KeithJenner

There is a lot of personal opinion involved here, so don’t take too much notice of what strangers on the internet say. For example, there are some days that I would not even consider eating in the MDRs and Christmas Day is one of them. No way do I want Turkey cooked for 2000 for my Christmas Dinner, We went to Cagneys when we sailed at Christmas. You say that you may be interested in the MDR menu on a few days, but remember that you really need to book your speciality restaurants before you will have any idea what days the menus that interest you will be offered (this is why some of us like the idea of a fixed MDR menu). For me, 4 night speciality dining on an 8 day cruise would be the minimum I would want.

I have purchased dining packages onboard before. It was a few years ago though, so things may have changed, and I’ve never tried buying the free at sea upgrade onboard.

Whilst 10pm is late, boarding will almost certainly start at the usual time. We have had many late departure times (usually around 7pm, but a couple have been later than that, including 2am recently. It is rare that a planned late departure is due to a late arrival, so the ship should be cleared of the previous cruisers at the normal time. A late departure is usually either to do with restrictions leaving the port, or a very short journey to the first port. I’d guess (and it’s only a guess as I don’t know the itinerary you are on) is that it is the latter, combined with as late a departure as possible to allow plenty of time for people to arrive due to the distance from the airports/Venice.

Yes, people have reported being able to do this. Common sense would suggest that there is a point where it will become an issue, but there doesn’t seem to be a problem as long as you don’t go over the top with the sharing (ie order loads of bottles).

It really does depend on the sailing. For example, there are generally more repeat customers sailing out of Miami, so there will be lots of platinum and above there. In Hawaii there tend to be lots less, to the extent that at times they give higher levels VIP treatment. When we were there we were the only platinums onboard.

Always do that. In fact check it a few times during the cruise so you have time to deal with any issues.

All NCL menus state about the gratuity. It means that you will be charged the gratuity if you incur any charges (ie drinks not covered by packages). I don’t think that this was a gratuity. It sounds incorrect though. Maybe there was an error on your account setup so the system was charging you for things that should have been included (ie you were charged the cover charge for non Haven guests).

Don’t worry, the minority make enough noise that your silence won’t be noticed. 🙂

That isn’t necessarily the case. All these things vary by country. Most of us won’t be able to help the OP as I suspect that very few people on here know exactly how the pricing works in Australia.

Just be aware that the procedure on the turnaround day will differ depending on a variety of factors. For example, in many places people are allowed to stay on the ship but in others they have to leave. My understanding is that US ports require the ship to be cleared of passengers, so that is most likely what will happen in NYC. Others experiences are useful as a guide, but remember that things may be different for you.

But tipping threads on here are particularly entertaining. There are regular participants on them who I don't think realise how entertaining we find them. It isn't the arguments that entertain me, it's the way they are presented. Some of it is comedy gold.

Just to be clear, I wasn't attempting to make (or not make) anyones point. I was just answering your question. I'm just dipping into this thread for entertainment, and just skim reading posts, so still don't really know (or care) what your point is.

If someone books their own flights then they don't get flights from NCL. If they remove the drinks package then they don't get the drinks from NCL. If they remove the DSC then they still get exactly the same from NCL as they would have otherwise. Seems a fairly obvious difference to me.

You will get lots of conflicting answers, all put forward with great certainty. But in reality people are just guessing.

As do others I believe.

As discussed earlier, NCL did try this in Europe a few years ago. It didn’t last long.

This is an annual discussion, so I think you have your answer.

Not the standard package, but it is in the premium plus package.

There will be quite a few people who are platinum, have free at sea and have either upgraded their dining package or taken free at sea plus, giving them 6 (or 5 in some cabins). If they booked using the Amex deal then they are sorted for the week.

In my experience there is no separate line for the discount. One of my bookings is similar to the OP's (if I understand them correctly). I made a booking before I had received my discount for a cancelled cruise and then the discount was applied afterwards. If I look at the two confirmations they are identical other than that the Guest Fare is reduced on the new one. The percentages don't quite work out, and the discount (NCL's always available x% off) is the same so they are obviously adjusting for that. The price I got was very close to what I had calculated before I called. If the OP is comparing their new price with the original for that same booking then it certainly looks incorrect to me, based on what we know. I wonder whether the booking agent is doing a cancel and rebook and the price has changed. Unless something has changed there is no need for it it be done that way as these discounts can be applied retrospectively. I should add that I'm in the UK so some things may be different, but I can't see anything obvious that would differ in this instance.

You miss my point. The discount is off the current cruise fare. Therefore, if the current cruise fare is X then you would expect the discounted fare to be X-10%. If I read the OP's post correctly then they are saying that the discounted fare is X-$2. Any change in prices between the original cruise is irrelevant in that case. Anyway, the OP has stated that the fare is lower than the original. Perhaps the OP could clarify.

The discount is 10% off the current cruise fare.

I have received a couple of these discounts and they have always come through as the sort of discount that I would expect. It isn’t quite as simple as 10% off the total, as the discount doesn’t apply to the taxes and fees, but it was certainly a discount off the cruise fare. It sounds like yours is wrong. They do have history with this sort of thing. A few years ago we had a cruise shortened by a day. They promised a pro rata discount and when it came through it was £10. It took a long time, and quite a few NCL staff to be involved (who all clearly didn’t understand the basics) before they got it sorted and we got our correct discount (plus some OBC as an apology).

You didn't come across as blunt. I was just having a joke with you. 🙂 I have always assumed that the ease of removing the DSC for European customers, even though it isn't particularly advertised, is to keep on the right side of our consumer laws. I could be wrong though. The fact that US customers can remove it is probably a bit more of a question.

Yeah. I have three cruises booked (two 10 day and an 8 day). In aft balcony, mini suite and mini suite with large balcony. The only one close to that price is 10 days on the Viva (mini suite) which is just over $5k. I did have a couple of small discounts and an upgrade, but even taking them into account only the Viva works out as more than $5k Edit - Actually I'm not sure this is relevant. I don't think that anyone actually said they cost that much. Looks like someone misunderstood your original statement that nobody pays that.