Scurrent

We are on the NCL Dawn leaving Cape Town March 2025. We would like to disembark the ship in Tenerife, Spain in the Canary Islands, and rejoin the Ship in Las Palmas, Canary Islands Spain the following day. I tried speaking with an NCL agent here in the United States who had no idea if this was possible. If it can be done, who should I contact at NCL to make arrangements? We will be staying with family while off the boat. Thank you.

We have an upcoming sailing on the NCL Bliss. The Vibe Beach Club is sold out online, but I am advised by NCL that a few slots remain open to book on the ship. I have called NCL numerous times, and been told four different areas I need to go to book the Vibe onboard, including Guest Services, the Vibe Beach Club itself, the Spa desk and Shore Excursion desk. Any input on precisely where to go once on the boat to book the Vibe is greatly appreciated. We are both Sapphire and Casino at Sea members, and should be able to get early access to the ship. - Steve

We are scheduled to be on the NCL Bliss in December of 2024. For some months, I have been trying to book the Vibe Beach Club. Both the App and the Website have consistently said, "Too early to book, check back on August 8th" On midnight on August 8th, the message on both the App and Website changed to read, "Not available to Book. Check back once on board." We are Sapphire members and have been checking the website since last April. How could the Vibe be sold out at this juncture, and if so to who? What can we do to secure Vibe passes for our next cruise. Any help is appreciated, as we never have used the Vibe in the past. - Steve

We have an upcoming cruise on NCL leaving out of Cape Town, South Africa in 2025. Although we have used outside vendors in the past for shore excursions, we are tending towards using NCL excursions for this particular cruise, especially those in the more remote ports. Is there any mechanism available to reserve the cruise now, but pay after we board the ship? I am loathe to lay out money now, only to fight with NCL to get our money back when a port is cancelled. On our recent Norway cruise with NCL, they cancelled a port and tried to offer our sailing mates a nonrefundable onboard credit for a prepaid excursion, which they refused, eventually receiving a refund. We would like to avoid this situation if possible. Any assistance is appreciated. - Steve

Thank you. NCL reservation rep told me you can book a specialty restaurant once per cruise. She was apparently incorrect. Steve

We are Sapphire NCL members and have booked a 15 night cruise. We receive two specialty dinners for Sapphire status and three specialty dinners for booking a suite. NCL says you can only book a particular specialty restaurant once each cruise. Can I book Cagneys once on my Sapphire status and a second time through the Suite reward? Thanks for any input. Steve

On our recent cruise on the Jewel out of Bali, the ship had an area by the casino where passengers could store their luggage until cabins were ready on departure day. We are on the Star out of Southampton on May 18 and would prefer to carry our luggage on and leave it until the room is ready as opposed to having it delivered in the evening. Is this luggage drop process also available on the Star as we saw on the Jewel? Thank you - Steve

We are on the NCL Star as well, departing from Reykjavik May 30, 2024. We too were questioning what to do in the hours before we board. We decided to book the Reykjavik Hop on Hop off Bus for the day. $35.00 per person, it has a stop right in the cruise port and hits all the major sites. It starts at 9:30 in the morning, and the loop takes about 90 minutes. More than enough time to see the main city sites, and be back on the board in time for the 2:00 All Aboard. - Steve

On our recent trip on the Jewel out of Bali, we saw travelers getting on the boat on embarcation day and dropping all of their luggage in the casino. There was a special area called "BAG DROP". People then picked up their bags and took them to their room when the rooms were prepared. Is this a new NCL process we can use? Is this available on every ship? I would love to bring my bag on board and not risk having it misplaced. Thank you.

I was at Magens Bay last week. Chairs and umbrellas for rent but no floats for rent. Be forewarned, two chairs and “shade” for $40.00. They only provide an umbrella if they have one available. If not they stick you under a palm tree.

We just got off the NCL Breakaway with a stop at St. Martin. We booked a day at Big Bastards Beach Bar and can’t speak highly enough of the experience. It is on Great Bay, a 5 minute $6.00 taxi ride from the ship. For $30.00 we got two comfortable lounge chairs ocean front, umbrella and 5 beers included. Value was excellent and the facilities well appointed. The beach is beautiful and we were attended to by owner Steve who couldn’t do enough. I highly recommend the experience. We booked online in advance and was set up on the beach minutes after arrival. Blazing fast WiFi included on the beach was a bonus. We will repeat on our next cruise.

I am traveling on the NCL Getaway this Sunday. As a Platinum member how do I schedule my Behind the Scenes tour and the Wine Tasting? There is nothing online to schedule. Much thanx. Steve

We will be on the NCL Getaway, visiting Bermuda on November 28. I have read that there is a paid ferry from the Naval Dockyard to Hamilton daily, along with a supposedly free ferry sponsored by NCL from the Dockyard to St. George. Can anyone confirm whether both are still operating in November? I did find the website for the Dockyard/Hamilton ferry, but nothing about the NCL Ferry to St. George, which we would like to visit. Any assistance is appreciated.

We are scheduled to depart on the NCL Jewel out of Bali, Indonesia to Thailand in February of 2023. There are very few shore excursions offered by NCL in any of the ports. In fact two of the ports have no shore excursions at all offered through NCL. The ports with no excursions offered are major ports in Indonesia, Surabaya and Semarang, but NCL offers nothing. Outside vendors do have multiple tours in these ports though. We were hoping to use our onboard credit for all of the ports. My question is will NCL at some point in the next four months open up excursions for the two ports, or increase the number of excursions in the other ports? Should we just book with an outside vendor now? Much thanx - Steve

We will be coming to St. Maarten on an NCL cruise on November 30th. We are looking for a beach not too distant from the cruise port that also has amenities available, such as food and beach chairs. Great Bay Beach appears close on the map, but I am uncertain how busy it is. We would like something on the quiet side, but with food and other amenities. Any recommendations? Much thanx.

We will be in Bermuda on the NCL Getaway in late November 2023. We arrive at 9:00 and depart at 3:45, a very short time. Any suggestions on what we should do for a first visit to Bermuda in the winter? Any suggestions are appreciated. - Steve

We just got off the Spirit in Seward last Wednesday. Those who were taking the NCL bus to the Anchorage airport departed the ship very early. When we went to the buffet at 7:00, those transfers had already left the ship. The train for Anchorage leaves much later.

I was on the Gem in February of 2023 and made my specialty dining reservations prior to leaving with no problem. However, when I tried to book dining reservations in the Main Dining room beforehand, I could not. When we got on the boat, people had dining reservations set up in the Main Dining room. I called NCL and was advised that there are no reservations for the main dining room. I am now unsure who to believe. How did these people get reservations for the main dining room, and how do I do so for our upcoming cruise on the NCL Spirit? Much thanx - Steve

We are arriving in Valdez, Alaska on the NCL Spirit on August 22, 2023. I understand that the dock where the ship rests is some distance from downtown. Does the cruise line normally provide transport to downtown, or is there another easy way to get downtown? Additionally, we are considering renting electric bikes for the day. Based on the size of Valdez, is this recommended? Any assistance is appreciated

We are sailing on the NCL Epic out of Puerto Rico on January 22, 2023. We made our two free dining reservations which were afforded to us when we booked at Cagney's and Teppanyaki. I also know that we get two free meals for being Sapphire members. When I tried to book the two other meals, the website demands payment. I called NCL to no avail. I am being told that I need to wait until I get on the boat before I can make those two free Sapphire reservations. Is the information I am being provided correct? Any assistance is appreciated. - Steve