pghflyer

yeah unfortunate just looked at a 2026 sailing and they only offer a Drinks Inclusive option with no mention of WIFI anywhere.

Yup, the ship culture is different (and what we like), but it is used to be a little higher level quality (think Target instead of Walmart), but I feel like in the last 2-years they have cut quality back to Wal-Mart (still have the nice differentiating culture though) while raising prices since we all keep buying every cabin on every ship anyhow.

Great point, the status program is far ahead of any I have seen up through Platinum level with really substantive and valuable perks at an achievable threshold.........but once you hit Platinum, then you have to cruise DOUBLE (75 more nights, Sapphire) just to achieve a mere Dinner with Officers (no thanks), then DOUBLE (200 more nights, Diamond) again to achieve a Mixology Experience (I have free drinks already, meh, and how many times will I do this?) and a one-time one-category cabin upgrade (worth what $500-$1000?), then DOUBLE (350 more nights, a whole year!!!, Ambasador) again to get a one-time 7-day balcony cruise (maybe about $2-3K?). Platinum is still comparable to a lot of the higher levels in other programs, but definitely it seems like they don't make much of an extra effort to award you after those 75 Platinum nights.

1) No real dress code 2) Real free dining times (the RCL version on their smaller ships....all I have tried....is terrible) 3) All inclusive packages 4) More unique itineraries and ports

Just to answer the OP with some ideas, not saying I think it will work in this circumstance (see my previous post, we wasted multiple years in a bad mood writing Princess in the same manner to no avail other than our persistent bad mood - wish I had let it go sooner)......but here are good general resources for complaints with cruise companies https://www.transportation.gov/mission/safety/passenger-cruise-ship-information https://www.usa.gov/travel-complaints https://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/norwegian-cruise-line-ncl/ https://www.bbb.org/us/fl/miami/profile/cruises/norwegian-cruise-line-0633-26000731 https://cruising.org/en/contact-us

Yes and you can use it on wifi upgrades, excursions, and on specialty dining and on stuff in the store.....but yeah @complawyer has a legitimate point that depending on your cruise style and if you are already getting the free at sea stuff.....the main things I would like to use OBC on is for gratuities and CruiseNext certs, but you can't use the shareholder (non-refundable) OBC on those items. This is a decent list:

Welcome to the board @Bobby Winds The NCLH shareholder benefit is a GREAT perk that I use on every trip. You only have to show evidence of holding 100 shares (which at NCL's share price, is a lot more affordable than RCL, who has a similar program). You don't have to show a particular holding period - so if you buy on a day the market is down, you will get your trade confirmation, and then sell it back the next (or a few) day(s) later at minor profit but get an approximately 10%+ return in OBC in days. As far as valuation, this is the wrong site for that. They are definitely down this year, which to me is a BETTER buying time. I can share (as I am currently holding based on my opinion that it will go up) that all three analysts I follow rank this as a High/ Very High volatility stock with valuations of $23 (BOA), $30 (Morning*), and $19 (S&P).

I am very sorry for your loss here, I know it is irritating when you think things will work like other things you have done and it doesn't and it costs you dearly. My second cruise I had ever taken I got stuck in a blizzard and the cruise line (Princess) wouldn't give us a penny back (not taxes, port fees, and no future cruise credits) - unlike my hotel and car rental and airline and all my excursions. I didn't have travel insurance because I was young and never had need for it as most other aspects of travel were good at giving refunds/ credits. Hard lesson that cruise lines just do not operate like other travel (spouse still scowls if I even say the name "Princess" ha ha). Your expectations (as presented) are unfortunately not legally required nor customary for the industry and unlikely to be resolved as you hope (but a well written letter AND evidence of an employee overpromising how your situation would be handled sometimes can work wonders). The one thing I DO agree with you on is that I wish ALL the cruiselines did better at communicating itinerary changes and early arrivals/ departures once we have started the cruise. Most announce it over the PA system which is not hearable in many parts of the ship, some drop letters at a room which may be lost or not timely received. They have our email and phone, so why not communicate in all mediums to make sure everyone got it? IDK. Good luck but I hope you can eventually move on to focusing on your next trip.

yup pricing is going up until they start sailing with empty cabins.....as Taylor Swift said "it's me, I, I'm the problem, it's me"

I thought he was fine, his job on a Bloomberg interview is to sell the stock and market how much margin/ profit the stock is making for potential shareholders.

Is there any chance we can just keep this thread to the actual itinerary change posts? Otherwise the thread may devolve into other disagreements (available on many other similar threads) and end up getting locked and closed. There are many other general discussion threads we can use for debating the "real" reasons and the "ethics" etc. etc.....for example this mammoth beast 🙂

Hoping return of cookies is in the future!!! I did the Star in April for 2+ weeks and cookies rarely appeared (and I left feedback on it in my final survey).

I can't imagine. No different than if I left the airport and took a nap in my car and missed the plane. What would I claim was my coverable loss? They don't cover voluntarily missing the ship.

Sorry for your loss and all the bad logistics that negatively impacted you, but when you left the ship, it was 100% up to you to get back on it, wherever it ended up going. They were holding your room for you the whole time, you just never arrived to use it. They actually probably lost planned revenue from your anticipated on-board spending, which is part of the economics of cruise pricing.

Sorry for your change, I assume you are after final payment. Honestly we really should create a sticky thread that just tracks itinerary changes without devolving into commentary on why it happened and how they are allowed to do it whenever they want - just tracking the facts of the changes - (1) Ship (2) Notification Time Relative to Final Payment (3) Nature of Modification It is hard to get a realistic picture of changes otherwise because like most things on the Internet.....I assume people are mainly posting about changes and not when their ship sails and returns with zero changes (I suspect the vast majority). I know someone compiled a list of 20 or so changes this year on another thread....but it is easy to forget how many there are - I just counted 61 departures in the month of September alone.

I had RCS enabled on my Pixel w/ Google Messages and still could not send or receive texts.......

What is the name of the "red android conversation app" that you are able to receive texts with? Now you got me thinking it is a Google Messages app problem if you are receiving external texts through a different texting app (not an in-app messaging platform like FB Messenger and Whats App, which are totally different).

I wonder if it is a DNS issue or something, have you tried connecting over VPN while connected to your ship internet plan minutes? (My Pixel 8 has VPN available by default). Honestly this problem has me stumped for the most part.

So you can't text at all using Google Messages? Feels like my experience too...

I agree with @julig22 that the few times I have used it (still working so level of flexibility required is rarely worth the savings)......you can get hints and early info from Vacation Summary down in the flights section. Sometimes an airport name appears (ex. I bought London and it was showing the inconvenient Staunton airport)....and sometimes airlines appear BUT then change as you approach when they book (for me, around 90 days out, but you are officially locked after 110 days per the T&Cs). https://www.ncl.com/about/terms-and-conditions/promotions

Pointing out changes in onboard quality and areas for improvement is a normal and perfectly fine discussion and should be about informing other CC members who haven't cruised NCL lately how to adjust their expectations since their last cruise (I tell my friends when our local theatre changes their folding chairs and raises the price on beer and popcorn too....but they usually say "thank you" instead of "maybe you should never go to the theatre again").........if a person is taking feedback provided on an inanimate for-profit corporation and twisting it to be a personal affront or insult, that is really more their issue. I like to think our true intention is to help each other choose and enjoy the best vacation we can. Happy Monday everyone!

Great points but who determines the text message format? I assume the sender. Google Messages (app) is RCS default and MMS/SMS failover. I know RCS only requires Internet connection and that SMS and MMS require cellular. The interesting thing is when I board the ship, I always turn airplane mode ON (cellular OFF) and WIFI ON. So when I go to port, I am still only connecting to WIFI (not cellular). So there is something about NCL WIFI (at least the minute-based, non-premium) blocking things not blocked by traditional land based WIFI.

I don' t mean that at all. I don't have a copy of the operating procedures for either cruise line, so I cannot speak to the expected method. Frankly, adjusting my payment method due to flaws in the online pre-booking method shouldn't count as a true cancellation.

Yep definitely use VPN

I have done this on NCL and HAL and both times the excursions were waitlisted. They don't actually cancel your booking in the system, they just update the accounting for it. Not saying some poorly trained staff might do it incorrectly, that is definitely a risk.....but it wasn't an issue for me.