missintuitive

On Sky, your fare be include alcoholic beverages (free drinks!). That may be a factor in your decision;). With 16 passengers, you should also contact "group" sales for all three lines. You may be able to negotiate having a venue available for your own party or social hour. This is especially true on Carnival.

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Let me help you out. Trying it ONE time is NOT buying the 7 day package. It's going to the restaurant of your choice and paying the ONE TIME upcharge fee. As I previously stated if you can't afford to feed your own kids ONE TIME in a specialty restaurant, they will probably be very happy in the MDR or buffet. In my world 'teens' are kids and don't get to come along if I can't afford it. Hopefully granny and papa have a couple bucks stashed away and can also pay if they choose. They are adults right?

 

With that many people on a cruise together I would guess you shelled out thousands and thousands of dollars for the trip. You are trying to convince us you don't have maybe 100 bucks extra for discretionary spending? If that is true, I personally don't think you should have booked the cruise. You are cutting your expenses too close. However, it's your money and your choice so do as you wish, just don't try to convince me that a few piddly dollars are what is keeping you from trying a specialty restaurant just once.

 

I feel like I am working PR for NCL trying to convince people to spend their nickels and dimes while on board. Promise I aint.

Let me help you out...and as stated to you before by another poster...there is a difference between being able to AFFORD it and being WILLING to do it. I agree, I have already paid thousands of dollars on a vacation that has meals included. Those meals should be of high enough quality that I shouldn't HAVE to spend the extra money just to get a reasonably decent meal (as compared to the MDR). On most land all inclusive resorts, the specialty restaurants are no extra charge. I just demonstrated to you that its not $100 extra bucks...its $210 on average for one night at a restaurant.

I'm not really concerned this time around because we have the UDP but when others say "NCL is the most affordable...blah, blah, blah" that is not necessarily the case when you fact in a the "supplemental" costs. At the end of the day, I'm going to enjoy my vacation but some of the "hip, hip, hooray" posts defy logic and basic math.

Confused what the length of a cruise has to do with it? I suggested you try it once to see if you like it. Regarding 3-6 kids joining you. Most kids are perfectly happy eating in the buffet everyday all day.

Simple math...7 days is at 119 per person for the package which is expensive for 4-6 ppl. Even one day is $180 for 6 plus $32 for gratuities which is over $210 for just one meal. Plus a family of 4-6 is not necessarily all"kids" some can be teens or grandparents.

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Has nothing to do with being rich or poor. I am simply saying EVERYONE should try a specialty at least once to see if it appeals to them. People making false excuses that one upcharge meal will break them is simply that, false.

It won't break 2 ppl but if you're a family of 4-6, then it gets expensive over the course of. 7 day cruise.

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Navy, I guess we look at it differently. I am glad that families can take their kids on a cruise because it is so affordable. If they raised the prices to make the dining room food really elegant we would go back to the old days where only the rich could afford to take a cruise vacation. The way it is now you can book a room for around $200.00 or a suite for $1000's per person. If you book the basic room you get okay food if you can afford a suite you can afford the specialty restaurants. So it is the only way I can figure out that the cruise line can do it and young families, for example can afford to cruise and have a great time. So when you have ships that hold 4,000 people you have to make concessions to make it affordable for the vast majority and something has to give. I have never felt I was the victim of bait and switch but the victim of wanting a really great dinner and willing to pay $20.00 to have it. But to someone else it may be a waste of money and they are happy with the MDR.

Unless you book months in advance, a family of four on a newer ship is much more than $200 per person (maybe on sky in an inside). I looked for insides rooms on the getaway for a friend and it was $3000 for a family of 4.

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if you think its a scam just don't take the promo. Pay full fare.

Huh? She's making the point that the promo IS the full fare and not 1/2 off as advertised.

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If stating the facts is advertising for Carnival, then so be it.

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I believe there is a big show right before our cruise which is driving up the prices as well in Dec. We were going to stay at Hampton Inn Brickell but ultimately decided against it because of the potential traffic. Since you have a car, you may want to look into the element hotel near MIA or in Doral. Each room has a kitchenette, there free wifi and breakfast (although parking is $10 near the airport unless you book the stay and cruise package). All the MIA attractions are within about 25 mins (we're hitting the malls for shopping. Stay bridge suites and Cambria suites also seem good for places outside of downtown MIA with quick access to many areas.

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I'm traveling with a 3yo to Miami the day before my cruise. We also travelled to Orlando for a cruise two days before the cruise when he was 2 yo last year.

You can rent a car with a car seat from any of the major rental companies. I am picking up a car at PBI and returning at the 2nd st local Alamo near the port. You just have to request a seat when you reserve(usually a $12-$13 fee). I will drop my party off at the port, return the car, and them take uber or the free shuttle depending on timing. Alamo doesn't charge a one way fee. Neither does hertz, Avis, or budget but enterprise does.

I must warn you that if you have a Britax or the like at home, the rental seats are much less expensive (think Cosco). You may also want to bring a cover for the seat.

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Thanks for the review! Just one question, did Cagney's go al la carte on 10/3? Am I mixing getaways with another ship? If so, what was the pricing structure? Thanks again!

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I would be irritated too. Not the best way to start your vaykay. It just shows that NCL drastically overpriced their Dec cruises. I noticed this. One of my friends wanted to cruise with my family and when I priced it this summer it was almost $4000 for an inside for a family of 4. Yes, I said inside. Needless to say she wasn't interested when she could go on many other cruise lines for about $1000-$1500 less than this (and I didn't blame her). I purchased earlier this year when the packages were good so I booked the next to lowest price of the year thus far. Ask your TA if you can get an OBC AND an a upgraded room. It doesn't hurt to ask.

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Don't assume that. The Gem is scheduled to go through additional renovations before the end of the year. NCL doesn't give the exact dates and if you cruise on one of the "cheap" weeks... You know the weeks after thanksgiving but before Christmas you could very well be on board during a renovation. This uncertainty (and thread) was one of the reasons I ultimately selected getaway over gem (with no airfare).

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Have you tried to purchase package? Even though the price is listed as $29.99 we were able to buy it a few days ago for 174.93 for our upcoming 7 day.

I did. I logged on to myncl and tried to purchase internet but got an error message when I clicked on the two packages available (not unlimited only the 100 and 250 plans appeared as options).

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Carnival really is the stand out here since you can purchase 24 hour blocks for unlimited service vs having to buy it for the entire cruise. You can mix and match the plans depending on your day (I.e. Port day vs sea day). I was disappointed with the recent increase in prices on NCL bc $175 for 7 days is more palatable than $200+. I don't want to disconnect and seeing that this is 2015 most companies understand that the days of passengers totally disconnecting with the outside word is phasing out quickly. I don't intend to stay attached to my iPhone but I do want the flexibility of choosing if I want to connect in my vacation downtime. I never chose cruising just to be disconnected to the outside world (although I know others do). I like the activities on the ship but the world is still turning, lol!

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The $1200 win generating a W-2G is on slot machines. For table games it is figured differently, based on the payout multipliier. Must be at least 300-1 for some table games. Example: At Let It Ride I won $5000 on a straight flush with all three of my five dollar bets out. But the W-2G was only for $2000 on the optional bet since the other three bets had a payout of only 200-1 whereas the optional dollar bet was 2000-1 for a straight flush.

I love Let It Ride! Congratulations on your Straight Flush! In all the years I've played (mainly on vacations) i've never seen that hand. I have seen a few 4 of a kinds (including one I won on carnival) but never a straight or royal.

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Well good luck with that. NCL entirely ignored my correspondence and reminders for two and half months!

If you followed the procedure instituted by NCL and didn't pay cash, then dispute it with your cc company. If you paid cash or debit card, then you may be out of luck.

The days of totally being totally disconnecting during vacation are over. That's very 80's. You may choose to totally disconnect but this is not a typical behavior of people under a certain age and definitely not the future trend. For some people it's because they cannot disconnect and others its because they chose not to disconnect. Either way, not having the OPTION to AFFORDABLY connect to the internet on cruise ships is soon to be a thing of the past. Carnival and Royal understands this, have updated their technology, and are offering attractive packages to those who CHOOSE to stay wired. There's still a very hefty profit margin and actually more connectivity actually ATTRACTS business. Like I said in a previous post, Carnival and RCI updated technology (VOOM on RCI has very fast upload and download speeds almost the same as DSL) AND lowered their prices on the internet on the newer ships. This is actually a smart move because the more posting that cruise passengers make to social media sights about their vacation, the more ATTRACTIVE it will be to potential cruisers...you know the ones that they are building the new mega ships to service in mass.

Another point is that NCL is raising the prices on things that I not only chose to purchase but actually ENJOY. Things like room service, internet, drinks, speciality shows (i.e. the magic show the first night), the fact that land vacations at an all inclusive doesn't even charge gratuities, etc. all factor into the fact that this is going in the wrong direction. NCL is banking the the MAJORITY of the people love the OPTIONAL activities so much that they will pay additional for them without blinking an eye.

Strictly speaking, if this results in increased revenues then NCL had been undercharging and they were doing a disservice to their employees and shareholders.

 

 

 

 

 

Still not seeing how it's "sneaky". Was there something that made you think the internet pricing wouldn't possibly change between booking and sailing?

Ncl is definitely not undercharging. Carnival and RCI offer unlimited packages (with super fast technology) for $105 for 7 days on 1 device (less on carnival of you are just checking email or social media). For NCL to go to $200+ is short sighted.... Oh well....

But this is the same theme that has happened all year with NCL. Increase price and then some folks don't understand what the problem is or Some people don't care because they don't use it, or bc it costs the ship more now, blah, blah, blah...

This is getting old and before anyone says it my next cruise will be on another line (next year). Until then I can and will comment or complain about the one I spent MY money on...

Carry on...

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Was speaking with the onboard services director on the Sun in May and she told me the prices are set by MTN not NCL....even crew, officers included have to pay for internet.

 

 

 

IMHO with all the hard work and time away from home the crew has, MTN should cut them some slack :mad:

Go and look at the episode of Undercover Boss with Shennan. One of the big takeaways was that he was going to make internet access more affordable to the crew so they could stay in contact with their love ones while at sea. I believe he did institute the lower costs. He even talked about it on a cruise blog interview after UCB.

I'm sure that all in the distant pass now...

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Thanks for the review and the pictures! They were great!

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Can't speak on their behalf but for me the post reads as all price rises by FDR total to hundreds of dollars.

 

 

 

For me personally already the April bar price rise and room service charge would add at least $100 per week based on my previous usage.

Exactly! It's the cumulative effect of all the increases. Like I said I've spent thousands and now I'm up to hundreds in impact since the changes. And since I'm sailing a newer ship on NCL my cruise wasn't much less expensive than the competitors (in fact I took a cheaper 7day Disney cruise last year...I didn't have a balcony but I had two very large portholes and a sitting area Cat 8A). I can't be bothered with keeping up with NCL after this latest set of changes. It's the money and principle. And for the ppl saying other cruise lines are making changes i agree but only one or two changes...not so many all at once.

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WOW, speechless... You go know the grass is usually not greener on the other side.

 

For the last decade. NCL has been setting the standard for industry pricing. Everyone is starting to follow suit. Carnival will be raising their prices much higher as well. Now that the signed a huge deal to upgrade there entire fleet with a newer, faster and much more expensive onboard internet system.

 

So in about a year, I guess you will no longer cruise at all?

This isn't my first time at the rodeo. I've taken other cruise lines and had the time of my life. I like variety which is why I switch it up. My money, my choice. Just because the initial price SEEMS lower doesn't mean there is a better value overall. I'm learning that the HARD way.

Plus, Carnival LOWERED the price of their internet when they updated by introducing packages do ppl who just want to go on social media sites. That's good marketing.

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Wow! I had just settled with myself that I was going to bite the bullet and get the unlimited plan at $25 per day. Now that it's $30, they can keep it. It's much more expensive than the unlimited packages on Carnival, RCI, Princess, etc. (Plus they have newer non-satellite technologies) than NCL)

Del Rio is going to ruin NCL. I'm taking my cruise that I payed for and canceling the next one. This is my breaking point. The cruise that I payed thousands of dollars for is now going to cost me hundreds more that I didnt plan for... I hate to be played the fool. Other lines do increase prices some even decrease prices (think Carnival's Internet) but it's a rare line that makes 20 or more changes in a year with the majority causing me to spend more $$$ on everything I enjoy doing on the ship. And of course Del Rio is bragging about making record profits. Clueless. Smh...

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Run don't walk to Carnivals balcony.

I agree! The speciality restaurants on carnival ARE great. I love the steakhouse (but to each his own). Plus, the MDR and free options (thinks Guy Fieri's and the Wok) are so good you don't need a separate dining package.

Look at it this way, for the $1100 difference between Carnival and NCL you can buy 2 alcohol packages, 1 soda package, and $99 unlimited premium internet access and still come out ahead...your "perks" are just not built into the base price.

Hi.

 

We are six people sailing in the Haven in August. We have specialty dining for each night (not just four nights as the current promotion states). I would like to make all my reservations and adjust if/as necessary when we board but at least have something in the system.

 

When can I book?

 

Thank you.

Haven guests can book restaurants and entertainment 100 days before the sailing date. Non-haven guests are allowed to book at 90 days.