TrumpyNor

I didn't realize that OP had two posts in the thread, so my reply was based on her first post, where nothing was said about sailaway cabins. And my entire reply simply showed the options I had on the European NCL web page, as an EXAMPLE, I said nothing about the way Australian or US gratuities would show or not show.

From the European version of ncl.com there is absolutely a possibility to book without any FAS and instead choose the "just cruise" category both for the Sailaway staterooms (where the actual stateroom is usually given by NCL at a later time, you can not choose location yourself) and for all other types of cabins - it is possible to choose the "just cruise" category and then get a lower price. But as it is a very small difference in price for the Sailaway "unknown" cabin and the regular "just cruise" cabin, I would of course choose the regular one, as I then would be able to choose a stateroom myself.

No, no prepurchase of these types of drinks. Can be ordered through roomservice when you are onboard the ship.

I believe it is only on the Sun and the Spirit that muster drills are held outside on deck, probably due to size of ship....?

Prosecco by the glass is included.

As others have said, mainly on deck 7, but they are quite "visible" also on deck 8.... On this photo we are standing on our balcony on deck 14....

I am not a lawyer and I do not know by experience, but ufortunately I am pretty confident the answer to your question would be "NO". Just for the simple reason that unless Spanish port authorities did an ID-/Visa-check on EVERY passenger on that cruise in the various Spanish ports, then they would have no control of if YOU went ashore in the ports or not. So both for Spanish authorites and for NCL, it is easier to deny you boarding on that cruise. And IF NCL lets you cruise - when scanning your passport, there will probably be some automatic "flagging" in European systems about you being a holder of a Schengen visa with limitations (as extension only will be valid for Portugal), so that you may have some difficulties if you plan on travelling to Europe in the future.

The easiest is to just tell the host/hostess that you will be paying this meal a-la-carte, and then just repeat the same sentence to the waiter, and there should be no misunderstandings at all.

That is the situation for me as well - so I find this change to be for the better, at least from my personal and very subjective view point.... 😊

Here is everything that is included in the Premium Plus Beverage Package - see page 2: https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/Premium_Plus_Bar_Package_111522.pdf Seems like Moët Champagne is only included with dinner - bootled.

We always get to the port rather early (around 10.30-11.00), and I honestly forgot that due to our Latitude Diamond status we are let to check-in at the pier pretty much as soon as we arrive there, and we are always let on the ship in "group 1". We have also only been doing European cruise itineraries since 2017, and to choose check-in time at the pier when doing the online check-in has not been required here as long as it has for cruises that starts from an American port, so I forgot about that as well. I am very sorry if my first reply caused any confusion.

We had a Haven Spa Suite for a week a few years ago, and what was included was just the "regular" spa admittance that you would get if you just booked a regular spa pass. There are no spa threatments included with the Spa Suite. Just wanted to mention it in case you are not aware of that. https://www.ncl.com/fr/en/shorex/154947592/48057328/spa-detail/SPAS46

You do know that checking in online for your cruise at a later time than "opening day" is absolutely no problem, right? I usually wait to check in until just a few days before the sailing date - as I don't see any reason to do it at an earlier time.

I think you must have quoted my post by mistake, as I did NOT write anything about the next cruise being cancelled...?

I have already a NCL cruise in Europe booked for August 2024 - so they are available now....Both Northern Europe and Mediterranean cruises are available on ncl.com.

It is normal that speciality restaurants on NCL usually don't have large tables available online before 09.00 PM, so you (or the TA) could just contact NCL to book 2 tables for four and then contact the restaurant(s) in question when on board, to "re-arrange" the tables together the way you prefer. As it is not possible for one person to book the same restaurant twice online in advance - I guess because they want to "spread out" reservations so that not "all tables go to the same person"... It is still just a certain percentage of the restaurant seats that are available for pre-booking anyway.

Latest "official news": As Viking Polaris is a ship that is registered in Norway, there was a report here in a Norwegian newspaper less than 2 hours ago (01.00 PM European time), quoting somebody from Viking Line officially stating that unfortunately the wave caused one fatality (passenger) and four other passengers that were receiving medical threatment for non-lethal injuries.

This sign was posted outside most restaurants on board on both the Gem and the Escape in July/August....

If you want ot do the online check-in for everyone, then you just have to "guarantee" for them during the online check-in process, and then have your card removed/swapped with their own cards when checking in at the pier.

I always thought the pools on NCL had "cleaned/purified" saltwater in them, so "similar" to freshwater?

Regarding the "regular" sunbed hogging - this came regularly on the big screen on the pool deck on the Escape on our last cruise in August of this year. I don't know if they actually enforced it, as I usually prefer to find sunbeds in more "quiet" spots myself. The general manager on board at that time was a great one who really had passengers best interest in mind in pretty much every aspect of the cruise - so that may explain it.....

Am I wrong in assuming that OBC for price drops are only 25% of the actual price drop (25% of $57 would then be less than $15).....??? Some times you can do a much better "bargain" than that by purchasing an upgrade directly instead if there has been a price drop in cabin categories above your original cabin category. As long as the new cabin category cost $1 more than the original one, they let you do that almost all the way up to sailing date...

I was on the Escape in August, and at that time there were no mini-golf track available as far as I could tell...

This was actually the norm just a few years ago, and I guess they are now "back to normal" (and actually similar to most other cruise lines). It is not like those with "only one stripe" are "banned" from passenger areas like speciality restaurants etc. They just have to apply for it in advance now - I really don't see any problems with that (I worked on a cruiseship "back in the day" myself, where only senior officers were allowed to "mingle" in passenger areas, allthough with some restrictions of course)....

I used to work on a cruiseship when I was young (late 1990ies) on one of the luxury lines, salary was fixed (at that time around $700) and then after each cruise we received a certain amount of tip depending on how many passengers on board (the recommended amount of tip per passenger - equivalent to NCL's "daily service charge"- I believe it was $10 back then) ) was divided in a very specific way (this was when you as passenger had the same waiter for breakfast, lunch and dinner) - 35% went to the room stewards, 35% went to restaurant staff, and the rest was divided amongst other employees - I beleive the total was divided in to four, but I don't remember how the last 30% was divided/amongst whom. This was automatically added to our onboard account at the end of each cruise. And then any cash tip came on top of that. I am pretty certain that it is similar on NCL and most other cruise lines, and that the waiter you asked must have misunderstood your question somehow....