_Mr.G_

1 hour ago, fin said:

The Jade is currently in Naples, with a 2021 itinerary that takes it all over the world.

Last week I was in Naples, wandering around, didn't expect anything. And then, bam - there she was, what a surprise! These are the recent photos I took - it was strange seeing her like this, without any passengers:

I've been on the Jade twice, before the refurbishing and always enjoyed the Haweiian theme - no matter where in the world we were cruising 🙂

One year ago on our Greek + Italian Isles Spirit cruise. We were on a guided tour on the Mt Etna Volcano. Standing on top on the edge one woman pointed into that 'really big hole' asking the guide: "Is this the crater?" 😁🤦‍♂️

1 hour ago, ray98 said:

.....but all cruise lines start with an unrealistic 'brochure price' that all the marketing feeds off.  It is just math, don't get caught up in how they spin it.  Nothing is 'free' or 'discounted', the consumer just needs to decide if the final number at the end is worth it for the package or it isn't.

I'm aware of those marketing strategies. But following prices and special offers over time makes it very obvious and this is still disturbing ...

I have been cruising with Norwegian since many years and I'm always very satisfied. The price increase over the last years worries me as well, thus we are more and more going to other cruise lines, wherever our budget criteria are met.

Norwegians CEO made very clear, that increasing prices is one of the top priorities:

Frank Del Rio, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, said the passengers were booking future cruises even earlier than they did a year ago.
“So we’re focusing on price; we’re pushing price higher everywhere we can both in 2019 and 2020,” he said. “While we still have a lot of cabins to fill, the emphasis will be on raising prices across all three brands.”

https://skift.com/2019/02/21/norwegian-cruise-boss-zeroes-in-on-higher-prices/amp/

I'm watching prices for an upcoming NCL cruise nearly every day. The price level for this specific cruise remains nearly the same over the last weeks/month. Yesterday the "Biggest sale of the decade - 30% off" was introduced. And guess what! The prices are still the same as before this "giant sale" 🤨

33 minutes ago, canole1983 said:

If you don't mind me asking how much did you pay and how long was the excursion?

It was about 100 USD + Tax per person, 3hrs Whale Watching, 1 hrs Mendenhall Glacier plus time needed for shuttle transfers.

We did not book the NCL tour. Once in Juneau port there are several local tour guides direct in front of the ship. We deceided there for a combo tour: Whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier. We were very satisfied with that service, saw whales and had enough time for the glacier.

On 9/24/2019 at 2:18 PM, gipsy4ever said:

Hi - Has anyone’s upgrade bids been accepted for the Norwegian Gem sailing on Sep 27 - New England/Canada?

I did, two days ago! I won an upgrade from inside to oceanview. However, my second bid for balcony is still pending.

What about you?

28 minutes ago, 2NOLAcruisers said:

I am on the Gem in 3 days (leaving from Boston.)   I checked in a couple of weeks ago (checking into my original cabin) and just yesterday won my upgrade bid.

 

Thanks for that information !

Would you mind sharing your particular upgrade bids for the Gem?  😉

Hi all,

our cruise (NCL Gem from Québec) starts in 10 days. Until today my upgrade offer is still pending / in progress since weeks.  Since I'm leaving in two days I would like and need to do the NCL online check-in.  Will the online check-in somehow affect the upgrade process since I'm checking in into my original cabin? Or can the upgrade offer also be applied after the online check-in?

Thanks,

Stefan

12 hours ago, coloradocruiselover88 said:

NCL_Beverage_List.pdf 5.85 MB · 79 down

Wow that is quite a list!

Well, I do miss my NCL favorite on this list:  The Painkiller! 😋

I just submitted my status match this week. I guess it depends on the region where you are, I submitted to the German MSC division. The status match took only 1 day! 😁

I came from Norwegian Latitudes Platinum and was assigned MSC Gold.

On 3/30/2019 at 6:48 PM, pfopma said:

10 day Greece/Italy on Spirit. 

I'm on the same cruise 🙂   My bid was accepted 40 days prior to cruising: 75 USD pP from Inside to Ocean View 😁

21 hours ago, HippoSail said:

Has anyone else received an upgrade email but have no banner or mention in their myNCL? is this normal? Does it matter? I replied to the email and placed my bids.

This was the same for me (I'm in Germany)!  I received an upgrade mail but didn't have a banner nor a message in the message center.  I received the upgrade mail 50 days prior to sailing and placed my bids - no reply yet with 45 days to go 🙂

8 hours ago, sparkmaster said:

Then NCL does two things. First, they widen the range between sailaway and standard (perks included) fare categories. Take a look at just about any cruise on NCL's website. Excepting last minute or otherwise strange voyages, there is a huge spread between standard and sailaway rates.

 

Now take a look at the other drinking demographic, the sail away non-UBPers. They want to have a drink or two at dinner, sure. A few frozen drinks, perhaps a mixed before dinner beverage, a glass of wine etc. NCL's core demographics are middle class folks who are somewhat price sensitive. So Mr. and Mrs. Sailaway take a peek at the drink menus and just about fall over.

"Mr. and Mrs. Sailaway" This will be us for the next 10 day NCL cruise!

And it is exactly like you say: We just compared the total price for a room with UBP vs. without UBP. The price difference is 470,- Euro per person or 940,- Euro for a couple (= 1080,- USD incl Gratuities). And we asked ourselfs: Will we have drinks for 1080 USD? (and how much fun can you have with 1000 USD outside the ship ...)

Even if we would spend 900 USD on drinks on bord (which we won't do), we just save some money over the UBP.