PATRLR

Where or when did I say you said that? Hint: I didn't. Bottom line is you were wrong to bring the DSC into a post about drink package gratuities. My Dad always taught me that when you were wrong to admit it and stop talking less you make it worse.

Yeah, what's the deal with that?

Should have said "Despite the white table clothes and NCL's claims, this is not fine dining". Otherwise I agree with this statement. I make this point because I think it's an important one. People still expect cruise line MDR's to have fine dining quality meals and they expect that in part because the cruise lines market it that way. They really don't need to market it that way. Applebee's doesn't market themselves as fine dining and they are about the equivalent quality.

It's everyone's terminology, except those with apparent agendas.

You must be so obsessed with the DSC and making sure that no one thinks the DSC is the "tips" the crew expects that it's affecting your ability to comprehend what you read. The OP never used the word "tips". The OP asked about the drink package gratuities and per NCL's own words here, https://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/beverage-packages, they are at least in part gratuities: " A 20% gratuity and beverage service charge will be added at checkout. ". And @DaCruiseBug, so long as you hijacked this thread, the DSC IS gratuities/"tips" so long as NCL and their major travel partners (e.g World Travel Holdings) markets the DSC as gratuities. DSC IS the weekly "tips" the staff used to get in envelopes at the end of the week. To @zzdoug the 20% goes to NCL regardless of how many drinks you have. No one knows for certain how the bar staff is compensated.

It should be refundable. Non-refundable is generally something the cruise line gives you (e.g. shareholder credit). And unlike other pushy people, I'm not going to tell you what to do with your money, I'm just going to try to be helpful and answer the question you asked.

Not at all. It's about saving a dying shoe business by providing woman's boots for use by men in drag. My favorite was Jersey Boys. Close second was Choir of Men. Someone above said it wasn't Broadway quality, I disagree. I strongly urge you to see both shows (Choir of Men and Kinky Boots), early in the week because you may want to see them again. get to Choir early and you can go up on stage and have a beer with the cast.

I don't know the answer to your specific question. I will suggest be sure to understand that there is non-refundable and refundable OBC. The former can't be used for things like the DSC.

This seems to be a theme on Prima. Get to the entertainment venues early, now get to Indulge early?

Based on what I witnessed on Encore, that would be better written: “buzzer” will sound when they scan your ship card and you will be pulled aside so you can wait in another line so they can give you the “refundable OBC” in cash they owe you Just trying to impress on readers the importance to get this done ahead of time, especially if in a rush. FWIW, I took care of this at 6:00AM day of disembarkation at Guest Services.

Ugh, that's not good. I wish I kept my printouts from midweek. I am quite certain that where mine said Non-ref balance, it was accurate for my non-refundable balance and did not include any refundable OBC. And like you I had a mix of non-ref OBC from shareholder credit and ref OBC from credits for things I paid for pre-cruise.

I'll also point out they will come to you at the end of the meal with a check to sign. Assuming no upcharges, the total should be zero when using a FAS meal. In your case, you would expect the check to be some non-zero total and if it's not you have them correct it right then and there.

My experience, unrelated to cruising, is that non-stops are often more expensive than routings that have a connection. So, it should come as no surprise that NCL is not booking the non-stops.

I think there are two other important points about Vibe that are overlooked in the above: Guaranteed lounger. No need to wake up at 0-dark-30 to secure your lounger It's generally quite a bit quieter (I understand for some this is a negative) I personally prefer Vibe over Spice - it's not even close for us.

Gary - Can you try ordering a mini-beer? It's a mixed shot with nothing premium.

when was the last time anyone saw them "walking around with trays of shots for sale"? For me it was a Carnival cruise in 2017 and it was after dinner in an MDR.

I know you say you just checked, so, I feel strange asking this: On the Encore Nov 13 cruise, my printouts from GS had, at the very end, a line that listed "Balance" and "Non-Ref. Balance". That's how I was tracking the difference. Do you not have that on the ship you are currently on (Jade?)? My account got messy due to cancelled excursions and the strange way they refund the $50 shore excursion credit and then charge you for it. So I had to rely on printouts so I could make notes on it to be sure I was whole. I never looked seriously at the TV or the ap.

Breaking News: Apparently free room service in the morning is being changed to a $4.95 charge (for our convenience, I'm sure). I assume 20% gratuity added, so, $5.95 actually.

Nope. Those were eliminated - for our convenience - years ago.

Because it's rather important, I feel the need to correct that typo. It's logout.com

NCL has been very clear that they intend to increase the onboard spend. So this is not a surprise. Expect more.

Apparently quite a few people don't realize it. I saw three different folks pulled out of the disembarkation line in the five minutes or so I was in the area to actually see people getting pulled out. (I suppose some of them could have possibly owed money for a morning purchase or something like that)

I know that when we had two excursions cancelled on us, we recieved refundable OBC on our account. When we booked a replacement excursion, some of our non-refundable OBC was used to pay for our new excursion. At the end of the cruise we we're given cash for the remaining balance of our refundale OBC. Those are my first hand experiences. Soooo... When you book excursions before the cruise you pay for them in full with your credit card. If you then cancel the excursion on-board (assuming you are consistent with cancellation policy) you should get refundable OBC for the value of the excursion. You should be able to then re-book the excursion (assuming there is space and someone didn't grab your spots) and use non-refundable OBC. There are a few moving parts there, hopefully everything works out.

Stockholder OBC is non-refundable. Travel Agency OBC is often non-refundable, but, could be either. At the end of the cruise if you still have refundable OBC, you must go to guest services where they will give you cash to close our your refundable OBC balance. If you don't do that, then you will get pulled out of line when trying to exit the ship and you will need to get the issue resolved (there will be someone nearby to cash you out).

I wouldn't make that assumption at all. When you say "CT" I assume you mean Connecticut and therefore Bradley field (BDL)? Right now there is a much cheaper Jet Blue flight into FLL and even the Delta flight through Detroit is cheaper than that AA non-stop. NCL is going to book the cheapest flight they can find. If booking seats is important to you, I suggest you cancel the NCL air and book your own flights right now. I also recommend to anyone who will listen to fly in the day before (at least).