graphicguy

Correct! Some cruise lines add the VAT into the fare. NCL breaks it out. They ate the VAT on my cruise. But, I don't sail the Mediterranean that often. From my understanding, when I cruised in October, there was some sort of "law change" regarding VAT and how it was changed and collected by the Spanish ports. That change caused quite a bit of heated discussion. It's a pass through charge by NCL. They just happen to show it whereas the other cruise lines just add it into their fares and don't break it out seperately. I know MSC just adds it ti other fares instead of making it another line item. That's been my experience.

In addition to comparing fares to other cruise lines, itineraries, cruise ships, time of year, etc...I compare the fares to a land based vacation, too. For example, I'm in OH. I like Chicago. Spend lots of long weekends there. A hotel, either around the museums or Michigan Ave, where all the activities are, is going to run me at least $200-$250/nite (at least for a decent one). Add in parking ($40-$75/nite). Add in food ($150-$200/day). Gas to drive there and back ...$100 (that's low, but I drive a hybrid). Activities (like Shedd Aquarium, Natural History Museum, Art Museum, etc)...$20-$40 ea for entry. Chicago River Tour is $54/pp. So, let's say you stay 3 nites for an average cost of $225/nite=$675 Parking for 3 nites=$120 (minimum) Parking at museums is $10 each=$30 Museum entrance charges (3)=$60/ea Food=$450 Gas=$100 Total=$1,495 (and that's being WAY conservative with no drinks)...add in another $100 for the river cruise. So, using that as a base, search for a cruise in that price range to wherever it is you want to cruise. More than likely, you'll find one with Free at Sea and free 2nd person flight. And, your cruise will include meals. You can do as much or as little, spend as much (or nothing) on board and at the port(s). Is a balcony worth it to you? We don't know. Value is a personal measurement. You decide. A little leg work will yield good results. Good luck in your search.

@Sthrngary...good point. NCL seems to be reacting in real time to feedback. I don't know if it's the feedback from CC (although it kind of seems so), which mean they're monitoring these threads. Or, they are reacting to the feedback on board. Either way, it's good to see they are atune to the guests. That's a rarity these days on cruise lines.

NCL is known for breaking out the different charges incurred. Other cruise lines bake it into their fares. Some don’t want to see the different components of what they’re being charged and why. Nothing wrong with that. I want to see it broken out to see what I’m being charged. Again, the VAT is charged by European countries, not NCL! Same on my Epic Mediterranean cruise. They had a sign stating Spain charged a VAT on drinks, but then refunded us for the VAT!

I See! That being the case, that didn’t last long! Give NCL credit for listening to the customer!

If NCL's lobster provider were "short" on lobsters, yeah, I can see limiting them (which is in my opinion, probably what happened). But, as it was painted, as an NCL policy, on every ship? I found it rather questionable. Same with cookies. I suspect there was some sort of ingredient they couldn't get their hands on for a little while, and that caused cookies to not be as widely available as someone thought they'd be. But, as we've since seen, there are cookies readily available now. I do think some staff may offer up excuses that may or may not be true. It makes their job a bit easier if they can pawn off unavailability as a "corporate decision" (something I never believed to begin with) rather than try to explain their pastry chef(s) couldn't keep up demand for deserts.

Deleted post.

Agree...and Happy Anniversary, OP! Tough get. First, there would have to be someone who was a "no show" for their Haven Cabin. I guess it could happen....a major unfortunate sickness/accident. And, if that were indeed the case, you'd have to outbid everyone else who put in an upgrade bid. Thinking $50-$75 over minimum bid wouldn't even be close, especially given the Haven is sold out. And, no....neither NCL nor TAs hold Haven cabins back for upgrades. The Havens are the most expensive cabins on the ship and are the first to sell out. NCL wants their money up front for them. That would be a TON of money for a TA to tie up to "pre-book" Haven cabins. The JOY is a very nice ship. Enjoy your anniversary and don't worry about an upgrade.

It's a European Port thing. We saw it last October on my Epic Mediterranean cruise. Any EU port that charged VAT was passed on. Not sure any way around it as it's a tax charged by the port, not NCL. Kind of like the port charges sailing out of NYC. While in port, the city levies the same tax as they do on land based bars and restaurants.

It's amazing how a rumor gets tarted and takes on a life of its own. Lobsters being limited in the Haven (apparently not true). No more cookies (again, from recent reports, simply not true). Thanks for the update! Not a Lobster guy, but those who are will be pleased.

While not nearly as tech laden as @mking8288 on a cruise, I do pack some….

You’re probably right. Maybe I needed to change my MSC parameters. Except, instead of showing no Bermuda cruises, MSC’s WEB site just WENT “blank”! Bermuda, in a ship I’ve never sailed? 🕺 You need to go. Seriously, book it now! 🎈

Given you don't drink, you do not have to go to any of the bars. IT's pretty easy to spot and steer clear of, those on board who are just there to drink. But, generally speaking, 7 day cruises are less populated with "sloppy drunks". Truth told, I've seen them on Celebrity, Carnival, Royal, NCL, MSC and HAL. I've even read reports about them being on the Oceania, Seabourn, etc cruises. Just don't "hang out" at places like the Vibe, around the Pool bar, or anywhere people will stay for hours and drink. Caribbean itinéraires tend to have more drinking than those in the New England/Canada or PNW/Alaska itineraries. Spring Break seem to have more partiers than other times on board. Book a week in the spa, where there are no bars. Book more excursions and time off the ship while at port, away from the ship's bars, and you'll be fine!

Great to see this. Will be boarding next month (right before @Laszlo).

Remind me....I'll nudge you awake under the table. We might see if you, me and some others can meet up for sailaway? Thinking maybe outside the Cavern Club bar? Or, maybe Spice H20....I heard they moved that from a smoking to a non-smoking area.

It's not like the itinerary is complex, but here it is..... Day Land Tours And Cruise Ports Arrive Depart Booked Sun New York, New York --- 6:00 PM 0 Mon At Sea --- --- 0 Tue At Sea --- --- 1 Wed Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda 8:00 AM Overnight 0 Thu Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda --- Overnight 1 Fri Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda --- 3:00 PM 0 Sat At Sea --- --- 1 Sun New York, New York (Flight Departure) 7:00 AM --- 0 Due to security reasons, all guests must be on board 2 hours before sailing. Disembarkation usually begins 2 hours after docking. Itineraries are subject to change at any time without notice.

People seem to always be interested in the fares. I was surprised by the fare on this cruise...again, Bermuda, in June, on one of the Breakaway Plus ships. I would think aside from the fares on the Prima, Viva ships (NCL's newest), this fare would be pretty pricey. Nope....at least not when I booked it, which was about 10-12 weeks ago. And, since then, some categories are sold out, with a month until sailing. So, it looks like a popular cruise. I always price different cruise lines and cruise ships for the itinerary I want to sail. -Carnival only had shorter cruises to Bermuda -Royal doesn't seem to sail to Bermuda in June -Celebrity sails to Bermuda in June but, oh WOW, their fares are really crazy....depending on category, about 2X what NCL's fares are -I could no9t find one cruise on Princess that went to Bermuda -HAL....well...they just aren't my "thing" -MSC....ahhhh....MSC...sailed them twice, both times before the COVID shutdown. Both cruises were fine. But, recently, I can't even get their WEB site to work. So, that does not bode well. Skipped over them as a result Don't misunderstand, NCL's WEB site isn't exactly the poster child of usability (would you stop with the pop ups already asking for my contact info that interrupt my research?) Just trying to see what's available. But, if you can't even see MSC's ships and dates for Bermuda, how can you research? So, NCL it is. The previous mention discount helped, too. Even without the discount, the fares were attractive. My rule of thumb for booking the Haven is the total cost for the cabin has to be under $5K....with Free at Sea (FAS), grats, service charges, taxes, fees, etc included. Fare with the afore mentioned discount? $3,562 all in...taxes, fees, service charges, Free at Sea (FAS) tips....everything. This is for a Haven (HI) Balcony Cabin. From one perspective, I'm paying full freight (2 passengers) to sail solo. On the other hand, that fare, to Bermuda, Birthday, on a ship that was just refurbished (and wasn't that old to begin with) for the Haven.....well.....couldn't pass it up. I did not deduct my Military discount nor my Cruise Next certificate, as not everyone qualifies for those. Using those, I'm under $3K. My situation was unusual but no way, no how I could turn down the Haven for that.

Hope to see you on board. Someone has arranged a Meet and Greet but they haven’t publicized it much. So, it doesn’t look like it will be well attended. But, might peek in just to see which crew is there! It's the 17th at 10:00 a.m.-District Brewhouse.

For those who don't know, the Joy was originally built for the Asian market. She was originally home ported in Shanghai. For reasons I don't quite understand, NCL did a quick reversal after sailing those waters for about a yea. She was re-assigned to North America, but not before getting a "major refurbishment" only a year after she was christened. Maybe that market just wasn't meant for a large ship, given NCL still sails the Asian itineraries with their smallest ships. No matter, she's now sailing to Bermuda, Alaska, Mexico, Caribbean and Bahamas...the heart of any cruise lines' North American itineraries. Have sailed NCL's Gem, Epic, Breakaway, Getaway, Encore, Escape, Bliss and Prima....some more than once. All-in-all, I've sailed on 15 NCL cruises. I've sailed the Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska, Mediterranean and Bermuda (this will be my 2nd trip). Given I've never sailed the Joy before, I'm looking forward to it. I've sailed in just about every class of NCL cabin, from a solo cabin all the way up to a 2 BR Haven suite, and everything in between. I've sailed solo a lot and with my GF a lot. I know some will sail just to reach a certain status as one of their goals. That's not me. I've had issues with NCL in the past. But, for my cruise dollar, they just fit me best over the other cruise lines (sailed Celebrity, HAL, Carnival, Royal and MSC). That said, NCL does offer some useful "perks" for higher Latitudes levels. I'm Sapphire. So, they offer me... -one free laundry bag (I bring my own bag, given theirs is a thin paper one that tears easily) -2 free Specialty Dinners -free bottle of wine (even though I'm not a wine drinker) -A couple of "thingies" of water (even though their tap water is probably purer than any bottled water) -Some nice discounts on excursions and ship store purchases (15%) -Priority embarkation (although I'm in the Haven, so this one is of little use on this cruise)

Well...aren't you kind. Thank YOU!

So, I start planning about a month in advance of any sailing. Just got my luggage tags. Sounds like a good place to start. Will take you through the booking and planning and go live when I board. This cruise is two fold... A) June is my birthday month, and I always try to take a cruise on my birthday month. It's a little dicey as schools are usually out by June, which means the little rug ra......er.....precious little angels will be cruising. So, I try to stay away from the Caribbean given that seems to be the route most of the parents like to take with children. Thus Bermuda, which I haven't been to in about a decade. I don't except it's changed all that much. But, a decade is a decade. And, I do enjoy Bermuda way more than the Mexico and Caribbean itineraries. I also have always enjoyed staying in one place over nite (actually, 3 nites) so I can take my time and really explore without being in a time crunch. B) Those of you who followed my foibles early this year, are aware of my wretched clumsiness by hitting a pool of water in The Local on the Prima, which doing a Buster Keaton inspired face plant. As a result, NCL graciously admitted there shouldn't have been a pool where I did the clumsy dance and granted me a fairly nice discount on my cruise. Had to use the discount within a year. This seemed like a good place to use it. I'm from Ohio and have to make my way to NYC. So, will have some cringe inducing plans for that. Traveling solo, which I have been doing a lot lately. I'm retired. GF is not. Even though I teach at the local community college, summers a slow. I also do work with my local community as an advisor for our recreation endeavors. Despite that, I have plenty of time on my hands. My GF, does not. Last cruise we took together was right after the restart a few years ago. Since she needs some lengthy notice to take a week or two off, she can't just pick up and leave. I can. We're looking at a cruise for next year in the Nordic, region however. This is a Haven booking. Extravagant? Especially for a solo? Probably! I don't care, though. Will take you throughout the ship, in addition to the Haven, the excursions, entertainment, food, drinks, bars restaurants, casino, theaters, getting there, and getting back, etc. Not much of a pool person, but I'll try to sneak in some pictures around that area, too. I like doing this, but it is time consuming, especially since it's a vacation. I'll do my best to offer up the info most people want to see. But, I make no commitments nor any promises (that sounds like a one nite stand, fercryinoutloud)! This will probably start out slow, but will pick up speed (and posts) as we get closer.

I have sailed on the Retreat (Edge and Apex) and the Haven (Getaway, Breakaway, Epic, Prima). The Retreat fares and total costs were ALWAYS significantly higher than Haven. Celebrity and NCL price differently. The Retreat bakes service charges and tips into the fare, which as mentioned, is higher than the Haven, which has lower fares but add in service charges and tips.

I think it depends on how well the bar is stocked. I've ordered a soda at some bars and they regularly give me a can. But, at O'Sheehans/Local, they always seem to give me the fountain variety. Just an unscientific observation, I also note that if they're really busy, they'll pull a can out of the cooler vs getting ice and pouring me a fountain drink.

Ah-Hah! There are cookies on board. Just have to know where to look. I found them just outside of CoCos on a standalone kiosk.