NEW 2 CRUISIN

My guess is you are reading about the hallway crowds after a show lets out.

This can be avoided by 1) staying out of hallways outside entertainment venues, or 2) wait in the theater for 10 minutes after the show ends to leave!

We’ve been on the EPIC twice and never experienced such crowds, though I suspect the complaints are coming from the same folks who are surprised by the bathroom layouts! Haha!

RELAX AND ENJOY YOUR CRUISE! We love the EPIC!!

GREAT PICS, BIRD TRAVELS!!

Thanks for sharing!!! [emoji106][emoji2]

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And it will the same old tired cast of cruise critic blowhards firing the insults. You can almost predict their screen names.

Yep!

And I have most of them blocked already! Haha!

Guess we’re in the minority of being raised on the “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” rule?

BE NICE PEOPLE!

Even Cruise Critic gets the life sucked out of it by those people sometimes....and we ALL have at least one thing in common - a love for cruising!!

Now.....back to the original post....

Hope it all works out for everyone!! [emoji2][emoji106]☀️

Is there any way for three couples traveling together in three separate cabins to bid on sharing the garden villa?

No.

Bids. They awarded upsells by bidding today on the 9/23 and the 10/2 cruises on the Breakaway.

Has anyone on the 10/2 cruise reported winning anything yet?

I haven’t seen any posts about bid upgrades yet from that sailing....

Thanks for posting the menu!

We love O’Sheehan’s for quick meals on shore excursion days, and between ship activities on days when we just aren’t into the main dining rooms !

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Most beers are around $7, multiply that by five and add 18% for gratuities is about $41. Three of those buckets is approximately what you would pay in gratuities for a single person.

But it’s enough beer for TWO people.

We can bring them to the room and drink them whenever we want.

We don’t drink “cocktails”.

And your math gets even worse when it’s a 14 day cruise!! [emoji849]

You stay out of my beer bucket, and I’ll stay out of your booze! HAHA! CHEERS!! [emoji481][emoji481]

That was my point, but some folks aren’t good at math. :)

And it appears to be the two of you! 🤣🤣🤣

I don't drink enough to bother with the UBP (and yes, I mean I don't drink enough to make it worth getting it as a "freebie" and paying the 20% fee). I *do* drink enough to make it worth getting a bucket of beer. The nice thing about the buckets (aside from actually having a bucket) is that you get a discount on the price of beers. So "get as many beers as you like" and "bring your own bucket" are NOT solutions. I hope NCL continues the bucket of beer offers for people like me.

We're with you on this one!!

The "Buy 6 for the Price of 5" (or whatever it is) offer has always been a good deal... and still is for those of us without the UBP!

It was convenient for taking beers back to the room to enjoy on the balcony at a later time! The bucket kept them on ice as long as they lasted!

We'll save money if they really don't offer them anymore! HAHA!

Let’s face it....the way things have been working lately, “no available seats” on their website could very well mean that every seat is still available! Haha!

🤣🤣🤣

80 days out from my sailing on the Escape. No email yet, but I logged into My NCL and had the "Let's Get You Upgraded" ad on the main page. Put in bids for Havens. Now we wait!

As info, we never got an email from NCL either, so I just went through the banner offer on MyNCL when it finally appeared....which was a few days after others saw it first.

Surprising how a company can be so “unintentionally random” about certain stuff! HAHA!

I'll ask you the same question then. Once bids started being accepted, was there a drop in prices for your sailing?

Nothing noticeable.

It’s the Breakaway Transatlantic, if you want to check.

Our original balcony is marked “sold out”, but the others look to be about the same price. [emoji848]

I bet the newly-available Insides will be going for a great “last minute” price, though!

My point was.....they were already awarding bids at 75 Days!

Wow that is REALLY early.

Folks on our October cruise have reported that their Inside and Oceanview bids were being accepted for Balcony cabins as early as 75 days out!

[emoji50]

If you book online you do not get the $50 per cabin (not person) credit. You may get it applied to your account when you go to the excursion desk on the ship and stand in line. If you call and book by phone the $50 is applied immediately and you don't pay it and wait for a refund that might not appear.

This is not the current way that NCL describes the process.

If you have selected the excursion promotion and pay in full when you book online, the $50 Credit is applied when the excursion is completed.

No need to Stand in any lines.

Waiting until 2 days before the cruise to communicate winning bids is a bit unnecessary, in my opinion.

Two WEEKS before is a better target for those who are traveling before their cruises and need to change reservations, etc. if their bid is accepted.

Just announce a “last day for bidding” and alert the winners the next morning!

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“...I was told that we owed $35.40 on the cruise, and it was not considered paid in full. I told them that I had a confirmation showing that it was, in fact, already paid, and they assured me that the cruise would not be cancelled, and give it 24 hours to see if it resolved itself. So I did, and it did not.

We had a similar issue on our upcoming Breakaway cruise.

A little unsettling, to say the least, since we were “Paid In Full” too!

For us it was the $11+ Cirque dinner up-charge that re-appeared on our account again after it was paid.

It also took more than 2 Calls to fix, after the cancellation notice was received, and not comforting that the Customer Service people couldn’t figure it out or guarantee that it wouldn’t happen again. How crazy!

Happily, though, as in your case, all worked out in the end (SO FAR!)....but glad we saw it and took care of it when we did!

I walk to the pier too from about 3 blocks away and I still drop my bag with the porters. Why would I want to lug it through security and then drag it all over the ship with me for 2 hours, when I can leave it with the porters, get through security quickly, and then walk freely around the ship? I understand the OPs disorder that makes her need to be assured that the bag is on board. For me, the only things I'd be afraid to lose are medication and valuables, so I bring those in my shoulder bag.

In all fairness, different folks like doing different things.

YOU don’t want to carry your bags on, but others do - - and they certainly aren’t “dragging it all over the ship”! HAHA!

Most folks find a nice place to sit and relax for the quick hour or two until their cabins are ready so they DON’T have to carry their bags around, yet still have access to anything they may need in them.

“...When I was on the Epic you could drop off your carry on stuff at the Comedy Club until the rooms were ready.

We’ve been able to do this on a few cruises! It’s a nice convenience! (That is....if your OCD will let you leave your bags with a stranger for a few hours?)

Good Luck!

We finally had ours released for sale at 84 Days! Really! [emoji849]

I just liked the thread title! 🤣

Pretty sure it’s an NCL website issue!

When it was time for us to book dining at 120 Days out, only one date and time was available for each day of the cruise for about the first week.

The good folks at the Customer Service Desk couldn’t book for us either, so we just checked back every day.

About a week later, the days and times we were looking for were showing!

From the NCL website:

QUESTION: “Are floating devices allowed in Pools on Norwegian ships?”

ANSWER: “Yes.... Guests are allowed to bring floating devices in the Pools (arm floats, tubes)....”

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They told us 90 Days out for our cruise...so I’ll let you know how we make out in 10 Days or so....

Well.....just reporting back that we’re inside 90 days (by a couple!) and the Spa Passes are still not available to book online...OR by calling in.

There’s no rhyme or reason that I can find!?!? [emoji849]

FROM HOLLAND AMERICA:

Today we announced the sale of Prinsendam.

Prinsendam has been one of our popular ships since she joined the fleet in 2002, especially among our valued past guests.

On July 1, 2019, she is being transferred to the German cruise company Phoenix Reisen.

Following the sale, Prinsendam is being chartered back to Holland America Line to continue sailing its planned voyages through July 1, 2019. All of her itineraries will continue as planned through July 1, 2019, and all impacted guests and travel professionals are being contacted directly.

For the upcoming 2018 – June 2019 season, Prinsendam will continue to sail many unique itineraries, from Europe cruises this summer, Caribbean in the late fall and during the holidays — and the 80-day Grand South America voyage in January 2019.

We look forward to delivering experiences that exceed our guests’ expectations, on every voyage.

Dinner and show reservations were available today, at the 120 day mark, though not the spa passes!?[emoji848]

They told us 90 Days out for our cruise...so I’ll let you know how we make out in 10 Days or so....