3OfDiamonds

Ugh it’s what I get for thinking about 50 different things at once… the end should read “are they automated on how the make items in the kitchen to the point that modifications/omissions which are routine in land-based restaurants pose problems onboard?”

I know this might seem like a silly or extremely over-cautious line of questioning, but I just want to make sure I don’t run into an unforeseen problem 🧐😊 I’ve seen a lot of mentions about people needing to alert staff before or immediately after boarding to make sure they can get meals that don’t run afoul of allergies, etc., which seems a bit more proactive than what is needed at many land-based restaurants (like Cheesecake Factory, for example, which is hearteningly careful re food allergies and sensitivities in my experience) where you can just notify when you place an order. So is asking for a restaurant on the ship (like the main dining room or one of the other free non-buffet restaurants) to omit veggies from a burger or salsa from an order of tacos going to pose a problem? I have a fair number of sensory issues re food, which can generally be addressed by leaving off certain things from a dish or avoiding things centered on a chunky sauce, but are they automated on how they make items in the kitchen that modifications/omissions which are routine in land-based restaurants pose problems onboard?

@cruiseny4life Do you care to share what you find so funny about my comment?

How good is the circulation in Club Balcony “suites”? I normally have a fan (or two) on all the time for cooling and sensory issues; also, I have lots of surface area 😅 which takes awhile to dry off after a shower unless I have a fan or two going. I have two mini Vornado fans that don’t really look like fans when the fan part is facing down; I don’t really want to risk confiscation, but I really do need a fan or two to feel comfortable, and I don’t think anything USB-powered is going to cut it 👀

It seemed to me like some ships have tub/showers for all Club Balcony cabins - I will be on the Jewel from April 16-23 and I think all the cabins in that “meta” had “Luxury Tub and Shower” included in the description 🧐 Good to know some ships are different - I would prefer a walk-in shower but when I called to inquire about upgrades I got what was available for the price I was comfortable paying 🙂

To put it mildly, yes; I got a quote on a suite upgrade of $3500 (from OV) and the agent herself I had time to think it over, so I did, and the promotion was equivalent (second passenger free the first call, 50% off all cruises the second) *and* the PP price on the website was maybe $50-100 higher (so $100-200) the second time I called (5 days later). The agent during the second call (I decided to YOLO and just go for it) quoted OVER $5,000 for the same exact upgrade and was dismissive of my assertions about the lower quote, and really disinterested in trying to find out what happened. Tried filling out the customer support form on the NCL website and had another person, a “Customer Support Specialist” whose real specialty was doing precisely f**k-all to help *and* make it clear I knew that. Exasperated with that nonsense I eventually called back and found a nice *and* helpful agent who found a club balcony for a good price. Like one would think the people helping you spend money to book a nice fun thing like a cruise would be, well, nice and enjoyable and helpful? APPARENTLY NOT 🙃🤬🤷‍♂️

Do you recall what you were able to bid on prior to the upgrade? I was thinking I would be able to bid on the two “metas” above Club Balcony but maybe that gets limited when it comes to Suites/Haven 🧐

I paid for an upgrade from Oceanview to Club Balcony to make sure I had the space I would need to be comfortable for my upcoming cruise (Jewel/Mexican Riviera/April 16-23); will the Upgrade Advantage page be updated to reflect the class of cabin I now have booked (so I would be able to bid on Suite/Haven upgrades), or is it locked in to the class of cabin for which I made “final payment” (Oceanview, which would limit bidding to Balcony/Club Balcony)? Thanks in advance for any insights/experience 😊

This is a good reminder for me to grab a laundry bag when I go to Vegas later this month, so I have something to line the NCL bag (gratis laundry from recently-purchased upgrade to Club Balcony, not Platinum, but still hooray for free laundry 😊👍)

The fact that NCL puts all this legalese butt-covering somewhere deep in its T&Cs doesn’t absolve it of at least moral responsibility to make good on what phone representatives (are told to) say re what protections exist if a flight sold by NCL fails to get a passenger to the embarkation city in time, and it might still have legal responsibility as well regardless of what’s in the fine print. Also, this seems to suggest that shore excursions bought through NCL wouldn’t be refunded if there’s a port change/cancellation, which would be laughable on its face (and also ripe for a class-action/chargeback-a-palooza): “Norwegian Cruise Line also reserves the right to change its itinerary whenever advisable or necessary which may cause all or any part of a tour, program or other service provided by independent third parties to be changed or abandoned. In this case, Norwegian Cruise Line will not be responsible for any losses or expenses caused by reason of such changes or abandonment.”

After looking at the flyer for the Premium Plus drink package, it says that Starbucks coffee is included, but does not specify specialty drinks (with or without coffee); just so I don’t go into my cruise with misinformed expectations, can I get Starbucks specialty drinks at no extra charge using my Premium Plus drink package? Also, and I understand this might be a stretch, can I get pastries at no charge using the upgraded drink package (if the SBUX on the ship even carry them at all)? Thanks upfront for any shared insights/experiences 😊👍

Frank, you stated that NCL brands have “shifted our focus to relaunching our operations while providing our discerning guests the same unparalleled vacation experience they expect from our leading brands.” How does cutting back or charging extra for food, beverage, room service, and entertainment offerings, while also cutting back on housekeeping help to achieve what you say NCL is focused on?

I think with NCL if it says something like “Luxury Tub and Shower” it’s a combo (totally going to seem spoiled here but tub/shower combo and “luxury” are not two terms that should be anywhere near each other imo 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️); if you want separate you need to see “separate” or “separated” explicitly stated in the tub and shower description 🧐

It will actually be on the Pacific side, but thanks for the input; it will probably be colder than the southern Caribbean 😅 Come to think of it, I probably won’t mind a quick breather now and then, since my definition of cold tends to be a lot colder than most 🤪 Now to get their pricing consistent; I was quoted a price to upgrade to the suite that was $1500 more than it was last week, but I know the price has not moved nearly that much, and an equivalent promo is running 🧐 I’m almost tempted to say **** it and cancel the whole thing it’s becoming so frustrating to get what I want 😫

So the cruise I’m on has one category of suite available to upgrade to; a Deluxe Forward Penthouse With Large Balcony. Based on a couple things I’ve seen there may or may not be a few issues with this particular category of suite: 1) The balcony might be unpleasant to the point of not being usable due to the speed of the ship. 2) The assigned butler might have to cover a lot of ground getting to the suites they cover due to the non-central location of the suite, so the availability and speed of the butler’s services could be compromised. 3) Forward rooms of any class tend to have a lot of movement and could be bad for those with motion sickness (I have never been afflicted with my limited experience on boats in the ocean, but I’ve also never been on a week-long cruise). I’d like to upgrade to a suite and can readily afford it, but it seems like the issues with this class of suite (which is the only one available at the moment) could make me wonder if the extra money was worth it. So does anybody have experience with this type of suite on the Jewel? Are the criticisms valid? Should I try to see if I can shift what I already paid/redeemed (had a Casinos at Sea certificate) to an available Haven suite on a cruise departing a week earlier for not that much more (~$700) money? Can I even do that at this point? Should I just upgrade to a balcony stateroom on my current cruise, which would give me the things I really need (primarily a place where I can sleep sitting up)? Also, if I don’t have my passport (it’s a Mexican Riviera cruise) is it going to be that big of a deal? (I plan on going into the passport office next week to apply for an expedited passport but it might not be fast enough to get to me by April 9)? I was so excited about going on a cruise but now l’m just feeling like I should have done some things are upgrading sooner and now I’m left with suboptimal options and I just feel a lot of anxiety and some… regret? Not sure how to describe it but I have been dealing with a lot of stuff and it hasn’t left me a lot of mental bandwidth to deal with this cruise as successfully as I’d like 😫🤪

Frank, it seems like NCL has both raised prices/fees *and* cut back on amenities/services recently, per accounts of cruisers. How do you justify this to people who already paid for a cruise expecting a certain level of product and ultimately receiving less or having to pay additional fees to receive what they thought they were going to get as part of their cruises? What do you plan to do to keep your current customer base from becoming alienated?

I would *think* I would not have to worry about the availability of blue curaçao and Midori (for premium AMFs and Tokyo Teas 😁)… or do I? Also, has anybody seen Rumchata, Alize, or Hpnotiq in stock at the bars? I’m guessing if thee latter three are stocked they would be available for no extra charge with the Premium Plus promotion; Hpnotiq was always upcharged a lot when I used to drink it so it would be nice to have it without the price of my drink suddenly double 😎😂

Yikes, ok… the reason I put in a higher bid that ended up in the “good” category is that I was hearing about the typical strategy of low bidding left some people without the cabin they were looking for. Also, given that I pretty much would need the category of cabin I bid on to reasonably assure a comfortable cruise, I was willing to put up a bit more - I guess you see me as the sucker born every minute, but I have my reasons 🙂 Although at this point the guarantee of the added space of a Club Balcony Suite might be worth pushing even more cash in Norwegian’s pockets, rendering this exercise moot 😅

If my bid gets a “Good” rating per the color dial on the page where I enter my bid, about how likely is it to win? Has anybody had a “Good” bid lose out recently? It seems like quite a few people win with “Fair” or lower bids but maybe this year is a different case?

If I booked a cruise via CAS (certificate from a land-based casino), can I just call the regular NCL customer service number to inquire about cabin upgrades, or must/should I call CAS? I have an upgrade bid placed already (from ocean view to Club Balcony Suite) but am concerned the ocean view cabin would be problematically small for me, so if the price to guarantee a suite isn’t TOO too much I would prefer to lock it in 🙂 Would CAS possibly have better pricing/availability for upgrades that regular customer service might not?

Any pinball and/or retro video games in the arcade? If not I’ll probably see what the arcade on my upcoming cruise (Jewel) offers anyways, and try to stay away from the ticket games… I might as well play in the casino instead of getting started on those 👀😅

Is there a way to request something in lieu of the champagne and specify which “snacks” one receives? All the cookies and chocolate please lol 😅😋🤤

Do I need to bring my own Tabasco/Tapatio? (The fact that I might have to do this for a *Mexican Riviera* cruise is… Oy 🙃😂) Regardless, I’m making a mental note that I should bring some Spike (a lower-sodium seasoning blend, very good on practically anything savory) and a good black pepper shaker with me 😎

I think I’m just going to order what I want, answering any scolding with that I was never noticed of any changes between when I booked and my upcoming cruise, and that it isn’t ok for them to inflict new charges/restrictions after I booked (especially if not notified of any such changes… email is a thing) and then ask for a manager if they do try to charge me 🧐 If they come back at me with something like “well the terms and conditions say we can” I’ll be like “… nah, **** that, doesn’t make it ok”. If they make things a pain for me g-d only knows how well I can reciprocate 😇✌️

So this is almost certainly a n00b question (as I am one lol 😅), but if I earn a double meta upgrade via the credit card, that amounts to what in terms of upgrading from, say, an ocean view room? Are interior, ocean view, balcony, and club balcony all considered distinct “metas?” If offered on a particular ship, how are the singles rooms treated in terms of upgrades? Is my understanding that one cannot use an upgrade to get a suite (other than club balcony) correct? Thanks in advance for any insight/clarification 😊