mkgal

Thanks so much for your replies.  That helps me a lot.

My hubby and I took a Med cruise on Celebrity 16 years ago and used their airfare.  To our surprise, we had a chartered flight from NY to Venice.  It was great as all the passengers were going on our cruise so it was nice to make friends on the flight.  They also showed videos of the cruise ports.  Best part was that we didn't touch our bags from NY to the room.  We literally got off the plane, got on a shuttle to the ship and our luggage was in our room.  We are looking at another Med cruise with our kids this time on NCL and we may consider the airfare option again.  I know there are many options to consider before choosing to go that route but my question is how often do airlines charter planes these days?   We had such a good experience.  How can I know if the flight will be a charter?  

Great idea, thanks for suggesting it, Sauer-kraut.

I'm looking to book a Med cruise beginning in Rome and ending in Venice in October of 2020.  I typically fly in just in time to get on the ship and get off the ship and head straight for the airport.  This time I would like to add at least a day in Rome and a day in Venice to my trip.  I'd like a service to take me from airport to hotel, then hotel to ship the next day and from ship to hotel, then hotel to airport on return.  Should I try to book this myself, go through a travel agent (which I have only done to get cruise on board credit), does the cruise line offer this type of service or do you have other suggestions?  Family of 5 - me, hubby, 15, 13 and 9 year old.

The two restaurants with the slightly stricter dress code are Liberty MDR and Jefferson’s Bistro.

Thank you!

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I know that NCL does freestyle dining. We've sailed with them before but I also know that 1 or 2 of the restaurants (Jefferson??? Liberty???) on POA require that men wear a collared shirt, long pants and closed toe shoes. Which restaurants are they? Specialty and/or Main???? Any requirements for women? Trying to pack accordingly and efficiently. I have packed sundresses or dressy capri pant outfits for the girls and dress shorts with polos/Hawaiian shirts for the boys. Any other dress code rules that I am forgetting?

We are going to be on the POA and are considering renting a car in Maui to drive to Lahaina. I have found (not yet purchased) a package that includes a submarine ride and luau for much less than the ship is offering for the sub ride alone. We would have a couple of hours between the sub ride and luau to do some shopping and tour Lahaina. My concern is that I keep reading not to leave ANYTHING in your rental car so I'm at a loss as to what to do with my shopping bags when we go to the luau. I don't have time to drive them 45 minutes back to the ship. Any advice? Also, how long would you say the whole rental car process takes? From getting off the ship, onto a shuttle to the airport, rent the car and get back to the ship to pick up the rest of the family? Trying to decided if the cost savings is worth it by the time I rent a car, pay for overnight parking, taxi from airport at night and the loss of time. Would it be easier to just take a taxi or car service when needed and possibly skip the Maui luau and do the one offered by NCL in Kauai? We are a family of 5 with 3 children ages 7-12.

Actually, yes, we are getting significant OBC from this TA so I don’t want to drop them completely. I will probably just book a pre-cruise room at my own expense . It is just very frustrating as the TA assured me that this was one of the perks and that she would make the arrangements for me to pay for the 5th person. Immediately after booking, she didn’t mention the hotel and when I would ask how to go about paying for the 5th person, she acted weird and would just tell me she would find out. I’m feeling frustrated that what I thought was a quality Travel Agency that specializes in cruises has staff this poorly trained. I feel like I understand NCL better than she does. I think I’m going to call NCL today and get to the bottom of this.

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Would you call NCL directly or trust your travel agent who has let this simmer for way too long???

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Still no resolution. My travel agent says that her NCL rep says all rooms are booked. I felt like she wasn’t being 100% truthful with me so I explained to her what Econom405 had stated that they are using new hotels. She actually sounded excited and agreed to “call NCL again”. She called back within 30 minutes to say that she spoke with a representative at NCL who says there is availability at the new hotels but that she would have to get approval to make a “special exception” for us. When I asked the TA when we would know if we got the special exception, she just said, “ hopefully soon”. Well, that has been 3 weeks and 3 phone calls to my TA (inquiring on the status) later and her response today was back to the original excuse, “they are full.” I have that gut feeling that she is not informed of her product, promised something she wasn’t supposed to and is now lying to me in hopes I will just let it go. I am considering calling NCL myself to inquire as to whether or not she’s telling the truth. What do you all suggest? I want to get all that I am entitled to (and what she promised) but don’t want to open a can of worms that may be detrimental either. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

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Econom405 - I’m curious how many are in your party and did you purchase the precruise hotel stay through NCL or was it a perk for your booking?

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I think I would have ditched the travel agent back in April.

 

What might be happening is that NCL only gets a certain number of rooms per hotel, they don't have access to all the rooms. So yes it could be that all the NCL rooms are indeed sold out now.

Sauer-kraut - I wish I had ditched her in April! I didn't realize there was a problem right away! Oh, well. I guess I'll just go ahead a book a hotel on my own and if NCL has a room for me, I can always cancel. I think she wasn't supposed to promise the perk since we are a party of 5 and when she realized that she goofed, she's trying to get out of it by making up a tale. Won't be using that travel agency again, no matter how much OBC they offer me!

*UPDATE* The last contact with my travel agent was simply a, "I'll email the NCL rep again and see what they can do. I've emailed them before with no response". I waited a few days and tried to reach her but she was on vacation til today. Called her today and she said she would, "try again". She called back this afternoon to say that NCL is fine with me paying for the extra person but ALL of the hotels that they use for pre-cruise stays in Hawaii are SOLD OUT and they have a waiting list and that's why they haven't returned her previous emails. When I asked if she put me on the waiting list (I booked this cruise in the first week of April), she said "No, but we could call back in a month to see if there were any cancellations." *****Crickets Chirping***** Is it really possible that ALL the NCL precruise hotels in Hawaii are SOLD OUT for an October trip??? I've read reports on Cruise Critic of the Marriot Waikiki selling out and the overflow going to the Aston but never read a report of ALL NCL precruise hotels being sold out. Since this is supposed to be one of my FREE perks for booking a 2 br suite, I asked that since they are sold out, will I get some other perk or incentive in it's place and she said NO. I'm just curious if anyone else has had this situation and if you think she's being truthful or giving me the runaround.

We did not get this perk in December because we had five people. We choose other perks. Stinks but we did a full package deal with air and transfers so got a hotel of our choosing.

 

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Did you arrange the full package deal with your travel agent or directly through ncl? My TA has been of little help. She never offered me travel insurance (which I don’t want but they always push) much less hotel/air package. I need to look into this so I can get arrangements made.

I’m curious if you had a choice in flight times/airlines and hotel?

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I know that there was a thread about this same situation a few months ago. The man was upset about paying the extra fee for 2 of his children. I can’t find that thread to save my life. I’m curious how it all turned out.

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You don't have to disclose how many people you have in the room to the hotel,,,, but at least one person is going to be sleeping on the floor. I would just pay for another room at the same hotel (Marriott Waikiki?)

So...the free hotel night perk from NCL is up to me to reserve? It was my understanding from the travel agent that she would call to book the room directly so that ncl pays for it. She initially said that ncl would pay for 4 people but I would have to pay for a rollaway or an additional person fee (its 2 adults and 3 kids so we can fit in 2 beds or a king and a sofa). I’m fine with that. After booking, she says ncl doesn’t want to honor this because our party is more than 4 people and we won’t get the perk at all. Supposedly, she has emailed ncl to clarify and they are not responding. I really think she’s already got me booked and is too busy to worry about it.

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3 days since talking to TA with no response. Anybody else had this hotel situation in Hawaii with NCL?

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I would book it for four then plead the 5th when you arrive at hotel.

That's is what I would do if it were up to me but the cruiseline is making the reservation since it is a perk offered by them. They know that we have 5 in our party. Should be simple to book the room and then I'll pay for a rollaway or an extra person fee. TA finally called back and it making a call to NCL directly so we will see what happens.

We are a family of 5, staying in a 2 bedroom family suite on POA. One of the "Perks" that our travel agent said we would get was 1 night pre-cruise hotel. She even mentioned that they only pay for 4 people and she would have to call the hotel directly to make arrangements for me to pay for the 5th person separately. After booking, we were informed that NCL ONLY does this for a party of 4 and since we are 5, we won't get this perk. I reminded her that she said I could simply pay for a rollaway for the 5th person - a child but now she wasn't so sure. TA asked NCL rep and he was supposed to get back with her and she would let me know. That was weeks ago. I have called the TA with no answer. I need to know so that I can make further reservations. Has anyone been in this situation before? I feel like since we are staying in a 2 BR suite and are entitled to all the amenities that it shouldn't be a problem. I'm willing to pay for the extra person, but hate to lose the entire perk. Any advice?

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ericmike - your comment didn't come through on that last post

Quick - I've only got 2 hours to decide. Need pics and or video of POA 2 br suite with large balcony (cat SI). I can't find pics or video decent enough online to compare it to a Penthouse suite with large balcony. The square footage on the ncl website show the penthouse suites (Cat SE, SF, SH) to be much larger (like almost double) and have much larger balconies (again - almost double) than the 2 br suite (cat SI - particularly room 10678). But the deckplans make the 2 BR suite look much bigger. I would prefer a larger room and bathroom but the aft balcony is supposed to be amazing. Is the PH large balcony bigger and better??? I'm not sure if NCL website measurements are wrong, or if the pics of the deck plans are not proportionate. I have 2 hours to decide.

 

Sell me on which suite is better and why - GO!.

 

Thanks so much!

Family of 5 - 2 adults, 3 kids - 13, 11 and 7.

***UPDATE*****

I had originally said I had only 2 hours to decide because I had a room on hold for 2 more hours. I went ahead and made a deposit on that room because it was the last one left on the ship. TA said that since the other category has several rooms available I can change rooms without any charge. So, the research continues. I hope to finalize this by the end of the weekend. So, keep the info coming!! So far, looks like most are leaning towards the PH w/large balcony over the 2BR with aft/corner balcony. Thanks again!

If it's any consolation, I was on an corner/aft cabin on another ship and noise/turbulence was not an issue. If anything, one will feel the turbulence more at the front of the ship (especially on deck 13 because one feels it more the higher one is on the ship) vs the back of the ship.

Oh, that's good to know!

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=604649

 

Hopefully this link works to see and read about 2 BR

I can't tell you how 5 would fit in the Penthouse suite but it is a much better suite then the two BR. The best thing about the 2 BR is the wrap around balcony.

We just returned from the POA and had booked a Penthouse suite before we were able to upgrade. I did research on the 2 BR and it is a much different layout than the 2 BR on other NCL ships.

Good luck - Hawaii is amazing no matter what you choose. You are off the ship most of the time.

Thanks, fiftyguy! The Penthouse suite says it will hold 6!!! I think they planned on 2 in king bed, 2 on sofa bed and 2 in murphy bed. Thanks for your help.

I don't recall the specific numbers, but if you google pdf of pride of america deck plans it should tell you. I think the issue is that NCL is really poor about explaining the difference between categories, or even rooms within categories. I just remember not liking the layout or video (maybe it was only pics?) of the 2BD.

Thank you. I agree, the descriptions are vague at best. I was always under the impression that the second letter indicated the priority of the room - Like AA is a higher level room than AB. Yet in this case SI is more expensive than SE. Location and room size don't seem to follow this rule either. Thanks for replying. My husband says, "just pick one," but it's not that easy and now I know I'm not the only one who has had this dilemma!;)