FredZiffle

I'd disagree with the OP as far as the Waterfront being a good place if you want solitude.  Unless you want to sit in one of the specialty restaurant's outdoor seating areas (which few people use because the seating isn't very comfortable), you'll find no place where you can be alone since seating is in groups of 4 or 5 chairs.  Yes, you might find a spare seat, but you're intruding on another group which them may feel obligated to include you in their conversation.

4 hours ago, D_And_K_gocruising said:

Exclusive Club Balcony Suite Amenities

• Distinctive Purple Keycard
• Pre-book onboard dining as early as 125 days prior to sailing
• Pre-book entertainment as early as 21 days prior to sailing
• 1 complimentary valet laundry
• 1 bottle of sparkling wine upon embarkation
• Treats delivered to your stateroom twice per week.

 

Well their site says one of the perks of a club balcony is an exclusive purple card.. so, there's that.. 🙂

 

They don't even mention the main reason we often opt for a club balcony - the larger shower. 

We usually book much closer to sailing than 125 days, so dining is usually already filled for any reasonable time.

We have seen every show that you make reservations for, and most were so forgettable that I'd never want to see them again (can anybody say "Burn The Floor"?)

I have no use for the complimentary laundry since we already get two bags free as Latitudes perks.  

Since most people have FAS, that bottle of wine is worthless (and undrinkable anyway).

The treats are sometimes okay, but often don't get eaten.

So, that leaves the exclusive purple card, which I know I'll cherish for years to come.

Can anyone who has sailed on the Sunshine recently confirm that these laundry rooms are still present?  They are not showing up on any deck plans.

Does Carnival enforce arrival times for embarkation?  I'm used to NCL where they don't even look at your boarding pass when you arrive.

The point is that whatever check-in time you have does not matter.  You can arrive and check in whenever you want, regardless of what your check-in time actually is.  The earlier you check in, the lower your group number, and the earlier you will board.  Your call whether it's worth it to get to the port at 9:30 or so and then sit around for 2 hours just so you can get on the ship at 11:30 instead of 12:00.

7 minutes ago, Bngfan said:

This is why we switched our dining reservation from later in the week. Hoping the weather is nice and we can sit outside 🤞🤞

Rain chances on Friday keep increasing.  Up to 50% chance now with a high near 70.  We may just stake out a window seat in the buffet rather than the Waterfront.

I knew that somewhere out there was someone who actually enjoyed activities on a NCL ship.  Wish I could say the same, but our last few cruises, we have found absolutely nothing on the schedule that interests us.  Glad you had a good time.

22 hours ago, ready2cruzagain said:

We sailed on the Epic last month for 3 weeks. We both can't believe the decline in the food on the Epic. We usually gain at least 7 lbs each on a 3 week cruise, we both lost a couple of pounds.

 

On a positive note, the less you eat on the Epic, the less time you have to spend in the weird cabin bathroom.

4 hours ago, CruisingSince1982 said:

We are looking at Oceania and Regent for our next cruise! 

Us too!  We have a transatlantic on Regent next January and one on Oceania in Nov. of 2025.

9 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Are there things it cannot be used for such as the daily gratuity or the casino for example?

That's correct.  Non-refundable OBC can't be used for the daily service charge.  I have successfully used it for casino charges, but that's been a while.  I know NCL says it cannot be used.

11 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

No need for assumptions, which is why I provide real data (cabin cost, dates booked, etc.). What are you currently set to pay for what cabin level you actually booked?

 

I paid $1899 PP for a 10-night on Riviera 10/30-11/9 in an A3 and only $1749 PP for another 10 nights on her in a B3. We do our own airfare, major excursions, and alcohol. So, the total PP just for my cabins over 20 nights was $3,648 (or $182.40 PP PN).

 

AND we had $725 OBC PP (e.g., $125 was from O for changing embarkation from Venice to Trieste but we also had $300 PP on each leg of the cruise.

 

But I know the cost of the cruise is all that I pay, including cabin, airfare, alcohol, excursions, etc.

I almost always do my own air and excursions as well.  In fact, I could have booked this cruise sans air and saved $900 pp, but having looked at prices for two flights, I couldn't come close to that figure on my own.  You need to compare apples to apples.  How much was your total expense after adding in airfare, gratuities, excursions and alcohol?  To answer your question, this cruise in a B3 is $4,600 pp. for 14 days.

12 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

The price starts with the actual cost of the cabin.

 

Those "perks" have a pennies on the dollar value in relation to the cold hard price of the cabin. Thus, SINCE you can bring your own alcohol on board, including beer & hard liquor, how much is a "drinks package" really "worth"? The gratuities is in addition to the cost of the cabin, not a subtraction from the cost, so all you saved was an additional charge, not a reduction in the price of the cabin. As for "OBC", when the cost of things like massages is elevated so high, hard to say you're "saving" anything. If I inflate some price by 200% and then give you a 50% "discount", what real "savings" are you receiving? As for "free air", if you can get the cruise at a lower price by doing your own air, the air isn't "free". So much marketing fluff from O about things being "2 for 1" or "free".

Sorry, I should have explained my calculations a bit better.  Look at it from the standpoint of booking a cruise on a main-stream line.  Assuming I had booked this cruise for $1,500, I would be paying for my own air ($1,200 minimum at current prices), transfers ($100), grats ($280), drink package upgrade ($500) and $900 in shore excursions. Since $500 of that $900 is refundable OBC, I don't even have to spend all of it. That's an additional $3,000 on top of my base fare of $1,500, which equals what I'm paying pp for this luxury line.

Just an FYI.  There is a well-known TA (I assume I can't mention the name) that is staging what they call an "Ambassador Cruise" on the Vista for Nov. 19, 2025.  In additional to the current perks offered by Oceania (free air, transfers, $400 ShoreEx credit, etc.), they're offering 5% back in OBC, free gratuities, free upgrade to Prestige Beverage Package, and several private events on board.  It's a transatlantic out of Barcelona.  After subtracting out the value of the perks, I figure we're paying around $1,500 pp for the actual 14 day cruise.  Sale ends on 2/9/24.

No discount, just additional OBC with the amount depending on the length of the cruise.

What is an NCL Club Balcony Suite? — Freestyle Travelers

I thought it was just a couple of Haven suites.  Check out images of the ship's exterior, and you can see where the slides are.

Just now, PaperSniper4 said:

If one is booked, it's easier to make reservations before boarding, as early as possible. I can't help with your question about booking once on board.

 

 Doug

Oh, I agree, but when you book a month out, there are very few dining times still available for early booking.  NCL always holds back a significant number of slots for booking on the ship, so if you have priority boarding, you can usually snag your choice of dining by being one of the first in line.

On embarkation day, the Getaway has tables set up in Headliners for passengers to book specialty restaurants.  So much easier and quicker than using the one line next to Guest Services.  Is there a similar setup on the Breakaway?

20 hours ago, SV_Bliss said:

Thurston?

Gilligan's Island reference. 😄

We've sailed on the Getaway three times.  IMO, it's a great warm weather ship.  We love the Waterfront where you can sit outside and read while watching the ocean.  There are not a lot of inside areas other than bars where you can just sit and relax.

I can't believe the Getaway is still offering that silly Brazilian Portuguese lecture.  It was bad enough that we had it heading to Portugal since Brazilian Portuguese has numerous differences from the language spoken in Portugal.  The class was also pretty useless because she taught things like the names of various colors instead of phrases we could use ashore.  NCL has one staff member from Brazil, and I guess she is still on board.  

10 hours ago, Russiamomm said:

I’ve done it once - bid twice and was immediately outbid.  I gave up.  The same thing happened to everyone I heard about that put in a new bid.  Fast forward a few weeks and  we won the last bid we put in, which was still in the lower range of the original bidding range.

 

I think it’s a way to create a frenzy and up the bids.

Exactly.  It also doesn't really matter if you've been outbid on your upgrade.  What matters is the progression of upgrades.  If I'm already in the Haven and bid $1,000 on an upgrade to the owner's suite, I expect to win over someone who is in a balcony and bids $2,000 for the same owner's suite.  That's because, hypothetically, NCL could have another bid for my Haven cabin, and the total amount of my bid plus the bid for my cabin could be greater than $2,000.  

In the Horizon Lounge on the Bliss, there is a high end coffee machine that dispenses lattes or cappuccinos, etc.  Does anybody know if you can also get regular coffee like Americano from it?

NCL Holdings is not something I want in my portfolio.  It fluctuates over a narrow range and does not seem to have growth potential in the near future.  I will buy it before a cruise, but as soon as I get the credit for OBC, I am looking to sell it.  If it's down at that point, I'll sit on it until it recovers, but as soon as it's in positive territory, I dump it.

3 hours ago, graphicguy said:

If you’re new to NCL, unfortunately you will be one the latest allowed to board.  

 

Those who have mobility issues will board first.

Then Haven Guests

Then Latitudes members, beginning with Ambassadors and working down to Bronze

Then they call by group numbers, which you’ll be assigned at check in.

 

 

It's not as bad as it sounds.  Assuming you arrive relatively early (say 10:00 or so), you may have a 30 minute wait from when they start boarding.  You will almost always be on board by noon.