WillCruiseForMoney

The extra benefit has always shown as "Exclusive amenities unique to each cruise line, such as premium wine or assorted canapes".  For NCL it is dining at a French restaurant.  Varies for other lines, Oceania was a bottle of wine (good quality).  

Have had it for every cruise that was eligible.  Sometimes it cannot be combined with other benefits.  We have had free onboard gratuities that excluded the AMEX Platinum cruise benefit.

When you get your eDocs, look at the section "onboard amenities" and you should see a line like this:

Have cruised on the Pride of America 4 times, in 2009, 2017, 2019, and 2022 and had great service and staff experiences all 4 times.  In 2022 a couple of the Specialty restaurants were not open due to dining staff shortages, but did not seem to impact service in any restauants that were open.

If not for the high cost would happily crusie POA every year.

Have had good to excellant service on every NCL cruise we have been on.  For contrast,  we have tried Princess a couple of times and found staff and service to be underwhelming.

26 minutes ago, cincicruisers said:

How do you update your signature?  I forgot how to do it.

Click on the arrow next to your user name - Right side of the screen near the top

Click on account settings

Click on signature

Make changes in box and hit save

We also use the Pre Concierge for all of our Suite/Haven bookings.  About 90% of our requests have been handled by the time we arrive in our room.  We also engage with the butler as soon as we meet them and let them know our likes/dislikes.

@seemoreroyals if you look at the tier benefits for Latitudes rewards it states which benefits are per  stateroom.  https://www.ncl.com/latitudes-rewards-program

When it comes to the laundry benefits, you do not need the coupon, just write your Latitudes level, i.e. "Platinum" on the laundry bag form.  In addition you usually get additional free laundry for long cruises.  Basically one per week for each member.   2 per member for 14+ day cruises, and 3 per member for cruises of 20+ days, although this should be verified with the ship's CruiseNext team onboard. 

The price difference is related to dates of the cruises.

August is the end of peak season for the Caribbean.  Many kids do not go back to school before labor day.  

If cost is your priority do RCCL.

We will be on the Jade next month for 11 days, so looking froward to your updates.

My guess is that you will end up with a couple of extras as a result of the agency affiliation,  Could be anything from bottles of water, strawberries, specialty meals, or even free gratuities.  Please let us know once you get your edocs.

@StarfishCruiser have seen VIP codes for 2 different things.  Recently as a special package of benefits from a Travel Agency.  In the past NCL also used it for Latitudes sales.

Did you book via a Travel Agency?  

@Broons77 hmm, a little strange, as DINMEAL is usually not included if you have ALL4CHO.  But you will be fine as an extra code won't hurt.

Not sure why both codes are showing, but as long as you have FASUDP you will have the standard FAS meals (1-3 depending on cruise length and stateroom type) plus the two extra's you purchased. 

If you want to post the full list of codes, it may help a bit.

I have checked in for my next cruise at the Internet Cafe on board.  Could not upload a picture but was able to do the rest.

No charge in suites, just contact your butler, or when you call in your order to room service let them know you are in a suite and they will have your butler deliver.

Have cruised POA in a suite 4 times and have not noticed any difference in quality of service from the butlers vs other NCL ships.  The only limitation we ever experienced was regarding not delivering breakfast or lunch from Cagney's.  The 2 best butlers we have ever had were on the POA. 

48 minutes ago, MRVEGAS711 said:

Thank you. Assuming this is a TA perk then.

 

They are NCL codes that reflect what (often extra benefits or perks) is included with the booking.  

@Sthrngary, nice write-up.  Took me a while to read such a long document, but appreciate all the work you put into it.  Thank you for this well written and very helpful document.

I have Cruised in the NCL Haven several times and was in a Penthouse suite on the Riviera early this year.  Most of my experiences were similar to yours.  The one that was different was with the butler.  You talk about the elevated butler experience, and how they do much more for their guests on Oceania.  That was not our experience.  Our butler did do a nice job, but in general was no better or different than our NCL suite experience.  Example 1 - Asked about additional dining at specialty restaurants and were referred to the concierge.  Example 2 - Asked about snacks other than what was on the standard form and were told that they only bring items on the standard from.  Our butler was nice, polite, and personable, but no different than our NCL experience.  Perhaps being in a Vista Suite vs. Penthouse elevates the interaction a bit.  On NCL we have had more attenitive butlers in Owners suites vs standard suites.

We did have a positive Ocenaia experience, so will sail on them in the future, in fact we will be sailing on the Oceania Vista in March 2024.

7 minutes ago, zackarykeef said:

Has anyone ever had a roll call disappear? I’m sailing on Viva Jan 7, and there was an active roll call that I posted in…and now it’s gone. Every other Jan date is there, except the 7. Not sure what this means or if it was accidentally deleted, but just wondering if anyone had any thoughts! Thanks!

It seems to still exist, may not be classified correctly - perhaps a moderator could correct it.

@Candy Apple 12 As you mentioned in your post guest #3 can change it on board at guest services

@schmoopie17 NCL will treat it as a shared account, unless you ask them not to, so any charges that are eligable for non-refundable OBC will be applied to the $100 that was slpit bewteen the 2 of you.

I just re-booked an existing cruise due to a price drop and now have VIPMIA2 on my reservation and it also included the same extras as @Candy Apple 12 recieved.

1 x One bottle of each - Red, White and Sparkling House Wine

1 x Sales - Chocolate Truffles

1 x Sales - Chocolate Covered Strawberries

1 x Sales - Bottled Water - 6-pack- 1-liter bottle

@Candy Apple 12 Most likely all of the added items, including the 3 bottles of wine, are part of a promotion being offered by the Travel Agency.  Some of the larger agencies, or franchises of larger groups, have occasional package deals like this.  It is always a nice suprise.

We have sailed on POA 4 times, most recently last December.  Had great experiences on all of them.  The crew was wonderful everytime, did not feel it was less than other ships.  The food was on par with the rest of our NCL cruises.

Only issue we have experienced related to the post-covid staffing shortages mentioned by others which resulted in a couple  of the specialty restauants being closed.  

Would happily cruise on the POA every year if the price was not so high.  US flagged ship with its increased staff costs.

17 hours ago, Candy Apple 12 said:

What about this one?

 

VIPMIA2

It will likely be similar to previous codes reported that started with "VIP"

Might include a free specialty meal, or prepaid gratuities, or bottled water, or something similar .  Could be a combination of those items.

Do you have any extras listed in your reservation?  MIght have to wait for your eDocs to know for sure.  You could also contact your travel agent and ask.

Seperate bathtub and shower:

Garden Villas on Deck 14

Deluxe Owners Suite on deck 12

Owners suites on decks 9 and 10

2 Bedroom family suites on deck 11

Family suites with balcony on deck 12

Not the Penthouse suites