RikkuCat

yesterday learned price of our balcony room on the 13th just droped $328.60 from we paid booking with NCL direct[by he way we are a group of 12 +2 who their own} call NCL right away asked for refund they said no can do...asked for OBC again no can do...Sara said she would check with a supervisor and get back...called back offered mnisuite (which is still cheaper than what we paid}but we stressed we wanted to stay together,says she would see what she could do.//excited now she called back and had rooms on the 12th floor together great but still no other comp ok..within 30 minutes we realized the room were infact family balcony rooms directly across from the splash academy NOT ACCEPTABLE calledher back explained weare old and don't want to hear kids...she understood and said she would look for real mini-suits but not together after thought not what we wanted called her back and told her to put us back in our orginal rooms......asked for again since we are now giving NCL $328.60 xtra for nothing in return.. asked to speak to supervisor...Brenda said only could offer mini-suite which we declined...said if it was reverse and price went up would we pay more....after an intense conversation she agreed to give us a $125.00 room OBC and refused a request for at least a comped dinner......so all n all NCL screwed us...they have now lost 14 future cruises and we will tell our friends CHECK WHAT YOU CABIN IS NOW BEING SOLD FOR

We noticed a significant price drop on our cruise after final payment - our cabin category was about $300 cheaper than we had paid and a higher cabin category that we had originally considered was about $100 cheaper than what we'd paid for ours. So I called up NCL and nicely explained that we had originally been considering both cabins, noticed the recent price drop, and wondered whether there was any way they could get us into the better cabin. The rep couldn't have been nicer about upgrading us and since there were a number of unsold cabins in the new cabin category, we got one in a great location. As with many customer service interactions, I think you get treated better if you are polite and patient than if you demand something.

Our base fare is still $100 more than the current price on the upgraded cabin, but it's $500 lower than we would have paid if we had booked this cabin in the first place. I think we got an awesome deal - a better cabin for the price that we were happy with when we booked. If our schedules were a more flexible, I would book every cruise at the last minute - but as it is, we got a great deal because they were kind enough to upgrade us.

We're on the same cruise. I don't think you need to stress about packing - just pack layerable clothing that can be mixed and matched. I always pack a hoodie, a pair of jeans, and a cardigan or two in neutral colors that will go with my warm-weather options. DH also packs jeans and a hoodie, a pair of slacks, and two long-sleeved shirts that he usually wears with the sleeves rolled up (but they can be rolled down if it's cold). That's our cold weather plan - though I'm sure we'll be wearing coats to the port and we can grab them if it's chilly onboard and we want to be on deck. Other than that, just normal warm-weather clothing.

As long as I have a drink (and I am perfectly happy to go to the bar and get one if my server doesn't get to it), I don't care how long dinner takes on vacation. How often do you have a chance to relax over a leisurely dinner in your day-to-day life? We don't often - only on a special occasion when we're paying FAR more for dinner than we do on a cruise. For us, leisurely dinners every night are part of the appeal of a vacation - they give us time to focus on each other and relax more than we do at home. But that's just my opinion on the matter - and our dinners are usually shorter than yours because we're usually too full for dessert.

Personally, I wouldn't remove or adjust the DSC. I think the DSC is a bargain, since it comes out to less than I would tip if I tipped individually as service was received. We usually tip extra when we receive great service, so if the service is poor, we don't leave that extra tip. Slow service itself isn't a deal-breaker to me if I feel like the situation is out of the server's control (too many tables, kitchen backed up, etc) - but I would speak to someone if the server was rude, and I will speak to the server directly if I see another table receiving more attention from the same server.

In your case, I think asking for all of your courses to be served at once may help - or order fewer courses. If that isn't an acceptable option, write to Miami. Even if nothing is done for you in particular, they probably log complaints - perhaps something will be done to alleviate the situation if they hear the same complaint from enough people. Phrase your letter as constructive criticism and keep the tone calm - I've always had better results with this type of complaint than I've seen anybody get with angry threats.

I would never book a lower cabin category than I wanted to sail in. If you want an aft balcony, that's what you should book - particularly since aft balconies are particularly popular and more likely to sell out early than other cabin categories. Remember that they are no guarantees with upgrades - you may not be able to get one, and if you do, you may not be able to get upgraded into the particular category that you want, or the cabin offered might be in a less than desirable location. If you would be happy sailing in an interior cabin and want to take your chances that you might be able to upgrade to any balcony category, then book the interior - but don't count on an upgrade, especially not to an aft balcony.

When we booked our upcoming cruise on the Breakaway, we were debating between a regular balcony (we're not particular, so any category) and a spa balcony. The difference at the time was about $400. We weren't sure whether DH would use the spa enough to make the price worth it - and it would be cheaper for me to buy a spa pass onboard if I wanted it - so we booked the regular balcony. We would have been 100% happy with this, but as our cruise date got closer, I started watching the prices - why not upgrade if we could? There was a major price drop this week and the price for the spa balcony dropped to less than what we had originally paid for the lesser category. So I called NCL and they were happy to upgrade us.

If your situation is similar - that you'd be happy with the lesser cabin category if you could not upgrade - you might get a great deal. But if you won't be happy with an interior cabin, book the balcony in the first place.

Sure, why not? I would get bored if cruising was the ONLY type of vacation we ever took. We enjoy cruising, but we also enjoy traveling to new cities within the US, All-inclusive resorts, road trips, vacation rentals, and land-based travel to different countries.

I think it depends on your drinking preferences. If you can finish the bottle before the end of the cruise, prefer to drink the same type of liquor, and want to enjoy some drinks on your balcony or while getting ready, it's a good option.

We've never done it, but I think we'd be hard-pressed to finish a bottle on a 7-day cruise - but we're not big liquor drinkers. DH is primarily a beer drinker with a few other random drinks mixed in over the course of a cruise. I've never met a drink that I didn't like. :D Just kidding - but I do mix things up quite a bit. When we want to have a drink on our balcony, we'll order a bucket of beer - the leftovers can be stored in the fridge until we want to drink them. If we want to hang out in the cabin, we're happy to drink beer. If we're out, we might get something else. I always love cruise ship bar-hopping!

I always look around to determine which ones look more edible........

......just in case.......

We always joke about which person we'd eat first if it came to it. Usually the most annoying person. ;)

Good question! DH uses a backpack as a carry-on and I use a tote bag. Honestly, we don't really pack them with losing our luggage in mind. In that unlikely event, we could buy clothes and toiletries. However, perhaps I'll pack a bathing suit in mine next cruise. We're cruising out of NYC in Feb, so I doubt I'll need it before luggage arrives, but IF my luggage got lost, I'd be very upset to have to select a new bathing suit from limited options on board or at the first port. I have a hard enough time finding a good bathing suit if I have unlimited time and tons of options! :rolleyes:

Generally, our carry-on bags contain things that we want to keep with us, like passports, electronics, cameras.

Watch the prices on the website by doing dummy bookings for the spa cabin. Usually, if prices are going to drop at all, it will be the last weeks before sail date. If you see the price drop, that's the time to call. How much of a discount you could get is anyone's guess. It could be the difference between what you paid and the current price, which could still be a great deal, or they might discount even more depending on how many of those cabins they want to fill, how badly they'd like to resell your cabin, and how close to sail date it is. No, it does not matter if you've checked in or it is after final payment.

Thanks for the helpful info! I've been watching the prices already, and while the price on my cabin category has gone down by about $60pp since we booked, the spa cabins look about the same, or just slightly lower. I'll keep an eye on them as we get closer to our sailing date. There are a number of spa balconies left unsold at this point.

For those who have called NCL and asked to upgrade, what's the best tactic? Do you wait until a few days before the cruise, or is it best to call a few weeks or months in advance? Was the price to upgrade the same as the cost of the new cabin on the website, or do they give you a better deal if you call? If you've already checked in online, can you still upgrade?

We're sailing on the Breakaway in late Feb. When we booked, I was intensely debating between a regular balcony cabin or a spa balcony. We ended up booking a regular balcony (I think category BC, but I'd have to double check) and we'll be perfectly happy with it if we don't upgrade...but if I can get us upgraded into a spa balcony for less than we were originally looking at, I'd take the upgrade. When should I call?

I LOVE when its the middle of the night and you can go and sit on your balcony and just look out into the blackness and watch the waves as your ship pounds through them.... It really gives me a sense of how time flies, but nothing really changes. I think about how amazing it was that I was once a twinkle in somebody's eye - and how lucky I was to have been born where (and when) I was!

 

I always get profound on the balcony and start thinking about and counting my many blessings.

You sound like you'd be an enjoyable traveling companion. Now I want to pour us a drink and discuss the meaning of life! On a cruise ship balcony, of course. :D

I wouldn't say that I'm specifically addicted to cruising. I get the travel bug in general and have never been on a trip I didn't like for one reason or another. While I'm looking forward to our cruise in Feb for certain reasons, I'm also looking forward to a non-cruise vacation this summer for other reasons.

The thing that I like most about cruising is being on the ocean. Most of my favorite memories - both from childhood and as an adult - involve the ocean in one way or another. I was definitely a water baby - still am, actually. There's nothing like the beach that can turn me into an instant 5-year old! I also really enjoy the water-based activities in many Caribbean ports. Give me a snorkel in the morning and a glass of rum punch in the evening and I'm happy. I suspect that I would enjoy different types of itineraries less - cruising in Europe, for instance, is a scary concept to me because I need WAY more time in each destination than a cruise ship allows - but that's me and my interests/travel needs.

I felt the need to respond to this in particular: although I'm gay and I honestly don't have any qualms about my identity, I really, really, really don't think I want to go on a gay cruise. Or at least not my first time out. It's like....I don't know, I don't want to go on a cruise designed solely for people of one orientation, even if it's other gay people. I get the feeling like, "Well we're not good enough to go on a NORMAL cruise line with NORMAL people," when in actuality, we're just like straight people and we should be able to cruise with them no problem. I actually feel much more comfortable around straight people than I do other gay people...oddly enough.

 

It's also like...what is it about being gay that makes a cruise line's entertainment need to be specifically geared towards that? Will I not enjoy entertainment on a "regular" cruise? I don't like drag shows or other things that are prominent in the "gay scene," so I feel like entertainment specifically geared towards my gayness will probably not hit the right note for me.

I wish CC had a "like" button for this post.

I agree that NCL seems like a good fit for you. You should read some reviews about the studio cabins on the NCL Epic and Breakaway - they sound nice, and are definitely less expensive than paying double for a cabin if you're sailing solo. I remember seeing LGBT happy hours listed in the dailies during our last cruise, but I have no idea whether they were well-attended or not.

You said that you enjoy quiet, but also like having the option of getting out and meeting people. Assuming that you want to meet people around your own age, think carefully about the time you cruise and the ship. Some dates, itineraries, or ships attract younger people more than others do. Do some research on the boards and you'll get an idea about which cruise lines, ships, dates, etc will work best for you.

On the credit card question, I would suggest getting a card that offers flexible travel rewards over one that is specific to one airline or cruise line. We use a card through our credit union that gives us 2% back on everything. Points can be redeemed for travel through any airline (also cruises, hotels, rental cars, whatever) or for gift cards, merchandise, or cash. We use it for our normal spending (stuff you'd buy anyway), and contrary to what a previous poster suggested, we have ZERO credit card debt and never pay a dime of interest. If you have discipline not to splurge just because you're using credit, you're getting free money for the stuff you'd buy anyway. We spend a lot monthly on basics like gas and groceries, so each year we have a good amount of points, which we use for travel. It works really well for us - but we're responsible credit card users.

Bubble wrap to wrap any delicate/breakable items you buy to bring home. The smaller bubbles will lay flatter for the trip there.

I would never have thought of packing bubble wrap. I've always wrapped breakable items in clothing. Either I've gotten lucky or I'm really good at packing, but I've bought a lot of breakable things in my travels and wrapped them in clothing. I can't think of anything that has ever broken, either in checked luggage or carry-ons. I try to put the more breakable stuff in carry-ons, but never had a problem either way.

I check the fiction best seller list for light reading that looks engaging. I usually read on my kindle, but I pack at least one paperback for the beach. I get a few light books for the kindle as well, for reading on the ship. (Which reminds me...time to start looking for reading material for my upcoming cruise! I forgot to do that for our last cruise and was stuck with what I happened to be reading before the cruise, which was pretty heavy for vacation.)

I also use a packing list, so we've never forgotten anything that can be packed in advance. The things we sometimes end up forgetting are the things you need to grab in the morning. Last cruise, we forgot to grab our water bottles, which were chilling in the fridge for the train ride to the departure port. No big deal, though it would have been nice to have water bottles with filters on them for the cruise.

Other than that, pack as much as you can the day before or even earlier if you want, and make yourself a list of all the things you need to grab the morning you leave. Any electronics charging overnight? Bathroom items that you'll use in the morning? If you have kids, a certain blanket or stuffed animal that NEEDS to come with you? You can use the same list to cover last-minute things that you need to do before you leave the house, like turning off lights, unplugging appliances, making sure pets have enough food until their first sitter comes to check on them, etc. I put everything on the list ESPECIALLY if we're leaving early in huge morning. At 4am without coffee, I DEFINITELY need a reminder to, say, unplug the humidifier for the week.

Yikes....I don't even have 5% of that in my house.

LOL, same here!

All of these packing lists need to be adapted to each traveler and his/her family. Reading what other people pack is great for ideas but if it doesn't make sense for you, don't pack it. People have mentioned meds on this thread that I have NEVER needed in my life, yet they are must-pack items for others.

We're two healthy adults in our early 30s. We pack Advil, vitamins, band-aids, Neosporin wipes, and aloe. I bought Dramamine for our last cruise (just in case), so I guess I'll bring that again this time if it hasn't expired. We don't often get sick and don't have tons of medicines at home, so if I wanted to bring a bunch of stuff just in case, it would be a big expense to buy it all and it would all probably expire before we used any of it. If we need something specific, we'll buy it on board or find it in port. Sure, it'll be an expense and a hassle if we need something, but past experience with our own bodies indicates that it is lot likely that we will.

No lanyards for us! We both wear our work IDs on lanyards and a cruise should have NOTHING in common with being at work! :D

Personally, I HATE wearing a lanyard - drives me nuts. I honestly don't worry much about my card on a cruise. I'm generally with DH and he has pockets for one or both cards. If I'm not with him, I'm probably going to the gym or grabbing breakfast before he wakes up, in which case he's still in the cabin and can let me back in. Usually during the day on a cruise, I'll have some sort of tote bag with me for sunscreen, kindle, camera, etc. I like to carry a small evening bag it night, but if not, I'm probably with DH and he has pockets.

They say that everything should match EXACTLY, but I've never had a problem with middle name, middle initial, or no middle initial on tickets. My passport and DL both have my full middle name on them - and it's my maiden name, so it could easily be mistaken for a hyphenated last name - but I've never had an issue. I ALWAYS type in my full middle name when making reservations, but some airlines shorten it to middle initial and so does NCL. It hasn't been a problem for me, but I always worry a little until I make it through security!

I love the cabanas and wish that they'd build some small ones that are a good size and price for two people. I would DEFINITELY rent one for the shade and privacy, but the small (6 guest) cabanas are $349 for our cruise on the Breakaway. I know we could probably meet people and share, but I'd love the option for having a small one just for the two of us. $359 for the two of us is more than I want to pay for the shade/privacy, though, so we'll be finding shade elsewhere. It's a shame that they don't have smaller ones - I'd be willing to pay up to $150 or so for one.

Check out the prices anyway! I was surprised that they were much lower than what I pay per piece locally.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

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I agree - we thought the sushi prices were dirt cheap!

This will be our second cruise. To answer the question of what we do absolutely first, last time it was lunch in the MDR. We'll probably do that again this time as well, since I'm really not a big fan of buffets. (Nothing against NCL's buffet specifically - I have a weird thing about buffets in general)

Last time, we cruised out of NYC in Oct and it was a little cold after dark. We ended up in a hot tub instead of going to dinner that evening. There were buckets of beer involved. Don't judge too much - we shared with the new friends we made during sail away. :D We are sailing out of NYC in late Feb for our second cruise and I'd LOVE some hot tub time again in the cold after sail away. We had a blast - it was the most fun we had on the ship the whole cruise! So that may become our cruise ritual, at least when sailing out of NYC in the cold, anyway! :rolleyes:

It's really interesting to see what everyone else does first. We're just excited to be on vacation - no time for unpacking or exploring until the next day, LOL!

Wow, some of you don't spend much!

I think our final bill for our first cruise was around $1200. It was a little confusing because we were credited for excursions that were cancelled (that we had signed up for before the cruise, and thus had to prepay) and then signed up for replacement excursions. I don't remember what the difference was between the original and replacement excursions, nor do I remember what we had for OBC.

The big unexpected expense was when our camera broke on the second day. I wanted photos and didn't want to waste time trying to find a camera shop in Bermuda, so we bought a new camera on board for $400 or so. We also went to the spa on board, which was TOTALLY worth it for us. Prices at the spa were similar to spas in our area and I thought we got a great deal for a massage/facial combo. It's all relative - we're used to higher prices because we live in a major metropolitan area, so everything on the ship seemed average price or cheap to us. Other than that, we went to speciality restaurants a couple times and drank a few buckets of beer and the odd martini here and there. Also, we did not prepay service charges, so they were included - and we always tipped extra at the bars and speciality restaurants.

I'm expecting our bill to be a little lower this cruise, since our spending patterns will be similar, just (hopefully) without the camera expense. I'm definitely planning to use the spa again, but will look for a deal like we did last time. We rarely get any type of spa service at home, so it's an indulgence that we enjoy on vacation. If we do ship excursions, we'll probably book them in advance to make sure we get a seat, so we'll have to pay in advance for them - unless plans need to change like they did last time. I'm not planning to prepay the service charges. It's the same amount of money whether or not you prepay it, so I'm not going to do it just to have a smaller bill at the end of the cruise. Other than not having to pay it later, is there any advantage to prepaying them?

That was exactly what I was going to say ... especially in ports.

 

People often plan to do way too much in ports and end up not fully enjoy any of them because they are so rushed.

 

LuLu

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And in the other hand, it's good to know enough about your ports that you know what your other options are if an excursion is cancelled or your Plan A doesn't work out for some reason.

We're still new to cruising (anxiously awaiting our second cruise) and in addition to NCL, we have seriously considered Celebrity and RCCL. Celebrity's Solstice class ships look gorgeous and they sometimes run a promotion that includes a free drink package, which is tempting - if they're running that sometime when we want to book a cruise and the itinerary and ship look good, they'll probably get us! RCCL has been recommended by a lot of people we know, and they sail out of Baltimore, which would be really convenient for us, so I'm sure we'll do that at some point as well.

However, the thing we liked best about NCL on our previous cruise was all the dining options. I went into our first cruise with a "we've already paid for our meals, so I don't want to spend extra for speciality restaurants" mentality, but changed my opinion by the second day! We enjoyed having multiple options, and now I'm worried about cruising on a line that doesn't have as much variety! :rolleyes:

I like to unplug completely on a cruise, but there's nothing wrong with asking what to expect, particularly if you're new to cruising. I'm sure the OP is just wondering whether it will be possible to do a quick check of email, FB, etc during his/her downtime.

If wifi on a cruise was free and reasonably fast, I would probably take a brief look at my email or FB when I was, say, waiting for my husband to wake up. No big deal that it's not - but if it was free, I'd prefer to do it on the ship than in port. I like exploring ports, so the advice to find wifi during port days would be a waste of time for me.