DinaS

17 hours ago, Akumal said:

I "value" the fact that I take personal responsibility for reading the rules, terms and conditions when I invest my hard-earned money and/or sign ANY contract.

If you receive an item from Amazon, and you drop it when taking out of the box and break it, and they don't replace it, will you find another company and blame them for not having ethical values?

The ice cream cone scenario isn't exactly the same as a cruise worth several thousand dollars.

Seriously. 

12 minutes ago, falkensmaze said:

Is there room service fee of $9.95 added to your check every time you order anything from room service? i.e   2 beers, a pizza , chocolate covered strawberries, your lunch? How does it work( I know cont breakfast is excluded) 

Yes.  The room service fee is added to  whatever other food or beverage charges there are.

4 minutes ago, Petoonya said:

Pretty sure I have the answer stuffed in the cobwebs of my head- but just to be sure.

 

We've sailed on Celebrity and Oceania when after final, price went down a lot, like $1000. Both cruise lines considered (and only considered) an upgrade. The cruises were selling only moderately, and after a few days we were bumped up a category to the cabin of our choice.

I'm betting that's not even a possibility with NCL.

Am I right?

Thanks!!! 🙂 

You'd lose that bet.

We've gotten free upgrades when our prices dropped a couple of times.  Last cruise we chose a free upgrade over an amount equal to 25% of the price difference in OBC.

They don't have to offer ANYTHING, but they can and do offer upgrades or OBC.

32 minutes ago, GINNY L said:

How many people who booked through a travel agent got their bid accepted?  I have bid on Norwegian five times and never had my bid accepted.  I booked through a travel agent.

It's unlikely that it has to do with booking direct or through a TA.  It is more likely the bid amount and/or the number of cabins available.

41 minutes ago, MichiganBound said:

After my evening out on the Jade tonight, I returned to my stateroom and its flooded bathroom....for the fourth night in a row.  Yes that's right.  My first four nights on this Asian cruise, my bathroom has flooded whilst I was out of it for the evening.  I have been patient and kind the last three days and reported the problem to the front desk the next morning.  Usually within an hour someone comes and "fixes" it...until that same evening when I return to a flooded bathroom again.  This has nothing to do with the toilet but rather it seems the drain backs up every single night.  I don't know why but it does.  One night, I entered my room and went to use the bathroom in my stocking feet and stepped into the flooded bathroom.  Yuck!!

 

Anyway, tonight after coming back to the flooded bathroom again, I had had enough.   I told them I'm packing my bags and that they needed to find me another room.  The first response was we have no rooms available.  I told them to figure it out.  Magically, another balcony room appeared.  I packed up all my things and moved to the new room: 9552 I believe.  What a PITA this has all been.  

 

Anyway, anyone that's sailing on Jade should avoid room 9526 like the plague.  It clearly has a major drainage problem.

After the second flood, I would have DEMANDED another cabin.  Ships always have cabins available for emergency issues.  

2 hours ago, lepidoptera said:

Dinner menus won’t repeat, but appetizers, and entrees might be an option on more than one dinner menu. I remember on my 12 Breakaway cruise there was multiple times I was able to have beet and goat cheese appetizer. Breakfast will always be the same and there are 2 lunch menus for the MDR. I just wanted to let you know that on sea days there is an included lunch in one of the specialty restaurants (pretty sure it is Moderno, might be Cagney’s) that is a really nice buffet of different cuisines each day. 

Do they really do a sea day lunch in a specialty restaurant that is different from the regular buffet offerings?

7 minutes ago, ksmcdonald said:

Strange, we were on the Escape last March and there was a $15 upcharge ($16.88 with tax) to eat there.  We were surprised when they told us that.  We had the dining package.  Then , on top of the $16.88, there was an upcharge for lobster.  

 

I wonder if this has  changed?  The above post indicate that there is no charge.

 

I believe the pricing structure changed sometime between March and October of last year.

26 minutes ago, catou2428 said:

Hi!

 

 

I heard there was a 10$ upcharge to eat at Bayamo restaurant. Can someone tell me if its true? I believe there are additional fees for some items but a basic fee of 10 $?

 

Thanks and sorry if my english is not perfect, I'm a french canadian 🙂

We were on the Escape in October, and had the SDP.  There was no upcharge for dining at Bayamo.  I believe there may have been a couple of items that had upcharges to them.

Our  meal at Bayamo was truly disappointing, and would not recommend it.

2 hours ago, JandC_Cruising said:

If you "prepaid" your DSC on your original cabin prior to receiving your upgrade, you do not get charged the "difference" of being in the Haven ($18pp-pd vs. $15pp-pd).  If you do not prepay DSC, then your on-board account will get charged the Haven DSC rate of $18pp-pd.

As far as "expected to tip the Haven staff", well....any tips are up to you.  Saying anything more on that topic opens a Pandora's Box of commentary - I may have already said too much 🤣

Since the Haven butler and concierge are NOT included in the tip pool from the DSC, you are expected to tip them - depending on how much you use them, and how good they are.  

No Pandora's Box - just common sense and common decency 🙂

You are blaming Norwegian because the airline denied you boarding???  That makes absolutely no sense at all.

If anything, blame your travel agent. 

Just because the airline and hotel gave you partial credits, doesn't mean Norwegian should.  They completely lost any revenue from your cabin, since a no-show means they were not able to re-book it.  

Hopefully this is a lesson to everyone else to actually READ all the fine print when they book any travel.

10 minutes ago, cshamm said:

I thought that we paid taxes on the drink package itself, and therefore wouldn’t pay taxes on individual drinks.  That seems as though we’re paying twice.  
 

Oh well, either way I plan to be at least 3 Bahama Mama’s in before we hit international waters!  I’m normally very frugal, but as I love to tell my husband “It’s vacation money..... so it doesn’t count!”  Lol.

You don't pay taxes on the drink package itself - you pay gratuities upfront.

Taxes are only while in certain ports, and they are pennies on the dollar, so no big deal.

We've not been on the Epic, and likely will never be on the Epic - simply for the cabin bathroom design.

I wonder if many of the reviewers didn't know of the cabin design before their cruise?

Even if they did know, perhaps they weren't thrilled with it, and it clouded the rest of their experience?

We love the Gem.  I cannot tell you how many bad reviews I have seen, and wonder if these people were actually on the same ship.   

Just go with an open mind, and plan to have a great time - and you will!!!!!

The "average wait time to embark" is completely dependent upon arrival time.  If you get there really early, you will wait longer since embarkation for "normal people" doesn't normally start until 11:30AM or later.

If you mean from the time you check in, then your "poll" doesn't mean anything since check-in can take a few minutes to an hour or more - depending again on when you get there, and how many people decided to get there at precisely the same time.

If you are looking for the easiest way with the least amount of total wait time, I would suggest you get there around 1:00PM or so.  Lots of people will have already boarded, and once you check in, you will probably be boarding immediately.

We've bought 8 oz bottles of home-made vanilla in the Caribbean - and onto NCL ships - and no one ever said a word.  Just put it in our bag in the scanner - and off we went.

11 hours ago, hladygirl said:

I have been on the Boston to Bermuda cruises each of these seasons. May was beautiful weather but the water is too cold to swim. Summer was loaded with kids and so hot and humid it was very uncomfortable to do any sight seeing. In the fall the weather was perfect and water warm. I loved fall best but it was still loaded with kids and we left early due to two hurricanes coming in. It is the best for being safe to wander anywhere.

The water temperature is subjective for swimming.  We've been there in late April and early May, and both times we felt that the water was fine for swimming.  Granted, my partner would have preferred a few degrees warmer, but we were both fine with the lack of crowds and the lower prices for the early season cruise.

We love Bermuda.  We usually go early - like late April or May, so avoid most of the kids out of school.

The two best things about Bermuda are that we get to do overnights - with no worries about getting back to the ship in time.  We can explore at our leisure - come and go as we like.   The other thing is Bermuda itself - it's beautiful, people are so friendly, and it is safe and easy to travel just about anywhere.

We would love if there were more overnight stops at other ports.

We always use insuremytrip.com and compare prices.

However, we are not really as concerned with the value/cost of the actual trip as we are with medical or emergency coverage.

Losing the value of our vacation would be upsetting, but it certainly wouldn't bankrupt us. 

Having a medical emergency and having to be evacuated from the ship, or brought to a foreign hospital for medical treatment COULD bankrupt us (and others).

When we take out a policy, of course it covers the cost of our trip.  We also make sure there is significant coverage for medical evacuations and/or medical expenses.  A helicopter evacuation can easily cost $50,000.  

On 1/1/2020 at 7:11 PM, Peachypooh said:

Keep in mind the portions are really really small if it is anything like the last couple of times I

ordered it.

I ordered it twice on our last cruise in October.  Portions were normal restaurant size for rack of lamb - 4 small chops.

If you are hungry, ask for extra veggies or potatoes or something.  It's very hard to go away from a specialty restaurant being hungry.

8 minutes ago, ashleyriley said:

It was my experience on the Breakaway that if you request towel animals, the room steward will do them. Not sure if the Escape is different.

We requested them on the Escape in October (midway through cruise) and we got a couple.

6 minutes ago, janetootsie said:

Thank you very much for the info. One other question, if you don't mind me pick your brains some more.... I don't really get much of an OBC bill, but if I do tot up a few dollars can I just pay, and keep the full value of the CruiseNext vouchers? Thank you all, Jane

You get the "full value" of the CruiseNext Vouchers.  They just end up costing you less with the credit.

You pay a net price of $125 (if you buy more than one) and the FULL value of $250 can be applied to your next cruise.

On 1/1/2020 at 9:40 AM, coach jim said:

One added benefit of going to the M&G is to meet some of the officers and get their contact info.  We had a few issues dealt with immediately because we were able to go right to the top, beveridge manager in one case.  Even if shy, great to be able to meet and later recognize a few friendly faces during your cruise.  As has been stated, you can always leave, but stay to get the officers info!

I forgot to make that point - thanks for reminding everyone.

You get to meet the officers, and while they want to keep everyone happy, they may go a bit further to keep Cruise Critic members happy.  They know we are more likely to write a review - good or bad - than most other passengers.

It is definitely worth it to have the officers direct numbers in case a problem ever arises during your cruise.  We only had one issue a while back with a bad (and I mean really bad) meal at a specialty restaurant, and when we didn't get a resolution, we simply called and the problem was taken care of.

58 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

That is how we look at insurance as well.  We are willing and able to eat the cost of a cancellation if something happens pre-cruise, but we do not want to face to uncover costs of a major event while traveling.

 

OP, best wishes to you and your son.  I hope he is doing well.  I am glad the travel insurance was a small comfort during a difficult time.

That's also one of the best reasons to ALWAYS carry a passport - whether you technically need one or not.  Having a passport and being able to get on a plane (or other transportation) QUICKLY from a foreign country back to your location can mean the difference between life or death.  

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard (or read) people asking if they really need to bring (or get) a passport.   It lasts for 10 years!!!  If you can afford to travel, you can afford a passport.

Sure - you can always get a copy, or go to an embassy and get something that allows you to travel back home, but those hours (or days) that you are delayed can really mean the difference between life or death.

Always, always, ALWAYS carry a passport when you are leaving the country.  Heck - I always carry my passport whenever I travel - even domestically.

Hope your son is doing well!

We always get travel insurance, but it isn't as much for reimbursement of a cancelled cruise, as it is for cost in case of a medical (or other) emergency while on the cruise.

Losing the cost of the cruise isn't good, but being bankrupted by medevac or emergency medical transport and foreign medical/hospital bills would be catastrophic.   It can easily cost upwards of $50,000 JUST for medevac transport, and the cost of a foreign hospital stay can go through the roof.  

We've been to almost every meet & greet since we started cruising - I have even organized a couple.  Most are great fun, and there are people of all ages, from all walks of life.

Every once in a while, you may find one where the energy or chemistry just isn't what you enjoy.  Simply smile, and make your exit - no harm no foul.

On our last cruise, we weren't thrilled with the meet & greet, but it had more to do with the organization (or dis-organization) of the event, and the over-crowded location, than it did with the people in attendance.

On 12/30/2019 at 4:21 PM, Lou33 said:

I'm very disappointed by the wine list above.  I'm surprised how few wines are available that would be included in the basic drink package, especially compared to other cruise lines like Celebrity.  There are very few, they all fall into the $8-9 range, and they don't look like they are very good.  If you want something a little better then you are forced to move up to the $16-18 range and they are no longer free.  Does anybody else find it "interesting" that there is "absolutely nothing" in the $12-15 range??  What is the point offering free drinks up to $15 if you only sell $9 drinks?

 

We like to have a few drinks and we selected the so called "free" package as a perk.  But we will have a hard time just breaking even since we paid the $20 pp/day 20% gratuity.  And that seems to be the point of Norwegian's marketing strategy.  I was already on the fence about selecting the "free" drink package, and if we had known about the weak selection in the wine list, we may have selected something else as a perk, or booked a sail away rate.

 

To me, this is another example of nickel and diming by Norwegian, and it's something we will consider when we book our next cruise.  Other cruise lines do not charge gratuities for their "free" drink package, and they also have a better wine selection, include bottled water, fresh juice, and specialty coffee.  Celebrity recently tried to add a $14/day surcharge.  That didn't go well and they quickly removed it.  https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/4905/

 

 

If anyone is getting the drink package solely for wines - it would probably be better to just bring your own and pay corkage fees of $15 per bottle, or buy a few bottles on-board over the course of your cruise.  

I believe the best value of the drink package is for liquor, beer and soft drinks.