UKstages

i'm on the breakaway to bermuda in october. i have a wait and see attitude about this. i mean, c'mon, the requirements were just announced this morning. there's plenty of time to tweak and reassess, by bermuda, by NCL and by individual travelers.

one thing that is a bit of a stumbling block for NCL is that most NCL excursions begin at 10:30 or so, just a couple of hours after docking. it's difficult to predict how that's going to work if people are delayed getting off the ship. i think people on cruises to bermuda this fall will probably hear from NCL within two or three days, once they have an official take on this. 

as for test results, one potential compromise here would be for NCL to work with the bermuda government to administer  both an antigen test (apparently the NCL requirement) as well as a PCR test at embarkation. the government could even send its own health care workers to the ports to administer these tests under their guidance. 

On 8/7/2021 at 12:16 AM, complawyer said:

sorry to disagree, prior to the covid shut down, we would get a free cruise offer from cesar's/ncl 3-4 times a year going back to 2010. while the offer is for an inside cabin, you can  upgrade to any cabin (if youre willing to pay the difference)also 7 seas gets 20% discount on their cabin selection, diamond gets 10% off.

oh, gosh... no need to be sorry, but what exactly is it you disagree with?

diamond members in caesars entertainment's players rewards system don't get an annual "free" cruise as a tier benefit. that's simply a statement of fact.  only seven stars players get a "free" annual (balcony) cruise on NCL. if a diamond member receives a "free" cruse certificate for any category stateroom, it has been awarded based on prior play... at a caesars entertainment land-based casino. you can receive multiple "free" cruise certificates in a year from multiple properties or even the same property. but it's not a tier benefit, unless you're a seven stars player getting an annual "free" cruise in a balcony room.

and different players can receive certificates for different room categories at the same cruise certificate distribution event. here again, it's based on prior play at a caesars land-based casino. one player might get an inside cabin, another an ocean view, another a balcony. it's easy for a player to assume that all free cruise certificates are for a baseline inside cabin if that's the only cruise certificate they ordinarily receive. but cabin category on the certificates - as well as cruise length and available destinations - is based on prior play. (it's no different than when they give away coffee makers. one person gets a mr. coffee, another gets a deluxe keurig, somebody else gets a breville stainless steel espresso machine... all at the same event.)

once having sailed with NCL, the casinos at sea division generates its own offers, even as you are likely to continue to get NCL "free" cruise certificates from caesars. the CAS offers are generally richer than the caesars offers, as it is based on your verified play on their own ships.  but there is great flexibility. you may get an offer you like and book it, but you can also call a casinos at sea rep, tell her which cruise you're interested in and simply ask to have your play evaluated. they always have a record of your most recent play as well as your average play over the past several cruises. so, by all means ask for what you want... the rep will put you on hold and come back and tell you what you qualify for... a free inside cabin or free balcony room or a free suite or whatever. this works best when you know you have strong prior play. if you're putting through two or three hundred dollars a day, the rep doesn't have much wiggle room to put you in a comped suite.

as for the discount caesars customers get, it is indeed 30% for seven stars players, 20% for diamond players and 10% for platinum players... however, the discount is less if you purchase a higher level suite or a haven accommodation. then the discount is only 20%, 10% and 5% respectively. if one only purchases higher level suites or haven accommodations, it's easy to assume that the discount is always the lower amount. but it's not... most people don't buy super premium rooms or the haven and they get 30%, 20% or 10% off, based on caesars tier status.

you can always upgrade using cash, but you can also - under certain circumstances - upgrade using another certificate. if two people traveling together have a "free" cruise certificate from the same distribution event, they can usually book using the higher value certificate and then use the second certificate for a one category upgrade. 

but with current vax requirements, i would imagine there wouldn't be any 10 or 11 year olds on the ship at all, since, unless i'm mistaken, they can't be vaccinated, which is why i imagine splash academy might be closed.  

so, if splash academy is open, and vax requirements are still in place, she'd either be with a bunch of 12 year olds if there were a lot of them, or they would have to move her up to a higher age group.

i have had the very same problem an hour or so ago. i composed a rather lengthy reply, hit submit... and poof... gone... post vanished into thin air.  i assumed it was because of the length  of the post; some admins on some boards have lengthy posts on a delay so they can be reviewed for appropriate content before being published.

that appears not to be the case.

this appears to be a glitch that has been going on for some time, is that right?

wouldn't it be a good idea to tell people about known defects, so they could compose offline and not lose their post?

12 hours ago, CruizinKittie40 said:

I have a heart condition and can only drink Coke Zero due to low caffeine content.  I've not found anything Pepsi makes that is comparable. 

Coke Zero has marginally less caffeine than Diet Coke, but only about 25% less. It's something like 34mg per can vs. 46mg.... something like that. It's a very bad name for a product because many people think it has no caffeine. The "zero" refers to no sugar and no calories.

The only Pepsi product that you can find in some locations on NCL (and usually in cans in limited quantities) is what used to be called Diet Sierra Mist, but what is now called Sierra Mist Free. 

A lemon lime soda with no caffeine and no calories.

But again, it's not in every venue on board and  it's not well stocked in the places that carry it.

thanks for the information.

caesars diamond members don't actually get an annual free cruise as a tier benefit... only seven stars players do. any player at any tier level can qualify for a play-based free cruise certificate and there will often be players picking up different cruise certificates at the same event... one might have a balcony, one might have a suite and one might have an inside cabin. there also can play-based destination restrictions and limitations on the length of the cruise.

diamond players do get a 20% discount on purchased NCL cruises, while seven stars players get 30% (calculated on top of whatever prevailing discount NCL may be offering on its own).

as for ownership of the client relationship, CAS owns the client contact even when you book a land-based casino certificate, but the booking agent of record is apparently the land-based casino company. whenever i've looked at my cruise confirmations, including this most recent one that came directly from a CAS offer... the "travel agent" is listed as caesars entertainment. presumably, this is some sort of a finder's fee referral commission arrangement.

as far as i know, eldorado resorts, which recently purchased caesars and has very quickly cut costs and slashed comps and benefits everywhere throughout its casino network, has not yet issued a statement indicating whether it will continue its relationship with NCL. i'd say its 50/50 on that one. 

i've spoken with the folks at CAS a few times in the past few days. i had one decent experience and one truly outstanding experience. i had called to book my "free" cruise from caesars, but i also asked about a CAS offer i received via email a few days earlier offering me a free "stateroom."

i asked, "which is better to use? any difference in the two offers?" the first consultant told me "well, you'll want to use your caesars offer first... because you have to sail on that one by january 31st. the one from us, that one is good through december 31st." so i booked a balcony room on the same 7-day bermuda sailing that a couple of you have mentioned in this thread (october 10). i haven't been to bermuda since i was ten or eleven years old... and that was, um, awhile ago. 

one thing i do like about NCL is that - while traveling solo on these "free" cruises - there is no single supplement. the certificate is for the room, not two passengers, although it does include free fare for two people. for solo travel, you pay port fees, taxes, gratuities and service charges for one person only.

i also asked her about a paper certificate i had for a free cruise that i picked up at caesars palace in las vegas in january of 2020, just before all hell broke loose. it expired in april of 2020. had it been extended?why, yes, she said, it had! i asked if i could combine it with this reservation for a one category room upgrade, as i have in the past... and she said she had no idea what i was talking about.   even so, it was a very pleasant interaction with a nice rep and i was glad i called and got booked for the october itinerary.  for many years, i never used the caesars cruise benefit. (my first free cruise on NCL was in 2019 on the bliss.) and i look back on that now, thinking that was really stupid.

later that day, still interested in clarifying whether my other certificate had any value, i called back. there's an old call center axiom that says if you don't like an answer you're given... HUACA... Hang Up And Call Again. so i did. this second cruise consultant also said i couldn't use my other certificate for a one category room upgrade, but she did volunteer that the in-house offer i had received was about to expire. she told me that CAS sent me an offer in april (i never received it) and that they sent me another one in july (which i only received a few days earlier). most importantly, she said my offer was for a cruise up to 10 days in length and that it was for a comped haven suite! 

say what?

yeah, that's right, a comped haven suite... (prima excluded; new year's excluded; also asia, baltic, south america and australia excluded).

but the offer had to be booked by july 31st, which was the next day! i told her i had to research the options and call back, which i did. i mean, you want to make the most of an offer like that, right? book a 10-day cruise, if possible, rather than a 5 or a 7. and you'd want it to be on one of the newer ships with the full haven experience. so i had to look at all the available itineraries and check availability.

i really wanted one of the transatlantic sailings, but they were all 12 and 14 days or longer, including a 12 day sailing on the prima next september.  when i mentioned this to the rep when i called back, she said, "well, i can have your play evaluated. i may be able to get you on the prima on that cruise or another longer cruise... it may be an inside cabin, or maybe a balcony. it won't be the haven, but," she said, "if you qualify for a comped haven, we can probably put you in a different room on another cruise... or even on the prima... just not in the haven."

my point here is this: call and discuss your comp status/offer with a knowledgeable rep. they may see something "in the system" that you don't have access to... or may be willing to go to bat for you for a slightly different itinerary or some other special service or accommodation. that may be $150 off your fare or it may be something better than that. just as with a land-based casino, it's all based on your play. and if you call and you don't get a knowledgeable rep with whom you feel comfortable, don't book... HUACA.

in the end, i didn't ask her to see what she could do for the prima transatlantic sailing... as i really wanted to experience the haven.

so, i wound up booking a 10-day cruise on an older ship, the gem... the itinerary and the timing worked better for me. and, yes, it's not the full haven experience of the mega ships, but i'm looking forward to it. I'm booked in a courtyard penthouse, which i think is actually the lowest level haven accommodation, but my rep told me it was the "fourteenth highest rated cabin on the ship." when i asked if that was according to guest surveys or to NCL's own ranking system she said she didn't know. 

i asked this rep to also look at my reservation on the bermuda sailing ... and she was able to find me a much better midship balcony cabin than the one i had booked a day earlier. she spent about 45 minutes with me and i think she was one of the best agents i had ever spoken to. 

this experience does make me wonder, though, how many haven cabins are they comping? 

and at what level of play?

i mean, i know what my play is like and it's "strong," as casino hosts have told me in the past, but based on what i get in vegas and atlantic city or even kansas city, i wouldn't expect a comp on this level. and one thing is for sure, CAS sucks at marketing and outreach... i didn't even know i had this offer... the one email i received (a few days before the offer expired) simply said i had a free "stateroom" waiting for me.

most contact center employees are forbidden to talk about the company they work for on social media... unless their job is specifically to comment on social media. a phone agent would not normally be allowed to comment on work-related issues on an internet forum or answer questions about NCL on facebook or twitter, for example. i have no insight into NCL new hire training, but I assume they would have a similar rule in place. perhaps the OP has now been through the part of the training where this rule is disclosed and will no longer be commenting.

Not sure if your question is related to the prep time necessary to recast and get the shows up and running  or if you're asking if both shows are normally presented on board. When I last sailed the Bliss in December of 2019, both shows were available in the theatre (on different nights, of course). Both were quite good. I had seen "Six" in London's West End... and this production was just as good.