20 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

If you purchase the fare that includes Free at Sea, know you'll need to pay gratuities on the package, which is 20% of the value. Same with specialty dining. Make sure you will drink enough to make it a good value for you. Or, if you just want an easier cruise, not checking your bill, get it as it'll be peace of mind. You can purchase drinks up to $15. If a drink is over $15, then you'll pay the difference (i.e $18 drink, you'll pay $3, plus 20% gratuity on the $3). The package does not include water, gassy water, Starbucks (unless you're in the Haven Restaurant as a Haven guest), fresh-squeezed juices, and probably something else I'm forgetting. 

 

As for specialty dining, you'll receive one free meal to use in any restaurant onboard, a la carte or cover charge. 20% gratuity added to your bill.

 

You will be able to see how much the gratuity is before purchasing the cruise. 

8 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

You will [likely] get one specialty dinner at any of the restaurants. Make reservations online exactly 120 days prior to departure. 
 

The drinks package covers the first $15 of every drink (and unless you ask for top shelf stuff, most drinks are under $15). Unlimited drinks from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep. Alcohol/No alcohol - does not include bottled water, energy drinks, specialty coffees. 

Thank you for the replies, so 1 free specialty dinner, good to know thanks. I don't know if it made that clear. 

Do you pay the gratuities ahead? that's what it looks like? 

Only other cost would be the daily stateroom gratuities? 

Hi All,

We have cruised on various cruise lines, but have not tried NCL- I was looking at a 5 day Mexican out of LA, and the price seems pretty good, considering it includes drinks and specialty dining...are there any details I should know about these packages? Thanks so much in advance!

7 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

The drink package price is determined by the ship and time of year you're cruising.  This is because of Royal's Dynamic Pricing policy.  When you factor in the 18% gratuity, 60-80 per day is the general range.  Unlimited dining package after gratuity can easily be 180-200 pp. Once again depends upon your ship and time of year.  The newer ships at popular times are usually more expensive.

Thanks so much for the reply, I’m thinking that this cruise may be on the low side, given it’s the first Alaskan, older ship? 

Hi there, 

havent cruised for a while, what are the prices these days for the drink package, specialty restaurants etc - considering hopping on an Alaskan out of Vancouver on Radiance 🙂 

So I live 4 hours from the Vancouver port...in theory if one of us tested positive in the return testing, we would be allowed to still drive home (in Canada) and quarantine there? Or would a Vancouver hotel stay be required? or the $5000 fine if we did go home? 

Hi Experts,

There are some pretty cheap west coast cruises right now, but I can't seem to get past the room select page, then I get the error page 😞 I want to show some friends, but can't seem to get any further..can't call as I'm at work..any tips? 

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Something has gone wrong and we were not able to continue to the next step. For help please call 1-800-774-6237.

Thanks all, that's disappointing

Hi all, new to NCL- google/search isn’t being super helpful, is the Guppies nursery only on the Escape ship, or Escape class please? 

Thank you! 

Hi all, new to NCL- google/search isn’t being super helpful, is the Guppies nursery only on the Escape ship, or Escape class please? 

Thank you! 

Hi experienced NCL cruisers-

I was just playing around with a booking for the 7 day Mexican cruises on the Bliss- it appears I can take my family of 4 in a balcony room with all the perks and air for under 5K Canadian...wow that seems like a great price for 4 people, anyways, I was wondering if the air allows for any flexibility in the days you fly, or if you have to keep the flights they give you? 

On 6/5/2019 at 4:10 PM, Sailing12Away said:

If location is important to you (close to elevators, not directly above/below a restaurant or bar, not an obstructed view, etc) then don't rely on the bidding system.

Thanks for the reply. We don't care about locations so not really a big deal for us. 

On 6/5/2019 at 4:10 PM, Sailing12Away said:

For your situation, definitely price it out for everyone with the free passenger perk.

Thank you, I will def keep this in mind. 

On 6/5/2019 at 4:12 PM, jbethel11 said:

I suggest contacting your TA or getting a TA.

Thanks, haven't used TA's much, but will def think about it

On 6/5/2019 at 4:36 PM, smplybcause said:

Also for bidding you can only bid up 2 categories. So insides can't bid above a balcony and ocean view can't bid above mini-suites. 

Good to know, thanks. Do you still keep any perks from booking- aka drink package etc? 

Hi All,

We have 5 cruises under our belt (2 RCCL, 1 Disney, 1 HAL, 1 Princess) and I have been considering NCL, given the free perks that seem to be offered all the time…

Our travel party is myself, hubby, Daughters 15 and 2 (won’t sail till she is 3 and can check out the clubs)

I am a bit overwhelmed with figuring out the perks, extra passengers sail free, airfare etc. I also see there is a big thread for bidding on better rooms..is there strategy there in booking a lower room, and then getting to bid to upgrade?

NCL for dummies help please 🙂 

Thank you for your write up, how old is your son? 

18 hours ago, dolita22 said:

We booked an NCL cruise 40 days on (this September for a late October sailing) and were able to still pick our room, though we obviously did not have a lot to choose from. We typically book much further out, but somewhat spontaneously changed plans to take the cruise since it fell over our anniversary. Compared to a cruise we had booked for April 2019, we saved about $300. Not a ton, but something is better than nothing.

With a newer ship (Joy?), prices will likely be higher, so perhaps look at booking in the days right after -- or even the week or two immediately after -- final payment. With guarantee rooms (assuming that's what GT means), since you can end up anywhere, the prices may start dropping then in order to start filling rooms and people start bidding to upgrade. For our Getaway cruise in October, I watched the prices for cruises leading up to it out of curiosity's sake, and it seems like most rooms were shown as sold out two weeks before the sailing.

 

 

For the offers, if you don't drink - or just have a couple drinks each cruise - and enjoy the MDRs and don't need WiFI or shore excursion credits, then you could look at the sail away rates, which don't include any offers guarantees you a room of that type (inside, balcony, etc.) or better.

 

Hope that helps! Others experiences may vary.

Thanks for your thoughts. I will take a look at some cruises and figure out when the final payment is and check that out, thanks!

On 12/3/2018 at 2:07 PM, myjillian said:

If you have a good TA she will check to see if your booked price ever goes down.  When you book directly with NCL you can call in and check prices...just don't pay for everything until just before the due date because you usually can't change your price if it's paid in full.  In Jan most cruise lines reduce prices for a limited time..it's called WAVE season.  Have fun and good luck.

We've never actually used TA's- just book online myself....

I will take a look in January for reductions, thanks!

Hi All,

We've never cruised NCL but I am considering booking them, more specifically the new ship that's doing some west coast cruises- we mainly book GT/last minute, so would love some hints/tips on doing this with NCL- our party is 1-2 cabins, either my family (myself, hubby and 2 kids- 14 and 2) or potentially adding my mom (she and the 14 year old would share cabin)

When is the  best time to book for best rates, from my pricing out, it doesn't seem like adding the offers is generally the best deal?

Help please!

On 10/27/2018 at 10:46 PM, caribill said:

 

Where were the pool towels that he did not take away?

 

I would have just put them on the bathroom floor in which case they would be taken the next time the room was cleaned or freshened up.

At first they were at the end of the closet (which is open not closed in) and then I moved them to the floor of the bathroom. 

22 hours ago, Thrak said:

Glad you had a good cruise. As for the age of the passengers - we took a 28 day cruise on the same ship last year and, on that cruise, people kept telling me how young I am. I was 64 at the time. Princess isn't known for young folks and on a longer cruise like that we actually were in the younger group! (Actually there was a group of young people who work at the Princess Copper River Lodge in Alaska. Since it was October the lodge was closed and, as Princess employees, they were able to take the 28 day cruise for port fees and taxes. Holy Cow! They were definitely in the minority though...)

 

Princess can be a fine line for younger people if they know what to expect and don't need the party atmosphere or the "bells and whistles" as you said such as water slides, rock climbing walls, bumper cars, ice rinks, etc. Our son sailed with us on our first Princess cruise when he was 37 and enjoyed it immensely. It was a 10 day SF/Alaska round trip. He sailed with us again later when he was 38 and said it was "too long" and he got bored. That was a 14 day SF/Hawaii round trip. On the first trip he found a group of younger folks he really got along with. On the second cruise he found another group of younger folks but it wasn't quite as good and, as he said, it felt "too long" due to the amount of sea days.

 

Whether you cruise Princess again or not it's great that you gave the line a try and have an idea what it's like. Granted, you took a very short cruise and likely had a younger crowd due to that circumstance but, when you are older, you may want to come back for a more relaxed and kick-back cruise. A 4 day cruise is a very brief introduction to a cruise line but it seems you gave Princess a very fair and unbiased trial. Thanks for that and thanks for posting  your honest opinion here in a nice way. If you do cruise Princess again we would be happy to meet you and share a table or a drink with you. Whatever you do, keep cruising!

All of the people we met on Princess were wonderful, of all ages 🙂 I think mainly we realized without the pool decks spreading people out we felt the ship felt a bit crowded and there weren’t as many activities going on that appealed to us  

22 hours ago, atdahop said:

Nice review.  Which dining room was open when you first embarked?  Do you have any of the patters that you could share?

Botticelli was open 🙂 

i did keep most of them, I will find them and try to figure out how to add for you 

4 hours ago, AZJerry said:

Re the "hot" tubs. This is a problem that seems to have started several years ago. Before that the tubs were always hot and much more enjoyable.

 

On a related note, the thermal beds in the spa have also cooled off in the last couple of years. It's not something we would do often and it definitely depended on the itinerary but we don't bother any more.

They were def nothing near hot, but warm enough for us to watch a movie from 

3 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Thanks.

You’re welcome 🙂 

On 10/26/2018 at 4:58 PM, paul929207 said:

Thanks for the comments

You’re very welcome

On 10/26/2018 at 5:00 PM, Host CJSKIDS said:

Thanks for the review.  Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

You’re welcome, cruising is indeed great! 

On 10/26/2018 at 5:14 PM, tawlaw1526 said:

Very nice review.   Thank you for posting.   I hope you cruise with Princess again.    Try one of their Royal Class ships.   They are gorgeous.    

You never know, thanks for the tip, I will keep the Royal class in mind

On 10/26/2018 at 5:20 PM, EastBay Cruisers said:

Thank you for your review !  Sorry to hear that the service provided by your room steward was not up to par. Most stewards are very diligent about cleaning and organizing items from the previous occupants in a cabin.

It wasn’t a big deal as we aren’t fussy people but I did wonder why the chorine-y pool towels stayed a couple of days 

On 10/26/2018 at 6:04 PM, riclop said:

Thanks for the report.

You’re welcome 🙂 

I thought I would come back with some of my thoughts from our first Princess cruise, given everyone on here helped me a lot :)

our cruise was a 4 day west coast cruise from Vancouver to LA on Emerald Princess- we were my husband and I - 36 and 38 and this was our 5th cruise. 

embarkment: 

So easy! Granted we were the only ship in port. We had parked in parking at the Vancouver airport and taken the sky train down to the pork. So easy, and the station is right by the port. Walked past bag drop as we were just taking carryon, no lines at screening, customs, right up to an agent, got our room keys and walked onto the ship. So so easy! 

We then had lunch in the main dining room- shared a table with experienced cruisers, one lady had over 100 Princess cruises alone! 

We then enjoyed the warm Vancouver sun and did the croquette, golf putting, bocchi ball and shuffle board. We did sail away from the highest deck and everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Room: 

we had an interior, aft, aloha (12) deck. We aren’t picky on rooms and have had interiors and balconies.  It was fine, actually better than the other interiors we’ve had. We liked having the separate area in from the of the bathroom for dressing, rather than a couch. Our room steward was- average at best? The previous occupant’s ice bucket was in the fridge when we arrived, some change in the floor, pool towels stayed for 2 days till I handed them to him etc. Our room was never made up until well the afternoon but we didn’t really care. I guess I should have put the “make up room” out more. 

Food:

We ate all our dinners in the main dining room- we had signed up for late traditional dining. And were assigned a table of 2. We ended up talking to the two tables of two on either side a lot as they were quite close. our servers were excellent- always had drinks ready for us, kept waters very full and always had proper cutlery etc. Food was fine. Nothing standout ish but not bad either. We at the buffet 3/4 days for breakfast...it was ok- average at best again, but fine. We did not like the coffee on the ship so did get a coffee card and I think used all but 1 coffee. Lunch’s we had pizza, dining room, out in Astoria and afternoon tea. We did the tea twice- liked the service and lots of yummy treats and nice scones. Overall thought the food was ok, not bad, but ok. We never went to the buffet for lunch or diner. 

Entertainment- we went to one show in the big theatre - the magic-ish one - it was...odd? The theatre was too small thoug, they neede a third show as both were always packed. Our dining time was 7:45 and the show times were 6:45 and 8:45 so didn’t really work. We did enjoy lots of live music and did go to the “club” Skywalkers twice- it wasn’t busy as there was a big wedding group on the ship who liked to have fun. 

Pool deck: we didn’t go in any pools but did watch Black Panther from the “hot” aka warm tubs one afternoon- def not hot. We also watched Incredibles 2- the quality of the movie screen is quite good. Otherwise it was kinda cold to enjoy the pool decks unfortunately. 

The ship: 

we found the ship fine for its age. We found the day activities a bit limited, glad there were only 2 sea days, as without the pool deck we found the inside a bit crowded and activities limited. Happy I found the Adagio Lounge on day 2- perfect for reading and not busy. We did find that this ship overall seemed dark and found it hard to traverse at times. Can’t  comment on the elevators as we only take stairs (our cruise theory- take more stairs, eat more dessert!) 

Overall we had a nice time but have realized we prefer warmer cruises and ships with more bells and whistles. We were happy to see lots of middle age people on this cruise as friends had been on the 10 day return Vancouver 2 weeks earlier and had said that most passengers were a fair bit older and they found the atmosphere different, but it’s all different right 

thanks again to everyone who answered my questions and feel free to ask away! 

We are boarding Emerald Princess later today, our first Princess cruise. Just wondering what time the rooms are available please 

2 hours ago, Kesstral said:

Same here!  

Appears to be the last ship of the season out of Vancouver too!

Looks like the very end of the season yes!

Interesting we both did Volendam last year (different dates tho!) 

2 more days! Emerald Princess out of Vancouver!

Well I just looked and we went from 8:15 I believe (which I was fine with) to 7:15...a bit early but will see how it works out- this is for Emerald in 2 days 

35 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

Here you go: 

 

Thank you!