vince_g

As far as 50% off a future cruise; whenever NCL offers a percentage off to be used for a future cruise, it isn't X% off the cost of a future cruise, but X% off what you paid for that cruise.  And to be very honest, an offer of 50% FCC is very very generous and also very very doubtful.

16 hours ago, Lorne317 said:

I was looking forward to sailing on the Mississippi but I guess that's a good reason to book another one.

The one time I cruised out of NOLA, I too was excited about the trip down the Mississippi, but to be honest it wasn't even memorable.  Lots of chemical and petroleum related plants.  You really won't be missing much by switching.

12 minutes ago, relmondcrsise said:

 

That may be true for most people.  But for those of who cruise NCL a lot, these represent significant cuts.  Just pointing out that fact.   It looks like 4-5 appetizers have been cut from the dinner menus every night.  And now there are really only 2 dessert options on many nights (if you don't want the fruit or the sugar free). 

I'm sorry, but I really don't see the drastic cuts you speak of, but don't ask me, I'm only diamond latitudes.  When was the last time you cruised on NCL??

Vince Acevedo did 2 shows, with one of them being 18+.  The movies were Dune and Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

30 minutes ago, umpisoccer said:

Does anyone have the Daily schedules for Boston to Bermuda?   Trying to see what shows are offered each evening.  Thank you.

Was on the April 5th sailing, but keeping the daily schedules isn't my thing.  The shows on our sailing were Blazing Boots, Get Down Tonight and comedian Vince Acevedo.  There were also movies shown in the Stardust Theater a couple of nights.  

4 minutes ago, UKstages said:

"wines around the world" actually kicks in at the platinum level.

Thanks for letting me know. For some reason I thought that also started with sapphire.

At platinum level, the only perks you will be eligible for really are the two latitudes dinners and your free bag of laundry. Wines around the world and dinner with officers is at Sappire level and above.

48 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

respectfully, you probably didn't check your statement; you checked your online account, which shows all pending charges.

 

"pending" charges, more commonly called "holds" or less commonly, "pre-authorizations," work exactly the same way in australia, as they do in the USA and throughout the world.

 

the merchant wants to make sure your card is good for the amount you are likely to spend. if you're buying a $1000 widget, that's easy. the "authorization" will be for $1000 and after a very short time, the charge will no longer be pending, but appear as an actual charge on your account.

 

for hospitality companies, it's a little different. they don't know how much you're ultimately going to spend.  so they do an initial pre-authorization against your account upon check-in, and as you accrue charges on your folio, they do additional pre-authorizations to ensure you still have spending capacity on your card.

 

the merchant generally has 45 days to submit the charge to the credit card company for payment, although - in most cases - it only takes three or four days. in the case of a hotel or a cruise line, that's three or four days after the cruise has ended. in the case of charges from another country (NCL charges will come from miami, florida, USA), the interbank communication may take longer.

 

Hope this explains it to their satisfaction, but I wouldn't count on that. 😜

51 minutes ago, Topper49 said:

I have never in my 75 years come across "Pending Authorisations" BS on any of my cards.

 

I just rechecked my bank statement, and they are still there one week after the final invoice was issued and fully paid. Also, there is no explanation from NCL

Just because you don't understand it doesn't make it BS.  If you are going to come here with that attitude then there is no one here that is going to bother with trying to explain it further.

Those all appear to be authorizations, not actual charges. These authorizations will drop off when the actual charge goes through, which will be the amount from the final invoice.

20 minutes ago, urlaub said:

In Germany the newspaper also say it is Cholera. Much more terrible than Norovirus.

Again, you shouldn't believe everything the media says. 

My last cruise on Getaway (Feb. 26, 2023) we arrived around 12:30 and the lines were pretty darned long. We checked in through one of the latitudes lines and walked right on.

It was bedlam inside the ship. We attempted to put our names in at Savor, but were told that both Savor and Taste already had too many pagers out, and would be unable to accommodate our request. Tried to go to the buffet but that was totally a madhouse. Everyone was camped out at tables, waiting for the staterooms to be ready. We ended up getting a table outside, and that was pretty unpleasant. 

What I would suggest is arriving around 2pm. By that time that staterooms might be ready.

Just didn't like that ship at all and wouldn't go again, even if they paid me, but I do hope you enjoy it.

Was at afternoon snacks at GO on Gem perusing the desserts. A woman asked the attendant if there were any oatmeal raisin cookies. The attendant goes in the back and brings her a plate with 2 cookies. The woman walks off and the attendant brings out the tray full. The attendant smiled and said they had seen her cleaning out an entire tray of cookies, so she could hoard them in her cabin. Attendant said they wanted some for the other guests too. 

Maybe it is this type of behavior that has led to the cookies being axed. It seems to me NCL is trying to eliminate as much as possible the hoarding of food in the staterooms. NCL trying to discourage this by having a room service charge, no longer offering take out orders at O'Sheehans/Local, and now cutting cookies. They are most likely trying to make it a bit easier on the cabin stewards by reducing the number of dirty dishes that need to be routed back through the system. People do bring a lot of dishes out of the buffet, like bowls/plates full of cookies. 

Remember when NCL tried to say no one was allowed to take food out of the buffet? Foolish and unenforceable thing to try. But getting rid of cookies is certainly something they can do.

On 12/30/2023 at 8:31 PM, IAcruising said:

I just put my card in my pocket. Seems like a lot less work.

 

And a whole lot less nerdy looking. I don't need anything reminding me of being at work.

I am just off an Insignia cruise. On Thanksgiving evening, we came out of the dining room to discover that the Christmas decorations were being put up that evening. There is probably a good chance that Vista also is decorated by now.

12 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

Was Dottie's husband Tom the comic on your cruise? Loved them both when we were on Sirena last November. She also led an ecumenical religious service on Sundays.

The comic was Tom Drake, but we didn't see him perform.

Just off Insignia on November 25th.  Was on a 15 night Boston to Bridgetown cruise.  Loved the ship and the food and service was top notch. Most days we would go to breakfast at the dining room, and our cabin would be made up by the time we finished eating. This impressed us as we usually cruise NCL. We found the service really good in the buffet. Someone would come over if your wine glass was running low, and as soon as you finished with a plate or other dish, it was whisked away immediately. Was really impressed with that. The dinner service at the Grand Dining Room was much more leisurely, but still quite good.

The ship is in very good shape, given it's over 20 years old. The A/C worked well in our cabin and in all public areas. Had to get accustomed to the small shower stall. I started shutting off the water after my washcloth and I were both wet, so I could open up the doors while I soaped up. That helped me stop banging my elbows.

Our Captain was Maroje Brajcic, General Manager was Laurence Barassé, and Cruise Director was Dottie Kulasa. We felt they all did a terrific job.

Overall we were looking for the small ship experience, and really enjoyed it immensely, especially after cruising on NCL's big ships.

Thank you

Wondering what the cost of the prestige select beverage package is purchased on board. 

Here is the official B of A announcement and information.

Card Spend and Get Campaign Personal | Bank of America

16 hours ago, smillerholmes said:

Nevermind - I found it..  Thanks for the heads up - potentially awesome!

I read about it last year on this forum. If B of A advertised it, maybe they did an email blast, or maybe it was on their website. I think it was so popular last year they had to impose that $2,500 limit.  Imagine the points one would make from paying for a haven booking!

10 hours ago, laudergayle said:

@vince_g do we have to sign up for this offer, or does it automatically trigger.

No sign up is needed. The extra points trigger automatically. I will be cruising on Oceania Insignia on November 10th, but will squeeze in time to pay for my next NCL cruise the day before.

53 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

Thanks…I actually have a $2500 final payment due the first week of January…so paying early for the points will work.  

I looked back at my rewards activity from last year. Found out it isn't 50% of the amount you spent, but 50% of the points NCL gave you, so it would actually give you 6,500 (based on $1,000 spend). It is a very good deal. I spent 2,000 last year that day, and got 14,500 points, with the 75% preferred bonus. 

9 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

Help me understand.  Just got the NCL card and have triggered the bonus.  Also just qualified for BOA preferred rewards at 50%. On a NCL spend of $1000 will I get 1000+2000 WPs and a BOA bonus of 500?  
 

On the Nov 9 day, what would my bonus look like on that same NCL spend of $1000.

 

thanks for the heads up, too.

You would get 3,000 from NCL, plus 2,000 from 'more rewards', plus 50% of your spend amount, for a total of 5,500 world points.  Here is a link I found which gives everything you need to know...

Bank of America More Rewards Day, Earn Extra 2X Rewards on November 9th - Danny the Deal Guru (dannydealguru.com)

Here is last years info. I have been googling, waiting to see if they were going to do it again. Found info saying it's on the 9th this year.

Bank of America Celebrates Clients with More Rewards Day on Saturday, November 5th | Press Releases | Newsroom | Bank of America