mlmurrah

Guess I am gaining life experience vis-avis cruises. 🙂

Where in the brochure does it say "from" or equivalent other that in the semi-hidden asterisk. You are clearly a knowledgable cruiser who understands this complex and confusing industry. You need to cut us confused newbies some slack.

Indeed. The examples given for other types of businesses add clear qualifiers such as "starting at" and "from." NCL merely says "DISCOUNTED FARE PER GUEST" with a questionable asterisk (tiny and looks like a "+" under magnification). Unless you are steeped in the ways of the cruise industry, that sounds like an offer to sell cruises for that price. The asterisk information is on the back page of the brochure in type so small and in such a low color density that most people over 40 cannot read it without a magnifying glass. With my 76 year old eyes, it was even difficult with a magnifying glass. Those seasoned cruisers in this thread (NOT YOU -- see other responses) need to cut us newbies some slack. Using terms like "naive" to describe those of us new to cruising and trying to understand this complicated and confusing industry is borderline nasty.

One other thing I noticed while straining to read the extremely small, washed out print in the asterisk definition on the last page of the brochure is this: "Free at sea choices must be selected at least 24 hours prior to sailing and cannot be changed on board." Does this mean you have to select specialty dining (restaurant, day, time), for example, 24 hours in advance or lose it? How does this statement affect free wifi, open bar, and excursions? Whom do you notify about this?

Think I fknally figured out what happened with the brochure. Looking very closely at the "DISCOUNTED Fare Per Guest" heading, there is a tiny, tiny blob at the end. With a magnifying glass it appears to be an asterisk. So I looked and looked for a asterisk with explanation throughout the brochure. Finally I found some text on the back of the brochure in the lower right hand corner in a type so small and in a color so light that it is impossible to read with the naked eye. I had to use a magnifying glass to read it, and it was even difficult that way. It says fares apply to "select sailings" only, i.e., they are the lowest possible fare for all sailings. So technically they provide the required information to understand the fares, but they make it extremely difficult to find and read. I find this very disappointing; and if not deceptive, at least very tricky. LIve and learn, I guess. Thanks for all the responses. They have been very helpful in sorting this out.

Here ya go!

Noop. The return address is Norwegian Cruise Lines. Postage paid by Norwegian Cruise Lines.

We are fairly new to cruising and have lots to learn. I am learning that cruise advertising should be approached with skepticism.

No way to tell. The NCL person could not find the fare even though it waw in their brochure and did not ask me about my reservation. Not very attentive customer service.

We booked an NCL cruise in Hawaii several days ago. The next day we received a sales brochure in the mail from NCL that included our cruise at substantially lower price per person. It also stated free airfare, free open bar, free specialty dining, and free wifi. To be fair we already had some of these in our reservation. I called United Cruises, our booking agent, and they knew nothing about these fares and suggested we call NCL directly. I did so, and the NCL person could not find the pricing I was talking about. She said only that prices in such brochures are subject to change and that I should consult the web site. That seems deceptive to me. Otherwise why even bother looking at mail offers from NCL?

We are doing the Panama Canal transit in January 2024 on the Island Princess, Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles, What is the best place on the Island Princess to view progress through the Canal? Is the bow open to passengers?