julig22

You can get a single Haven deposit which does take care of the deposit but you only save $100 by only buying 1. I don't believe you can use 2 Haven certificates unless it's during a double-up promo. And using 2 regular CNs during a doubleUp may not always satisfy the deposit requirement, terms vary. You could wait for a $500 CF offer, although I don't believe it would necessarily satisfy the Haven deposit. You might be able to find a single Haven Deposit for sale online for $250?

You are entering uncharted waters to some degree as new terms apply soon, with the change to "credits" from "certificates." Yes, if you cancel it appears the credits will still go back to your account. You could get 2 regular CNs - pay $250, valued at $500, or 2 Haven CNs -pay $750, valued at $1000. Basically, you can save $250 with CN if you book during a double-up promo. CruiseFirst has 2 options - $300 and $500, you pay half the face value. So no need to wait for a double up if you catch the $500 option - but it's not always offered. You do have to buy the certificates for a future date. Where the change appears to be, other than some administrative stuff, is that the previous loophole that allowed people to add a CN to an existing reservation when there is a double-up promo, may be closing. Which means paying attention to what is offered when you book. CF already had that "loophole" covered.

Uh, OK - cost of first day is $109, waiting until midnight is $89. Don't see any $5 in that.

For most of my international flights, I've flown overnight and arrived at my destination in the morning, often way too early to check into my hotel. But I also arrived at 5:30pm on my last trip. I've also had same-day flights, arriving in the evening. That particular flight was domestic, west to east so included a 3-hr time difference. Your best bet is to look at what is available from your location to your destination. Sometimes it's fairly obvious what you might get. While it never hurts to ask, most feedback seems to be that they don't usually honor special requests - I wish they would! Or at least let you choose from a couple of options - on a recent trip, they gave me a short layover when there was another plane leaving 2 hours later. I ended up on the later plane anyway because I missed my connection.

Thank you, locked out if you start using your minutes is the information I've been looking for - and suspected! Lots of posts regarding upgrading but pretty vague answers, not the specifics with respect to using minutes or not.

Huh? You got the $20 for the week correct. Where does "whopping $5 for the week" come from?

I've been on cruises with a 2nd PR nite, don't recall if it was day 8. I've done a few behind the scenes tours and have gotten conflicting info about menu selection. Some say they rotate, others say it's a 7 day repeat so I'm not sure if it's up to the chef or if corporate decides.

Price will go down if you wait until day 2. My upgrade was $89 for 6 days, on a 7 day cruise.

Assuming by cruise credit you mean FCC, you should be able to use both on the same cruise if you wish. They'll take the FCC first, then the %, so a little better value to you if you do 2 separate cruises. Note that the % off only applies to the fare for that person, it's not 10% off the total fare. So you'd apply both of those coupons.

I've been told that NCL does not tend to book comedians on cruises leaving from foreign ports where English isn't the primary language for a significant portion of passengers, since comedy does not translate well.

Whether or not they post the buffet menu in the daily seems to be hit or miss. Seems like on my last cruise it was posted most days, in the dining option section - but not always. Other times, I've seen it on the bottom of the front page. But sometimes they post the O'Sheehans/Local special in that space, and put flyers in the elevators - othertimes, nada. But it seems like it's always been prime rib on day 1 as far back as I can remember.

Is the Star the best representative of the NCL fleet - probably not. Does it have some of the best itineraries - absolutely!

As a solo traveler, the cost is more affordable. I cruise for the itinerary, not the shows, food or drink - and NCL offers better itineraries IMHO. I took a 14-day Antarctica cruise on the Star from Buenos Aires last year - and I am considering a similar cruise in the future. The on-board guides (biologist, geologist & historian) were excellent, with multiple daily programs and play-by-play commentary while we were cruising in Antarctica. I have no idea how other cruiselines would do on the same itinerary. So to address some of your comments- No, there probably won't be a comedian on a ship that departs from Buenos Aires, as English isn't the first language for many passengers and comedy shows don't translate well. Not sure where in Antarctica the ship could re-provision? WiFi isn't going to be good in remote parts of the world - not sure how much difference the planned upgrade to Starlink will make. Did it occur to you that the "drill" might not have been a drill? I've been on 20+ NCL cruises and never had a drill while all passengers were onboard (except the old muster drills). You go to your room before you're told it's ready, complain it's not ready and then expect a pleasant response from someone trying to get thousands of passengers onboard? Refunds for missed ports is a much-discussed topic, you are never guaranteed a refund, due to the way they ESTIMATE fees years in advance. I can't speak to tendering, our stop in Stanley was cancelled at the last minute (tenders went to dock, weren't able to dock due to weather) - but I had a NCL excursion booked, so had no need to wait for tickets. Good luck finding a cruiseline that meets all your requirements. NCL works for me.

Yes, the casinos are open on the Alaska cruises while the ship is moving from port to port. I believe they will be closed if you are in a national park (Glacier Bay for instance) and may also be closed near Canada. On a Seattle to Seattle RT it seems like they closed in the afternoon prior to arriving in Victoria later that day, did not open again.

Good catch. I seem to recall discussions about splitting the SH credit about the same time they stopped splitting the excursion credit. As usual with wording from NCL, the per-stateroom terminology could simply be there just to indicate that it's only 1 benefit/stateroom, regardless of how many people on the reservation have shares. But no matter which way they choose, somebody won't be happy!

The statement "credits cannot be applied to existing reservations" is new. Which is what I originally said. Guess a simple No, with no explanation would have made you happier? Sorry. I was advised on another site that because the term "new reservation" has always been there, this isn't a change. In the same post, they advised that the loophole that allowed the application to existing reservations is probably going away. Call it what you will, if I can no longer apply CNs after booking, it's a huge change going forward.

Just a FYI - CN terms are changing way more (IMHO) than just expiration dates. They will now be known as CN Credits for anything purchased on cruises departing on or after 1/11/24. Note the new wording: All Credits are valid for purchase of new reservations only and do not expire. Credits may not be applied to existing reservations. Previous wording was: "A CND can only be applied to a new reservation" but we know that it has been easy to apply 1 or more to an existing reservation - or add more during a double/triple-up promo. Looks like that's no longer the case, although it also looks like the old terms will still apply to older certificates. Currently it's double-up for any cabin, guess it's time to add one to my June cruise!

No. While it says new, the definition of new reservation has been a little lucy-goosey - since you have the option of cancel/rebook. And there haven't been any issues that I know of when applying 1 or 2 to an existing reservation. Apparently some TA's weren't able to add a 3rd during the last triple up due to the the "new" wording but anyone booking through NCL could "make a payment" via the website. New terms are more in line with CruiseFirst now, where they spelled out that it couldn't be an existing reservation. However, if you go to the website, it appears that the old terms still apply to certificates bought prior to 1/11/2024. Note, there are new CF terms as well.

I think the phrase "credits cannot be applied to existing reservations" is rather significant...

Just my opinion but I'm thinking an actual power strip is more apt to be noticed than a power cube (non surge-protected of course) that isn't as noticeable on xray.

I actually use something else but I believe that should work.

Huh - what point would that be??? Just what is the NCL form if not a fillable form - at least to those of us who have decent software? It's a fillable form for me, sorry it doesn't work for you. Oh wait, I get it - an online submission must not be the same as an online form in your world.

As to what is a fillable form, Google says otherwise. You certainly did say an online form, but if you don't think it should be secure, well OK. Enjoy your day. "A fillable form is a digital document that contains blank spaces or fields where users can enter information. These forms are designed to be filled out electronically, and can be used for a variety of purposes such as surveys, applications, and questionnaires. They are often created using software such as Microsoft Word, which allows users to add text boxes, tables, and other elements to the document. Once the form is complete, it can be saved and shared with others."

No it's not an online form which is what you seem to be looking for. But it is a fillable PDF file - click in the appropriate place and enter your info, assuming you have the appropriate PDF software. And then attach it, along with your statement, which you also have to modify. I also add my statement as page to the pdf document so there is just 1 attachment. Their program, their rules. Creating a secure online form, requiring an attachment, isn't as simple as you might think.

Form is fillable if you open it in Adobe with editing capabilities. I use the same form, with a scanned signature, each time, just change the cruise info. Then resend an email, using the previously sent email but changing the attachment and cruise info.