newbe dave

I have done this with no issue. Explain what you want to do with the Maître D when you check in. Then double check the "bill" that the server brings you at the end of the meal to make sure that everything was properly applied. Like Bird Travels stated, you can get an additional meal with the third person eating from your selections and, if needed, ordering something ala cart. And make sure to get your bottle of wine from the Platinum coupon too!!!!

The same for a PCC. After I book a cruise while on a cruise, I call my PCC and let him know to take over that cruise. He can then do anything I need for that cruise.

thanks Hallux. That has some good info too.

I would love to see the current thoughts/opinions/guesses for the "basic standards" used by NCL to booking airfare. I would expect low price is number one priority but within certain parameters. If anyone has educated guesses at these, that would be very helpful (julig22 gave a great start - <8 hr. layover, leave after 3PM debarkation day, no more than 2 stops, etc>).

Check out "Wine Diapers" on Amazon or your local stores. They are reusable bubble bags made to hold a standard sized bottle of wine or booze. I use them all the time when flying and they protect very well.

I am picturing a conga line starting at the entrance near the pool area and snaking through the entire buffet area. No cutting or leaving the line please. Doesn't matter that the buffet is designed to have stations for easy access. No interaction with the Conga-Buffet Line. This is why I always go to the aft buffet area. The Conga Line people tend to form their defenses in the front buffet area. That way I am free to enjoy.

I must have a totally different behavior at an NCL buffet. I look at all the food available on the buffet. Yes. I walk by the entire buffet area. If I want something and no one is near (2-3 food items away), I take it. I don't take all of it and I personally don't like taking the last one either (taking an entire pizza is very wrong). If there are people right there (within about 2-3 food items), I go to a break in the line which I see as the end of whatever line there may be. I also skip past people in line if they are taking forever to decide which eggs benedict is the perfect one for them. No doubt what happened in this situation is wrong in multiple ways. I just hope people are not getting flustered at me because I step in, get food and leave.

You can also purchase coverage from your cell phone carrier while you are on the ship. I have done that multiple times (I have AT&T) and it provides good coverage when you are at sea.

One additional point. Make sure prior to leaving for your cruise that your reservation has all of your expected promo's included. I had the drinking plan removed from one of my cruises accidently. I only noticed it when they charged me for a drink the first day of the cruise. After calling my PCC and pointing out the error, everything was corrected. Turns out that my PCC removed the promo accidently when re-pricing my booking to get a better deal. But I did not catch it, so it was my fault. My point is always check that the expected promo's are listed on your reservation.

I view the Platinum meals the same as a Buy one, Get one free dinner coupon at home. Since no tip has been prepaid, I tip for the value of the meals received not the price I pay (which is 0). I add an appropriate tip for the service provide to the bill when they deliver it. The last cruise, they did not deliver a bill (since it was zero) and I had to ask for one. Either way, I always tip when using the Platinum meals.

Fill out the Access Desk form listed above and document that you have allergies. I cruised with wife and two daughters in the Joy. All have allergies of varying concern. We went to lunch at one of the main restaurants after boarding and asked to talk to someone to document our allergies. They took down all information so that it was available every time we checked in at a restaurant. During the cruise, each day, the people with allergies could pre-order for the following day (usually at dinner). We had one person assigned to help us at every meal and this person was amazing about it. Preordering allowed the chefs to ensure everything was good and even made some of the sauces special without the allergen. The only negative is it limited our ability to change up dining options the next day. But, as a whole, the process was amazing and greatly reduced all concerns about food. I would highly recommend doing this if you have concerns about an allergy.

One more planning point for those of us that love to plan (or over plan in my case). The platinum coupons offer slightly less items than the Dining Plan meals. If my memory is correct: platinum allows one appetizer/soup/salad instead of the multiple you get with the Dining Plan. One side instead of 2. But since platinum coupons can be used at any restaurant now, I try to use them where this difference does not matter. Teppenyaki is a good example where the Platinum and Dining Plan meals are the same. Moderno too. For me, La Cucina and Q are good examples for the way I order. But I love the extra App/Salad and sides at Cagneys and Ocean Blue. So I make sure to use Dining Plan coupons for those restaurants. Hope this makes sense. This is probably too much planning but when you have both Platinum and Dining Plan coupons, why not maximize them.

The best thing is to go where the crowd isn't. Generally on the big ships (breakaway class), the front elevators are busier than the rear ones. If you know there is a show in the theater or something with a crowd in the lobby, plan on the front elevators being full when those crowds leave. Same with the pool and, usually, port embarkation. Don't wait for an elevator in the front on a port day when you know the forward gangway is in use. Just walk to the back elevators. For the buffet, sit in the farthest section from the entrance, if possible. Especially for breakfast. People seem to just wander into the buffet and choose the first seat they find. Go the extra steps and sit at the far end. I love the waterfront in the morning. I can have most of the area to myself. Maltings is usually less used early in a cruise. Then people find it and start crowding it up. So enjoy it the first half of your cruise. And a lot of very good suggestions on previous posts. There are ways to enjoy the cruise crowds and also have some time to yourself.

I am copying this paragraph from another NCL thread posted by "luv2kroooz". It perfectly sums up this discussed in my opinion. I will add that I do the same review and come to a different conclusion. I feel cruising still has great value for my travel dollars. I just did a land based trip to Scotland and confirmed that cruising is still a good value for my wife and I For others the answer may, and probably is, different. Everyone should review the costs and benefits provided to make individual decisions. Again. copied a post from "luv2krooz": "We have zero cruises booked on any cruise line since the overall fares charged are no longer justified by the vacation delivered, in our opinion. We are not against paying more if more is delivered in the experience. Right now, the environment is pay more, get less. Pay more for internet, get crappy speeds; pay more for beverage packages, get less selection; pay more for service charges, get less service; pay more for specialty dining, get fewer meals. NCL makes so many changes to itineraries and onboard product offering that we don't even know what we are booking anymore."

I have recently stayed at both Marriott (actually Bonvoy) and Holiday Inn company flagged hotels in the US and Scotland that only service rooms every 2 or 3 days. So if you stay for 2 nights, you do not get any housekeeping service. I cannot remember a hotel stay in 2022 where we got the normal, daily service. You can get towels if you ask at the front desk. I assume the same would be true on NCL. I may find out later this month when I cruise on the Joy (not sure if it is changed yet). I agree that this is a decrease in service at the same time as an increase is the fee (the NCL PR/Communications people should be fired). But I still find cruising a good value, all things considered.