RosieRoo

We were on the Joy in November. They were skipping this stop then. No prior notice. We were just told on the ship we wouldn’t be stopping there, no explanation. 

Those are my favorite ships, unfortunately all the suites are located under some passenger area. The worst noise I ever had was under the tiled area of the Windjammer. We were kept awake by trolleys being pushed across those tiles at 3am. I think under the pool would be preferable to that. I usually try to get one of the aft JS cabins. They are under the outdoor eating area, but I’ve never been bothered by noise there. That being said, I have a booking coming up in a midship OS. 

Price of December cruise dropped around $500. Received FCC for total amount, but could not apply it to anything until after the cruise was completed. Expires in one year. 

1 minute ago, Hlitner said:

Not exactly.  We have a Chase Sapphire card that includes several insurance options including up to $10,000 ($20,000 for two persons) of Trip Interruption and Trip Cancellation insurance.  The coverage comes with a good number of restrictions but works fine for legitimate cancellation/interruption reasons (which means it is not a cancel for any reason thing).  

 

We do not purchase other trip insurance.

 

Hank

Thanks for responding. Appreciate your feedback. 

On 12/14/2022 at 5:55 PM, Hlitner said:

In regard to the GeoBlue Trekker policy (we have had this for years) you need to keep in mind that it requires you to have another "Primary Medical" policy as a condition of coverage.  The OP seemed to imply that he would not have any other medical insurance, so we never mentioned GeoBlue.  

 

Hank

Not to hijack the thread, but do you purchase another trip cancellation type policy in addition to your GeoBlue?

51 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

I think I read somewhere on CC that booking onboard requires a non-refundable booking?

I believe you are correct. 

On 12/10/2022 at 12:47 AM, cusematt4 said:

Hi - based on free at sea, we currently each have 150 minutes of wifi.  We have an option to upgrade to unlimited for 120pp which is less than the normal unlimited rate.

 

if we upgrade in advance of our sailing we cannot apply our obc towards the wifi upgrade.  Does ncl honor these same free at sea wifi minutes to unlimited wifi once we are onboard, so we can apply some of our onboed credit?

Just agonized over this exact same thing for my 9 day sailing. To upgrade at home it was around $169. for one person, but I wanted to use OBC so I waited til I got onboard. You could only upgrade on day 1 or 2 and the cost was not a flat fee. It was $29.99 per day for the regular internet or $39.99 per day for the higher speed. If I upgraded day 1 the cost would have been about the same as at home. I waited til the second day which brought the cost down by $29.99. I think the discount for the 150 minutes was $100. Hope that helps. 

We upgraded to a forward facing suite once on the Pearl.  Two things we didn’t like. One, the theater was two decks down and we heard them practicing during the day and during shows. It was pretty loud. Not sure if that’s an issue on the Dawn. Second, it was pretty rough when the seas were churned up. I wouldn’t pick that location again. 
We also did the suite without the balcony once. I really missed the balcony. 
We have done two bedrooms several times. That would be my first choice of those three on the Dawn.

8 minutes ago, nasa1974 said:

You can't predict the weather and an early morning arrival might be the only flight available that will allow you to board the ship before it leaves. Remember those of us that don't live in Florida make our flight arrangements months in advance.

I wasn’t referring to arrivals.  I was referring to departures. Many people have missed their early flights home because the ship couldn’t enter the channel due to fog. 

16 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

Gotta love winter in Tampa

Lived and cruised in that area for five years. I always tell people not to book super early flights due to the fog issue. No one ever believes me 🤷🏻‍♀️

18 minutes ago, texmex.ferr said:

Is anyone seeing Anthem TA for Spring 2024 showing up on Royal's web site yet?

 

When I do a search for TA's, I'm only getting 3 ships (Odyssey, Voyager & Explorer), should there be others?

 

TIA

I see it showing on another website and was able to book thru my TA, but I haven’t seen it on Royals website. 

We have sailed both the Pearl and the Summit and next week will sail the Joy. Although I love to sail from Boston, I would have to say we prefer the Summit overall. 

37 minutes ago, leithbones said:

D

Ditto.  Have been contemplating this exact topic.

Should I try anyway?  See what happens?  "Nope" is the worst I can get.

If they up my FCC or allow cabin upgrade on top of FCC, yay me.

Go for it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Good luck. Let us know if you get a good result. 

I was told the exact same thing, one time only. I never tried to do it a second time. 

1 hour ago, surgie said:

When can I book an Alaska cruise for 2024?

Follow this thread. Lots of good info. 
 

We did this same suite on the Pearl.  We had all the perks of a suite except access to the Haven area. So, yes to the butler and the concierge. 

1 hour ago, CT-Scott said:

We went through a travel agent, but my wife doesn't want to "bother her" to inquire about a room change.  Do you know if I can contact NCL directly or would I need to work through our travel agent?

Bother your travel agent if you want to get it done. I don’t believe NCL will work with you since you booked thru a TA. Mine called NCL and worked with them over the phone. The prices had taken a huge drop and I was able to upgrade several levels without paying any additional fees.  Also, if you don’t want to upgrade your cabin, your TA can also request a FCC for the difference in price. I got a FCC for a cruise that was paid in full when the price dropped after final payment. I wasn’t interested in an upgrade on that one. Good luck. 
 

Don’t forget to check the price of upgrading directly with NCL. Cruise November 12th in the lowest level Haven suite, have the option to bid on all other Haven Suites, minimum bid is $250 pp. I just upgraded my cabin to a larger suite in the Haven for free because prices have dropped. 

2 hours ago, graphicguy said:

My TA’s “perks” are not inconsequential.  I get hundreds of dollars in fare discounts and OBC (like AMEX OBC and specialty dinners, which NCL can’t/won’t offer).

 

Plus, I don’t have to hang on the phone for hours like you would with NCL.  I just call my TA.  She calls NCL and waits on hold to get my requests taken care of.

I agree with all of the above and will add that during Covid when I had cruises cancelled and refunds and FCCs to be issued, it was my TA a who spent hours on hold handling everything. 

Sailed in an aft suite on the Pearl in June. Loved the cabin and didn’t miss the Haven since it has no restaurant. We still got all the other suite benefits, just not the use of the Haven itself. 

2 hours ago, Greygooser said:

Just want to update, I ended up just booking through NCL. The big travel website offering prepaid gratuities did tell me it would show up as being billed from NCL on my Amex, but I was already getting a great deal so I didn't want to risk it. Thank you all for your input.

Not sure if you know this, but you can still transfer that reservation over to a TA for extra perks if you find one.  I believe you have thirty days in which to complete the transfer. 

4 hours ago, Greygooser said:

 

I have reached out to a few but they basically just match what NCL.com does. No prepaid gratuities. Nice to see a fellow NH resident! I got to meet several on my Bermuda cruise out of Boston a few years back.

 

I’m sorry I can’t recommend a TA, but it’s against the Cruise Critic guidelines.  Keep searching.  There are some that discount off NCL’s price or provide OBC. 

3 hours ago, mscloyd said:

Sure wish I had seen this offer before it expired (if it was even available on my Amex card).  I have final payment coming up in a month.  Dang that would have been nice.  Doubt there is much chance they will offer it again anytime soon.

Mine expires 12/31. 

6 minutes ago, vettesale said:

Or can't you just book directly with NCL and then transfer booking to your TA?

Absolutely. 

6 minutes ago, dandelpino said:

Not sure when you're sailing but I'll be on Joy in an aft suite in two weeks so I can come back and let you know. I only started reading about the vibration issues after I called in to upgrade from a forward suite and now there's no turning back now.

We are on in another couple of weeks also. Considering upgrading my current suite to an aft now that prices have come down. I’ve been hesitating because of the comments I’ve read on here. Most were from almost a year ago so I was hoping a recent cruiser might chime in. I hope the problem has been fixed for your sake.