KeithJenner

All this really means is that you don’t have to collect a timed ticket. You can join the queue whenever you want. The key thing though is that all you are doing is joining the queue. You don’t go to the front of the queue. Basically it saves you having to take the time getting a ticket. Edit: before people come along saying that they got better than this from the tender perk, yes, so have I once or twice but that was a bonus.

We have never had any trouble getting Veuve in any restaurant, speciality or MDR. We didn’t try in Teppanyaki though, and I doubt it was available in o’Sheehans.

In my experience there are lots of problems with teenagers drinking, certainly in UK towns and cities, with groups of them all acting up for their mates. To the extent that many such places are not particularly nice places to be at night. However, cruises (except maybe some short cruises or spring break ones) are not similar in any way. Teens there are more often than not with their families and things are a lot different in those circumstances.

And I base my comments on lots of NCL cruises where I have never seen one single issue with teenagers drinking. As this is a forum about NCL ships, I'll take my experience on those ships over someone else's experience on military ships and fishing boats as a more reliable measure.

Not much. This isn’t a new thing, and on a forum where people love to grumble, comments about drunk teenagers are few and far between.

And for many non US sailings there is no need for a waiver.

And many of the people who currently complain about the DSC and say that it should be included in the fare will suddenly find that they can no longer keep taking that discount by removing the DSC and will complain that their cruises are now more expensive. 🙂

Your conclusion is basically correct, but that isn’t what ChiefMate was saying. Yes, I would recommend booking in advance, not just those with platinum meals. It saves time on embarkation day when there are far better things to be doing. There is nothing to stop you booking platinum meals prior to the cruise, whatever some NCL phone staff may say. However, Chiefmates point was that when you do book them, make sure you book fixed price places first (Moderno and Teppanyaki) to avoid having to pay when booking. This only works if you have a dining package. There is a link to a guide to this in my signature. It is out of date (I’ve been promising to update it for about a year now), but it still Covers this bit OK I think.

Prices on the menu are for people who don’t have the package (or who have used those meals elsewhere). If you have the package then it is included unless it specifically says that it is an upcharge item for the dining packages. You are restricted to one entree. You can order multiples of other courses.

I believe that you can book multiple reservations if you call. It is just only where it can’t be done.

As they are Haven CruiseNext I don’t think the discount is $1,000. I think it is $500, but don’t rely on me for that as I have never bought Haven ones. I think the discount is $125 per voucher (as long as you buy 2+), which is why I think it would be $500 discount.

Loads of them. It is extremely rare to be seated with others on NCL unless you specifically ask.

This has been explained to you so many times that I can only assume that you are deliberately not understanding, or just winding people up. I will give it one more go then I’m done. They charge your account $2,000 for the vouchers. You then get $1,000 discount (or $500 if they are Haven vouchers) by way of OBC. The money you paid wasn’t for the OBC, it was for the vouchers. The OBC is the discount,

The two things that were offered are just two ways of describing the same thing. Option 1 is get 50% off the cost. Option 2 is get double what you pay for. It is the same thing.

There will be an area somewhere on embarkation day where you can do your reservations. Often a bar or restaurant with a few people at tables to help you out. Location varies. Alternatively you could use the app or big screens in the stairway areas (on some ships) if you want to do it yourself.

The price isn’t half the cost of the credits for Haven CruiseNext.

I guess BirdTravels will be very pleased to learn all that. 🙂

Just to be clear, as I said earlier, why not book anyway. I do book my restaurants in advance, other than ones which are a pain to do (multiple bookings in the same restaurant or ones that need payment in advance). I was just saying that not booking in advance doesn’t necessarily mean that you will miss out.

I would have to say that I have never had any trouble getting the reservations that I wanted onboard. I fairly often have needed to book onboard due to wanting more than one reservation in the same restaurant (and I can’t be bothered to phone) or not having credits to cover the fixed charge places. However, I generally board fairly early and it is nice not to have that as something you need to do straight after boarding if you can avoid it. I’d alway take 5 minutes online at home over having to sort it out on the day. There is beer to be drunk after all.

Why not book now? You can always adjust them onboard if things change.

From the Freestyle Daily on the Breakaway transatlantic in 2013: ”The Ultimate Beverage Package: Enjoy a wide selection fo soft drinks, beers, spirits, cocktails and wines by the glass. During your entire cruise for only $49.00 per/day.” The beverage package had not been around for long at that time, so I think this was its original price.

We don’t pay any gratuities on the free at sea packages (we pay a fee to get those things which is about the same anyway). This thread is about the service charge that is charged daily, which is a totally separate thing. What hallux says is correct, we still have to pay the DSC, whether onboard or by prepaying.

But were you actually able to use them? In your original post you say that you could have dined 4 times, not that you did. The vouchers should be per cabin, not per person. The system does track meals, so it certainly isn’t guaranteed that you would actually get those meals regardless of the number of vouchers you have. Even if it did work (the staff don’t necessarily check all that closely) then don’t expect the same to happen in the future.

There wasn’t any sort of time restriction for bonus points to apply was there (ie booking more than 3 months out).

From what I know of you, I think you will love the Spirit. We also like the Jewel class, but Spirit is probably our favourite.