cruisegeek1974

I couldn't seem to find a conclusive answer on this, but does the Aurea cabin category allow you to get wristbands for free?  I apologize if I missed this mentioned before.

Thanks for the great review, we are going on our first MSC cruise on the Seashore at the end of the year (same itinerary).

We will likely be driving to the cruise port and I am curious as to why you didn't park at the cruise  port and instead used the shuttle service?  Was it because of price?  Easier process?  From a bit of research I have done so far the terminal parking seems to be pretty good and headache free.

Thanks.

I've also been curious how it is on average on busy sailings.  Is it similar to the main pool areas where you often have to get your loungers really early in the morning?

I was wondering about dropping off luggage before parking.  We normally fly in for our cruises, but two years ago we drove to Florida to Port Everglades and parked and then walked with our luggage.  It wasn't really an issue and it never occurred to me to drop off the luggage first.

We are likely driving again to leave from Port Canaveral on our next cruise on MSC Seashore.  Given the potential traffic and 'chaos', is it pretty simple to drop your luggage first and then park?  We've never cruise from PC and i've read that parking is right next to the terminal so I figured we would just park and walk with the luggage. But if dropping the luggage first is super easy I'd consider doing it that way instead.  We are a younger family with no mobility challenges, so that would likely affect the advice.  Thanks for any feedback!

When I log in to my online profile, under 'Cruise Details' it shows me our OBC, drink packages, wifi, etc etc.  I assume you should also see it there.

We received the early booking discount and one $50 OBC as my wife has silver status from Voyager matching.  We had thought the $50 OBC was for everyone in the cabin, but I think it's for every person that is silver status I assume.

Do mean you can't order a drink in the MDR, or that it just takes so long to get a drink in the MDR?

As an update, my travel agent called MSC and we had to do a cancel and rebook.  I think what was done by MSC was, the same cabin but on the port side of the ship was reserved/booked, and then my original reservation was cancelled.  I just spoke to my travel agent and she said she would look into getting us moved back to the original cabin, but it's not a huge deal if that can't be done.  I will definitely not be looking to make any other changes.

Last week I booked a December 2024 cruise and today I noticed that MSC on the same cruise is offering drinks, OBC and wifi.  I priced out the cruise and for the extra cost for these "free" extras it's worth it to add this on.  I emailed the travel agent i booked with to ask about having this added or whatever she has to do to get this added.  Typically the drink packages aren't worth it for me, but with the OBC and the fact we usually buy an internet package, it makes sense to try and get this special added to our cruise.

Thanks for the pointers and I will refresh myself on the board rules!

Hi everyone,

Our family is leaning towards a first MSC cruise for Christmas break 2024.  My wife and I would typically book cruises around October/November, just a month or two prior to the cruise, and therefore we would pay for the entire cruise at that time.  This year we were thinking of booking something now and paying the refundable deposit.

I assume, like I've read on other cruise line message boards, that we should watch pricing as it approaches the 90 day full payment date for price adjustments/matching?   What happens if say a new special is offered like free drink packages or something like that, does MSC also offer you that if you contact them?  Or would you need to do a new booking?  Any advice on booking early directly with MSC, versus *****.com or another travel agent?  Does that make any difference?  On our past cruises we have booked with *****.com or a travel agent, never directly with the cruise line.

Thank you in advance for any feedback!

Hi there,  this link, if it works for you, goes to a page that mentions the wine bottle packages and prices.  Best Wine Packages | Celebrity Cruises   But if you click through you can't see to purchase it pre-cruise.  I would just like to be sure that these packages are offered once you get on the ship, otherwise I am inclined to bring my own bottles on board.  I wonder how to find out if these packages are offered onboard - I am travelling on the Reflection on Dec 31/22.

5 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

I agree with the OP that NCL's pricing on the website is a complicated mess.   The open bar option requires prepayment of about $20 per person per day for tips, and the specialty dinner option also requires prepayment of tips.  And which promos are available for which category cabin during any given promo period is anything but clear.  

 

When choosing an NCL cruise, I could decline the special offers and take a guarantee cabin (a "sailaway" rate), I didn't like that option.   I turned to an experience cruise travel agent, and told her I wasn't interested in the bar or dining freebies that involved prepaid tips, I wanted to make my own air arrangements, but I would like any amount of free internet time and excursion discounts - and I wanted to choose my cabin.    She did whatever negotiating was necessary and got me what I wanted at a price I was satisfied with.

 

If the OP prefers not to use a TA, then he or she could phone NCL rather than trying to book online.  A live person should be able to explain the options and may have the discretion to customize the choices.   

Do you mean you can ask your TA to approach the cruise line and request more of a custom package of add ons? 

I'm looking at doing a Caribbean cruise in Jan/Feb 2022, but because I don't really need all the add ons i will likely do a Sail Away guarantee cabin.  I hate not picking my cabin, but in a perfect world, I would want one wifi package (for my wife), and one drink package (for me).  When i get on the ship i typically am happy to shut off my phone and store it in the safe for the entire week.  As for drinks, my wife has a few diet pops and maybe one virgin frozen drink/slushy whereas i will typically either bring some wine bottles on board or buy a wine bottle package (if available).  I do find it a little annoying that I can't pay a few bucks extra to just pick my cabin without getting any of the add ons.

22 hours ago, cruisegeek1974 said:

Thanks for providing this info!

 

Assuming this link will work, Manulife has now posted the updated wording.  At a quick glance, it does appear that they have changed the wording to clearly cover cruises and covid medical plus provide the trip interruption coverage as well.

COVID-19 Pandemic Travel Plan for Travelling Canadians (coverme.com)

2 minutes ago, MarcusRex said:

Hello everyone,

 

I spoke to a representative this morning. She wasn't aware of the Nov 18 change but as we spoke, she literally received an email detailing and the email also said that the online documentation was not yet update but that people were covered for medical on cruise. The online documentation should be updated tomorrow.

 

HOWEVER: it is important to note that cruising medical coverage is ONLY if you take the Covid 19 Pandemic travel plan. It is NOT included in the all inclusive version.

 

The web page is misleading because you can only choose one of the two, leading you to believe it is incremental (Option 2 includes all of option 1). That is NOT the case. If you want all inclusive and coverage for covid medical on a cruise, you need to buy BOTH policies.

Thanks for providing this info!

18 minutes ago, DHP1 said:

I can’t find anything regarding this in Manulife website. However, Manulife Costco does. 
https://www.manulife-insurance.ca/costco/travel-insurance/travelling-canadians.html

Click “Plan Benefits”

Thanks.  I think i'm one of the few people without a Costco membership!  i guess best thing to do at this point is to put in a call to Manulife, hope for a good answer and get pointed to somewhere where I can see the details in writing.

On 11/8/2021 at 1:48 PM, MamatoJack said:

When is your PIF? If it was me, I'd wait until I have to make a decision. I jumped the gun on my not quite 12-year-old and we would have been able to go on the December cruises I had booked. I moved them to March break. Pfizer is 3 weeks between so if you say 5 weeks from first dose to fully vaccinated, what's the latest he can get that first dose? End of January? You are likely going to be fine. But of course do what you feel is right. 

The suggested time between doses for kids is 8 weeks.  I was told this by a pediatrician and the same guideline was in the news report I heard on the radio this morning.

Has anyone found anything in writing on this?  Unless I missed it, I don't see anything talking about new changes effective November 18th.

1 minute ago, xfer said:

Some things I have learned this fall, that you may find useful.

1. CruiseFirst - If you buy now and then wait 120 days, you can then use it anytime, no additional date limitations. You cannot use it for a cruise you've already reserved. Cruise must be 6 days or longer. They often offer a $250 cert worth $500. 
2. CruiseNext - These can be used anytime on any sailing of any length except...they only sell them as $125=$250. Normally, you can only use one for a deposit. So if you want to use two, to get to a total of $500, you have to book a balcony or higher, six months out. The cool thing is that there are many people looking to re-sell theirs after the pandemic. You can pick up a $250 cert for as little as $100. (Try searching for a buy sell trade group on social media, selling them here isn't permitted). It's a simple transfer, only takes a phone call and a few minutes. Of course, you can always buy these on your next sailing. 
3. Most TA's can take care of getting you credit for any price drops and should honor the 61 day cancel policy. About 50 days out, you might get an email offering you a chance to upgrade (upgrade fairy). I'm not sure if this is affected by booking through a TA or not. You will want to check the NCL site for the prices, not the TAs site, since sometimes the prices can differ. 

Thanks for that info!

7 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Yes, you would be able to cancel a January or February cruise up to 61 days before sail date.  Cancel date will be going back to 120 days starting in April

 

I have no personal experience with CruiseFirst but as far as I know, it is in your account and can be used if you book through a TA.  However, read the terms carefully.  I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but as I read it, they can only be used for a sail date 120 days after the purchase date, so you wouldn't be able to apply it until mid-March at the earliest.  Under those conditions, you'd be better off going on a cruise and getting CruiseNext certificates to apply to a future cruise - you get the same 50% discount, they are good for 4 years (vs 3) and can be used on any future cruise.

 

You don't need to book through NCL to get price adjustments - a TA can also re-price.  After final payment date, NCL may allow adjustments, although every case is different.  They might let you pay for an upgrade to a better cabin or give you up to 25% OBC for the price difference.

Thanks for the reply.   You are right, can only use the CF credit for cruises 120 out.  Shows how you always have to scour the terms and fine print!

Hi there, while I have been on many cruises, I have always booked through either a TA or through an online travel site with the initials V.T.G. (not sure I can say the name).  I can't even say why I never tried booking directly through the cruise line, but just haven't.

I'm looking to cruise on NCL likely in either January or February 2022.

I have a few questions which I'm sure will be easy to answer by all of the extremely knowledgeable people on this board.

• If I book through NCL.com, am I correct that if I pay the minimum deposit and cancel the booking more than 60 days prior to sailing that the deposit is refundable (versus sitting as a credit to be used on another booking)?  I'm basing this on this page which appears current    Cancellation Fee Schedule (ncl.com) 
• If I purchase a CruiseFirst certificate prior to booking, can that credit be used no matter how I book my trip, or do you have to apply it by booking directly on NCL.com?
• From many discussions I've seen, one advantage that I see is that when you have booked direct with NCL you can watch prices and 'rebook' at a lower fare if you find it.  Generally I can only cruise on Xmas break (wife is a teacher) and we usually book something in October/November for an upcoming December cruise and I think pre-covid you had to fully pay within 90 days of the cruise.  So in the past we would look for the best Xmas time "deal" and we would pay the full fare and that's it.  I don't think we could price adjust after that.

Thanks for any help with this.

6 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I just booked two new cruises.  No mention of the free $250 on the invoices.  Checking the terms and conditions, I find the following:

 

"FREE $250 (CruiseFirst)
Booking Window: November 16, 2021 12:00 am EST - December 9, 2021 11:59 pm EST

1. CruiseFirst certificates are valid for new reservations ONLY that book and sail within 3 years of original certificate purchase date. Voyage date must be more than 120 days from original purchase date. Not applicable towards canceled / rebooked reservations. If a guest with an existing reservation cancels and rebooks the same ship and sail date with a CruiseFirst certificate, the additional value of the CruiseFirst certificate will be removed.
2. CruiseFirst certificates expire 3 years after purchase date and become null and void at expiration. Limit one CruiseFirst certificate that may be used per reservation. No black-out dates will apply. Reservations are subject to availability. CruiseFirst certificates are not combinable with CruiseNext, chartered sailings, barter cruises, employee discounts, friends and family pricing, Sailaway (categories: IX, OX, BX, MX), interline and travel agent rates.
3. CruiseFirst $500 Offer - For USD, CAD, AUD, and NZD pay $250 and receive a CruiseFirst certificate valued at $500 applied to your Norwegian Cruise Line Latitudes account. For MXN Pesos, pay MXN 5,000 and receive a CruiseFirst certificate valued at MXN 10,000 applied to your Norwegian Cruise Line Latitudes account.
4. Your CruiseFirst certificate(s) may be redeemed as a deposit or as a payment towards your new reservation’s grand total with a sail date greater than 120 days from purchase date. New reservations must be in the same currency as your CruiseFirst certificate. Reservation currencies vary by market and certificates are not eligible to be exchanged to another currency.
5. CruiseFirst certificates are NON-REFUNDABLE, have no cash value, and are not redeemable or exchangeable with Norwegian Cruise Line for cash.
6. CruiseFirst certificates are transferable to another guest at no charge. CruiseFirst certificates remain subject to all CruiseFirst certificate terms and conditions after transfer. Original CruiseFirst certificate owner forfeits all rights of ownership once transfer has been completed.
7. CruiseFirst certificates are charged in either USD, CAD, AUD, NZD, or MXN Pesos. You must be 21 years of age or older to purchase or receive a transferred CruiseFirst certificate. Credit card payments accepted only and only one credit card per transaction is permitted. A maximum of ten (10) CruiseFirst certificates may be purchased per person. CruiseFirst certificates can only be applied in full and cannot be divided as payment for multiple reservations.
8. CruiseFirst certificates are only valid for sailings of six (6) days or longer.
9. CruiseFirst certificates satisfy full deposit requirement for stateroom categories up to and including Club Balcony Suite or can be applied as partial payment towards higher categories."

IOW, it's as I speculated earlier in the thread.  Just the standard CruiseFirst deal.  Nothing new to see here.....

Hi, if you buy a CruiseFirst certificate, can you use it if you book your cruise through a travel agent or say an online travel site?  Or do you have to book through NCL directly?   Thanks!

Hi there, I searched on NCL's site and scanned the recent topics on the board and couldn't find anything.

What does NCL do if you become covid positive during the cruise?  Let's say you are doing a covid test for your flight home and you test positive and therefore need to quarantine in a hotel before you can fly home.  Does NCL cover these expenses?  I see on some other cruise lines that they explicitly state that they will pay for any quarantine costs post-cruise, with Celebrity even saying they will fly you home on private transportation if needed.

I did see that NCL says if you test positive PRIOR to the cruise at the pier then they will help with quarantine costs, but I could not find anything on if they will cover expenses if you test positive once the cruise has started.  I'm not so concerned with medical costs as travel insurance would cover covid specific expenses, but currently with the travel advisories in Canada, travel insurance will not cover any sort of trip interruption costs (hotel, meals, etc).

Thanks for any info on this.

19 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Considering ships are ready to disembark shortly after 6am or 7am (non-Royal Class), and airport is 10 minutes away, an hour or so delay for a test doesn't make the morning flight impossible at all.  Makes me wonder who is going to be using those flights though - LOL.

 

You must be an optimist as you are assuming the testing and results would go as planned to make it in time for an 11am flight :)

3 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

 

 

Princess.com info indicates they are doing the test after exiting the terminal and indicate a PCR result can be had within about 60 minutes.  PITA sort of as delays getting to airport, compared to getting the test on the ship a day or two earlier.  Perhaps they are expecting to have a large volume over a longer period of time than when first conceived. 

 

 

I typically would try for an 11am flight home but if testing is done AFTER the cruise at the port I would certainly need to plan for a later flight home.  A test on the ship would have been way better in every respect.