julig22

Excellent advice. Most likely, contacting NCL air department will get you nowhere. They have their policies, they stick to them (although I was told a little while ago that they were changing management). But those policies can be overridden, on a case-by-case basis if you calmly make a reasonable request PRIOR to your flights getting booked. Been there, done that. vicepresidentguestservices@ncl.com

Not only was your response incorrect, it had nothing to do with the original question DO THEY DISCOUNT...

As a solo you only pay half-price for airfare with the BOGO offer so yes, there can be a financial advantage. I've used it many times. How much of a discount depends on the overall cost of the flights. For me, NCL doesn't discount a flight from Seattle to Anchorage that much and I have airline credits to use, so I'll book my own this time. Note, I will be using airline credits that I got when a NCL-booked flight home got cancelled/rescheduled for the following day. The same flight I might have booked on my own at 3x the price.

As far as I know, you can only use points to upgrade from Inside to OV or OV to Balcony. As to solo-supplement, that depends on the cruise. Many of the Alaska cruises this summer had no solo-supplement for inside and OV. Others vary from no supplement to just a slight discount. As to upgrading once onboard - chances are slim to none unless you happen to be on a cruise that isn't already sold out. And even then it's not very common, just not something NCL usually does. I believe NCL recently allowed studios to bid on upgrades, don't know if that's still the case. Or you can watch the pricing and see if prices go down, supplement or not, and ask for an upgrade (assuming you are already past final payment).

Seward is a little different than other ports. Generally speaking, you will fly to Anchorage and take either a bus or the train to Seward. So your options to get to the ship on time are limited. I'm booked for the same itinerary but not using NCL for this particular trip, flying to Anchorage from Seattle and in that case, many of the flights arrive super early in the morning - still debating my actual plans on when to fly. But I have booked the pre-cruise excursion which is the train transfer to the cruise, leaves Anchorage about 1 pm. So you can definitely book that instead of the NCL transfer - if the train is late, the ship will wait. And the excursion credit(s) apply, so might be cheaper anyway. In the past, I've also been able to book the NCL transfers, even when flying in early - sometimes it did take getting a supervisor who knew how to override the system. But on my last cruise they cancelled my transfer shortly before my cruise, stating some nonsense about security at the airport. They assured me that it was only that specific airport (Buenos Aires) but I'm getting the feeling that they are doing it elsewhere.

Just depends on your itinerary and the excursions you choose.

To make it more interesting I have found that they add on $25 onto the excursion to make the free $50. I was simply commenting on your $25 statement. Nobody disputes that prices may be different.

Yea, that's not how it works. They might raise the price, they might not. But they don't just arbitrarily add $25 to everything. Comparing exact same excursion, different cruiselines, can be a little difficult, due to differences in transportation logistics, etc. Simple example: Goldbelt Tramway in Juneau - $50 ($35 child) if you buy online or onsite. $49 ($29 child) with NCL. So actually free for #1 passenger, cheaper altogether for a child.

Not true, nor is it was the OP was asking. Whether all passengers have to actually disembark depends on the port. On some cruises, B2B passengers just gather in one of the restaurants or the theater. Ship does not have to have a zero head count, just all passengers have to be accounted for.

Bidding typically opens 110 days after final due date for the cruise. So makes perfect sense.

Yep, I just looked. Gondolas are more now. Booked it at $49 for an upcoming cruise, now it's showing $69 for the cruise I hadn't finished booking excursions - I usually book it because it's free.... Just hadn't done it yet, oh well! Wonder if they'll eventually up the excursion credit if they have to increase the prices on all of the cheaper excursions that currently qualify as "free"

As written in the Promo T&Cs: In the case of multiple excursion credits or discounts, the $50 Shore Excursion Credit will be applied first followed by any additional shore excursion discounts

Doubtful that what you actually spent has anything to do with the bid. They already have that money, the idea is to get more. So your $500 bid is better in that respect than another bid from someone who originally paid more but is only bidding $250. So logically, in my opinion anyway, you are on equal footing with anyone else who has an equivalent cabin, regardless of how much they originally paid. Now how that plays out when different categories are bidding on the same upgrade, hard to say. It then becomes a game of backfilling empty slots.

I think TA OBC is usually refundable, assuming the TA pays for it. NR OBC is usually from NCL. That aside, shareholder OBC is listed as nonrefundable. However, on my last cruise I believe it was applied toward my CN purchase. At least that's how it originally appeared on my account. Due to a bunch of excursion credits and additional NCL OBC what went where got kinda lost by the end so impossible to completely verify. From my experience, it appears that different ships have different accounting systems so that might also be a factor.

If you book onboard, it shouldn't be an issue as far as I know. As to applying to someone else, the OBC is automatically split between guest #1 and guest #2. If you're talking about more than 2 people, you'd have to run that by Guest Services.

Yes, the perks should carry over - or be modified to whatever is current. Every cabin gets the $50 shorex, even sailaway, so that should never be an issue. So sounds like a system error. There may be some additional charges if the upgrade includes additional meals, plus an increase in insurance if you took that. There was a post on another forum from someone who had a similar issue - but they didn't notice until they got onboard.

Any 7-day cruise. Complimentary 7-Day Cruise – Ambassador Ambassador members will be offered a one-time complimentary 7-day cruise. The cruise is for two people in a balcony stateroom, third and fourth guests will be at prevailing rates. Eligible members will have one (1) year to take the complimentary cruise. There are no destination restrictions but holiday sailings are excluded. No promotions are included. Taxes and fees not included. Service charges not included. Terms and conditions are subject to change and inventory is subject to availability.

From my experience, the "notification" system is somewhat random. Maybe an e-mail, usually there's a link in the messages for the reservation in MyNCL, sometimes there's a banner. But today is 110 days out for an upcoming cruise and if I go to the plusgrade website I can put in my bid - I'd checked previously and nothing was available.

I'd personally prefer that they come up with a list of available perks for platinum and above. Then you choose from the list - platinum gets 2 choices, sapphire gets 4 or something along those lines. I have no interest at all in the wine tasting or strawberries (allergies to both), or the mixology experience (2 cruises to Diamond) - it was great when they were giving OBC because the wine tasting wasn't offered! But I'd like to be able to substitute a couple of bottles of water for the strawberries, just as an example. Give you a door hanger (like for room service) and you can put your choices. But waiving fees for PPV or discounts on onboard activities would also be nice.

Additional 5% on excursions for Sapphire.

So because there isn't a "free" package that suits the 18-20yo crowd there should be a loophole to get around it? Not everyone can drink alcohol for various reasons but there isn't a "free" soda package for adults either. I'm actually allergic to wine but NCL will not let me substitute a soda package for the FAS drink package - I'd be more than happy to pay the gratuities on the package but nope, I have to pay for the package (plus gratuities) or just pay as I go along.

No need to wait - you can get whatever terms you want anytime. It's all the same, they just like to come up with creative ways to get you to think you are getting a better deal. Bottom line, you pay $125 each (if you buy 2 or more) and you can buy up to 8. There is never any OBC that needs to be used up, it always applies to the cost of the vouchers.

Is there a Roll Call for the cruise? I've seen people successfully post their needs on CC or other social media groups.

Current doubleUp offer expires on 5/15. Will you be able to use 2 for a balcony after that - probably but you'll just have to ask when you get onboard. If you book onboard you can get an upgraded balcony (better location) - unless you have a specific reason for waiting to book.

Well, they had planned downtime of the site over the weekend so maybe that's something they included...