New to Norwegian and Greece Questions

[PACD_JG]

TIA - I've only sailed on HAL Pinnacle Class ships, but I know I want to do a Greek cruise in June 2025.  Two adults, two teen daughters.  The Viva is doing a 10-day which I'm interested in - https://www.ncl.com/vacations?date=jun-2025&ship=norwegian-viva

 

My first question - a family balcony is going to cost about $8500.  It looks like two inside cabins will cost about the same.  From what I can tell from the website, booking 2 rooms will give all of us the free at sea benefits, and booking one room won't.  My issue is that my daughters will be 18 and 17 at the time, and the website says somebody at least 21+ must be in each room.  Could I book two insides with 1 adult + 1 child, get the benefits, and then just have the girls room together once onboard, or is that a huge no-no?  Will I truly miss a balcony room in the Aegean?  (We've only sailed with Verandahs/Balconies).

 

Is this price outrageously high?  I have nothing to compare this too, and to be honest, I don't care about the new ship or the go-karts or any of that.  In fact, I wish the Jade was still sailing but that is not the case for Greece in 2025.

 

What is this airfare promotion?  Buy one, get one free.  How would this work if I wanted to do a land-vacation in Greece before the cruise?

 

 

 

 

[KKB]

OK the benefits (soda package, internet & specialty dining) for the girls is a pretty nominal addition so I don't see that as a huge issue.

 

It's a fair question--2 rooms, a bit more space & privacy, but at the cost of a verandah.

My thought is that for a port intensive cruise, a verandah loses a bit of value. 

We have no problem with INT rooms (tho our Getaway room was a bit cozy for my taste--Prima class is bigger). Nice & dark to sleep. We r usually only in a room to sleep & shower.

But others have VERY strong feelings about not staying in interiors/having a balcony.

Don't get me wrong--we LIKE balconies & have a "$500" rule---if it is less than $500 total more, we go for it. But anymore, we usually just put in upgrade bids & keep our fingers crossed. Our success rate is solid on several lines. Remember--there are more balconies on any ship than any other category 😉.

The key is this--are you OK w/ INT if the bid does not go thru?

 

We have done that before where we booked 1 adult/1 kid in each room...then just got extra keys & swapped them out. No big deal.

 

[Twolittleboys]

Personally, I think the price is rather high. If the itinerary is exactly what you are looking for I would go for it but if you are open to some variations I would wait a bit, especially if you don't necessarily need the newest/fanciest ship. 2025 is a long way off.

[The Traveling Man]

5 hours ago, PACD_JG said:

From what I can tell from the website, booking 2 rooms will give all of us the free at sea benefits, and booking one room won't.  My issue is that my daughters will be 18 and 17 at the time, and the website says somebody at least 21+ must be in each room.  Could I book two insides with 1 adult + 1 child, get the benefits, and then just have the girls room together once onboard, or is that a huge no-no?  Will I truly miss a balcony room in the Aegean?  (We've only sailed with Verandahs/Balconies).

There have been many reports on this website of folks doing exactly what you suggest, despite the fact that the terms and conditions specified on the NCL website indicate that you must have an adult in each room.  It's possible that the shipboard staff can amend the rules only in the case of connecting rooms.  I'm not sure about that, but we have heard of families changing their sleeping arrangements when they have booked multiple rooms.  The folks at the Guest Services desk can issue additional and/or replacement key cards that should allow you to book one adult in each room but then shift to having adults in one room and children in another.  I can't make any guarantees, but I have heard of it happening in the past.

[The Traveling Man]

@PACD_JG

I just noticed your hometown listing.  My MIL grew up there.  Do you know any of the Kramers?

[PACD_JG]

2 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

@PACD_JG

I just noticed your hometown listing.  My MIL grew up there.  Do you know any of the Kramers?

I do, but only because everybody knew everybody.  I lived there from December 2013 - February 2015.

[PACD_JG]

7 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

I just noticed your hometown listing.  My MIL grew up there.  Do you know any of the Kramers?

I actually knew Rocky (probably 15 in 2014?) the best since we used to play football, basketball, and kickball in the gym with the Cold Bay youth.  Rocky had a younger sister.

[mjkacmom]

You can absolutely switch folks around, our family of 7 did it every cruise. Go to guest services after boarding and get extra keys. A PP suggested you wait, but since the deposit is fully refundable before final payment, I don’t think you have anything to lose by booking now and watching fares.

[rodndonna]

21 hours ago, PACD_JG said:

 

 

Is this price outrageously high?  I have nothing to compare this too, and to be honest, I don't care about the new ship or the go-karts or any of that.  In fact, I wish the Jade was still sailing but that is not the case for Greece in 2025.

 

 

We are also starting to look at our 2025 cruise (fall) options. There are 2 things making comparisons hard - not all the cruise lines have their cruises out yet and secondly, it is hard to judge what inevitable price increases are realistic for 2 years from now.

 

What we have been doing is looking at the equivalent 2024 cruises for our price/option comparisons. For now, it seems 2024 and 2025 are priced the same. Therefore, if I were you I would look at options in Jun 2024 as a guideline of what eventually be available for June 2025 and at what price point.

 

Edit: we are booked on the Viva but doing it more to check out the "new" ship thing in the Southern Caribbean. It wouldn't be my choice (personally) for a cruise of Greek islands. I would (again - personal preference) look for a smaller ship for that one.

 

Edited July 4, 2023 by rodndonna
more info

[PACD_JG]

1 hour ago, rodndonna said:

Edit: we are booked on the Viva but doing it more to check out the "new" ship thing in the Southern Caribbean. It wouldn't be my choice (personally) for a cruise of Greek islands. I would (again - personal preference) look for a smaller ship for that one.

 

I haven't done a deep dive yet, but I would consider a European line for this cruise.  The "unique" thing about this Viva cruise is that it stops in Istanbul two nights, which is important to me.  I haven't really seen that before.