julig22

And I don't care how much bad press (justified or not) NCL airfare gets, I'm not about to book a 33 hr flight from London for $300 (no luggage) when NCL will book RT for probably around $600, depending on the itinerary, luggage included. Especially when there is no guarantee that the flight I book has any better chance of arriving on time over the flights NCL chooses!

You are absolutely correct. I even posted a link that lists the baggage allowances for international flights on the different MAJOR airlines. And I can verify that I have never paid luggage fees for international flights arranged through NCL - 1 or 2 bags, and I do NOT have special status with any airline.

You have to call

I've read the article on this. While this guy actually does a reasonable job of presenting the case if you listen to the entire thing, there are a few omissions/misstatements. First, NCL does not dictate when you fly, something he stated. The default is to fly the day of the cruise but you can choose to arrive early. I highly doubt that any NCL rep said "you'll be fine" in any context other than when telling them that the flights are already booked and can't be changed. A big difference from saying it when they originally booked the airfare. When you get your tickets, it is clearly stated that any issues within 72 hours are between you and the airline. Not NCL's fault that there were issues with the original flight, then the rebooked flight. Not being able to join the cruise at the next port is a PVSA rule, has nothing to do with NCL. The only part I really don't get is why they couldn't have met the ship in Seward and taken the land tour.

You just do what my totally clueless neighbors did once. They put their luggage in front of my door! Fortunately it wasn't an outward door.

I don't know by day but I have seen offers for additional time, thinking it was maybe an additional 150/300 minutes. It might depend on the ship. Also, remember that you can often get free service in the ports. By your signature, it looks like you are going to Alaska on the Sun - there is usually really good service at the terminal in Ward Cove - and it's free.

If you cancel an excursion prior to the cruise, they will refund the cost to the CC you originally used. However, not 100% sure on the time frame for getting a refund to your CC. You can usually cancel 48hrs prior to arrival at the port (rarely there are ones that can not be cancelled, clearly specified in the description). If you cancel onboard or too close to your sail date, you will get OBC (refundable) - and your account must be cleared before they will allow you to disembark at the end of the cruise. There isn't a link between booking prior to a cruise vs onboard accounts which is why OBC instead of refund to original payment method. But cancelled excursions are fully refundable in some form or another, assuming you cancel within the given time frame. The same goes for excursions cancelled by NCL.

It depends on the airline policy and the destination. Some airlines are listed here. thepointsguy.com/guide/airline-baggage-fees

For US bookings it is never necessary to actually cancel and rebook. Nor would you ever want to do it after final payment, as that would trigger cancellation fees - so you answer is confusing. If prior to final payment due date, you get a refund/statement adjustment. If after final payment due date, you get FCC. A price adjustment does act like a cancellation/rebooking within the NCL system with respect to current prices and available promos but you retain your original booking date (valuable for a few line items, like DSC). Any payments/deposits will carry over. With respect to your Amex promo, it depends on the terms of the promo. If it is date-sensitive, then retaining your original booking date might save the promo. And yes, you can completely transfer an existing reservation to a different itinerary. Having a PCC is your best option in that case. The person who does the transfer won't get any credit for the booking but if they think they'll possibly get future bookings from you they might willingly do the work.

I love my balcony because I love to watch and photograph the sunrise/sunset and see the nighttime sky. I'm now the proud owner of a camera that has a specific setting for moon shots, LOL. Not a fan of going on deck a 4am in the cold to see what's happening. Speaking of cruises to Alaska and Antarctica in particular. Or the midnight sun in Norway.

Assuming you mean Quebec. Those flights are a nightmare to schedule. Even when they fly to Montreal, it's not easy. When I was looking at booking on my own (my cruise ends in Quebec), the flight times to Oregon were terrible, with long layovers. One reason I specifically chose to end my cruise in Quebec not start there. It may be unavoidable.

Well, 8 international cruises/flights through NCL and I have yet to pay any baggage fees. And I usually am able to pick my seats, sometimes for a fee if I want to upgrade. NCL, in my experience, books economy, not basic if there is a difference. And I do pay baggage fees for domestic flights at the prices I'm willing to pay - because I do take the basic option.

Yes, access to CruiseCritic is free but can be somewhat limited. And no, I don't think they would reimburse you if you used your minutes, as the site can be reached without using your login. However, I have had issues with maintaining my login while on CC - so no notifications, access to roll calls or ability to respond to comments when that happens. At that point, I've had to use my wifi account to login to CC, then logout of the wifi. Inconvenient, yes but it works.

Of course you are getting different answers because there are hundreds of different outcomes, depending on your itinerary and airline chosen. You can't generalize. NCL does NOT pay baggage fees. That is easily said. And they book economy flights. MOST domestic carriers, SW excluded, charge baggage fees for domestic if you book economy. Your mileage will vary depending on the ticket you choose and the airline carrier, your status with the airline, etc. Most of the larger airlines include 1 or 2 bags for international flights, depending on the destination. Has nothing to do with who booked the ticket, it's the policy of the airline.

You have to ask at Guest Services if you are eligible and need a priority tag. If you have a NCL transfer or post-cruise excursion, they will deliver the tags to your stateroom. Otherwise, the tags are usually available in the lobby, if not you get them from guest services.

As opposed to leaving your bags with the porters when you embark and then expecting to find them in the hallway. Or at the airport when you check your bags and expect to find them at your destination? And unless I'm mistaken, there are surveillance cameras in the hallways. I for one don't want to lug my suitcase around anymore than required - let someone else get it up/down the stairs, down the gangway and into the terminal. Anything of value is in the carryon that I keep with me.

I was on the Sun a few months ago and I took both tours. Staff may have changed by now but the staff doing the tour were for the most part super passionate about their jobs, so both tours were interesting and fun IMHO. Each ship is different so I'll probably keep going on the latitudes tours, but maybe pay for the longer tour on some as well. The theater arrangement is probably the biggest difference and very interesting. And it was comforting to me to see that there was an official "whale watcher" on duty on the bridge. Now if we could only convince them to make an announcement when they spot whales...

If you do get a line of credit, I would think that you could put money onto a slot machine, then just cash in the voucher.

NCL couldn't care less who sleeps where, assuming you aren't talking about a suite/Haven upgrade. You can just get access cards to the other rooms but you would have to watch room charges. Any possibility that you can gift the upgrade to your friend? I'm considering using my NCL points to give an upgrade to family going on a cruise with me, and I don't see why I wouldn't be able to upgrade their room.

Getting off the ship isn't much different than getting off in a port - and I've never waited long to get off the ship. You scan your card or they use facial recognition - and off you go. And no, they aren't checking to see if you are trying to leave early. However, if you have to go through customs or immigration there can be a hold up. And NCL has absolutely no control over how that works. Passengers can't get off of the ship until the port authority says so. So pretty much any backup on the ship would be due to delays with passenger processing at the terminal, not because the ship is disorganized. On my last cruise the dock workers were having a work slowdown so yes, it was a mess. Got off the ship no problem but had to wait for our luggage. And they did enforce the tag colors as a means to control the crowds. You could get in line but you couldn't get to your luggage.

Been cruising with NCL since 2018 and have gotten the same set of instructions on every cruise (19), modified of course to match the specifics for that port. The instructions are in your stateroom a couple of days before the end of your cruise. They limit the number of tags so no, a huge number can't just choose 10am. The colored tags are for sorting the luggage - it does take some time to get all the luggage from the ship to the terminal. If you go to early (they probably won't stop you) your luggage won't be waiting. If you self assist remember that there are others waiting for the elevators, unless you can carry your luggage up or down the stairs -so that usually means a lot more waiting. Choosing a time won't prevent lines, it just helps to try to spread out the crowds. No matter what the venue, a ship, a concert - there are going to be lines while a few thousand people try to do the same thing.

I take the "I did it" posts on that one with a grain of salt. I was doing some rearranging of cruises the other day and discussed using CF with my PCC for a cruise I've already booked, although I was prepared to remove the CN that's already there. Decided it probably wouldn't work, but more on the idea that it wasn't a new booking and they seem to be holding to that much more than they do with CNs. What the system allows you to do and what the system allows you to keep are 2 different things. If you try to add a CN when you don't qualify for the 2nd one they just return it later. The system appears to do post-payment checks, not pre-payment. And it also might depend on the value of the CF that you originally used. Highly doubtful they would allow any combination that's over $500.

$399 each for adults, child $299 before any discounts. If you go to the NCL web page and scroll to the bottom, there is a link to the different ports. The list of excursions isn't necessarily complete but it gives you an idea of what might be available and the current cost.

If it's just one of the sky trams (Juneau and IcyStraitPoint), it is an open ticket, you can use at any time. If there is something attached to it like a tour, then you'd have to go at the time listed.

Yes, the credit is per excursion - so there's no harm/no foul in booking the "free" trams, city tours, etc. that are in the $50 range and aren't time specific. No loss if you decide you don't want to go. But you can't overlap timewise.