graphicguy

Post of the month....thank you!

Agree entirely. Weather can't be predicted. What I do know, it's easier to get a "deal" on a cruise fare during the times people believe the weather "might be bad". Some other times to look at fares for deals (on all cruise lines).... -Hurricane season in the Bahamas or the Caribbean -late October for New England and Canadian cruises -April and October for Alaskan cruises Other ways to find cruise deals.. -repositioning cruises (embarking at the origination port, but disembarking at the end of the cruise at a different port) -right before a ship's dry dock And, last rule of thumb...."find a cruise and a fare you like, then plan your vacation around that". Not vice versa.

Good point! I know a wealth of people who turn their phones off as they don't want to run up an outrageous phone bill if someone calls in international waters and becomes subject to the crazy high "per minute" charges of such a call. Not something I'd do. It was convoluted to begin with....doing a B2B cruise and disembarking on the first leg early, and embarking on the 2nd one late. What could go wrong?

Thanks for the review. Enjoyed it, a lot!

All the cruise lines are all saying the exact same thing. No surprises with Sommer's interview. If you want to fish in the "blue light special" pond, there are cruise lines who cater to that demographic (Margaritaville comes immediately to mind). But, NCL and the rest of her competition is not that. Personally, I would be hard pressed to find a 7 nite vacation in a nice hotel room, with a choice of restaurants, with the vast majority of drinks included, entertainment within a 5 minute walk of your door, with views of exotic locales, that usually change every day, for what a cruise costs. I have friends who quiz me about cruise cost all the time as they know I enjoy it. Have said before, don't sail during "high season". Sail when school is in session. Families don't pull their kids out of school to cruise (at least they probably shouldn't). Sail to Alaska at the very beginning of the season and the very end of the season. The weather turns during those times and it's not as "nice" as it would be during the summer months. Sail the Bahamas. Every mainstream cruise line sails in the Bahamas, so competition is fierce. Same goes for Cozumel/Cancun. Sail at least 7 nites. Shorter cruises tend to cost more per nite than the longer ones. Sail on the cruise lines' oldest ships. They're typically less expensive than sailing on their newest ships. If you really want to cruise on a budget, don't buy the drink packages. Don't buy the specialty dining packages. Only drink the water, juices and coffees and eat the food they have in the buffet and MDRs. Don't shop in the shops on board. GTY cabins are available. They are the cheapest on the ships. Look for those. The above is true on any cruise line. But, if you decide you're only going to cruise on any given week or month, at it's high season, and you absolutely have to have a balcony (although I find it pretty easy to find deals on balconies with NCL), you have to sail on the newest ships, you have to have Free at Sea Plus, you have to have internet access, etc. You're going to pay more. Again, this is true of ALL cruise lines. You either pay for it in higher fares, or via add ons to your "cheaper" fare. Finally, shop, shop, shop. I shop fares every week. As an example, there are some GREAT NCL fares on TA cruises on NCL's Encore this coming December right now (or at least were last week). Encore is part of NCL's biggest and "newest" Breakaway Plus ships. If you are aghast at any cruise line's fares, adjust your parameters just a bit, and you'll find deals on ALL of. them.

Lots to digest here. Quick questions...... -OP, you mention the "Embarkation Manager". Not saying there isn't one, but in all my cruises (not just NCL), I've never encountered this person. Where did you communicate with this person? Was their official title "Embarkation Manager"? I'm just trying to nail down who it was that instructed you that your plan was "approved". No one can force you to embark or disembark the ship. That's up to you. So, getting "approval" isn't really a "thing". It's up to you to embark the ship at the embarkation port before "all aboard" time. Getting to the cruise ship embarkation port at the start of the cruise is your responsibility. Cruise lines many times do offer transport from airports to the cruise port for boarding but you made no mention of having those arrangements. You state you disembarked early on the 1st cruise. At that juncture you are not a passenger. It's not clear to me when you wanted to board the 2nd cruise, but will assume it wasn't at the origination point and you wanted to reboard at one of the ports in between. Those are always subject to change. As such, they do have a responsibility for the reasonable care and safety of their passengers. But, you weren't a passenger when you missed the ship. If you had made the original embarkation port on the 2nd cruise, you would have been on the ship as a passenger when they communicated the itinerary change. But, you missed the ship. Again, you were no longer a passenger at that point. The itinerary was communicated to the passengers. You weren't on the ship for those communications. I do agree with you that insurance may not have covered you missing the 2nd cruise. Two separate cruises....you left the first one early, and tried to embark on the 2nd one late. That's a recipe for disaster. I do wish you luck. Hard to see "your side of things" (as you put it) on this. You put yourself in a "vulnerable and dangerous" (again, your words) situation. Tough to see any support coming your way. Also tough to see any compensation coming your way from the cruise line, either. Consider it a lesson learned, albeit an expensive one.

Good point. This probably would not have been covered under insurance.

Hmmmm...it was never open on the Bermuda cruise. I wonder why given the weather was great.

Sailed her twice in the Haven, latest one being last October in the Mediterranean. No toilet issues either time. Just as an FYI, as they point out in your cabin, throw nothing in the toilet outside of the NCL provided TP. You'll be fine!

You big tease!!!!! 😉

Yeah...when you plan on doing something a little "funky" with your travel plans on a cruise, get travel insurance for this very reason. In essence, you booked two separate cruises. One of them you missed boarding. The fact that they were back t0 back is inconsequential. NCL views at as you missed the ship.

Format might be different (nor sure as I only skim mine). But, they have sent something like that to me the last several cruises.

Probably have to do your own Safety Drill check in in front of the cabin mirror!!!!!

Here's another one for November (probably too soon for me to sail).... 14-day France, Spain, Portugal from Miami... Solo Balcony with FAS $1,583 Guest 1 $1,028.95 70% OFF 2nd Guest $1,028.95 FREE AT SEA PACKAGE Specialty Dining $27.80 Per stateroom $27.80 Open Bar $305.20 Per stateroom $305.20 Shore Excursions Included WiFi Included +MORE OFFERS 70% OFF 2nd Guest Included Subtotal $1,361.95 Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses $239.82 Guest 1 $239.82 Total Due $1,601.77 View Cancellation Policy

You made me look. That's a killer deal. 11 day trans-Atlantic balcony w/FAS in a Balcony.... STATEROOM 1 Guest Balcony $2,152 Guest 1 $699.40 70% OFF 2nd Guest $699.40 FREE AT SEA PACKAGE Specialty Dining $27.80 Per stateroom $27.80 Open Bar $261.60 Per stateroom $261.60 Shore Excursions Included WiFi Included +MORE OFFERS 70% OFF 2nd Guest Included Subtotal $988.80 Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses $197.76 Guest 1 $197.76 Total Due $1,186.56 View Cancellation Policy

But, of course........!!!!!

Mental picture seared into my brain...... 😉

This "hillbilly" actually grew up about 30 minutes from where I live....

Killing me. Now you're going to make me look. 😉

These are our hillbillies. Not sure how they differ from those in the Catskills. 😉

I don't recall seeing the roof retracted over the Haven Pool. So, I say no! 2nd what @debenson0723 stated!

Good points. NCL is very friendly to us (mostly) solo cruisers.

Oops...you right. My bad! Sorry!

The last non-Haven cabin I had was on the Breakway to NE/Canada for 7 days and it was about $600-$700 for a balcony cabin with Free at Sea about a year and a half ago. The rest have been Haven cabins below.... -$4,200 for the Joy 7 nite Bermuda itinerary in June -$4,500 for the Prima 7 nite Caribbean itinerary in April -$4,400 for an Epic 11 day Mediterranean itinerary last October -$591 for a Breakaway 7 nite New England/Canada sailing in a Balcony with FAS -$4,300 for the Breakaway on a 7 nite Caribbean itinerary, July 2022 -$4,300 for the Celebrity Apex on a 7 nite Bahamas cruise in the Retreat February, 2022 That covers fares the last 2 years plus some. All in, with FAS and taxes, fees. Granted, all but one was a solo cruise, so the fares were per cabin, NOT per person.

Just saw this. NCL has a water shuttle from the ship to Hamilton. From there you can catch a bus to just about anywhere. The busses are quite nice. Not sure about particular beaches.