JillK

Yea I might go that route -- I am deposited with a CruiseFirst so think I am still within the window allowed to book but I think I would have to wait for it to come back into my account before re-using it right? Ugh. Ultimately if it's too much hassle I might also just leave it be. We have two cabins on a Med cruise in 2025 booked so if I end up going the route of getting FCC back before sailing, at least I know I can use it.

Actually I was trying to figure out the differences so I broke everything down. Taxes and fees, bev package gratuities and fare have all gone down - the fare is obviously due to a small drop, but the other fees are due to an improvement in exchange rate since the rate in place when I booked (long story for the first time I booked NCL in Cdn at their exchange rate as it was on par with going exchange rate at the time but slightly cheaper as I saved the bank's 2.5% exchange fee). Oddly the dining package gratuities went up so I am assuming this is a change across board (we have two nights on a 14 night cruise). In any case, to book today would be $255 cheaper (lost $5 since yesterday) than what I was told yesterday by the agent (only $130 - may also be $5 less today). Couldn't figure that out.

Has anyone experienced the following scenario.... we are two weeks away from final payment and I noticed a small price drop of $260 on my upcoming cruise. This is consistent when pricing the cabin two doors down from ours in the same category both on NCL.com and on the site of the TA through whom I booked. When I called yesterday, the TA had to call NCL who advised there is a drop, but it was half of what I was expecting ($130). The TA was also not sure why I wasn't being quoted the $260 difference as that was also the number she had on her screen. Should I call again in the hopes of getting a different NCL agent who can process this correctly? I think we may have had a junior person on the line since he initially said that I wouldn't loose the double latitudes points promo I booked under and then came back and said that his manager has advised that if I re-priced, I would loose that benefit as it is not available today (which I already knew and was prepared to loose). Has anyone here thought they could realize a price difference that they weren't able to get like the scenario above and what, if anything, did you do to try to get the price drop? Not sure why before final payment I would still have to pay $130 more than someone booking it today? Thanks!

I have also posted on the NCL board but thought I would try here as well.... Does anyone know if you have paid in a currency other than USD, if the prices in the Cruise Planner are locked in at the exchange rate at time of booking or if it is variable monthly depending on the prevailing rate? In the past when I booked a Royal cruise in CDN dollars, my cruise planner exchange rate was locked in at the rate at the time I booked. In that case it worked to my advantage as the Loonie lost a lot of ground between the time of booking and cruising so we were able to realize that savings. As it stands the exchange has slightly improved since booking and I'm curious if I should just look at buying any time between final payment and cruising (assuming the rate is locked in so it doesn't matter when I book) or waiting to see how the dollar performs if the rate is variable. This is my first time booking with NCL in CDN dollars and I didn't write down prices in the planner I was seeing when I first booked so can't compare to be sure. Thanks!

Does anyone know if you have paid in a currency other than USD, if the prices in the Cruise Planner are locked in at the exchange rate at time of booking or if it is variable monthly depending on the prevailing rate? In the past when I booked a Royal cruise in Canadian dollars, my cruise planner exchange rate was locked in at the rate at the time I booked. In that case it worked to my advantage as the Loonie lost a lot of ground between the time of booking and cruising so we were able to realize that savings. As it stands the exchange has slightly improved since booking and I'm curious if I should just look at buying any time between final payment and cruising (assuming the rate is locked in so it doesn't matter when I book) or waiting to see how the dollar performs if the rate is variable. This is my first time booking with NCL in Canadian dollars and I didn't write down prices in the planner I was seeing when I first booked so can't compare to be sure.

Just wanted to circle back with an update. We used the AmEx to put $1000 down on our 2025 cruise via the cruise planner (booked through NCL via a PVP by phone a few months ago) and although the T&C says the credit would not be applied until the close of the offer period in August, the $250 credit is already showing on our account. Thanks to all for the sound advice.

We have driven from the east suburbs of Toronto to New Jersey for two cruises out of Manhattan in the past, once in 2018 and again March break 2022. It is a very easy drive and we actually prefer it to the horrific air experience we had last July from YYZ to LAX as it was more seamless and faster! We did go the 1,000 Islands route as we are east of the city - depending on where you are, you might be better off going via Buffalo/Niagara Falls. The 1,000 Islands route shoots you down via Fort Drum/Syracuse/East Stroudsburg. In both cases we booked a room at the Hilton Garden Inn Ridgefield Park. Back in 2018 they were offering a stay and cruise package that included a shuttle from the hotel to port (offered both Manhattan and Royal port in Jersey). Post COVID they have eliminated the shuttle but still offer stay and park for cruising so we just took an UBER to and from Manhattan which was in the $70 USD both ways price range if I recall correctly (assume it would be cheaper to Cape Liberty). The hotel is clean and well appointed - we would stay there again if cruising out of either Manhattan or Cape Liberty. Easy to get to using GPS and lots of stuff in the area if you want to pop out for food or to do a little shopping (thank goodness for the internet). Hope you have a fantastic cruise no matter where you stay!

To confirm this all did work out as expected. My brother gifted me $100 USD credit that I did have to visit guest services to deal with as it wasn't loading automatically on to our onboard folio but otherwise everything was in USD as anticipated. The cruise itself I would say was a mixed bag... some highs and some lows. We cruised three times last year (got in all those ones we missed during COVID as this is not typical for us by any means) and this was our least favourite for a number of reasons. We don't anticipate cruising with Princess again until hubby and I are past 65, if we ever do go back to the brand.

I know the agency you are referring to. I used to get their emails and did booked a cruise through them which I had to cancel as there was a medical emergency that prevented us from travelling. I didn't like that they retained an admin fee when truthfully all they had done was book the exact cabin on the exact sailing I directed them to (meaning I had done all the leg work) so I elected not to use them again. That being said, I don't recall having an option of booking in CDN through them. There are two other another online US based agencies through whom I have booked a lot of cruises through and both only have the option of booking in USD. Perhaps you can do a bit more comparative pricing in USD and CDN and see if it's more beneficial to just go the route of paying in USD through the company you are looking at or if there are any advantages to just booking in CDN elsewhere assuming you can't book in CDN through the US agency. For my last and two upcoming cruises, I did a lot of comparative research for booking in CDN or USD and determined that the cruise line rate was competitive and it ended up being a bit cheaper (and frankly easier) to just book CDN. I got a fantastic deal on the cruise last December booking directly with the cruiseline in CDN dollars so it was definitely to my advantage to have been doing the comparison. The possible downside to booking in CDN is that you are then locked in at the exchange rate at which you book (for me it was 1.37) for items to purchase in the future through the cruise planner (which I'm not overly concerned about for our cruise this fall but could be a disadvantage for the one two years from now if the dollar improves) but at least I have cut out the credit card's 2.5% exchange fee. This actually worked to my advantage once when I booked with Royal in CDN and the exchange rate worsened considerably by the time I cruised meaning that I was getting price break for items I pre-purchased vs what they would have cost if I had purchased the cruise in USD and then paid the going exchange rate.

Hi. After years of reading about Americans getting this offer, both hubby and I were thrilled to get this offer on our cards on Monday as well. We have a cabin booked via a TA and deposited with a CruiseFirst for a sailing this fall and were initially hoping that we could take advantage of the credit for that cruise by buying shore excursions through the cruise planner. I read through the offer terms and conditions carefully and the credit is very specific to cruise vacation bookings through the NCL website and they are also very clear that it doesn't constitute a qualifying purchase if booked through a TA - has to be a payment made on the NCL site towards a booking (the T&C does not specifically mention that it needs to be a new booking). I don't think that a payment made on a booking through a TA will trigger the credit but you can try chatting with an NCL rep on their website to check.

Yes I believe you're right... as others have said likely due to the fact that they are second pax and are minors. No harm in inquiring again but sounds like you will get the same answer. I am surprised that they wouldn't give it to adults pax 1 & 2 (who both take it) in lieu of the beverage package. General thinking is that the soda costs them pennies so would be cheaper for them to keep you happy and give you the soda package (which you still pay the grats on of course) rather than the beverage package. That makes no sense to me. Presumably they want you to spend more either through buying them individually or spending the money on the package. Regardless - I hope that you enjoy your cruise!

Yes I know, which is why for free is in quotes above. I think we all recognize that it is not truly free in the sense that we get it without paying anything for it. I am speaking here about the OP swapping out the alcoholic package for the soda package in the promotion which although you pay for the gratuities, it is still cheaper than buying soda a la carte or buying a package. We are paying $19.07 CDN (so approximately $15 USD) for the gratuities on the included soda package for a 9 night cruise. Sodas with tax are close to $3 USD each in my experience, so one a day over 9 days would be $27 USD. To buy the package at $9.95 USD a day plus 20% gratuity would run us $107.82 USD for our cruise. So while it isn’t at no cost (truly free), it is still a better option than purchasing the package or buying a la carte provided you intend on getting one soda a day.

Thanks. I have had my AmEx for about a decade and have taken advantage of many offers as well. For all of those the credits were applied pretty much immediately after the applicable purchase. This one is worded differently in that the credit will come at the end of the offer period once AmEx receives confirmation of the "qualifying" purchase from NCL. This the first time we get one for NCL but we already have three cabins booked so was hoping to get some input from people who may have used such a credit in the past to be sure that if I'm putting money down now for a cruise in 2025 that is currently booked with a CruiseFirst that I get the credit without having to cancel and rebook. I cannot use it for my cruise in the fall as this was booked through a TA and the terms are very specific to vacation booking on the NCL website... unfortunately not applicable to shore ex, gift cards, anything pre-purchased for on board. Was originally thinking of booking ShoreEx for my cruise this fall when I originally saw the offer but then read through the T&C to learn this wasn't a qualifying charge. I did reach out to my NCL PVP as a poster above suggested and she didn't have any insights at all. I chatted with an NCL agent on their site and he said that it should apply but if I could also reach out to AmEx. The T&C clearly states they credit back when they receive information from NCL about the qualifying purchase which to me means that it's up to NCL to say "yes" or "no" about whether the offer applies so don't see value in contacting AmEx. Appreciate everyone's advice...

I would think that you should be able to get the soda package "for free" with your booking upon request.... at least it wouldn't hurt to inquire next time you are looking at booking. I have two cabins booked for 2025 where we have an adult and a minor in each and the adults were given the drink package while my sons were given the soda package... this was booked over the phone with an NCL PVP.

Wonderful thank you so much... thought it would be a little awkward asking the NCL agent!!

After what feels like 10 - 15 years of jealously reading people discussing the NCL AmEx offers they are receiving, I finally got one on my Canadian AmEx card and I'm trying to figure out how I can take advantage of it. The catch of course is that I already have three cabins booked (one for this fall through a TA where I am getting more money in cash back than the value of this offer so not worth it to cancel and rebook in my opinion) and two cabins on a cruise way in 2025 for a special anniversary that was booked through an NCL agent over the phone. We do not have the capacity to take on another cruise at this time. The T&C of the offer are very specific to using for cruise bookings online (not shore ex, etc). My question is for those of you who have experience with the offer or have used it successfully is: to your knowledge, can it be used for a payment on the balance due on an existing booking on the NCL website? I have two cabins booked through an NCL agent for which I put down CruiseFirsts as deposit. No cash has been applied to these bookings to date. Can I use my card to make a $1000 payment through the cruise planner and would this qualify for the $250 credit? I don't see anything indicating that it has to be on new bookings only so think this could work but thought I would reach out to those of who have more familiarity with the offer. I have attached the Canadian T&C for reference which I am assuming is the same to the American one but you know what they say about assuming.... Thanks in advance!

My father always felt the same way and refuses to cruise with them as a result. I have done four Carnival cruises since 2001 and we never encountered a big party scene ourselves but they did get that reputation a long time ago and it seems to have stuck. Our cruise last year was on the Panorama and it is a phenomenal ship that my family and I would cruise again in a heartbeat. All of us agree out of the three cruises last year (NCL/Carnival/Princess) that it was heads and tails the best one. The ship is still new, having launched in 2019 and it is very family friendly and oriented, with so many things to do we didn't even get off the ship at two out of three of the ports of call. They are a match to NCL in a lot of ways but with a more affordable price point. That being said, as a repeat cruiser I am offered up some savings that wouldn't be accessible to a first-timer but using those savings, the fares are lower than NCL while ancillary costs are significantly cheaper than NCL (daily gratuities, wifi package, spa pass) to similar (drinks a la carte, specialty dining). Is Carnival perfect? No of course not - there are lots of places where other lines do things a bit better (for example, having only a deli and pizzeria staffed by five people total as the only food options after 10:30 pm on a ship with a large capacity is a big mistake). Having sailed Carnival, Disney, Celebrity, Princess, Royal and NCL there are things that each line does better than the others. Certainly you should price them out (looking at their larger and newer ship in particular) when considering your next cruise - you never know, you might find that overall it's the right line for you!

When I compare cruise prices, I look at the all-in price (inclusive of extras, daily gratuities and ancillary costs) and not just the initial fare to get a real feel for the value on a per person per day basis. Only then can I make a truly informed choice about the value of what I am buying. The OP says that Princess does not charge for "free" items. I hear what he is saying in that one doesn't pay for the value of the drinks package but pays the gratuities on that value so there is a cost to the end user. The reality is that you are paying upfront for the drinks on Princess and Celebrity as well for example, it's just in the way it's presented. Celebrity has a clear price difference to include drinks, wifi and gratuities as another poster mentioned. We cruised over Christmas with our four children in three cabins on Princess last year. Hubby and I felt that the Princess Plus fare inclusive of drinks and wifi was worth it for us to avoid the hassle of buying drinks a la carte, but we did not purchase it for our children. The price difference for Princess Plus (drinks and wifi inclusive) was $550 Cdn per person more than the fare for the kids (total of $1100 Cdn). So even with Princess you do pay for the additional service that you get with them if you want them. They don't present it as free because it's not. At least with NCL, you are only paying the gratuity on the value of the package based on the number of days sailed so it is a substantial savings vs having to buy the package outright. As others have mentioned, you don't have to take the "perks" and can book a sail-away rate that excludes them. We cruised NCL, Carnival and Princess last year and each had their strengths and weaknesses. Based on those experiences though, we have eliminated Princess entirely. The value for us just isn't there and it is clearly geared toward a more elderly crowd. I could go on about why we feel this way but this isn't really the right place for that so I will digress. Last year we felt we had excellent value with Carnival and good value with NCL. We would consider both lines again for future cruises and after much debate have decided that for us, focussing on NCL is better thanks to the perks associated with the Latitudes program, despite some things that we don't like about them (highest daily grats- for us when you add 40% exchange rate starts to get astronomical; high wifi cost; high spa costs). We still feel that for us NCL provides an excellent product at an acceptable price point and have two future cruises booked with them accordingly. All that to say it's really important to understand what you're getting for what you're paying... only paying for what you want and doing due diligence by reading reviews to see what other people are saying about their experiences (taking everything with a grain of salt however as one man's trash is another's treasure). I'm sorry you were disappointed by your current cruise with NCL and hope that you find a line that better suits your needs.... best wishes for happy sailings in the future.

I have had many years of successfully booking hotels via either expedia.ca or hotels.ca (the Canadian versions) until last December after our cruise out of Galveston. I had two separate reservations with hotels.ca - one pre and one post cruise at two different hotels. The first one went as planned with no issues. When we went to check in for the post-cruise hotel, they had our reservation but told me that hotels.ca hadn't released the funds so it was "unpaid." They let me check in but said that I would have to call hotels.ca to deal with it. Long story short, even after speaking with someone at their help line, the issue was not resolved between the agency and the hotel and I had to pay the hotel directly on top of having already pre-paid via hotels.ca. It took almost two weeks after I got home to get it sorted it. After having to explain the situation to several people and them apparently not fully understanding the situation which lead them to denying me a refund, I had to clarify that the responsibility lied with them and I would file a claim through Visa if it wasn't settled at which point they did refund what I had paid them so that I only had to pay once. My lesson learned was that as good the previous experiences had been these snafus can happen - even with the reputable online agencies.

I'm so sorry to learn that your son's friend is in this situation. It really sucks - especially since he likely thought that buying the air through NCL would offer some kind of protection from this very thing happening. I booked my most recent cruise through a PVP at NCL directly and when I told her I wanted to take advantage of the air offer, she was VERY explicit in telling me and ensuring I understood that I would 1/ have no opportunity to choose my flight times/provider and that 2/ there were simply buying the flights on my behalf and did provide any guarantees (ie- no compensation for delayed flights). Her very next question was if we wanted to buy the insurance which would cover such things. Unfortunately it sounds like your son's friend didn't see the fine print on this and frankly I likely wouldn't have looked at it either if I was booking on my own. I too may have erroneously assumed that we would get flight delay compensation similar to what you would get when you purchase a ship sponsored excursion, so was glad that my PVP made certain I understood exactly what I was buying. I hope your son's friend is able to meet up with the ship or find a way to get some measure of compensation (perhaps he was travel insurance through an employer or the credit card he used to book the cruise?) but in this instance, NCL does not have responsibility per their T&C.

We used NCL air in December 2019 when it was just my husband and I travelling. I can't recall the savings we realized at the time, but I do recall that it was substantial. This was a short "hop" from Toronto to NYC and we felt confident enough that even with delays we wouldn't have issues as there are many flights a day doing this route. We did purchase a day deviation so that we flew in the evening before the cruise which turned out to be a good thing as a storm moved in and we were among the last flights to get out before the delays began. Fast forward to a month ago when I booked another cruise for just hubby and I (sorry kids) and purchased the BOGO air flying Toronto to NYC and with a return from Miami to Toronto. Even my travel agent was surprised at how little the air cost was.... $313 USD when I booked (paid $416.50 CDN). Although I don't have my flights yet, in Canada we have limited airline options so in pricing possible flights we can anticipate saving in the neighbourhood of $800 (CDN) vs. booking it on our own (and the cost for the flights through NCL has already gone up by $150 USD so glad I booked when I did). This time I will be flying in the morning of the cruise but as we are cruising in October I am not concerned about a snowstorm delaying our flights. We know this is a risk but it's one we have decided we are willing to take. Everyone is paying into buying flights for those who are getting the BOGO so we figured we would take advantage of it this time around.

Hi KennDemon. You purchased your flights to get you from the port to Ottawa (presumably) so that is what you are owed even though the airline has cancelled a segment of your flight (assume you are currently landing in Montreal since you're considering an Uber). NCL should make this right by finding you a connecting flight that works with your original segment or find you a completely new alternative but unfortunately you will have to be the one driving the follow up. Since you booked through a TA, the onus is really on them to do this work on your behalf. You can try to contact NCL's air department directly but as the TA owns your booking, it might be tough for you to deal with them directly to find a solution. In your shoes, I would start with a call to NCL Air at this point since you've indicated that your TA to date has not done anything to find a resolution. If you get the standard "we can only deal with your TA," then it will be time to dog them. The one piece of information you haven't yet shared is when your cruise is departing. Do you have the luxury of a month or two to get a resolution or are you leaving in a week? In any case, do not panic, this should all work out, but do stay on top of it. Good luck and keep us posted!

I have cruised across several lines over the years and a lot of these are changes that have happened across all lines. NCL recently famously upped their Daily Service Charge to the highest out there while at the same time reducing service to once a day (that didn't stop me from booking my next two cruises with NCL however). I personally don't mind the cabin being turned over only once when I'm cruising with just my husband however when we are cruising with our kids in the cabin (three or four passengers), this does have a major negative impact. Try to imagine your cabin with the sofa converted to a bed and the berth from the ceiling being deployed ALL WEEK long. It makes the lounging area of the cabin completely unusable. It became very awkward to navigate with four people during those times that we were all in the cabin (getting ready in the morning/evening). In my opinion, all the lines that have reduced service really need to service the cabins with three or more passengers twice at least to put the beds away and then re-deploy them in the evening along with the regular service.

I haven't stayed in that category but was pricing a few cruises for next year in that category with my Carnival PVP about a month ago. I used the opportunity to ask several questions about the area - how it worked, benefits, etc. The lounge is locked and only accessible with your cabin key card. If you're not staying in a Family Harbour cabin, you won't be able to open the door to get in.

I have to agree with you and am curious to know when the season started being extended (pre or post pandemic). I was surprised when I started to look into a Caribbean cruise in October about a month ago to see that many ships were still deployed in Alaska through this month. We sailed to Alaska in 2008 during the second week of September and we were the second to last sailing of the season.