Alegeeter

Thanks for the update! If they do roll out changes, I hope it's before my final payment is due! I'd gladly give up whatever promotions I have if it meant the $250 Admin Fee went away (or significantly decreased)!

CAS should be opened today. Has anyone tried booking?

Would love to hear if this is true.

We were on board with you and had a lovely time. We spent a lot of time in the casino too so when you mentioned the royal flush I think I remembered who you were. I believe my mother and I played Blackjack with your husband.

By Valarie, do you mean Vivian? He was one of our favorite dealers too. The whole casino staff was superb!

I'm sorry you found some scrooges at the Hold 'em table. We found overall that the group of passengers on this cruise were among the (if not the) nicest we've sailed with. It was a lovely week.

I had this room on the Pearl, so it should look the same.

I'll look for some pictures when I get home from work. We loved the room and the size (it's an Accessible cabin). Fair warning though, the shower very easily floods so lay down some towels!

That wouldn't be the first (or 100th, even) time a Rep isn't in the loop about what's going on or is specifically not forthcoming to guests.

If it does turn out that the cabins are being refurbished as the crew suggested, it bothers me that NCL was instructed to lie to passengers until a certain point. Innocent until proven guilty, they say, so for now it's just a rumor and I'm the one spreading it, I suppose.

Strange. I heard this from crew in several different departments across the ship (I won't name which since I'm now not sure it's news we are supposed to know given the Cruise Consultant's denial). We'll know for sure soon if someone here steps into a new room or the same old ones with the seashell carpets!

Alegeeter..........do you know what decks they will start with, or have started with??

 

I too will be on board this Sun.

 

Thanks :)

No, I do not, sorry. I only know what I do talking to the crew in different departments about it. There is a general happy feeling that the ship will be a little calmer for the next few weeks.

Good vibes to all for refurbished rooms!

I no longer have the dailies but the shoes were every evening at 7:00pm and 9:00pm. There were three production shows (Swing!, Pure Variety, and Get Down Tonight), a (terrible) comedian, a cirque-like act, Second City, and an impersonator.

Then there were other smaller shows at Spinnaker or other venues at 8:00p and 10:00p every night (Second City improv, Production singer Broadway cabaret, game shows, etc.)

I haven't seen this posted anywhere but I learned on the Gem repositioning cruise last week (NYC to San Juan) that over the next 7 weeks, while the Gem sails out of San Juan, NCL will be refurbishing all staterooms. Each week a portion of rooms will be blocked off and renovated so that by the time the Gem gets back to NYC every stateroom will be like new. When the Gem was updated in 2015 the staterooms were not touched so it's nice that NCL is taking steps to update the rest of the ship. The public spaces were beautiful but the rooms were outdated and the rooms could definitely use the face lift.

Lucky for those on the San Juan sailings who will have a ship only 6/7 full!

We have always cruised NCL (10 cruises) out of New York and never had any problems with the staff. Usually it is with the rudeness of the passengers. The staff always go above and beyond to make our vacation a memorable one. They are always smiling and very helpful. Treat them as you would like to be treated, they are people too and working very hard.

 

 

 

 

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Agree witht his 100%. Show them respect and you get it in return. I've spoken to many crew members from the northeast ports and in general they seem more worn out from the crowds on these ships. Several have even asked me how it's possible that I am from New York because I don't behave a certain way. It saddens me the impression that they have gotten from being based out of New York. That said, even when faced with attitude and disrespect from other passengers I have only seen crew members smile back with kindness and do their best (to the point where I want to get involved and knock some proverbial sense into some people).

 

Sakari has issues with her ears on planes. We have tried everything from gum to the airplane plugs you buy at the drug store. This time I decided to bring my super expensive Bose sound deadening earphones I bought when I was back in school trying to study and take exams to see if that worked. (She only has issues coming down, not up. If anyone has suggestions, I'd appreciate it). I'm still kicking myself for spending so much just to be able to get some studying done. Ugh

I have had issues with my ears on planes for YEARS. I feel for Sakari. It's not fun at all. May I suggest you try something next time that my ENT told me about years ago? My regimen is a to take a decongestant (like Sudafed) a half hour before the flight (so just around when you board), when I am buckled in my seat I take a nasal spray in each nostril, and then I wear the airplane ear plugs (sometimes I wear them for the whole flight, other times i just need them for landing).

Of all the different methods I've tried, this combination works wonders! The pain used to have me fear flying but I no longer have the pain when I so these three steps. I hope it works for Sakari too.

Carnival by no means would owe anything to the canceled party but I agree with other posters who say give them a call and see what they can do, especially if you can produce a doctor's note.

In the past, my family had to a cancel a cruise and we did not have insurance. Carnival refunded us the full amount as a credit to book a future cruise within the year. We realized how fortunate we were and how Carnival acted from their hearts. We've gotten insurance ever since, not wanting to tempt the odds more than once.

Good luck.

NCL typically places a hold on credit cards. It can last up to 3 weeks. It's just to make sure whatever your balance is on your onboard account goes through. The pending charge should disappear sometime in the next couple weeks.

You will get 1 perk with an inside cabin, UBP is one of your choices if that's what you want. If you upgrade from an inside to an oceanview or higher, though, you still only get 1 perk, not 2 like if you were to book that category on your own.

Maybe they increased the DSC again and are splitting it up into two smaller payments adding up to $20.70 per person per day. The two smaller numbers are for your convenience, for easier counting. This new DSC will be tested on the Jewel before rolling out to the entire fleet...tomorrow.

I would like to know this as well! It's not listed as one of the ships that has it but with the recent renovations and dry dock you have to wonder why it would not have been added.

I understand what you are saying about the guaranteed cabins, but I was told by the NCL agent that the certificate came with an inside room but I could upgrade for a cost and that did not lose my UBP which was part of the certificate offer. So the certificate allowed a room upgrade at my expense.

 

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That is exactly why you got to keep your promo. The upgrade was not for a guarantee cabin so you don't have to forfeit your promo. This is why I am guessing the OP intended upgrade for $150 is for a MX (guarantee) cabin. But we may never know unless he/she comes back!

As for why people may choose a guarantee cabin over a regular cabin with the promo. As sparks1093 says, maybe it offers no value to a person. But also, the regular cabins tend to be significantly more expensive than the guarantee. So while you're getting a "FREE" perk you may be paying for it in the price of the cabin. Tricky advertising by NCL...

negn, did the price of a BA go below what the price of the OV was at the time that you booked it or at the time that you called for the upgrade?

Does anyone know why iConcierge wasn't added to the Gem during its drydock last year?

Last year I had a casino certificate and it was for an inside room with free UBP and my brother and I decided to move to an Oceanview room and the agent just changed us to the upgraded room with no loss of the UBP drink pkg. We just paid the upgrade price and added insurance cost. So maybe you could speak with another agent that knows how to make that change of room without losing the drink pkg.

 

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The Casino certificates work differently because you don't book guarantee cabins, you can choose your cabin. So if you upgrade you can keep your promo. Guaranteed cabins are now excluded from the Free at Sea promos so it makes sense that the OP would lose his/her promo when upgrading. One option is to upgrade to a regular mini-suite and not a guarantee, but that's probably more than $150/pp.

Do you actually understand the seriousness of this virus to a pregnant woman or one who wishes to get pregnant?

 

It far exceeds the concern of enjoying or not enjoying a cruise. When people come on here to ask about zika, they need the full story.

 

As you say you can not be q100 percent certain that you will not be bitten, but you can make sure you do not have unprotected sex, but if that part was not discussed on here, would they even know to take that precaution?

 

You gave the percentage as 98% .... just from the mosquitoes, So would you take that chance if you were pregnant or were expecting to get pregnant in the near future? 2% chance that you will get infected, by your own numbers. Little risk, just 2%........ Would you take it, or would you let your wife or daughter take it, if they were in the child bearing scenario? Rhetorical question.

 

My take is the risk is probably only to 2% of the population.....so it is not a big deal to the other 98%. But to those 2 % it is actually a matter of life or death, or at least of quality of life.

 

Bottom line is I do not apologize for bring up all aspects of the zika transmission. If it saves anyone, it is worth it. No where do I say, don't go on vacation, I just say understand and take ALL precautions.

 

And by way of information, a second distinct neighborhood outside of the square mile wynnwood area has been found to have the infected mosquitos in Miami. Near South Beach, I think they said.

I very much understand the risk to pregnant women, trust me. After all, it is my job and I am dealing with it every day.

That said, I think you completely missed my point and misread what I wrote entirely. You are not wrong about sexual transmission risk. All I was saying is that when people post here about their concerns, it makes sense that they are primarily concerned about mosquitoes because they are thinking about booking a cruise to an affected area. One can enjoy a cruise without Zika being a problem through sex. Use condoms! However, the risk is greater via mosquito bites because there is no way to ensure you are protected from exposure all of the time. That is the point I am trying to make. Also, the 98% is a statistic on the overall effectiveness of a condom to protect against contracting any STD. That had nothing to do with mosquitoes. Please read what people write carefully. It's frustrating when my words are misconstrued.

We're on the same side of this here, Into Cruising. We're both trying to protect the community, I just recommend doing it in a way that doesn't cause more fear than learning. Talking about Zika is great. It's important. But there is a fine line between giving facts and warning people about risks and scaring them, causing hysteria, which many times can be even more damaging. I don't think this is the best forum for anyone to make a decision as there are too many opinions, one can easily become overwhelmed. I believe it is best to do your research from sound sources (not cruising forums) and talk with your healthcare professionals. Vacations and planning them should be fun and relaxing, not another source of stress.

People on here are more concerned about mosquitoes because Zika in the Caribbean affects their cruise vacations. That is what is relevant to Cruisecritic. No one is going to come on here and talk about their sexcapades. Unprotected sex can happen anywhere, not just in the Caribbean and Central and South Americas.

You're right the virus can be spread both ways. But going on a Norwegian cruise, it makes sense that people are primarily talking about mosquitoes. Additionally, sexual transmission can easily be prevented by using condoms. Condoms are over 98% effective when used properly. With mosquitoes, there is no way to be 98% protected all the time when you're constantly exposed to the outside

I've worked with Javier too and he is wonderful! Whiel I haven't had to resolve any problems, when booking with him he is pleasant, concise, efficient, and informative. He makes it easy and sets a standard all reps should strive for.

CAS, I hope you're seeing this!

Before you give up and cancel, have your TA fight for you. They should call NCL and explain that you've already booked accommodations and flights around the original itinerary and $50 is not enough. They can either pay for flight change fees or pay to get you from one port to the other. They're not going to offer to do this for everyone off the bat but if you make a big enough fuss they'll give in eventually.

I don't think this is something you will need insurance for. You just need a voice and an advocate.

Good luck!

Hey folks!

Does anyone have an extra Norwegian Jade Latitude Pin they would be willing to give/sell/trade with me? It's the only ship I've sailed that for some reason I am missing. I'd truly appreciate it!