littlelulu01

The last two med sailings I took in 2015 and 2016 I didn't get an extra bill. In 2015 we didn't have a ship package. Did in 2016 but I usually let my husband log on and so I wasn't when I was using internet and texting. Had iPhone and Tmobile. Calling was .20/minute but wifi calls free as well as FaceTime and internet. Just made sure phone was unlocked prior. My phone would pick up whatever country we were near. If it said welcome to emc cellular at sea or something like that, which only happened a couple times, I wouldn't use it because it warned there would be charges but whenever it said something like welcome to cosmos Greece or vodaphone... I'd go ahead and use away. If signal was weak I'd just search for another carrier. I think the phone has to be paid in full to be unlocked. Worked fine on land too for google maps, directions... husband has Verizon and he did get some ship charges in addition to the daily Verizon package he added. He also had the ship's unlimited internet and doesn't use an iPhone

I have found a good amount of information on the refurbished Jade. Looks like they did a nice job. Mainly interested in what people did in ports. There's not much posted on Kirkwall, Orkney and some other stops. We are spending a pretty penny on the cruise itself and hopefully will be able to do things on our own and for not much $ in ports. I've rented a car for both Iceland ports. Thinking about booking a wow Scotland tour for Invergorden and probably take a taxi from ship to Edinburgh. Don't typically like big tours and happy to get off ship and experience a little local culture for a few hours. I know weather will be iffy and I'm fine dressing for rain and still getting out for some nature hiking... not really sure if we're going to get much in the way of fjord sights with this itinerary. I've read that getting to Norway and not taking in the fjords is a crime but my gut tells me we won't be happy sitting on a bus all day with the NCL abbreviated Norway in a nutshell tour and at $350 pp it's more than I care to spend.

I really appreciate the details in Keith's live reports. Seems like you have a knack for balancing a good port day within a reasonable budget.

Would love to hear what other travelers did in ports but since there's so very few sailings with this itinerary they are slim pickings. The star had a similar itinerary but not many port reviews there either.

Also curious about northern lights potential views up on deck at night. That would be worth staying up late for.

Yes, it was the Star last year as well.

 

It's worth keeping in mind though that the main thing the Star did in the Summer was the Baltics cruises, with just a few Norway/Iceland ones thrown in as well.

 

2017 really is the first time (at least for a number of years) that NCL have done a proper season on Norway and Iceland cruises, so reviews of these itineraries will be quite sketchy in past years.

Keith- are you going to do a live from or review afterwards of your Jade August sailing? I've really enjoyed your reviews in the past and value your opinions/have learned a lot from your reviews. We're doing the 14 night sailing in September and there isn't much out there on these itineraries. Thanks. Kim

I recently made a cruise fare deposit using a debit card. NCL put a hold on the checking account funds for 1.5k and then that night they put a separate charge on the checking account without First releasing the hold. so 3k was removed from available cash in checking until the hold came off-about 24 hours. It was the first time I ever used a debit card and was actually just by accident-much prefer a cc. It really freaked me out seeing 1.5k missing from my account. So basically lesson being- I'd never use a debit card again and if you had to, make sure at least double the charge available in checking until the hold is released. I've placed many charges in the past with NCL and never noticed any extra holds placed onboard or through NCL pcc but like I said this was first time using a debit card.

I've noticed for quite a while on my upcoming 2 week Jade cruise. Sail away inside gt with no perks at $2499 pp. ms gt sail away rate $3229 no perks. Ms choose two perks is exactly same price and you can pick the cabin.

They'll also offer up gt rate various cabins here and there with perks. The sail away rate is almost always no less $ and certainly not the, "special lowest rate " savings advertised.

I'll preface with I haven't been yet but... I did a bunch of research on this itinerary. The best I could come up with was a diy Norway in a nutshell on Bergen day but if any portion is off time wise we'd miss the ship. I timed it out and if you could get someone to split costs, the way to do it would be book a taxi to pick up at ship and drive to Gudvangen. The rib boat will pick you up there and take you on 1/2 rib ride from Gudvangen to Flam. Then Flam train with transfer back to Bergen. I think it was about $750 for two for the day. It's less expensive if you had more people and ideally 4 or 6. NCL offers a Norway in a nutshell but it omits the boat ride and entails a long bus ride. Every response was pretty much if you want the fjords then take a fjords specific cruise or do a land based Norway in a nutshell. There's also fjord boat excursions out of Bergen but they're to the bigger less pretty ones.

This will make it a little easier for me. Since I haven't been paying the service charge on my UBP and SDP, I always leave a tip and now I won't have to carry any cash when drinking or eating.

I will continue to tip extra depending on service, which is typically excellent. I just don't believe much of these extra fees make it to the staff. They'd be making an insane living if even half the gratuity we pay is going to them on top of even a small wage. The extra they receive on cash tips is very important for them and well deserved.

+1. I don't know if we would have booked with NCL for our next cruise if we would have paid the gratuity on the beverage package. DH rarely drinks. I drink wine and since we will be traveling through wine country to embark, we will probably bring bottles on board and pay corkage. Things my husband would drink... bottled water, sparkling water in cabin and specialty coffees....not included.

If in the top suite on the ship some non alcoholic beverages are included in the room. well at least for now. Still ironic that last year we were in the GV on the Jade and had to pay for anything I ordered in a restaurant-unless I brought it down from the room yet the room came with unlimited canned sodas and sparkling/still water (much appreciated). Also came with 12 bottles of hard alcohol- 6/week in addition to two bottles of champagne- none of which we consumed. At least I had the option to byob to dinner if I wanted a can of soda but having to bring your own drinks to dinner is a pain so I ended up with a bar bill despite sailing in one of the most expensive rooms at sea and having free drinks. The wine inclusions are dismal. Now that there's a charge for UBP it seems pointless for a wine drinker to even take the package and pay those prices for a couple glasses of $4/bottle on land wine. Much better to just pay the corkage fees and drink an acceptable glass. That's what I saw a lot of people doing on two week med sailing. At least wine can be brought onboard. My next sailing I figure I'll spend about 1k extra for two weeks just for water, canned Diet Pepsi, specialty coffee and fresh squeezed juices. That's for two people a few sodas from mini bar/day, few bottles of sparkling water and a couple lattes . NCL received the nickel and dime reputation and it's well deserved. Sure I could fill bottles from the bathroom sink ... but that's not the way I want to vacation. At least we don't get hit with the UBP charge on top of that.

Your suite price isn't going down any, you're still in the same situation, it's just that others have to pay more. I don't see that as a victory?

NCL does reduce cost of suites in other markets. They regularly offer 50% off second guest in lieu of UBP or other perks. Up till now they've included UBP and sdp fees in suites for all USA bookings. Now that the choice of the perks attracts the additional fees I'm hopeful they'll offer opportunities at times to book a suite at a lower price in lieu of the perks, like they do in other markets. Regardless a dollar is a dollar anyway you look at it. They are now at least getting additional dollars from suite passengers who choose the perks and not mandating all who want to book on the USA site pay for the UBP.

From the perspective of a non drinker the UBP inclusion and the exclusion of many non alcoholic beverages is pretty strange. The Haven experience is equivalent to premium lines. Sure the more upscale choices also include alcohol but they also include canned soda, water bottles, specialty coffee, fresh squeezed juice. Had NCL UBP for suites gone this route I'd be quite satisfied. But to charge me those insane prices and supposedly give me an ultimate beverage package with free drinks and yet charge me for every single drink I consumed because it didn't have a shot of liquor in it was offensive.

I know we all pay more today for a cruise that has perks bundled but at least I have the choice of not paying the extra for the UBP extra fees.

There's a good chance that you will have additional choices on onboard available for purchase. Our last cruise NCL offered us San Benedetto. It didn't have additional sodium and tasted great. We had zero swelling issues two weeks in hot Mediterranean. I was thrilled that NCL offered it.

Well I for one can say that this change is welcome. One of my biggest gripes with NCL was that for a non drinker, i still paid for the UBP in a higher fare. My alcohol was included but not speciality coffee, canned soda and water bottles. I'm sorry but it was a real slap in the face to be given an UBP and still be charged for every single drink I consumed.

yes they can still charge the higher fares but at least the UBP and the fee it attracts, which quite honestly is probably just to cover alcohol expenses, is now an additional expense for everyone who takes it as a perk. This UBP has at least finally come full circle. It took a few years but sounds like NCL has finally figured out a way for the UBP perk if chosen, to pay for itself in fees for all. Now they can play with UBP choices and fees to make a better profit on alcohol sales. Fine with me. I know alcohol sales can make or break profits and I'm happy to have someone else pick up that tab. At least this package isn't rolled into suite pricing anymore.

It was very difficult to get suite pricing sans, "free" UBP in a suite. I had to stalk other countries websites and wait for an NCL Asia sale 50% off second guest no perks for my last Haven booking. Perhaps now that the perks attract fees in suites they'll be more liberal with the 50% off second guest sales for USA bookings.

My husband has Verizon and I have t mobile. Husband did the $10/24 hour a couple days out of 14 nights on the ship and a few land days. We didn't experience anything extra. He was billed properly for the couple 24 hour periods. My Tmobile typically picked up a service provider when I could see land. Cosmos, vodaphone.. equals free text, internet and .20/calls. The phone would text me; welcome to Croatia or welcome to vodaphone Italy or wherever when I was in range. I think I switched to airplane mode on sea days unless we could see land. If you call provider they'll tell you what to do to avoid charges. This is good to have on record in case you get a big bill after following their directions.

I've booked with this promo before. I see it often on the NCL India site. Basically it's a perk and so when you book online when you get to perk page it gives you the option to pick 2nd guest 50% off. It's a great deal for more expensive cabins if you aren't interested in the other perks mainly UBP. So for example Haven suites typically get all perks offered. If you pick the 50%, you don't get any perks except 50% off second guest. The booking can't be transferred to a us ta for additional ta obc. What I did was put a 24 hour hold and then called USA NCL pcc and had him book the room/take the payment. All future payments are in usd and final payment for suites are the same as USA terms. The final payment for non suites is much later.

We were in the Haven last year and our friends were in a 2 bedroom non Haven. Omar was equally excellent with both parties. I think the guy worked very hard to please all suite passengers. I don't think he made the rounds at meal time when I've seen other concierges checking with passengers but he stopped by rooms daily to check on and see if there was anything he could do to make our vacations better and anything we wanted was immediately done. He also explained that for getting off the ship in ports it was done in order of arriving to lounge. So we were in the GV and he didn't pull us out ahead of everyone else. He treated everyone fairly.

The rooms are exactly the same. The 14th floor is nicer and kind of an oasis when you step off the elevator where all the staff know your name whereas the non Haven is an excellent room but just down a regular hallway. If price isn't much different then I'd choose Haven but the rooms are often considerably higher priced and so not worth it for many to just have the stepping off elevator experience and courtyard access. We didn't use the courtyard at all. I think I went in there one day to get some m&ms and realized they were the fake ones whereas our butler gave us the real ones.

The Pearl's spa is nicer in my opinion. Otherwise the ships have minimal differences and both have excellent crews.

Sorry about the issues you experienced. We sailed the Jade last September/October in a garden villa and felt the food had really gone downhill since the previous year. Nothing terrible but nothing great either. The foods our butler delivered for snacks etc to the GV were much higher quality than anything available in the venues, but it was pretty obvious that NCL has made some major cutbacks in quality of foods served outside the GV. Not the end of the world and the plus was we didn't gain a pound. We also had the two week med sailing so plenty of excellent land options for great food in ports but this year the Jade ports are Iceland, Norway... and some more expensive places and supplement of dining in ports not as appealing. We however had excellent service and agreed that we will take Mediocre food with excellent service any time over excellent food with bad service. I also agree about the perks and think for the non drinker and lite drinker the alternatives to the UBP are not too appealing. We had the UBP built into our fare. I tried a couple times for a nonalcoholic drink and didn't fare so well. One flat diet soda, one virgin Bloody Mary- it consisted of the bartender pouring some tomato juice in a cup. I asked for some spice or something and he passed me some Tabasco. One virgin strawberry daiquiri that was some disgustingly sweet stuff. I was really thankful we had bottled water and canned soda included in our room but just about any other room or suite on the ship and I'd have to pay for them even with our, "free" UBP. I'm sorry but I think it's absurd to pay for just about any suite onboard and not get waters, canned soda and specialty coffee but all the alcohol you want is included. Despite those gripes I have to say we loved our Jade sailing, plan on sailing again this year and have to say the downsides were pretty minor - it was the best vacation we've ever had.

NCL Asia is currently running a 50% off second guest for selected European sailings. No free at sea if you choose 50% and only good for balcony or better this time. This is the second time I've seen the offer in the past few months and probably the best deal going for someone who doesn't want the UBP.

Hi. I'm from the UK and regularly check on the NCL UK website. I have not seen an offer with 50% off for the 2nd passenger. Free at Sea is no longer available for European passengers, instead we have the Premium All Inclusive package, also they are discounting up to £200 per stateroom during April. You are correct in stating that UK bookings can't partake in the upgrade advantage program

I apologize. The 50% off sale is currently running for the India site. I had a few sites bookmarked and thought it was the UK. Still not a bad deal but no included DSC. It's either 50% off second passenger or free at sea. Only good on select Europe sailings balcony or better. I think it runs through 5/1/17.

I was looking at pricing with the 50% off second passenger deal they are running for UK right now. Terms and conditions state if you choose this perk you do not receive the free at sea perks. That's understandable but do you still get the new inclusions of DSC, water bottle and specialty coffee with meals? If DSC and the waters and coffees are included brings some of the sailings that qualify for the 50% off down to their lowest price since they went on sale. This is potentially a great deal for someone who doesn't want the UBP. Am I correct that the UK bookings do not get to partake in the upgrade advantage program?

I think the cruise lines make quite a bit of money on alcohol sales and NCL is figuring out a way to charge per person regardless of whether they drink or not.

The typical NCL suite pricing has included the UBP for sometime now and the pricing has definitely reflected the inclusion. The UBP built into suite pricing in the US doesn't include the bottled water, canned soda or specialty coffees. Looks like at least this UK model gives a speciality coffee with dinner and a bottle of water a day. The dsc gets paid anyways so no real loss or gain there.

So for the non drinker it looks like NCL doesn't really want or need your business. Too bad. I kept hoping they would eventually at least offer an alternative to the UBP for the non drinker or lite drinker.

Was it USD or GBP ?

 

Either way that is a good deal

41 gbp total. There was a one pound fee to use a us cc. The total charge on cc was $50 usd.

Not sure if this will make a difference but I booked premier inn west quay a couple days ago for 50 usd for our September cruise. It's a non refundable rate but at that price even if something happens I can live with the loss. Booked on their website. $50 was the total cc charges on my Amex and included taxes and fees.

I agree with you about NCL's Haven prices. You almost have to plan your cruises during the slow seasons which is difficult if you have kids still in school. We looked at the NCL Bliss and their least expensive Haven room is running over $4k pp. I mean you can book a concierge level room on NCL's luxury cruise line, Regent Seven Seas for less than the cost of a Haven room.

 

We're booked on the NCL Pearl later this year in a Haven Courtyard Penthouse but we've already booked our next cruise on the MSC Yacht Club. I have friends that have sailed the Haven and the Yacht Club and say MSC's Yacht Club experience rivals NCL's Haven experience. It's about $1k less per person so we're willing to try it.

We ended up getting a deal by booking on the NCL Asia site. They ran a special for 2nd person at 50% off. No other perks included and reservation not transferable to a ta for any extra obc. It includes a whopping $100 obc and an extra latitude point. It actually was a great deal for us because we would not benefit from the UBP. Still high priced. We didn't find out about the 50% off sale until there was one Haven suite left and by that time the prices were at their highest. If that fish site is accurate I could have got the same room with all the perks for about 2k less had I booked a couple months prior. The cruise sold out almost a full year in advance so NCL is getting the $ they want on the popular sailings. It can pay to monitor prices though. On the fish site Supposedly the prices for my cruise dropped dramatically for two days in October, 2016 for a September, 2017 cruise. I would love to know if that was true.

If you are set on the Haven then it will be on the Epic, The Breakaway or the Jade. The Star and Spirit don't have a Haven.

I've found lowest prices in September to November for the next year but it would not hurt to put down a deposit for the cruise you want as soon as you decide on an itinerary and then watch prices/cancel and rebook if a better deal comes along because price could just as easily increase. As far as price goes for suites, you should probably be checking daily because when they do drop it's only for like a day or two.

I took my kids on the Jade two week med when my daughter finished her year studying abroad in 2015. They had a blast and I doubt they would have ever used the Haven area. They were busy meeting friends and participating in ship and port activities. We were very content the three of us sharing an ocean view room. We were given a handicap stateroom ox on deck 8 and it was plenty big enough for three. We could have upgraded the second week to a balcony for $25 but they didn't even care about that - we loved our steward and room location and they didn't want to pack. If looking for a deal on a port intensive cruise it will probably be on the Star med in an inside or ocean view room. If traveling with your husband it might be nice to have your own room and if you can, sail in an inside or ocean view room. You may get lucky and be able to upgrade just prior to sailing but if not the inside staterooms are not bad at all.

We also sailed the Jade in 2016 with just husband and I and we had a garden villa. I can honestly say I would be just as happy with an inside stateroom if sailing with my girls and not husband. Of course if $ no option I'd pick the GV but having a nice clean, cool room with a comfortable bed and a decent shower is much appreciated after long port days.

As far as best perks - if set on a suite and you plan on 5 to a room, I'd keep an eye on other countries sites as well for specials. We were able to book a two bedroom Haven Jade for 2017 Norway, Iceland and uk and got 2nd passenger 50% off on NCL Asia site. Zero free at sea perks though. Perks only apply to first two passengers. Your kids will need to be 21 by date of sail to get the UBP perk. If under 21 or turn 21 on the cruise they get a soda package instead. They are allowed to order drinks on Europe sailing-just not the UBP. Make sure you check the cancellation policies if booked on NCL foreign country sites.

Also figure on $13.50pp pd tips for non suite and $15.50 pp pd for suite. In a suite though you also have the butler and conceriege to tip and will probably end up giving them more than you anticipated because their service is so good.

I've sailed the two bedroom Haven on jewel class before and I'm not sure if want to share that size room with 5 people if one was husband but every family is different. The Star has family suites that are reasonably priced but they don't have a balcony. Those might be a good compromise if looking for a bargain.

Our flight arrived late. I knew we would have jet lag and wasn't looking forward to dragging suitcases in Venice so we took a water taxi. You can prebook one here https://www.motoscafivenezia.it/eng/biglietto_1.php

You can always book one at the airport too but our with late night arrival we had an issue procuring one.

Best 110 euro I spent! Avoided the hassle and door to door service. You still need to walk to the taxi stand along a covered pathway at the airport but it's flat and well marked.

If you have a flight or train to catch after the cruise we found it easier to prebook a land taxi from ship to airport or train station. About 35-45 euro.

Myncl is showing day one as a sea day and day two as Vancouver (depart at 1:30 am on October 1) and no Victoria on the day to day itinerary although the map on cruise summary is showing Victoria as a port stop.

I'm guessing it will be several months before the actual schedule is shored up. The Bliss is a larger ship and so port times and ports are going to be dependent on where the ship can fit and what time the Bliss can sail under the lions gate bridge in Vancouver. San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge will be no problem but the Vancouver bridge may be an issue depending on how high the Bliss sits above water. People have also mentioned potential issues with immigration if Victoria is a port stop so I'm not expecting Victoria to make the final itinerary. It will be a nice surprise if it does.