JillK

Thanks Orlando Vic.

I already have the rental through Thrifty and since the cost has tripled since I booked, I won't be looking to switch.

My parents snowbird often and have a transponder. Do you know if there is a way that I can use theirs and pay directly for charges incurred on my rental?

Thanks!

Hi all.

I'm going to tag a question on to this thread, which has been very helpful.

My family of 6 will be heading to Orlando for a week after debarking the Escape in December. We have a rental lined up from MIA and I want to be ready to handle the scare tactics the agents tend to use on use in regards to paying for tolls.

Last year we picked up a rental in Orlando with a drop off at Port Everglades. The rental agent told us that it was IMPOSSIBLE to get there without having to go through an unmanned toll and as such we NEEDED to buy their pass - to the tune of $40 usd (about $51 Canadian).

Since we went to the Tampa area before heading to Fort Lauderdale, the only toll we actually encountered was for around $2.00.

I want to be avoid getting taken to the cleaners again this time and do not want to pay for what I'm not using or overpay for what I am.

We will be heading directly from MIA to Orlando and I know there are tolls along the way, but my question is - will we be encountering any that are unmanned and therefore need to get a sunpass or will they all be manned and/or allow for cash/credit payment?

Many thanks to all for the advice!

I have to agree that as a Canadian consumer, it was nice to be able to price cruises on NCL.com earlier this week in Canadian currency. Especially with the on-going discrepancy in the exchange!

I think it depends on the ship and the neighbours.

We had a connecting cabin on the Carnival Victory many years ago, and only heard speaking filter through the connecting door once during the entire week.

We had a connecting cabin in early February on the Oasis and it was unpleasant. The connecting door was opposite the bathroom door near the entryway of the cabin, and for some reason our neighbours enjoyed speaking to one another from the bathroom. We could hear every word when they did this. I could hear them shower each day and one morning, their alarm clock woke me up (at 6:30 am no less - that's my at home wake up, not vacation wake up!)

You're likely to be little bothered, but do go prepared with ear plugs just in case!

Happy cruising!

Jill

Thank you for sharing your positive experience. All too often we are easy to complain when something goes wrong, but not to praise when we've had a good experience.

I hope that you thoroughly enjoy your cruise!

Jill

I'm sure someone with more recent experience will reply, but when I tried to do something similar with my daughters aboard the Epic a few years ago, they said no. However, because it was December there weren't that many kids on board so often they "blended" the groups together.

Last year aboard the Celebrity Silhouette I was able to move my younger daughter to my older daughter's group as she was a month shy of her 9th birthday (her age group was 6 - 8) but once I moved her they told me she couldn't go to the younger group.

I'm curious to see replies as my family of 6 (DD 12, DD 10, DS 6, DS 5 at time of sailing) is cruising on the Escape this coming December and it'd be great for my boys if they were able to spend some time together (although time apart is good too) although I know they'll be fine if they can't.

Jill

Yorkvillain-

I know many others have said it, but thank you so much for allowing us at home to cruise with you last week. I feel disappointed that your cruise is over!

I was aboard the Oasis a mere few weeks ago and also had the torture of sitting at FLL watching the ship for hours (we had a 7:15 pm departure - the ship left before we did).

I know you have cruised many RCI ships so after the Escape I have to know: will you cruise NCL again and why/why not?

Hope to virtually cruise with you on your next cruises!

Jill

Thought this might be of interest regarding where cruise lines source their medical staff: http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=175%20

Hi all!

Well the quaint little cruise aboard the Escape this coming December that my husband and I were going to do with our sons (5 & 6 at time of sailing) has just exploded exponentially.

My parents have booked a cabin and will be bringing my daughters (10 & 12 at time of sailing) in lieu of staying at our house and babysitting them. My brother has also now booked a studio cabin (his last cruise was our family's first on the Norway in 1992- I think he'll find cruising has changed a touch over the years!).

We are all booked with different agencies, and I'm wondering if we can:

1) link our bookings - either via NCL or each of us through our agents

2) can I purchase something via myncl for one or both of the bookings that aren't my own? IE. If I want to buy a specific shore excursion for everyone in all three bookings through myncl or calling NCL directly, is this possible?

Many thanks to all for taking the time to respond!

Jill

We have a B2B booked in Oct-Dec 2016, one in my name and one in my wife's. We have a FCC on each.

 

They were bought on different cruises and we "paid" USD250 for each one; that is USD250 was debited from our on-board account and USD100 credited there.

 

When we booked the two cruises we were able, at different times, to credit one FCC to each. We "paid" for the cruises in CAD; one had a CAD275 credit applied and the other a CAD305.

 

Originally we had booked a "through" cruise and then split them to take advantage of certain offers like the use of the OBCs. That is why the CAD credit difference, one credited on 12/1/15 and the other 22/7/15.

 

Mike

And if I'm hearing you correctly, then my mother could be right on this one and the $250 USD might in fact be $275 CDN per my original post?

Maybe I'll lob this one back onto my TA and let him figure it out!

Thanks,

Jill

Thanks Mike & pisenor.

OK.

My cruise is booked in CDN, so I would pay $250 USD but it would be valued at $330 CDN as a deposit.

Now my mother, who is booked in USD, would pay $250 USD and it would be worth $250 USD.

Does that lock me into using the voucher with a TA charging CDN and my mother with a TA charging USD?

I know Princess used to work like that, in so much as that you had to decide when buying it if you wanted it in US or CDN, regardless of what currency you used to book the cruise you were on at time of purchase.

Jill

Thanks Hawkeyetlse.

Yes, my current CruiseNext is definitely worth $250 CDN (I'm convinced even if my mother isn't).

I was just curious about what the current offer is, as both she and I are cruising later this year and both of us want to put money aside to purchase one or more vouchers.

Appreciate you taking the time to respond!

Jill

Thank you both! We will be on the Oasis.

Glad to hear about the letter -- that will cover it.:D

If you don't have one in your cabin, go to Guest Services and ask about it. We're just off the Oasis last weekend and we had no acknowledgement of being past guests whatsoever - certainly didn't receive this letter.

We were asked by a waiter on Day 3 if we wanted to apply our buy one get one on some gingerales. We wouldn't have known we even had this if it wasn't for him mentioning it. Obviously, we waited and used it on wine!

This was only on my seapass card. We're not aware that my husband had any offers on his, despite him also being a past guest.

Jill

Hi all!

I was hoping to find a Canadian who has recently (past few months) cruised on NCL and purchased a CruiseNext voucher.

I was wondering if the recent disparity between the USD and loonie has changed the terms of the CruiseNext voucher.

My mother cruised a few years ago and purchased us a voucher which we have used to book the Escape. She had purchased her cruise in USD and therefore paid $250 USD for it, which with the exchange rate at the time came to $275.88 CDN.

I booked my Escape cruise in CDN dollars and it was applied as $250 CDN. She was arguing with me that it should be worth $275 CDN but the terms on the voucher are quite clear that it is either $250 US or $250 CDN depending on the currency in which the cruise is booked.

So my question is, has this been adjusted? Does it still cost us $250 USD, if booked in USD, which would only be worth $250 CDN (but at a cost of $337 CDN at today's exchange rate) if booking in CDN dollars? If you booked in CDN dollars, what are they charging?

Many thanks!

Jill

Is this actually a card or do they add the drinks to your sea pass?

It is an actual card that they punch a hole in when you get a drink. Be careful not to lose it!

The first time we used it, the bartender also swiped my seapass card, he said for inventory and showed me the receipt showing a -12.98 for the drink. The next bartender at the same bar didn't even take our seapass. The third time we used it, at the Rising Tides bar, the server noticed our folio # was left blank on the back and filled it in (I suppose this would prevent someone from finding your card and using it if the server also swiped your seapass at the same time).

We are off the Jan 30th Oasis sailing and this card was offered on Day 4 of our cruise. $93.22 after tip. You save a few dollars when buying mixed drinks like Pina Coladas, Mojitos, etc. as they are $12.98 each after gratuities. As Whitshel said, not worth it if you're a beer drinker.

Happy cruising!

Do you remember what day they offered the small laundry bag special?

I was also on this cruise and if I recall correctly the laundry bag special was on Day 3. I didn't check out the prices so can't advise further.

And for anyone wondering, the $79 for 10 drinks punch card ($93.22 with gratuity) was available for purchase at all bars beginning on Day 4.

Have to agree with TravelerThom about the organization with respect to the entertainment. They rescheduled our Aqua show booking early in the week to the last day of the cruise due to technical difficulties. Then they apparently rescheduled us from an evening show to an afternoon show but never let us know. It was a moot point since all the shows were cancelled due to weather.

My understanding is that only one or two shows were done during the week. I spoke with two other couples who were 10 minutes into the show when it was stopped and rescheduled, only to be cancelled. We missed the welcome aboard show the first night but I didn't realize we even had a cruise director until we attended the Headliner show. He just wasn't visible around the ship as the majority of CD's we had in the past have been.

Our experience with disembarkation was also long. We had an evening flight so had booked a Fort Lauderdale tour through RCI. We were asked to meet at 7:20 am. They had us sit in Studio B with the audio but no visual of CNN International playing until around 7:45 when they brought us up to disembark. Then it was stand and wait, shuffle, stand and wait, shuffle. We were on the bus at 9:00 am. Definitely the longest disembarkation process I've experienced in my 12 cruises, and that includes the good old days when you had to go pick up your passport in a lounge before disembarkation (remember when they used to take it at check-in to pass along to port authorities - maybe it was just international guests?)

Looking forward to your review cruisinrealtor!

Jill

My family cruised aboard the Silhouette last year, and my hubby and I have just returned from the Jan 30th sailing of the Oasis.

You seem to really love Royal, so I think you will also enjoy Celebrity as much - if not more so - than Royal.

While hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed our cruise aboard the Oasis, we couldn't help but compare it to the Silhouette and we concluded that we preferred Celebrity over Royal. Neither of us can articulate exactly why, just overall we feel that Celebrity has a touch of something a bit more special.

So give Celebrity a try - still in the family, but something different.

Jill

I was told by NCL it has to be converted if you are booking in CDN.

However, what it converts to depends on the rate when it was bought - not today's rate. I bought in November 2009 when things were at par, so it was worth $250 CDN. I got one on my December 2015 cruise only because I had enough OBC so it didn't cost me anything. That one is worth $330 CDN regardless of when I use it because that was NCL's rate when it was purchased.

Ok that makes sense. Pretty sure they purchased it when the dollar was hovering close to par.

Thanks!

When I booked, I couldn't find a Canadian agent with a group booking for my cruise and the fare was identical to the NCL site. I had to call NCL to convert my cruise reward certificate to CDN$ and also to get the CARP $100 OBC so I booked direct with them as there was no difference.

 

By 10%, I mean cabin fare was $999 U.S., discounted 10% for booking in CDN funds was $900 U.S. x 1.33 = $1,197 CDN for the cabin. Taxes, DSC, gratuities on the drink package and anything else I would have prepurchased were charged at 1.33 (which was NCL's policy when I booked).

 

However, I booked in October - just days after their new policy took effect. They set their rates every 3 months and based on some recent comments in this thread of not saving 10%, I just priced out a couple cruises and in fact it appears the discount is even less for Canadians now although they are still charging taxes, etc. at 1.33.

 

For example, NCL Gem 10 day leaving April 1.

 

A B3 is $1,499 U.S. and $1,899 CDN. It would be $1,795 CDN if they were still discounting 10%.

The taxes are $182 U.S. and $242 CDN so they are still converting everything else at about 1.33.

 

 

 

The pricing began at the beginning of October. The rates are set every 3 months, so any changes would have taken place at the beginning of January. It appears, based on 3 dummy bookings I did, they no longer give the full 10% discount to Canadians on base fares.

 

You mentioned the July cruise previously, but can you find that same rate for all other NCL sailings? There is a reason you can't.

Hey Canagirl - My parents gave me an FCC to apply to my December cruise. It was paid for in USD ($250) but was applied to my booking (in CDN dollars) as $250 CDN. Should the agent have converted it to its CDN value at time of booking?

Thanks!

So if I check the big box store site or the exped site it will give me the same price as phoning into NCL ?

 

I hate to phone and talk to an agent when I am not going to be booking

There are some sites that you can check pricing in CDN $. Try googling "cruise bookings in canadian dollars" and see what comes up. I used the company with the hyphen in their web address that will be listed to book my December Escape cruise. I booked in March 2015 when the exchange was more favourable and therefore am able to purchase obc at $1.11 exchange rate. Booking today, your exchange rate will be higher.

I cruised the Silhouette last March and was on the Epic a few years ago. I found the decor to be more elegant on Celebrity. More of an adult-oriented ship, in terms of design and clientele. We were on her over March break with my four children and they did at times get some dirty looks. That being said, the kids all loved the kid's club.

I would say that the Epic was more family focused, a little more casual yet also quite a lovely ship. I would rate the food as being on par with one another in all the included dining spots. I wouldn't hesitate to book either line again.

Best of luck!

Jill

This is a vacation and not another business meeting. All this scheduling is making me to start second guessing my decision to go on Oasis. Maybe it is just too large for its own good. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

I got a good chuckle out of this comment!

One of the things I really liked about the freestyle dining (which I have done on Princess, NCL and Carnival) is being able to walk into the dining room when I was ready to eat so that my afternoon didn't revolve around getting ready for dinner.

I was surprised when I realized (but thank goodness I did) that I had to book a time with my time dining for Oasis. Because we booked within 6 weeks of sailing, we had to take the times that no one else wanted. Same goes for the shows. I completely understand the necessity of this though, given the amount of passengers on the ship.

That being said, I don't have to go to all or any of the entertainment options. We will likely buy a dining package once on board and can (hopefully) schedule a few nights at times that we'd prefer. If we don't feel like going to a particular show when the day comes, we'll cancel.

I'm going to roll with it, because I'm just happy to be on a getaway with my husband, and enjoy every second - scheduled and unscheduled. But I hear you!

Jill

Ok, so I bought 1200$ US of OBC this morning for 1333,32$ CAN, let's see in the next few days if I will have a call telling me that 1000$ US is the maximum we can buy!!!!!!!;)

Hi Frenchsnowhite!

Please do report back and let us know if they did cap you at $1000 usd max obc. If they allow you more, I will buy more. I don't see the point in tying up my money today for almost a year only to have it returned to me pre-cruise. We will be sailing in December with our two sons so anticipate having to spend more onboard than when we cruise just hubby and I.

Thanks!

Jill

Can anyone confirm the rate for purchasing OBC with NCL? We have some with RCCL bought at 10% but they have now jacked up the rate to 40%.

I replied to your posting on the RCI board, but thought I would also re-post here. I bought obc on Tuesday at 1.11 but it does seem to vary depending on the what the prevailing rate was when your cruise was booked, based on what some others have reported. You would have to log into your booking with NCL to see what they are offering it to you for.

Hope that helps!

Just wondering if anybody knows if Princess and NCL have raised their OBC exchange rate like RCCL did last week. I was just on the NCL board trying to find out and left a posting there asking. People were saying that they were purchasing OBC at 11% just over a week ago, but there are no newer postings (since RCCL jacked their exchange rates). The reason I ask is that I am helping plan a cruise for a relative for this February and this will play hugely into their decision to take NCL/Princess/ or RCCL.

 

Are you paying attention to this RCCL?

So because of the sliding dollar (hello .69) I went ahead and bought some OBC through myncl for my cruise this coming December. The rate I paid was $111.11 cdn per $100 usd but there seems to be some inconsistency from other posters about what they are being charged. There has been some speculation that the amount of exchange you are charged depends on when you booked.

Since you don't have a booking, your best bet might be to call NCL's customer service and simply ask. In order to buy once booked, you sign into your myncl, go to "explore and plan" and then select "onboard credit." You will be able to buy in increments of $25, $50, $75 and $100.

Just note that there is also scuttlebutt that you cannot buy more than $1000 usd worth. The system will allow you to, but you will get a phone call closer to cruise time that you are being refunded everything but $1000. Here's the thread from the NCL board if you want to investigate further: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2297982

Good luck!

Jill