richmke

Try calling to book. I was chatting with the excursion person, and they offered to book the spa.

2 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

4-week T bills on auto-roll at Fidelity and chill. 

Current yield curve = 5.53% 😎

 

No work at all.

Farther you go out, the higher the yield. 4 week rolls works to minimize watching it.

I used Schwab. They have many physical locations, which is a plus for me, just in case. Many money market funds you can buy with high rates. Or, easy to buy treasury bills (few days to 1 year) to get +5.40%, but more work to keep invested.

I am on the Epic (Nov 8, 2923 sailing). Ship seems nice (first time on NCL, but have sailed Princess an Carnival). Only one main stage production for the 12 days, Burn The floor (?). They have a number of smaller shows, singers, magician, beetles tribute band,  etc. CCL had 2 mainstage productions for 7 day cruises. Hopefully I haven't missed any comedians.

Shanghai restaurant was disappointing.  I'm Chinese, and it was the equivalent of fast food Chinese. Cagneys was good. Breakfast buffet is good. Haven't had MDR yet.

I bid the minimum for upgrade to Haven. Later, when I was discussing something else with my PCC, I asked the cost to upgrade to Haven. It was less than the minimum bid, so I took it.

Anyone ever seen Biscuits and Gravy?

I took the price drop as an opportunity to upgrade to Haven for less than the cost of bidding, and selected the cabin, etc.

2 hours ago, sanger727 said:

 They have pre-booked the tour vendor's times and arranged for transportation already. Keeping it as close to the original times would be the most convenient. 

New day (went from day 5 to day 12), so the pre-booked times are not applicable. Too late to figure out if they took the Day 12 from another ship that was scheduled to dock. But, I have 11 days on board to discuss the options with the excursion desk.

2 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

Especially considering you are one week from departure, why not call the NCL shorex department now and ask them about it?

It could still be up in the air, but they may have an answer even though it is not yet reflected in the online schedule yet.

I talked with them yesterday when I changed a different excursion. Rep said to check onboard.

On the Epic departing November 8. It is one of the itineraries affected by the conditions in Israel.

Originally, the ship docked in Santorini at Noon, and departed at 9:00, and I purchased the Greek Style Celebration that departed at 12:45 and returned at 6:15.

The revised itinerary has the ship tendering at 8:00 am and leaving at 6:00. The shore excursion shows the same time, ending at 6:15.

Santorini is a tender port, as well as a Cable Car from the end of the tour, Fira, to the tender port, which can have a line as long as 1.5 hours.

Any guess what NCL will do? Moving the start time to 9am, would put the meal part of the excursion around Noon, which is reasonable. Then we would have time to visit Fira and wait in a cable car line.

2 hours ago, julig22 said:

 Especially challenging if you've chosen the BOGO airfare promotion.

I compared price before airfare, and they charged the difference. Airfare stayed the same.

16 hours ago, vswan said:

Is changing/upgrading online only done prior to final payment?

They are happy to take your money anytime. I upgraded 2 weeks prior to embarkation.  If there is a faredrop after final payment, that is one way to take advantage of it. Had to call PCC to do it.

If you find a deal at another website (typically OBC - sharing some if the commission), the PCC may be able to get close. 

2 hours ago, Yesimapirate said:

None of them have ice cream.  They have mixes and add ice but they don't use a scoop of ice cream.

Sigh. Artificial Grasshopper.

4 hours ago, Laszlo said:

Just do a mock booking, that will get you pretty close on the price difference

Can't. the Cruise is one of the Israel cruises that has been taken down.

4 hours ago, Grammymongi said:

Interesting,,,,I called my NCL TA to find out the price difference between my large balcony and a Haven Aft and she said she can't give me a price for the Haven upgrade because it's in the Upgrade Advantage status. I did bid on the Haven but was wondering what the price difference was to potentially just upgrade instead of waiting for my really low bid to get declined. LOL 

I did it last night, so I would call again, and talk to any cruise consultant. See if you get a different answer. Maybe the "upgrade advantage status" started this morning.

Thanks. I'll skip the Coffee package.

Thanks. I don't think the issue is "blender" as much as it is "ice cream".

Atrium, pool side, and possibly Casino has ice cream?

Which bars on the Epic have frozen drinks? Grasshopper, mudslide, etc. Drinks made with ice cream. Thanks.

First time NCL, and Haven on the Epic. I understand the room comes with a Nespresso maker.

My wife loves (needs) her morning coffee. On other cruise lines, I get the premium coffee package and bring her a wakeup coffee (buffet coffee won't do).

Thoughts on Starbucks vs Nespresso vs free room service coffee? Do they provide bottled water for the Nespresso?

Can you request heavy cream, not half-and-half, and keep it in the fridge?

Thanks

8 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

 

Does anyone know if i can change my assigned upgraded room to another room?

 

Thx 

Call whoever controls the reservation, and ask for a different cabin in the same class. If you booked through NCL, then the general reservation line should be able to handle it.

On the 12 day Epic cruise on 11/8 from Rome to Tel Aviv, that was changed to Athens. Cruise not listed for sale, so couldn't get availability. We are in B1, Aft balcony. Min bid to Haven Aft Penthouse Balcony is $700 pp, $1,400 total. Bid a little more.

Called my NCL TA about other stuff and asked about buying the upgrade. He said $1,300 and I said "Done". He offered a bunch of different cabins, so not full at all.

If you have free at sea beverage package, you can upgrade to premium that has a 2 drinks at a time provision. 

2 hours ago, Yesimapirate said:

Water is pretty hydrating.

need the salts.

Thanks