More and more questions!

[glm7777]

OK - I knoew I'd have a ton more questions the more I read these boards LOL! Here we go...

 

1. I understand that the gratuity is automatically charged to your room $12 person/day and is paid at the end of the trip. Is this correct and is this the only automatic charge? Of course I know we'll be charged for whatever we purchase.

 

2. I have ATT for my cell service - will I be able to receive text messages?

or will I have to purchase the internet package to check in with home?

 

3. I heard there is a Murder Mystery show that is lots of fun - is there a cost for that show?

 

4. What exactly is a "Casino at Sea" member? I plan on purchasing the casino card ahead of time and also doing the "slotplay.com" thingy.

 

5. What is a "Latitudes" program?

 

6. Does NCL offer gift certificates? That would be a great gift to give my DD at Christmas time

 

6 more down - about a million questions to go!

[SuzyLovesNCL]

OK - I knoew I'd have a ton more questions the more I read these boards LOL! Here we go...

 

1. I understand that the gratuity is automatically charged to your room $12 person/day and is paid at the end of the trip. Is this correct and is this the only automatic charge? Of course I know we'll be charged for whatever we purchase.

 

2. I have ATT for my cell service - will I be able to receive text messages?

or will I have to purchase the internet package to check in with home?

 

3. I heard there is a Murder Mystery show that is lots of fun - is there a cost for that show?

 

4. What exactly is a "Casino at Sea" member? I plan on purchasing the casino card ahead of time and also doing the "slotplay.com" thingy.

 

5. What is a "Latitudes" program?

 

6. Does NCL offer gift certificates? That would be a great gift to give my DD at Christmas time

 

6 more down - about a million questions to go!

 

I'll answer the ones I know ...

 

1. That is the only "automatic" charge, and you can even prepay it online to help with your budgeting if that makes a difference.

2. You can but it would be VERY expensive. Better to sign up for an internet package on board (very slow) or better yet, take your phone into town by the ports and look for a WIFI hotspot. They may charge but it will faster and cheaper than on board.

3. Yes, but worth the fun!

4. No clue - good question!:p

5. Latitudes is NCL's frequent guest membership program. You are automatically enrolled on your first cruise with NCL. Lots of good info about perks on the NCL website

6. Sure. If your DD will be sailing with you, you can get GC's for general credit or something in particular like the Spa or Casino. You can also get treats delivered to your room for special occasions. If she won;t be with you, you can but a future cruise reward on this trip - pay $250 for the reward and they credit $100 to your room (so net $150) gets you a voucher good for four years to place as deposit/payment on a future cruise.

 

Hope that helps and HAPPY CRUISING!!!

[punkincc]

I'll try to answer #6.

 

You can "gift" things like on board credit, etc from the Bon Voyage department for anyone who already has a cruise booked, but if your daughter does not have a cruise booked yet, a great gift would be a Freestyle Cruise Reward or Future Cruise Credit as they are sometimes called.

 

You must purchase it while onboard. You pay $250 to obtain a future credit of $250 on your next cruise which you have 4 years to book. They are used as the full deposit on a cruise. They are transferrable so you can gift it to your daughter when she books. The great thing about it, is that you get an immediate $100 on board credit to use on your cruise, so you are only spending $150 to buy a $250 gift. You can buy up to 4 per person, so you can get one for your next cruise as well.

 

If you don't want the $100 OBC for some reason, they will just charge your account $150.

[Fishbait17]

OK - I knoew I'd have a ton more questions the more I read these boards LOL! Here we go...

 

1. I understand that the gratuity is automatically charged to your room $12 person/day and is paid at the end of the trip. Is this correct and is this the only automatic charge? Of course I know we'll be charged for whatever we purchase.

 

2. I have ATT for my cell service - will I be able to receive text messages?

or will I have to purchase the internet package to check in with home?

 

3. I heard there is a Murder Mystery show that is lots of fun - is there a cost for that show?

 

4. What exactly is a "Casino at Sea" member? I plan on purchasing the casino card ahead of time and also doing the "slotplay.com" thingy.

 

5. What is a "Latitudes" program?

 

6. Does NCL offer gift certificates? That would be a great gift to give my DD at Christmas time

 

6 more down - about a million questions to go!

 

4. Casinos At Sea is NCL's casino loyalty program, like similar land-based casino players clubs (ie. Caesar's Total Rewards program). You sign up on board, and use the card provided to track your play. If you are a significant player (meaning you earn a good amount of points), that play can earn you rewards on your current cruise and comps or discounts on future cruises. See here for details -

http://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/casinos-at-sea/players-club

 

Robin

[Kaos28]

2. I have ATT for my cell service - will I be able to receive text messages?

or will I have to purchase the internet package to check in with home?

 

I also have AT&T and have the International Plan- text messages (both sent and received from the ship and Bermuda) were 50 cents each. Phone calls made were $2.50 per minute. Data usage is another story- make sure your "Roaming" is set to off or else you will be zinged for data usage. If you intend to use the internet/data usage on your device, you can purchase a plan on the ship (I believe 250 minutes is $100)

[roger001]

Cell phone use on ships and away from your service area is always a misunderstood and confusing issue. Kaos already addressed it, but I'll go a bit further. Be sure to separate in you mind the three types of functions the smart phone can do. There's voice, texting, and sending and receiving data (emails, web surfing, etc). I have Verizon, but I'm going to guess AT&T is similar. Check with them for specifics. First, data. That is the function that can run up an unbelievably expensive bill. Be sure you have your phone set to "data off" or "data off while roaming" as soon as you leave the dock in your service area. Now you can, and check with AT&T, possibly get an international data plan for 30 days. That will give you a limited number of minutes to send and receive data while away at a reasonable price. However, your current data plan does not work when you are out of the service area. . Without it, be sure your data is off. Wifi, you can leave that on. It will try to connect with the ship's wifi signal. However, you will have to subscribe and pay for a number of minutes before you will get a password and be able to connect. So that choice is yours and it being on doesn't hurt anything. On shore in ports you may be able to find some free wifi spots. The crew usually knows where they are. Voice, if you wish to send and receive texts while on the ship, must be left on "voice on while roaming". With Verizon, while on the ship you can send a text (SMS only) for .50c. You can receive a text for .05c each. AT&T is probably similar. You can call from you cell phone while on the ship (cellular at sea) for $2.50 a minute. However, NCL has recently lowered their ship phone prices to $1.99 a minute. So that is a better deal. If you get a phone call on you cell phone while on the ship, if you do not answer it or listen to any voice mail, you will not be charged. But the "voice on while roaming" does have to be on to do texting.

[Twelvevman]

For ATT&T Text Messages - International texts are free to receive if you have an unlimited plan and are $0.50 to send ($1.30 to send a picture message)

 

They offer messaging Plans to send messages:

$10 for 50 messages

$30 for 200 messages

$60 for 600 messages

 

These rates are international only...if you send messages while on the ship you will be billed the $0.50 per message sent based on the cellular at sea rate even if you have the global package. You need to cancel the plan after you return as it is a monthly plan.

 

http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/affordable-world-packages.jsp#messaging-outside-us

[glm7777]

We have unlimited texting and free mobile to mobile. But am I correct in thinking that if my DD and I want to text each other onboard ship (IE: "come to deck 12 they're having a trivia game") it will cost me 50 cents?

I actually tried to talk to the guy at my local AT&T store - no help whatsoever! Just talked in circles and it was obvious he really didn't know the answer to my questions LOL!

[Twelvevman]

We have unlimited texting and free mobile to mobile. But am I correct in thinking that if my DD and I want to text each other onboard ship (IE: "come to deck 12 they're having a trivia game") it will cost me 50 cents?

I actually tried to talk to the guy at my local AT&T store - no help whatsoever! Just talked in circles and it was obvious he really didn't know the answer to my questions LOL!

 

Yes, texting anyone while on the ship will cost the sender fifty cents

[roger001]

We have unlimited texting and free mobile to mobile. But am I correct in thinking that if my DD and I want to text each other onboard ship (IE: "come to deck 12 they're having a trivia game") it will cost me 50 cents?

I actually tried to talk to the guy at my local AT&T store - no help whatsoever! Just talked in circles and it was obvious he really didn't know the answer to my questions LOL!

 

 

Domestic texting and data plans, unless you have something unusual with your service provider, are only good while in the provider's domestic service area. So as the other response said, yes, .50c for each sent. Get on your provider's web site and see if international and cellular at sea information might be provided. Also, reference texts sent while on the ship, they can sometimes be very slow happening...up to several hours being transmitted. I will assume it has to do with the ships alignment with satellites or whatever is required. I have seen a message from the ship advising of slow service because of lost satellite links.