MeHeartCruising

You got lucky. Or perhaps the Star still has the old accounting software. In the "old days", what you experienced is how it worked. But that is not how it seems to work on the last several NCL ships that I have been on. Glad it worked out for you and you didn't have to purchase unwanted stuff just to use that chunk of non-refundable OBC like I did.

OBC at NCL can be refundable or non refundable. You need to understand which type you have. If NCL gave it to you, it is probably non refundable. If a TA or someone else gave it to you, I MAY be refundable. Check what you have first. It is possible to have a mixture of both and you can track the remaining value of them on the ship. NCL does NOT permit you to use non refundable OBC to pay for your Daily Service Charge (some call this “gratuities”). However, you CAN use it to pay an additional tip to an employee if you desire. You cannot use OBC until you get on the ship.

I'm headed to the Mediterranean again in May 2023 and I'm starting to write up my master plan for the trip. For Naples, I'm planning on dedicating the day to Capri. I've been to Capri on a previous trip years ago, but it was way too brief of a visit since it was crammed in with Pompeii and Sorrento as part of a ship excursion. Now a much more seasoned traveler in Europe, I will plan on doing Capri on my own using the great info here on Cruise Critic. What I'm looking for, however, is what I should do as a backup plan should the day be rainy weather, rough waters in the Bay, etc. I won't likely know this until the day of arrival so I can't book a ship excursion at the last minute. I've already been to Pompeii twice. I've been to Herculaneum. The last time I was in Naples, it rained and I still was able to walk to the Archeological Museum for a few hours and then back along Via Toledo to the Piazza del Plebiscito area. The weather cleared up a little, so this was actually an enjoyable day, albeit damp. I've seen info about the couple of Underground options and that's a possibility, although perhaps not all that much of interest to me. But it would do. Any other suggestions for not-so-nice day activities in Naples that could be reached by walking, taxi, metro or other public transportation?

Unless you're into the splashy top deck attractions of the larger ships (rope course, go-carts, etc.), I think the Gem and her sister ships to be much more enjoyable. If you have children with you (up to teenagers), then the larger ships are probably the better choice. The Jewel class ships are large enough, but not too large. However, I would ultimately make this decision based on price, itinerary and scheduling.

I get your husband's point. However... For me, the best way to stay on top of jet lag is to stay busy and awake as long as possible for that day you arrive at LHR. I just did the same timing as you are facing in September. I got into central London by 10am from LHR. My Premier Inn offered early check-in (if there are rooms to support it) for an extra 10 pounds. I took them up on that offer. I checked in and took a quick shower and then immediately headed back out on to the streets to take in several hours of London. I walked around, took some pictures, had lunch, went to the train station to see the layout and figure out my plan for the next morning, walked some more, had an early dinner and then went back to my hotel around 6pm and crashed for the night. I was perfectly fine the next morning getting up at 7:00 am to catch my 8:15 train to Southampton. I took a taxi from the train station to the port. I would do all of this again facing the same timing. It worked out fine and I was able to explore London for more than 6 hours. Unless you plan something similar in Dover, you'll probably end up sleeping earlier in the day and your internal clock will still be messed up on Sunday.

Based on my experience, I would expect the FCC to be credited back to your account 2-3 days after you cancel the cruise (if it wasn't used to pay off any cancellation penalty). BUT, it will still have the same expiration date. To my knowledge, they aren't likely to extend the expiration date. Perhaps you can gift a cruise to someone you know who could go.

I'm starting to book hotels and flights for my May 2023 B2B out of Rome. I will be arriving in Rome on a 2:00 pm flight that was part of a long overnight into Madrid then continuing on to Rome on a separately purchased flight later that morning. The things we do to use "free" airline miles! Anyway, I'm figuring, by 2pm, I will be exhausted upon landing in Rome. Normally, I would take the Fiumicino Express into Termini and then either Metro or taxi to my hotel, depending on where I'm staying. However, I just started to book at the Albergo del Senato, where they have a reasonably priced single room available. During Booking, they offer an airport pickup and transfer directly to the hotel for 65 euros. While obviously more expensive than the train and taxi, this sounds pretty tempting given my long trip. Has anyone had good (bad?) experience with car transfers provided by the Albergo del Senato? or any central Rome hotel? Good idea or bad idea?

Also, a large number of passengers will go on ship excursions. You won’t be competing with them for a taxi. I found Barcelona taxis to be plentiful and efficiently coordinated at the ships. Several pull up at a time and load and move off quickly and are replaced by more. A long line moves nearly continuously, so it doesn’t take that long.

The only thing I would add is "Sit in a pleasant place for a while and watch the world go by." Your day sounds like a perfect, unstructured day that is going to be enjoyed as a break from all the full-day excursions you have planned. Just wing it and enjoy.

I don't recall if an email notification was sent or not. But if you sign into your online NCL account using a computer and click on the "My Account" links, it takes you to a page where you see any cruises you currently have booked listed. Right below that, there is a section labeled "My Coupons and Credits". CruiseNext Certificates show up in that list and they also show the Expiration and Sail By Dates for each of them. It does NOT show CruiseNext Certificates if you already have them used for a booked cruise. I'm not sure what you see using the NCL app on a phone.

Respectfully, your original post makes it sound like the math being done is as simple as credit and charge transactions being processed daily against a single running total balance. If the balance due is negative at the end of the cruise, then your credit card is charged that amount. In reality, IF there is non-refundable OBC on an account, then there is not one running balance but 2 running balances being tracked. One of those is the amount on non-refundable OBC that remains. DSC will never be deducted from non-refundable OBC, but store purchases will. If a passenger is not aware of this, and they do no other purchases, they will lose that OBC at the end of the cruise. It vanishes. And all the DSC will show as a balance due. There have been many posts here from people who thought the DSC was being paid by their OBC and only found out on the last day of the cruise that this was not the case. I agree that if the TA’s OBC is refundable, then the point is moot. However, as stated above, it is possible for TAs to give non-refundable OBC.

This is no longer true. NCL has moved to a system where there are categories of "refundable" OBC and "non-refundable" OBC. Gratuities (aka the Daily Service Charge) cannot be paid or offset by using non-refundable OBC. If your OBC was given to you in the refundable category (usually from a Travel Agent or gift), then that OBC can be used to offset the cost of the daily service charge/gratuities. It is confusing and on some (all?) ships, the onboard account that you can review on your TV does not handle the 2 categories well. You cannot really make sense of where you stand overall if you have non-refundable OBC. But you can eventually figure it out if you understand the 2 types of OBC. You may need to go to the service desk to get clarification for you. For example, on my recent British Isles cruise on the Dawn, I was given $100 non-refundable OBC because the ship skipped 2 ports due to various reasons. This $100 did not offset my DSC. I was not permitted to "pretend" to use it in the casino and then cash it out. I was allowed to use it to offset ADDITIONAL gratuities I left for the staff in specialty restaurants. I was allowed to use it to buy crap I did not want in the stores.

Mykonos is a great port for just getting off the ship, using shuttles (if necessary), and just exploring and relaxing and soaking up the local scene. Enjoy your day ashore!

I wouldn't necessarily make the assumption that it is a fleet-wide announcement. It MIGHT be. But it might not be. NCL has done it ship-by-ship, either as a phased in approach or using some sort of ship-by-ship metric to determine when a ship should unmask (i.e. crew positive covid numbers, for example). They haven't revealed their reasoning. I was on the NCL Dawn when they permitted the crew to start going maskless on about day 3 of the 10 day cruise. Some other NCL ships were already maskless prior to my cruise starting.

I just sailed on the Dawn in September for a 10-day British Isles cruise. It was a great cruise (other than coming home with Covid). The ship has been updated over the years and was in very nice shape. The crew was excellent in my experience. All the venues were up and running. Food is really, really subjective, but I enjoyed my meals in both the buffet and the specialty restaurants I chose. I did find the theatre entertainment to be only average. But it was something to do in the evenings. If you like the itinerary, I'd definitely go for the Dawn.

I will agree with the above as well. I've stayed at hotels that do indeed put the charge through in advance of your arrival at the hotel. I've seen it mostly in Europe. Due to this possibility, I needed to directly contact 2 hotels on a recent planned trip to swap out the card number they had on the reservation because my original card was closed and replaced with a new account. Both of them made the change without adjusting my rate. But I could not do it online. I had to phone one hotel and the other I exchanged emails with them. I took the risk of sending the new credit card info via email. For better or worse.

The average high temp in Cozumel for January is 81 degrees. The average low is 69 degrees. I have never been cool or cold on a Caribbean cruise sailing in winter months. I've been on lots of them and many Western Caribbean ones. Lots of people swim. I don't know what your tolerances are, however.

I'd be on a plane the day after your get out of school in June. The further you get into summer, the more heat you have to endure and the more summer vacationers you will get. Lots of people take these cruises all summer, so you can too. But just be prepared for heat and crowds of tourists.

Look at the promo codes listed in the upper right corner of your Confirmation PDF that is sent to you after booking and after any changes. There will be codes there to indicate any additional points.

I'm pretty certain each of the Platinum coupons are for the Platinum member plus their guest. Unless your parents are Platinum, letting them use the coupon would not meet that requirement. Would they permit it, perhaps. But I would not bet on it. When I was checking in at one of the restaurants on my September cruise, the woman at the desk was able to see how many of my coupons were used and not used and which of my speciality meal promotion perks was used and not. They do appear to track it down to the individual passenger. I hope it works for you. I wouldn't count no it.

The Terms and Conditions page for promotions contains the answers to most of your questions. Scroll down to the sections about "Airfare". https://www.ncl.com/about/terms-and-conditions/promotions

No. But the previous week. Sept 5 Southampton to Amsterdam.

I have no idea if it’s required. I just do it that way. Based on other responses, it apparently is not. I did forget to add to my post above that I also write “Platinum” on the bag and the slip. Just to cover all the bases.

By the way, the vouchers are contained in a small, folded cardboard "Latitudes Welcome" letter to you. It will usually be on the desk when you first get to the room. You unfold the letter and there are 3 detachable "coupons". One for each of your 2 Platinum meals and one for your free bag of laundry. Tear them off and use them when desired. For the dinners, take the coupon with you to the restaurant and give it to them when you check in at the front desk. For the free laundry, I put the coupon in the paper bag with the dirty clothes. I also still filled out the laundry receipt with the counts for each type of clothing. I put that in the bag too. The bags and count receipt can be found hanging in your closet.

Noticed my Covid symptoms on disembarkation day of my September 10-day British Isles cruise. So, PROBABLY caught it on the cruise, but could have caught it in port or elsewhere. The coughing woman behind me on an excursion vehicle is a suspected cause, but who knows. On the last night of the cruise, I could hear people in the cabins on both side of me coughing all night. So I'm guessing they had it too. I was fully vaccinated and had 2 booster shots (most recently in early June). My symptoms were obvious, but mild. You can catch it anywhere, anytime. It won't stop me from cruising. Next up... Mexican Riviera in February.