lmm1967

Have not stayed in one of those rooms - however - that area of the ship, in our 2 cruises on Escape, has always been the most unused and quiet area.

We've been in inside cabins - we had a great cruise. Honestly, a smaller cabin encourages you to get out and about and take advantage of everything the ship has to offer.

We do enjoy balconies and this cruise we are dipping our toes into the Haven. Our decision to go Haven this time is more based on the service and Haven areas of the ship rather than the room though.

If it meant we could add another cruise to our year I would not hesitate to be in an inside room again.

I was thinking about those booked through a travel agent. NCL would have a difficult time knowing when those people booked.

Perhaps true - however, then I would be talking about the prices my TA charged me - I choose to book directly with NCL. I miss out on some random perks here and there (free onboard credit some TAs give customers for instance) however I'm also not subject to additional terms and conditions that can be put in place by TAs. Come to think of it - I could probably convince a TA to sell the UBP at the previous price if I was a good customer providing them as much business as we have provided NCL over the past 5 years.

I disagree. Raising the UBP by $10 per day doesn't justify violating the terms. That would be like claiming that increasing Haven prices encourages Haven guests to sneak non-Haven guests into the Haven.

 

 

 

That would be difficult to pull off on-board. Different people booked on different days so there would be a possibility of you being charged $79pppd and the person in the line behind you being charged $89pppd.

 

 

 

I've never purchased the UBP but can it be added to passenger #3 over the phone?

You're right - it doesn't justify it. But don't doubt it happens.

Every employee on board is able to quickly pull up your information - zing my card and they know exactly when I booked, how much I paid, perks available / perks chosen etc. I booked a product at an agreed upon rate with agreed upon terms - NCL doesn't see that UBP prices are terms when booked obviously. That's their choice - doesn't mean I agree with it or that it doesn't annoy me.

Might be able to have done so over the phone - I use the web to book, don't want to talk to people and shouldn't be forced to in this day and age.

Pricing does matter - Especially when you utilize 3/4 passegers free - and 1 out of the 3 of your party doesn't have UBP because perks - even in Haven - only apply to passengers 1/2.

Bottom line - they are at the point of encouraging passengers 1/2 to use UBP to get drinks for passengers 3/4. Luckily NCL has not instituted a daily drink limit - yet.

Also - I would be more forgiving if they grandfathered the price to what it was when you booked your cruise. I was expecting to pay $79 + 18% per day for 1 person in our party and was going to do so on ship since I can't purchase it online for just 1 person (even though the first 2 already have it as a perk). I don't care if it's 2% or 30% - it's an increase we weren't planning on and it annoys me that they won't honor the price as it was when we booked in June.

Am I crazy or did the UBP price jump very recently?

I could have sworn it was $79 per person per day just a week or 2 ago - logged in just now and it's up to $89.00 per person per day for a 7 day Western Carribean on Getaway.

DOH! - and I finally found a thread where this is being discussed. I looked - couldn't find it. Sorry for starting a duplicate. Would delete if I could.

Maybe they meant an old promo code. Im sailing on Sunday in Haven on Getaway and July Haven on Escape and one of my four offers includes pre paid gratuties.

 

 

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I did get promos crossed up - so numbers are off. Hope I didn't cause confusion for anyone.

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OP specifically stated he wanted to use Sprints international plan to create a hot spot on the ship.

Connecting to the ships cell tower, which has service provided by a third party, is not the same as connecting to land towers that provide Sprints international service. The third party service provider bills your cell provider and they in turn charge you.

I'm not here to argue - I simply tried to provide an answer and obviously didn't use enough words.

OP - connect to whatever service your phone can find, fire up your hot spot function and have at it. You'll get your answer - good or bad - on your follow up cell phone bill.

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So we go from no cellular tower to connect with at sea to now you are connecting to the ship?

 

 

From our experience there are no "international roaming charges" but that is with Verizon.

Sorry I responded at all or tried to clarify.

Enjoy your day

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You're not really connecting directly to your carrier. You are connecting to the ship - which then uplinks via satellite then cross connected via another third party to your carrier - this, as it appears to me, may cause you to incur international roaming charges.

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If you have no service there is no cellular data.

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You won't be close to towers in the middle of the ocean - no reception, no internet, no wifi hotspot.

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Some folks looked like they rolled off the beach at Pincho when I was on board last week. :)

Sounds delightful and vacationy !

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No real secrets - but from our experiences.....

Garden café - head straight to the back to avoid crowds - it's the same food but you can actually get to it, especially at breakfast.

If you just HAVE to sit on a lounger right next to the main pool, get up early. If being next to the pool is not critical - there are lounge chairs on several decks that will always be available.

The waterfront areas on both sides of the ship on deck 8 will almost never be crowded, great views, nice seating areas and quiet if that is what you are looking for.

Vibe - xtra charge, have to be on ship pretty early to get them, think of it as near haven level service without haven access. Again, quiet, nice padded loungers, never crowded, great bar service.

Cruise director & asst. cruise director have more energy than I thought was humanly possible - you'll see, and hear, them everywhere.

Smoking areas - one level above main pool deck on port side of ship - if you smoke, go there, if you can't stand smoke, use the starboard side of the ship to walk back and forth. If you don't you will be walking through an area with cigarette and cigar smoke. Also - same deal on starboard side of Spice H20 (I may have switched sides around - but you'll see the areas).

If you really want to eat at one of the specialty restaurants one evening but don't have reservations - walk up and ask about cancellations fairly early in the evening. We were seated immediately in Cagneys at 6:10 pm because someone had skipped out on a 6:00 pm reservation. All boards showed no availability in any specialties until after 8:30.

Spice H20 - quiet(ish) by day, party by night.

Coffee bar on deck 6 (I think) right next to Atrium bar - get a coffee / cappuccino etc and grab a shot of baileys at the atrium bar - my morning ritual.

Bayamo has a no shorts policy and they enforce it.

Tepanyajo - no enforced dress code

Cagneys for sure will let you in with shorts / sandals.

Margaritaville, no enforced dress code.

No enforcement of a dress code at any of the "free" restaurants.

Can't speak for the other specialties - more people were dressed formally in Cagneys than other restaurants we visited. No night is more formal than others from what we have ever seen.

It's like buying a guarantee. I don't believe you can change cabins once assigned a gty. They may change you but I don't think you can choose.

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FYI: you only get 250MB internet plan, on our Bermuda 7 day only two of the four of us would receive dining and only three of the 6 nights, and the shore excursion money is limited. Yes you get more, but not as much as one would be led to think or what used to be offered in the past. Hope this helps some making that decision.

 

 

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If these are all things you will actually use / would have paid for anyway - it can be a significant amount of money.

2 people in a mid-ship balcony with SDP & ABP.....

Promo charges = $223.92 ( on dining and drinks package - don't pay these in full price haven)

Pre Paid Tips = $189.00 (no tips if booking haven directly)

250 minutes of internet = $125.00 (if purchased - since the 2 Free At Sea offers were used above)

4 ports credits = $200.00 ( not getting these on current booking because we chose dining and drinks)

Total of $737.92 for 2 people. When I am bidding I do take this into account - you can bet NCL does - when I'm looking at what a direct booking would cost I subtract this much from the cost of a direct booking and make sure I don't get near that price with my bids. If I did - I'm the sucker that would have been better off booking straight to haven.

Personally - I wouldn't dream of using the internet while on a ship, part of the reason we go on a cruise is so our phones can be put in the safe and not be retrieved until the morning we get off the ship. We also don't go to port on all port days and rarely book any excursion through the ship - so those 2 promotions are no value to us, but a lot of families would be able to take advantage of all 4 (5 if adding extra people to the room).

anyone? Thx

You will get an email after your booked. As long as you are booking directly with NCL. Some travel agents participate but it doesn't seem like many.

You will need to be originally booked in a balcony or higher to be offered haven for bidding.

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At least 2 outdoor bars have smoking. One in Spice H2O and the bar that looks down over the main pool.

No smoking on decks or other indoor areas except the cigar lounge (think airport fishbowl smoking rooms) and casino area

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There are many reasons a cabin class will appear as sold out on the website - mock bookings, a group blocks off a number of rooms, a TA blocks off a batch or single rooms etc.

With cancellations and upgrades rooms come and go right up until last boarding call.

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It's the cheapest (almost) all inclusive tropical vacation and I don't have to worry about driving while on vacation. Which means I can drink what I want, when I want and we still have all the entertainment and food choices.

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They will provide conditioner and lotion - ask your room steward

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I would keep it all to myself as it's our business, not others'. By elaborating what you bid and getting the upgrades would vex the follow cruisers who paid full price for the same category cabins.

 

 

 

I would keep quiet.

Except that booking a haven room directly - not bidding for an upgrade - still carries much better perks. No tips, specialty dining for every meal each day, shore credits (if you didn't pick that to begin with), internet etc.

You are getting more for the increased price of a direct booking.

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plenty of shade - as long as it's not really windy causing them to put away the umbrellas.

Even then - if you aren't too picky about where you lounge, you should be able to find shade pretty much all the time in Vibe.

I don't know who told you about no t-shirts or shorts after 6PM. Not true. They aren't allowed in the restaurants, except the buffet. A lot of people go back to the cabin after dinner, and change back into whatever they want to wear.

That was a copy and paste from their website - but thanks for the info. Will do some more reading here before consideration. MSC might be worth a look for our next cruise.