Platinum Status Question

[ihate2cruise]

My husband and I have both reached Platinum status, below is from the Latitudes page on NCL site. Am I understanding that we get two Specialty Restaurant dinners total? (+the free at sea one)?

Dinner for Two with a Bottle of Wine6 (per stateroom)
Dinner for Two6 (per stateroom)

  Thank you in advance for your time.

[Russiamomm]

Yes, you get two additional specialty dinners for 2, one with a bottle of wine.  The benefit is per cabin, not per Platinum passenger.  This is in addition to any FAS meals you get.  You will also each get a free bag of laundry.  That perk is per Platinum member, not per cabin.

[ihate2cruise]

Just now, Russiamomm said:

Yes, you get two additional specialty dinners for 2, one with a bottle of wine.  The benefit is per cabin, not per Platinum passenger.  This is in addition to any FAS meals you get.  You will also each get a free bag of laundry.  That perk is per Platinum member, not per cabin.

Thank you 🙂

[ihate2cruise]

Another question: We get a Behind the Scenes Tour, when I try to book it it charges 99.00/pp. Do we have to book this on board?

[shof515]

1 minute ago, ihate2cruise said:

Another question: We get a Behind the Scenes Tour, when I try to book it it charges 99.00/pp. Do we have to book this on board?

yes. there is two different behind the scenes tour. the paid tour and a platinum free tour 

 

The free platinum tour you need to book by going to the cruisenext desk. The free tour is a shorten behind the scenes tour compared to the paid tour. the paid tour is slightly longer and goes to more places 

[Treasure Hunter]

We took the paid tour because the platinum tour was filled the first day. It cost $189 a person and was terrible. The captain was giving a lecture in the theater so was t on the bridge. There was a lot of standing around and waiting. New people that didn’t know what to do. I don’t recommend. Princess gives a much better tour but that won’t help you 

[kelib]

To add a related question
 

This is also my first Platinum cruise. Previously I had heard that there was a special way to book dining, free at sea dining or platinum dining first, or does it matter

[KeithJenner]

19 minutes ago, kelib said:

To add a related question
 

This is also my first Platinum cruise. Previously I had heard that there was a special way to book dining, free at sea dining or platinum dining first, or does it matter

The only thing that matters is to book any meals at fixed price places (Teppanyaki, Moderno) first.

 

The link in my signature is a bit out of date, but it explains the reason for this.

Edited February 1 by KeithJenner

[kelib]

Thanks, may be more confused. I wonder if I can call and reserve? 

[KeithJenner]

2 hours ago, kelib said:

Thanks, may be more confused. I wonder if I can call and reserve? 

Calling is very likely to cause more confusion, as people apparently often get told that you can’t book latitudes meals in advance. That is nonsense, you can book whatever meals you want regardless of how they are being paid for.

 

It is quite simple though. Ignore the reasons why if that helps, but just go online and book the meals that you want, making sure that you book any with a fixed charge first.

[MeHeartCruising]

17 hours ago, ihate2cruise said:

Another question: We get a Behind the Scenes Tour, when I try to book it it charges 99.00/pp. Do we have to book this on board?

 

You need to go to the Latitudes desk soon after you board and get on their list for this Platinum Behind the Scenes Tour.  They sometimes limit the number of people that can go on the tour.  If there are a LOT of Platinum (or higher) passengers on the ship, it could fill up.  

 

Also, if there are 2 in your party and only 1 is Platinum, then only the Platinum member can go on the tour.  You can ask to get a non-Platinum partner on the tour, but it is usually rejected.  

[kelib]

9 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

 

 

It is quite simple though. Ignore the reasons why if that helps, but just go online and book the meals that you want, making sure that you book any with a fixed charge first.

Thanks, done. 
I haven’t been on NCL for a year and since have been on 2 other cruiselines with different procedures and was getting all mixed up since all are different, Finally how to do it kicked in.

[dexddd]

17 hours ago, Treasure Hunter said:

We took the paid tour because the platinum tour was filled the first day. It cost $189 a person and was terrible. The captain was giving a lecture in the theater so was t on the bridge. There was a lot of standing around and waiting. New people that didn’t know what to do. I don’t recommend. Princess gives a much better tour but that won’t help you 

That is unacceptable they did not get you the free one if you went first day.

[itsnotjustme]

11 hours ago, dexddd said:

That is unacceptable they did not get you the free one if you went first day.

It may not be unreasonable.  I was on a transatlantic 16-day with over 900 Platinum or above members onboard.  The tour was full up and we did not get it despite asking on day 1.

 

Realize giving the tours takes time from busy staff members.  Last time we went, they broke us into two groups of 15 or so.  Each group had a guide and security.  We made three stops - at the laundry, the kitchen, and the theater.  At each location, a senior staff member talked about 15 minutes - taking time away from their normal duties.  With two groups, that is 30 minutes each.

 

The tour lasted roughly an hour with walking time so total staff hours spent for the 30 of us was:

2 Hours - 2 Guides

2 Hours - 2 Security

30 minutes - Kitchen

30 minutes - Laundry

30 minutes - Theater

 

That's about 5 1/2 hours with us on the tour.  Add on planning time (where the tour goes, when, and ensuring staff availability) and the sign-up process, printing name labels, and it is easily 10 hours work to run the tour once in two small groups.

 

Running 10 tours to handle 300 people (still only 33% of eligible) would be a substantial workload.

 

We took the tour next cruise next cruise (we were on a back-to-back, so 7 days later...).  And we hope to take it again next cruise. 

 

 

[BirdTravels]

11 hours ago, dexddd said:

That is unacceptable they did not get you the free one if you went first day.

It is first come first serve. Capacity limited. Going "on the first day" doesn't mean very much. The tour is normally early on the morning of Day 2.

 

Cruise Next is normally our first stop after lunch... BTS tour, dinner with officers, Wines around the World tasting, Mixology. Yeah,,, it is pretty much the same on every ship, but it is something to do. 

[dexddd]

So I guess listing perks and said perks can't or won't be delivered is acceptable to some.  Really not big staffing issue.  Tours have been drifting to early a.m.  CN person maybe taken from selling certs.  One security guard and since early, not much going on.  Rest of staff doing their job and usually excited to see tours.