The Traveling Man

By using a combination of Platinum and Free at Sea dining benefits a passenger can dine at any of the specialty restaurants. As previously stated, and as clearly delineated in the Platinum Latitudes schedule of benefits, one of the Platinum dining coupons may be redeemed at either of two specified specialty restaurants, the other Platinum dining coupon may only be redeemed at either of two other specialty restaurants, while the Free at Sea dining benefits may be used in any specialty restaurant. In those specialty restaurants which have a fixed cover charge, either the FAS benefit or the Platinum benefit (if so designated for the particular restaurant) may be redeemed for the cover charge. In a la carte specialty restaurants, some restrictions as to the total cost of the meal may apply. All of these restrictions, limitations, and details are clearly and definitively spelled out on NCL's website. Any persons wishing to apprise themselves of those terms and conditions may do so on the NCL site. The original question to which I responded was from a person who seemed to have been told that their dining credits were not fully valid and that they may not be able to use them all. I simply tried to dispel that false notion. I did not spell out the specific terms and conditions of the use of those credits. Rather, as they used to say in math textbooks, "the proof is left to the reader."

Teppanyaki is not an a la carte restaurant. It has a fixed cover charge.

No, the Platinum credits are limited in use. Depending upon which restaurants are available on a given ship, one of the credits is good only for Le Bistro or Cagneys, while the other is only good at La Cucina or Moderno. Check the NCL website for the complete list of restaurant substitutions on ships that do not have one or more of those venues. The Free at Sea dining credits may be used at any specialty restaurant, including Teppanyaki.

The a la carte specialty restaurants are covered by both the Platinum and Free at Sea dining credits. As stated by others, in making your reservations be sure to book the cover charge restaurants first, then the a la carte restaurants.

Yes, stop by the box office to get a schedule of shows. You also can book your shows at that time. Sometimes they only accept reservations for the main theater, but often you also can make reservations for the shows in the lounges. If you need to adjust your dinner reservations, you then can go to the dinner reservation desk, usually located near the guest services desk on Deck 6. Because so many people need to make reservations on the first day, however, they sometimes set up temporary reservation areas, often in Teppanyaki or Headliners comedy club on Deck 6.

Remember that back on board time usually is 30 minutes before departure time. In ports requiring a tender, the last tender leaving the port typically is an hour or so before sailing time. Be sure to check at each port before leaving the ship.

One simple solution would be to cancel all your bids, then resubmit them using your new credit card number. Otherwise, just call NCL and ask to speak to someone about changing your info on file.

Agree.

But on that cruise, it's Tilbury for London.

Mike, I'm going to have to call your hand about Katty Byrd. While my emails to Harry Sommer obviously were routed to a non-monitored email address, Ms. Byrd has not only returned my messages but has been very helpful on more than one occasion when problems arose. I'm sorry if she didn't respond to you, but she has really gone out of her way to help me.

NCL offers several trips to Bruges. I would recommend "Bruges On Your Own."

I have traveled on 14 of NCL's 17 ships, including each of the recently built mega-ships which are most likely to feature the key card electric power switch. On several of them I have experimented with the question of whether the key card switch controlled the HVAC. In each case, I set the AC to maximum cooling before removing my card to leave the ship for the day. Upon returning the room was considerably cooler than when I left that morning, indicating that the AC had been operating at full blast the entire day. This may not be the case on all NCL ships. I will acknowledge that possibility. As one who paid for university classes in electrical engineering by working summers as a construction electrician, however, I have always had a deep curiosity in how electrical systems operate. This inspires me to experiment, test, and verify things like the key card switch. It is possible that things are different on some ships, or that things have changed since the last time I sailed on one ship or another, but I will stand by the results of my empirical testing and my competence in the operation of electrical systems.

The card slot switch controls the lights and outlets. It does not control the HVAC system.

We have seen the same thing on our recent cruises on NCL ships which have the card slot for electrical power. I usually pull the card out when we leave anyway. It's easier than going around the room to turn off all the lights.

No, just that no one had ever unplugged any of the devices that he left plugged in. I have sailed more than two dozen times on NCL and have left items plugged in more than 100 times. None of mine were ever unplugged by a cabin attendant.

You shouldn't have any trouble including them. Just mention the number in your party when you register with the Cruise Next Manager. It also shouldn't matter that one of your sons is Silver and the other is Platinum. They both should be able to join you as your guests.

Frequently NCL will hold back some space on their tours to accommodate those who prefer to book once they are on board. They also sometimes add more buses when tours prove to be more popular than first planned. Stop by the shore excursions desk as soon as they open on your first day on board to see if there is any available room on the tours that interest you. As others have suggested, though, there are many independent tours available in most ports. In some ports it can be a lot of fun just to stroll around town on your own, without booking a tour.

The invitation typically is for all the occupants of the stateroom. If you are traveling with other family members who are booked in a different room, be sure to mention it to the Cruise Next Manager when you register for dinner with an officer on the day of embarkation. They should be able to accommodate you.

Yes you may bid on multiple staterooms. If your bid is accepted, your bank card will be charged at once, your original stateroom will be released, and your reservation will be moved to a new room of NCL's choosing. You will not be able to make your own room selection and you will not be able to decline the move. If you have bid on multiple upgrades, your other bids will be cancelled automatically once one of your bids is successful. If the bank card that you registered with your bid changes or expires prior to NCL allocating the upgrades, your bid will be skipped and you may receive a notice that your card could not be processed. Usually, though, by the time you receive such a notice, NCL will have continued allocating the upgrade rooms and you will be passed by before you can respond. So be sure to keep your bank card information current on any outstanding bids. NCL can allocate the upgrades at any time after you place your bid right up until the sailing date. Usually, though, they are allocated about two days before sailing.

Usually a day or two before the end of the first of your two cruises you will receive info about the turnaround. This may be a letter, or you may be invited to a meeting where the procedures will be explained. Either way, if a Covid test is required you will be told when and where it will be conducted, usually on board on the day before turnaround. You will receive a wristband, name tag, badge, or some other means of identifying yourself to port personnel as an "in transit" passenger. That will allow you to skip the check-in line at the port terminal and go straight to the security checkpoint, just as you normally would at any intermediate port. You also will be instructed to stop by the Guest Services desk to pick up a new key card. This usually should be done either the evening before turnaround or perhaps the morning of turnaround. The instructions you receive will give you the specifics. Once you use your new card, do not try to use your old card for anything else. Doing so can cancel your new card. In most ports you will be required to exit the ship and spend at least a short time in the port terminal so the port authorities can reconcile the manifest and zero out the passenger count. After that is done you can return to the ship if you want to, or you can explore the port city or take an excursion. NCL usually does not offer shore excursions on turnaround days, so you may need to arrange an independent tour yourself. Since you will treat the turnaround day as you would any other intermediate port, your back-on-board time usually will be 30 minutes before departure. In your case that would be 4:30 PM, but it would be a good idea to ask at the Guest Services desk before disembarking. Other passengers who are checking in, of course, must be at the terminal much earlier to begin their check-in.

You were lucky. On our May cruise on the Getaway we received zero compensation for the missed Latitudes benefits.

On our cruise this May on the Getaway they did not offer the wine tasting, spirits tasting, or behind the scenes tour as Latitudes benefits. They did offer the wine tasting for a fee to anyone who wanted it, but did not offer it as a freebie for Latitudes members. They also offered no compensation at all for the skipped benefits. We did get dinner with an officer, though. Actually there were six of us with two rather junior officers.

Some have reported receiving all the pins from Bronze on up. When we were on the Getaway this May they said that they only had been allocated enough pins to give us our Diamond pins, not all the rest. It didn't matter to me, but my wife likes to collect such things and was disappointed not to get them all.

If the first leg of a cruise increases your Latitudes points enough to qualify for a higher tier on the second leg of your cruise, your new status should automatically be recorded on your new card. A quick check of the new card that you receive either the day before turnaround day or the next morning should show your new status. If not, check with Guest Services for a new card. We have done this twice. Each time it was automatic.

@ChiefMateJRKWe cancelled a cruise on the Pearl in May 2019 less than 48 hours before the scheduled embarkation. We received a refund equal to our taxes, port fees, gratuities, and prepaid items such as shore excursions. The only thing that NCL did not refund was the basic cruise fare. Things may be different now, but that was our experience in 2019.