ChiefMateJRK

That was always about profits, and NCL has now figured out that people who drink will take the free package. If they bring some more of their own, it will just reduce NCL costs. As a shareholder, I like that!! disclaimer: that was a joke. As a shareholder I'm only in it for the OBC. The rest is just noise.

Yep. I've heard better music from "washy washy folks" and the "pastry girls" then some of the bad acts.

We were on the Sky in January and the Sun in July. Polar opposites for the smaller venue musical performers. The Sky was awful. One guy who I liked, but he played mostly country. The Sun was arguably the best I've experienced. Matthew, Ed Kelley and the Nicos Duo were all fantastic. It was tough sometimes choosing between them when performances overlapped. I think there was even a fourth act that I would have liked, but there just wasn't enough time to take them all in. I think it is partly so that people who want to hear the talented performers can do so without being drowned out by a group of idiots shouting at each other rather than just moving to the back so that those who are trying to enjoy the performance can do so. We had a group on the Sun that were awful. The one lady had a piercing loud voice. Her Husband sensed that others were becoming irritated and even he couldn't get her to shut up (he tried, God bless him). We were on the Joy last October and Ryan North was in the brewhouse. Extremely talented musician. Many packed in early to hear him but we had arguably the loudest bunch of passengers that I have ever heard literally drowning him out at times. The bar staff finally had to ask them to quiet down. IIRC, they left in a huff. Win!!!

I cancelled two bookings on Friday that were before final payment. Each had 2 CNs applied. They were returned to my account on Sunday. They didn't show up on the screen with all of my future bookings, but they were available in any "make a payment" screen that I opened. I applied them as deposit to four new bookings. I would be shocked if they would have returned them after final payment.

I'll be following. The Bliss and Encore are my two favorites. I used to include the Joy, but their plans to screw it up next Spring had me removing it from several future plans. Our Cat does fine when we're gone, except that he tells us about it for about the first half hour after we return. DS looks after him while we're gone, so he's not neglected.🐈 Please let me know if the group "Siglo" is still on the Bliss. Those guys were fantastic.

I just got that one as well. I'll price it out, but I doubt that 10% will be a gamechanger for my plans. I DO like the ship and itinerary though, right @graphicguy? 🐀

Interesting. How do they define "effective date of coverage?

No. I don't buy any insurance until time of final payment. The only reason to do otherwise would be for those who want cancel for any reason. I don't need that. If my lookback is clean, the insurance will reimburse me for non-refundable cruise costs if I have to cancel for medical reasons. If my lookback is not clean, I cancel and have no non-refundable cruise costs. Some insurance companies (and brokers) do a really good job of tricking people into spending on nonrefundable insurance premiums when the customer doesn't really need to.

This is why I don't buy those. I generally book months/years in advance of final payment, and don't wish to buy non-refundable insurance that early. I buy it when I get to final payment and have a clean 60 day lookback. If I don't have a clean lookback, then I have a decision to make. Bad tests that may necessitate further procedures conflicting with my cruise? I cancel the cruise. Random medical noise that is highly unlikely to interfere with my cruise? I pay the cruise.

I used to totally ignore Shareholder OBC and Trip Insurance. That was when I was younger, still foolish and didn't cruise as often. Now I utilize both religiously on every cruise. This is probably largely in part due to many great discussions and comments here on the forum. I once bought the NCL essentials. For my next cruise, I did some research. Many here recommend the Trip Insurance Store, likely for many good reasons. I now use Squaremouth. It allows quick selections of desired coverages and comparisons of policies available through many insurance companies. My main criteria are a) robust emergency medical and medivac and b) minimum pre-existing condition lookback (I buy those with only a 60 day lookback).

I guess I've been lucky. We're two for three at GSC. That said, if we miss it during our upcoming cruise, I'll be fine with that (as long as nobody makes me get off the ship in Nassau). I'll just hang in the bar, thank you.😎

I've had a balcony twice for AK (both Encore sailings). I never used it, because either the waterfront or the OL were much more comfortable (depending upon weather). They also each have bars and servers that come around, and much more comfortable seating. I did step out on the balcony once or twice a day just to take a look. So why did I book a balcony? I didn't until price drops allowed me upgrades for close to nothing. We did enjoy the bigger room though.

Yep. I agree. Unfortunately/fortunately, we generally book insides and, as the saying goes, "you can't get there from here."

Tell me more about this system. I've never heard of such a thing.

They have it.

Not really. Resource Center | U.S. Department of the Treasury disclaimer: subject to change on any and all trading days

4-week T bills on auto-roll at Fidelity and chill. Current yield curve = 5.53% 😎 No work at all.

Thanks. The two for any cabin should return at some point soon. It seems like it comes around every month or two.

Seven for us. All NCL. Pearl, Encore, Bliss and Sun. All but the Sun were Glacier Bay. The Sun was Hubbard Glacier, which was spectacular. Many times, it is foggy/icy and the ships can't get close. Ours in July was sunny and clear. I think that the fiord walls are more interesting than the glacier itself. We have five visits to AK planned for next year. 😎

Why can't you use a CN for a studio?

I'll second my friend's recommendations. At this point, I would be happy to sail only NCL Alaska cruises for the rest of my life. I have to toss in a Winter Caribbean cruise every year as well, because I'm not going to wait from October to April for my next cruise. 😎 New England and Hawaii every few years is nice as well. Yes, I tend to stay close to home.

I believe that the expiration dates were also giving people motivation not to buy the cruise next certificates. If they can be used or sold forever, than folks will be more likely to stock up. Also, some people got burned by them during Covid, so there's that.

Yep. So I can pay $500 and get $250 back or I can pay $1000 and get $250 back. Why would anybody in their right mind buy the Haven CN?

Here's a five year comparison of NCLH to CCL: The readers can draw their own conclusions.

I don't even acknowledge the existence of short cruises like that (unless they're a B2B2B or more).😎