zzdoug

How does that work? I'm currently 5 months out. Can I call them and schedule my flights now?

There seems to be a link to the app in the ncl.com portal. Must I be physically on board to book shows, dinners, etc?

No, I was trying to communicate that if you are going to try to solve the problem yourself and you want to make a claim, it's a good idea to get in touch with the insurance company to see if they will cover whatever it is you plan to do. And then, it would be helpful to know whether the OP (Dave) was able to reach a claims agent to ask about these things. I perhaps miscommunicated to make it sound like he said that he had a hard time reaching the insurance company; whereas I only meant to say that if it were the case that he tried and was unable to, that would be useful to know.

I didn't see that. I meant to say that it would be useful to know whether Dave tried to contact the insurance company and if so, whether he had trouble reaching someone who could help, and if so, I would probably want to buy insurance elsewhere.

Also: pro tip: never stay at Times Square.

I feel for Dave but I agree that solving the problem himself (if I understood correctly) by buying the Southwest tickets without guidance from the travel insurance company, and then refusing ncl's offer to fly them to the first stop of the cruise, again without consulting the travel insurance company, Dave is likely out of luck unfortunately. It's a terrible experience and I empathize. I don't hold AA responsible here. Airline delays are a normal occurrence when traveling, as noted in any common carrier contract. The seller of the transportation is NCL so that is who has responsibility to get them to the cruise as effectively as possible. Similarly I don't blame Boeing or Airbus who built the plane, the company who made the jet fuel, or any other subcontractor. If you had a hard time reaching a claims agent from the insurance company, that is useful information and makes me think I should buy insurance elsewhere.

Yikes. Sounds like you could have saved time by taking the Flixbus. Do you think it's any better from the cruise to the airport after the cruise?

We have taken several Carnival cruises and 1 NCL over 10 years ago, in addition to many other kinds of vacations, but we are going to try a cruise on the NCL next year. We used to like Carnival because each cruise was surprisingly a bit idiosyncratic in the entertainment choices and it seemed like the cruise entertainment staff had a bit of flexibility to be creative and put their own stamp on things, and there was stuff going on until very late at night, but now they all seem pretty uniform and corporate-mandated. For example I really enjoy the standup comedy but it seems like all the comedians are telling variations on the same jokes about eating at the buffets and going to the bathroom. So, maybe a different cruise line will provide a bit of variety? Or, maybe not.

We have enough frequent flier points to get to the cruise but not for the return direction, so we are planning to use the one-person free promo in the return direction (Miami to SLC) after a cruise on the Escape in spring 2023. Do we have any choice in the routing, airline, or timing of flights? Can any of you give us your experiences of what airlines are we likely to be booked on? Is there any chance we would be booked on a nonstop FLL-SLC on JetBlue or Delta or one stop on Southwest? Or are we more likely to be booked on Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant etc? Also do we have to pay for luggage if the airline has luggage fees? Thanks!

Thanks. I had understood that anything from Starbucks was excluded from the "Unlimited Open Bar" (UOB) package, but I was trying to figure out if there was some other place on board that served cappuccino type drinks besides Starbucks that would be covered by the package. I was once on a Princess ship (a long time ago) and they served cappuccino in the MDR and I didn't know if that was a thing on NCL. It sounds like the answer is no. If I understand correctly, the UOB package really only covers alcoholic beverages and sodas, including mixed drinks (adult or virgin) under $15 from most bars. If I want coffee, juice, etc, I have the standard options that would also be available to any passenger at the buffet or main dining room without a package. Thanks everyone for the clarifications.

This is helpful information. I was thinking that the ~$300 gratuity means it covers $1500 in liquor purchases which is what I would spend on booze over several years, but 2 per day seems plausible. Plenty of good liquors to choose from on the list. Let's get lit! A few follow up questions: Would a labor intensive mixed drink such as an Old Fashioned made with a bourbon on the list be covered under the $15 limit? What kind of juices, coffee drinks are covered? Is there a type of juice I can get that is not available without the package? I understand Starbucks is excluded but could I, say, order a cappuccino after dinner in the main dining room? Thanks

Do any of the NCL ships have separate gender-specific wet areas that are clothing optional?

What would Carnival low Gold match to on MSC? And is there any benefit to that status level? If this has been answered elsewhere, please let me know and point me tothe conversation. . Thanks

Not a stupid question. I was wondering the same thing. The website wasn't very descriptive.

Well, I asked Princess about this and got no response. So, question unanswered. Anyone have any inside scoops?

We cruise once every few years but plan to take more in the future. We cruised on Princess once about 20 years ago and are considering another one next year. Most of our cruises over the last 15 years have been on Carnival but I'm not into the recent corporate alliances with celebrities like Guy Fieri etc. and uniformity of product over every ship. The physical investment in new facilities on Carnival ships has been amazing, and the food is still surprisingly good, but I kind of miss the old wackiness and more individuality in which the company would allow cruise directors and entertainment staff a little more flexibility in planning activities. Also I thought Carnival Legends (where guests would be part of the finale show on the last night) was really fun, and that has been dumped. As we get older (and grumpier?) I find myself pining for a few old-school cruise features like assigned dining with people we have never met before but sit with every day and become friends by the end of the week. Is that still happening on Princess or has it gone the way of calling someone on the phone without sending them a text to see if it would interrupt them?

Good idea, thanks!

Thanks for that somewhat recent proof of life. Anyone else have other sightings? To clarify for others, Paul was the singer/piano player in the piano bar lounge.

Hi again, My wife and I last cruised Princess on the Grand Princess in 2003 for our honeymoon. Since then, we have taken many vacations, of which about 5 were on cruise ships, mostly on Carnival and once on Norwegian, with our kids, but none on Princess. We used to really like Carnival before "Fun Ship 2.0" back when the entertainment staff seemed to have a bit of freedom to choose their own activities, but on our last cruise (Vista in late 2021) it felt like everything has become rather corporate and mainstream commercialized, with Guy Fieri logos everywhere etc., and we weren't really feeling the vibe anymore. Now that the kids are pretty much grown up, we are considering our second Princess cruise for a trip to celebrate our 20th anniversary. The things we liked about Princess were that we dined every night with some people we met at the main dining room table and got to know well, the piano lounge singer (see my accompanying post), and it had a bit of an old-school Vegasy vibe. Also we liked the fact that it was more oriented toward live jazz and somewhat varied music, rather than the 80s pop hits I've already heard more than enough times. Is it still anything like that? (The only thing we didn't like as much was there wasn't much to do after 11:30 pm except go to the discotheque which isn't really our scene) The food back in 2003 was perfectly edible but I think the food we have had on NCL and Carnival (except on one ship) was generally better and more interesting. Any other suggestions for a couple trying to recreate their Rat Pack fantasies of youth (while no longer fitting into the tuxedo)? We are not sold on Princess or even a cruise for our anniversary trip just yet, but we are leaning in that direction. Thanks Doug

Hey gang, My wife and I last cruised on Princess for our honeymoon in 2003. The lounge singer on that cruise was Paul Burton and we thought he was absolutely fantastic and hilarious. He seems to have vanished from the Internet (his Youtube channel consists of a few videos all posted the same day about 7 years ago). A search on this forum came up empty. Anyway, we are considering another Princess for our 20th anniversary. Does anyone know if he still exists and/or performs and if so, where and when? I would seriously consider booking a cruise just to see him. Alternatively, is there a schedule anywhere of Princess piano lounge performers? Thanks