kac0426

Deck 4 or 5 (whichever has the promenade walkway that goes all the way around) has tons of chairs in the shade and hardly anyone was ever in them. You wouldn't be in the sun, but it would be a nice quiet place to sit. Also, there were some chairs underneath an overhang (so shaded) somewhat near the ping pong tables (but not right next to them, as that would not be very peaceful!) that were often not occupied. Finally, it's not outside, but the Viking Crown Lounge rarely has anyone in it in the day, and it offers a great (nearly) 360 degree view.

On my recent cruise on Freedom, a song with Spanish lyrics was played several times at Dancing Under the Stars and the White Night Pool Party. There were a number of Spanish-speaking guests on board, and they may have requested the song from the DJ. It was really pretty. All of the Spanish-speakers knew every word and were dancing along, but not in a line dance way but rather a cha cha of sorts? (Sorry, I don't know dances.) It wasn't Danza Kuduro. (I know that one). It was maybe a little slower, but still fairly up beat. Any ideas? I loved the song and have been trying to figure out what it was!

When I checked in online for my upcoming cruise, it asked my flight information, as usual. When I entered my flight time as 11:15 am, it would not accept it and said they don't recommend flights earlier than 11:30. I understand it's a risk, but the cost to change the flight to a later time is ridiculous. I am hoping 15 minutes won't make a difference. But what do I do since the online system won't let me enter my flight details? I am assuming I won't receive luggage tags towards the end of the cruise like normal, since they won't know what group to put me in. I can do self-disembark but I've never done that before and am not sure how to sign up. The ship is scheduled to arrive back to Ft. Lauderdale at 5:30 am so I am hoping to get off soon after that and have plenty of time to make it to the airport.

What would you suggest regarding self-disembark versus obtaining luggage tags for a specific disembarkation group?

I don't know what a SetSail pass looks like for Anthem or Harmony, so if you are on one of those, I can't help.

 

However, if you are one of the other ships, you should see your C&A level, abbreviated, to the right of your name(s) on the SetSail pass within the rectangular block, above the words "CRUISE TICKET CONTRACT".

Ah, I see it now...I think. A very small P in a square box? (Mine is printed in black and white so I'm not sure what color the box is...) Thank you for pointing that out to me. I had never noticed it before.

There is no difference between Gold & Platinum..

According to the C&A website, there is. And on my last cruise, when I was Platinum for the first time, I was invited to an event that Gold members are not invited to. I know they are minor things and probably mean nothing to most people, but I just want my C&A status reflected correctly on my documents, etc.

No worries...leave those nasty GOLD tags at home and get REAL luggage tags from the porters! No one cares what your status is! Truly! All you want is your bags delivered to the right cabin..right???

I couldn't care less what the luggage tags say. My concern was that RCCL's system had me listed incorrectly. But since all is correct on my cruise summary and when I check online, hopefully the luggage tag thing is just a minor glitch.

Look at your SetSail pass and Cruise Docs. If your level is correct on those docs, then don't worry about the luggage tags. If your level is incorrect on those docs, call C&A and get it fixed.

I don't see anywhere on the SetSail pass that would list the level, but when I look at the full cruise summary document, it lists me as platinum and my friend as gold, which is correct. And everyone online shows me as platinum. Odd that the luggage tags list gold, but maybe everything else is okay.

I just printed my luggage tags for my upcoming cruise, and they list me as being a gold member when I am actually platinum. Obviously, I don't really care what my luggage tags say, but I do want my platinum status to be correct for other purposes (freebies on board, etc.). When I log in to the Crown and Anchor Society section of the RCCL website, it lists me as platinum. When I cruised last May, everything listed me as platinum. I just can't figure out why the luggage tags would list me as gold now. Could it be because I am sharing a cabin with someone who is gold? And could that cause me to not receive the platinum benefits? Last question: If I attend the event for platinum members (assuming they still have it), would my cabin mate be able to come with me, even though he is gold? If not, I'd have to attend alone, which wouldn't be much fun!

I've been quite underwhelmed by all my recent CDs, too, but I would never expect them to do enrichment lectures on top of… whatever is it they do all day.

 

Cruise lines that commit to providing an intellectual program don't just rely on existing staff members having the knowledge and desire to do lectures in their free time. They bring experts on board, and they pass the costs along to passengers. Other lines also bring clergy on board for religious services, and the passengers pay for that, too.

 

NCL passengers are happy to pay to have magicians and comedians on board; historians, economists, geologists… not so much.

I read an article one time that said most destination experts, lecturers, etc. actually are not paid. They might get a free cruise out of it, and that's why they do it (and because they love the subject they speak about), but very few are paid much at all, if anything.

Thank you, everyone, for the helpful replies. It sounds like NCL just doesn't put as much emphasis on enrichment as some of the other cruise lines do. Which is okay. I realize it's not for everyone. I know a lot of people would much rather be laying by the pool than attending a port lecture, but I am a nerd a love learning about the places I will be visiting.

While the suggestion to get a guidebook is not a bad one, for me, there's just something about hearing a live lecture from an expert. On a Royal Caribbean Eastern Mediterranean itinerary, there was a retired professor who gave fascinating talks about the pyramids in Egypt and about Pompeii in Italy. Going to his lectures, and then seeing the real thing the very next day, made me appreciate it so much more. On a Princess Panama Canal cruise, we had a destination expert who gave numerous presentations about the canal before our transit day. Again, it just made the experience that much more fulfilling for me.

Now, is having the opportunity to experience these enrichment activities worth $1,000 more in price? That I'm not quite sure of...

The times are out of sequence but you just need to flip flop the two lines:

 

Day 4: Copenhagen Arrive 09:00 AM

Day 5: Copenhagen Depart 04:00 AM

Day 5 Helsingborg Arrive 07:00 AM Depart 04:00 PM

 

Nowhere does it imply the ship is in two ports at the same time; it just only takes three hours to move from Copenhagen to Helsingborg.

Thank you. That makes perfect sense. I was definitely making it more confusing than it actually was.

The times are out of sequence but you just need to flip flop the two lines:

 

Day 4: Copenhagen Arrive 09:00 AM

Day 5: Copenhagen Depart 04:00 AM

Day 5 Helsingborg Arrive 07:00 AM Depart 04:00 PM

 

Nowhere does it imply the ship is in two ports at the same time; it just only takes three hours to move from Copenhagen to Helsingborg.

Thank you. That makes perfect sense. I was definitely making it more confusing than it actually was.

I've been on one Norwegian cruise and overall I was a little disappointed. It was a Canada/New England cruise and while the ports were wonderful, I felt the knowledge of the staff was lacking. The port and shopping talks on board were almost a joke. The shopping "expert" knew nothing about the ports we were going to. It was clear she knew the Caribbean itineraries but Canada and New England were not her thing. On most cruises I've been on, there are destination talks and enrichment lectures about the places we would be seeing, and the speakers on other cruise lines have been very impressive, but Norwegian offered nothing like that. I don't know if it's because it was a New England cruise so maybe there wasn't as much to teach the passengers as there would be if it were a European itinerary? Or maybe the one Norwegian cruise I went on was a fluke, and normally they have staff who are very knowledgeable about the ports you'll be visiting?

I'm looking at an England/Ireland/Scotland cruise. Norwegian is about $1,000 less than Princess, but I'm afraid I'll be disappointed if Norwegian doesn't offer any destination talks about the ports. Can anyone who has sailed on Norwegian on a European itinerary offer any feedback on the extra "enrichment" type activities typically on board?

On the 7 night Scandinavia itinerary, it says the ship arrives in Copenhagen, Denmark at 9:00 am on day 4 but there is no departure time listed. Then it says it arrives in Helsingborg, Sweden at at 7:00 am on day 5 and leaving at 4:00 pm. Then also on day 5, it says the ship departs at 4:00 am from Copenhagen, Denmark.

Can anyone explain what happens from day 4 to day 5? I can tell Copenhagen and Helsingborg are close to each other on the map, but how is the ship at both places at the same time?

Does anyone know if you book under a nonrefundable deposit and the price goes down later but before final payment, can you still get the lower price?

Thank you for the replies, everyone. I just called and switched to an oceanview room with a picture window. So, I ended up getting an oceanview for the price I originally paid for an inside room. It definitely pays to watch the prices!

I originally booked an inside cabin. About a month ago, I noticed an outside porthole cabin was cheaper than the inside I originally booked, so i called RCCL and they switched me to the porthole cabin. Now I notice that a full window (rather than a porthole) cabin is only $20 more. Can I still call to switch cabins, or is there a limit to how many times you can do that?

Thank you, everyone, for the kind replies.

Unfortunately, I was born without any sense of direction whatsoever, so I was nervous about navigating London myself without some sort of tour to follow. That's why I was hoping Cunard had some sort of post-cruise tour I could arrange. I will keep looking into it to see what my tour options are, even outside of Cunard.

I'm very interested in the 7 night transatlantic from New York to Southampton. But, when I arrive in Southampton I'd want to stay a few days and see England. Does Cunard offer any post-cruise tours? I would have thought they would, but can't seem to find anything on their website about it.

When you see an OBC offered which is larger than the CA discount, do not mention or enter your CA no. and the OBC will not be disturbed. When you're on the ship or after your cruise, contact CA and they will credit your cruise points.

How does this work with regard to C&A perks (free drinks, robes, etc.)? If you don't include your C&A number when booking, it seems you would miss out on the perks you've earned for achieving platinum, diamond, etc. status. Your sea pass wouldn't list the accurate level and all that. And if you get them to add the cruise points after the cruise is over, doesn't that defeat the purpose of having a status? I'm sorry, but this just seems like an unfair plan to me...

I recently started a thread on this exact topic. I booked a cruise a month ago and at the time of booking, it said I would receive $100 OBC. But when I later checked my online information, no OBC was listed. I received a $47 C&A discount, but of course I'd rather have the $100 OBC. I requested a copy of the booking invoice (thanks to some suggestions here) and sure enough, no OBC listed. So many commenters told me my OBC would show up on board, but that's not the case. There is no record that I was ever given OBC since I got the discount instead. I think some people on CC are way too trusting that the OBC will just show up while on board and need to be careful about assuring others on this board that they have nothing to worry about. My problem now is that when I do a mock booking (not logged in as a C&A member), the $100 OBC offer no longer shows. So I don't think I could get them to add it even if I called them. I know it's only a $53 difference, but I think what RCCL is doing is REALLY shady.

You will receive the onboard credit once you receive your statement at end of cruise. That is how it showed on mine last year.

Actually, I won't. There is no record of me receiving the OBC. Like many have explained and I now realize, I was given the C&A discount instead of the OBC, even though the OBC would have been a better deal. Kind of a "bait and switch" on RCCL's part. Don't be so sure that the OBC will just magically show up while on the cruise. That isn't the case with my situation.

If you havent paid in full you can modify your booking online to remove the C&A discount and add the BOGO and OBC offer. I am a TA and i actually just did this for a client today as they booked by themselves, then realized the screwed up and called for help. As long as you haven't paid in full, the offers are always interchangeable.....

I have not paid in full - just the deposit. How do I modify my booking to receive the OBC instead of the C&A discount? I don't see anywhere online that gives me the option to do that...

After reading this thread the other day I wondered if I might have the same problem so I requested the invoice. Sure enough' date=' the $400 OBC was not listed and the $100 balcony discount was applied. The email I received with the invoice stated the two could not be combined, which I learned from this thread to be the case.

 

However, I had a print screen of the pricing summary from the RCCL web site booking engine which showed the details before clicking over to make my deposit and it did show the OBC and the $100 C&A discount so I really feel that RCCL is shady about this practice. If the offers can't be combined, then it is on RCCL to be sure their web site works properly, prior to their guest booking and depositing on a cruise under the deal they are displaying, not after the fact and definitely not by the way they mysteriously make the OBC disappear. I am sure it is not intentional but merely a technical issue they need to solve.

 

Anyway, I sent that print screen to them and am currently waiting to see what, if anything, they will do about it. Obviously, I would rather have the OBC but also feel, out of principle, that they should honor the deal I was signing up for. It takes about a week to get a response via email so I will let you know what happens.

 

In the meantime, I would recommend that anyone else who thinks this might be an issue to follow up as others have suggested in this thread.

 

Thanks to everyone for participating in the thread, I am glad I checked it out. I would not have been a happy camper if I got on the ship and found out the $400 was missing from my OBC.[/quote']

 

You were smart to have a print screen of the pricing summary. I didn't think to do that, but you better I believe I will in the future! I hope RCCL honors both the discount and OBC you saw, since both were reflected online at the time. Let us know what happens. I'm glad this thread was helpful to you. So many people say, "Oh, your OBC will show up when you get on the ship" but I think this is a good lesson that that's not always the case.

I wanted to report back to tell you what I found out in case it helps anyone else. The OBC did NOT show up on my booking invoice. Therefore, I believe jticarruthers is correct. When I saw the $100 OBC while booking, it was showing that and the C&A discount. When I actually booked, only the C&A discount was reflected (which was only $47 -- not as much as the $100 OBC). At this point, I don't know if I can get them to apply the $100 OBC instead since I don't really have any proof that I once saw it. Not real happy with what appears to be a little sneaky on RCCL's part, but not much I can do about it now.

Thanks again for all the replies and suggestions.