Falckon

20 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

From someone that hasn't cruised and looking at options if my cruise in Nov gets canceled, there are several NCL itineraries I am looking at. Currently, they have the Free At Sea. This gives free drink package for everyone, free wifi, free specialty dining for Guest 1 and 2 in the room. At the end of checkout, there is a price: Cruise + Taxes/Port Cahrges + Gratuities. Under the assumption we don't buy anything on the cruise, this means my bill when we debark will be $0. Drinks, all dining, specialty dining, tips, taxes, etc are all paid.

 

Am I understanding the NCL Free At Sea correctly? If so, then there is no nickel and diming. Everything I want is included in my invoice. Obviously there are extas like specialty dining with our child since she would not be include as Guest 1 and Guest 2. But more in general, my understanding seems right.

Unfortunately, your understanding is not quite right. There is the Daily Service Charge (DSC) which wil be on your invoice if you don't pay in advance.

For bookings made on or after April 1, 2020, that prepay their service charges before their sail date:

• • $18.50 USD per person per day for The Haven, Concierge and Suites;
  • $15.50 USD per person per day for all other stateroom types

8 minutes ago, diplomats said:

I hesitate to jump into the conversation about "Terms and Conditions" but once again I am confused by the discussion here and the information I find on the NCL website.  As part of the "package" we have booked for next February, we have "Specialty Dining Package" for 2 events.  I have read the T&C for "Specialty Dining Packages" and for each of the ala Carte venues and find no specific information about  restrictions on ordering as described in several posts on this thread.  Looking at the Menu tabs on the ala carte venue, the uncharges are clearly marked on certain items, e.g. "surf and turf" but there is no guidance on restrictions concerning appetizers, etc.  Why am I confused?? 

The restrictions are on the free dinners provided to Platinum level Latitudes members and above.

50 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

Probably should have read post #88 before you capitalized and underlined half the name of the website.

I did read your post, as well as Post 89, and thought it was a good idea. That's why I used it. I'm sorry for not giving you credit in my post.

2 hours ago, phillyguy31 said:

But doesn't every company raise their price or modify their product to achieve a bigger profit? How many time have we seen the size of a jar or box decrease and the price stay the same or worse the amount in the container decreases but the container size is the same. All companies are finding ways to maximize their profits and they need to walk the line where too much drives people away which wasn't happening. When people move to other lines then they will need to change things up to attract them back. 

Absolutely! Every company and government entity periodically asks “How can we cut costs, and/or increase profits or productivity?”. I can see a group of NCL executives sitting around a flip chart or white board, brainstorming on “How to cut costs?”. One might suggest, “If we downgrade the beef we serve in Cagney’s, we could save X amount of dollars per year.” Another could chime in, “If we use premix cocktails instead of fresh ingredients, we could save X amount of dollars per year.” Finally, one could suggest, “If we only use one olive per martini, rather than two, we could save a bundle.”

Fortunately, not all suggestions are adopted. I alluded to one in my prior post, when NCL announced that they were increasing the prices of most of their popular liquors, to where they exceeded the $15 limit of the drink package. The blowback was so bad that they had to scrap that plan. Most people understand the cruiseline has to make a profit. It is just that NCL is constantly raising prices and reducing services, which does not go unnoticed by the members of this discussion board.

Also, the reason that you hear so much complaining about “nickel-and-diming” hear is that this is a discussion board solely dedicated to one cruiseline, NCL, on Cruise CRITIC. If there were discussion boards related to the jars you mention above, I believe that you would see complaints about size reductions.

Rather than focusing on profits, wouldn’t it be nice if NCL executives would brainstorm on “How to increase customer satisfaction and ensure customer loyalty?”.

I agree with several of the previous posters who say the term “nickel-and-diming" is frequently used to describe other nefarious practices such as “bait-and-switch", “hidden costs” and “false advertising”. I also agree with many posters who say that if you do your homework and read the terms and conditions, you should not be surprised any charges on your final bill. 

I view “nickel-and-diming" as the practice of systematically raising prices on goods and services without an equivalent increase in value, eliminating goods and services which were once included, and charging for goods and services which once included free of charge. Someone mentioned earlier that there once was a list of “take-aways” which has now been archived. A few that quickly come to mind are towel animals, lobster, the number of diners included in the dining package, the number of points required for various Latitudes awards levels, originally Margaritaville was free of charge, the attempted increase of prices for most liquors included in the drink package, and the continuous increase of the daily service charge. I know there are many more. 

Unfortunately, I believe that the “nickel-and-diming" will only get worse, in order to recoup the losses incurred from the pandemic. 

This article was in the "Cruise Industry News" today. Apparently, Mr. Del Rio does not intend to lower prices because of the coronavirus outbreak, but still intends to be competitive, whatever that means. https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/22486-nclh-won-t-use-low-pricing-to-drive-demand.html 

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) President and CEO Frank Del Rio said he expects to see competitive pressure and pricing deterioration in the short term in the cruise industry due to the coronavirus outbreak having an impact on cruise bookings.

One thing he won’t do, however, is to compete for cruise bookings on price alone.

“I will tell you that we’re not going to allow what we believe is a temporary situation to derail us from our long-term proven go-to-market strategy of focusing on value to consumers over using low price as a lever to stimulate demand,” said Del Rio, speaking on the company’s year-end and fourth quarter earnings call.

NCLH oversees the Norwegian, Oceania and Regent brands.

“Having said that, given what we’re seeing in Q2 primarily, and what our competitors – how our competitors are reacting you’re going to see pricing action across the spectrum, we need to stay competitive,” Del Rio continued. “But we will not do it in a way in which we believe will hurt the long-term brand equity and our long-term desires to increase pricing year-over-year.”

Del Rio said the company would respond, but will operate in a way where price is not the main driver.

22 hours ago, All-ready2cruise said:

 

May I ask how soon after receiving your info for the flights you called the premium air number? I called within 2 hours of rec'g the email. ,

I wonder if some of the reason could be that I cruise solo, (so just 1 flight) however,

I don't know whether it has any impact

or

if it's b/c I've cruised with NCL enough to be Plat. almost Plat +

or

whether I was just fortunate enough to build good rapport with the rep before asking them to look into a better flight

or

b/c I had booked a flight and hotel with them. 

 

I'd be interested in knowing if any of that had any impact on their decision to accommodate my request. 

I'm fairly certain that they changed your flights because you booked your flights and hotel through NCL Premium Air. We are also Platinum, so I don't think that had anything to do with it, and I had a very pleasant conversation with the NCL rep. The main difference is that we obtained our flights through the NCL Free/Reduced Air, which is the title of this thread, and you obtained yours through NCL Premium Air. So perhaps we are comparing apples and oranges?

20 minutes ago, All-ready2cruise said:

 

 

Here's the number - premiumair at NCL dot com 1866 625 1163

Be nice, don't shoot the messenger, and you should both do well. 

Thank you for the quick response. Actually, I called that number yesterday, and was told that because I have the air promo, they can’t make any changes. I would have to cancel my promo and rebook at the current price. Perhaps they were willing to change yours because you booked your hotel through them.

On 1/28/2020 at 7:34 PM, All-ready2cruise said:

I rec'd my flight info this morning and was a bit dismayed by the departure flight time so I gave NCL a call. I had also booked a hotel through NCL as well so they were aware that I was arriving a day early.. No problem at all to get my original flight changed to later in the day instead of the 5:45 am original time.  Very pleased with how it was handled. Time was changed and new flights booked within a couple of hours and I was able to book seats and buy upgrades.  

 

 

What number, or department, did you call?

We usually have lunch at the Haven restaurant at noon, when they open, and our cabin is usually ready by the time we are done.

They should be sending you an email soon with your "Dining Confirmation". Also, Go to My NCL, Click on Summary, then Itinerary and then each date tab to see your reservations for that day.

On 1/10/2020 at 2:52 PM, trish1c said:

 Duck in LeBistro was some weird shredded mess which reminded me of Sheppard's pie. 

I tried to order duck in Le Bistro, and the waitress actually said, "You don't want to order that, it's shredded". I ordered something else and left her a nice tip.

Actually, there has been a number of threads lately that have been about the declining quality of food served on NCL, especially at Cagney’s. While I have enjoyed ninety-nine percent of my meals on NCL, my past few experiences in Cagney’s have been disappointing, to put it mildly. Now, I just don’t schedule what used to be my favorite specialty restaurant.

On some ships, in the past, Margaritaville would have a small breakfast buffet. It was far less crowded than the main buffet. Is that available on the Bliss? 

On the Pearl, we enjoyed the Sugarcane Mojito Bar on deck 13, in the Moderno restaurant which is where they serve breakfast and lunch for the Haven guests. Since it was a bit out of the way, we could always get a seat and the service was similar to the Haven lounge on other ships.

3 hours ago, FLAHAM said:

Try booking one item (restaurant or entertainment) at a time.

I agree. I tried booking several dinners at a time without success. Then I tried booking one at a time, and it worked.

TheDougOut posted the menus from both Cagney's and Ocean Blue in his Encore - Live 11/2 review. 

Both restaurants have surcharges on the Filet and Lobster, the Shrimp Cocktail and the Crab Cake. It can be assumed that this will be Fleetwide. 

The last time that we sailed out of Miami was December 2018. They had a podium set up, with a Haven sign, at the base of the stairs to the terminal. The attendant escorted us past the lines to security to a separate security check point. Just beyond that, on the right, was the Haven check in.

One of the Free at Sea promotions is a 250 minute free internet package, which is a pretty good deal. If you want to upgrade to Unlimited or Streaming on board, you get a $125 credit for having the 250 minute package. I've used the Unlimited package many times with pretty good results, but I've never tried the Streaming package.

We were on the Sept. 8 sailing of the Escape to New England and Canada. The Escape was delayed getting into New York due to the hurricane. Our flight into LGA arrived at 9:30 am and we arrived at the pier at 11:20. They didn't expect the ship to arrive till 2"00 pm and wouldn't be boarding till after 5:00 pm. At the pier, they were advising people to drop off their luggage and then go see the city. We were not up for walking around New York all day, so we opted to stay in the Haven waiting area. 

The Haven waiting area is way back, almost to the end of the pier. Unfortunately, the chairs are hard plastic and since the ship was not there, neither were any snacks and drinks. They gave us a ticket to get a bag of chips from the vendor at the pier. We purchased a couple of sandwiches. Later, someone who appeared to be in charge said the tickets were for sandwiches, but it was too late. The also gave us boarding cards and we were in group one.

The Haven waiting area was so cold that we decided to sit in the overflow area, which became very crowded as time went on. They eventually checked us in based on our boarding cards. Unfortunately, when they started boarding, they forgot about the boarding cards and it became a madhouse. Also, because the Haven waiting area was so far down the pier, by the time we walked to the entrance, they were letting everyone else board at the front of the pier. We eventually got to the Haven and had a wonderful cruise. Here's some pics of the luxurious Haven waiting area.

55 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I think sometimes they allow you to apply 2, but it needs to be booked more than 6 months in advance.

There is no requirement to book 6 months in advance. Here is the link to the current "Terms and Conditions" 

https://www.ncl.com/popup/cruisenext_terms?hide_hf=true 

Also, you can apply two CruiseNext vouchers online. You just can do it in the same transaction. You have to apply one, back out, and then apply the next. I just did it last week.

On ships without a Haven restaurant, suite and Haven guests can eat breakfast and lunch in Cagney's and/or Moderno.

Here's the Escape Haven dinner menu from two weeks ago. They also have a nightly special that's not on the menu.

56 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Thanks for the update.

 

I’ve only eaten the Ocean Blue Surf and Turf once, and it was very good. I’ll keep an eye out for others on the ship who order it.

 

I noticed on the Escape, I was able to eat in LeBistro with shorts.  That used to be a “long pants” venue, too.  I wasn’t in the Haven, either.

 

So, sounds like NCL is really loosening dress requirements in the other Specialty Dining Restaurants, too.  

 

I applaud that!

Last week on the Escape, I received a voicemail message reminding me of my LeBistro reservation and that long pants are required and we were in the Haven. We also had Surf and Turf in Bayamo, and it was excellent. I didn't receive a message about our Bayamo reservation.

Last week we were in 17718, a 2 bedroom suite, shortest distance to the Haven bar.