RedwingHockeyFan

I think the confusion is that people don't realize that they can use the OBC to offset the cost of the Certs and think they need to spend it on something else.

The Southern Caribbean sailings for the next couple of years will be on the Viva. And since the ship is new, the prices are at a premium.

They will swipe it at port for alcohol drinks since there will be taxes charged. Rule of thumb though for the drinks package is 2-3 drinks cost about the same as the daily taxes. So, if you have 3 or more it covers the cost. The math gets a bit trickier if you try to figure out the differences when booking a Sailaway room.

But at the same time, they do have TVs in the staterooms and the bars, and they do show sports. If the demographic on the cruises is largely American passengers, then why wouldn't they have a better variety that included sports popular with Americans? I sailed on the Breakaway the week of the 2020 Superbowl and they had it on the big screen in the atrium, the big screen in Spice H2O, most of the TVs in O'Sheehan's and on a TV channel in the stateroom.

Woodford Old Fashioned (Maltings) and painkillers. I'll have the drink of the day at least once.

I get my son the soda package and the arcade package. He has to eat breakfast and Dinner with us but mostly he is free to do whatever he wants on the ship. We give him the "Curfew is at xx:xx, don't increase or decrease the population" speech and that is pretty much it. He has a blast.

I'm booked on the Joy for 2 MAR. It clearly shows on the app for Footloose: "Beginning October 28, 2023, Footloose will no longer be offered."

You can still use the drink package for soda and other virgin drinks that you would normally have to pay for without a drink package.

That is the normal rate, The OBC just makes the CN certs half off. You pay $500 then get $250 OBC, the net is $250 charge.

My favorite was an Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Epic when it was brand new. It was our 3rd cruise ever and first with a cruise line other than Carnival. The experience was totally different and better. It was a bigger ship with more activities, unique room configuration and better entertainment. This cruise had the Blue Man Group and the Circe de Dream shows which they don't seem to have any more. This was also before all the free at sea promos. Conversely, my least favorite was a Western Caribbean cruise on the Breakaway. had nothing to do with the itinerary, the ship or anything to do with activities. It was just that we had bad weather for most of the cruise that caused us to miss GSC and closed the pool deck on our last cruise day.

Not holding my breath to have OP come back and reply but I will assume they meant 40 and not 4.

Here is the link that came with the letter: Norwegian Cruise Line Announces Extensive Enhancements to Norwegian Joy (ncl.com)

Yes, you are correct. They do this so people don't double book themselves on excursions (2 excursions at the same time).

Yes, the situation is quite weird. The Joy never had spa rooms but was planning too. We have a cruise in March, and they emailed us a letter stating all the changes, including removing the Laser tag for a thermal spa, removing half the observation deck to add Haven rooms and reclassifying some deck 14 aft balconies to spa balconies, which now they are reclassifying back. So, for about two months they were selling spa balconies for sailings after FEB 2024.

Actually, for a short period of time they were booking spa rooms on the Joy.

I don't think this change will have much effect on spa passes selling out because it isn't changing the demand. If people still want spa access, they can just book a regular room and pay for the pass. There shouldn't be an increase in spa pass purchases, and I would think there will ultimately be less people with spa access. Where it does change the dynamic is on upgrade bids. You will no longer be able to bid on a spa room upgrade and get access.

It is usually Crew area.

I missed a connecting flight in Fort Lauderdale from Aruba on Spirit once. They actually had another flight from St Maarten the same night where most of the passengers missed a connecting flight. Both delays were mechanical issues so in that case Spirit has the responsibility to fix it. At first the people at the help counter were difficult and the opposite of helpful. they were trying to say both flight delays were caused by weather which was a farce. Eventually we did get a hotel for the night, a next day flight to Columbus, OH (our final destination was supposed to be Detroit), some meal vouchers and a rental car from Columbus to Detroit.

I'm not disagreeing with you. It would probably be wise for whomever makes the flight arrangements to factor that in, but it is obvious they don't. It is probably just people who are booking flights that are cheap and that will get you there on time in a perfect world with no risk of delays. Once the flights are booked and then the delays happen the blame lies with the airline not NCL.

I've never had an issue but, I've also never booked without a day or two deviation. NCL will book the cheapest flights they can from origin to destination that will get you to the port on time barring delays. If you prefer to have more control and don't care about the cost savings, then you should book the flights yourself. If you want the savings but play it safe then pay for the deviation. It's a poor assumption to think NCL owes you anything because flights were delayed. On my last cruise the comedian kept making fun of cruise passengers. He would start off by mocking them by complaining about random stuff and then finished the joke by saying "I want something for free"

I still see Escape at Puerto Plata on the 23rd. Only other ship is the Carnival Freedom. I'd say there is a good chance it will not be cancelled. With only two ships they could both be at Amber Cove.

Yes, sorry. I was providing general information based on previous experience in case anyone else reading this forum was curious.

There were hotels in PC that will shuttle you from the airport to the hotel, the hotel to the port then the port back to the airport. The cost was per person and added to the cost of the hotel stay. Last time I did this was in 2020 so I can say for sure that they still do it or not.

We did the Maya Key excursion and they have a self-guided snorkel route that is really cool.

It brings up a good point about why they would have so many $2 bills. Perhaps they would give you one $2 bill instead of two $1 bills so when you go to tip someone later you are forced to tip a $2 bill instead of a $1 bill because that is what you have.