New to Norwegian Questions

[slyster]

We are looking at a British Isles cruise next year and I see they have a lot of offers that I wonder are true good to be true.  “Free at Sea”…is it really free unlimited drinks, free speciality dining, and free Wi-Fi or are you only getting discounts on it?   I see the excursions are free, but only up to $50.  I am wondering what else I am missing.  Lastly, I see they are offering free airfare for second person.  Any insight into using NCL for your flight plans?

 

We are experienced RCI cruisers and we have been on Carnival a few times, but not NCL.  Thanks in advance for your feedback!  

[Happycrafter123]

I think it is a good package, based on my last trip.  
 

the wifi is only 150m but you can use that as a trade to get a discounted larger package if you need it, using the app after you have booked the cruise, or onboard at the Internet cafe on the first day.

 

the drink package includes basic drinks up to $15 but excludes juice, fancy coffees, bottled water and a few other premium things.  You can upgrade that too to a better option on the app after booking if you desire.   
 

the excursion credit is only for one person.

 

i think you have to be very risk tolerant to use the NCL flights but that is a personal opinion.

[UKstages]

"free at sea" really should be called "for a small fee" at sea.

 

you pay gratuities on your drink and meal packages.

 

it's still exactly as advertised, but, technically, not "free."

 

most in this forum think it's a pretty good deal.

[luv2kroooz]

With the British isles, you really aren't at sea all that much. It is a wonderful run with lots of ports. We did this run on the Jade pre Covid. Yes, nothing is truly "free". Typically, I would book this itinerary for the ports of call. Just be aware that NcL seems to have recently adopted a plan to make last minute itinerary changes for what they call " unforeseen circumstances" which reduce port times, so the ships can spend more time at sea sailing at slower speeds to save NCL money.  We have friends on an upcoming transatlantic cruise in April. They reportedly just got notice yesterday that NCL was adjusting port times for three or four of their port calls down to only 6 or 7 hours. Again, it can be a great itinerary with so much to see, but just be prepared for last minute itinerary changes. If you are going to forego the $50 NCL shorex credit and book independent tours, make sure you can cancel and get a full refund from the vendor if NCL changes the itinerary at last minute. NCL won't do anything for you and it would be a shame to lose your money. Good luck.

[hawkeyetlse]

1 minute ago, luv2kroooz said:

Just be aware that NcL seems to have recently adopted a plan to make last minute itinerary changes for what they call " unforeseen circumstances" which reduce port times, so the ships can spend more time at sea sailing at slower speeds to save NCL money.

It's a little premature to suggest that this is NCL's new evil plan, based on just one example. If it starts happening all over the place, then we have a problem.

[luv2kroooz]

Just now, hawkeyetlse said:

It's a little premature to suggest that this is NCL's new evil plan, based on just one example. If it starts happening all over the place, then we have a problem.

Premature? It's been well documented since January. Multiple NCL itineraries, multiple NCL ships. I am not going to list them all. But don't believe me... Cruise over to the Norwegian roll calls for just about any ship in the last four months and see for yourself....you will locate frequent last minute itinerary changes being made in the name of port congestion, sail and sustain initiatives, and unforeseen circumstances.

[complawyer]

just remember the old adage "if it sounds to good to be true...etc."

 

the standard fas drink package is great if you want to indulge. i find myself drinking more than i normally would, as i dont have to pay for each drink. on the other had, if you check out the total costs when you look at the booking, ncl has tacked on the gratuities, usually a a few hundred dollars. and any drink over $15 you pay the difference and the tax, and both people in the cabin MUSt take the package. So if one you isnt a drinker, you're pretty much scr***d

 

the free excursions, are  the biggest crock. they take $50 off the trip for the first person listed on the reservation. dont really use the wi-fi (im on vacation) so i cant comment, but as soon as we get onboard my wife heads down to the IT desk and pays a few extra hundreds to upgrade.

 

you get minimal 2 dinners in specialty restaurants. we've taken 10-14 day cruises and only received the 2.

 

if you check some of these posts, they are filled with horror about flights booked by ncl. yes, the 2nd person flies free, but you have no control over the flight, seat, time, day or whatever.

 

ncl takes no responsibility if something goes wrong on the flight.

 

better to err on the side of caution and do all the airline bookings yourself

 

by the way, im not bad mouthing ncl. we've taken over 20 cruises with them, sine 2010. all i'm trying to tell you is to take these offers with a grain of salt. ncl doesnt give away ice cubes in winter, 

to be forewarned is to be forearmed!!!

 

 

[Amberle3]

We're booked on our first NCL cruise next year so this is just my perspective as an as-yet NCL cruiser:

- We passed on the free-at-sea drink package.  The "service charge" on it was $325 (Canadian) per person for the 11 day cruise.  We just returned from a 10 day RCI cruise a few weeks ago and we each had a whopping 2 drinks during that one. If NCL had the "everything but alcohol" package that RCI does then I'd probably go for that one but they don't seem to.

- I'm just fine with the 2 speciality dining meals included. Honestly I'm not all that fussed about speciality restaurants on the ships. I've done a few on some of the RCI ships and they're good, but I'm frugal at heart and I keep thinking that I've already PAID for meals and now I'm paying more for another one.

- The $50 shore excursion credit seemed like a good deal when we were booking, now that I'm looking at excursions I'm not so sure.  All the ones that are showing (so far) in our planner are way more expensive than comparable ones through other suppliers.

- We did opt for the 2-for-1 airfare because it's literally half the price of booking on our own, and since the cruise leaves from Portugal that's a pretty significant difference. We will be putting in for a 2 day (on each end) air deviation because a) there's no way I'm flying in the day the cruise is supposed to leave and b) we'd like some time to explore the city after the cruise.

[realnice46]

Thank you for info, will be taking granddaughter on belated High School Grad trip delayed by Covid. She’s 21 now and chose NCL cruise because of itinerary. I had many of those same questions about free at sea. Definitely not the case with them, unlike Princess and Celebrity which they’re all inclusive includes tips, unlimited Wi-Fi and drink package that also includes tips. We will still enjoy and make the best of it. We’ve had this cruise booked 3 times before and yes each time there were itinerary changes as well as port times on each of those before we had to cancel. Hoping for the best as ports are good as well as times.

[genealogyfan]

15 hours ago, slyster said:

We are looking at a British Isles cruise next year and I see they have a lot of offers that I wonder are true good to be true.  “Free at Sea”…is it really free unlimited drinks, free speciality dining, and free Wi-Fi or are you only getting discounts on it?   I see the excursions are free, but only up to $50.  I am wondering what else I am missing.  Lastly, I see they are offering free airfare for second person.  Any insight into using NCL for your flight plans?

 

We are experienced RCI cruisers and we have been on Carnival a few times, but not NCL.  Thanks in advance for your feedback!  

I would suggest doing a "mock" booking and then uncheck the different "free at sea" options to see how much you actually save.  The total price will show you when you check and uncheck the options. The specialty dining didn't have a huge difference, but others do. It'll at least show you the price differences on them and if you don't need or want one of the "free at sea" options you don't have to pay the taxes/fees for it, just uncheck it.

[slyster]

Wow thank you all for your feedback and experience!  Being a RC cruiser, I know their “sales” are not really sales because the prices remain steady.  I didn’t realize you could upgrade your freebies which of course means you have to pay more. It seems quite a bit to sift through but that’s because we are not familiar with NCI. 
 

The British Isles itinerary is jam packed which we love.  
 

As for the flight info,  thank you!  It sounds like booking on our own is the better bet. 
 

Appreciate all the feedback!

[3412mom]

On 3/23/2023 at 12:14 AM, Amberle3 said:

- We did opt for the 2-for-1 airfare because it's literally half the price of booking on our own, and since the cruise leaves from Portugal that's a pretty significant difference. We will be putting in for a 2 day (on each end) air deviation because a) there's no way I'm flying in the day the cruise is supposed to leave and b) we'd like some time to explore the city after the cruise.

How do you get the 2 day deviation?  That is what has me leery of doing the NCL flights--No way am I flying in the day of the cruise!  I did not know it was an option to ask for different days.  TIA for any help you can provide

[Amberle3]

1 hour ago, 3412mom said:

How do you get the 2 day deviation?  That is what has me leery of doing the NCL flights--No way am I flying in the day of the cruise!  I did not know it was an option to ask for different days.  TIA for any help you can provide

If you're booking with a travel agent then call them and have them put the request in.  Otherwise call NCL and ask for it to be in the file.

Info on air deviations is lower down on here:
https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/air-service-standards

[sharonann24]

I think by flying in at least one day early you should be fine.  Ask for the deviation.  We have used NCL once and it  was fine.  We are also using it for our July cruise on the Prima to Iceland, but this time we are flying in two days early.  This will be our 4th NCL cruise and we have found that the packages have been fine.  We usually don't use the excursions but I may make an exception for this trip since we will probably only do 2 NCL and then do the other ports on our own.  2 Specialty dinners are a nice treat and we have enjoyed most of the specialty restaurants in the past and only go when they are included. The MDR is very nice as well.   I think that you can drive yourself crazy looking for all of the deal and hoping you can make a big score.  Cruise based upon what you can afford OR on what you are willing to splurge.  And the British Isles cruise is on my list--and that cruise tends to be more expensive due to the port charges.  In any case--it's a vacation! Enjoy!

[cmph]

On 3/22/2023 at 10:14 PM, Amberle3 said:

We're booked on our first NCL cruise next year so this is just my perspective as an as-yet NCL cruiser:

- We passed on the free-at-sea drink package.  The "service charge" on it was $325 (Canadian) per person for the 11 day cruise.  We just returned from a 10 day RCI cruise a few weeks ago and we each had a whopping 2 drinks during that one. If NCL had the "everything but alcohol" package that RCI does then I'd probably go for that one but they don't seem to.

 

- The $50 shore excursion credit seemed like a good deal when we were booking, now that I'm looking at excursions I'm not so sure.  All the ones that are showing (so far) in our planner are way more expensive than comparable ones through other suppliers.

I'm nodding along with you on a couple of these points, Amberle3. We couldn't justify paying the service charge, either. I'm the only one who can/will drink alcohol, and that'll be maybe one drink a day (port intensive Baltic itinerary). My teenage daughter would get mocktails, fancy juice, and Starbucks drinks all day, but soda only? nope. She'd rather have lemonade, which is free anyway. 

 

The excursion credit is really only helpful in certain scenarios, IMO. We happen to have 4 people in two rooms (1A, 1teen per room), so $50x2. We still went with OYO in half the ports, b/c of factor #2 - which is that some of the NCL excursions are ridiculously priced (ex: $129pp for a shuttle from the port to another town, completely self-guided otherwise). But it made sense to use NCL for the other half - logistical reasons for the port mostly, without apparent price gouging. We never let that discount drive the choice on what we were going to do, but I probably would have examined harder if we had a discount of $50x1 for a party of 4. 

[Uff da]

We have used NCL air three times. Two domestic, one to Panama. All went off without a hitch and saved us tons of money. We always take the 2 day diversion going in just to be safe. So far, no issues.  It's true you don't get to pick what time you fly. You have to be flexible. Our flights have all been early morning out (6 am or so) and last flight in (11pm to midnight). No big deal. We are retired and can go with the flow. We also live in the midwest and fly from a regional airport (12 gates) vs an international one. That means we always have a stop somewhere to change planes. No biggie.  
What is not true is that you don't get to pick seats and such. The minute you get your flight notification from NCL, the first thing you should do is log in to the airline to pick your seats. Our flights thus far have been on United and Delta. They do offer the option to upgrade to a higher class of seat if it's available. So far the flights have been short enough that we haven't so I can't comment on that process. We have had the occasional seat charge for a window or sitting closer to the front, but nothing major. 
If you are flying domestic, you have to pay if you are checking bags. That is not included. When we flew to Panama, one checked bag was included and I think that's true of all overseas flights but I don't know for sure.  
We have had good luck with NCL air and are using it for our next cruise too. People always spout the bad, but there are plenty of good stories too. 
P.S.  If you check luggage, put air tags (iphone) or tiles (android) in your luggage. Peace of mind. 

[FitchburgWIFamily]

"Free" at Sea:   

- free drink package comes out to $20 pp pd.   If you drink more than 3 drinks a day, you come out ahead.  You'll have no problem finding cocktails at less than $15.00 but the wine selection at <15.00 isn't great.  If you order an $18.00 glass of wine you are charged $3.00 plus 20% tip or $3.60.

- I have also purchased a bottle of wine...I'll enjoy one glass a night, and then have them bring it to me the next night in whatever dining room I am in.  Helps make the wine price a little better.

- I definitely drink more when I have the package:  a mimosa at breakfast?  Sure!  margarita at lunch?  Of course.  Cocktail during trivia?  Makes me sharper.  Pre dinner drink?  Why not.  After dinner drink?  Have to keep it balanced.   I definitely get my money's worth out of the "free" package.

 

- free specialty dining is a dinner in a specialty restaurant for shorter cruises or less expensive staterooms or up to 3 dinners for 12+ nights in balcony and above above.  NCL ships have multiple options for free sit down menu based dining, but you should take advantage of this promo to try out one of their high-end specialty dinging rooms.

- free Wi-Fi:  onboard wifi is notoriously slow, so 150 land minutes is like 50 on board minutes.  Once  you are on board and connect to the wi-fi, you can upgrade to unlimited and they'll credit you the cost of the 150 minutess free.  We do not get the multiple device wi-fi...we just get one package and kick each other off when needed.

- free shore excursion:  this is the biggest lie...I don't know if they have any shore excursions less than $50.  What you get is $50 off a shore excursion for one person per port.  A little bit of a savings...but not much.

 

Welcome to NCL:  hope you enjoy your cruise.

 

[NikiPinkston]

On 3/22/2023 at 10:26 PM, realnice46 said:

Definitely not the case with them, unlike Princess and Celebrity which they’re all inclusive includes tips, unlimited Wi-Fi and drink package that also includes tips.

Hi, there, longtime NCL cruiser here, looking to book our first cruise on Princess this December.  Do I read this correctly, if we purchase  "Princess Plus," does the crew appreciation cover the gratuities on the included drink package,too?

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 hours ago, FitchburgWIFamily said:

I don't know if they have any shore excursions less than $50.

They do.

[The Traveling Man]

4 hours ago, FitchburgWIFamily said:

- free shore excursion:  this is the biggest lie...I don't know if they have any shore excursions less than $50.  What you get is $50 off a shore excursion for one person per port.  A little bit of a savings...but not much.

It's only $50 off for the person listed first on the room reservation.  On a recent cruise, my name was first on the reservation, but there were several ports where my wife wanted to take a shore excursion but I just wanted to stroll the town on my own.  She would not have been entitled to the $50 discount, so on the first day onboard we stopped by the Guest Service Desk and asked that our names be reversed on the reservation.  Presto Change-o, they did it on the spot, no questions asked.  We walked across the atrium to the Shorex Desk and booked her tours.  The name change had already taken effect and she got the $50 discounts.

 

Also, it's $50 per tour, not per port.  If you're in port all day and can squeeze in both a morning and an afternoon tour, the person listed first in the room gets the $50 off each tour.  The same is true if you have an overnight stay in a port.  You can take a tour (or tours) one day as well as on any subsequent days and get $50 off each tour.  The only limit is the number of tours you can squeeze in per port stop.

Edited March 29, 2023 by The Traveling Man

[UKstages]

>>I don't know if they have any shore excursions less than $50. <<

 

yes, there are some "tours" that are $50 or less. typically, they are a gondola (sky) ride or a hop on/hop off bus tour or a trolley tour, but they do indeed exist... in some ports.

Edited March 29, 2023 by UKstages

[ChiefMateJRK]

11 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

On a recent cruise, my name was first on the reservation, but there were several ports where my wife wanted to take a shore excursion but I just wanted to stroll the town on my own.  She would not have been entitled to the $50 discount, so on the first day onboard we stopped by the Guest Service Desk and asked that our names be reversed on the reservation.  Presto Change-o, they did it on the spot, no questions asked.  We walked across the atrium to the Shorex Desk and booked her tours.  The name change had already taken effect and she got the $50 discounts.

This is really good information.  Has anybody else been successful in doing this?

[complawyer]

hey good buddy, my wife and i do this a lot.  but regardless, no one ever looks on the ticket when you get on the tour bus. you love ncl as much as i do, and know that as long as they get their $$$ they're happier than a pig in whatever. so it rea ly isnt necessary to swap names, just buy t he ticket and happily go on the tour

[hawkeyetlse]

I was about to say that, I've given tour tickets to other people to use several times. I can't find anything saying it's against the rules (but I'm guessing it probably is). And if anything happens to the tour, the ship will initially think you're with them and they won't know anything about the other person, but that can be cleared up quickly, if necessary.

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, hawkeyetlse said:

And if anything happens to the tour, the ship will initially think you're with them and they won't know anything about the other person, but that can be cleared up quickly, if necessary.

I don't think this is really true, at least not anymore.  The ship always knows who is on the ship and who is not.  On a recent cruise, I was concerned that my Daughter's excursion might be running late.  I walked down to where the gangway was.  They were largely "closed" but I asked if any excursions were not back yet.  They just punched her name in the computer and confirmed that she was back on the ship "somewhere."