PATRLR

This thread is very weird, IMO. On the one hand some folks that seem very proud to be handing out $2 bills and on the other hand folks with their shorts in a bunch because people are handing out $2 bills. strange...

Sounds like it was handled better there than my experience on Encore in November. Not a horrible experience, just a delay that seemed like it took longer than it needed to. I tell people who may be in a rush to get off the ship (e.g. early flights) to be sure there is no leftover refundable credit on their account.

Except those folks on land aren't already receiving a discretionary component of the income from me via a daily service charge. It is two different situations.

Others have done a good job explaining the two venues. One point that is important to note is the Spa is inside while Vibe is outside. We love Vibe and find the spa turns us off - too hot, damp and stuffy. Saunas and steam and heated loungers do nothing for us and the fact that they are inside - no thanks. I'll take the fresh air of Vibe.

No coupons on Encore in November. They did do raffles, must be present to win. Even the raffles have become hardly worth while. One was for actual massage services, others were for things like teeth whitening, accupuncture, something with your feet I think, etc. And of course you need to listen to each department's spiel prior the them drawing a name. We'd actually won decent stuff at the first night raffles in the past. I think we decided it's not worth going any more.

I've not been on Epic. Is there no Vibe? So a handful of people can buy passes to what is essentially the Haven sundeck area? If so, I'll need to keep that in mind when booking future cruises.

There is always a chance, as @SeaShark was implying. But by all accounts the passes are sold in advance and when they sell out, they are gone. Any reports of buying on board seem to be the exception, not the rule. It's not like dining reservations where some are held for sale on the ship (at least there has been no affirmative confirmation of such hold backs). If I couldn't buy in advance, I would keep checking, like everyday, and then I would get on the ship as early as possible and go straight to customer service and ask there.

Any phone can connect to the Wi-Fi, no password is needed. BUT, you won't be able to do much of anything, the cruise lines expects that you will use their ap or browser to "login" to their network and start using your minutes to surf the web (or whatever). But, my instructions above tell you not to do anything to "login" - so don't. You will be connected to Wi-Fi and taking advantage of something in the ships Wi-Fi configuration that allows iMessages to leak in and out of their network. Kiminey65 talks about doing something in settings for iMessage. I never had to do that, iMessage just works for anyone I send texts to that also has an iPhone. You don't realize it but when you send a text, some are going by iMessage, others going by SMS (traditional text) - it's transparent to you except if you look at your texts, some are green and some are blue, right? The blue ones are iMessage, the green ones are SMS. So today, anyone that you text that has blue messages, you will be able to text when on ship. As for when you are in port, I assume you mean when you are away from the ship. Do you expect to need to text or do anything with your phone when away from the ship? If yes, then you need to talk to your carrier to understand their rates and such. If you don't, if you can wait until you are back on the ship then simply don't do anything, leave phone in airplane mode and wait till back on the ship.

OK, then why didn't you just got to the NCL web site, click on "find a cruise" and then click on "Port of Departure" and pick the two Norwegian ports:

Well, I assume that means you are "done" with NCL, right? 😉

Encore November, we had the same experience as others: iMessage to phones back home worked without using the internet plan. Set phone to airplane mode, connect to ships wi-fi, do NOT open a browser or otherwise "login" to the ships wi-fi (so do not use any of your minutes) and you should be able to send texts from one iPhone to another. I actually found this worked better communicating to people off ship than on. That is because wi-fi coverage could be spotty on the ship.

Sounds like Joy's Vibe is similar to Encore's. @curlstravel might want to look at the Encore deck plans to see it.

I agree with this statement about tipping roaming servers (e.g. poolside). I also will tip a buck or so to bartenders at busy bars (e.g. pool) or bars I frequent (Vibe if I have that pass). I do find I seem to get better service. See above for how we handle bar servers. As for our room attendant, we tip as we go so to speak. We will almost always ask for a mattress topper. After that shows up, we throw him a $20. If we ask for anything else that is above and beyond normal day to day stuff, we throw him some more. at the end of the cruise, it all depends on how things went through the week. Sometimes we tip some more some times we don't. Can't quantify it, but somehow my wife and I just see to know when to tip a bit more.

I basically agree with this and that is what we do. That doesn't change the fact that NCL is nickel and diming it's customers. And the constant reminder of what they are doing gets old - it's annoying. By "reminder" I mean things like needing to sign a slip for $1.20 if I order a Baileys to go with my coffee in the MDR (if they even have Baileys which is just another example of N&D except on the cost side of the ledger). Right. Paying land prices when you in theory have already paid for a meal, so, you are paying twice. "choice" has nothing to do with the fact that they are nickel and diming their customers and I will complain about that. And I would not consider that so called NY strip they serve in the MDR a steak. I'm not sure what it is, but it most definitely is not what I consider to be an edible steak. So, no, you can't go to the MDR and have steak every night.

Not Disney, but, I did 3 nights in Miami and then Encore (balcony) in November and then in December I did Phoenix AZ, Grand Canyon, Zion, Las Vegas. Stayed in very nice accommodations at each point (i.e. suites in the hotels IN the park, MGM Grand condos in Vegas). Yes, I was doing the driving between locations, not someone else. Had to fly to both trips. The December trip was about 50% the cost of the Encore in November. This idea that cruises are great value, even low level mass markets lines like NCL, simply isn't correct. (Bonus points to anyone that might recognize the REAL reason for that December trip 🙂 )

I'd call back.

The OP specifically did NOT generalize it to the ship or fleet and stated it was their cabin:

Being a foreign flagged vessel, perhaps the risk to NCL just isn't all that much to worry about?

I'm not so sure Carnival is all that much different from NCL. I prefer NCL because I prefer the -Away class ships, but that the hard product. The rest of the experience, except the big theatre shows, is pretty much the same, in my experience.

Thank you. FWIW that document is old (11/2021). The one I pointed to is newer (12/2022). I can't find that same section in the 12/2022 document (which quite frankly surprises me). When I have a few more minutes I'm going to see what my latest reservation has for T&Cs.

You aren't alone - I agree I've read "it's in the contract" many times myself and just accepted it. And I believed this one too but started wondering if they could downgrade you within a class (e.g. higher balcony class to lower). I then started wondering what the wording was and could they even move you from, for example, a balcony down to an inside or something silly like that. So I broke down and read it. It's annotated so easy to skip over irrelevant sections. I couldn't find where it says they can move me, other than upgrades.

Search this forum for posts with Prima in the title, you should stumble on some reports from the ship. There will be menus in those reports (look for reports from @BirdTravels.)

Well, You seemed to know the contract, that is why I asked you specifically. I've since gone and read the contract and I don't see where it says what you claim it says. So, I will ask again, seeing as you seem to know the contract so well, can you point me to where it says what you claim it says?

A bunch of you claiming to know that the contract says NCL can move you. I've looked at the contract and I can't find anything other than they reserve the right to UPGRADE you. Not move in same category. Nothing about move in same category becuase youroom sleeps three and your party is only 2. Can any of you point me to the language that supports your claims? I'll help.. Here is a bunch of terms: https://www.ncl.com/downloads/docs#traveldocs This is the Guest Contract: https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/NCL_Guest_Ticket_Contract_12_2022_FINAL.pdf

I may be using the wrong category, but, there is a category where you get all the FAS perks but don't get to choose your cabin. I thought that was BX (for balconies). I am not trying to say OP was downgraded to Sail-Away. If Sail-Away balcony is BX, then, my bad.