TrumpyNor

16 hours ago, mking8288 said:

On 3 of our recent TA, they're offered twice being 12 and 15 days (twice) - typically, about Day 4 or 5 for the first series and then about a week later.  If you don't see the flyer/insert, ask your room steward about it  - s/he can usually get you the "coupon" - currently priced at $34 per bag (good use of any non-refundable OBC) if not at Platinum/higher status & getting them done on a comp'd basis.  

 

 

I have a different question that you may know the answer to:

We have the "Latitude comp'd" laundry bags (one each offered on a regular cruise), that we use whenever needed without awaiting the "bag promotion day", without any coupon/voucher, simply by writing Latitude number and status on the bag.

My question is:

If they offer the regular "fill the bag"promotion twice during a longer (10+) cruise, do they then sometimes also offer one extra "comp'd" laundry bag for the higher Latitude status? I know I am not "entitled" to more than one free laundry bag per cruise, just wondering what your experience has been on longer cruises.

Congrats, Susanne!

In Europe they are actually nowadays called "crossbody bags" and they are very popular amongst the "young and hip" Europeans. 😊

Worn a bit different than the "fanny packs" from the 1980ies though....😉

10 hours ago, jrt.mom said:

Happy to say I just got my upgrade offer for an October sailing on the Sun! I'm booked in an ocean view solo room and they offered a chance to bid on a balcony and a "club balcony", whatever that is...do any of you know? The description of the room was sort of nebulous...🤔

The club balcony cabins on NCL was called "mini-suites" until a few years ago, but as the name often gave the impression of being a "suite" it often caused misunderstandings about what was included in the price. On most NCL ships they are slightly larger than a regular balcony cabin, often with a significant larger bath room. That being said - the Sun is known to have the nicest/largest club balcony cabins in the NCL fleet. 

We had a balcony cabin on the Star last year, and the cruise was sailing in "Arctic waters", so had to bring quite a variety of clothing. Had absolutely no problem reaching the clothing that we stored on the shelves inside the closet, even though we had lots of clothing on hangers as well.

7 hours ago, andychris said:

Do you know if you have a better chance the earlier you put a bid in or wait until it’s closer to the cruise?

thank you 

I honestly don't know. I usually put in bids early (2-3 months before sailing date). As long as your bid has not been accepted (that usually happens closer to sailingdate), you can pull your bid at any time simply by removing it.

1 hour ago, dilbertsdaddy said:

When do they typically start accepting bids?  I tried the link and it said none available (but there are).  Possibly it is too early?  (cruise 4 months away)

I posted bids in May for my upcoming cruise in August, so a little less than 3 months before the cruise, by using that link. 

I have no idea how this was (or was not) enforced until now, but it seems like there will be some changes to this matter this fall:

https://skift.com/2024/03/05/cruise-lines-not-ready-for-europes-upcoming-border-controls/

6 hours ago, complawyer said:

if ncl feels you are eligible for an  upgrade, they will send you an email with the appropriate cabins you are eligible to bid on. they have a sliding scale from poor bid to excellent bid.

you indicate how much you are willing to bid within that framework and for which cabin, then just keep your fingers crossed. 

 

also, please remember (be aware) that whatever amount you bid will be multiplied by 2.

if your bid is accepted, ncl will notify you (may not be notified until just prior to sailing)

6 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

You will get an invitation to bid on an upgrade and the minimum bids for rooms (per person - double occupancy regardless on how you are sailing). Also realizing that a minimum bid is unlikely to be successful. 

 

You’re invited to participate in our Upgrade Advantage program, which gives you the opportunity to submit offers to upgrade your existing stateroom.

Our suites offer more space to spread out, perfect for a couple or up to eight guests. Expansive balconies, living rooms and lavish baths make this a sumptuous retreat. You’ll also enjoy butler and concierge service, priority embarkation and disembarkation, complimentary champagne and other exclusive perks.

 

In the example above, the minimum bid from our current cabin to a Owner's Suite is $2400 and the maximum, is $4300. If we bid the maximum and were successful, we would would pay $8600 for the upgrade. 

 

Just FYI; no need to wait for an invitation, you can just use this link: https://upgrade.plusgrade.com/offer/NCL/

I have in the past placed bids both through "regular invitation e-mail" and by just using the URL-link above without receiving any "invitation" first. 

Shore excursions has to be paid at the time of booking. If you at a later time decides to cancel it, the money paid will be returned to form of original payment if cancelled before the cruise starts. If cancelled after the cruise have started, then the money paid will be reimbursed as refundable OBC (on board credit).

We did a beach excursion in St. Maarten many years ago (2013), and back then "all cruise lines" (incl NCL) had their beach excursions to Orient Beach. 

2 hours ago, CruisnDeb said:

FYI I shared a similar room with my son on the Pearl. We had the beds separated and I still managed to bang my head on wall bed a few times. 

Thank you for the warning. 🙂

Thank you both for your replies. 😊 Good idea about having the beds seoarated. Will probably ask for that to be done. Actually didn't think about that possibility in the past... 🤔

It has been a pleasure meeting you both when cruising, thank you for sharing all your NCL cruising knowledge here on CruiseCritic!

Wouldn't the easiest be to just convert it to pdf yourself if that is the format you need....?

About reservations at the MDR done before the cruise:

We have a cruise booked for beginning of August 2024 (120 days from today), and I can absolutely prebook a table at the MDR already  - BUT only for a group of 6 persons or a group of 8 persons, and ONLY two times to choose from: 5.30 PM or 8.30 PM. So definitely outside of the "peak hours". 

My experience is that it is no problem to prebook a table for a certain time in the MDR when being on the ship - and if you prefer to have your dinner at the most popular times in the evening, then I absolutely advice you to prebook a table (usually no problem to do that in the afternoon for the dinner the same evening). If not - be prepared to stand in line, then get the "beeper" and wait 15-30 minutes for your table....

Edit: Forgot to say that on the explore and plan-ist of dining options the MDR is listed with a note of "Not available to book" - when I "click" on it to try to book it anyway, then I get the option of groups of 6 or 8 persons and can choose the times 05.30 PM or 08.30 PM....

We did an 11 days cruise on the Star in August 2023, and did not have any technical incidents at all. 😊

Regarding the originally 1 year requirement to use the free Diamond upgrade: 

My husband and I obtained the Latitude Diamond status when NCL added the new tiers (beginning of 2022?). We had 2 cruises booked for the summer of 2022, and asked for the free upgrade on both these cruises. We were however not happy with one of the upgrades and asked to get our original cabin instead. According to the rules at the time, my understanding was that we then "lost" that second free upgrade.

A few months later I saw here on CC someone posting about the 1 year requirement being "removed". I then asked my PCC at NCL to apply for a free diamond upgrade on the cruise we had booked for August 2023 instead, and within a couple of days we received the email from the Latitude upgrade department with our new cabin number (upgrade from ocean view to balcony). 

12 hours ago, drumming cruisers said:

After last cruise we are now Diamond Latitude. Says we can get a free cabin upgrade. Can we go from a Club Balcony suite to a Haven suite? If not what can we upgrade to from a Club Balcony?

 

TIA

Since you are saying "we" I am guessing that you are probably a couple? If that is the case, you can have the free cabin upgrade for two TWICE. Personally my husband and I did receive the Diamond upgrade on two cruises in 2022 and 2023 - both times from "obstructed ocean view" to "balcony" - and very happy with that! Especially when I saw (by doing "mock" bookings) what many of my fellow cruisers had to pay for their "regular balcony cabin price" compared to what we paid for an originally obstructed ocean view cabin.

16 hours ago, mskaufman said:

Once embarking in Trieste (for an 8 pm departure) is it possible to go have lunch and then go back off the ship and do some sightseeing?

Absolutely!

On the Gem 18 months ago - Club Balcony Suite with bathtub:

On the Escape 17 months ago - club balcony suite with walk-in-shower:

Also something to take in to consideration when arriving from abroad on the same say as the cruise starts:

Bus from Venice Marco Polo airport to Trieste takes min. 90 minutes, could be longer depending on traffic. 

3 hours ago, seemoreroyals said:

 

You could have accomplished the same thing without the $20.  We do the same thing without forking over the $20 and still maintain friendly interactions with cabin stewards when we see them. 

Of course I know that - after all, with more than 30 cruises with NCL I am not a "newbie". But to me it was a "no-brainer" to pay an additional $2 per day - we got lots of "extra service" as well, that I didn't mention as that was not my point.... And the extra $20 was highly appreciated - even though I "didn't have to pay that".... 

Last year I was on my first cruise after NCL changed the cabin cleaning to once per day per cabin, and after reading here on CruiseCritic that several complained about getting their cabin cleaned late afternoon, I did the following:

I wrote a friendly card to the cabin steward, introducing us (my husband and myself) and stating that I knew that he had to clean a large number of cabins, and if it would be possible to clean our cabin amongst the first one in the day. I then enclosed a $20 dollar note to it.

Result: On a 11 day cruise, our cabin was cleaned before 10.00 AM every day. To me that was totally worth the extra tipping above the standard daily service charge fee. 😊

We plan on cruising for many, many years to come. But this just shows how volnurable the rest of the passengers are if ONE person shows up wit a "hidden desease"..... 🤔

But to blame the cruise line as some seem to be doing, is to take it a bit far in my opinion. 

But great that NCL is offering some sort of compencation for the passengers on board that particular cruise.

1 hour ago, SoloAlaska said:

Ok so when you’re on a week long cruise in the Caribbean the bag may seem large but on a 16 day TA it doesn’t. I did the plastic bag trick which was essential since I had a bulky fleece I wanted washed along with 20 or so items in total. My bag was slightly smaller than the paper one so I rolled everything I could and put it inside and then filled the gap between the plastic and paper bag with small items like socks and underwear. 

My experience is that on longer cruises they offer the laundry special at least twice, sometimes even 3 times.....