cdnsteelman

How old are your kids as they can order free off a kids menu in those specialty venues (note - the free kids menu is NOT a subset of the specialty dining menu)?

1 minute ago, PTC DAWG said:

Hey, I'm in sales and only commission too...I feel your pain.   It can run your life at times.  I try my best to not let it.  

 

Cruising is my excuse to not be in touch.  Just a choice on my part.  

I just understand everyone has individual circumstances and I get a kick out of those who feel the need to be judgy about the need for internet LOL. From my perspective I actually am blessed in that I also REALLY enjoy what I do. For me to connect for 60-90 minutes late at night or early in the morning when the ship is quiet is not a hardship. I also get to write the cost of the internet package off. In December I closed a $10K contract from my phone at the poker table. Well actually I had to stand up and pay a dead blind to do it because, technically, there's a no phones while playing rule LOL. On the flip side - when I'm at home, if I want to see a movie mid-week in the afternoon or drive out to the mountains for the day... I clear it with myself and off I go 😉

As a consultant I'm continually bemused by people in different circumstances saying something like "I go on vacation to unplug". Good for you. If I don't work I don't bill, if I don't bill I don't eat, ergo if I can't have access to reasonably reliable internet I can't cruise. Therefore - because I love to cruise - I bite the bullet and work for a while each day while cruising. The fact that I need to tend to my business while I'm traveling has ZERO affect on anyone else. The OP has legitimate concern and whether others who want to unplug on vacation care or not, internet is offered with the top tier package claiming streaming capabilities meaning NCL anticipates pretty decent satellite bandwidth.

Fortunately I have had reasonable experience with wifi and NCL in the past and - based on my experience - would say the OP faced a bit of an anomaly in not being able to access basic web-based email platforms. The service on the Epic in December was better than expected. Their entire system shut down for a 24-hour period and the internet manager patiently explained the issue to anyone who asked and refunded a prorated portion of my unlimited package without fuss.

Like other posters I would suggest that people new to cruising or at least new to requiring internet access while doing so should radically temper their expectations of performance versus a land-based standard. 

My CAS upgrade from inside to balcony was $400 in December (as a solo) on a 10 night sailing of the Epic and they quoted me $1050 ($525 x 2) for my upcoming 7 night Pear sailing. No more solo upgrade benefit through CAS and a dramatically increased upgrade fee.

19 minutes ago, ellell said:

It seems the comped CSA sailings receives the casino free drink card but the discounted CAS cruises does not.

My CAS sailing got the card but it was a "free" stateroom mailer as opposed to a discount. There have been new changes (not to my benefit) since December. The cabin upgrade fees has increased in two ways: 1) they no longer protect solo cruisers as they did prior to the New Year and so a CAS solo now pays upgrade fees for two, which they didn't before, 2) the upgrade fee has risen dramatically on top of that. EXAMPLE: Dec 5 Epic sailing 10 days inside to balcony upgrade fee for solo $400 x1, March 17, 2019 Pearl sailing 7 days inside to balcony upgrade fee for solo $525 x 2... so $650 more for me to upgrade as a solo on a shorter cruise. Decided to take my chances bidding on an upgrade... max bid is $400 x 2 so I'd still be $250 ahead of the game if I bid max.

There's always some confusion about this... all Sail Away cabins are GTY (i.e. X category) but all GTY cabins are not necessarily Sail Away. In my mind getting the free at sea perqs on a non-sail-away GTY (when you can find them) and saving a bunch of money is a great way to go if you don't need something specific in location (close to stairs, etc).

3 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Mainly because 104*F is the optimum breeding temperature for legionella (legionnaires) bacteria.

We are all so fortunate that you post here - I had NO idea this was the case. Thanks - as always - for the factual information.

Eat: all the different varieties of noodles at the noodle bar.

Drink: tie - a proper pint of Newcastle Brown Ale (okay dozens of proper pints LOL) and - many mornings - outstanding proper Caesars at O'Sheehans with actual clamato juice and all the requisite seasonings.

Pending is what it typically says - at least when I check mine. Given how far out you still are from your sailing its unlikely there will be any acton just yet. Apparently if you see it switch to "processing" that's a good sign. Fingers crossed.

My bigger question is what they don't allow HOT water in the luke-warm tubs 😉

The cheapest wines by the glass I recall from December on the Epic were ~$7.95 + 20% auto grat (~$9.55). I noticed they were delivering ~4oz pours (6 glasses per bottle). Many of the more passable wines were approaching or beyond the $15 UBP threshold. Hope this helps.

5 hours ago, newmexicoNita said:

Not recently anyway.They used to have them all the time, first and last night ones but I don't think in the past 5 years I have seen one. 

I remember the days (10-12 years ago) when the cover for specialty restaurants was 50% off after 9pm!

4 hours ago, Phaedrus78 said:

Hang in there, this will get a little weird to explain.  The difference is, nobody who wants the drink package on NCL actually pays a straight $118/pp.  It's a little more complicated than that.

 

Norwegian offers their drink package as one of their "perks" on booking, along with specialty dining, shore excursion credit, etc.  If you select that perk, you don't pay the base $99/day, but you do pay 20% gratuity, so call it $20/day.  That gets you any alcoholic beverage within a $15 limit.  For me personally, that's all I need.  

 

This new package being offered by NCL will allow you to add specialty coffees and bottled waters, and removes the $15 cap on alcohol.  For that, you add another $34.80/day ($29+20% gratuity), bringing your total per day to $54.80.

 

Carnival's drink package I'll assume is still $56/day, though in my research it seems to vary a bit.  They're going to add 20% gratuity as well, so the true cost is $67.20/day.  That gets you the same beverages as NCL, but with $20 and 15/day limits.

 

Now, what most people will argue is that NCL's fares are higher to make up for the cost of the perks they offer.  I find this to generally be true.  However, there's more that you're getting with those NCL perks than just a drink package.  In my situation for my next NCL cruise in January 2020, I'm not only getting the drink package, but I'm also getting 3 meals of specialty dining, $50 shorex credit per port, and wifi.  

 

Again, I don't need the premium drink package for NCL, so my cost for the drink package on a 7 day cruise is $140 ($20/day).  My cost for the only drink package available on Carnival would be $470 ($67.20/day).  Add in the value of $100 shorex credits (visiting 3 ports on my cruise and I will likely book excursions on 2 of the 3) and about $100 in specialty dining (rough estimate, that could vary depending on your restaurant), and the Carnival booking would need to be about $500/pp less than the NCL booking to be a better value.  

 

FOR ME.  Again, super-duper emphasis on FOR ME.  Not everyone has the same preferences I do.  The $15 limit on the NCL package matters to some.  Specialty coffees and bottled waters matter to some.  Shorex credits and specialty dining don't matter to some.  Everyone wants something different out of their vacation, and ultimately NCL seems to get closest to what I want at the most reasonable price.  

 

Oh, and as for why I avoid Carnival... again, that's a personal choice thing.  In my own personal experience, Carnival has been a lesser overall experience than NCL.  I'm not going to claim to be the absolute authority on these things, my own experience is limited so far.  But they say that Carnival is like the Wal-Mart of cruise lines, and I've found that to be a fair comparison.  NCL is more like the Target of cruise lines... yes, it's still mass market and everything, but it's a bit of a step up in my opinion.  And honestly, I WANT mass market.  I want the big, flashy ships, which is why Celebrity and MSC don't do anything for me.  

 

As with anything else in life, your mileage may vary.  

So I think your post is pretty much true / right / valid. My concern is if the new tier of drink package will erode the value of the current UBP buy moving more and more basic beverages out of the $15 range. As I said in an earlier post I've already witnessed first hand how a simple glass of wine from a bottle you'd buy for $12 on shore was now over the $15 threshold. So - yes - that wine at $18 or $19 / glass will cost the UBPer $3-4 + 20% ($3.60 - $4.80) so its not a show stopper but if that happens ~5 times a day on a 7 day cruise that "perq" just cost you an additional $126 - $168 for the week. Clearly the ~$29 / day plus 20% pricing has been carefully calculated.

I'll be honest I'm not all that fussed about mixed drinks because I don't have a sophisticated enough palate to differentiate the well brand of vodka from a top-shelf brand when it's the kick in a spicy Caesar or some ultra-sweet martini. The proof will come when a proper pint eclipses the $15 threshold... my experience shows wines by the glass to be moving in this direction already.

From NCLs perspective, however, if sailing capacities are trending level or upward, they are "listening" to the consumer as the consumer continues to vote in favour with cold, hard cash.

I was solo on the Epic in December on a 10-day sailing. While I didn't stay in the studio cabins I did attend some of the solo gatherings. What made a HUGE difference for me was getting active on the roll call for the sailing both here and on other social media platforms in advance of the cruise. Before I'd ever stepped foot on the ship I had a group of "friends" and had arranged to either lead or participate in a number of private excursions in the various ports. It was actually through this approach that I became part of a great group of like-minded cruisers. I'm not sure if I had left it to the coordinated solo gatherings I would have had anywhere near the same experience.

It alway has always shown up for me. You may be selecting a sail away rate, which is then not eligible for any of the free at sea options. Otherwise I'd need to see screen shots of what you're looking at to troubleshoot further. May be simplest to just call your TA or NCL directly to ask.

I'll get a first-hand look at this in a couple of weeks on the Pearl as I was on the Epic in December and there were already a significant number of drinks that had elevated beyond the $15 UBP limit - including so very basic wines by the glass that they had the audacity to want ~$18-19 for (when you could buy that bottle on land for ~$12). Shakers was using well-brands for their "covered" martinis. I was happy that they had Newscastle Brown on tap in several locations and a proper pint was under the $15 threshold - wonder what I'll find in a couple of weeks.

Strongly suggest you get the official word from NCL as to what they will want at your port of departure. In my experience requirements can change and even people who have done exactly what you want to do may have made their journeys successfully under different parameters.

It would be hard for me to believe the consent letters wouldn't need a notary stamp in the very least but - on a recent single-parent flight to Mexico from Canada - the notary stamp was no longer required (just a witnessed signature) and nobody (airlines, immigration, hotel) ever even asked to see it. So - as I said - rules change. I will say I err on the side of caution and take EVERYTHING when I travel solo with my kids.

Oh - and kudos for you for being an awesome aunt 🙂 Enjoy your cruise!

So here's my question... with this premium option now in place how many drinks that were previously $15 or less (this included in the free at sea perq package) have mysteriously now increased in price?

2 hours ago, annielauree said:

The other thing we received is a "100% credit toward a future cruise".  I'm hoping that means 100% of what I paid.  We'll see when I go to book again.

Please report back when you find out as my suspicion is that you'll get a future credit for 100% of your cabin cost not including taxes and port fees. I hope for your sake I'm wrong.

For those who have used fishing charters in Roatan, which outfitters would you recommend (or NOT recommend). Want to do a half-day March 20 when we dock on the NCL Pearl at Coxen Hole but happy to use the best outfitter regardless of where they are situated.

Thanks,

Jeff

1 minute ago, Newleno said:

i have only used viator once,  the tour was run by a small mom and pop local operator, viator was just the conduit to connect individuals with actual operators.  at least that was my experience, 

Indeed, viator is a middle-man (like NCL is in the excursion game). They are owned by Trip Advisor. As such what mom and pop get paid by viator is substantially less than what the traveler pays viator. The savvy traveler can find mom and pop, pay them directly (less than what viator would charge) and mom and pop keep more of their hard-earned money too.

I have no issue with viator nor do I have an issue with the NCL excursion game, I just think there's another way that should be fear free.

First, Miller, we are on the same cruise. Be sure to join the roll call if you haven't already. Second I'm 16 cruises in to the habit mostly (13) with NCL with sailings in many different parts of the world. I have only booked 3-4 official NCL excursions in all that time and never had any issues. Read roll calls and the various port boards to see what others have done and recommend.

There is no rule that says you must overpay for ship excursions so you will not be a rule-breaker. I get that everyone has different "risk" tolerances but in my experience there is very little risk in using local operators and they don't have to be the big ones mentioned here like Viatours. With a little research and common sense you can get better experiences for substantially less cost by using smaller, local operators.

The "fear" you are feeling is carefully cultivated with the constant reminder that you can't miss the ship if you pay NCL's high rates for excursions but, in practice, very few people ever miss the ship and - if you use common sense - you won't either. Nothing in this life is 100% but, again, in my very deep and broad experience using local operators you don't have anything to worry about if you're smart about it.

Just to add a little more colour to the discussion, I've dredged up an old post of mine from a similar thread in the past.

Pitch (i.e. stern up bow down or bow up stern down type motion) - lower and more central reduces "felt" motion.

Yaw (i.e. the ship being diverted either starboard or port off the desired course) - "felt" motion greater to the bow regardless of deck.

Roll (i.e. the side-to-side starboard down port up transitioning to starboard up port down motion... where you feel the ship is rolling back and forth from side to side) - "felt" motion greater the higher up you are regardless of bow to stern orientation. List, by the way, occurs when a prevailing wind condition keeps the ship at a lean to starboard or port but not rolling. As with roll, however, you'd "feel" list more on higher decks regardless of being fore, mid, or aft.

Surge (i.e. the whole ship being forced forward or backward against it's inertia) and Heave (i.e. the whole ship dropping down or rising up) will be "felt" pretty much the same regardless of where you are on board.

So - of the typical ship motions (which often occur in concert as opposed to discretely) your position on the ship will only change how you experience some of them but it is true to say you will "feel" more motion on higher decks toward the bow because that position isn't relatively sheltered from any of the typical movements. My favourite place - because I like to feel motion - is a bow suite.

Note - I'm not a sailor but I play one on "boards".

When I was recently on the Epic they had a solution for the tender line nightmare that I thought was quite brilliant. They called tender numbers to go to the Manhattan dining room. They checked your tender number card or your Lat status and funnelled only those who qualified by either tender card or priority status through a loop around the dining room. The stairwell to the tender was blocked off by ship security. Once they had the headcount in the dining room and the available tender ready they released the people "holding" in the dining room to the stairwell and tender. They had two or three tender groups in the holding area at the time and had staff working the area near the dining room pre-checking those who were gathering to ensure there was no out of sequence crowding. I know the layout of the various ships may not allow for this kind of a setup but on the Epic it worked brilliantly!

You know your child best and I strongly suggest you trust your instincts. This coming from someone who has gleefully and successfully cruised with two children on a regular basis since they passed the 6-month minimum threshold. That said there were two of us and in the early days we could afford suites so we had more space. There are planned parent-and-tot activities for those not old enough (3 years old) for the Splash Academy.

I've also read the comments on here from others about potty training. In my experience this only successfully happened when the child is ready. So you may find success in potty training before your cruise and you may not and nobody can tell you otherwise regardless of what their personal experience may have been.

It is reasonably easy to keep your child on schedule on the ship but that means you will be sequestered to your cabin at bed-time and if you are to be the sole or primary care-giver you need to be prepared for that. Here's one tip if you do go that worked for us. When our eldest was splash-eligible and her little brother wasn't we took a good quality collapsable stroller (our was a Maclaren XT) with a lay-flat setting and full shade cover. We were fortunate that our younger guy LOVED falling asleep in his stroller. So - at bed time (~7pm for him) he'd fall asleep in his stroller and his sister would go to Splash. We then went to specialty restaurants while he slept in his stroller table-side while we dined.

We also learned early on that a really good "diaper" backpack was essential (invaluable even if you have moved beyond diapers). There are lots out there but we used one made by Okkatots that was an absolute life saver.