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.

26 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I would've stopped right there. I get that it's disappointing, but to be fair, you're on a cruise. I never cruise with the intention of watching TV. I only enjoy watching European TV news in my cabin while relaxing, but the appeal for me on a cruise is the ship, the food & drink, the people, and the ports. TV sports? Not so much. (I did catch some of the World Cup last year, and that was cool) 😁

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.

10 minutes ago, RedwingHockeyFan said:

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.

Here is the link that came with the letter:

Norwegian Cruise Line Announces Extensive Enhancements to Norwegian Joy (ncl.com)

21 minutes ago, davencl said:

I can only speak for myself.  This has been the case for the last 5 cruises I've taken on NCL.

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

Just now, cpqq said:

 

The person who you replied to was me  😀

 

I noticed this on the 2nd when making an additional payment, around 6-8 hours before they started sending out memos regarding this and ran to CC to see if anyone knew about it. Had no idea the change was made that day!

 

@RedwingHockeyFan Interesting to know they were selling Spa Rooms on the Joy for a while, I don't even see them on the ship's page, before or after Jan. Only odd because the Getaway and Breakaway show Spa categories, albeit none after Jan 2024 sailings. 

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.

35 minutes ago, cpqq said:

 

The Joy isn't getting a thermal suite until 2024. I think by the time they're finished, while it'll have a Thermal Suite, no rooms that automatically come with it.

 

Good on NCL for honoring existing reservations on this. 

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

18 hours ago, Captain-John said:

This is a disappointing change, I have often booked spa category cabins to guarantee access.

 

Now subject to competing with others for the passes, they may sell out. Plus of course the price has increased.

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.

2 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

 

Agreed. I've taken many trips and ended up flying on many airlines. The only time an airline cancelled a flight without any options except to reschedule the next day was American Airlines. And that was AFTER we spent about 4 hours waiting for our flight and the only issue was being short a plane. 

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.  

13 minutes ago, mickeysgal said:

While I do understand some are strapped for time and money to come in at least a day early, it still doesn’t change the fact that this is the root cause of why they missed their European cruise. When you travel overseas, with connections on top of it, you have to allow for potential travel delays.  Yes, NCL allowed a flight with a tight connection- so yes, they’re leading people to think this is ok. If a simple 30 min tarmac delay caused them to miss a connection, it’s too tight and should not have  been an allowable option to pick. 

 

 

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.  

3 hours ago, dbrown84 said:

looks like the OP has a rental car, so they would only need the shuttle from the port back to airport

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.