johnql

20 minutes ago, geegee1 said:

Yes. They had subtitles on

Excellent! Thanks for the quick reply.

Do they turn on the sub-titles? Sometimes, in an outdoor setting, the audio is difficult to hear especially if the on-screen conversation is subdued.

Keep in mind that these Cirque shows are NOT associated with or produced by Cirque du Soleil. They are produced by Cirque Productions, which was sued by Cirque du Soleil over the use of the name but ultimately Cirque Productions won. See link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirque_Productions

That said, I have enjoyed the Cirque shows that I have seen on NCL ships.

On my last NCL cruise (Gem, Jan 2016), I called the concierge as a Platinum benefit in order to get a dinner reservation time changed (not available through the regular channels that we tried). She accommodated us, no problem. YMMV

Where did you find these rates? I am only finding $79 and $59 respectively.

The rates that I posted were from Aug 2013.

For anyone who is considering the $6 min table with 6:5 BJ payout, here's another annoying way that the casino is increasing the house edge. If you play the $6 minimum and get a BJ, you're supposed to received $7.20. However, since the casino will not round up to a quarter and will not give you two dimes, you will only receive $7. In effect, you are getting a 7:6 payout on BJ, not 6:5. It's a somewhat devious way of "cheating" you of your full payout. Plus, once you figure it out, you can accept the lower payout, bump your minimum bet up to $10 in order to receive the full 6:5 payout ($12), or not gamble at a $6 table. Yes, I realize we're only talking about 20 cents but I still think it's a sneaky way to increase the house odds without really advertising it.

johlql,

 

I have been on NCL, Carnival, HAL and Princess. Every ship has provided free playing cards, not the nice ones you find in the gift shop, but regular plain playing cards. I was on NCL about a year ago and packed our own cards, we only needed two decks, so I never asked for cards. With all the changes, i figure I would rather be safe than sorry, I dont really feel like paying $35 plus for 8 decks of playing cards on the ship.

I was specifically asking about NCL because I don't ever recall them giving out free decks (not counting the cards available in the game room). However, someone has already replied that NCL did indeed give them out as of a few years ago but apparently no longer.

If you need 8 decks (1 per person in your party), why doesn't each person simply bring a single deck? That would add very little weight or space to their packing.

If you earn enough signatures for playing trivia you can cash them

in for a deck of cards, it's one of the prizes. If you get picked to be in one of their game shows sometimes they give you a goody bag and cards may be included.

Yes, I've gotten decks of cards for playing trivia, along with other small gift items. But I was never aware of free decks through the casino.

Yes, I still have my sealed deck of NCL playing cards WITH the fish pattern on the backs..... then they were just giving out old decks from the casino....now they aren't giving any out for free. It wasn't all that long ago since they stopped. I got them on my trans-Atlantic crossing back about 5 years ago.

OK. Thanks for the info. I should have asked for a deck back then.

Does anyone know if they still give out free playing cards at customer service?

Was this ever the case? If so, it was a well-hidden fact. Or it was many, many years ago.

Any OBC can be used for gratuities (tipping on bar tabs, tipping on specialty restaurant tabs, tipping on spa treatments, tips for the concierge and/or butler, any tips period including tips for your steward, etc.). However, non-refundable OBC cannot be used for the Daily Service Charge (DSC).

This may be different on updated ships, but to me not worth it. It would have been nice to have the freestyle daily schedule on the app, and to be able to see what was going on at different places, but nothing like that on the Jade.

The daily activities were listed on iConcierge on the Gem back in January. Maybe it was different on the Jade.

Thanks! I downloaded it. How much is the wifi package?

I may be misreading your question but if you're asking about the cost of wifi and the iConcierge app, there is no cost. You can use the app for free. My understanding is that the app utilizes a separate part of the ship's wifi, not the wifi that you have to pay for. If you want internet access (e.g., email, web access, etc.), then you do have to pay for wifi access. However, use of the app itself does not require the purchase of a wifi package. As noted earlier, if you want to be able to text/call others on the ship who have the app, you do need to pay $7.95 per device.

Yea, that's what i'm wondering about. Am I allowed to have over 50lbs if is for two people? or no matter what each piece of luggage can't be more than 50 lbs

Each piece should not exceed 50 lbs.

Are you talking about airline requirements or cruise ship requirements? We have been on more than 30 cruises and have never heard of a limit on luggage weight or number of bags allowed.

Here's a link to NCL's official, published policy:

https://www.ncl.com/faq#how-many-suitcases

The official policy is 2 bags @ 50 lbs. However, no one has ever reported being prevented from taking more than 2 bags. There really is no way for a cruise line to monitor the number of bags being checked curbside. That said, please try to keep the weight under 50 lbs for the sake of the porters' health. Note: this is per person, which means you're allowed 4 bags, but you can definitely take more.

Any OBC can be used for any expense on the ship except for the Daily Service Charge (unless the OBC is refundable). Specifically, OBC can be used for the arcade, bingo and Deal/No Deal, room service fee, Murder Mystery lunch, specialty dining, spa treatments and gratuities. Not 100% sure about how casino charges are being handled nowadays. It used to be that you could withdraw cash for gambling with a 3% fee charged.

I'm confused. On the NCL website, we will be arriving in Nassau at 12pm and departing at 7pm. Off to the side it says that disembarkation occurs 2 hours after arrival and we must board the ship 2 hours before departure. Does this mean we will only have 3 hours to do anything in Nassau? I was thinking about purchasing a day pass at the Hilton but doesn't seem worth it for only 3 hours.

That stipulation refers only to embarkation day and disembarkation day. It does not apply to your ports of call. This language has been the source of ongoing confusion for years. I don't know why NCL hasn't clarified it. As others have pointed out, you'll be able to disembark in your ports of call soon after arrival and your Freestyle Dailys will let you know when you're expected to return to the ship (typically, 30 minutes before departure is recommended).

Or I can offer a lesser amount that they might take (was hoping for $500 pp). Or is this pretty much a "take it or leave it" offer from them?

Negotiating is definitely allowed. I have read here on CC about people offering less and having their offer accepted.

FWIW this is a 5-yr-old thread.

You've got it right. However, the DSC is $13.50 pp/pd, $15.50 pp/pd if you're in a suite/haven.

Any other ideas?

Any OBC can be used for tips (bar tabs, meals, spa tabs, additional tip for your steward beyond the DSC, tips for the concierge or butler, etc.). If it's non-refundable, it just can't be used for the DSC.

The app was not available for use on the Sky last August. Maybe someone who has sailed more recently can chime in.

I've never seen hand wipes available or distributed, only sprayed liquid sanitizer or self-dispensed liquid.

I think it depends on the cabin location. There are plenty of quiet areas on Deck 12 (library, card room, spa, etc.). However, I personally would hesitate to book a cabin under the gym. So, it depends.