KeithJenner

You’ve really been showing those evil marketing guys what’s what by insisting on paying more than you need to for your cruises. 🙂

And other countries do exist. 🙂

Absolutely you can. You just have to make sure that you book it first. The guide in my signature, whilst quite out of date, covers this bit fairly well.

It may depend on when you booked. Certainly the offer for two extra meals only applied to cruises booked after a specific date when it was introduced. Free at sea plus is likely the same.

Not something that I have heard, but it is possible when the Jewel is next in dry dock. There have been previous examples (ie Spirit) of La Cucina being changes to Ondaatje, so that would seem the more likely. Ever since NCL stopped putting Moderno on new ships there have been rumours (based on assumptions as far as I can tell) that the restaurant would be removed where it currently exists, but unless I’ve missed one, that hasn’t happened yet, despite the change being a few years ago and ships having been in dry dock in that time. I’m not sure whether the Jewel; is scheduled for dry dock, but the actual changes are usually kept fairly quiet and often we don’t find detail of the changes until it’s complete.

Or to make it even more simple. I buy 2 CN cert. My onboard account is charged $500. I have prepaid the DSC, got any meals I want through Free at Sea and don’t do bingo, buy Starbucks etc. The $250 credit is applied to my account and then at the end of the cruise my credit card is charged $250. Math: $500 (2x CN) minus $250 CN credit = $250 It really is that simple. Anything else you purchase gets added to the $250, but there is no requirement to spend anything to benefit from the CN discount.

Mine has now changed from Jade to Latitudes.

Just get everyone to book individually and then turn up together. They don’t allocate seats.

When you buy a package, or get it via free at sea (this bit depends on the country, but I’m quite sure this is correct for Canada) you pay the service charge at the time. There is no service charge levied at the time of dining on items covered by the package, regardless of where you booked. If you incur a charge, whether through upcharge items or ordering extra dishes, you will pay the 20% on those charges.

Mine says Jade. I have walked through the Casino occasionally and sometimes use the bill breaker there, but have never spent a dollar in the Casino.

The menus aren’t used in a specific order, so you won’t know which ones will be used on which day. I’ve not got a copy of the current menus, but they are fairly easy to find if you Google them, or I’m sure someone else will come along with a link soon. There are about 14 different menus for them to select from.

In my experience cruises such is this (Europe, longer cruise) tend to take days rather than hours to fill up. I usually do my reservations when convenient on the day they open and have never come across anywhere that we couldn’t get a reservation at that time. I usually see availability for most restaurants weeks after they opened.

NCL aren’t great at updating their website, but when I look at it, they have certainly made an update. In the notes under the tier benefits, this is what I see: ”6 Benefit is available on sailings 5 days or longer, and entitles each guest to an appetizer, one entrée and dessert of choice. Upcharges apply to certain premium menu items; Raw Bar Seafood Platter is not included. Bottle of Wine offered in all venues offering Complimentary Wine list, Palomar not included. In à la carte restaurants, coupon can be redeemed for 4 menu items per person (Sushi, Wasabi, Nama, Teppanyaki, Hasuki, Food Republic, Pincho Tapas Bar or Raw Bar). Additional entrées will incur supplemental charges. Dinner coupons are non-transferrable. Solo guests cannot claim two dinners. Coupons can’t be used for the same venue twice. 2 guests maximum. Dining options vary by ship.” I can’t see any reference to specific restaurants any more (but I’m probably missing it).

I can certainly see why you have done with NCL. However, there are a few things to learn from your experience. Number one, it is best to find sites like this one in advance. I never let the cruise lines book my flights, and Hawaii isn’t on my radar for a while, but just by reviewing this forum a couple of times a week I was aware of issues with both of those things. Staffing has been a big problem on the POA since covid and, whilst NCL should have kept you aware of issues with restaurants etc, you would have been better placed to make decisions had you found that info yourself. I can’t comment on flights, but there seem to have been lots of problems lately. This is a general problem, but again NCL just don’t seem to deal with these problems well. I’ve not read the detail of your problems, but they seem to have let you down. Good luck trying to resolve things.

That is old. They can now be used anywhere

There is a link in my signature to a guide which explains it. The guide is quite out of date but that bit is still relevant.

The point is valid though (if a bit redundant), we don't seem to be all agreeing that it is horrible. Regardless of peoples opinions, we are stuck with it. As has been said, there isn't really another vet ue which serves better. People have mentioned Spinnaker on the older ships as an alternative venue, but for us that is even worse. We like to go to Spinnaker during the say to play cards or something like that with a view of the sea, and the constant activities really detract from it. I feel that the Atrium is a venue more suited to these things. I wasn't really aware of there being a problem in the atrium (I'm not on the ship for these shows), and I would rather they were tucked away somewhere I don't go but then there would be complaints of people not getting in, so it looks like the atrium is the best of a bad bunch. As others have said, I suspect it is all deliberate anyway.

There is no need to link rooms for shore excursions. Just book the excursions individually and all when your excursion is called all stick together. They allocate groups then so you can ensure that you are all in the same one.

In my experience it isnt that simple. I’ve been on small ships that don’t have the dress code in the aft room and big ships where they do.

The club suite is very similar to a balcony room. To be honest, on the Epic I couldn’t even tell you the difference. I think the balcony size is the same. You do get a few perks (laundry, ability to make reservations a few days early etc). These are listed on the website somewhere. I certainly wouldn’t pay extra for a club suite on the epic, but some people do. I would base the decision on location. If you like a larger balcony there are some rooms that have large balconies (these are a separate category and will cost more), or if you can find an angled balcony available (you can identify these on the deck plans where the rooms jut put a bit) then you can get a bigger balcony at the price of a standard. Don’t be panicked into booking quickly because of free at sea. That offer has been around for years and there is no sign it is going away.

Don’t be pushed into making a quick booking due to the free at sea offer. Free at sea has been included with bookings for most of the last decade (about 8 years now I think). There are no signs of it going any time soon.

As you aren’t from the US the amount you pay for the package will be different from what is stated above. I don’t know how it works in Australia, so can’t say what it would be. The amounts you pay onboard are the same wherever you are from (taxes in port or anything over $15).

It is usually 30 minutes before departure (assuming not a tender port). There will be a notice at the gangway confirming the all aboard time, as well as it being in the freestyle daily.

It sounds like the Escape hasn’t got the new menus printed yet, but each of the changes the OP mentions are on the new menus that you can see in the App.

There have been a few discussions regarding these changes on this board over the past few weeks. The revised menus are on the website/app.