Is Priority Access Worth It?

[Twocoasts]

We are on Epic at the end of the month out of Rome in a Club Balcony Suite. Is it worth it to purchase the "Priority Access" add on to get on the ship faster? Or spend less time in line? It's our first NCL cruise--I've been on Oceania and Windstar most recently that are small ships so not sure what to expect.

[z4oslo]

Concidering most ships sail at 50-60% capacity, I would not spend money for priority access.

[www3traveler]

I would not spend the money either.

[vacation44]

How much is it?

[PATRLR]

Where/when is this option presented for purchase?

 

[Twocoasts]

27 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

How much is it?

It's $179 per cabin

[Twocoasts]

22 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

Where/when is this option presented for purchase?

During the online check in

 

[vacation44]

11 minutes ago, Twocoasts said:

It's $179 per cabin

Thank you.

 

Is it both priority check-in and priority boarding?

[Twocoasts]

3 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

Thank you.

 

Is it both priority check-in and priority boarding?

What’s Included
Priority Check-In and Boarding
Tender Priority when applicable (off the ship)
Priority Debarkation (homeport)
Standard Room Service Breakfast Menu
$50 Spa Credit per person (port days only)
Complimentary Canapés (second day of cruise)

[The Shrike]

4 hours ago, Twocoasts said:

What’s Included
Priority Check-In and Boarding
Tender Priority when applicable (off the ship)
Priority Debarkation (homeport)
Standard Room Service Breakfast Menu
$50 Spa Credit per person (port days only)
Complimentary Canapés (second day of cruise)

To me that would be worth it for $179/cabin.

[ama123]

Worth it to me. Definitely on a full capacity sailing or even over 80% or so. It seems reasonably priced for what you get, especially since it applies to all in the cabin. 

[Benelope]

If you do decide to go with Priority Access, pay special attention to your room service charges if you should choose to order the standard room service breakfast.  The group travelling with us had Priority Access and was charged $11.94 ($9.95 plus 20%) each day for their breakfast and had to go to Guest Services to get them removed.  One of the staff working was arguing with them that "standard" meant continental breakfast rather than hot/regular breakfast menu.  Ultimately, they ended up getting the charges reversed, but it took some effort to do so.

 

One thing to find out is if/how priority boarding is handled at your port.  The group traveling with us purchased Priority Access for boarding, but nobody at the port knew what they were talking about.  They finally caught up with us as we were about to enter the check-in area for The Haven to see if we knew, and the kind gentleman at the door allowed them to accompany us.

[vacation44]

1 hour ago, Benelope said:

 

One thing to find out is if/how priority boarding is handled at your port.  The group traveling with us purchased Priority Access for boarding, but nobody at the port knew what they were talking about.  They finally caught up with us as we were about to enter the check-in area for The Haven to see if we knew, and the kind gentleman at the door allowed them to accompany us.

Which port?

[Benelope]

1 minute ago, vacation44 said:

Which port?

We sailed out of Seattle on the Bliss.  Our ship was the first NCL ship out of the port for the season, so hoping that there were some learnings had that will benefit others in the future.

[vacation44]

45 minutes ago, Benelope said:

We sailed out of Seattle on the Bliss.  Our ship was the first NCL ship out of the port for the season, so hoping that there were some learnings had that will benefit others in the future.

Thank you.

 

If one pays for priority service or has a suite, they should be able to check in and board early no matter what port they are embarking from.    

[Mike A]

We have Priority Access with a Club Balcony on the 5/29 sailing of the Joy out of NY. It should be interesting to see how they handle this as NY embarkation has been a mess on the sailings to Bermuda the last month. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

Is this the same priority access that platinum members and above allegedly receive for no extra charge?  

[vacation44]

20 minutes ago, Mike A said:

We have Priority Access with a Club Balcony on the 5/29 sailing of the Joy out of NY. It should be interesting to see how they handle this as NY embarkation has been a mess on the sailings to Bermuda the last month. 

Please report back your experience and have a great sailing.

[Mike A]

I thank you and will report back following embarkation. As well as following the cruise. In fact I will try to do a Live From as I have the unlimited premium internet package. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

14 minutes ago, Mike A said:

In fact I will try to do a Live From as I have the unlimited premium internet package. 

Don't try "too hard."  Vacation is a great time to forget about the internet.  You'll have plenty of time to share after you get back.  Sitting in the airport waiting for a late flight home is a GREAT time to catch up on a week or so worth of missed screen time.

[mkmaj]

On 5/3/2022 at 9:16 PM, Mike A said:

I thank you and will report back following embarkation. As well as following the cruise. In fact I will try to do a Live From as I have the unlimited premium internet package. 

Hi Mike,

Curious about how your experience went. Was it worth it? 

 

[cruiserbear55]

On 5/3/2022 at 9:05 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Is this the same priority access that platinum members and above allegedly receive for no extra charge?  

 

   Except for no room service charges for breakfast, the spa credit, and the canapes, platinum members receive all the rest. Technically, I guess you could come out ahead if you had breakfast delivered everyday ( roughly $84.00 in charges) and had at least two spa massages/treatments ($100.00). Language is kind of vague as to how many spa sessions the credit can be used for. If it is more than two, you'd be that much further ahead.

   BTW, are those complimentary canapes Del Monte or Libby?

[BirdTravels]

On 5/3/2022 at 10:33 AM, Twocoasts said:

We are on Epic at the end of the month out of Rome in a Club Balcony Suite. Is it worth it to purchase the "Priority Access" add on to get on the ship faster? Or spend less time in line? It's our first NCL cruise--I've been on Oceania and Windstar most recently that are small ships so not sure what to expect.

Save your money. Don't buy into NCL's marketing to get you to pay for nothing. 

 

Rome is a secondary embarkation port. That is, the majority of passengers will be embarking in Barcelona and only a small percentage will be embarking in Rome (that is how the rooms are allocated for booking). General boarding will start no later than 11:30 and everyone will be onboard within 15-20 minutes. 

[aggie311]

With cruises getting busier now that it is summer, also curious if this is worthwhile. Does anyone have any recent experiences? I’m on the Epic out of Barcelona in July. 

[Harratine]

19 minutes ago, aggie311 said:

With cruises getting busier now that it is summer, also curious if this is worthwhile. Does anyone have any recent experiences? I’m on the Epic out of Barcelona in July. 

We are as well.