hallux

#5 on this page says "grand total".. https://www.ncl.com/terms/cruisefirst

I didn't, but I'm sailing on the Escape in 6 days...

Yup. I recall my parents saying that their TA keeps a portfolio of her actively-traveling clients with her so if they call her with an issue she can jump to action. She doesn't have status with NCL to do any kind of perks so I don't go through her for my bookings. The one time I did use her she just booked what I asked her to book after doing my own research and I paid the 'rack rate' for everything.

Just be aware that the kid's menu is 12 and under. The 15 year-old apparently won't be allowed to join you at Teppanyaki and not pay the cover charge (there was a whole long thread on this, go look it up)...

If you read the terms of the CruiseNext program it even says it's not. I don't recall when that changed. https://www.ncl.com/about/terms-and-conditions/promotions#cruisenext

Here's a tip - at the top of the thread list is a section with a drop-down menu. Select the ship name, this is a pre-defined search for threads mentioning the ship you select. You can then select to sort that by most recent to find the recent threads mentioning that ship.

or, as I indicated others pointed out in other threads - this is not uncommon, it seems to be that there's a 'boilerplate' date there for each cruise, and for those that should have early access it opens at the appropriate time.

I see the Encore has several itineraries listed as embarking on April 7, 2024 - 21 day, 18 day, 15 day. I'm guessing this is the ship you're looking at? If you want to get off in LA book the 15 day that ends there.

It's been discussed in other threads that despite what the app says your opportunity to book will open at 125 days, it's just a boiler-plate display.

It's doubtful that the ship will be released to disembark passengers as early as 6 AM, that's usually just the time they expect to be along side the pier. They want the ship clear as early as possible so the next cruise can start boarding, expect them to really start urging disembarkation by 9-9:30. This seems to be pretty standard across all ships, ports and cruise lines with morning arrival for turn-around.

Thanks, I forgot that important piece of info. I also like to use the luggage tag holders - plastic sleeves that attach to the suitcase with a metal wire loop. I put one on my suitcase and one on my carry-on. My luggage tags (both the cruise line one and a regular travel one) got torn off my bag on my first ever cruise. I was at guest services at 9:30 at night getting my suitcase. I've seen someone post about that - if your indicator light is not set to DnD or 'home' then the steward (or someone) will do a 'drive-by' and drop it on the bed. Otherwise - it'll be outside the room, on the door handle or tucked into the room number placard on the wall.

On your eDocs, once check-in is complete, is a link to download your tags (well, one but you can print as many as you need for your cabin). It's near the little suitcase picture (VERY easy to miss). It's in the "at the pier" section, says "print luggage tags here" and the word 'here' is the link to print them. Yes, it should be. You can even mark items that you're interested in but that does not trigger a notification that the event is happening soon. If a supplement or replacement needs to be issued (because of a surprise sea day) the app, surprisingly, may NOT reflect those updates initially.

Yes, there is. I booked my own flights for my next cruise, despite having the option of paying about $100-$150 less through NCL (solo cruiser so I get 50% off airfare). Why? The cruise is out of Port Canaveral and MCO is one of the very few direct flights I can get from my home airport, on Southwest. I wanted to be sure to get that even though I was flying in the day before and until recently Southwest has not been a carrier NCL used for promotional airfare.

I'm on the Escape in 10 days, my entertainment wasn't available to book until about14 days pre-cruise, and then only for the main theater show. I don't yet have status that allows me early booking options.

Except the passenger COULD have requested that the cruise line book them to arrive a day earlier but chose not to. If they had booked their own flights would they have made the same decision, thus having the same result or would they have suddenly made the conscious decision to fly in a day earlier while booking their own flights?

If your points trade-in gets you refundable OBC then it will be applied against your DSC. Alternative way to do things - if your CC allows for trading in points toward paying off the bill, just do that to avoid confusion.

At least on the bigger ships (not the Jade) the theaters can't hold enough people to allow all passengers to see the shows, even with 4 performances (only 900 seats in the theater on a ship with 4,000 passengers) so reservations are needed.

You don't get to choose what OBC is used for what purchases. In theory the system will figure it out at the end of the cruise and use the non-refundable balance against what is eligible for it to be used for. If you took the Free At Sea promotion for drinks the 'service charge' is paid already, it was part of your final payment total. If you're referring to charges above what the drink package covers (the amount over $15 and the gratuity on that amount for drinks over $15, or taxes on drinks ordered while in a port where such is collected) then yes that is done on board.

Using the search box I found this thread with a nearly identical title from November where this was discussed.

Keep in mind - if NCL booked you on different airlines for each end of the cruise, being a no-show on the first one SHOULDN'T cause the other to be cancelled as they're different reservations/airlines.

I believe it's the standard lunch menu - https://profcruise.com/norwegian-dining-and-restaurant-menus-2022/ I definitely recall having the Philly Cheesesteak on the Bliss in 2019...

Funny you bring THAT up. My parents were headed out on a one-way cruise (not an NCL cruise) from the Red Hook port, the only way they were going to easily get there from Albany was for me to drive them. As it turns out, that was the day POTUS was going to be speaking at the UN. We had actually planned to drive down the East side of Manhattan. Needless to say, that plan changed. Fortunately we're Mets fans so I know all too well how to get THERE and we just went around on the Grand Central Pkwy... Something to be careful with there - you're relying the network of iPhones to report the location of the tag. My sister used a Tile in 2019, we changed planes in Philly on the way home, when we got to our home airport her Tile was reporting as being in Chicago. The last device in the Tile network that saw her device (before it came out in baggage claim) belonged to someone that ended up in Chicago so that's where her Tile showed for the location for a while. The AirTags may work similarly.

@DZ77 as long as your phone can get signal it should work. It's likely to be weak inside the ship but on deck shouldn't be an issue.

As noted - that's the only option. You're not actually booking the air yourself, you're just asking the cruise line to do it for you and they'll put on whatever airline they can get you seats on at the rate they're willing to pay. Oh - you may not even be on the same airline for both ends of the cruise. When I used the promotional airfare in 2019 they put me on Delta flying to the cruise and AA on the way home. Additionally - if you fly in the day before that does not mean they won't still book you a flight that could get you to the cruise on time if embarkation day is that day. In 2019 I was in LA from Upstate NY (I had to connect in ATL) by noon, the day BEFORE the cruise sailed.

If you're taking the BOGO you're not booking the airfare yourself.