Creating a FAQ: "What You Need To Know About Cruising on NCL"

One place anyone new to NCL should start is the FAQs on the Website then stop by here and ask what NCL's answers really mean.

Here they are as links.

http://www.ncl.com/more/fp_mi_w2n.htm

Nationality and Visa Information

What does my cruise fare include?

How do I pay for onboard expenses?

What about currency?

What are the customs allowances?

How many suitcases can I bring?

What about smoking, drinking and gambling on the ship?

What time is dinner?

Dress Code in Dining Rooms

Will I need an electrical converter?

Do children cruise for free?

Are there children's programs?

Are babysitters available?

Are there any pool regulations?

What other services are available?

What about people with special needs?

Is there a doctor on board?

What if I'm pregnant?

What about Shore Excursions?

How can we celebrate a special occasion?

What if I need to stay in touch while away?

What about tipping?

Where can I keep my valuables?

Are visitors allowed on board?

What is the Latitudes® program?

What to Pack

What can't I bring onboard?

What if I still have some questions?

NCL Age Requirements

The dress code gest debated here very often and here is the policy in NCL's own words:

http://www.ncl.com/more/fp_mi_w2n.htm#dress

Freestyle Cruising gives our guests the freedom to dress as they please. Resort casual attire is always appropriate morning, noon and night. However, NCL/ NCLA does not allow any blue jeans, t-shirts, shorts, cut-offs, tank tops, bare feet, etc. in any of our fine dining restaurants for dinner, including all main restaurants, alternative restaurants, and cover charge venues.

Guests are allowed to wear blue jeans, shorts and t-shirts, in the evenings at the buffets, outdoor barbeques, and 24-hour venues, such as the Blue Lagoon, the Cadillac diner, etc.

Below are a few exceptions to the dining room dress code:

• Blue Jeans will be allowed in all dining rooms on all Houston departures, due to the Texas culture.
  
• Blue Jeans will be allowed in the Trattoria's in the evenings.
  
• Bermuda shorts with knee high socks, or Scottish kilts with knee highs will also be allowed in all dining rooms in Bermuda as these are considered formal dress in Bermuda.
  
• Hawaiian shirts are allowed with proper slacks in all dining rooms.
  
• Ladies Capri Pants, which are a length between the knee and ankles, are acceptable in all fine dining rooms as long as they are not blue jean capris.
  

These will vary by ship so they best place to find that information out is by going to NCL's Fleet page and finding your ship and the going to the appropriate area on that page:

http://www.ncl.com/fleet/index.htm

Each restaurant will be listed and there will be an indicator next to the name that tells you whether or not you need to pay extra.

This applies to not only NCL, but all the boards here.

If you do not see the answer to your questions in the FAQ, you might want to try a search before asking. Chances are it has been asked before and there is a wealth of answers and probably opinions out there for you.

Click on the SEARCH button which is towards the top, right hand side. Type in some words that apply to your concern, and then click on the approriate FORUM since you do want to search all cruiselines when your question is NCL specific.

Lets say you question is about the room layout for a Penthouse Suite on the Jewel.

Over time you will learn what words are better than others to enter. Too few words will get too many responses. So, if you entered JEWEL, you would get way too many.

If you typed penthouse jewel suite room layout you might get too few results.

If you typed penthouse jewel you should get just the right mix.

Good luck with your search. Try it a few times and you will learn quickly.

This link will provide information on specific cabins. After clicking on the link just amend the cabin category (currently AF), cabin number (currently 11580) and ship's name (currently DAWN but must be in capitals).

https://seaweb.it.ncl.com/consumer/stateroom_detail.cfm?Cat=AF&Num=11580&SC=DAWN

It is a misconception that with freestyke dining you cannot have the same waiter/table /time nightly. This CAN be arranged via the maitre d" in teh dining rooms. It usually has to be done by 6 Pm or after 8 PM. So those who like this can do so.

Don't forget to visit the Roll Call section of CruiseCritic. You can find others taking your cruise and share information. Get to know folks before you go and talk about specifics about your itinerary.

Under Cruise Critic Message Boards, scroll down to Roll Calls.

Or you can cheat and click here.

And make your life easier by saving it as a FAVORITE in Internet Explorer. Don't know how to do a FAVORITE? Click on the word FAVORITE at the top menu on your screen and try it. You can not break anything.

This will save the address for you to find it again quickly. You might even want to create a new folder to save all your related links for your trip.

http://www.ncl.com/more/fp_mi_w2n.htm#bring

Passenger is not allowed to bring onboard the vessel without the previous written permission of the Carrier any intoxicating liquors, or beverages, firearms, weapons of any kind, ammunition, explosive substances or any goods of a dangerous nature, nor animals of any kind, except service or guide animals, provided the passenger notifies Carrier prior to the cruise of his intention to bring such animal and agrees to take sole responsibility for any expense, damage, injuries or losses associated with or caused by such animal.

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According to this it sounds like you need to contact NCL to obtain written permission for bringing "intoxicating beverages" on board.

If it's a question of bringing a bottle or two of wine, you may want to consult their wine list first, to see if they already have your favorite on board.

The NCL Freestyle Daily is a useful source of information. When you arrive there should be a copy in your cabin and the next day's edition will be delivered to your cabin every night.

Some of the information it contains:

Opening Hours for restaurants and dining rooms

Any 'specials' for the restaurants

Any spa 'specials'

"Theme" for the night in the dining rooms and buffet - e.g. Italian night

Times and Locations for entertainment, activities and special events (like the Chocoholic Buffet)

Whether clocks/watches have to be reset for a time zone change

Port arrival and departure times

You can make all your dinner reservations when you first board.

Service Charges/Gratuities Policy

SERVICE CHARGE: A fixed service charge of $10 per person, per day will be added to your onboard account. For children ages 3-12, a $5 per person per day charge will be added to your onboard account; there is no charge for children under the age of three. Our crew is encouraged to work together as a service team and is compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that the service charge supports. It is our earnest wish that you enjoy your Freestyle Cruise experience and that our entire crew in all areas of the ship will provide you with the standard of service for which NCL is known. Therefore, if you have any concerns about the service you receive during your cruise, please bring them to the immediate attention of our reception desk staff on board so that we can address any issues in a timely manner before the cruise is over.

Both NCL and NCL America have a structured guest satisfaction program on board designed to handle any concerns raised by our guests relating to the service or on board product quickly and efficiently. In almost all cases we are able to come up with a satisfactory solution to any issues which are raised and make sure our guests can focus on enjoying their cruise vacation. In the unlikely event we cannot satisfactorily resolve the issue through our guest satisfaction program, guests will be able to adjust the service charge according to the level of inconvenience they feel they have experienced. Our clear priority is to have the opportunity of resolving the issue, when it happens, to everyone’s complete satisfaction.

GRATUITIES: Unlike most other ships in the cruise industry, there is no required or recommended tipping on NCL America or Norwegian Cruise Line ships. Guests should not feel obliged to offer a gratuity for service that is generally rendered to all guests.

However, all of our staff are encouraged to "go the extra mile", and so they are permitted to accept cash gratuities entirely at the discretion of our guests who wish to acknowledge particular staff members for exceptional or outstanding service. In other words, there is genuinely no need to tip but you should feel free to do so if you have a desire to acknowledge particular individuals.

Also, certain staff positions provide service on an individual basis to only some guests. We encourage those guests to acknowledge good service from these staff members with appropriate gratuities. For example, for guests purchasing bar drinks the recommended gratuity is 15 percent. Similarly, for guests using concierge and butler services, we recommend they consider offering a gratuity commensurate with services rendered.

In Room Safes: Security envelopes and/or safe deposit boxes are available from the ship's purser at no charge. Most staterooms and suites have mini-safes. Please note, however, that NCL is not responsible for valuables left in staterooms or elsewhere on board.

How do I pay for onboard expenses? For your convenience, all shipboard expenses are charged to NCL's special onboard credit program. Sign up on the first day of your cruise, by establishing your method of payment with Visa®, MasterCard®, American Express®, Discover®, Diners Club®, travelers checks or cash. If you choose to settle your account with cash, a deposit will be required in advance. You may also use your debit card; however, please be advised that NCL obtains pre-authorization which some banks may hold for up to 30 days.

Information about the programs for children/teens http://www.ncl.com/more/kidscrew_mini.htm

Some of the mattresses can be a bit hard. If you ask your cabin steward, he or she will put a foam egg carton mattress pad on your bed.

Many of the Category AB suites on Norwegian Majesty have views that are obstructed by lifeboats. I've compiled a list of cabins and their obstructed view percentage. These are all on Deck 9. (Source: Cabin amenities link provided by calmac, above.) I did not include the AB suites on Deck 6 as they are configured much differently.

Suite ~ Obstruction %

902 ~ 0

904 ~ 0

905 ~ 0

906 ~ 30

907 ~ 5

908 ~ 80

909 ~ 40

910 ~ 5

911 ~ 50

912 ~ 0

914 ~ 10

915 ~ 0

916 ~ 80

917 ~ 0

918 ~ 50

919 ~ 75

921 ~ 80

923 ~ 30

Not sure if this is true of all ships, but we were on the Star and you can get the menus to all the specialty restaurants at the reception desk. I highly recommend that you look through menus before making a reservation. We booked one restaurant, looked at menu and didn't like it, and ended up re-booking to a different restaurant. We would have saved ourselves a lot of trouble if we just got the menus and looked at them first!

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/viralgastroenteritis/index.htm

A good place to start for understanding the virus that occurs in public communities and what to do try to prevent it from happening to you.

The evening preceeding arrival at each port, the "Freestyle Daily" is delivered to each stateroom with a four-page insert providing detailed maps and useful information and orientation on the following day's port of call. If you wish to obtain these 4-pagers for the various ports on your itinerary at the beginning of your cruise (or prior to the evening before docking at each port), the ship's Reception Desk will provide any or all of the informational port brochures whenever you request them.

Do not think twice about asking your room steward, waiter, butler, concierge for anything.

It can't hurt to ask and they are most accommodating!

They do anything possible to make your cruise enjoyable.

One thing that newbies might not know concerning NCL is that you are able to pre-book any excursions.

http://www.ncl.com/shorex/index.htm

Have your booking number handy when registering. What is especially nice concerning NCL is that NCL does not debit your account as soon as you reserve an excursion the same way RCCL does. Your cruise card will be charged when you get on board.

Use the provided hand sanitizing it will kill the bad bugs that will keep you from enjoying your trip. I swear by the stuff, was on for 6 months and did not have a problem. Took a cruise for 3 weeks, another line, and did not enjoy a few of the bad days, since they did not provide the stuff until people got sick.

Bring your own lysol wipes...for your doorknobs, toilet seats:)

Be AWARE of the passengers around you who do NOT use the sanitizers:eek:

Use the sanitizers AND wash your hands when you get back to your cabin/suite;) EVERY NIGHT!

1. When flying long distances to your cruise, get in at least a day early.

2. Consider buying your air separately from the cruise for routing/seating/pricing purposes but remember if the ship comes back late and you miss your flights you are on your own.

3. If you are a light sleeper check to make sure your cabin isn't above/below or near the theater/casino/disco.

4. Stuff happens. Deal with it and get on with having a great vacation.

On the Star, the cookies in the central cafe are free

Anyone can use the spa facilities such as the pool, steam room or sauna

Sometimes you don't like what's on the menu. On NCL there are certain items that are available at every meal. If you don't like any of the menu choices, you can always get a Caesar salad, grilled chicken and a baked potato. You can also order off the children's menu. That's good information to know. :)

Sign up for the Casinos at Sea - Players card.

It takes 2 minutes to sign up and you may receive dollars off of your shipboard account..especially if you play the slots.

Just be sure to "cash in" your points, if you have over 25 - by the time posted on your last sea day.

You can also accumulate your points and use them on your next cruise...if you cruise again within 18 months.

Gxchan is right in principle in posting:

"Consider buying your air separately from the cruise for routing/seating/pricing purposes but remember if the ship comes back late and you miss your flights you are on your own."

However, in practice, every airline company at a cruise port city is familiar with the late cruise ship problem, and will be very cooperative in helping you find the next available seat, if you miss your scheduled flight. In particular, one need not be concerned about the "non-refundable" nature of one's ticket -- there will not be additional charges. That having been said, obviously the airline will not be able to give you a seat until one becomse available; in effect you will be flying stand-by. If you are the sort who considers travel an adventure, none of this should deter you from making your own reservations. If you tend more toward the compulsively orderly and well-planned personality, it may be better to have the cruise line company handle everything.

Bill