esp13

Not picking a side here, because I know it is a passionate issue, however airlines that I deal with will give you a credit if the price goes down.

 

Most times with airlines, as well, the price goes up as you get closer to the date.

 

In most commercial aspects of life, when you buy a product and is subsequently goes on sale, you can get a refund for the difference within a specified period of time (ie 30 days). NCL (and other cruise lines) have chosen not to follow this policy, which is their right and clearly outlined in their passenger contracts. That does not mean that people will not feel angry that they are paying hundreds (thousands) more than the person in the room next to them.

 

I also agree with the poster that said this policy will negatively affect NCL. They want people to book early to get the increased revenue. Once TA's and the general public discover that you can save a lot of money by waiting, that is what they will do. 89 days is still plenty of time to book airfare if you need to.

 

The best thing NCL could do is at least offer an OBC for 25-50% of the difference of the reduction as a good will gesture.

That's not entirely true. You can get a lower price if it drops at any time prior to the 90 day final payment date (120 for suites). It's not like you are locked in completely at the time of purchase.

I don't see how it affects NCL that negatively. If they have to compensate everybody who booked early with the new price (or substantial OBC) then they aren't getting the advantage of early bookings anyway.

And I still don't understand the anger. You paid a price you agreed upon. I get feeling disappointed when you miss out on a better deal, but anger and blame just seems strange. It's called business and it happens in everything we do.

Its not about the price of the sailing that we're upset about. I always expect the cabin prices to fluctuate, often dropping, as the sailing date approaches, and that is fine. The issue here is that the fares are not chaging, but rather they are slapping these HUGE OBC incentives for new bookings, but not offering them to those of us who are already loyal and have booked in advance. That is pure BS.

Well, I'm pretty sure the OP was complaining about the drop in the cabin price since she specifically mentioned it - twice.

That said, I don't see a real difference between lower fares and increased OBC. Both are used as incentives for last minute bookings to fill a ship. For those that have the luxury of waiting until the last minute, you can take advantage of those incentives. But some folks, like me, can't wait until the last minute or I would never get to cruise. I don't blame NCL for doing what they need to do to fill a ship. I certainly don't blame them for my personal circumstances that prevent me from booking at the last minute. That's my choice. And I can't really see why I should expect to be compensated for a price drop that, had I waited to book, I couldn't have taken advantage of anyway. By the same token, if I could book at the last minute, I'd never book early.

It just feels like in some of these cases, people are looking for the best of both worlds. They want the security of booking "their" room and "their" price and with whatever incentives are offered at that time as well as the benefit of waiting until the last minute and getting those incentives too. It just seems to me that it doesn't (and shouldn't) work that way. If you don't care about a particular room, or a particular sailing, then don't book until the last minute. Then you can assure yourself of the lowest price (unless, like mine, the price goes up) and all those goodies. If the room or the particular sail date is more important to you than the lowest price, then book early and know you are taking a gamble that the price might go down or incentives go up.

Regardless, in the end, it's still your choice. Most things in this country are based on the idea of supply and demand and very few companies go around compensating previous purchasers when the prices go down on products they purchased earlier. By the same token, nobody has to pay more when the price goes up. That's just how it works. I get the disappointment - nobody likes to miss out on a deal -- but I don't get the anger or the blame.

Well, I guess I'm going to add fuel to the fire...but as an early booker to Getaway I thought other early bookers who were not happy about the recent big sale (you know the one where cabin prices were $250 lower pp, and free upgraded dining and pre-paid gratuities were thrown in), would want to know the latest.

Just received an offer from an airline's vacation/cruise branch and guess what? Same much lower price pp on cabin, double upgrade, $50 more in OBC than I got, and triple airmiles. Fantastic.

My TA already called and NCL pretty much said you are sh** out of luck (I realize can't get lower cabin price, but was hoping with such a substantial difference to get an extra OBC).

So, today's lesson? This is a case where the early bird didn't get the worm...or the deal. I will never ever book early on NCL, and after this will probably stay with RCCL.

Just curious - has RCCL offered you the lower price when prices drop after booking? If so, I totally understand your decision to stay with them.

Personally, I don't have the ability to book at the last minute (or even within 90 days). Due to work and travel to a departing port, I have to book well in advance. So, I know there is a chance that the prices will go down. This happened on our first cruise and NCL did give us an upgrade to a higher class balcony (basically a more aft balcony to a midships one). They didn't have to, but I appreciated it.

I do envy those who have enough flexibility to be able to book at the last minute because there are certainly deals to be had. But, for me, I just try to book at a price I can live with at the time. Currently, the price for the cabin I booked has gone up $200 pp, so I'm definitely not complaining.

All cruise lines do this. Like we have a great steak house, except its a extra charge. Let me take your photo. Have to buy photos., we have an spa on board. But you have yo pay for it. Most people know this. It's just like there more and more paid activities. Cooking classes, wine tasting. Drink tasting, bar crawl

Some dance classes it's just seems to go on and on

 

You think your cruse is going to cost X $. And it's now. X$ plus all the extras.

Yes, they all do it. But unless you are unable/unwilling to do a little research, you should not be surprised in any way. Even on my first NCL cruise, I knew that various things would cost additional money and budgeted accordingly. I don't care about photos or the spa and am happy not to subsidized others who choose to use it. There are still plenty of free activities and, more importantly, I know what to expect when I get on board. So, the cost is not X$ plus all the extras. The cost is X $ plus whatever extras YOU choose. That's the difference between nickel and diming and choice.

Funny to call a vacation with chose of restaurant and food, lots of entertainment, and excellent service as "bare bones." You also "upgrade" from an inside to a suite - but everyone is on the same ship and as far as I can tell gets treated with the same respect. As an "experience cruiser" I call nickle and dime "freestyle choice." Most people are happy to pay a lower fare and not have to pay for "upgrades" they don't intend to use. For me "nickle and dime" is a term used by mostly disgruntled customers.

I absolutely agree. I happily pay the charges for the things that I want to do so that I don't have to subsidize the charges for other people doing things I don't want to do. I have not, in 4 NCL cruises, had a bad experience in the MDR in regards to food quality. Service has, at times, been a little slow, but certainly no worse (and no more inconsistent) than most restaurants that I've been to and I don't feel that choosing to dine in the MDR is somehow being treated worse than the specialty restaurants.

As for bingo, drinks, games, etc., I'm very glad that those are an extra charge because I really don't want to pay for everybody else to play when I am not interested. And while I do have a drink here and there, I have no interest in subsidizing somebody else's bar bill.

As an experienced cruiser, I love the NCL Freestyle concept. Having a balcony is very, very important to me so I love that NCL offers a lower base price. In fact, I have been able to cruise in a suite for the same (or less) cost of a balcony on other cruise lines. I then get to pick the extras that are important to me. That's why NCL is my choice.

I don't disagree with your philosophy, and I think NCL would be wise to follow it and return your deposit under the specific circumstances here.

But if one of your customers came on here and said one of your employees said they could return something anytime, despite the posted signs and asked how to sue you when you refused the refund, I'd give them the same answer. The employee screwed up but so did the person who didn't follow the posted policy. I can't support a lawsuit under those circumstances.

I'm not sure there is a basis for a lawsuit give that both sides were wrong. OP should have seen the cancellation date on the paperwork and taken note of it. NCL call center should have provided accurate information. It sucks, but I can't see that NCL mislead the OP when the proper information was provided on all of the paperwork and not buried in some small type legalese somewhere. I'm looking on my e-mail confirmation and the Cancellation Policy is in big bold letters towards the bottom of a single page.

That does not mean I am excusing NCL from giving incorrect information and I would hope that under those circumstances, NCL would refund the deposit. I just don't think there is much of a basis for a lawsuit when both sides screwed up.

The shows don't cost any money except for Cirque de Solei and that includes a dinner. You are encouraged to make reservations for the shows, but they are free reservations.

Dinners only cost if you choose to eat at the specialty restaurants. Dinner in the main dining rooms, the Haven restaurant, and O' Sheehans is included. I think the prices for the specialty restaurants vary from about $15.00 to $50.00 per person.

I'm not sure what the bingo costs but on my last cruise, there was a standard package of 5 or 6 games for like $20.00.

I would guess that the service problems are the direct result of two new megaships (hundreds of new crew positions to fill) and possibly the disaster in the Philippines in November. I'm guessing that in addition to the large numbers of new crew, there may have been some turnover and/or simply people more worried about folks at home than on the ship. I'm not making excuses exactly, but I can't imagine that something like that happening wouldn't make it harder for me to concentrate on my job.

I'm hopeful that after the Getaway gets into service and crew situations stabilize (I can't imagine that there hasn't been a lot of transfers to new ships, new leadership on older ships, and the like) that we will start to see fewer service complaints. I've honestly had nothing but good crew experiences on my cruises (not cheerleading, just being honest) and I choose to be optimistic that NCL will be working to fix these issues (that may be cheerleading, but what can I say, I'm an optimistic soul at heart).

I do appreciate the information provided as it helps me temper my expectations a bit for my next cruise.

Thank you for providing such a detailed review. Very helpful.

I think the OP's issues are perfectly valid and I'm sure there is value to being aware of the issues he dealt with and in less than positive reviews in general.

However, I always keep in mind that on these ships there are what 2500 passengers (and up to 4000 for the larger ships). Even if only 1% of the passengers had "bad" experiences, that's 25-40 people. And if the ship has a 95% success rate, that's still 125-200 people with "bad" experiences.

Simply put, it's entirely possible for one person - or many persons - to have a bad experience for one reason or another (faulty facilities, unhelpful staff encounters, unsatisfactory meals, and yes, even simply unreasonable expectations) while 95% of the passengers on the same cruise had a marvelous time. Sometimes it can be as simple as the fact that what bothers one person (lines, slower food service, a crowded buffet) doesn't bother another.

So, the OP has a perfectly valid opinion about how things happened on his cruise. And everybody else has perfectly valid opinions about how things happened on theirs. I guess what I am trying to say is that, in most cases, the cruise experience is a personal experience, not a group one (at least in terms of the entire passenger manifest as one group). And somebody's bad experience doesn't invalidate your good experience any more than your good experience makes another's bad experience just a figment of his imagination.

I've been on 4 cruises with NCL and have another scheduled. I have never had a bad experience. That doesn't mean I've never encountered lines, crowds, food I didn't love, or shows that didn't thrill me. It just means that those things have never impacted my enjoyment of the cruise. But that's just me. To each their own and the best we can do is try to take the potentially helpful information from any review - good or bad -- and factor that into our cruising decisions.

Hi All,

 

My husband and I just booked haven room on Getaway for our 10 year anniversary and we have never stayed higher than Mini Suite so we wanted to know what are some tips to make the most of the features offered in Haven.....like butler and concierge we are not sure what that entails but don't want to have missed out either. Thanks in advance.....from what I am reading here I am worried it will be hard to go back to my outside and balcony usuals lol:p

If you do a search, you can find lots of threads with lots of detailed information regarding the suite perks, including info on the butler and concierge. But, in brief:

The butler takes care of everything in your room except for the daily cleaning type things (that's the steward's job). He will bring you room service, drinks, clear out the fridge and stock your favorites (with the appropriate charges for soda and alcohol). He (or she) will bring you daily snacks, serve meals that you have ordered in the room, bring menus for the dining rooms, and -- apparently -- even unpack your bags if you so desire. The butler is not part of the DSC, so be sure to be prepared to tip him according to your own sense of fairness.

The concierge takes care of everything outside the room. He (or she) will make dinner reservations, show reservations (if applicable), book shore excursions, give invitations to ship cocktail parties, and the like. He will also help with the priority embarkation and disembarkation at the beginning and end of the cruise (very handy) and in any ports where a tender is being used. The concierge should also be tipped according to your own sense of fairness about the services he or she has provided.

While I have not stayed in a Haven suite yet, I understand that there is also a Haven maître de who will provide service in the Haven itself. I've read that they can obtain food from specialty restaurants and have it served in the Haven and things like that. But, that's not something I have independently confirmed, so take it with a grain of salt.

All of the penthouses have the same inside square footage. The difference in the range is because of the difference in sizes of the balconies.

I don't remember the exact order anymore, but I believe that 9 is the largest and 13 is the smallest (but still quite large).

Yeah, the butler bringing me candy isn't even in the top 100 reasons that I choose to cruise in a suite.

Before my first suite last December, I never thought I would care much about the butler or concierge. I just wanted the bigger room and balcony. And that's still the case for the the most part. I booked the suite on the Getaway in my signature below because I wanted a bigger room and balcony to enjoy. If the only room available had been one of the forward facing suites with tiny balconies, I would have probably gone with a regular room in one of the areas with large balconies.

But I won't deny enjoying the perks that come along with the suite. This will be my first Haven experience, but on the Pearl, I loved Cagney's for breakfast. I enjoyed having an expanded room service menu on lazy days. I enjoyed having some priority options through the concierge (disembarkation, reservations, etc.). My life is pretty simply 99% of the time and I work pretty hard for the disposable income I get. So yeah, I have to admit it's nice to be spoiled for a week.

And don't worry, American Airlines promptly reminded me I wasn't all that special when my cruise was over. So, it's not like the suite life goes to my head or anything. :)

I can't speak for everybody, but I'm willing to fork out the money for the perks. It is the cost of another cruise, but with my job it's not really possible to cruise every year. Some years I can and even did two last year, but now I'm booked out to December of 2014 for the next one. So, I can't really look at it and say if I do this, I could take two cruises this year or whatever.

Instead, a cruise is a luxury of sorts and, therefore, I'm willing to spend the money for the suite perks. But not everybody is in that same boat. I've cruised in balconys and minisuites and enjoyed them both. If I lived in Miami or NY where I could cruise more easily without the travel and/or had a different job, I might very well forego the suite in order to cruise more often. But that's not my situation. I also don't have kids that I have to pay tickets for as well.

One way I do make it more affordable is OBC. When I booked the 12/2014 cruise, I got $450 on OBC and will get more from my MasterCard points. That has the effect of reducing the effective price of the cruise for me so it's more like $1000 more total instead of $2000 more.

But, in the end, it's simply what works best for each person/family. Some things that are important/worth it to me are probably not important/worth it to others. I don't think it's really that different than those that opt for an inside room vs. a balcony room.

As others have said, the butler will do just about anything you ask him to do. On my first cruise with butler service, it took me about 3 days to actually ask for anything. But then we had breakfast delivered a couple of days, he brought me some margaritas, soda, and a bottle of wine for my mom. Overall, we found the butler to be a wonderful perk.

I can't imagine asking him to pack or unpack, simply because I can't imagine anybody else doing that for me. Same with drawing a bath. I'm NOT saying those are inappropriate requests, just that they are not something I would ever think of.

We are booked on a cruise on the Pearl on December 16th and are in an Aft PH. We called the pre-cruise concierge this week and it was wonderful. Thanks to previous posters for the idea and for reminding me of the things I wanted.

We asked for the fridge to be emptied and stocked with Diet Pepsi and beer. We also asked for a bottle of wine to be waiting. We requested that loungers be on the balcony instead of just chairs and Vanessa promised to check on it for us. We also received the pillow menu and made our choices.

Thanks again to the OP for providing the number and to all the posters for suggestions of things they asked for. I'm so looking forward to getting to our suite and having it all set up for us - a cold beer waiting and everything. :)

I'm not sure because I never caught the last name, but I was on the Pearl over the 4th of July and the cruise director was Julie. I assume it's the same person (she's from Canada) that the OP is asking about.

Great review! How was the weather? A co-worked was on the Pearl to Alaska last week and he mentioned gloomy weather and rain, though he did enjoy the cruise.

 

I will be on the Jewel on 8/11 to Alaska.

We actually had decent weather all things considered. It was cloudy most of the week, but we never really got rained on (just a tiny bit here and there). The temps were a bit chilly - mid to upper 50's but we were prepared for that. Glacier Bay was colder - quite a bit of fog and mist which made it feel even colder than it was. But the beauty was worth the cold.

We had sun in Ketchikan on Friday and it was about 70 degrees in Victoria on Saturday, so those days were great. Given the unpredictability of Alaska weather, I thought we made out rather well.

Can't wait to read your review, in the meantime I have some questions and requests

 

Do you have a copy of the dailies you can post?

Do you have a copy of the MDR menu's?

Do you have a copy of all the specialty restaurant menu's?

Was there any dinner specials like 2 4 1?

Do kids eat free in the specialty restaurants?

Who was the cruise director?

Who was the captain?

What was the name of your butler?

How much is bingo?

What was the entertainment and what nights did they entertain?

Did they have deal or no deal?

If so what night?

 

 

JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!! Hope you enjoyed your cruise.

LOL!! I was about to try and answer all those questions before I saw the "Just kidding" at the end. :) The problem was that aside from the name of the cruise director and captain, I didn't know most of the answers.

Does it cost anything?

Sorry, I missed this question earlier. The bridge tour does not cost anything.

Hey there! We were on that cruise too but didn't make it to the meet and greet. DH got food poisoning and was sick all day :( Glad you enjoyed it! I will post a review too...it was also our first Alaskan. Thanks!

Oh no!! That's too bad. I hope he recovered quickly and I hope you enjoyed the cruise despite that bit of bad luck.

How did you get the bridge tour? Did you request it at the M&G or was it offered by the staff?

 

Thanks!

It was offered at the M&G. Raquel took the names of those interested and then sent out formal invites with the time and meeting place that night. We had a group of about 25, I think. She indicated that if the group got too big, she'd do two tours. If you get the chance, you should definitely do it.

Well, that was fast. Here's the review I posted.

Beautiful Alaska

I've just returned from a 7 day cruise to Alaska aboard the Norwegian Pearl. It was a fantastic experience in every way. My party consisted of my mother and I. It was our fourth cruise, but first to Alaska and the first time on the Pearl.

Embarkation was a breeze. We took a taxi from our hotel near Pioneer Square in Seattle and were at the port in minutes, we arrived about 11:00am. We quickly dropped our bags and proceeded to the check-in lines. Everything was well organized and we completed the entire process by 11:20 or so. We then found some seats and waited for boarding to begin. It seemed like just a short wait and we were boarding the ship.

Once aboard, we began exploring. Within a few minutes, we were told that the staterooms were available to drop off our carry-on bags, although they were not ready for occupancy just yet. So, we dropped our bags and continued exploring. A short time later, the rooms were ready and we headed up. We were in a mini-suite towards the aft of the ship. The room was great. Plenty of room for the two of us and we loved the larger bathroom.

The ship was easy to navigate. The only thing we had to remember is that you could not get all the way from aft to forward on deck 6 because of the main dining room. Other than that, I don't think we got lost at all. :)

On Monday, we had the Cruise Critics meet and greet. The staff that joined us included the Hotel Director, the Executive Chef, the Food and Beverage Manager, the Bar Manager, the head of Group Services, and others I'm probably forgetting. It was fun to meet them all.

On Tuesday, we had the opportunity for a bridge tour arranged by the Group Services directer, Raquel Nunez. She was wonderful (she helped arrange the meet and greet for the CC members). Our tour was conducted by the 2nd Officer, Heriela Castillo. She was very friendly and informative and answered all of our questions. If anyone from NCL reads this, Raquel and Heriela deserve special kudos.

We did three excursions - whale watching in Juneau. We saw Humpback whales, sea lions, and eagles. Very enjoyable. In Skagway we did the White Pass train ride which provided incredible scenic views. And in Victoria, we also did whale watching but unfortunately did not see whales. The crew was great though and they really tried to make the trip worthwhile.

We ate at all of the specialty restaurants except Le Bistro. We also ate in the main dining room one night, the Summer Palace (smaller main dining room) for breakfast, the Blue Lagoon for one lunch, the sushi bar twice, and the Garden Cafe for miscellaneous meals. All of the food was very good. The highlight was Cagneys. The lowlight was probably the Blue Lagoon which was fine, but just average. We had no problems except for a bit of slow service one day in the sushi bar. It looked like they may have been understaffed that day.

Our room steward was very friendly and very efficient. The room was always made up and turned down promptly and we never had to wait to return to the room. All of the staff were very friendly. Everyone always had a smile to greet you and were very willing to assist with anything we needed.

We only saw one show - Encore! It is a mix of songs from different Broadway shows. This version had Moving Out, Swing, Wicked, Mama Mia, The Producers, and one I can't remember. The performers were very good and it was very enjoyable. We also played Bingo on day and while we didn't win, it was fun.

Saving the best for (almost) last. Glacier Bay is truly beyond words to describe. It's beautiful and breathtaking and awe-inspiring. We saw whales and seals/sea lions on the way in and then simply took in the beautiful sights. It was a bit cold on the balcony, but the views were well worth that small discomfort. Just be sure to pack lots of layers (and don't forget gloves, hats, earmuffs).

Disembarkation was truly painless. We carried our bags off and simply walked off the ship when we were ready. We had room service bring breakfast, had coffee on the deck, then took on last look around and headed out. We were off the ship in 5 minutes or less. Not that we wanted to be off the ship at all. As we left, several crew members serenaded the guests off the ship. That was a nice touch.

I had had reservations about an Alaska cruise before this trip. I was not thrilled about going to chilly weather and I wasn't sure how much there would be to do if you couldn't hang out by the pool. I'm very glad to see that I was wrong. The scenery is well worth any cool weather and, except for Glacier Bay, it was not as cold as I expected. We found more than enough things to keep us occupied, even if it was just hanging out in the room and watching the views of the Inside Passage. Our next trip is to the Caribbean, but I'll go back to Alaska on the Pearl if I get the chance.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=105652

Thanks everybody. :)

I'll post the full review when it's up at the main site (so I can copy and paste, or link). It really was a wonderful time and makes me even more anxious for my December cruise on the Pearl. In fact, it was so good, we bought a deposit for a future cruise and signed up for the NCL credit card. :)