hallux

I booked a couple of my excursions online before my last cruise, all received the Latitudes discount without issue.

Another word of warning - if you pre-booked an excursion and it ends up canceled on-board (by you or NCL) the $50 credit is not initially factored in the refund, the FULL PRICE (or Latitudes-discounted price) of the excursion is credited and then there's a $50 charge the next day to account for the $50 shorex credit you received when you pre-booked the excursion.

18 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

I've been left behind too (my parents often lament they found me when I got lost at the NYS Fair many moons ago)

LOL, I was 'misplaced' one time on Mackinac Island when I was a very young lad, apparently a group of college-age ladies made sure I was reunited with my family...

1 hour ago, davencl said:

You might make the flight.

Luggage might not, though.  There's a cut-off for luggage drop-off at the desk, after that they can't assure the bags will make the flight.

26 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

I'm not sure you are allowed to bring a stand alone humidifier on the ship. 

It's not explicitly on the prohibited items list - https://www.ncl.com/prohibited-items

However, it does contain a fan and it's not battery-powered so it may be subject to scrutiny and possible confiscation depending on who is evaluating it and their interpretation of the rules.

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Maybe the Encore will have a Spice soon.

Fingers crossed!  However - Bliss holds those same parties on the pool deck despite having Spice...

13 hours ago, CarnivalCruiser875 said:

Question - What are the breakfast options on the Norwegian Escape/what is your favorite place to eat breakfast?

As others noted - there are two MDRs open for breakfast, plus the included venue in the Atrium.  I'm a buffet breakfast person - the omelette station is pretty good, as is the bacon and sausage.

13 hours ago, CarnivalCruiser875 said:

Question - What is your favorite specialty dining venue/what is your favorite meal in the complimentary venues/main dining room?

I give another vote for Le Bistro - Steak TarTare, Baked Onion soup, the Sole is my go-to meal there.  In the MDR, the seemingly 'simple' breaded Flounder is one of my favorites.

On my last cruise, on the Bliss, I also had a really good meal at Cagney's.

12 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

There will be a dance party by the pool most nights.

Sorry to contradict you, Bird, but on the Escape I recall the dance parties being in Spice (with photo evidence. ok, maybe not the BEST photo to show a 'hopping' dance party, it was the first I found)

13 hours ago, CarnivalCruiser875 said:

Question - What's there to do after dinner for activities or entertainment?

Comedy, theater shows, The Pour House, Howl at the Moon ('dueling pianos').  The shows in The Pour House were AMAZING.  If you're a Fleetwood Mac fan, they do the Rumours album start to finish one night with some speaking interludes explaining how the album/songs came to be - you need to be in line an hour or more before show time though (I walked by around 8/8:15 for a 9:30 show and the line was already quite long).

19 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

85 isn't far off from my grandma's age

85 isn't far off from my dad's age (turns 81 during their next cruise, a TA on Princess from the Brooklyn terminal).  But he and my mom know better than to do this.  In fact, as much as he might not be an NCL fan, though he's never stepped foot on an NCL ship, he found no fault with what NCL did with the group in Africa...

13 hours ago, UKstages said:

not the time they called and notified the ship (through a surrogate)

An interesting thought on this - they called their family on board at 5:45, but how long did it take THEM to contact 'authorities' on the ship?

3 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

you might have asked for an earlier debarkation time slot.

Re-read their post, they had the EARLIEST!

32 minutes ago, justsayinisall said:

do you guys know if I get my full deposit, and other payments I've made already, back?

I can't speak to the rest of it, except to say that it would be REALLY nice if Aon would not be so strict about this 'written documentation' thing (and that's THEM, not NCL).  Sadly, for all Aon knows, you chose to take your time getting off the ship rather than getting off when disembarkation started.  I did self walk-off with my bags on my cruise in Feb. and was also stuck in such a line, note to self, grab a picture showing the line next time.

As for the quoted text, if you're before final payment you should be able to get every penny back!

57 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

A pilot may delay pushing away from the gate for a minute or two

Airline pilots don't make that decision, that's the operations people on the ground.

58 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

Being there were film cameras on those specials I bet the captain waited longer than usual.

The ship captain knew exactly how long he COULD wait, based on advice of the local pilots (if tides locally might be an issue), knowledge of how much time he needs to get to the next port, etc.  Those shows artificially elevated the drama, and the (late) passengers were certainly helped in that I believe they were on ship-sponsored excursions...

I'm not sure how this matters to the current situation - “Never before have we ever missed catching a ship on time at a port. So we are not someone who abuses the system.”

The ship doesn't know if they're on-time people or habitual 'offenders'.  They took a risk, they calculated incorrectly, they eventually got back to the ship.  I have to wonder if the cruise line somehow had incorrect contact information for them as there were allegedly several attempts made to contact them.  

9 minutes ago, camper49 said:

What about rate adjustments before final payment ? 

If you see a price drop prior to final payment you can absolutely call in and get the adjustment.  Two caveats -

• you can't base the fare reduction on other categories, there MUST be a cabin available in your category to make the comparison to.  You can even ask to upgrade to a higher category cabin.
• you have to accept the promotions at the time of re-pricing so if the number of specialty dinners or the number of internet minutes has been reduced you accept that you get fewer specialty dinners or less time on the internet.

I think people have reported previously that if you have flights you either can't get a price drop after final payment or if you do there may be an adjustment to the cost of the flights.

Something to consider - when you do a price drop you agree to the current promos at the time of the request for the price adjustment, if flights are no longer offered on that cruise because it's after the final decision date for the flights then the cost comparison isn't apples to apples..

As noted by @ScubaKat, if mailed tags are not received, tags can be printed once check-in is completed and e-docs are available.  The link to download and print them is in the e-docs.  I have plastic sleeves with metal rings to attach them to my bag(s).

1 hour ago, roddy good boy said:

I think you only get 2 FAS per cabin. You don’t both get 2.

How many meals depends on the cruise length and cabin type.  A balcony on a 7-night cruise will get 2 per passenger for passengers 1 and 2.

56 minutes ago, Joanne G. said:

When I unchecked these two in the booking process, the base cruise fare was less

If you pick a Free At Sea fare, the only change when removing the dining and drink packages is the removal of the dining and beverage service charges.  In order for there to be a change in the fare you'd have to go from the FAS fare to a sail-away fare.

2 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I liked the sole. 

My preferred entree there as well!!

1 hour ago, astera said:

I'm actually looking forward to the steak tartare (raw) the most, but as it's a starter I just hope it's not a really tiny portion...

8 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

The steak tartar is a good sized portion

I agree.  Photo for reference - 

9 minutes ago, Distinctive-Destinations said:

or doing an excursion where you might get dirty (hiking, ATV ride, etc).

Been there, done that, but it was an excursion in Cabo on the last port stop on the cruise with just a sea day left before disembarking so no time to get laundry done after that one.

1 hour ago, astera said:

Le Bistro

This has become my favorite, and I've had it on 3 ships.

No, NCL never puts their onboard packages on sale.

14 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

Unfortunately they kept Acapulco for our Panama Canal cruise

I got off in Acapulco on my PC cruise this year.  It was only the second cruise to stop there since their hurricane in October and it was honestly one of the best stops on the trip because of that!

Taste and/or Savor should be open, this is the case for at least all of the ships of the same class.  I can't speak to irons, I don't iron clothes (on or off cruise)

2 hours ago, SeekingKillerWhales! said:

(No idea of quality.)

Many say it's the best coffee on the ship...