NCL CAS Drops Another Big "Surprise"

 

BTW, we have never seen or heard of anyone getting a "Special Birthday Offer" in all these years but it is still listed. Anyone know what this is supposed to be?

We were on board on my birthday this year and I got a reasonably nice spa type robe. It was OK, but it was the waffle kind, not the big fluffy kind.

Terry

And on my birthday on the Breakaway, CAS decorated my cabin with balloons, streamers & BD signs, boy was I surprised. And I was given an 8x10 photo of my choice in one of those fancy frames.:)

Curious, did they do this automatically, or was it noted on the original reservation (they usually ask us if it is a special occasion at time of booking), or did you ask the host?

Dave

We are now on the Epic for 21 days and I can add and updated a couple of things to the original comparison of the Casino at Seas Tier Benefits changes last year vs. this year. They have been severely downgraded so there is absolutely no reason to play up to VIP anymore.

1. In keeping with what happened the previous 2 years, we were downgraded on April 1 to Gold (from VIP). Nobody can still explain why you don't keep your status that was earned in the prior year. A friend of ours was likewise downgraded from Gold to Hot, so all I can guess is that everyone is automatically downgraded one level each April 1.

2. Instead of 2 (gold) or 4 (VIP) Spa day passes, you now receive spa credit of $150 (Gold) which can be used for most anything in the Spa (massages, etc.). Probably the only positive change depending on how you use the Spa.

3. They now give you a certificate for the dinner and you present to the restaurant (just like they do with the Latitudes specialty free dinner & wine). They will still book them for you if you insist or you can book them yourself. You must now present the certificate when you dine. It has been downgraded as it no longer includes the complimentary bottle of wine.

4. Gold & VIP - Eliminated VIP Royal Treatment (Cagney's Breakfast/lunch on small ships, VIP/Haven check-in, Captain VIP M&G)

5.- Eliminated Cigar & Cigarette Offer

6. Eliminated VIP Seating for Shows (1st three or four rows they saved for VIP's/suite holders)

7. VIP/VIP+ only Downgrades - Eliminated Private Transportation to/from ship

8. They removed the word "Global" from the Cash Advance fee waived benefit which makes me suspicious that we may not get them waived anymore since we cruise more in Europe than US..

9. A fellow passenger was told that they will not receive any benefits of the next level that they are about to achieve on this cruise. The host said that a new rule is that you don't get them until your next cruise. If true, this is a big downgrade also. In their case the 3% convenience fee is the big issue to them, so they are just going to stop playing. Big loss to NCL as they are huge players.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NON-CASINO related change April 1. They raised the price of the internet from $100 to $125 for 250 minutes, but they added a new UNLIMITED plan for $25/day ($175 for a 7 day cruise). Since we are on a 21 day it will be costly but convenient not to worry about how slow it is. Also the standard service charge (they call gratuities) increased April 1 from $12 to $12.95 per day per person.

Also, interestingly, now that the Epic is being banned to Europe permanently, they removed a small number of slot and VP machines so it is much less congested in a couple of areas of the casino. Being on the transatlantic the casino is very empty (as it will be all the time in Europe) so I assume they decided to reduce their machine rental costs a bit.

Service on the ship has been the poorest we have ever seen. Captain said there were 1642 crew members. We have been on the Epic 8 times before this and I think it used to run with 2100 crew, so that coupled with the fact that most do not work for tips anymore continues to make NCL's service grow worse more every year. The ship is also showing its wear and tear and the lack of money spent on maintenance. We also left 2-1/2 hours late. Word was food inspectors busted them and made them throw away outdated food and they had to quickly order additional items to the ship. I tend to believe these rumors since O' Sheehan's was closed during embarkation for inspection (always open for lunch day of embarkation).

Dave

 

 

2. Instead of 2 (gold) or 4 (VIP) Spa day passes, you now receive spa credit of $150 (Gold) which can be used for most anything in the Spa (massages, etc.). Probably the only positive change depending on how you use the Spa.

Just to add: VIP will receive a spa credit of $300.00

 

3. They now give you a certificate for the dinner and you present to the restaurant (just like they do with the Latitudes specialty free dinner & wine). They will still book them for you if you insist or you can book them yourself. You must now present the certificate when you dine. It has been downgraded as it no longer includes the complimentary bottle of wine.

 

I was told by a CAS supervisor over the phone that the free bottle of wine is now determined by the Casino Host and is at their discretion depending on how much you play, how long you're there, etc.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also the standard service charge (they call gratuities) increased April 1 from $12 to $12.95 per day per person.

 

For Haven/Suites it went from $12.95 to $14.95

 

 

Dave

Great job in comparing, Dave. See my replies above in red.

Let's also not forget about:

Drink gratuities going from 15% to 18%

Specialty Restaurants added 18% gratuity

Room service fee of $7.95 depending on what you order/what ship.

Harriet

Thanks for adding more information!

Dave