Jana60

I wonder if NCL ever looked into having specific cruises be 100% non-smoking? If they did:

 

1. Would you book one?

 

2. Would you be willing to pay a premium to book a cruise that was 100% smoke-free?

1. Yes

2. No

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I found a site online that gives the prices for the multi-day passes. The cruise is in Port for 3 days. A 3-day bus/ferry pass is $44. If you buy tokens it evidently cost $4.50 per token and you use a token each way and potentially more if you have any interruption in your travel. So really if you take a trip just to one location each day and happened to want to stop and shop for a little while in the middle of your bus route you will have already spent more than the 3-day pass will cost. Sight I found says the price of what's a one-day pass is $19. Price of a two-day pass is $31.50 and price of a three-day pass is $44

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We're taking a family cruise in December on the Getaway, which will also be our first Norwegian cruise, and have booked 2 Haven balconies. We're looking over the Special Dining promotion we're getting and found the first two people in each room get 3 "free" SD meals. The only catch is that we still have to pay 18% gratuities for the first 2 meals and then pay full price for the third person (our granddaughter) + gratuities. What's also interesting is that we get free gratuities as another one of our Haven promotional perks, so paying that extra SD 18% gratuity charge is another issue that rubs us a little.

 

Here's our question. If we already have unlimited access to the Haven restaurant, why should we even consider going anywhere else to eat our meals? Our first inclination, as it is only a 7 day cruise, is to just eat our meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner, in the Haven restaurant and forget about the "free" SD meals perk.

 

If you have a few extra moments and have an opinion about the quality and menu variety of the Haven restaurant, we would enjoy hearing what you have to say.

Not only is the Haven Restaurant excellent but if there is a particular menu item that you would like that is not available in the Haven as a guest of the Haven you can just have your butler or the maitre d in the Haven go get it. We wanted french onion soup from La Bistro and when I mentioned that to a maitre d at the past passenger party she said just tell the maitre d and the Haven and they will get it. You also can have delivered to your room any meal you want by your butler. Our Butler told us if it was available on any menu on the ship he could get it for us. So we had filet mignon and eggs with the works served by our Butler at our dining table complete with white tablecloth and napkins in our room. The cabin dining table is located right next to the sliding glass doors of the balcony so we had a view of the ocean during our breakfast. They really pamper you in the Haven! Remember that your butler does not receive any of the gratuity money that you pay in the Haven. You need to tip him separately. Most people tip $75 - $100 for the week.

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i took the food and beverage,, but now wondering how much is the wifi ? don't want excursions for sure, am handicap so won't be doing any of those :cool:

The beverage package is by far the most expensive item that is offered so if you drink at all I would definitely keep that. But when prepaid gratuities is one of the choices that would be a better choice than the dining package because the prepaid gratuities for two people costs $186 for a 7 day cruise and there is no gratuity for it where as dining package only costs $81.42 per person ($162.82 for 2 people) if you purchase it separately and that price includes the gratuity unlike the dining package given "free".

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Hey all,

 

Me and the wife to be are cruising for our honeymoon in November. The first week we are in a Haven Spa Suite on the Escape, we then disembark for one day and board the Getaway which we currently have a Mini Suite booked. This will be our first time in the haven having previously done mini suites.

 

My question is if it was you would you upgrade the second week to a haven suite and if we don't will we notice a huge difference?

I personally can't afford Haven rooms except on rare occasions as an upsell. My sister and I stayed in the Haven on Escape last July but we paid far less than the standard price because we were offered last-minute upgrades which ranged in price from $500 to $1,500 per cabin. I know they are now doing the upgrade Advantage Program instead of the upsell system they used to use but you might still want to call that old up cell number and tell them it's your honeymoon and see if you can get a good upsell offer for the second Cruise. NCL UPGRADES: 1 (800) 625-4309

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I have another question in regards to using your points for the upgrade from OV to balcony. On the promotion that NCL is running now and probably the same promo we booked with months ago, it's called a balcony bonus, I believe. Would you lose the promo NCL is offering if you booked the ov and used points to upgrade to the balcony? Did I read that the upgrade is for a balcony gty? I think that when we booked the gty balconies weren't eligible for the bonus.

I was given to understand that the upgrade takes you to the same level in the next room categories. So if you had a mid ship OV with drink and dining package you could use your 30,000 points to upgrade to a mid-ship balcony with drinking dining package. But if all the midship balconies are sold out you would not be able to use your points to upgrade from the midship ocean view. By the same token if you have an Oceanview guarantee (OX) you would only be able to use your points to upgrade to a balcony guarantee (BX). I actually tried to upgrade to the least expensive Ocean View that included the drinks and dining package but that category of balcony was already sold out so the only way I would have been able to get the packages would be too upgrade to a much higher level of Ocean View that was still available in that same category of balcony and then use my points to get the balcony. The price of the Oceanview guarantee was $100pp more than what I paid for an inner room guarantee and the price of the least expensive Ocean View that includes perks was $400pp more then the Inner Room guarantee but in order to get an OV with dinner and drinks that I could upgrade to the same balcony category I would have had to pay $600 more per person then I paid for the Inner Room guarantee. That would have defeated the purpose of getting the perks since my sister and I won't drink nearly that much. So I paid the $100 more per person and we can feel guilt-free in spending the other $300 per person on drinks or whatever we want.

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Can you upgrade from a balcony to a minisuite or a spa balcony or a suite?

 

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I don't believe there's any way to upgrade to a mini Suite or sweet using rewards points unless you have a huge number of points enough to pay for the entire cruise. But to me the mini suites on Norwegian don't really offer much beyond what you get with a balcony. There's not really a significant amount of square footage increase in the room. The bathroom is larger due to it's having a bathtub but that's sort of wasted space for me since I'm a shower girl. I went ahead and bit the bullet and upgraded today. The prices on my cruise didn't seem to be decreasing and I was afraid to wait and see if a bid placed for upgrade got accepted so instead I paid $100 per person extra to upgrade from a inside guarantee to an ocean view guarantee and then I used my rewards points to upgrade from the ocean view guarantee to a balcony guarantee. It would have cost me $1,500 more to upgrade to a balcony without the points but instead only cost $200 more. I could have gotten $300 cash for the 30,000 points but I like $1,300 better!

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Thanks! I have about 23,000 points. When we booked the cruise I believe the OV was the same as the balcony. Once we pay for the cruise, that I believe we owe $2000. on, that would equal about 4000 points?? So, possibly, by Sept. more then a month before we cruise, I'll have about 25,000 points. Can I ask for a credit of $250. back to my MC?

I believe you can get a $250 statement credit for 25000 rewards points. You were really lucky to get a balcony for the same price as Ocean View. I've seen the inner rooms about the same price but I've never seen a balcony same price as Ocean View! Someone asked about upgrading too mini-suite or Suite. The only time I've ever done that was before they started this new bid system. They used to just send you an e-mail offering an upgrade for a certain price but there was no bidding involved.

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We have a NCL cruise coming up in Oct. I just seen our Final Payment is July 8th. I have the Mastercard for the purpose of reducing the price of the cruise and not to upgrade on the cabin. Can I make final payment and apply the amount of the points towards the price of the cruise before we go? What is the best way to get the most out of the points earned on MC?

 

Thanks!

You may not have gotten the card to obtain upgrades but indeed that is the best way to get the most value out of points earned on the MC. You can get $100 OBC in exchange for 10000 points but you can't use that onboard credit for gratuities or in Casino and you lose any leftover cash at the end of the cruise. You can trade points for cash but unless you have at least 25,000 points to trade in for $250 you will only receive a lower percentage of cash. But if you save at least 30,000 points you can trade those 30,000 points to upgrade an entire cabin from Ocean View to balcony. You could also use those points just to upgrade from an inner room to an ocean view but the price difference between an inner room and an ocean view is usually not very high so you're better off using cash to do that then use your points to make the jump from Oceanview to balcony. For instance our cruise next month currently costs $749 per person for an ocean-view guarantee but the balconies cost $1399 per person for a balcony guarantee. I just now accumulated 30000 points and I could trade those points for $300 cash. If I pay cash to upgrade our Inner Room to a balcony it will cost me an additional $750 per person or $1,500 total. Or I could pay cash to upgrade from an inner room to an ocean view for an additional $100 per person and then trade those 30000 points for an upgrade to a balcony. This would give my 30000 points a $1300 value rather than a $300 value.

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I received the email to upgrade to an ocean view for $20 or more or to a balcony for $50 or more per person. I did bid $75 per person for a balcony. Do we have any chance of winning this upgrade?

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Hi. Are you sure about this - not getting the suite perks if you win a bid for a suite? Mind you I'm no expert but from what I've read, you would get the benefits of the suite / Haven if you win the respective bid. You would not, however, receive any new promos associated with the new bid. For example, if you book a suite / Haven originally, you get all of the promos at the time of booking whereas if you book a balcony, you would only get 1 or 2 of the promos.

 

I called my TA today and they confirmed this with NCL. We're booked in the Haven (H5) in November and I am hoping to move up to an H3 or an H2 suite and I wanted to confirm whether we would get the perks afforded to H2 or H3 Haven suites. I confirmed that yes we would get the perks associated with an H2 or H3 Haven suite if we bid and win the bid.

 

I'm hopeful. We've sailed the Haven on the Epic and the Getaway and have decided that we will only sail the Haven. Given that, if we bid and lose, we're still okay with that. I know what we paid for our suite and I know what the cost is of the H2 and H3 and I won't bid unless I know that I would get a great deal.

 

Cheers!

When they tell you that you will get the perks associated with a suite in the Haven they are talking about Butler Service concierge and dining in the restaurant associated with the Haven. They are not talking about beverage packages or Internet Packages Etc.

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Meta upgrade- how does that work? I have enough charges on my card right now to add up to the 30,000 points but when will those points be on the card? Would I be able to use those points to upgrade on my cruise on July 7th?

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Test

Keep in mind there's not a limit but you have to pay the corkage fee on each bottle no matter where you drink it and the fee is not refundable even if you do not drink the bottle of wine on board.

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Been a while since I've been on Cruise Critic ... looks different, but good! We've only cruised on NCL one other time quite a while ago, on the Epic. We weren't crazy about the ship, but otherwise had a good time. We got a Cruise Certificate on another type promotion and were able to upgrade and booked a Mini Suite GTY. I'm okay with GTYs, done them before and spoke with someone from NCL that said there really aren't any bad Mini Suites ... so took her word for it and who knows, maybe we'll get an upgrade!

 

So, here's the questions ...

 

1. We like to order room service in the morning for coffee and maybe some fruit. I heard they charge you for room service now?

 

2. I guess you don't get the option of being offered the dining or drink packages with a GTY, even though it said it was included on the site. We're not big drinkers but it does add up. Can you purchase when you get onboard or do you have to buy that ahead? We weren't all that crazy about the food on the complimentary dining on the Epic, but I've read it's better on this ship. Again, can we decide that onboard and purchase as well, or should we do it ahead? What about the A La Carte places like the Bakery, etc. can we purchase things there on our Sea Pass?

 

3. Also, new to us is not being able to bring water or soda onboard, but also read that their water is drinkable. We drink a lot of water and $6 a bottle is crazy, so wondering about bringing a refillable bottle onboard.

 

It looks like a fabulous ship and all the Ports sound great. We've been to St. Thomas a few times and also Nassau, but quite some time ago and never been to Tortola ... so really looking forward to it. It's also been a rough winter for us (even though the weather hasn't been bad) on many levels, health, family etc. so we are ready to 'Escape'!!

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanx! :)

1) like others have said room service is free for continental breakfast but has a charge if you order eggs or other dishes. You can also order as many juices as you want and I often order extra to keep in the fridge.

2) if you purchase mini Suite that is not a guarantee category you get to choose two perks. Most people do choose the beverage package and Specialty dining package. Be aware that the price of the rooms that are not guarantee category are typically at least $159 or greater per person and additionally a gratuity of approximately $120 per person is added automatically that is separate and distinct from your standard daily service charge that is added to your sail & Sign account. So when deciding between a guarantee category and another category consider that you are paying from $270 per person to as high as $370 per person and up for that choice. I personally feel like it is worth it to get the drink package and dining package if I can get it for $270 per person or less but when it is higher I usually skip it. Just don't forget to add the gratuities of the drink and dining packages when making this consideration.

3) the water on board tastes fine and like I said you can order extra juices in the morning at breakfast so I would skip ordering the expensive bottled water. You will also find that there is a coffee pot in the rooms in balcony and mini Suite category cabins so you can have coffee anytime. If you are not getting a beverage package you might consider bringing wine on board. They charge a $15 per bottle corkage fee whether you drink the wine in your room or in the dining rooms but on one of our cruises we purchased 8 bottles of cheap wine at the local CVS in Miami for $3 to $5 per bottle and paid the corkage fee of $15 per bottle. For less than $160 we had a bottle of wine everyday plus one spare bottle for one day when we were extra thirsty! They also have opportunity for free champagne at the art show.

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Yes, $3.48 with the gratuity included. I thought it was worth it because it's like you can get a great Martini for less than $4 anywhere else [emoji3]

 

 

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The problem is you already paid for that Martini so you're having to pay an extra $3.48. I think it's ridiculous that they make the prices of their drinks above $15 just so they can get a little bit extra. Even when it's a "free drink package" it's not free because the room choices that include that free package cost at least $240 more plus you have to pay the $98 gratuity so those free drinks are costing you at least $338 per person.

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I would think the biggest concern would be about how quickly seafood can go bad when uncooked. If the ship you're on is unable to guarantee extremely prompt transfer of the food from its time of preparation to when you eat it they may be concerned about liability issues should you become ill from the food.

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I am on this Cruise also. You should come join us at the meet and greet. I wish the Internet packages were less expensive. The unlimited package would end up running $210 for the cruise. I got spoiled when I used to cruise Carnival since their unlimited package at that time was only $99 for the cruise.

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I don't think "mnd_brooke" is coming back. Would have liked to read the rest of the review!

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Jana, I tip the $5 in the suite breakfast venue. The service is that good. I budget for it. I am really a frugal person. I am not rich by any means, just past 50, divorced with no kids. I by no measure expect others to do what I do. It is just what I like to do. I do not cruise often, I would rather cruise less but in a suite. The service is usually top notch so I like to recognize it.

 

 

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When we were in The Haven our Butler brought us breakfast several times. He also did things like bring us ice, extra cappuccino, snacks, and got a hold of a copy of the menus from the main non specialty restaurants for us to see if we wanted to visit those during our week. So for all this service we did give an extra $100 tip at end of week. But I would not be able to afford to pay extra at every single meal and for every single drink.

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As for another question, TA Purchased OBC can be used against the DSC.

 

Not sure about the casino.

Definitely not true of all travel agent onboard credit. Please see the onboard credit terms and conditions given to me by Travelocity:

"The onboard credit may not be used in the casino or towards gratuities." I copied this quote from my Travelocity Cruise invoice.

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If you have that much OBC, then why not just wait? Use their money, this difference is under $20. Right?

 

 

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Problem with that idea is that most of the onboard credit that is given for instance by your travel agent or stockholder benefit specifically State they cannot be used for the daily service charge. I don't understand why this is and I wish they would change it and allow you to use the onboard credit the way you wish.

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I leave $5 each breakfast and lunch and $1 each drink.

 

I take env of these small bills in my carryon.

 

 

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There's just no way I could afford to tip so high on cruises. I pay for both myself and my sister. The drink and dining package already has gratuities of $224. If I paid another $60 per day ($420 per week!) for dining and drink gratuities for the two of us, and $189 for standard cabin gratuities this would total $833![emoji47] Traditionally at least where I come from good tipping is about 20% of the price of whatever you're doing. Whether it be a meal or an event. Without the additional $420 of meal and drink tips the Tipping for the cruise already adds up to $413 which is 17% for us. I may give an occasional tip to someone who gives us extra special service. Usually the cabin Steward get extra and a bartender if they take extra good care of us but I do not feel compelled to give any extra tips as a routine practice. Rather I give extra tips only if I receive extra special service.

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Yes, do whatever you want with it. Some lines only allow 1 bottle pp, and make you buy the rest. I like NCL's policy, because we bring on more than 2 bottles.

Last cruise we brought 8 bottles of wine with us. We bought them for less than $4 per bottle at the local CVS in Miami so even with the corkage fee still ended up being $19 per bottle which is much less than if you buy a bottle on board. So my sister and I basically shared a bottle of wine each day of the cruise plus a spare bottle for an extra thirsty day!

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I love escargot so the bistro has an edge there but while my sister Susan likes the creamy sauce covered Lobster at lebistro better I preferred the steamed whole lobster at Cagney's more. Both were equal in quality I think the only difference is in preference.

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