dougygreen

"Whether you book online or on the phone or onboard, you will get the $50 credit to you onboard account, per cabin, once you complete the excursion. No action onboard required. If you pay in full before your cruise, you will end up with a $50 onboard credit to spend." What's the difference?

In a nutshell, I want to pay for my excursion in advance and not right before/during our cruise. Booking online accomplishes exactly that, right? No matter how much they make it feel like you're doing something wrong or atypical?

So then the last two sentences in the Terms and Conditions are indeed contradictory and confusing, right Bird? It sure seems that way and I recall a recent poster trying to pose the same question but getting no definitive answer. "Whether you book online, onboard, or by phone you get the credit either way." Why does NCL have to make it seem so complicated when its not? I just want to have my excursions paid up front and take advantage of the OBC.

But the website says exactly that they will apply the credit, not that i'll have to wait in line or cross my fingers for the credit/refund? The rep said the difference is that booked on the phone the credit is applied once the excursion is completed and that online its applied the last night. But it doesn't really make a difference either way, right? I just want to pay before hand, don't mind receiving it as OBC, and don't understand why they make it so complicated. It's like they would prefer passengers get bombed with all their onboard spending the last minute so they're less able to keep track of it. Do you really think it will be handled poorly and I should just prepare a copy of the T&C's and wait for the inevitable while trying to enjoy my trip?

I was just on the phone with NCL Excursions and almost lost my mind tying to understand WHAT exactly the difference is between booking online vs the phone number. I simply said I wish to pay the total price as soon as I book and that I imagine a lot of passengers like to have the cost out of the way. That apparently blew the reps mind. It seems the website is the best way to do so, but its like theirs a push for you to book on the phone when its not necessary. You get the $50 credit either way don't you? The T'S & C'S are confusing me: "For the guests that book their excursions online; they are charged full retail for the excursions and the discount will be applied onboard in the form of a credit to their onboard account." - The exact same process as booking on the phone except online you pay immediately, No? "Shore excursion credit can only be redeemed by calling 1-866-625-1167 or booking onboard." It just said the "discount will be applied onboard in the form of a credit to their onboard account" to people who book online, so how is this correct?...

And yet some seasoned cruisers still feel the need to gripe, moan, confuse and sound totally unrealistic to those of us relatively new the cruise experience just trying to make sense of all the fine print etc. It's kinda frustrating and explains why we're sometimes obsessive about the, "How?, What?, When?, Where? etc. on Threads. Please let us know whenever NCL becomes this inflated, dystopic, "not worth it" scheme. Until then, We're saving thousands with "Free At Sea".

Spending $532 for unlimited alcohol and a 4 meal dining package sounds like an excellent deal to me. Especially when standard prices without the promos would probably cost you around $2000 per person across most lines. NCL could probably be a little more transparent in general, but I don't see Carnival or Royal offering savings like that.

OK - So there are other nice places with a simple flat rate, (Cagney's, Le Bistro, Moderno etc.) that might make the SDP worth it. We were excited about Bayamo though and $15 per person doesn't sound very "free". That's more around $40 CAD for us, not to mention extra cash for good wait staff...$50-$60. Thanks again.

Thank you for making that perfectly clear about the UBP. I think I finally get it. I still have a few questions about non-alcoholic drinks though. I realize that bottled water and specialty coffees are not part of the UBP, but what if my cruise mate is a heavy soda and fruit juice drinker - Does that mean every time we visit a bar or restaurant and every time we want a refill, we have to stipulate we want a glass of coke or orange juice from a fountain gun and not from a can, bottle or freshly squeezed, (Which would cost extra)? Is there any way of knowing which fountain fruit juice they offer free of charge? I'm assuming just your basic mixers like cranberry, pineapple, orange etc? If I order a glass of whiskey and a glass of coke on the side, does that count as my 2 drink per person per order, or just one? And for the Free At Sea Dining promo...(I'm sorry but I'm just so confused with so much conflicting information). Isn't there a sort of cover charge like $7, $12 for all the non a la carte restaurants even when you have the promo. It's a reduced base fare, but it's still there, no? Please say no.

Wouldn't it just be 20% of the $2.95 and not the entire cost of the drink? Otherwise, why wouldn't the same 20% apply to drinks under $15? And, if I'm already paying the service charge for the Drink package and Dining Package, PLUS prepaid gratuities - Doesn't that free me of any additional charges from the two packages? ( Other than drinks over $15, port taxes or extra entrees).

When you've prepaid service charges and have the SDP as part of "Free At Sea", does that mean there is absolutely zero bill or % to worry about on your account? Other than tipping the staff extra with cash, I want to have as much money issues taken care of as possible before sailing.

I found out today it will be $279 US each for our 12 day. I was on the fence, but you've helped convince me. Thanks. It looks like a lovely sanctuary away from the crowds I keep reading about. Do you remember what the hours were like? Are they consistent, or does it close during certain periods of the day etc.? Are you given a separate access card, or is it programmed into the one you receive when boarding?

I'm booked on Escape next December. After watching a video tour of its Thermal Suite, I've decided that it's an absolute must. But...Why can't I find any pricing for weekly passes directly from NCL? Even when I follow their website and "Log in to view pricing" I get no results. Several people have mentioned $199 (USD) per person on the forum. Is this reliable and up to date? Is it available to any room type? How long before I can book online, or at least view pricing? If I buy a week pass on a longer cruise, can I use the days at my leisure or must they be consecutive? Does Norwegian offer Thermal passes that cover the entirety of your cruise? When booking for the pass finally opens up - (90 days?)...is it a complete frenzy to book within a few days, otherwise its usually completely booked? I'm not really interested in day passes, but do they really exist? If so, how much do they cost and do you have to scramble on the first day and just hope they're available?

Thanks Trucker. I will definitely call and ask about that. The last agent I spoke with said something about booking online, then cancelling and rebooking once onboard...which sounded like a confusing waste of time. I'm learning that getting a straightforward answer isn't always easy with phone reps. Why can't you just book online minus the credit for heavens sake!? Dcoy - I imagined NCL would probably offer OBC, but I just want to save the money. Other than tipping extra to the staff, we don't like to spend a lot on board. As Canadians, the exchange rate is pretty bad and having that extra $300 - $400 for our islands would serve us better since we plan on several excursions.

To take advantage of Norwegians per-port excursion credits, do you have to wait until boarding to book - and then the last day to pay for the balance? If so, why? I like having as much of the financial burden out of the way before I sail. Our last and very first cruise was with Carnival and an important part of the experience was pre-paying tips and excursions so we didn't have to break from relaxing on holiday and stress over the bill. Judging by reviews of Escape, (Our upcoming ship)...it sounds like we're already going have enough on our plate when it comes to extra$. Our itinerary has 7 ports of call and we hope to take at least 3 to 4. If we must book onboard, does that mean the possible headache of them being fully booked and/or standing in that awful line we miraculously avoided on our first cruise?