DCGuy64

Definitely agree that flying in a day early is advisable, but not always possible. NCL flew us in the day of our cruise last September (2021) and we had no problems. We flew in day of cruise on RCL in 2017 because we couldn't get flights the day before. It was either fly same day or cancel the cruise entirely. We were willing to chance it, and we arrived on time. If I have the choice, I'd always prefer to be there a day ahead, but reality is that this isn't always possible.

As far as the port goes, you will be disembarking at the Lisbon cruise port. (most likely the Jardim do Tabaco Quay).

I decided to see what our cruise would have cost us without the UBP. If it's $99 per person, for our upcoming 9-day cruise, that amounts to $891 before taxes. The cabin itself cost us only about $20 more than that. Now, it's true we could have gotten the cabin without the FAS offers, but no way was it almost $900 more than the base cabin fare. I still think it's a heck of a deal. When comparing offerings, especially MSC, make sure you factor in that going above the included package (I think they give you anything up to $17, unless it's been changed), you pay 100% of the more expensive drink. NCL comps you the first $15. So a $20 glass of wine on NCL costs you $5 + tax, but with MSC it's the whole $20 (plus tax). That can add up.

100% agree! And welcome to Cruise Critic. It's always good for an unintentional laugh, like the people who boast about doing back-to-back cruises in the Haven at $7,500 per person and then balk at paying $40 for a Bermuda Travel Authorization (no longer necessary), or the ones whose cruises were "absolutely ruined" because their favorite champagne was served 2 degrees too warm. 🤣 I love this site but we are an entitled bunch sometimes.

Now I KNOW you're a newbie. 🤣

Exactly what I was thinking. Short of the most preposterous, ridiculously unlikely scenario (e.g. it's POSSIBLE a meteor could hit Earth right now and kill us all), I refuse to believe that someone fussing over the cost of a can of soda has the coin to afford a cruise in the first place.

Bells peal, paint peels. 😉 Thanks for your post BTW. We are sailing on the Epic in about 2 weeks' time and appreciate all the information we can get.

Exactly. I really commend @Captain-John and others for taking the time to bring these issues to the attention of staff. It would be so easy just to complain and be done with it, but pointing these things out to those who can do something about them, helps everyone.

We had no trouble booking for 2, but I booked as soon as it was allowed. We're on the Epic Dec 7, and right now it looks they're only taking 4 and up. But as others have said, you can just go to the restaurant and get a table the old fashioned way. 🙂

Definitely not worth it for us. Our upcoming cruise is 9 days, so it's $179. The spa offer is really like a gift certificate, $50 per person means we pay $179 for $100 of value. The priority embarkation and disembarkation don't mean anything to us, we're getting on the ship at 11:30 am as it is. The room service is free for us anyway (meaning the standard breakfast items), so that just leaves the canapés. Not worth it for basically $79. Oh and we only have 2 port days, so again the spa deal just doesn't make sense.

I got two different times for our upcoming cruise, I think due to the fact that I checked my wife in a little later than for myself. My check-in time is 11:30-12 and hers is 1:00-1:30. We will just deal with it, if we arrive at 11:30 and they say she has to wait, we'll either both come back at 1 or we're split up for an hour. Nothing to worry about.

Last year when we sailed on the Gem, they had a fitness class every morning. It was considered a fitness boot camp, somewhat demanding but not terribly. They also had yoga. I thought the fitness instructor (Dalibor, from Serbia) was excellent. There was a fee for the classes, and you must register ASAP or else all the spots will be taken. (At least that's how it was for us)

I only know that in the past, when we were given a refund in FCC for a cancelled cruise and a 10% off coupon, we weren't able to stack them (at least that's my recollection). When booking, it would only allow 2 of either CN or the 10%, not all 3. I would expect the same would apply for FCC issued for a drop in price.

They should work independently of how you book. Our travel agent in the past has always been able to apply any discounts or FCC's for us. We've had 2 NCL cruises cancelled and he was able to apply the FCC each time. Hope that helps. Cool that you know ASL and Spanish! #envious 😄

Thank you, that's exactly what our TA told us. My only beef with that solution is, how does it work in conjunction with CN certificates? You can only use 2 Cruise Next certs max for each cruise, so if the FCC we got for the drop in price can't be combined with those, we'd have to use the FCC instead and that puts our CN's in jeopardy due to their expiration dates.

My wife and I are going on an NCL cruise next month and on that "other" site *cough Zuckberg cough* there's a growing list of solo travelers who will be attending the Meet & Greet, doing a pub crawl and a casino thing. I think that's a great way to meet other travelers, both solo and non. 😀

We tried that and our travel agent was told they don't do OBC anymore for price drops, only FCC.

The website isn't specific as to alcohol content. Port wine is wine, shouldn't be treated any differently. https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/liquor-beverages We plan to bring champagne, sparking wine and 'regular' still wine.

Oh it's a game now, is it? And here's me thinking it's just a vacation. My bad! 🤣

If what was reported is true, it's possible people complained about the long process of getting off the ship (by restricting it to just two people at a time), so the decision was made to allow many more people on the gangway at the same time. With this being the result. The cynic in me says the same people who might have said "this isn't fair, it's taking too long!" are now blaming NCL for the results of their own impatience.

Well said. These boards are rife with over generalizations a la "we had a bad time on such-and-such ship so we know everyone else will hate it, too" or "dinner was bad at that restaurant so we'll never go back and no one else should, either." Why are people not content to confine their judgments to just their experience and not require everyone else to get on the bandwagon? Probably more of the social media echo chamber, I suspect.

On our upcoming Epic sailing next month, we have 9 nights aboard. We got 2 included dinners with the FAS, I opted to get an additional 2 due to a 30% off deal, and then we're going to shell out for one more, for a total of 5 dinners at the various specialty restaurants. Somehow, I think we won't starve to death on the other 4 nights. Personally, I like the changes to the MDR for 2 reasons: 1. The kitchens won't have to keep switching what they make every day and 2. If I see 2 or 3 really good entree options, I won't have to think I have to choose, because whatever I don't have one night, I can try the next. Seems fine to me! EDIT: the article that prompted this thread was about the Pr1ma, so it may not apply to our ship. I was assuming they'd roll this out across the whole fleet, but maybe not.

Sorry to hear about the experience of @Jayneykul and her husband. And on his 70th birthday cruise, too! I'm hoping our experience is better.

I'm curious what made the mattress uncomfortable. My wife has back issues and she likes a VERY firm mattress, preferably made of granite, LOL. All kidding aside, I think this is another one of those subjective issues. (Drinks are too strong/too weak, food is too spicy/not spicy enough, too salty/not enough salt, etc.) I am comfortable on just about any kind of bed, but I know others prefer varying levels of firmness.

Yeah, I was about to say, please be mindful when creating topics to avoid words like "permanently." Unless you know for a fact that such is the case, it causes confusion for people reading these boards. Thanks.