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New Tier between Platinum Plus and Ambassador starting Jan 2022

fstuff1

By fstuff1,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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The Traveling Man

The Traveling Man

Posted
Posted (edited)
59 minutes ago, casofilia said:

@The Traveling Man

 

 It took NCL two days to get the confirmation back to me, but we did get to select the new stateroom location, there was no additional charge, and the process went very smoothly.

 

Good news that all went well.   When exactly were you asked to choose the cabin?

I didn't wait for them to ask.  After they advised me which rooms fitting my parameters were available, I picked one and told them to get me that room or cancel the upgrade request.  I also had them confirm that we would get to keep all the perks that we already had booked.  It really wasn't surprising, though a bit disappointing, when the internet minutes went away per the new terms of the Latitudes benefits list.  I'm not sure we would have been able to keep those even if we had not upgraded our room.  NCL may try to enforce the reduced benefits on all future cruises, even those booked under the old terms.  Anyone out there sailing the next few weeks who can let us know?

Edited by The Traveling Man
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TrumpyNor

TrumpyNor

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 1/11/2022 at 11:58 PM, TrumpyNor said:

UPGRADE ON TWO DIFFERENT CRUISES HAS BEEN "ORDERED" AND CONFIRMED, JUST NEED TO WAIT A COUPLE OF DAYS FOR THE EXACT CABIN NO....

Just quoting myself as I now have received a reply from my PCC. She has "ordered" two Diamond upgrades for us  for two cruises we have booked for summer 2022, I have been given the new cabin type but not the cabin number as the Latitude dept. will pick the cabin(s) and then notify me by e-mail. I was told it may take a few days....

 

For a 7 days cruise on the Gem in an Inside cabin category IB we will be upgraded to Obstructed Oceanview category OK 

The other cruise is 10 days on the Escape, where we have been told that the upgrade will be to Oceanview with Picture Window 

 

So far I am pleased with the result - hopefully will feel the same after the exact cabin numbers has been "revealed".... 🤞

AN UPDATE, AS NOT HAPPY WITH BOTH FINAL UPGRADES WE WERE OFFERED. 😡

Well, in all fairness, the Gem upgrade is fine - obstructed oceanview OK on deck 8 instead of our orignal IB inside cabin on deck 9. Have no complaint about that one.

The "upgrade" for our Escape cruise I however consider to be a DOWNGRADE, as we have been upgraded from our IC-inside on deck 10 to a porthole oceanview OB on deck 5 (!!!). 

I have sent an e-mail to my PCC stating that I am NOT happy about that upgrade, and received the typical standard reply

"It is an upgrade as you now have a window cabin.

On the Escape of the oceanview cabins are on deck 5 with the exception of category OA.

The upgrade is to the next level and the lowest oceanview cabin."

 

And then she wrote "I can see if we can put it back to the inside and you can use it within the year for another cruise.". And I asked her to please do that, as I want my deck 10 cabin back instead of being stuck on deck 5. 

 

It is still not clear to me if "use it within a year" means apply it to a booking within a year or on a cruise that is sailing within a year...

 

Well, lesson learned: Not all upgrades are really an upgrade.... 

Edited by TrumpyNor
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TrumpyNor

TrumpyNor

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, Old & Retired said:

The trick is to book an inside on the Epic.  No ocean views, so you gotta get a balcony!

Allthough the Epic is my least favorite ship, that is a good tip - just book a cheap inside cabin and get upgraded to a balcony...! Thank you for posting this!

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casofilia

casofilia

Posted
Posted

@TrumpyNor

 

Reading your post I see you did your upgrade through your PCC.   

 

I'm sure that I read that someone who had gone through the 1-866 # was able to "discuss" with the person in NCL the actual cabin availability.   If that is the case I would have the ship plan in front of me BEFORE I even dialed the 1-866 #   (Using SKYPE from NZ!!)

 

I am holding off doing anything for us till there are more people who have maintained the 60 minutes WiFi and also more who have been able to confirm they were able to discuss placement

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TrumpyNor

TrumpyNor

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 minutes ago, casofilia said:

@TrumpyNor

 

Reading your post I see you did your upgrade through your PCC.   

 

I'm sure that I read that someone who had gone through the 1-866 # was able to "discuss" with the person in NCL the actual cabin availability.   If that is the case I would have the ship plan in front of me BEFORE I even dialed the 1-866 #   (Using SKYPE from NZ!!)

 

I am holding off doing anything for us till there are more people who have maintained the 60 minutes WiFi and also more who have been able to confirm they were able to discuss placement

My PCC sent an email to the upgrade department on my behalf.... On the Escape unfortunately all the cheapest type OV cabins are located on deck 5, so wouldn't be much to "discuss" I am afraid - the rest are OA cabins located on the front of the ship. What I got upgraded to, was a porthole cabin on deck 5 allthough my PCC originally promised that the upgrade would be to a "picture window OV" cabin so stupidly I thought it would be one of the OA cabin... 

 

Edited by TrumpyNor
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bluesea777

bluesea777

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, HugeMuscleGeek said:

Here’s the handout the Latitudes / CruiseNext desk is giving out on the Epic as of today (Jan 14). Not showing boarding privileges. 
 

 

NCL New Latitudes Benefits Handout.pdf 547.95 kB · 8 downloads

 

That's an older version (by 1 or 2 days) that has 34 lines. The latest version is on NCL.com and has 35 lines ..... the Priority Check-in/Embarkation was added. Platinum and up.

 

 

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KeithJenner "Live from...." Rare

KeithJenner

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'm disappointed by the changes. Not because of the specific changes, but I was hoping that it would solve the obvious issues. My expectations were realistic though, so I'm not particularly surprised.

 

They did solve what was probably the biggest complaint, the gap between Platinum Plus and Ambassador. The tier levels now look about right to me.

 

However, most of the other problems remain. The free meals still specify restaurants which don't even exist in many ships (which is clearly causing confusion to many people). The concierge perk is still there with the same wording as previously (I think) which suggests that there will be no actual change to this non existent perk. The same for priority seating etc.

 

This was an opportunity to clear up some of these confusions, but it doesn't look like that has been done.

 

As for the perks themselves, they are what they are. I think that the expectation regarding them is unrealistic a lot of the time. There is no requirement for these to be offered, and NCL could cancel the whole program tomorrow if they wanted. I have never understood the wish for people to substitute items on a loyalty scheme. They are a list of perks, some of which will appeal to people and some won't. You take what works for you and leave those that don't. Personally, I use very few of the perks offered and it would never occur to me to say "I don't use the spa so please give me a discount on the go karts instead". Similarly I don't eat the strawberries but don't expect them to be exchanged for anything else. I do wish we could avoid getting them delivered to avoid the waste though.

 

Just appreciate what we are given and leave anything that doesn't appeal. If you are getting angry about freebies then you are doing it wrong.

Edited by KeithJenner
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TrumpyNor

TrumpyNor

Posted
Posted
19 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

IJust appreciate what we are given and leave anything that doesn't appeal. If you are getting angry about freebies then you are doing it wrong.

I didn't mean to sound angry about my "upgrade" from deck 10 to deck 5, I was just very dissappointed... 🙂

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KeithJenner "Live from...." Rare

KeithJenner

Posted
Posted
Just now, TrumpyNor said:

I didn't mean to sound angry about my "upgrade" from deck 10 to deck 5, I was just very dissappointed... 🙂

I don't think that you did sound angry. Yours is real life experience of the specifics of one of the perks, which is very useful to those who will be doing it themselves, so is useful. I am always wary of "upgrades" as I like to select my own cabin. It is one of the reasons why I never bid for upgrades. I am still trying to work out whether we will use the perk (or even if we will be able to because of the one year thing), so experiences are useful.

 

I was more referring to the posts where people are getting angry because a specific perk has changed in a way that doesn't help them (usually disregarding the fact that others will find it helpful). We can all be disappointed, as I was when it seemed that priority embarkation had gone, but there seems to be a level of expectation that can only lead to disappointment.

 

There is also a perception here that NCL are particularly unreasonable, but most loyalty programs have the same problems. I am a member of various ones (hotels, airlines etc) and have seen perks cut back or changed in a way that either helps or disadvantages me many times. It is just what happens.

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julig22

julig22

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

As for the perks themselves, they are what they are. I think that the expectation regarding them is unrealistic a lot of the time. There is no requirement for these to be offered, and NCL could cancel the whole program tomorrow if they wanted. I have never understood the wish for people to substitute items on a loyalty scheme. They are a list of perks, some of which will appeal to people and some won't. You take what works for you and leave those that don't. Personally, I use very few of the perks offered and it would never occur to me to say "I don't use the spa so please give me a discount on the go karts instead". Similarly I don't eat the strawberries but don't expect them to be exchanged for anything else. I do wish we could avoid getting them delivered to avoid the waste though.

 

Just appreciate what we are given and leave anything that doesn't appeal. If you are getting angry about freebies then you are doing it wrong.

As someone who suggested options/choices regarding the perks, I certainly don't expect NCL to offer anything other than what they offer. But delivering food that isn't going to be eaten, for whatever reason, is a waste of food and resources. It would be sooo much better (IMHO anyway) if they gave you a hang tag for your door or a coupon to use where you could ASK (or decline) the strawberry delivery for example.  I wonder how many others just dump it in the trash?

Fyi, NCL did offer a non-alcoholic alternative to the wine if you asked - but not something I wanted, so I declined. But at least the wine could be given to the next passenger - fresh food goes in the trash.

 

From a consumer perspective, it would be nice to have options - so a discount on the spa OR the go karts or ... And a discount on the dinner-show OR the wine-tasting or.... but from a business perspective those options may cost more than they think they would get back in goodwill, so they offer things that won't cost them much due to low usage.

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kylenyc

kylenyc

Posted
Posted
30 minutes ago, julig22 said:

As someone who suggested options/choices regarding the perks, I certainly don't expect NCL to offer anything other than what they offer. But delivering food that isn't going to be eaten, for whatever reason, is a waste of food and resources. It would be sooo much better (IMHO anyway) if they gave you a hang tag for your door or a coupon to use where you could ASK (or decline) the strawberry delivery for example.  I wonder how many others just dump it in the trash?

Fyi, NCL did offer a non-alcoholic alternative to the wine if you asked - but not something I wanted, so I declined. But at least the wine could be given to the next passenger - fresh food goes in the trash.

 

From a consumer perspective, it would be nice to have options - so a discount on the spa OR the go karts or ... And a discount on the dinner-show OR the wine-tasting or.... but from a business perspective those options may cost more than they think they would get back in goodwill, so they offer things that won't cost them much due to low usage.

I agree it's a waste for those who don't eat them. I've been telling the steward ahead of time to it give random guest may appreciate it, to the delivery person if i'm there, put a sticky note outside the door, bring it to the meet and greet or other gathering etc.

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kjquilts Holiday Sharing Rare

kjquilts

Posted
Posted
19 hours ago, TrumpyNor said:

Allthough the Epic is my least favorite ship, that is a good tip - just book a cheap inside cabin and get upgraded to a balcony...! Thank you for posting this!  *

 

(above was regarding Ambassador upgrade perk)  I have 299 points with 21 points coming from May Bliss cruise so am watching with interest.  One 10 day cruise on the Spirit this fall would put me at Ambassador (currently latitude perk triple points for some Alaska cruises).  Question is will the Spirit actually make it to Seattle to do the Alaska cruises ???

 

*   I don't think this would work.  NCL "charges" 60,000 WorldPoint points earned from BAC Mastercard to go from inside stateroom on Epic to balcony stateroom.  There is no option for 30,000 point Cross Meta or Single Meta upgrade on the Epic.  On the ships with oceanview staterooms you can use 30,000 points to go from inside to oceanview or from oceanview to balcony category. 

 

It sounds like if you want to go from inside to oceanview or oceanview to balcony via Ambassador one time upgrade perk you should book the higher end or towards higher end of category you are booking to avoid less desirable stateroom in the category you are upgrading to. 

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fabnfortysomething Great Review Rare

fabnfortysomething

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

I'm disappointed by the changes. Not because of the specific changes, but I was hoping that it would solve the obvious issues. My expectations were realistic though, so I'm not particularly surprised.

 

They did solve what was probably the biggest complaint, the gap between Platinum Plus and Ambassador. The tier levels now look about right to me.

 

However, most of the other problems remain. The free meals still specify restaurants which don't even exist in many ships (which is clearly causing confusion to many people). The concierge perk is still there with the same wording as previously (I think) which suggests that there will be no actual change to this non existent perk. The same for priority seating etc.

 

This was an opportunity to clear up some of these confusions, but it doesn't look like that has been done.

 

As for the perks themselves, they are what they are. I think that the expectation regarding them is unrealistic a lot of the time. There is no requirement for these to be offered, and NCL could cancel the whole program tomorrow if they wanted. I have never understood the wish for people to substitute items on a loyalty scheme. They are a list of perks, some of which will appeal to people and some won't. You take what works for you and leave those that don't. Personally, I use very few of the perks offered and it would never occur to me to say "I don't use the spa so please give me a discount on the go karts instead". Similarly I don't eat the strawberries but don't expect them to be exchanged for anything else. I do wish we could avoid getting them delivered to avoid the waste though.

 

Just appreciate what we are given and leave anything that doesn't appeal. If you are getting angry about freebies then you are doing it wrong.

you can pass me the strawberries on our next cruise together lol

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TrumpyNor

TrumpyNor

Posted
Posted
25 minutes ago, kjquilts said:

 

It sounds like if you want to go from inside to oceanview or oceanview to balcony via Ambassador one time upgrade perk you should book the higher end or towards higher end of category you are booking to avoid less desirable stateroom in the category you are upgrading to. 

Anyway, have decided to not book the Epic as it is my least favorite ship. Are looking at other, more interesting options. With or without any Diamond upgrade. 😊

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casofilia

casofilia

Posted
Posted

@kjquilts

 

(above was regarding Ambassador upgrade perk)  I have 299 points with 21 points coming from May Bliss cruise so am watching with interest.  One 10 day cruise on the Spirit this fall would put me at Ambassador (currently latitude perk triple points for some Alaska cruises). 

 

I presume you are referring to the Diamond upgrade perk; you will get to Diamond when you pass 350 Points.   The Ambassador perk is a "free" cruise but you don't get to Ambassador till 700 Points

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kjquilts Holiday Sharing Rare

kjquilts

Posted
Posted (edited)
32 minutes ago, casofilia said:

@kjquilts

 

(above was regarding Ambassador upgrade perk)  I have 299 points with 21 points coming from May Bliss cruise so am watching with interest.  One 10 day cruise on the Spirit this fall would put me at Ambassador (currently latitude perk triple points for some Alaska cruises). 

 

I presume you are referring to the Diamond upgrade perk; you will get to Diamond when you pass 350 Points.   The Ambassador perk is a "free" cruise but you don't get to Ambassador till 700 Points

 

LOL   you are correct

 

was playing bridge base online  instead of looking at CC so missed my opportunity to edit my post    at my age will never make Ambassador

 

 

 

kj

Edited by kjquilts
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