New to Norwegian - some questions

[londongal796]

Hi all,

 

I have only really ever sailed with Royal Caribbean but an itinerary on Norwegian's Epic has caught my eye next year. It slots in perfectly for us and I am interested in booking this cruise, but I had a few questions about making the most of my booking.

 

First, I am an American but I live in the UK. I maintain a US address, so I have the advantage of being able to book from either country -- either US or UK. With RC, there is an advantage to booking through the US as the prices are usually substantially lower and they will match 'price drops' on your booking up until final payment. Is this true with NCL at all? For either US or UK bookings? Any guidance / insight is very welcome.

 

It would also be useful to know if it is possible to upgrade categories of staterooms if there were a price drop, again, with RC this is straightforward (with US or UK bookings) but thought I'd ask about NCL as I have no experience with them.

 

I have already done a bit of homework and can see that on Epic in particular the cabins are a little different to what we're used to (mainly the bathroom situation) but my DH and I have agreed we'd cope with it, given the other benefits of the cruise.

 

Any other tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated. I've spent years learning all about RCL and their tips and tricks, and I tend to make the most of our trips. But I only know one company so I am very willing to learn about NCL!

 

Thanks for your help!

[NCLfamily]

Your correct that US bookings have the big advantage of cancelling and rebooking if price drops. Also, upgrades only seem to be for US guests. However I think UK guests get better base prices.

 

Also, no added taxes on UK prices. What you see is why you pay I.e no auto gratuities on the beverage package.

 

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Edited June 29, 2016 by NCLfamily

[londongal796]

Your correct that US bookings have the big advantage of cancelling and rebooking if price drops. Also, upgrades only seem to be for US guests. However I think UK guests get better base prices.

 

Also, no added taxes on UK prices. What you see is why you pay I.e no auto gratuities on the beverage package.

 

Thanks for confirming that part -- I have been reading their offer conditions for the 'Free at Sea' promotion and I saw that in the US you have to pay for gratuities but in the UK it quite clearly states that the 18% gratuities are included. That would make the unlimited beverage option a major player in our decision... DH and I don't really drink alcohol but we love our mocktails and he loves his sodas, I think we'd get huge value out of that as a 'freebie' because we'd get to try all sorts of drinks, plus get his soda package 'free' which we were planning on paying for anyway.

 

Thanks for confirming this. I think the rate is pretty good either in UK or US currency at the moment, but the Free at Sea promotion is definitely better in the UK. (But shame you can't get price drops if you book in the UK.)

[nets33]

I have already done a bit of homework and can see that on Epic in particular the cabins are a little different to what we're used to (mainly the bathroom situation) but my DH and I have agreed we'd cope with it, given the other benefits of the cruise.

 

FWIW I found the bathroom set up on the Epic to be great. I could be using the sink while DH showered. No hogging of the bathroom and no steamy mirrors! It's not for everyone but it didn't bother me a bit.

 

I find NCL and RCI to be very similar. Opinions on food, entertainment and extras is very subjective but overall I enjoy both lines. Cabins on NCL do feel slightly smaller but since I use the room to sleep and shower it really doesn't impact me much. TV options on NCL are not as good but I'm not on a cruise to watch TV! NCL ships were built with "Freestyle" in mind so you'll find there are smaller entertainment venues with a larger variety of live entertainment. Enjoy!

[londongal796]

FWIW I found the bathroom set up on the Epic to be great. I could be using the sink while DH showered. No hogging of the bathroom and no steamy mirrors! It's not for everyone but it didn't bother me a bit.

 

I find NCL and RCI to be very similar. Opinions on food, entertainment and extras is very subjective but overall I enjoy both lines. Cabins on NCL do feel slightly smaller but since I use the room to sleep and shower it really doesn't impact me much. TV options on NCL are not as good but I'm not on a cruise to watch TV! NCL ships were built with "Freestyle" in mind so you'll find there are smaller entertainment venues with a larger variety of live entertainment. Enjoy!

 

Thanks for your comments!

 

I do agree that the bathroom situation has some benefits but not a huge fan of the opaque glass myself... It's not so bad with DH but if I was travelling with a friend or a relative I wouldn't be so keen. Especially with the shower opening right into the room. But not a problem for DH and I!

 

Good to know about the TV and room space. We haven't 100% settled on this cruise but it is very likely we'd give it a go. We recently sailed on Allure and some of the 'freestyle' ideology was there, with there being a variety of performances to see and a lot of different places to eat. Our last cruise was 24 nights and I must admit we got very used to just eating at any restaurant we wanted if we didn't fancy the main dining room, so having a huge variety of choices is really appealing on Epic!

[Jenjer]

We go back and forth between NCL and Royal.

 

My advice is to prebook everything you want at 90 days out. If you want to make changes wait until the day you board then make any changes you want.

 

The specialties book up much more on NCL since so many people have the specialty dinning plan. IMO the MRD on Royal is better than NCL so we mostly dine in Specialties on NCL and MRD on Royal.

[MeHeartCruising]

When booking in the US, upgrading/changing your NCL reservation to take advantage of price drops or to get a better room BEFORE final payment is generally easily done. However, you do need to ask whether you will keep the same promotions (free beverage package, free dining package, etc.) if you make the change. There have been reports that sometimes the agent books it as a cancel/rebook and that drops some benefit of the original booking. Just be sure to ask about it and consider the overall value to you.

 

As posted above, I find Royal and NCL to be more alike than different in almost every category. You'll probably like one line better on some things and the other line better on other things. But the overall experience will likely be about the same in the end.

Edited June 30, 2016 by MeHeartCruising

[londongal796]

We go back and forth between NCL and Royal.

 

My advice is to prebook everything you want at 90 days out. If you want to make changes wait until the day you board then make any changes you want.

 

The specialties book up much more on NCL since so many people have the specialty dinning plan. IMO the MRD on Royal is better than NCL so we mostly dine in Specialties on NCL and MRD on Royal.

 

Thanks, from what I've read I will definitely be pre-booking everything I can and as you say, if we change our minds we'll just swap things round later. We've been doing MTD a lot on RCL anyway and so I'm definitely used to getting on there and making reservations for every single night in the MDR, this will just be a little more flexible in choosing different venues!

 

When booking in the US, upgrading/changing your NCL reservation to take advantage of price drops or to get a better room BEFORE final payment is generally easily done. However, you do need to ask whether you will keep the same promotions (free beverage package, free dining package, etc.) if you make the change. There have been reports that sometimes the agent books it as a cancel/rebook and that drops some benefit of the original booking. Just be sure to ask about it and consider the overall value to you.

 

As posted above, I find Royal and NCL to be more alike than different in almost every category. You'll probably like one line better on some things and the other line better on other things. But the overall experience will likely be about the same in the end.

 

I'm definitely approaching this with an open mind. We were going to do an Inside cabin, now I am leaning towards Balcony. I doubt we'd upgrade from a Balcony, since we don't know anything about the cruise line, so the whole upgrade process hopefully won't be an issue. (We've progressed to Junior Suites on RC but that's because we've been cruising with them for a long time.) Epic definitely looks like a unique ship and I'm very tempted. We haven't booked anything just yet--still waiting to see if any other plans come to fruition. But I've learned so much already about NCL (thanks to you all and everyone who posts on here!) so I've got a much better idea of what to do and how things work. I sailed with Carnival once (my very first cruise) and been with RCL ever since. We're Diamond with RC but this particular cruise is just the right time for us, and RC is not sailing in the area at the same time so NCL may be getting our business! We've seen Epic I think twice out in our sailings in the Med so I'm very intrigued!!

[fshagan]

I'm definitely approaching this with an open mind. We were going to do an Inside cabin, now I am leaning towards Balcony.

 

We were very happy to have a balcony on Epic. We like the sea, and the mega-ships tend to be very inward focused with little opportunity to actually gaze out at the ocean. Even the "promenade deck" that on smaller ships wraps around the vessel is just fore and aft on the Epic, and the view is obstructed by lifeboats.

 

That's such a minor detail that I don't usually bring it up, but I'm convinced you could spend a week on a mega ship and never realize you ever left the dock. We prefer smaller ships for that reason, but you really can't beat the variety in activities on ships like the Epic.

[Blondie008]

Thanks, from what I've read I will definitely be pre-booking everything I can and as you say, if we change our minds we'll just swap things round later. We've been doing MTD a lot on RCL anyway and so I'm definitely used to getting on there and making reservations for every single night in the MDR, this will just be a little more flexible in choosing different venues!

 

 

 

I'm definitely approaching this with an open mind. We were going to do an Inside cabin, now I am leaning towards Balcony. I doubt we'd upgrade from a Balcony, since we don't know anything about the cruise line, so the whole upgrade process hopefully won't be an issue. (We've progressed to Junior Suites on RC but that's because we've been cruising with them for a long time.) Epic definitely looks like a unique ship and I'm very tempted. We haven't booked anything just yet--still waiting to see if any other plans come to fruition. But I've learned so much already about NCL (thanks to you all and everyone who posts on here!) so I've got a much better idea of what to do and how things work. I sailed with Carnival once (my very first cruise) and been with RCL ever since. We're Diamond with RC but this particular cruise is just the right time for us, and RC is not sailing in the area at the same time so NCL may be getting our business! We've seen Epic I think twice out in our sailings in the Med so I'm very intrigued!!

 

If you can - think about a Spa Mini Suite or even a Spa Balcony - Epic's SPA is amazing - such a beautiful space to enjoy morning, or late afterenoon. In fact, the outer balcony on the spa is blissful for sailaways. The pool, sauna and steamrooms are awesome. I have done my last two cruises with Celebrity in their Aquaclass - not a patch on Epic's Spa.

Worth every penny to upgrade.

 

We liked the bathroom set up - we just don't get the issue at all - wasn't for us one bit. Not sure about an inside but in the mini suite we thought the huge walk in shower was fabulous - and it doesn't break the bank either!

[londongal796]

We were very happy to have a balcony on Epic. We like the sea, and the mega-ships tend to be very inward focused with little opportunity to actually gaze out at the ocean. Even the "promenade deck" that on smaller ships wraps around the vessel is just fore and aft on the Epic, and the view is obstructed by lifeboats.

 

That's such a minor detail that I don't usually bring it up, but I'm convinced you could spend a week on a mega ship and never realize you ever left the dock. We prefer smaller ships for that reason, but you really can't beat the variety in activities on ships like the Epic.

 

Thanks for sharing this thought as well. We experienced this on the Allure of the Seas when we were on her, although there is a great area at the back of the ship (with the AquaTheatre) that you can get a decent view of the sea from. Aside from this, there were very few spots to look out from. We were really glad we had a balcony room on that cruise so may be something to consider for this one (if we do it!). Thanks!!

[londongal796]

If you can - think about a Spa Mini Suite or even a Spa Balcony - Epic's SPA is amazing - such a beautiful space to enjoy morning, or late afterenoon. In fact, the outer balcony on the spa is blissful for sailaways. The pool, sauna and steamrooms are awesome. I have done my last two cruises with Celebrity in their Aquaclass - not a patch on Epic's Spa.

Worth every penny to upgrade.

 

We liked the bathroom set up - we just don't get the issue at all - wasn't for us one bit. Not sure about an inside but in the mini suite we thought the huge walk in shower was fabulous - and it doesn't break the bank either!

 

I don't think we can afford a Spa room on this trip... I was looking for something relatively inexpensive and just a time-filler, my husband had 4 days of leave remaining but the way the holidays fall we'd get a 10 day cruise for just 4 days of leave... other options are just to rent a house for a week or something low key. Main goal is to unwind from work and enjoy ourselves... we love cruising so if we can combine something affordable with time away from work, that would be amazing! I'll keep an eye on prices though! I've read about the 'Posh' section and now I'm very interested in it!