roger001

All:

 

What is the difference between a Balcony & Minisuite on the GEM?

 

I am booked on a 9th floor balcony, and the price's have gone down, so a minisuite might be there for just a few $$ more. What do you get with a mini that I don't already have in the balcony?

 

Thanks for all the help. You guys have given me so much info in the past.

 

Jack

 

Which ship?

It's the little green wrapped chocolate mint patty.

[quote name='suometar']I am probably a minority of one, but I personally feel that the perks that go with the penthouse suites are overblown (now the Haven, that's a different story). This is not sour grapes -- we were upsold from our aft balcony to the penthouse suite next to it on one of our cruises. We had a butler who we never saw but were expected to tip, nonetheless. He did deliver five bite size canapes sometime in the afternoon when we were not in the cabin, but since the ship provides food 24/7 it seemed rather pointless. Oh, and there is a bowl of fresh fruit in the room, but again, fruit can be found at the buffet. The Lavazza coffee maker was very nice and we did use it for that first cup in the morning, but I don't think it would be worth an extra $1600. Some people have the butler serve them dinner in the cabin, but to my thinking that is like ordering takeout.

However, you will have access to Cagney's for breakfast and lunch, which is a nice perk.

You also have a concierge at your service, but since we are quite capable of making our own dinner reservations he was rather superfluous as far as we were concerned.

It really is up to you to decide if the perks that go with the penthouse suite are worth the extra money. For us it would not have been worth it, but as an upsell it was an interesting experience.[/QUOTE]

Ya know...twice we've booked SFs and twice we've cancelled them because of all that you said. To each his/her own. But for us, we just wouldn't use suite service effectively.

My TA requests payment about 15 days before NCL final payment date. I assume that allows time for processing credit card payment or whatever. Recently, I had to consider cancelling a cruise before final payment date. The TA, when requested by me, gave me the absolute final date that NCL must have payment.

Balcony, especially that cruise. Alaska...it's all about the scenery.

Carry plenty of smaller bills so required change is minimal.

I think the balcony is good for maybe breakfast snacks from room service or maybe someone running up to the buffet and getting a plate of pastries. Even with the two of us, it would be a bit crowded for an actual couple of meals. Also, you would have to go get the meals and bring them back to the room. Room service only has a limited selection of food items. The balcony is good for sitting out and having morning coffee. You can get a chair from in the room and sit it out there if all three of you want to sit. If you want to sit out and eat, the Great Outdoors is excellent place for that. They have a nice selection of food all day, good breakfast food, or you can bring a plate of food out there from the buffet.

Actually, the ships' water is very pure through a distilling process.

Hi everyone. I am going to book 2 balcony rooms soon, and I am trying to decide if I need them directly next door or just the vicinity. I think my answer depends on this question: If you have two adjacent balconies, can you get NCL to lock open that barrier between the two, creating one large balcony? Thanks!

 

You can possibly get your room steward to open them for you while in port. They require a special key that he/she has.

And I might add, as you exit the ship in a port, there will be a sign posted next to the gangway advising what time both the guests and the crew must be back on the ship.

Every NCL cruise we've been on, the ships change to the local times. The ship's time and the port's time have always been the same. A notice is placed in you room on the evening of a next day time change.

All I can say is that I have a happy smile on my face from the time I board an NCL cruise until I have to leave...then I'm crying of course. And, my happy face is mostly due to the wonderful staff and crew that are constantly smiling and trying to make my cruise as nice as possible. I do keep in mind that I'm not the only guest on the ship that they must take care of and don't expect to be treated like royalty all the time.

Anyone see NCL's website lately? Prices have reduced drastically on Southern March cruises. Too bad they are not compassionate to their loyal customers. Perhaps booking with a travel agent is a better avenue than with them directly.

 

 

I don't understand what you mean. Most businesses have last minute closeout prices for unsold merchandise. Just because a business advertises a few left over items at closeout prices, why in the world would they go back through all their previously year's sales of that item and refund the previous purchasers. This practice is true on hotels, automobiles, year end clothing, and the list goes on and on. It's just a logical way to get some monetary return on unsold merchandise, and the cruise industry is no different than the other mentioned businesses models. As another poster said, just wait until the last minute and see what's available if that fits your schedule and wants. However, in our case, the price of our cruises have gone up more times than they've gone down.

This past Nov, the Sun had a wine package offered out on the pool deck on the first day. It offered different levels of four bottles at different level pricing. The least expensive, bottles that are usually about $28 each, was $88 I believe.

I've found that getting a passport is pretty quick, usually not more than about 3 weeks. She should have plenty of time to do so. I do recommend passports to avoid the Canadian issues.

 

Reference Seattle, the harbor area is great for visiting, especially the Market. You also have the space needle (kinda expensive though) and the monorail available for fun/sightseeing. As someone mentioned, hotel shuttles from the airport are only available at hotels near the airport, which is some distance from downtown. If you get a hotel downtown, you can schedule one of the shuttle services that operate from the airport. Downtown hotels are expensive, but very convenient, everything walking distance. We stayed at the Mediterranean Inn, not exactly downtown, but we liked just fine, and was a bit cheaper than many others. It's walking distance to the space needle but you would either have to take the monorail from there or the city bus by the hotel to get downtown. We had the hotel arrange a shuttle service to take us to the ship. You can google their web site. Actually, Seattle is so good for sightseeing and visiting, if you can get in an extra day, it would be nice.

 

Mini suite on the Pearl is just fine. Sometimes there is noise from above on the pool deck, but not much at all on the Alaska cruises. The photobucket link has some pics of a mini on the Pearl from a couple of years ago.

 

You've picked an excellent first cruise. That was our first one. Be warned....it's very addictive. Hope you love it as much as we do.

 

http://s241.photobucket.com/user/roganderson60/library/Pearl%20Mini%20Suite?sort=2&page=1

Yep. Missed it back in November also. We keep it displayed pretty much all day. I do think it is a very nice to have.

If you do consider a mini suite (deluxe balcony room), here's some pics of one on the Pearl.

 

http://s241.photobucket.com/user/roganderson60/library/Pearl%20Mini%20Suite?sort=2&page=1

In settings, turn "data" off or turn "data off while roaming". Leave voice on while roaming. While at sea, Text, .05c for each received, and .50c for each sent (SMS only) and works through the voice feature. If you make a call while at sea, cellular at sea rates apply, which are $2.50 per minute. If you answer your phone while at sea or listen to voice mail, the $2.50 will be charged. The ship's cabin phone rates have been dropped to $1.99 a minute recently which makes it cheaper than your cell phone. While in a port, non domestic charges apply, different for each port, which your Global plan might address.

Unless Tracy's has recently opened one in Skagway, they are only in Juneau. I think King Crab Legs are priced even beyond the ability of the specialty restaurants to serve them. And I've never seen them in the MDRs.

I guess I am mostly interested while on the ship. Obviously you to use your common sense on and off the ship, but are there ever situations that have really made you feel unsafe?

 

 

Nope. Never feel more comfortable and relaxed than I do on a cruise ship.

Just guessing, but I would think a chartered concert cruise would be like a trip to Bonnaroo, a Bonnaroo that floats. Would be fun but it would be all about the music. Everything would be focused on it. A normal cruise is more like visiting an all inclusive resort that floats (keeping in mind that drinks and some things are not included). Normal cruise, relaxation and gentle fun. Concert cruise, action fun, fun, fun.

Upgrades are few and far between. They are only offered if there is a logistical reason on that ship, for that cruise, for NCL to do so. As others have said, most are just a same type cabin with a reassignment to what could be considered a better location, or on rare occasion to the next level up of cabin type. Only at the last minute, if suites remain unsold, would you then possibly get a call offering you a suite at a discounted price. A person really needs to be happy with what they originally purchase and not hold their breath hoping for a free or reduced price upgrade. But....a very few will occasionally get the offer and when they do, it will be posted on here.........

Thank you, I had this questions as well. My other question -

Is there decaf coffee provided?

 

Yes. Packets of both. Many persons, self included, take some 4 cup filters and our own preferred brand of coffee. And let me correct myself on my previous post. I previously said it was a 2 cup coffee maker. It is actually what Mr. Coffee and the rest describe as a 4 cup coffee maker (although in reality, they only make 2 reasonable sized cups).

It should be a 2 cup Mr. Coffee drip basket type, like most hotel/motels have. Hotel type coffee packets are provided. If for some reason your room doesn't have one, ask your room steward and he/she should be able to get you one.

I'll confirm the importance of trip insurance, not that it is in doubt. My sister and friend were an hour from heading down to the POM to board the Getaway yesterday, when friend had symptoms of a heart attack, and they headed to the nearest hospital instead. Friend is still in hospital this morning with my sister standing by. The Getaway is long gone. They are very disappointed of course...but had trip insurance to cover the cruise cancellation. Friend is feeling much better physically, but tests still being run. Trip insurance....don't leave home without it. You never know.