chiefy_mom

We got our flight at exactly 30 days for our June cruise out of Rome. They had the 1-day eviction we requested, so can’t speak to changes after that.

When I booked my cruise, the price NCL was charging for BOGO was the same I would pay for one ticket - I expected there to be a premium. So BOGO for 3 people would still be a true savings of one plane ticket.

We received our flights 30 days out from our cruise - so at worst you are 90 days out from knowing for sure.

It annoys me when this is always stated as a fact. How do YOU cruise and how long will YOU reasonably use the balcony. for me, on land vacations, I don’t just book oceanfront resorts, I book oceanfront rooms. I usually wake up before the rest of the family and love sitting on the balcony watching the waves and reading/relaxing. When coming back from port I also want to relax on the balcony without other people. I don’t want to have to fight for a space. I did do Alaska with just an ocean view a long time ago, but I wouldn’t do it that way again. How people-y are you? And how important is private outdoor space to you?

Super-mundane question - what do they print on the freestyle dailies with an itinerary like this? Do they skip printing “Day 1”? Or does it say “Day 1/4”? Or something like that?

No reservation is needed for the MDR, however if you choose to make them, you have more time options before you board, once on ship the only times you can reserve are 5:30 and 8:30 (at least my experience on the Getaway)

We used the BOGO for travel between US East Coast and Italy. Pros saved $3k neutral we had excellent layovers/ timing all 3 cabins were on same flights I put these both as neutral because they are NOT guaranteed CONS flights were not assigned until 30 days out would I do it again? Yes, for similar savings. Probably not for minor savings.

Our last night on the Getaway in July O’sheehan’s had prime rib.

If you don’t drink alcohol, you should consider declining the FAS drink package. The gratuity you pay on the package translates to ~2 alcoholic drinks per day to break even. If you only drink soda, you might be better off buying the soda package instead.

YMMV on this. We were just on the Getaway in the Mediterranean and there was absolutely no dumping of any liquid at all. And we always had an assortment of partially full water bottles in our group.

We did one-day deviations pre and post.

You have to recognize that by definition, cruising gives you a "taste" of each stop and is NOT in-depth exploration like it sounds like you are used to. The benefit is getting a broader taste of areas so you can maybe decide to go again later OR hitting up spots that you wouldn't want to spend multiple days in, so you're only committing to one. For me, the concern with your itinerary is several ports are far away from the cities you're supposedly visiting - like Paris and Berlin. I just did a Med Cruise that thankfully started in Rome (Civitivecchia) and ended in Venice (Trieste) so I was able to add extra nights and actually see those cities (still not fully doing them justice, but I'm okay with that). Doing either of those as a port day would have been horrible. So, test out what your excursions would be in each port and decide from there.

We had a great experience from east coast to Rome and back from Venice. All 3 cabins were actually booked on the same flights. Connections were a little tight, but I’d be stupid enough to book the same on my own, so no real complaint there. Saving $3k was totally worth it. Unlike others, we had the option to upgrade our seats on our flights, but chose not to. We flew Delta/KLM out and Air France/Delta on the return. We arrived in Rome 9:30AM the day before our cruise. tip for others considering using NCL Air is to really know thyself. It stressed me out more than I expected to have to wait until 30 days out to get the flights. I couldn’t book transfers or tours without it, so waiting was hard.

We were on the Getaway for 9 days in June and had “professional entertainment” as you call it, every night. There was something in headliners, the illusionarium, theater and Sydney Norman’s every night. Plus multiple musicians scattered throughout the bars nightly.

I saw them on the June 24th sailing. MDQ was great, but I have to say I REALLY loved Broadway Unplugged.

Does the Getaway have Powerade (or other sports, not energy drink)? If so, where? And is it included in the kids soda package?

It’s a popular challenge to wear the same dress for 100 days and just accessorize it differently! Usually it’s a solid color though, because a pattern is too distinctive.

I reached out to them with their “contact” form this week about an airport transfer. They got back to me very quickly and clarified they have limited resources after COVID and no longer do transfers.

I’m a newbie. Do you choose a specific check-in TIME? And what happens if you miss that time?

I received the email from NCL with my flight information, but another member of my travelling party (different room, so different reservation) did NOT receive the email. Our Travel Agent confirmed we're all on the same flight. I checked the app and I checked my account online, I don't see any other form of communication/verification of our flight info. Am I missing it? Or is one email the only way this info is communicated?

Were you able to fit in ONE golf cart? We are a group of 6 and are trying to figure out an easy tour.

Is it possible to get the specific entertainment schedule in advance of the cruise? I’d like to plan dinner reservations around the shows, but I don’t know what’s on which night…. specifically I’m on the Getaway out of Rome in June.

How much does the arcade package typically cost? I’ll be on the Getaway for 9 days. And can two kids effectively pass the card back and forth? (They are staying in different rooms and I really doubt I’ll want to buy 2x the package.

The # days deviation does seem to be a problem, but when I booked my cruise my travel agent asked NCL about keeping multiple cabins on the same flight and they said it’s absolutely not guaranteed. So we split the guests up in a way that made sense for all the travel.

We took advantage of the BOGO flight to Rome and are waiting for our flight assignments. NCL charged $1,429 for the flight which is the going rate for a single ticket, so we are saving $3k (family of 4) with the offer. We’ll suck it up and deal with whatever flight they give us for that kind of savings. they are allowed to book you with up to 2 stops, but I’m not sure if there was any guideline on layover time. I’m anxiously awaiting how many of our 3 cabins will be on the same flight.