luv2kroooz

True, they would become applicable at the 11 month mark.

Sure there is.... 1. Time value of money. 2. Risk that cruise price drops multiple times after final payment. 3. Can't book nonrefundable air yet. NCL could end up chartering the ship. 4. Can't book nonrefundable air yet. NCL could reposition the ship. 5. Can't book nonrefundable air yet. NCL could change the ports, the port times, etc. I could go on. Booking early does not come without risks. Everyone needs to carefully calculate risk and then make a decision based on their individual circumstances.

This is a very good point and, based on the complaints that I read on here, one I think that a lot of cruisers don't fully grasp because it is different from the competition. The other lines will typically work to get you on a different flight when the unexpected occurs. I know last week or whenever it was that all the ships were delayed getting into Florida ports due to wind, Royal rearranged travel for all their air passengers. Even more impressive, if you had independent air arrangements, they agreed to cover the first $200 of change fees as a courtesy to their valued guests. That was over and above what was required in my mind. NCL would have promptly dismissed you and told you to go file a claim with your travel insurance after you found your own way home. Just have to fully understand what you are getting with NCL air. Very affordable, until the unexpected happens.

It's not you or your itineraries.

...to grow customer base.

Not on the ship, sorry. Many on the ship are scrambling to rearrange travel, so checking in on cc probably not a high priority for them. Celebration should be next up to dock. Should dock between 1 and 2pm. Horizon just docked. Then the waiting game begins. Your embarkation will be further delayed. Not sure why communications from Carnival have stopped. Have a great cruise after you get through with today's mess.

Jade is a great ship. Lots of deck space. Spinnaker Lounge. Not too big, not too small.

Can't dock during a noreaster event, unfortunately. You wouldn't want to be in Bermuda during such a storm. It is not safe.

They are owed whatever the insurance policy covers for a missed port of call. Every policy is different. Some zero, some $50.

On our cruise it saved nothing. What the compressed port times created were huge lines when trying to disembark and re-embark the ship at the end of the day. There are no pier runners, just long lines. As a result of the lines, the ship is unable to leave the port at the revised earlier time. They end up dropping the lines at the originally scheduled time, anyway. So, effectively, they are just disrupting everyone's travel plans and creating huge lines to disembark and re-embark the ship, for our convenience, of course. But hey, as long as they make these changes in the name of fuel efficiencies and as long as they are committed to delivering vacations and are working tirelessly, everything should be A-OK!!

Great... it's in "writing". Yep, we got what we got, like many others. Your mileage may vary. I was not, in fact, in a CB.

Nah. Not our experience post-Corona. Its was 1 bag per every 7 days cruising.

Only NCL charges these ridiculous amounts, though. We just got off a Princess cruise....$16 per person per day, 2x stateroom service. Royal is $18, I think. The service was as good on Princess for a lot less money. Our cruise for three was 12 days, so we saved $150 just in gratuities by choosing Princess over NCL. Just something to keep in mind. We acknowledge you can adjust DSC to whatever amount you feel is warranted by visiting guest service desk.

Just received my daily spam email...I mean sale email.... from NCL. They have extended their unique Black Friday "sale". I can get 50% off all cruises with FREE UNLIMITED open bar!!!

NCL onboard credit some of the most restrictive in the industry. No gambling, no cruise next, no daily service charges. Can be used on overpriced onboard spa services, shore tours, drinks, specialty dining and shore ex.

I can't answer what is rational or irrational for anyone else for parades, cruise ships, skyscrapers, or anything else. We just got off a cruise ship last week, so we are not concerned about a terrorist attack on a ship or a parade or a skyscraper. We respect differing opinions from members that may be concerned.

They outsourced support overseas in an effort to save money. Their profitability is more important to them than delivering solid customer service. It is very very sad. We only use travel agents so we don't have to deal with the frustration and time investment of waiting on hold and then taking a crap shoot as to whether or not the rep that fields our call is reasonably intelligent or wholly confused. I imagine the sales side of the business is still US based, but I don't know that for certain.

NCL doesn't sail from/to NiagaraFalls. Viking does. The point is that threats exist and everyone should do what makes the most sense to them. Feel free to be as naive (or not) as you want to, though. No sweat off my brow. Well informed cruisers can decide for themselves. Cheers.

Current news reports of suspected terror attack near Niagara Falls.

....and they said in their recent earnings release they were focused on more immersive and exotic destinations, yet repeatedly cancel these types of itineraries.

Also remember, Galveston can be prone to fog. Recommend booking late flights out or even spending a night post cruise.

We thought service was slow on our recent Emerald cruise. The ship seemed understaffed with maybe one guy behind the mix bar on a sea day. They had two bar waiters staffed to serve Wheelhouse Bar. Some were doubling as servers in Salty Dog Gastropub.

Fear not. The next new sale is just four hours away.

We were on Emerald last week, but I don't have the sheets. We had a great time...ship is in decent shape for being 17 years old. I could try to answer any questions you may have.

We jumped ship from NCL when they raised their service charges to a ridiculous $20 pp per day and the gratuities on the beverage package to $21.80 per person per day. We just finished a Princess cruise and we thought it compared well with NCL. We thought the Princess cruise was a bit more refined and less "in your face" than NCL with its intrusive announcements for art auctions and spa tours etc. The entertainment was more traditional with three production shows that were well done and various fly on entertainers such as singers and comedians. The shows were ridiculously overcrowded on Princess, though, requiring you to show up at least 30 minutes prior to showtime if you wanted to get a seat. Overall, Princess seemed more "all inclusive" to us. We had unlimited internet included instead of having to pay to upgrade on NCL. We enjoyed, lobster, beef wellington, scallops in the MDR which don't show up in NCL MDR unless you pay. Also, the beverage package on Princess is far more all inclusive than NCL with coffees, bottled/sparkling water, top shelf liquor such as Hendricks Gin, Grey Goose Vodka, Woodford, Bailey's etc all included in the base package. These are all upcharges on NCL. For the right price, we would cruise either line again. If prices were equal, we'd choose Princess as you get more value for your $$.