littlelulu01

11 minutes ago, SAmome said:

Wait, name change on pax in a cabin, not related to airfare?  If NCL has 60 days limit it's much more restrictive than other cruiselines.  Maybe this regards NCL air?

19 minutes ago, Beachmomm said:

Thank you so much for your informative response.  We did add on the insurance offered when booking via NCL.  Which independent insurance company do you recommend?  This is my first cruise and kids; husband and other family travelers cruised before.  So excited when we originally booked, but tough not to worry with everything going on now.  

Sorry but I’m by no means qualified to recommend travel insurance.  I’d recommend calling a broker such as Trip Insurance Store.Com.  Best of luck with your decisions! 
 

Adding- you should check and see what your current policy covers.  It might have something for CFAR. Some of Ncl’s policies do. 

If the cruise line cancels they are obligated to refund the fares.  If we cancel during 100% penalty phase for fear of virus and don’t have CAFR insurance we don’t get our $ back.  We will however get our taxes and port fees, DSC and any pre pays such as beverage and dining pkg grats, pre paid excursions, pre purchased  spa, internet... 

Alaska airlines announced they will waive change fees on tickets purchased after 2/27(not much help for those tickets purchased Pre 2/27/20). Ncl announcement on relaxation for name changes.. but only up to 60 days prior to sailing so not much help for us sailing in the next few weeks.  
 

my independent insurance plan will allow me to credit the policy towards another trip within 2.5 years as long I do so prior to leaving for my upcoming sailing.  The policies themselves can be a good chunk of $ on the more expensive sailings so salvaging the policy is a benefit too. 

 

We are also on the Joy and my thinking is why cancel if there’s no benefit in doing so.  I’m already at 100% penalty so simple no show is likely the best avenue for me. I don’t have cafr but do have a great policy taken out last year so no Covid exclusion. 

So much can change and change fast.  A few weeks ago it was just China we saw with hospitals overflowing, then the Diamond Princess was a scary reality of how fast it spreads on a ship. A couple days ago it was wasn’t known to have community spread in the USA. Now it’s starting in my state.  A nursing home in Kirkland.  A high school student in Snohomish.  It’s also seeing community spread in California. So at what point do we ban Washingtonians from the ship?  Californians?  At what point does Mexico ban us?  And really how long till it’s spread to the staff onboard?  We can not wish this away or sweep it under a rug. It is what it is.  I would probably have boarded the Joy for the sailing tomorrow.  Who knows what the state of cruises will be in a couple weeks.  I wish it was “beating a dead horse” but this isn’t another thread on tipping.  It’s a topic of much graver concern and one that merits open civil discussion. 

The World Health Organization and CDC has the most accurate information.  Hint - this is not a common trivial cold.  There’s a reason why Shanghai Disneyland is still shutdown.  I wish it wasn’t so but Cruise ships have a way of spreading contagious disease like wildfire. 

21 minutes ago, njkate said:

I think more people are worried about that and the loss of air fare than the virus, especially as many of the trip cancellations are very last minute, some posted they didn't find out their cruise was canceled until after they departed for Asia.

I'm past final payment and watching closley.  A couple weeks ago Singapore.... was fine.  The Spirit was re deployed to Europe/Italy as a result of Coronavirus in Asia.  Now Italy has localized transmission.  And then there's the issue of who on earth will want to host thousands of cruise ship passengers if this virus goes pandemic.  The Westerdam had to float around with no country willing to even let them disembark.  Cambodia finally let passengers disembark after USA president intervention.  Ships can take every precaution but from what happened on the Diamond Princess, and just how viruses in general can spread like wildfire on a ship,  what precautions to take to avoid a situation like on the Diamond Princess?  One 80 year old man who had already disembarked the ship.  A subsequent quarentine, confinment to cabins, infection control specialists and doctors and experts brought onboard and right now they are at over 700 out of 3k tested.  Diamond Princess transmission rates are simply staggering.   

The loss of airfare and cruise fare will be sad if it comes to that but quarentined on a ship like what happened on the Diamond Princess sounds so much worse.  We are in a Haven suite.  We will get back our port fees, DSC, Prepaid tips on packages and Shore excursions but the cruise and airfare is 100% lost.  We wont cancel till the day we board the ship.  There is zero benefit to cancel today.  There is a chance to contain the virus so I wont make a decision till just prior to getting on a flight.  

We really don’t know what was going on behind the scenes with decisions so passing judgment on ncl is not something I’m willing to do.  Making $ is a big motive and so keeping clean, virus free ships is likely at the top of the priority list. The industry and world will learn much from what’s going on with the Diamond Princess. 621 passengers onboard now with Coronavirus out of 3700. That’s a terribly high infection rate.  Staying away from Asia sailings right now is a prudent step.  Idk what can be done if the virus takes hold in other countries though. The industry can’t just leave every part of the world as the virus spreads.  At some point the ability to spread on a ship at such a crazy rate is a problem that needs  resolution if the industry is to survive. A hospital less than 5 minutes away from my house now has 5 Coronavirus patients.  Only 10 hospitals in the entire USA equipped with ability to treat such viruses. I know many are saying it’s no big deal but it kinda really is a big deal and not something we want spreading out of control on ships or in general.

Do we know the status of the 621 passengers infected?  Ie what percent is mild, critical...  

2 hours ago, mrlevin said:

mking8288, you do realize that you have higher chance of death getting in car accident on way to airport than dying from COVID-19 on this cruise?

For the rational healthy person, there’s  a valid fear of long lasting quarantine in a foreign country, not necessarily fear of death by Coronavirus.  People don’t fear norovirus will kill them but if it was running unchecked onboard cruise ships, very few would sail.  I can’t imagine the next sailing of the Jade going ahead as planned.   If I was booked on the sailing I’d just be a no show and hope ncl canceled.  The future of the cruise industry was at risk with Norovirus until the industry figured a way to contain the spread.  In comparison, Coronavirus infection rates on the quarantined Diamond Princess are simply staggering.   Coronavirus at this point will have a negative affect on the industry, no matter how many post, “nothing to see hear” responses.  

47 minutes ago, vicpylon said:

Therein lies the rub. I have no way of determining the current price of my cabin. It is sold out. 😞

I assume you are speaking of your cabin category currently sold out and not the entire sailing.  If there’s a higher cabin category for less $ and you are outside final payment the price adjustment/cabin category move is an easy phone call. After final payment you can call and ask for an upgrade.

Our upcoming sailing is seeing major price reductions.  Airfare has also been slashed making it one of the least expensive spring break options I’ve ever seen. We made our final payment pre Coronavirus. The 30% off “sale” is just a hold over booking gimmick pre Coronavirus.   
 

We really liked the tuk tuk tour in Kotor.  We had only 4 people total in our group plus the guide. It sells out.  We got lucky with a wait list filling at the last minute. 
 

congrats on Scavi tickets.  The Vatican has some good reading material suggested prior to this the tour.  I found it fascinating even before the tour starts to see all the coming and goings behind gates. 
 

re phone- we had a booking perk for 120 minutes of ship to shore phone calls.  This wasn’t part of the internet package. We also had internet packages which we upgraded to unlimited. If u don’t have the Phone call perk it was expensive to use a stateroom phone to call the states.  I think $5/minute. Ship to shore stateroom calls had good connection whereas ship internet WiFi calling was not too good in the evening when everyone was online. 

Ncl seems to have some issues with communication and sometimes you wonder who If anyone is running the PR department but for the record, they seem to have been ahead of things safety wise in the past.  A few years ago things didn’t look good for Americans traveling in Turkey.  Ncl and dcl were the first two lines to pull out.  Ncl got some excellent replacement ports and port times.  Some lines ended up floating around in the med with a bunch of sea days.  I think Hal and ccl had to change Embarkation and debarkation ports last minute.  Pretty big uproar.  So it’s not always ncl.  So sorry for all the hassles with your cruise cancellation. 

Btw we loved Kotor.  Make sure you watch sail in. The ship will likely tender so a ship sponsored excursion is a good idea.  We loved the tuk tuk tour.  Saw a great deal, went to some beautiful hill top and seaside towns. Great guide. 
 

They’re smaller groups.  So instead of a full size bus it’s a smaller bus.  We recently did a 12 port sailing on the Jade med with all excursions through Ncl.  I really didn’t mind the larger groups (Except the sick people on busses).  Here’s a recent review of our excursions that includes Kotor. 

30 minutes ago, poffles said:

 

So I have read cancellation policy and are you saying that where it says 100% penalty (on fare?), you would still get back anything you paid for port fees, service fees on drink package and/or specialty dining packages no matter if in the penalty windows?  I've looked but don't see that break down anywhere ... is this listed somewhere I can look?

 

 

By omission it’s refundable. It doesn’t say they keep the daily pre paid tips, port fees, service charges.  It just says the fare is 100% nonrefundable.  Actually I think it says something about airfare add on too. Anyway it’s a good chunk of a refund in my case if we cancel during the 100% penalty phase. I paid for internet upgrades, prepaid some excursions, prepaid service fees.... I think port fees are only $144 pp but those come back to us too if we canceled. If I cancel at the last minute- as in don’t get on the ship, the fare, my flights and the cost of my insurance policy are my sunk costs. I’ll get back a few hundred pp in Dsc, port fees, prepaid free at sea perk service fees, pre paid internet upgrade pkg and excursions. 
 

If you don’t get a refund on the fare you’ll still get port fees, pre paid dsc, service fees on any dining or drink packages refunded.  I’m also on the Joy - a couple weeks after you.  We’re booked in a Haven suite and have a very good insurance plan.  We are not covered if we cancel for Coronavirus fears.  I’ve also got non refundable airfare. Im booked with a travel agent who assesses a cancel fee on top of the 100% penalty phase so idk if I’d be better just not showing up for embarkation should we decide to stay home. I’m leaving the decision till the very end. No sense in making a knee jerk decision for a fear that could be over reactionary nor digging feet in sand and proclaiming there is no basis for fear of sailing during a potential world health crisis. I’m going to listen to my educated and sane self and see what happens. If things go south and Coronavirus starts up on another ship, I’ll cancel, take my losses and be thankful I’m not stuck in a situation like the diamond princess passengers.  Best of luck with your decisions. 

9 minutes ago, Buttongirl72 said:

I wanted to ask more about this....   We are doing a similar (NCL- Greek Islands)cruise this coming September.    Hubby and I are very scent sensitive.    We usually use Tide Free at home-we can't cope with normal or scented Tide.    I was anticipating having to bring detergent and do our own laundry.   

 

So when you say it wasn't "tide fresh" do you mean it was not scented at all, or merely that it didn't smell like it would if you had washed it at home?   Because not having to do it myself would seriously rock!

 

Thanks in advance!

You’re in luck.  There was No scent at all.  I like my laundry with a Tide fresh scent.  Ship laundry comes back clean and folded. No ironing was needed.  

If this flu got going here in the USA like it is in China, cruise vacations would likely be halted.  Who knows what the future holds here in the USA but I’m not panicking about my upcoming sailing.  Had I not already made final payment, I’d probably not be booking a cruise right now, but if I were sailing in a couple weeks, I’d  be comfortable going and just making sure my family was practicing proper infection control.  
 

We sailed on the Jade 2 week Mediterranean late October/early November.  I was simply amazed at the poor hygiene and infection control practices some of my cruise mates displayed.   I know the flu vaccine isn’t a guarantee but we got our flu shots 2 weeks prior to flying out of Seattle.  We didn’t get sick. We didn’t eat buffet, didn’t take elevators, washed hands with soap and water... Didn’t hear much coughing at first on the ship.  A couple of sick passengers at the beginning of the sailing turned into a big ship full by the end of the sailing.  A fellow passenger on one of my excursions was complaining about her horrible cough, fever, sore throat and headache.  I asked her if she had a flu shot.  She went on some anti vaccine rant. I asked her why she was on the bus instead of in her cabin. She was out and about because everyone else was sick and not staying in their staterooms so why should she?  This is the mentality I saw. People spent good money. They were not going to hole up  inside their staterooms.    
 

im more concerned right now about my flu shot immunity wearing off. I think they say about 16% decrease/month which can make for a nasty regular flu outbreak in the spring. If nothing else perhaps the, “I can do whatever I feel like when contagious,” mentality will no longer be tolerated on ships. 
 

I recently used RomeCabs.  I did carry off.  Walked off the ship, through a building where the luggage is and the RomeCabs driver was standing with a sign with our name.  His car was parked right there, loaded luggage and off to airport- in your case it would be to Rome.  We were in a suite so concierge walked us to the driver but could easily have done on our own.  This was on the Jade. 

I went ahead and paid in full in advance for upcoming cruise but it’s only 3 ports and coming up pretty quickly.  One thing I’ve noticed is Ncl typically raises the prices each season.  Payment in full in advance locks in current prices.  There’s some debate on honoring old prices onboard if u don’t pay in full beforehand.  When I’ve reserved but not paid in advance I’ve had prices honored from date of booking but have read Other accounts varied success. 

On our last sailing October, 2019.  Jade 14 night, no mugs.  Was told they’re no longer giving them. Single use plastic used instead.  They do sell the refillable mugs in the gift shop - just no longer part of the package. I saw a few people with the mugs and asked them about how they got them- they purchased at gift shop so it’s not like some sailings when running low and they’re only available at one bar or only on embarking...

6 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

I agree with this part. You're a pro!

 

Idk about, “pro.” 😂. I was really torn on ship vs independent excursions this trip.  Many of ncl’s excursions don’t have reviews.  In hindsight I kinda had a hunch by reading the description that the excursions we didn’t like were not our style.  Seems more folks are booking ship excursions.  With various booking perks and discounts they are not necessarily the crazy prices they used to be. 

Also wanted to mention we did this trip with carryon only luggage.  No checked bags.  It was difficult packing for warm and cold weather but I managed.  Had to ditch dress up clothing.  It’s pretty freeing to vacation without big luggage. Ncl gave us free laundry for lattitude perk and we took full advantage.  Didn’t need the bag special days.  I think those were around  $20/bag.  Our Latitude Free laundry bags came back day after we turned in both times.  I can’t say it came back with a tide fresh scent or anything but it is the job and I can’t complain. 

For debarkation we had booked a 7 am 1 hour transfer to the airport. The concierge walked us off the ship and found our driver.  Our friends that we shared the transfer with were flying Luftunsa who was on strike.  They were dropped off at the wrong terminal due to the chaos of the strike but did make their 10:45 am flight.  We were flying British Airways to London.  We had plenty of time to spare.  British Airways has a nice lounge at the Rome airport where we had a nice breakfast and relaxed prior to our flight to London.  We enjoyed ending our trip with a stay in London and our flight home was uneventful.  We have flown business before but this was my first time in first on British Airways out of London.  The security for their first class, massage prior to flight, a nice relaxing meal in the Concord room is pretty dang nice.  Had business been available I would have gone with Business over first class to save on miles but the first class treatment was a real treat and made the end of vacation a breeze … all of which came to a jarring end with a most unpleasant welcome home from Seattle customs and immigration. I have never been in prison but I suspect prison guards might have better manners than Seattle Customs and Immigration staff/agents.     Anyways, I am happy to answer any questions.  We enjoyed our cruise.  Not all was perfect with this vacation - nothing ever is but the positives far outweighed the negatives and we really had a great time. 

Livorno.  I had booked the jeep marble quarry tour.  Shore excursions said they had not actually had this excursion fill enough to run all season but as luck would have we actually had enough to fill the excursion for the first time.  But then the rain hit and we got canceled at the last minute.  Having spent quite a bit of time in Florence and Pisa in the past, and that it was pouring rain, we took the bus into Livorno, got some supplies, and went back to the ship.  Transfer to the city from the ship was a few euro.  I’ve read complaints on this charge but in all reality the bus ride to the city of Livorno is quite a distance so the charge to me seems justified.

And some pictures of Naples.   So much to see here!  I have to return.