored. Sharing drinks vs clogging up the cruise terminal because you can't wait for your appointment time to arrive.

On 6/4/2024 at 12:23 AM, ChiefMateJRK said:

I'm fine as long as the cabin is ready at bedtime (around midnight).

I'm fine as long as the bar is open and there is a restroom close by.

I have never really received a big savings, if any, via the different sales. Most of the time I find the price has increased since I booked.  I figure that means I already got the best deal when I booked.

My last NCL cruise was in March. They announced the cabin availability by deck. I think they started around 1:30ish. It wasn't late enough that I started to wonder what was happening. My luggage arrived before the sailaway.

1 hour ago, pcakes122 said:

The Carnival countdown email the person received had a big SHARE COUNTDOWN button on it (which is what they clicked to post to FB.) I don't know how this hasn't happened to more people if Carnival is including the confirmation # in what is shared when you hit the button they provide.

 

I might feel differently if the people involved wrote a FB post of their own to talk about their trip and either added or included a screenshot of their booking - but that's not what happened here (according to the folks impacted.)

The email has your booking number but the countdown that is shared when you click the link does not. Did they just copy and paste the email?

On 5/14/2024 at 10:21 AM, schmoopie17 said:

@YVRteacher I found it amusing that they had a sign next to the cookies that said "cookies". I guess they felt the need to identify these rare things since people haven't seen them in a while and may not recognize what those things are.

I know I'm a late responder but if they didn't label them as cookies, some people might think they were biscuits.

On 5/26/2024 at 12:48 PM, carohs said:

What is this chair vs deck chair nonsense? I too never heard a distinction before. Is this like comparing sandals to flip flops? Some people argue adding bedazzled flip flops are indeed fashionable sandals suitable for MDR, etc. So let's all bedazzle some regular outdoor chairs and call them deck chairs! Woohoo 🎉 

My rule has always been, if it's leather it's a sandal. If it's rubber/plastic, it's a flip flop. That is a hill I am willing to die on. 

17 minutes ago, MohrPfun said:

Yay!  From what to what/where to where?!

inside to balcony. $600 total

I was awarded my upgrade bid today. 6/24/24 Jewel to Alaska.

I love this question and how I think about it is one of the reasons I majored in economics. Although a big part of me is extremely logical, going from $1600 to $2200 feels different than going from $2000 to $2600. And don't ask me which one feels better or worse 😂

19 hours ago, doubledown_58 said:

Can the Free at Sea promo be used here?

Yes. You can get 4 items

5 minutes ago, tstahl said:

i wonder if it's only available to book after you've paid for the cruise?  I booked and paid in full for a cruise and bought the vibe passes while booking.  I have another cruise in October that's showing "too early to book", but I've only put a deposit down on that one.  

No. Your cruise doesn't have to paid off to book Vibe. I would say it's a glitch, or maybe this is what it says before it actually releases the passes for sail. I have only encountered it once. I never use the app for anything until I am onboard. I have passes for all my cruises that are on a ship that has Vibe, except my 2026 cruise.

1 hour ago, SteveM812 said:

Under Vibe it literally says too early to book.

I have seen that on one of my cruises. The date it gave me was the final payment date. But I kept checking and it allowed me to book it before then. 
 

I just checked. It was my Viva cruise scheduled for Nov 2024. It said come back 8/1/24. 

Were cookies that significant of a line item on the budget to justify the cut? Is just pound cake available or do they also have banana bread, coffee cake, danishes, muffins in the studio lounge

Thanks so much. This was definitely helpful. One of the reasons I enjoy cruising so much is that I don’t have to do any of this planning. Most times I just stay in my hotel and order room service pre cruise LOL. But I don’t know how often I will get to visit Vancouver. 

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16 hours ago, ciabelle said:

Ok, I've heard enough answers like yours saying it'll be the absolute most no frills fare possible, and others saying that the fare included a checked bag. So I'm honestly no closer to a definitive answer than before I asked. 

I do think it makes sense for NCL to book a regular coach ticket over the barebones flight. Flight delays happen often enough that people report missing the ship completely or having to catch up with it in another port of call. It would be salt in the wound if one not only didn't get to the ship on time, but then lost the entire value of the ticket NCL purchased for them, and had to pay the full fare to get to the next port or fly home early. 

So, no, they're not going to put you in any premium cabin, let alone first or business class without possible prior arrangements and a much heftier fee, but I will trust the others who've said a checked bag was included. 

For many overseas flights, the airline allows a free checked bag. It has nothing to do with how NCL books. Baggage allowances are determined by the specific airlines. Some people will get a free checked bag when they update their flight information on the airline page because they have that perk with the airline. It has nothing to do with NCL.

Also, I did state in my previous response that all of my NCL flights have been regular economy, not basic.

Hi.

I will be in Vancouver pre-cruise, arriving 11AM 6/22 and my cruise departs 6/24. I'm staying at the St Regis hotel. I would love some assistance from those familiar with Vancouver to help me plan my stay since I have never been there before. I'm fine using public transportation, I don't drive, and I would likely need a tricycle if I chose to bike since I haven't been on one in maybe 20 years! I've read threads and visited Trip Advisor for ideas.

So far I have these:

Granville Public Market

Stanley Park Sea Wall

Sun Yat-Sen Garden

UBC Botanical Garden - not sure how out of the way this is.

Experience indigenous art and food

Localvore food (will likely make a reservation at Burdock and Co if there are no other suggestions)

New Town Bakery for fried apple pie

Peaceful hand pulled noodles (or similar. the hand pulled noodle idea grabbed my attention)

I guess I need help figuring out the logistics of getting to these places in a way that makes sense. I'm also open to more suggestions. I like my days to be fairly low key and easy going, so I don't need to do a ton of stuff, but I do want to feel like I actually visited Vancouver. 

Thanks so much in advance!

Cheree

You can add it at the time of booking. I have added it for cruises 2 years out. And yes, you can add it anytime up to I think 75 days before sailing. 

Yes your luggage will be there if you disembark when your tag is called. 

16 hours ago, ciabelle said:

Does NCL book the absolute cheapest fare AKA basic economy, or do they book regular coach/main cabin? 

We're sailing out of Barcelona in November, so it's long before NCL will book our flights, but checking with Delta, the one-way fare difference between basic economy and main cabin is $100, while a checked bag is free in main cabin, but $150 in basic. Plus you can make changes or cancel without penalty with main, and choose your own seats to boot..  So going with basic economy seems penny wise and pound foolish. I'd rather pay NCL a couple hundred dollars up front than have to pay even more on the back-end. 

My flights have always been regular economy