pookel

First time cruiser and I'm on the Norwegian Gem in January .... was thinking of getting a manicure my first or second day and have nice nails for the cruise. For context I've literally only had a manicure once in my life (for my wedding) so it's not something I typically do, but I did enjoy it that time and it was nice to have perfect nails for a couple weeks. So, any experiences? Pricing about the same as a regular nail salon? Do they offer the same sorts of things? Does it look ok?

I don't really like heat so maybe this is just a me thing, lol! But someone tell me what a "snow room" is? That sounds interesting!

Not everyone trusts everything a corporation claims about how it treats its employees. If you'd ever worked in the service industry you'd be aware that official stated policy is rarely the same thing as how employees are actually treated.

I keep seeing references to the thermal spa as the best place to be on ship and I don't really get it. What's the appeal? Isn't it just like heated chairs and a sauna and hot tubs? Is there anything else special there that I'm missing? I've never been on a cruise before so maybe there's more to it that I'm just not aware of. Can someone spell out for me what the appeal is?

Yeah, I do see my points it's just frustrating that apparently I can't see the ability to redeem them yet. I guess I will wait until the pending 28K points show up and then check again. (I prepaid service charge, booked excursions, and did my upgrade bid all on my new card after booking the cruise, so I hit the introductory $1000 quickly!)

Honestly, from preliminary research the only line I am leery of trying is MSC. I know some people have had great experiences, but it sounds like they're inconsistent & sometimes have staffing issues, and I don't want to risk having a bad experience. (Also, I can't deal with long lines & disorganized crowds, which sounds like a perennial issue on MSC.)

This sounds like a fun way to approach things! I love going new places & to places where "they don't speak English" - although it can be a real adventure navigating rural Thailand without a translator, I can tell you that. (We visited my brother who is a monk there, and it was fine while he was with us because he's fluent, but there were a couple evenings when he couldn't be with us and there was a lot of smiling and pointing at things. Google Translate doesn't handle the Thai language well at all, apparently - we were all trying!) I was afraid everyone was going to tell me I'd waste a lot of money by switching around to different lines, but my preference would be to try new things and not just stick with one line, I think.

Yeah that doesn't say "REDEEM NOW" for me. Look at my screenshot, it says "LEARN MORE." If I click on it, it takes me to the application page where it offers to sign me up for a new credit card. The one I already have.

Thanks, I did see those. I'm looking for where in the app/on the BofA page I'd see the rewards for *my own account* - you know, the confirmation that I'd be able to purchase them once my pending points are released.

The screenshot I posted is literally what I see when I click the "redeem World Points" button from exactly the screen you're talking about and then go to "travel." The other two options are "gift cards" and "cash," neither of which have any cruise line rewards. So where am I supposed to be seeing these NCL rewards? Because I assure you they are not there and it's getting pretty frustrating that you keep insisting that they're on my account when I've looked over every possible option about a dozen times and there are no NCL rewards available.

Yes the screenshot I posted in the first place is from my BofA rewards page, which notably does not show any cruise related travel.

Actually, this site claims it should be on my rewards page - but it *isn't.*

Are you saying there's literally no way to use points for cruise-related rewards other than calling them on the phone and talking to a live person? Seriously? In 2023? I'm not looking for upgrades, just OBC. Unbelievable that I can't do that on their website or app.

Your personal rewards for your personal account are there? Or a generic list of how much rewards cost in points? I don't need that.

Trust me I have been all over every inch of that page and there are no cruise-related rewards listed anywhere. Unless you mean the generic table of what rewards are available?? I'm not interested in that, I'm looking for confirmation that those rewards can be redeemed on *my account* Like the place where it would say "Click here to select this reward"

That just tells me to go to BofA's website and click on Rewards, which is what I did.

You sound like lovely people to travel with!

At this point I can't even imagine caring that much about the itinerary! I haven't been to basically any cruise port city outside the US, ever, so it's all new to me and everything sounds equally fabulous. Caribbean? Sure! Europe? Sure! Mexico? Absolutely! Maybe in 10-20 years I'll start to get bored though, lol

I'm booked for my first cruise in January through Norwegian. Assuming I love it and want to do more cruises in the future, what are the advantages/disadvantages of sticking with Norwegian and racking up rewards points/loyalty tiers, vs shopping around with other cruise lines? How many different cruise lines have you sailed with, and how did you decide which lines to use?

So our ship leaves at 4 p.m. (which means we must board by 2 p.m. so I assume we want to be there before noon) but our hotel is in Newark and we want to fit in breakfast or brunch with a friend who lives in NYC before we board. Is there any down side to choosing a later check-in time? Like, as long as we are there by the time we pick, we should be fine, right?

This depends on the cruise fwiw - I just won an upgrade bid from oceanview to club balcony mini-suite for $250 total ($125 each for two people). Of course with the upgrade bid it wasn't guaranteed and I didn't get to pick the new cabin, but it's still an option.

So I signed up for the card with the 25,000 points introductory offer. I've spent enough to get the points, which are now "pending" - not sure why it's taking so long. Is there anywhere I can go to see what I can redeem them for once they're on my account? When I go to the travel rewards, I don't see anything about cruises or onboard credit, just this:

Bird that's an amazing level of detail and I appreciate it so much ❤️

Ty guys!! This is exactly what I needed

Hi, first-time cruiser here and we are departing NYC on the Gem on January 16. I've never been to a big-city port or on a large ship and I have no idea what to expect. I'll be flying in the day before and we'll probably be taking an Uber/Lyft to the port. Where do we get dropped off? Where do we go from there? Are there multiple terminals and how do I know which one to go to if so? What are those luggage tag holders I see online for, do I need those? Do I need to have paperwork printed out or ready on my phone, or can I just show up with my passport if I did all the online check-in stuff already? I'd appreciate a detailed step-by-step explanation as I'm autistic and really like to understand plans before things happen. Thanks!