davencl

The last 3 NCL cruises I've been on cash was available from the ATM in the casino, nowhere else.  Charge was $6.99 flat fee.  No percentage charge.  If you're withdrawing using a credit card expect your bank to charge a hefty fee.  In my case I used debit card and my bank(USAA) refunded the fee.  So cost me nothing.  Expect an ATM on shore to also charge a fee, although the fee may be less.

We got lucky on the GEM last august.  No line to get down.  Also visited akrotiri-of-thira dates to 20th century BC, extremely fascinating.  Glad we took the shore excursion.  

On 4/16/2024 at 6:25 AM, Martink45 said:

#15196 was not available 1/17/25, so we will be in #11812.  Probably a bit more obstructed view but nothing we can't live with considering all the other positives.  I got the impression that the SJs are already about sold out.  The Missus loves these suites and that is good enough for me.  We will be sailing on Getaway in October in Club suite with larger balcony, M6.  It will be interesting to see how well she survives in the smaller quarters with no concierge.

We were just in 13208 April 5-16 and loved it.  We like the SJ suites so much that I would book one even with the double slide going thru part of the balconey.  The slides don't affect the deck off the living room, only the deck off the bedroom.  The room layout is so great it feels like home.  Large mount of space on both sides of the bed.  Bathroom has one sink which suits us fine.  Also having the suite amenities like butler, plus breakfast and lunch in Cagney's etc. are a real plus.  Our room is shown in BirdTravels photo.  It was the one in front of the clear spot on the slide.  Also note in that picture the deck most effected by the slide is not the SJ suite but the balcony room next to it.

47 minutes ago, hallux said:

I believe the upgrade pre-cruise accounts for trading in the FAS minutes.

 

I have.  This was day 2 of a 15-day cruise.  The $145 is the value of the 300 minutes FAS package.

Yes I guess in this context I did trade in my minutes as the new package deleted these minutes. In my case I already had used minutes so didn't think of it this way.

I have not experienced a case where you can trade in your minutes.  On my just completed Prima cruise I upgraded on day three of an 11 day cruise.  I had used 60 of my 150 minutes.  The upgrade offer I accepted at day three was:  $100 off of $269 so paid $169 for premium WIFI for 8 days.  Upgraded only one of our accounts.  The cost goes down each day.  Note on day 1 the offer was $100 off whatever the full price was.  Aslo Prima has starlink so the streaming WIFI was always usable.

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

If your meeting point is in the Theater, there is no, zero, none benefit being in the HAVEN. You still have to stage in the theater with the steerage class passengers. You get no preferential treatment. You will still need to follow the ShoreEx guides from the theater to the gangway and out onto the dock. 

Yes the emphasis is "If your meeting point is in the Theater" there is no Haven benefit.  However on our Trieste to Rome cruise last summer on the GEM the meeting point for Haven was always in Magnum's which allowed Haven guests to board the buses first.

47 minutes ago, erisajd said:

The airline cannot keep your money for a flight you did not take - dispute the charge on your credit card - even f you don't have the US protections on your credit card - a business cannot charge you for a service you did not receive ever.  I also think you should byotche quite loudly to NCL - THEY changed your flight within XX days of travel.  Go read the Air surcharge limitations 

I'd be very interested in which airline refunds money for flights not taken.  Neither Delta, United, American, Alasakan or any airline I've ever flown refunds money like this.

Yes there are some excursions with various start times throughout the day.  Not many however.

I'm assuming the extra pounds were for a seat upgrade given the high cost.  If so seat upgrades are non-refundable.  So I am carefull when I do upgrade to be sure it's a trip I really expect to make.

8 hours ago, durberville said:

Interesting. I was quoted a price of $898 for a pre-cruise hotel night in Los Angeles and $1,040 for the night after our cruise in Tokyo. I declined 😳 If those rates are half of what you would normally pay - my hats off to you, I’m not paying that for one night. 

8 hours ago, durberville said:

Interesting. I was quoted a price of $898 for a pre-cruise hotel night in Los Angeles and $1,040 for the night after our cruise in Tokyo. I declined 😳 If those rates are half of what you would normally pay - my hats off to you, I’m not paying that for one night. 

I should clarify I've found booking directly is much less expensive than booking thru Oceania.  So Oceania would have charged $2080 for the night in Tokyo per your example. However I wouldn't book at either of those prices...

I had checked one cruise friday for a PH1 that was included in this promotion.  It did not change today.  It was Singapore to Auckland leaving Nov. 14,2024.   Were there any other promotions ending March 31 that could affect pricing?  FWIW I have always found booking the same hotel as Oceania offered was roughly half the price if I booked on my own.  Since Oceania is a business I wonder if Oceania can offset with air savings.  Just speculating...

1 hour ago, PhD-iva said:

Also, with phone in airplane mode and wifi-calling enabled, you “should” be able to text each other…….?

That might work if you phone has wifi-calling as a feature and it's enabled.   Texting is generally cell based(at least with my Verizon plan).

I would love to know how much it would cost to charter the entire Jade or Gem...   🙂  Yes I realize if I have to ask I can't afford it.  My wild quess is about $10,000,000 for 7 days.  Here's a nice brochure with usefull info for all the ships, chartered or not.  https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/826201_CMI_Brochure_Web2_4_26_2023.pdf

The press release notes it doesn't start until April 1. None of the sample cruises listed in the press release reflects this deal.  It would be good to note price today and then price on April 1 to see if this really is "free".

Was on the Gem last August.  Saw none of the issues reported. Ship is in great shape.  Wouldn't hesitate to sail again.

11 hours ago, pinotlover said:

I believe the most apparent change is you’ll have to cruise within a set timeframe to maintain your status. Distinct possibilities that other changes will soon follow , but expect this change to be implemented soon. 

Yes Disney just did this.  Added a 5 year timeframe then credits expire.  

7 minutes ago, hallux said:

Are you sure that wasn't San Pedro?  Does NCL even do cruises from San Diego?  OK, they do but not many.  You flew to LA for a cruise from SD?

Yes meant San Pedro...

However the whales are migrating now so you may see them.  Whale watching week is this week off the coast of Oregon.  Hopefully will be further north by the time you sail.

My quess is this occurred during cold engine startup.  I wouldn't expect that kind of soot from a warm engine but I'm no expert.

1 hour ago, candygirl27540 said:

Isn't it true that the manifest must be closed within a certain amount of time? 2hours before sail away I believe. I have read of people being refused boarding because of this.

That is what they imply but not the case.  We had a Mexican riviera cruise out of san diego and used NCL transport from LAX to port.  The transfer was the latest NCL would book.  We had to loop the airport twice to pick up, each loop took 1 hour(yes best to avoid LAX if possible).  Got to the ship 45 minutes before scheduled departure. Took 15 minutes to check in.  They left on time.  They started pulling up the gangway as those of us on the bus reached the end of the gangway on the ship. 🙂 That being my experience I would never count on this being the case.  I would always be sure I'm on the ship 2 hours before.

12 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

It kind of sucks that they don’t have a last minute upgrade list any more. I was on the Escape not too long ago, and they were taking names for flat rate upgrades there.

 

does anyone know if there was an actual policy change forbidding ships to accept requests for on board upgrades? Or is it just a numbers thing because so many ships are full these days?

I'm on the Prima april 5th.  No upgrades are available if the ship is fully booked.  Which is true in my case. 

1 hour ago, EJL2023 said:

For an example, look at the cruise on Marina set to depart on 4/5 from Miami to Barcelona.  There are a couple of stateroom categories showing as ‘Guaranteed’.

Thanks hadn't noticed that before.  Will avoid when I see this.

Regarding Oceania,  I wasn't aware that Oceania sold a "guaranteed" selection.  Can someone please explain?  Whenever I've booked you either selected a room or weren't able to even start booking that category.

Just noticed my AMEX blue cash card has a new offer from Oceania.  $200 off $1000.  May be worth checking your card.  Note my AMEX Delta card has no offer which is typically the case.

3 hours ago, SophieM said:

We had that happen in February. It was fine going in, but it turned really rough in the afternoon. We were on one of the last tenders, and it was really rough. After a few passes, we were able to pull along side, but then the mooring rope broke, and it took several more. Several people were rather panicked. Not us, though. 🙂

Yes we were on that tender too.  I fully understand when the captain chooses to play it safe after that experience.  And the sea "didn't look that bad"...