Sailing12Away

It all depends on how far out you are. As Hallux said above, if you're before final payment date you have a lot more options. If you're after, not so much. Your best bet if you're after final payment date is to request a free room upgrade (oceanview to balcony; balcony to club). The last time I had spoken to NCL about this (pre-Covid times) I think you were only given 25% of the price difference as an OBC to use for your trip. So even if the price dropped 2K, it's still not a great amount coming back to you - and you can only request it once. So if the price dropped 2K today and you took the deal, then a month later it dropped another 2K, you get nothing for that second drop. Our next trip leaves in a week, prices have been plummeting to the point I was considering upgrading my folks into the Haven. They're in a family club balcony now, to book a forward facing Haven penthouse is just 2K more than what they paid for that club balcony many many months earlier. This is a 10 day cruise, so an extra $100/day/person to get pampered. But the fact that nearly every single type of Haven room is still available means they have a good shot of winning an upgrade bid, so getting into Haven at their bid price will be better than paying 2K outright. We're booked in a Haven family villa, and the price on that is now about 2K less than what we paid. Not worth it to me to try and get the extra few hundred as OBC. So generally speaking, book what you want and hope for the best to move up since there's not really any going back.

Sure... but what happens if that red eye flight is cancelled? There's no other flights after that one... Getting in late for a land trip is very different from getting in late when there's a deadline to catch a leaving ship that won't be waiting for you. You do you.

The other option is to make friends with someone else who was foolish enough to do it and get a tour of their room. Not sure which specific date you're sailing, but I was that specific foolish person you're looking for sailing September 2023. It's our most expensive splurge yet, but everything we're seeing so far in photos and videos has me confident that it will be worth it to us. Not for every trip, but sometimes you need to treat yourself and go big or go home.

Well a miracle has happened because @complawyer and I finally agree on something for a change (the N&D'ing, not the mozzarella sticks. I've already told my travel companions that a week from now I'm getting them once we're on board the Joy for our next trip). Regardless, it's all about perspective which every one of us is coming at from a different angle. Some folks think that $70 for a specialty meal is no bargain, some of us easily drop $200+ on a meal at restaurants near us. I would definitely not equate the specialty restaurants with being on par with an Applebees though, so not quite a fair comparison there. Some people care about crepes, and some of us will be wearing this t-shirt just to prove a point that some of us don't.

But at least there wasn't a single Bud/Coors/etc in there...

But what if you have a friend visiting with you in your room and need to go potty? Are there blinds or something to come down and block out the windows? Or does your friend get a free show of you having a tinkle? That was the first thing I noticed.

We're not wine snobs, but we rarely have a hard time finding something we enjoy. I don't mind paying $2 for a glass of ice wine after dinner. If that's nickel and diming... so be it. On RCC last year they didn't even list any ice wines or moscato at all. It was only when we asked they said 'oh yes, we have other things we don't put on the menu'. So to me, that's worse, where you have a product but don't even advertise it with the hopes someone will simply settle for the higher priced one. I requoted myself first since selective reading is a big problem here on CC. It all depends on what is important to you - which was literally the very first thing I said. If fancy crepes are important to you and you don't want to pay extra for them, then yes, you're better with a line that doesn't charge for them. If special coffee is important to you, then yes, you're better with a line that doesn't charge for them. If fresh pressed juices are important to you (in 7+ sailings I have never even found a place to get those magical upcharge fresh pressed juices... where the heck do they even exist??), then yes, you're better with a line that doesn't charge for them. Someone else said it earlier in the thread, but just like there are some folks that feel 'nickel & dimed' over these small upcharges, there are others of us that don't want to pay extra to sail on other lines like Celebrity that include those charges for 'free' but our overall trip price goes up for things we will not utilize. FWIW... these 2 items are NOT the same thing.

This is not everything, but gives you an idea of some of the stuff on board. Everything on this list is included for free with the upgraded drink package. premium-plus-beverage-package-2021v2.pdf

It all depends on what is important to you. If you're talking about extra charges for fancy coffee or bottles of water, ok, you got NCL there. For those of us who bring our own refillable water bottle and are fine with whatever regular coffee is free... it's no upcharge for us at all. Every time I've priced out a cruise on Celebrity and a comparable cruise with NCL, Celebrity always comes higher in price when we add in what is important to us. If I cared about unlimited wifi or fancy coffee, maybe it would swing the other way around but for us we haven't found a reason to try Celebrity yet. Is Celebrity really luxury? I honestly don't view them like that at all. Maybe "mainstream plus" if I had to put a label on it, but I think it's still a far cry from the Oceana, Reagent and such. Those true luxury lines are much smaller passenger counts, every room is the equivalent of a suite, true formal nights, truly free excursions, etc. As for the crepes... the ones in Cocoa's are not the same as the ones from the buffet. Cocoa's is an overpriced fancy ice cream shop which has never been included on NCL. The ones from the buffet were way more simpler and not the monstrosities that is being served at Cocoa's, so hard to say they're equivalent and one was free and the other no longer. That's like saying ice cream is no longer free because now you can only get it at Cocoa's which charges, meanwhile before you could get your own self-serve at the buffet for free. Again, the milkshakes at Cocoa's are enormous and stuffed to the gills with things that would take at least 2-4 people to eat. Not even close to the same thing as the simple cone you made at the buffet.

Considering how EWR is cheaper than JFK 95% of the time, my guess is that unless there's something odd going on, or flights are packed - they won't choose JFK over EWR if you didn't request them to. As for the flights - there's 2 different types of air packages that NCL offers. One is the free at sea, and there's another that's more flexible called Premium Air Service. For folks that want a little more control, the second option (although more expensive) may be the way to go. For an international trip, I personally would never fly in the day of the cruise. Way too many moving parts between a red eye flight, time zone changes, jet lag, customs, etc. It's one thing to go EWR to Miami for a short 3 hour hop, but an 8hr flight overnight to a foreign country... nah.

There seems to be a lot of variation in balcony configuration/size for those corner rooms. Plus isn't the handicap rooms tucked further into the opposite corner on the right side? Hard to tell if the 'slide' rooms have 2 balconies (one facing the camera, one facing the ocean) or if the one facing the camera belongs to those handicap rooms.

I'm on 15140 in about a week, but will be in 14778 in February. It's a similar angled balcony to yours. We always pick the angled balcony when it's available. I'll try to remember to come back and share photos/videos when we get back.

What about us bargain hunters that sail in Haven? Best of both worlds... Since you're not big drinkers, our favorite part of being in Haven would be lost on you. On a full Haven ship it's always nice to be able to walk in to the bar, just give them a nod, and get your drink of choice delivered to your seat. Sure, you can settle on your favorite non-Haven bar, but we've always gotten better service and creative drink concoctions from the Haven bartenders. The regular bartenders won't stray from the printed menus - whereas in the Haven I can simply say 'make me something with cucumbers' and *poof* there it is. I understand them not being able to make a drink if they don't have the ingredients, but to tell me I can only get a vodka martini at the martini bar when you have a full bottle of vodka right there is just silliness.

Now you're just being silly and coming off as a whiney child that didn't get their way when they wanted to eat ice cream for dinner. The menus at NCL haven't stayed the same from year to year even when they did rotate, so why would they permanently stay the same now for 2+ years?

Just because your family doesn't need or want a nice ship experience when sailing port intensive trips doesn't mean the same applies to the rest of us. It's not about having laser tag or race cars available, for some of us it's how we're treated on the ship or being able to just sit and relax between those ports doing things enjoyable to us. The average time at a port is only ~10 hours, so to say that the ship doesn't matter at all is just silly. We sailed a port intensive Greek Isles cruise with RCC last year and it wasn't for us. The suite experience on their smaller, older ships is nothing compared to NCL, nor was the entertainment options anywhere close. After getting back on the ship we were bored and underwhelmed with the food and drink options - never experienced that with NCL. We were often in bed by 9pm, which is odd for us. Different strokes for different folks, which is why it's nice we all have options when it comes to which cruise we ultimately decide to book. As for the deals your not seeing, you need to re-read my post as it was stated right in there for a sailing on the Getaway next month. There are many to be found for folks with the time or interest to fine them. So? To me they're not the same vacation. Pre-Covid I had priced out a trip to Hawaii as a 2 island land tour as well as a week on POA stopping at 4 islands. The prices were similar, until you added in the extra expense of food and drinks that were not included in the land tour. Plus the fact that traveling to the other islands would take up a lot of our time to spend there (getting to the airport, waiting for the flight, flying, getting from the airport to the new hotel, etc), and the clear winner for us was the cruise. No muss, no fuss, go to bed and magically wake up in a new place without having the hassle of actually traveling there. The allure of a cruise for us is being able to easily see a bunch of places without having to worry about the planning or logistics of getting to them all. When we have limited vacation time available, I don't want to spend 1/3 of it getting to/from each destination. When we find a place we really enjoy, we return for a land visit there to focus on things we couldn't see on just a short cruise stop.

I really don't understand how someone can compare a cruise on some of these other lines to a cruise on NCL and say they're comparable just because they stop in the same locations. A cruise is not a cruise... there's a reason some of those other cruise lines are always cheaper. Regardless, there are always deals to be found. If you have your heart set on a particular week or destination, less options for deals - especially if it's the same week everyone else is off and wants to go. But I've been watching a 10 day on the Getaway for the last week of October this year and prices for Haven are ~$350/person/day which is a steal.

I'm a very picky eater, and I'm very happy with the new menu so that says a lot. I actually prefer it to the Haven menu as there's a lot more for me to pick from on that menu than with Haven. The other thing to keep in mind that maybe some folks never thought about... if it's on the menu, you can get it. So if you like the vegetarian meal but want extra protein, ask them to add on a chicken breast. Or sub the filet with a chicken or fish that's already on the menu. Not sure how it's possible for someone to be pickier than me with all that flexibility. I'm fine with past a different way each night and slapping on either chicken or steak. Can't wait to get to try it out!

@oteixeira - check out the lineup...

It depends greatly on the ship you'll be on, time you plan to eat dinner, and how big your party is. If it's just 2 of you, you can usually be able to get a table at most places without any wait at all. Specialty restaurants do fill up, especially during 'prime' times, and the hibachi place will always need a reservation because the seating is limited. When you go to book reservations online before your cruise, options will be limited. When you get on board, there will be more choices (they hold some back for the technology challenged folks so that all the 'good' times are not gone before they've had a chance). No harm in making some choices, then after getting on board and seeing the show days/times going and shuffling things around as needed. Beyond the MDR and buffet, most ships have either O'Sheehans or The Local. Those are free and open 24/7. Good for a quicker meal than at the MDR (usually), plus easier than juggling plates at the buffet. Burgers, wings, wraps.... lots of munchies at night, I haven't tried them yet for breakfast. We're lazy and usually get breakfast delivered to the room. Larger ships with an observation lounge will have some free snacks in there are well (small sandwiches, cups of fruit, danishes, etc).

Wine & macaroni? Like, as in pasta? Or do you mean macaroon, the cookie? I'll be on the Joy in about 11 days, will let you know what I find out.

We'll be in an HH on the Joy in about 11 days. The HH, HI, and HJ (all outside the courtyard, but mid-ship area) are all significantly larger than the courtyard rooms, and when we booked were about 3K cheaper than them as well. Bigger room, less money, and even though not in the courtyard proper I'm not all the way aft... it was a win-win for us. So definitely not a junior suite, more of an upgrade to us. Courtyard room = 280 + 43 balcony HH Family Villa = 417 + 84 balcony HI Penthouse = 352 + 84 balcony HJ Suite = 320 + 61 balcony

1) The newest NCL ships Prima & Viva coming out next year have moved the Haven to the aft of the ship. Having said that... there are Haven rooms in more than one area of the ship on the Joy & Encore you mentioned. The Haven area is in the front, but they sell Haven rooms aft too. You'll get the access to the Haven area, you just have to walk all the way forward to use it. We had an aft room on Encore last year and the room was huge, balcony was amazing, but for us it was too far of a walk to the other Haven amenities that it wasn't the right room for us. We're sailing on the Joy in about 11 days, and we're in a mid-ship Haven room this time. Again, not part of the courtyard area where the private pool, lounge, bar, etc is - but right near the elevator that will take us up 2 floors to get to it, instead of the walk all the way aft to front as we had on Encore. The rooms on Joy outside of the courtyard are also bigger and cheaper, so that's a plus. 2) Spa suite just means you get free access to the spa - no difference in the room itself. Club balcony suite is like a junior suite with RCC - it's a mini suite with no real perks and not much bigger size than a regular balcony. You get a few perks (free bag of laundry, some snacks in the room once or twice during the trip), but it's not a suite at all. There are some non-Haven suites on Joy - on deck 14 it's the green ones. They're bigger than a regular balcony (~340 vs ~180 sqft) with a slightly bigger balcony, but have no perks really. You just get a bigger room. The gray ones are those Haven rooms I mentioned that are outside of the Haven area - those come with full Haven access and all perks. Encore doesn't have non-Haven suites, the best you can do there is the club balcony which is slightly bigger than a balcony (but no where close as big as these non-Haven suites on Joy). 3) You can choose to add as many or as few of the perks as you like. If you drink at all - choose the free at sea drink package. You pay the equivalent of $20/day/person for the 'free' package, but it's still much much cheaper than buying the package outright without the free at sea perk. There's no charge or fee for including the excursion credit, it's literally just a free $50 at each port to use if you want. Sometimes they have simple transfers into the city center so having that extra $50 to offset that cost is nice, even if you don't take a full day NCL tour. Flights don't get added on unless you want them - you have to indicate the airport you want and even then, you can call them to cancel the automatic transfers that are added. But if you don't want the free air, just don't add it on. We've always found cheaper flights with NCL than on our own, like significantly cheaper, but to each their own. If you want bare bones nothing at all - you would have to pick the 'sailaway rate' but that's not offered for suites or Haven rooms.

Had to google what an airwrap was... never heard of such a thing. As long as I have a brush and a hair clip to keep my hair out of my face, I'm set. If the price of these suckers is truly $400 I would just use the hair dryer that's already on board in each room, but that's just me.

We haven't sailed Celebrity yet. Their 'deal' is better on paper, but it all depends on what is important to you. Every time we price check similar cruises for NCL & Celebrity, we always end up booking NCL. Still want to try Celebrity one of these days, but when it comes to paying for what we find value in, Celebrity is always higher because they give you more stuff - but it's stuff we don't want/need. So for us, no value add, just extra cost.

Thats what the dining plan credit is for. It's a fairly big pizza, I usually can't eat it all by myself after eating an app and pasta dish before it. For a woodfire pizza here in NY those prices are actually right in line with what we pay. (https://www.naplesstreetfoodmenu.com/, https://www.deesnyc.com/menu) Yup, our water is legendary. Anything bread related is different in NY because of the water. Pizza, bagels.... it's a thing.