Russiamomm

Completely agree with this. I always look at the total cost vs. the so-called “free” perks. We went on an RCCL trip last year and declined the drink package because of the cost. One frozen drink at the pool was more than $17! That would have almost paid for a full day of drinks on NCL. I haven’t been on Celebrity, but I’m willing to bet that that all inclusive package is significantly higher than a bare bones fare. You have to compare apples to apples. How much are you actually paying for that “all inclusive” fare? NCL doesn’t make anyone take the drink package. You can opt out. But for most people that want a few drinks a day, NCL’s package is a great deal.

I only went snorkeling there once and it was not great. I have to put two asterisks on this. I did a catamaran sightseeing/snorkeling/rum punch trip. We went to a beat up reef right off the island. I’ve been diving all over the world. While the trip was fun, the snorkeling was pretty uninspiring. 😂. I understand if you take a purely snorkeling trip that goes further offshore it’s better, but I can’t speak to those trips.

Not a problem. Just for clarification there is a difference between the local bus and the minibuses. The mini uses will be lined up at the pier doing round trips to Horseshoe Bay. They will aLao be at the beach all day to take you back. They are $7 per person each way. There may be a bit of a wait as they wait for the bus to be pretty full before they leave, but it’s never too long of a wait. There is also a local bus. But it drops you on the main road, quite a walk to the beach. It’s all downhill to the beach. Wouldn’t want to make that hike back up the hill. LOL. That being said, my most memorable day in Bermuda was spent on the local bus. We took the NCL ferry to St. George. We did the town, had lunch and we’re ready to go back to the ship. But it would have been 2 hours till the ferry left. So we took a local bus. Took a long time, but we saw the whole island. Stopped a few times in local times and then kept going. Ended up in Hamilton, did some shopping then took the local ferry back to Dockside. It was a fabulous day! Not sure I want to do it again, but it was a great adventure. Edited to add my two cents about Snorkel Beach - the beach at Dockside. We went once and walked out after not being able to find a seat. We demanded a refund which they gave us after a bit of an argument. It’s a crowded, man-made beach. While it does have a restaurant and bar, we just didn’t like it. And the ship is a five minute walk where you have plenty of food and drink. 😂. If you decide to go, certainly don’t take a ship excursion! You can walk up and pay to get in. I believe it was $10 a person a few years ago. That was just for admission. Chairs and umbrellas are extra, I believe. You’re much better off going to one of the natural beaches on Bermuda. They are beautiful and free.

I’ve been to Bermuda with NCL four times and going again in April. Generally speaking, I wouldn’t think about doing excursions through NCL in Bermuda. The island is very easy to navigate on your own. They have a great ferry and bus system, as well as mini busses to local beaches. They are reasonable, safe and easy to navigate. Add the fact that you’re there overnight the concerns about missing the boat simply aren’t there. NCL also has a free ferry to St. George, which is great. The only excursions I’ve ever booked through NCL were the transfer to Horseshoe Bay, but only because I was traveling solo and it was free - at least to get there. The NCL excursion is only for three hours. That’s not enough time. I took the NCL bus to the beach and paid the $7 for a mini bus to get back to the ship. For two people, it’s cheaper to just take the mini bis both ways and it’s cheaper. I also booked a sunset cruise through the ship, but again it was only cheaper because I was traveling solo. For more than one it’s probably cheaper to book on your own, or simply show up at the boat on the dock.

Pure speculation on my part, but it certainly would r surprise me.

True. I’m also anxious to hear reports about the upgrade. I also note that the Encore is going into drydock in the Fall. I suspect they’ll be making similar changes to the OL on the Encore.

I’ve been eyeing that one! Not sure if it qualifies as a Transpacific though, and even if it did I’d likely only get the discount on one leg. Nailing down options and travel companions and will call my CAS guy. 😃

Thanks! My dream is a B2B Hawaii to Tahiti and reverse but that’s a dream. Will likely end up on a European cruise in the fall. Looking for one with new ports to me. I did two of them last year. First world problems? 😂

I am too! Have to make it work. I wish I knew what qualifies as a transpacific cruise.

Anyone else see a 25% off coupon for any 2024 transatlantic or transpacific show up in their account or did I hit the jackpot? Still trying to figure out if I can make one fit into the schedule!

I would choose the Joy. Maybe I’m biased because both times I was on her I was in the Haven, but it’s my favorite NCL ship. As others have stated, it has both an Observation Lounge and Spice H2O. It came out of drydock this week and will have a thermal spa in the very near future. That was the one thing missing on the Joy that I missed.

I’ve tried to avoid commenting here. But I will give my 2 cents and experience. First, it is very obvious from the OP’s comments that they are looking to justify knowingly breaking the rules and is planning in advance how to get around them. I’d never condone that. This is very different than a one-off drink once in a while. There are shades of gray, but I can never endorse having this “cheating” as the plan going onto a ship. That being said, I had an experience last summer in the Med. I was on a B2B on the Breakaway. First leg was a 16 night TA from NYC to Rome. On that leg I traveled with a friend. We were in the Haven and each had a drink package. Obviously no issues on that one. It was fabulous. ❤️😃. Anyway, I decided to stay onboard for the ten night sailing through Greece, returning to Rome. My friend could not do the second leg, so I was solo for that leg. I wanted to do it as cheaply as possible. I moved from the Haven down to an Oceanview (talk about culture shock!). I also opted against the drink package because it was a port-intensive cruise (only one sea day). I was also booked through the casino, so I got free drinks in the casino was open anyway. I had never sailed without a drink package, but for this trip it just made sense to pay as I went, or so I thought. Big mistake. Well, this was during the period when NCL couldn’t quite figure out the VAT issue in Greece. They wouldn’t even sell a soda to anyone without a drink package when the ship was in port! I was willing to pay for it, but they wouldn’t let me. It was no problem for someone with a drink package to order anything they wanted. Did some friends I met offer to get me a drink? Yes. Did I take it? Absolutely. Did the servers know what was going on? I strongly believe they did. Did I feel guilty? No. I would have happily paid for the drink but they wouldn’t let me. Bottom line is that I can forgive sharing if it’s a one-off drink here or there, but I can’t condone going in with this as the plan. I understand that my situation was unique, but I will never feel guilty about some new friends “sharing” their package with me for a few drinks in this unique situation. I would have gladly paid for the drinks if they let me.

You don’t have to have a bar tab at all. You can pay as you go. Soda is included in the fare. Most of the current promotions include a bar tab or OBC (that they call sailor loot). If you buy one in advance you get an additional $50 for every $300 you buy, but you don’t have to buy one. The bar tab can also be used for virgin cocktails or frozen drinks, milkshakes or specialty coffees as well.

One more story on the crew. On our first trip the loyalty program included one “Shake for Champagne”. Shake your phone and they bring you a bottle of Moët. 😃. Anyway, we tried it. The app was acting up and after 15 minutes we didn’t have our champagne. A crew member looked at it, said he’d take care of it. Came back five minutes later with a bottle on ice (not Moët, but still good) with two glasses. Said the app messed up and he was taking care of it, but in the meantime, please have this bottle on us as I get your Moët. Ten minutes later our Moët showed up. Asked the server for four more glasses. We shared both bottles with our new friends. Good times.

Thank you so much for this post. I agree with everything you said. I too was an NCL loyalist (Sapphire status) until I tried Virgin. I’ve now done 3 cruises on Virgin and can’t wait to get back on. But I still love NCL too. Trying to compare them is difficult. Virgin is completely different from other cruise lines in a lot of ways. First, I loved the food. Every restaurant is as good or better than the NCL specialty restaurants. I love the fact that there’s no buffet and no huge main dining room. The Galley (Virgin’s food court that replaces the buffet) is consistently good with a good variety of options. And table service. I love that soft drinks are included in the fare. I was also hesitant about the lack of a drink package. But it was not an issue. We bought a Bar Tab. Had another $100 from the status match, which also included $10 a day in specialty coffee. We were booked through the casino, so got drinks for free there. Drinks were reasonably priced. With all our benefits it was a challenge to blow through the bar tab, but I was up to the challenge. 😂 One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is the lack of announcements. I LOVED that. Unless it was an emergency, all announcements were made via the app. No obnoxious announcements about bingo, the art auction, etc. it made for a much more pleasant trip. About the demographics, we are in our 50s/60s. Felt right at home. Many younger people, but also may much older than we are. It’s a very inclusive environment. Many gay couples. We met some fabulous people. Just a note about the crew. Overall we found them enthusiastic and friendly. They are allowed to be themselves. No rules about hiding tattoos, for example. They can interact with guests more than on other lines, we had many long conversations with the crew. They seemed happy. There also seems to be less of a hierarchical structure. The officers wear the same t-shirts/polos as everyone else. We were chatting with a couple of crew members in the smoking room (no judgement, please.). They were wearing Virgin polos and khakis and had name tags. We asked what they did for Virgin. They casually said they were the Captain and Co-Captain. 😳😂. That’s just the vibe on the ship. Bottom line is we loved it. Price-wise, it is generally a little higher price point than NCL. But you do have to be sure to compare apples to apples. Virgin’s pricing really is all inclusive other than alcohol. No specialty dining fees, no daily service charges and sodas and juices are included. Tipping is not expected (although the crew won’t turn down a few bucks if offered. 😃). I encourage everyone to try it, but leave all ideas about what a cruise should be behind. We still love NCL, and have two more booked. Virgin is just plain different. In a good way, at least in my mind.

I honestly don’t think there’s any rhyme or reason to who gets these or why. Last summer I had a 10% off coupon in my account. Used it. Two weeks ago I had a coupon appear for 25% off any transatlantic or transpacific cruise in 2024. Needs to be booked by 2024. I have no idea why these showed up, but I’m not complaining. Currently looking for a sailing that works.

I been on two TAs in the past year - one on the Breakaway and one on the Epic. Nothing was shut down.

Yes, you get two additional specialty dinners for 2, one with a bottle of wine. The benefit is per cabin, not per Platinum passenger. This is in addition to any FAS meals you get. You will also each get a free bag of laundry. That perk is per Platinum member, not per cabin.

Have been an NCL cheerleader for years. But I’m not married to the line. In the last 18 months we’ve done Virgin three times, one Carnival and one RCL. Will never set foot on another Carnival ship. RCL of the price is right (i.e. a casino comp). I could live on a Virgin ship. Love everything about it. We’re also booked on Cunard and Oceania this summer. Anxious to try both. But our “Go To” continues to be NCL. Always feel at home on an NCL ship.

I’m not sure of the prices for individual items. But for wash and fold there is always a mid-cruise special for a bag of laundry for $29. It’s a small paper bag. Bring a plastic laundry bag from a hotel to line the bag and roll everything really tight. You’d be surprised how much you can squeeze into that small, flimsy bag. 🤣

Keep in mind that the offer needs to be in effect when you book it. If you book outside that window you will not get the extra points.

There is no minimum time. Last week I applied for a cruise I’m doing in August and it was processed within two days.

What kind of OBC? Non-refundable OBC cannot be used on the casino. Refundable can be, but you will still pay the 3% fee.

Yes and no. I did this in October because I had an Amex offer giving me $200 statement credit when I charged $1000 to NCL. The offer came in five days before I was going to Alaska and I had already paid for everything, including the DSC. I bought $1000 of OBC to get the $200 back. BUT…. You can’t get your cash back onboard until the last day of the cruise. While you can charge cash at the casino, you are still going to pay the 3%. I used cash in the casino and cashed out the OBC on the last day.

Agree with others. Why did you send it via snail-mail? Email works great. You get an immediate confirmation with a case number. It’s never taken more than three days to get an email confirmation that the credit was applied and a new invoice showing it. Also shows up in the online account. If it’s not showing up in your account, I would call them. Or resubmit it via email.