kirsty_r

i'm sooo looking forward to my time in January... i love the ship and I'm really excited for the new entertainment options.

Question to those of you who have used or have experience of the cruise next ultimate program.

 

I am wanting to book a cruise for xmas 2016. If I book now through the UK website I can chose one from the regular freestyle choice packages as part of their current promotion.

 

However I will be on an NCL cruise in late October so have the option of holding off and booking on board.

 

My questions are...

 

What prices are used? I presume this is the same as on your home country website but would appreciate confirmation.

 

What way do the cruise next ultimate perks operate? Are these on top of any offers already available during that month. So for example could I end up getting both UBP and UDP?

 

I already have several cruise rewards vouchers from the old program, so the $100 on board saving isn't relevant to me.

From the other threads on here it seems they couldn't mix the onshore and onboard perks, so if you get UBP onboard, you wouldn't then get to pick another perk when you get home. Your booking goes to the place you booked the current cruise with so i presume your charged the price that they are charging at the time.

I imagine they might. True the Europeans won't know, but NCL does. :) It might not be a huge deal though - maybe a dish in the MDR, or buffet, or at o'sheehans special.

fair enough - to add i've never found noise to be an issue on EPIC even close to the public areas.

Easter is still classed as low season in Europe would be my guess. This pricing is similar to the pricing in January when we go on the 10 day too. Weather is subjective, even in January the med weather will be warm to us Northern British folk.

Agree with the above, i love the anytime dining with NCL but like the others said there are no guarantees of getting the same waiters at all so if that is a deal breaker it won't be the cruiseline for you. You can make reservations, but sometimes plans change, e.g. if theres a show you wanted to catch at the time you normally dine etc, so having freestyle dining lets you be fully relaxed on the ship.

There was one tour i found cheaper by NCL - that is from Malaga/granada, their DIY gibraltar tour. I check with local taxi firms and none can do the taxi run cheaper than NCL's advertised rate!

I never felt the toilet lights were an issue personally, but yes the light bulb on the phone will switch it off! :)

I love solo on the EPIC and the get togethers are either your cup of tea or not... on my last cruise there were lots of solo guests and the lounge was packed so i just found it claustrophobic but managed to meet people regardless.

Safety was never an issue!

To be fair many officers came by the lounge regularly to get coffee believe it or not, so it felt like there was many staff checking in too.

For your cruise ports, perhaps a cruiseline tour would be the safest?

I doubt the restrooms are a deal breaker that stops people going on Epic, they obviously sell more winter cruises in the states than in Europe..

She still will spend her summers in Europe, will the new move have influence on the upcoming drydock (the Fat Cats Beatles club conversion?)?

Its not just Beatles, more a uk themed bar where the Beatles started. My understanding was ncl have a partnership with cavern club to mirror some of their interior so guess that's their plan.

There's the epic transatlantic fall 2016 I think :)

Predictable. The EPIC was too large for Europe year round.

It sounds like EPIC is going back, so a guess would be spirit swaps back... no fault of the EPIC, its just a big ship to fill in the winter. Hopefully means our EPIC cruise in January will be quiet! :)

Doubt it will be noticed, but its generally non alcoholic sodas.. So depends if your happy with the youngster drinking those. The juice option was quite limited the last time I had the package.

Its probably because the flights are limited seats now.

keep an eye on the offers and price drops, it may become economical soon. :)

I've booked Said tours for tangier, highly recommended on trip advisor. I would suggest checking trip advisor for similar tour operators on other stops too. I'm really looking forward to it. Said takes Euros or Dollars - he isn't fussed!

ring or email - i rebooked under a different offer, forfeited deposit but the prices were lower so it worked out cheaper overall. This sounds like a upgrade - but also play on the poorer health card too. I find the cruise consulatants really helpful in the uk usually.

I don't think it means no jazz, probably just changing the room layout to be more multi purpose depending on the acts they have onboard. I'm keen to know more about the production show, is blue man going??

No, just normal everyday coffee

 

Harriet

Very true - only drinks, no speciality coffees at all in the package, although I think an espresso martini is included... ask for the espresso without the martini ;)

In my experience it is usually two regular and two decaf.

 

 

Rochelle

On request mine left more. :)

Thanks Kirsty. How did you get your booking up on BA website, had you booked your flights yourself or did you do a fly/cruise package with ncl.?

I did ncls fly/cruise, and you get your booking reference for ba when your edocs are ready.

I paid a small charge via ba's website to allocate a seat... Otherwise you can't choose until 24 hours before. I got window seat. I was travelling alone. Food and drink on ba is amazing!! Complementary bar!!

With aa, food and drink isn't quite as good, for instance you only get complementary alcohol with the main meal, and in general food quality is poorer. At a guess luggage will be checked all the way to Miami, but they will lower you know at Manchester what the current deal is.

Can anyone tell me how you are charged after you buy the ultimate beverage package?

 

Do they take the card and swipe it every time, or do you just show it to them?

 

Is there a wait period in between drinks? For example, I et a drink, and have to wait 10 minutes to get another drink?

 

 

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they swipe everytime including for soft drinks.

no wait - in some bars they will keep your account open, restaurants charge at end of meal even if you've had multiple drinks etc. If your drinking in a bar, they will offer you another as you are getting halfway down your current one.

ALso i had a false drink on my account (my card was swiped by mistake) and i had to really fight to have it taken off my account - 3 visits!! so don't rely on guest services removing overpriced drinks.

To be honest, i found very few drinks not included in the package. I didn't find it restrictive at all. I do feel the main problem would be premium cocktails like a martini. A lot of the premium spirits do come in at less than $8.50.