WYB!

19 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

What is the procedure for doing that?  I know that several years ago NCL would offer some cruises both as separate segments as well as part of a longer cruise, but I haven't seen the option for putting two different cruises under a single reservation.  Please describe how you did this. Thanks.

Hi,

So using my TA, I inform them that I would like Voyage 1 and Voyage 2 under 1 booking number.

The TA then contacts NCL and makes sure I have Voyage 1 and Voyage 2 under 1 booking number.

1 booking number then shows up on my NCL account when I login to ncl.com.

Stay positive and safe travels,

- WYB

9 hours ago, casofilia said:

I would NOT recommend booking a B2B as a single entity.   Someone actually did that for my wife and I on the Ill-fated Spirit cruises in March 2020.   We had Dubai-Cape Town and Cape Town-Singapore under one reservation number.

 

In actuality the Dubai-Cape Town cruise did not visit any ports after Muscat and the Cape Town-Singapore cruise was first changed to Cape Town-Athens and then cancelled totally.

Because we had a single reservation number we received all information regarding the Dubai-Cape Town cruise but NOTHING about the Cape Town-Singapathens cruise directly from NCL before we boarded.   I found out some things from Cruise Critic and then had to confirm with my PCC in Sydney.

 

Once on board for the Dubai-Cape Town cruise we did receive all the documents that were handed out.  At times I had to ask at Guest Services for clarification due to errors or ambiguities within the documants.

 

The discounts that we had been offered were the easy part once someone realised that we had actually booked a B2B.   However any refunds or FCCs were very difficult as the percentages for the two cruises were not exactly the same and, of course, the actual sums depended on the fares for each cruise.  No-one in Sydney was willing to take the fare we had paid and split it into separate sums for the two cruises.   I made logical suggestions of how to do it but no-one in Sydney had the authority to make a decision.

 

I believe it finally was passed to a person in NCLs Legal Claims and Support Services Division in the UK to make a decision and who then gave advice to senior persons in Sydney of the manner how our refunds and FCCs were to be calculated.   It actually took over 5 months from our return to NZ before the matter was finally completed.

 

Never again!!!!   We do lots of B2Bs on the same ship but make sure we have totally separate reservations for each cruise.

 

Don't get me started about the "information breakdown" or the "abominable paper warfare" we had to put up with!!

That's unfortunate, but I'm glad you got it resolved. 

Did you also have travel insurance and if so were they helpful?

March 2020 was a bad time for any type of travel.

Stay positive and Safe travels,

- WYB

6 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Some of us are still waiting to hear about how to do that. Apparently it is super secret insider info. 

Sorry, that ship has already sailed...

41 minutes ago, julig22 said:

As I understand it, you can no longer get a meta upgrade for both cruises using NCL points even if they are booked under a single reservation.  If somebody has done that recently, please let me know! 

So there may not be any advantage to booking a B2B as a single reservation (although if you get to keep your windfall I guess there might be).

Disadvantage - you might want/need to cancel 1 leg.

 

Yep, that is correct. It was good while it lasted. (See my Signature for B2B trips)

This trip might have been the last of the single meta upgrades which covered both B2B voyages.

Now you need twice the number of points for the meta upgrade as before for a B2B.

Although if you do want/need to cancel 1 leg, that's what travel insurance is for.

Stay positive and safe travels,

- WYB

I could but it’s easier to direct people to post #4667 (August 29th, 2018) and read on from there to learn more about booking a B2B voyage as 1 reservation, the meta upgrade and the NCL MC.

Stay positive & safe travels,

- WYB

Yes, we agree, you are misunderstanding!

Why would other people on Part B be reimbursed for a cruise that wasn't cancelled?

You seem to think I'm bragging. I'm reporting the facts as they happen. You seem to be stating opinion.

I'm looking for other people who are in my situation, (B2B voyage booked as 1 reservation where voyage 1 was cancelled) and what happened after that.

Were you even on this voyage?

As I've stated, I have nothing to hide and I'm hiding nothing.

So please explain how I'm stealing anything?

How does someone have 3.5k with all negative posts?

Have you ever said anything even remotely positive about anything? Ever use the term "Thanks" before?

Stay positive and Safe travels,

- WYB

Please explain how am I stealing anything?

I do feel confident now however, that's something a crazy cat lady might do (or even a Aimee F), but I never look a gift horse in the mouth.

I'm also not going to rock the boat, instead as is my nature I'm going with the flow, but I'll report the facts as they happen.

I still find it hard to believe that I'm alone in this situation. Anyone else?

Stay positive and Safe travels,

- WYB

Glad you found the credit, at least for the 1st room.

Keep us posted.

- WYB

I understand your confusion. When posting by me included the reporting of accurate events as they occur, they're known as facts.
I try to supply as many facts as possible so people can make their own informed decisions.

I never said that I wasn't entitled to anything for a cancelled voyage.

But I was happy with both voyages as they were.
I came really close to booking a 3rd voyage for the 29th of Jan while on board, but decided against it, ( I couldn't keep the same room)
My review of the B2B Jan 2022 voyage on the Gem (which I wrote on day 15 of 21 can be found here):

Sure, before the voyage started, I also could have cancelled or taken the POM offered but I didn't, and if I had then I imagine I would be in a different "boat".

I imagine there might be some people here that took the POM or cancelled their Jan 09th Gem voyage that are upset with themselves.

You think NCL is happy with anyone who took the POM voyage instead of sailing?

Is there anyone who took the POM for the January 9th voyage on the Gem that is happier that they took the POM instead of taking the Jan 09th voyage? I would love to hear back from anyone either way.

Now I'm just reporting things as they are still happening.
I'm very happy with how NCL is handling my situation and I haven't contacted anyone about it.
Is there anyone here that wouldn't like to be in my situation?

At some point I will need to contact NCL to see if I have any FCC in my account.

But until then, Thanks NCL! I'll be booking and sailing with you again.

- WYB

It’s the number of layers and thickness of the aluminum that identify you…

For me, it’s a bicycle.

- WYB

I believe I read on FB that 2 years has been added to all CNCs.
 

I just checked and all of my CNCs have a new expiration date with the earliest being (Sail By 2/14/2025) and the latest being (Sail by 1/22/2026). 

Thank you NCL

- WYB

For those visiting Philipsburg, in St Marteen, I hope this gives you some idea of the distance to Phillipsburg from the Marina where the ship docks if you decide to walk there.

There is a dedicated walking path from the Marina (that is also ADA compliant), and if you make a left in to the parking lot just before reaching the gas station you'll find a small area with a foot bridge that will connect to the boardwalk.

I like to think it's either:

a) Karma, positive things happen to positive people.

b) PR, there are some 7,419 pages on CC with postings for NCL. Of those pages, how many are: Positive, Negative, or Neutral? I imagine NCL appreciates a positive posting and perhaps more people will book a B2B in the hopes of replicating this situation or at the least not cancelling or postponing their voyage. (It's like I'm the opposite of Aimee F. except I haven't contacted any news outlets).

My review of my B2B voyage can be found here:

I also still haven't contacted my TA or NCL regarding any type of refund of FCC, but I have unpacked and processed my photos.

Stay positive and safe travels,

- WYB

So, I still haven't contacted NCL or my TA to find out what FCC I may or may not have because of the "Cancelled" Jan 09th-19th cruise.

But yesterday (Feb 08th) -$1,957.82 showed up on my BoA NCL pending transactions!

Thanks NCL!

Has no one else received anything back?

Yes I'm happy I went on this B2B voyage!

Safe travels!

- WYB

You will also need your vaccine card.

So 3 items: Vaccination card, ID and boarding pass.

Took about an hour to get on the ship in January 2022.

- WYB

You don't actually need that bar code.

All you need is your boarding ticket and ID. At registration they will give you a ticket with a number. About 8-10 minutes after the test your number will be called and displayed on one of several tv's in the hall. A txt will also go to the phone number that was associated to the registered Eurofins account.

Just a feeling, but I think you're going to disregard all of what I just wrote and watch the tv in the hall like a hawk.

Either way, after you get the notification you'll go to the table along with your ticket number and id. A person will attach a wristband to your wrist and you'll head on to checkin.

If also by chance you test positive, they will shout your number several times in the hall and look for you until they find you. 

Safe travels,

- WYB

Back in July of 2021 there was an offer from American Express with NCL that went along the lines of; if you spent $500 with NCL AmEx you give you a statement credit of $150.

I did that and received the statement credit of $150 a few days later.

Well, strangely enough today (Feb 06th, 2022) I received a credit of $220.52 on my AmEx card.

So that would be $500 spent but $370.52 received back.

I still have made no calls about the 1st voyage 2022 Jan 09th - 19th that was "cancelled".

- WYB

Forgot to mention that during the Q&A with the captain, he mentioned that the Gem will be dry docked in France in November 2022 and after 3 weeks and 60 million dollars return to sail again.

Safe travels,

- WYB

I would just wait until you get on the ship to change the reservation.

Even if you don't use the reservation, the reservation alone won't count against your dining package.

Is your B2B under 1 reservation or 2 reservation numbers?

It sounds like you did it as 2 reservations.

While I've never ordered a pizza to my room, I like the pizza in both the buffet and La Cuccina.

But perhaps, they should first try the pizza in the buffet and the pizza from La Cuccina.

If either is not up to their standards then perhaps having it delivered would be even more disappointing.

 - WYB

A heating pad will only be an issue if it causes a fire, otherwise no one will have any issue with you using a heating pad while on board.

Do both trips and let us know which one is better.

Are you talking about Cruise Next Certificates (CNC) or Cruse Next Credit (which I'm not familiar with)?

Not sure if you are using CNCs correctly. My TA at Member Travel Privileges (USAA Explorer cruise travel for military members) has always been able to use 2 CNC per cabin per voyage on all of my bookings. But yeah I book at least 6 months in advanced, else I can use only 1.

Are you trying to do the booking yourself? Your son in law should have the ability to contact a TA at USAA to do the bookings for everyone and get the military discount applied.

My 1st voyage B2B (1 reservation) on the Gem in January 2022 was "cancelled" during the trip.

While I booked a B2B voyage I used 4 CNC's but since the 1st voyage was cancelled the 4 CNC's that I used, came back to my account. The 2nd voyage went on as planned.

I also purchased additional CNC's while on board and then to my surprise I got reimbursed for those purchases and the CNC are still in my account.

Safe travels,

- WYB

 

So it’s now (2022, Feb 03rd) 5 days after I disembarked from the NCL Gem in NYC (Jan 29th).

This is my review of the the remaining 5 days on board the NCL Gem.

The short version is that this was an excellent trip which arrived back to a snow storm in NYC as scheduled on the 29th of January. I did have the opportunity and a really good deal to stay on for another 10 days, however I wouldn’t be able to keep the same cabin so I decided to disembark. I would do this voyage again without hesitation and look forward to my next voyage with NCL.

The long version, our ports on this 2nd voyage included Puerto Plata & Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic, St Marteen and Road Town, Tortola.

For both St Marteen and Road Town, Tortola  I booked excursions through the ship, I booked a different St Marteen excursion then the previous weeks visit to St Marteen. We found both excursions informative, safe & entertaining. I do wish I had planned my time better in Puerto Plata, DR as I could only manage a really short bike ride. In Puerto Plata they actually have bike lanes, and I also found a bike shop in the center of the city that rents bicycles too.

This being my first time to Road Town, Tortola, I found the island and area to have a higher standard of living then the other ports that we visited. However, most of the roads in Tortola were very steep and would make for very challenging cycling going west could be accomplished with flat roads for miles.

On both voyages I found the crew of the NCL Gem to be extremely hard working with the priority being passenger safety, but everyone on board seem to also have a very good time. There was no department or employee that was slacking. I was constantly being greeting by my first name through out the ship. Front desk knew me, cabin stewards from other parts of the ship knew me, the waiters and waitresses knew me. The AV technician knew me. Even the bar staff knew me and I didn’t drink or have a drink package. Everyone was friendly and hard working. The F&B director would stop by when ever he saw me to check on how I was doing as he remembered me from 2 years ago. “J’s” Cruise Director Staff were also very accommodating and friendly. Raven (from the Youth Staff), Morne and JC all were doing double and triple duty working above an d beyond their normal job descriptions.

You should be aware of the updated pricing in the speciality dining restaurants. For us pricing changed between voyages, (ie the Lobster Thermidor went from a $10 additional supplement to $25 additional supplement (but still worth it)). Keep this in mind especially if you are using the Platinum dining certificates as you are limited to 1 appetizer, 1 entree and 1 dessert. But if you are using a speciality dining package you can order 1 entree but as many appetizers and sides as you want.

Close to the end of the voyage, there was a Q&A session with the Captain on the 27th. I believe it was a friendly exchange and also informative. I had random questions in my head that I got to ask him and this session lasted over an hour.

We all were not sure if we would be able to get back to NYC by the 29th because of the snow storm, but the evening before the captain announced that we would be increasing speed to make it back to NYC before the storm forced the closure of the port of NYC.

Disembarkation went smoothly for me. As planned I left my mom, bicycle and luggage in the waiting area upstairs in Port 88 and then picked up a rental car from Avis @ 43rd and 9th ave, then drove back to the port to pick up mom, bicycle and luggage. The drive back home took a little longer then usual but given the amount of snow falling, I’m glad we made it back safely. Along the way there were several cars that were either stuck or spun out along the west side.

My advise is, if you have any concerns at all you should cancel but I don’t think you should be afraid as you might miss one awesome low capacity cruise. Be adaptable, patient, prepared, cautious & aware but not afraid and you’ll have a great time. Also treat the crew well and don’t be like Aimee.

In my opinion, right now would also be an excellent time to cruise single and build up your latitude points as I believe many last minute bookings can offer the single supplement waved. Check online or with your TA.

And yes, as of the time of this writing (Feb 03rd) on my cc statement I have been reimbursed for all onboard charges (including speciality dining) for both voyages (1/9 & 1/19) which I booked as 1 reservation and also received back the 4 CNC’s that I use to book this voyage. I do not know why or how that happened and I’m keeping an eye on this. I’m looking to see if anyone had something similar on their cc statement that was either on the 1/09 voyage or did the B2B (1/9 & 1/19) also as 1 reservation. Let me know.

For additional information check out the roll calls for the Gem 2022 Jan (09th or 19th) or other postings for stuff written by me.

In closing, as our CD “J” would always say, don’t forget to “worry less and smile more”.

Stay well & Safe travels,

Who’sYourBuddy!