julig22

22 hours ago, iggyc said:

We were in a balcony and I put a bid in to upgrade to a mini suite.  last night I noticed that the mini suite was being offered at the same cost as my balcony. I called my NCL representative and he called me back and upgraded us for free.  That’s good customer service

My balcony was more than the new pricing but still happy, since there is no obligation to allow upgrades.  Also upgraded to a mini suite in a great location.

Upgrade is possible, through your TA.  Possibility of money back or OBC is slim to none, especially since your current class is sold-out, so no way to determine that there is a price reduction for that booking.

I just upgraded at no cost but didn't ask for money back - was satisfied that I was given the upgrade.  I don't know if it matters, but I had the cabin number for the specific location I wanted.  But do it ASAP before someone else snags what you want.

3 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

The Terms and Conditions specifically state that the credit is non-refundable. It’s helpful to read them. 

I'm going by the final accounting sheet from my cruises, where the $50 excursion credit simply shows as a credit to my account, not a non-refundable credit.  I get where T&C says it's a non-refundable credit but I believe that is in reference to the use it or lose it aspect (meaning go on an excursion), not spend it or lose it.  If I've steered anyone wrong, I apologize but I don't believe that to be the case.

5 minutes ago, Kazzygirl said:

Thnanyou for that I think I will ring USA NCL not thr Aussie branch

Prdon my ignorance what does DSC mean?

Daily service charges - I don't know if that's something you have to pay.  Seems like the promos and extras vary by country.

13 minutes ago, Kazzygirl said:

Hi fellow cruisers,

 

I am from Australia and finding it very difficult to book my shore excursions for my December cruise.

I get different answers from NCL

I have $100 shore excursion credit per port.

If I book now I am told I have to pay upfront in full with my credit card being deducted immediately.

So do I get the OBC credit for the shore excursions back onto the credit card after I take each one or is the credit then only to be used for other things on board?

NCL cant give me a straight answer.

As I have the Fee at sea offer there is not much else to buy on board and I certainly don't want to have to spend " extra"

The only other option is to risk booking onboard and missing out as the excursions are full.

 

Any help would be appreciated

 

Thanks Karen

I think we are on the same cruise.  For USA, you can call to reserve excursions and you don't have to pay until your credit card is charged at the end of the cruise.  If you are using a debit card or paying cash, the charges will hit your account on day 1.  If you try to reserve your excursions using the web site, then you have to pay at that time and you will be issued credits as you go on your excursions.  It's a credit, not OBC so it should be OK to use for your DSC if you didn't pay that in advance.  Since it is a credit, you should also be able to get it back at the end of the cruise if you didn't spend it.

I don't know why there would be a difference because you are in Australia, but anything is possible.  If it were me, I would call and try to book your excursions - and if they ask for a credit card you can always say oops, not ready for that and then go to plan b, whatever that might be.  Good luck - sometimes just doing with NCL is better than asking first, since you are bound to get different answers.

12" x 16" acrylic on the ones I've done.  Alaska cruises, so whale tale & northern lights, but I've also seen a guitar and sunflower offered.

Haven't been on the Bliss but on other cruises it's been $35.  I seem to recall that signups are sometimes on embarkation and day 2, but it probably depends on when they are offering sessions and how many.  You'd have to look at your Freestyle Daily when you get onboard.  I've also seen sign-up sheets available in the library.

On 9/10/2019 at 8:59 PM, odie1024 said:

Just got off the Jewel and also did not get my Latitudes discount on my excursions. Went to guest services on disembarkment day and all they could say was shore excursions are not back till 1 PM and she would send them a message. Will have to watch statement for adjustment. 

Same here - but I got to Guest services before the crowds and they called someone who said they'd review it and to come back, someone would be there at 7.  Came back, nobody there but guest services had a new print-out, with the discounts applied so I avoided the dreaded hope-I-get-it-back-someday.

And just for clarification, my $50 excursion bonuses are listed as a $50 credit to my account, not OBC - so it should apply to anything, including DSC.  So if I didn't spend any money onboard (hah!) it should result in a credit to my credit card.

To be honest, I would think NCL would make more money with vending machines than they do with having cans of Pepsi products in the mini-fridge.  I'd probably buy more since half of the time the ones in the minibar aren't replaced.  Charge $3 bucks (pretty standard cost for bottles at many of the ports), forget the absurd 15% gratuity for putting something in your minibar, get the bottled stuff and you've got a winner in my opinion.

I accidentally brought a coke back on ship after an excursion.  It was in the outside pocket of my backpack and I remembered it just as I got to check-in and just left it there, figuring they would take it.  Nope.  Same thing with bottled water.  So you just never know.

The source isn't the issue, as it's not because of security like at the airport.  NCL rules say no bottled water or soft drinks are to be brought on board.

42 minutes ago, StefkaP said:

You have piqued my interest with your last comment.... you called NCL and asked for an upgrade and got it??  How soon before sailing (just as a reference point)? The cruise I am going on is not full. I got an oceanview cabin, solo,  for exactly half, and got 2 promos... its basically a month away. That solo supplement is now gone (3 days later), and there appears to be lots of cabins still.  There is the ability to put in 'bids" for upgrades, stating if you get the upgrade, original promos would not change. Just curious... you straight out asked them... "I want up upgrade??!!" I LOVE this. Any tips for this frugal, but not shy, first time solo cruiser who REALLY wants a balcony?? lol

 

First time, I was maybe 3-4 weeks out from sailing - a little birdie told me since the prices had dropped, I might be able to upgrade and I did - inside to OV, sailaway with 2 guests, for about $100 total I think.  Thinking that was what they always did, I called again a week or so out and asked for a balcony if I paid the difference and they laughed.  But I persisted (still thinking this was OK!) and they got a supervisor to OK the upgrade for another $100 bucks.  So I paid less to upgrade than I would have if I had bid.

Second time was about 45 days out - solo, not positive if there was a solo discount or not.  Saw that a studio was available, at a lower cost than what I'd paid for my balcony, so I grabbed the cabin# and called my TA.  She called NCL and they gave me the upgrade.  Bidding would have cost me from $100 to $500, with no guarantee.

Note: if you booked yourself, you can call NCL and ask.  If you went through a TA, you need to have them negotiate. 

I've also found that assuming they will do what you are asking works better than asking if you can - it's just much easier for someone to say no than it is to actually try and some NCL agents are much more experienced.  Good luck!

I am assuming that you mean the price of flights won't change once you have booked?  As far as I know, NCL is good on that and won't add charges once you have agreed to a particular price.

However, they can (and will) continually change pricing, sometimes up, sometimes down - so getting the best deal is somewhat of a crap-shoot.  One cruise I was looking at kept changing the airfare and cabin prices but the net price was the same.

If you are using the Free or discounted airfare promo, then you are correct that you can't specify your flights but, depending on the airline, you can usually choose your seats once your tickets are actually booked (45 days or so before your cruise).  You would need to go the the airline, not NCL.  I've always had reasonable seats assigned and sometimes keep them, but I've also changed them and/or upgraded (for a fee of course, paid directly to the airline).

2 hours ago, bob brown said:

If you each individually owned 100 shares of NCLH stock, you would double your shareholder OBC benefit by booking two separate rooms.   The benefit is only one per cabin, normally....😉

Debatable - you might get $50ea, you might get $100ea, you might not get anything.  Per NCL " Singles paying 200% are entitled to full onboard credit value. "  So far, I've always gotten my full amount, even with solo-cruiser discount, but others have reported getting less.  Seems to be a mystery how this is interpreted.  You would definitely get the $100 if booked together in 1 cabin.

To add, a cruiseNext certificate is discounted ($125 for a $250 certificate, if you buy in multiples) but as far as I know you can only purchase them while you are on a cruise or buy them from a 3rd party, since they are fully transferable.  They also expire after 4 years.

5 minutes ago, billslowsky said:

I sailed in July using this rate.  

 

Should I be expecting another bill from NCL in the same amount that I already paid?

 

Thanks for the heads-up.

Huh?  You pay what you contracted to pay.  If you got a true single, meaning half of the pp/dbl rate, good for you.  That is not the usual situation for the "Solo cruiser discount"

21 minutes ago, billslowsky said:

On their site click "Cruise deals" and "Solo Cruiser Discounts".  They're not all leaving this weekend either.

NCL prices their rooms as PP/double occupancy.  Which means that if you travel solo, you are going to pay for 2 people (less port/DSC charges) unless there is a solo cruiser discount, in which case they will discount your cruise somewhat.  Not the same as no charge for going solo, which is what the OP is asking.  Solo Cruiser Discount is just that - a discount against the pp/dbl occupancy fare, not elimination of the 2nd person charges.

No.  Your latitudes level is adjusted after your cruise.

3 minutes ago, Named-Tawny said:

Does anybody know if port fees and etc are per person or per room?

per person

8 minutes ago, bones774 said:

yes the prices are the same, first I've seen that. but the price i see at NCL is $399 either way.

Mock booking is $349 - initial web prices are often different than prices when you go forward on the booking process.

5 minutes ago, bones774 said:

just looked at the largest online t/a and saw $346 & $349 respectively.

btw- that's an 11/3 sailing, didn't see a 11/9 epic sail

Sorry, it is 11/3, prices are from NCL website, not a TA

32 minutes ago, bones774 said:

I have not seen double and single occupancy at same rate, as silly as it may seem I've seen double occupancy at e.g., $796 and single at $799. maybe just some accounting trick for NCL

Nov 9 sailing Western Mediterranean on the Epic - $349 for 1 guest, $698 for two, sailaway.  This came up in another discussion where the person was asking if they should book 2 in 1 cabin or book 2 cabins. 

3 hours ago, bones774 said:

thinking along those lines what is "solo cruiser discount" vs no single supplement? and what if I pay a 25% or 50% solo supplement? does the shareholder benefit get adjusted +/-

see where I'm going, just saying.

On undersold cruises, they sometimes offer true single-rates.  So when you book you see $500/pp and if you book 1 person it's $500 but 2 would be $1000.  True pp pricing vs room pricing

So perhaps you get the full shareholder benefit if your fare is anything over 50% of the room charge for 2 - if that makes sense.  So far, I've gotten the full $100 on solo discounted fares.  I've never bought a single-rate room, so can't speak to that.

3 hours ago, bones774 said:

are any of the above posters solo travelers? there seems to be a question as to getting 100% or 50% of benefit.

thanks

Yes.  So far, knock on wood, I've always gotten 100% even with a solo-cruiser discount.  I'm wondering if those who are not getting the full amount are only paying a single fare, which NCL offers on under-sold cruises when they are trying to fill the ship.

No reason you can't do this on future cruises - I gave similar advice to a group that was looking at getting a suite for 2 couples - I recommended 2 rooms for the same reasons you listed.  But if you wait to book last minute, there might be bargains and the ship might be full, so whatever works!

Keep in mind that sailaway (the cruise you listed) doesn't usually give you any perks, so no shore excursions, etc.  As to using 2 CruiseNext certificates, that depends on whether or not they are running a doubleUp promo when you book.

As to your upcoming cruise, you can always call and ask - I've gotten upgrades at the last minute just because I asked.  If you booked under sailaway, they might not care.  If you booked with perks, they might not let you.

Your logic is absolutely correct - and you could possibly book adjoining rooms.  But I have never seen a NCL cruise that doesn't charge more as a single, unless you are talking about the specific solo suites - I travel solo and usually go for a balcony, so haven't priced the inside/OV rooms lately as solo.  So if what you are saying is true, I'd definitely go for it.

You can always rebook if you are within the final payment window.