dongordon

yes, unfortunately, the trolley is very popular and the stop right across from the cruise ship pier is always crowded and I don't believe there is a set queue.

I would take a taxi up to El Morro to avoid the annoying wait and then the push for available seats when it comes.

Or walk westward and get on the trolley at the earlier stop.

So as I get off the ship, I turn right and walk to the previous trolley stop?

How far away is that from where the ship docks?

Don

Anyone come back recently from Barbados and did the Crane Beach Hotel with Day Passses and can give me the latest scoop on it?

Thanks.

Don

FOUND BOTH CRUISES!!

Thank you Deb and Demonyte for your help....greatly appreciated. :)

Don

Thank you Deb.....

The Epic would be my choice since I would like to spend a week in Paris with my DW for our 45th Anniversary celebration.

Would you know if there is a B2B Carribbean cruise before it heads across the big pond?

Also where did you find this information?

Thanks again.

Don

The Fall and Winter 2015 itineraries haven't been unveiled yet. Summer 2015 is out now though. :) Thanks for the info though. :)

I am looking to do the Transatlantic in April 2015 and cannot find it on the NCL boards.

Am I "missing the boat" somewhere? (pardon the pun). :D

Don

I see the deck plan, but not the configuration of the actual cabin.

I just want to find an Aft-Facing Cabin with the bed by the balcony.

Thanks.

Don

From the port to El Moro it's up hill. You can catch a taxi or the free trolley, start at El Moro and walk down hill back to the port area.

Does the "Free Trolley" to the Fort have long lines or do they run frequently?

Thanks.

Don

B2B = Back to Back.....two cruises in a row usually on the same ship, occasionally on two different ships. :)

Thanks Peg :)

Don

Don, if you look at the floorplan you will see that every cabin has a flat wall and then a curved wall. The bed will be where the curve is convex in the picture. The concave part is the sofa. Just look for the convex part to be near the balcony.

 

Hope that makes sense.

Thank you...where would I find the floor plan of the specific cabin #.....on the NCL website?

Don

Both spring TAs are already public, there are only two ships (Star and Epic) crossing the Atlantic, just as the last few years. From what I can see, the TAs are pretty much the same as before and of course you can add a B2B cruise in either end of the TA - even if it's not offered as a package like they do for 2014 spring on Epic (with 7 night Eastern Caribbean before the TA). In some cases it can be even cheaper to book B2B cruises as two separate reservations instead of one long package deal - people do it either way.

Could you please tell me what a "B2B" cruise is?

Is this a term used for a cruise before the Transatlantic cruise?

Has the schedule been posted on the NCL web site?

Thanks.

Don

They are a bit smaller but i thinks its got to do with the wave wall and the silly bathroom setup but certainly big enough for 2 people.

Pending on whether your bed is pull out from under the headboard if you push it back in the day time it will give a little more room to get by. You should also consider if you want the bed located near the balcony door or near the bathroom, we prefered the bed by the balcony.

How would you know which cabins have the bed by the balcony?

I would want that set up as well.

Don

Has anyone been back from the Breakaway and has viewed the wine packages now being offered.

Are they available on the NCL web site?

Thanks.

Don

However, if your customers have unreasonable expectations, you may not be able to make them happy and still maintain a viable level of profitability. You have said that you "don't need the OBC to be the difference in the cruise fare [$350]" but "that would be fair". That wouldn't be fair, that would be financial suicide for NCL, and if they gave in to this unreasonable expectation, before long there wouldn't be any company left for you to give your repeat business to.

 

What you are suggesting is that you should be able to enjoy all the benefits of early booking (security, choice, cheaper airfare, etc.), plus all the benefits of last-minute booking once they become apparent (rock-bottom price). I can't blame you for wanting that, but as a salesperson you must recognize that no business can afford to give you all that.

 

From other people's anecdotes, I think if you push harder you may be able to get 25% of the difference in OBC. I have also heard of people getting 50% of the difference in the form of FCC, but only for larger amounts, like price drops of over $500. You have suggested that anything under $200 OBC would not be "nice" on NCL's part. I really don't think you will get that. As you said, there is plenty of competition out there if NCL fails to satisfy you, and next time you may be luckier and last-minute prices will be sky-high and you will feel better about the price you agreed to. But if you find yourself in the same situation again with another cruise line, I think you will run into pretty much the same policy everywhere.

You are correct.....if my customers had unreasonable expectations, I would not be able to accomodate them. That being said, I fight for a 5-10% savings for my customers. I know in advance the company's mark-up and can negotiate from there. After reading the posts on my Roll Call, NCL is obviously, offering some nice discounts to many of their customers on my upcoming cruise and not going out of business. I would like to be one of those customers than not....wouldn't you? :)

The other thing with OBC....$100 OBC is probably only costing them perhaps 50% of that or less, so IMHO, 50 bucks is no big deal for NCL to offer in this case on a 12 day cruise.

I do not think I said that $350 would be fair....I believe I said that someone on my Roll Call received that as compensation. (If I did say that, it might have been before I read all the posts on my Roll Call and this one).

I would be happy with $50 - $100 OBC .....something to show that my TA / NCL were trying to satisfy a customer since there does not seem to be a strict policy on this issue and so many others are "cashing in" on this situation. It is not as much about the money, but the principle. Either no one should be compensated or everyone should.

There is an old saying..."It is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease."

It appears to be partially true here, since people calling about it were rewarded.

Don

I just got $60 when the price of a balcony dropped below what we paid for our original inside (that had been upgraded to an inside). The only balconies available were GTY and they refused to move us to the GTY, but offered the OBC.

 

I happily accepted!

It seems as though there are no definite rules for this subject.

Some even receive compensation without discussion....it is automatically offered to them when they ask.

In addition, people are getting different types of compensation.....it is truly the "Wild, Wild West" out there!! :D

It appears that it is more about the individual TA or NCL person that you or your TA speaks to....that is my conclusion.

Don

Steve....

Do you really think that is so?

I can't believe people would do that.

If that is so, those people are nuts (and not the good type of "NUTZ!") :D

Don

Don,

 

 

FWIW, this is my personal take on the whole "price drop after final payment" issue.

 

When the final payment date approaches, I do a quick review of my booking in order to satisfy myself that the cabin I've booked and the price I've paid give me value for my money. IOW...I make sure I am content with the status quo.

 

If the price subsequently drops, I will call and ask them what they can do for me. There are two possible answers: a) "Sorry, we can't do anything", and b) "We can offer you ______". I go in fully prepared for either response. If I get answer a), then "oh well, I tried". At least I'm still getting value for my money. And if the answer is b), then "winner" ANYTHING I'm offered is a bonus.

 

 

That said, I need to comment on this one particular paragraph:

 

IMHO, I would advise caution in using this approach. It may be taken as an attempt at consumer blackmail.

 

If you don't already know the story, Google Brenda Moran and Royal Caribbean and see what happend to her and her husband. Long story short, they were banned for life from traveling on Royal Caribbean for doing something similar to what you mention in your post. They had received compensation from RCCL and we're talking about it online. Other people picked it up and started a whole, "Well you gave so-and-so ____, why can't I have the same thing" argument. RCCL took the position that the offered compensation was between them and the Morans and since they talked about it, they were banned. Now...I'm not saying that NCL would do the same (I have no idea WHAT NCL would do), but I can see the possibility that this technique could very easily backfire. (Besides...you only know that people have "claimed" to get this deal or that deal. I don't think that your RC contains any verifiable proof.)

 

 

In any case, I hope it works out for you in the end. Have a great cruise and a great Thanksgiving.

My travel agent asked for it (information from the roll call).

This happens in sales everyday....people shop and compare prices.

It is not blackmail, it is called doing business. :D

I will enjoy my wonderful cruise whatever happens and thank you for your comments.

Happy Thanksgiving. :)

Don

Your status doesn't mean anything in this case. NCL's policy is stated in the passenger contract that you've agreed to and everything extra on top of that is just that, extra.

 

Personally I think that playing the "I'm a loyal customer" card here isn't that nice behaviour, they are already offering you more than you're entitled to by the contract and still you keep making a fuzz about it. Your TA already got you an offer that is an upgrade in NCL's standards (mini-suite regardless of it's location is higher category than aft balcony) even though you (and many others) probably feel that the value of said upgrade isn't worth taking it - you got offered a compensation nevertheless.

 

Comparing what others are getting doesn't work with travel industry in general, you can pretty much always find another passenger that got a better deal than you did - it's all about timing, chance and individual circumstances starting from the moment of booking until the trip is over.

 

Since you declined the upgrade they were offering you, I doubt that they'd give you OBC - at least not the whole amount like you suggested would be "fair". You wouldn't offer to pay them more if the price went up, just because it too would be "fair", would you?

 

In the cases where people are getting OBC for price drop, it's normally 25% to 50% of the price drop at most - and that is when there are no upgrades to be offered, which is NCL's first option if they are kind enough to offer anything.

I would tend to agree with all you said in your post.

IMHO any OBC from either my TA or NCL would be nice.....I don't need the OBC to be the difference in the cruise fare.

I know in my business (sales), I always try and make my customers happy (even if I have to take a cut in my commission).

It is usually the key to repeat business and there is always competition out there whatever business you are in.

I know that there are many more important things in life than this. I am really looking forward to my cruise and partying with the great bunch of people on my roll call.

That being said, I never knew/or read the policies carefully, (my bad!) nor did I care until my roll call friends commented on their various compensation for the price drop on our cruise.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone and enjoy the day with your family. :)

Don

First, your TA has to negotiate on your behalf but I'm sure anything you get at this point would be coming from NCL. If a TA gives OBC it comes out of their commission so you probably won't get more at this late date.

 

I've read reports on CC of people getting OBC to compensate for a portion of the difference in fare and others getting upgrades to a higher category if the price was equal to or lower than what they paid. I got an upgrade once from an outside to a balcony because of a fare drop. I had booked direct though and made the call myself. Get after your TA to go to bat for you. That's what they're getting paid for.

Thank you everyone for your replies.

My Aft-Facing Balcony dropped $350 (for 3 people) for our cabin from when we booked.

I am a Platinum member (not sure if that makes a difference).

So far, my TA was able to get an upgrade to a mini-suite midship, which is not where I want to be, nor do I think it is a significant difference in cabin size. I book the Aft Facing cabin on the Breakaway because of the view and the size of the balcony....both that would be missing if I opted for that upgrade.

At this point, I believe it would be "nice" as a loyal NCL cruiser for them to agree to even a $200 OBC. Others are getting it on my Roll Call (e.g. $350 OBC) and that would be fair.

I have been sending my TA e-mails with the other discounts my fellow Roll Call members are receiving for compensation. Hopefully, she will be able to get some compensation from NCL when she shows them what others are getting.

I will let you know if I have any success.

That being said, Happy Thanksgiving to all! :)

And Happy Chanukah for those celebrating that holiday also! :)

Don

That I completely understand.

What I am trying to find out is if there is a SPECIFIC policy.

Because some people on my roll Call are getting perks....like upgrades or OBC.

My question is:

Does this come from NCL or the TA?

Don

Is there any policy that NCL has if prices drop after final payment to compensate those that paid more for their cabin.

Or is it up to the individual TA to "satisfy" a loyal cruise customer?

Are upgrades or OBC made available by NCL?

Or must a TA's do this on their own?

It seems that some people on my roll call are getting both.

My TA insists that it is NCL's policy not to provide OBC but it is possible to provide upgrades to cabins depending on what is available.

Anyone out there have an answer?

Seems as though it is like the "Wild West" out there with no set rules.

Thanks.

Don

I believe it is Barbados $$.

I don't remeber since I used a credit card to pay.

Just wondering if anyone has been there recently and purchased the day passes.

How do they know who is a regular hotel guest and who is a day pass guest for use of the pools?

Don

It is my understanding that the amount of nicotine coming out of the vapor from these ecigs is negligible if any.

I have heard that inhaling the air in our major cities is much more toxic.

IMHO, if you are so worried about the vapor from these ecigs, do not get on the Breakaway in NYC....you are in great danger!! :)

Don

I am the one that originally started this thread it took on a life of its own. :)

Can someone please tell me if they recently came off the Breakaway and saw people smoking the ecigs in the lounges.

I am really glad that my wife gave up the real cigs and has gone to this format instead and thought she can really enjoy the cruise without having to frequently leave my side to have a smoke outside or in a special area on the ship.

I cannot understand the objection.....it is much safer than all these people that do not wash or disinfect their hands frequently and spread germs throughout the ship. Being in the medical field, this contributes to more problems in hospitals than second hand smoke that one inhales occassionally!

Did you know that an average of 270 people die from hospital aqcuired infections every day in our hospitals and we go there to try and get well.

I strongly bekieve that hand sanitizers should be all over the ship, not just before you enter an eating place.

Hospitals now have them everywhere you go.

Sorry about getting on my soap box.

Don

I assume the corner aft cabins are in a higher, more expensive category...correct?

Don

We booked Epic for next OCT. I love aft facing so I did a lot of research.

 

Move up tp deck 9. Deck 8 hears noise from the steakhouse below. Upper decks hear noise from the bar above. Also try to get a cabin with the curve for the bed near the balcony so you don't have to walk around the bed every time you need the closet, bathroom or front door.

Are the size of the balconies the same on all decks on the Epic? That is my main concern. Noise des not bother me.....I can sleep with any type of noise. :)

They differ in size on the Breakaway.

Don