Freestyle Choice Promo Questions

[alwalaska]

Hi! I am trying to figure out which (if any) of the Freestyle promos will be best for us. We are platinum (receive a free meal at Le Bistro - maybe 2 since we are both platinum) and we have a $100 OBC from a problem with a previous cruise.

 

• We do not drink alcohol, so the UBP will cost more in taxes and fees than if we bought ourselves a soda package.
  
• With our meal or two that we already have and the OBC, the $15/person upfront that we have to pay for the service charges probably won't be worth it since we could use our OBC to go eat and not have the extra expense.
  
• How much is the activation charge that the free Internet alludes to in the terms and conditions?
  
• Is there an extra service charge or fee to use the shore excursion credits? With a $50 credit per port for Shore Excursions, will we still pay more to go through the ship than if we do our own? We are looking at the Western Caribbean on the Spirit. I typically prefer doing things on my own because of both cost and quality.
  
• Is it possible to say - Thanks but no thanks?
  

 

One final questions, with all the Freestyle Promos - are the specialty dining places really hard to get reservations at now?

[hawkeyetlse]

• With our meal or two that we already have and the OBC, the $15/person upfront that we have to pay for the service charges probably won't be worth it since we could use our OBC to go eat and not have the extra expense.
  

If you use your OBC for a specialty restaurant, they will still add an extra 18% service charge on whatever you spend.

 

• How much is the activation charge that the free Internet alludes to in the terms and conditions?
  

There is usually a (completely bogus :mad:) activation fee of $3.95 if you buy internet minutes on board, but you do not have to pay this if you choose the free internet perk. It is included in the perk.

 

• Is there an extra service charge or fee to use the shore excursion credits? With a $50 credit per port for Shore Excursions, will we still pay more to go through the ship than if we do our own?
  

No extra fees, but there are not many shore excursions that cost $25 per person (assuming there are 2 of you sharing this perk). So you will have to pay the rest. Whether this discount brings the ship's excursions into line pricewise with independent tours, that depends on the excursion. Often you can save a lot more than that by planning on your own.

 

• Is it possible to say - Thanks but no thanks?
  

I suppose you can tell them not to add any of the promo codes to your booking. And then ask them if this makes you eligible for some other promo or special fare (but I doubt it). The beverage and and dining perks are the only ones that actually cost you money up front (the 18% service charge that they add to your invoice). And as I said above, if you choose the shorex credit, you will almost certainly end up extra money in each port to actually use the credit. So I think you might as well take the internet minutes, because you may end up using them and it won't cost you any extra either way. Edited November 8, 2015 by hawkeyetlse

[NMLady]

Hi! I am trying to figure out which (if any) of the Freestyle promos will be best for us. We are platinum (receive a free meal at Le Bistro - maybe 2 since we are both platinum) and we have a $100 OBC from a problem with a previous cruise.

 

• 
   
  
• With our meal or two that we already have and the OBC, the $15/person upfront that we have to pay for the service charges probably won't be worth it since we could use our OBC to go eat and not have the extra expense.
  
• How much is the activation charge that the free Internet alludes to in the terms and conditions?
   
  

 

If both of you are platinum you will each get a voucher for a meal for two.

I am not sure what $15 p/p service charge upfront you are referring to in relation to meals.

 

The activation charge for internet is $3.95

Edited November 8, 2015 by NMLady

[js]

Does the Shorex $50 per port count on their own Island? I am in Haven and have a cabana for next October so I get all the promos. I already have a food credit that comes wih the cabana can I also use he $50 to add more food? We have the UBP so it cant go towards drinks and I dont plan on any excursions on their own Island. Thank you.

[hawkeyetlse]

I am not sure what $15 p/p service charge upfront you are referring to in relation to meals.

I assume they are referring to the $13.32 service charge that would be added to their payment balance if they chose the specialty dining perk. And rounding up to $15pp.

Does the Shorex $50 per port count on their own Island? I am in Haven and have a cabana for next October so I get all the promos. I already have a food credit that comes wih the cabana can I also use he $50 to add more food? We have the UBP so it cant go towards drinks and I dont plan on any excursions on their own Island.

It works on GSC for actual excursions, but I doubt they will let you use it for food.

[piper45maru]

Is it possible to say - Thanks but no thanks?

 

 

When I booked my latest cruise I went through the booking process and didn't select a promo the first time around to see what would happen. It gave me something like a $25 or $50 OBC--can't remember which as I ended up going back through and actually booking UBP. This was in September, so that option may still be available.

[alwalaska]

Thank you all. Yes I did round the $13.32 service charge to $15.

 

Great information and ideas. Do the platinum free meals also get charged the 18% service fee at each meal?

 

Also, in the past, the food at GSC was free. Has that changed?

[hawkeyetlse]

Do the platinum free meals also get charged the 18% service fee at each meal?

For the moment the Platinum meal is still completely free, if you stick to what is normally included in the restaurant's cover charge. But if you order a second entrée at Le Bistro, for example, that costs an extra $10, and they would charge you another 18% on that extra charge.

[piper45maru]

Also, in the past, the food at GSC was free. Has that changed?

 

 

The buffet is free, but cabanas have a special menu of treats they can order from; those cost money, which is offset by the $50 food credit.

[alwalaska]

The buffet is free, but cabanas have a special menu of treats they can order from; those cost money, which is offset by the $50 food credit.

 

Make perfect sense. Thank you.:)

[alwalaska]

For the moment the Platinum meal is still completely free, if you stick to what is normally included in the restaurant's cover charge. But if you order a second entrée at Le Bistro, for example, that costs an extra $10, and they would charge you another 18% on that extra charge.

 

That is good to know. Thank you. I assume that you can still also use the credit at any of the places that are the same price or lower than Le Bistro. It has only been a year since our last cruise and being active on CC, but I seem to have missed a lot. :rolleyes:

[NMLady]

That is good to know. Thank you. I assume that you can still also use the credit at any of the places that are the same price or lower than Le Bistro. It has only been a year since our last cruise and being active on CC, but I seem to have missed a lot. :rolleyes:

 

The platinum perk voucher is not a credit. It is a voucher that says it is for Le Bistro or La Cucina. Some people have been able to use it at Moderno. It can not be used at Cagney's even if you offer to pay the difference.

[alwalaska]

The platinum perk voucher is not a credit. It is a voucher that says it is for Le Bistro or La Cucina. Some people have been able to use it at Moderno. It can not be used at Cagney's even if you offer to pay the difference.

 

Thanks again. We are hoping to use it at the Italian place or Moderno, but any free meal is a good meal.

[alwalaska]

Thank you all for all of the help. We decided to go for the shore excursion credit, but we won't feel obligated to use it in every port.

 

Does anyone know if we can pre-book shore excursions and use the credit or if we have to wait until we board?

 

Thanks again!

[Nachosupreme]

Thank you all for all of the help. We decided to go for the shore excursion credit, but we won't feel obligated to use it in every port.

 

Does anyone know if we can pre-book shore excursions and use the credit or if we have to wait until we board?

 

Thanks again!

 

I was lucky to snag this as a 2nd promo a couple weeks ago during the Halloween promos. I was told that in order to pre-book and have the credit applied, you have to book over the phone and NOT online. They stated the cost of the excursions would be added to my onboard account and the credit would come off, per port excursion we booked, once onboard. The rep specifically stated if I pre booked online the credit would not be able to be applied as you pay in full online at the time of the booking. Personally, I found this to be a plus, securing the excursions I want ahead of time and not paying until onboard.

Edited November 23, 2015 by Nachosupreme

[hawkeyetlse]

The terms say you can redeem the credit by calling 1-866-625-1167 or booking onboard. I have never used this perk myself, but I assume that means that if you call to pre-book, they will apply the credit right away and you will only have to pre-pay the difference for each port where you book something.

[kosweeps]

I was lucky to snag this as a 2nd promo a couple weeks ago during the Halloween promos. I was told that in order to pre-book and have the credit applied, you have to book over the phone and NOT online. They stated the cost of the excursions would be added to my onboard account and the credit would come off, per port excursion we booked, once onboard. The rep specifically stated if I pre booked online the credit would not be able to be applied as you pay in full online at the time of the booking. Personally, I found this to be a plus, securing the excursions I want ahead of time and not paying until onboard.

 

Thanks for this information! Does this mean your credit card isn't charged until you take the excursion (or whenever the cancellation date passes)? I ask because I have this promo too and I want to use OBC to pay for the balance. I assumed that if I booked in advance my card would be charged even if the promo was applied. But from how you explain it, it sounds like that's not the case. Thanks! :)

[brookie848]

We recently had a mix-up with our upcoming cruise, which may end up helping you out. I'm not sure if this is offered all the time, but it might be worth checking into for you.

 

We were told that if you use your American Express card you get onboard credit. However, we found out later you can't do the American Express OBC and the promotions at the same time. The OBC we received was significant ($300), but that may have been high because we are in the Haven.

 

If none of the promotions do appeal to you, it might be worth looking into this promotion. We ended up getting an AmEx card that had no fees and might use it for future cruises.

[piper45maru]

Thanks for this information! Does this mean your credit card isn't charged until you take the excursion (or whenever the cancellation date passes)? I ask because I have this promo too and I want to use OBC to pay for the balance. I assumed that if I booked in advance my card would be charged even if the promo was applied. But from how you explain it, it sounds like that's not the case. Thanks! :)

 

 

When I used the promo in August, I called the Shorex number, booked my excursions, and my card was not charged.

 

When I got onboard, each time I took an excursion it was charged to my account the day of my excursion with the $75 credit shown as a separate line item. At the end of the cruise, I paid the difference between the amount of my my excursions and the credit when I settled my account.

 

Just as a side note, the one excursion that was less than $75 showed up as a line item of $59, with the credit line item also showing up as $59, which I expected, but I know some people have asked if that difference carries over to other excursions. It doesn't.

 

HTH!

[phrogpilot73]

One final questions, with all the Freestyle Promos - are the specialty dining places really hard to get reservations at now?

I just got off the Escape, and I had the UDP (that I paid for - not the promo). Yes. Book them in advance. We had to wait until we got on board, and the earliest we ate was 7:45 PM. The latest was 9:15.

 

And the word from Norwegian during our conference was that you can expect that the Freestyle Choice promos are here to stay (but change slightly every 1-2 months).

Edited November 23, 2015 by phrogpilot73

[Nachosupreme]

When I used the promo in August, I called the Shorex number, booked my excursions, and my card was not charged.

 

When I got onboard, each time I took an excursion it was charged to my account the day of my excursion with the $75 credit shown as a separate line item. At the end of the cruise, I paid the difference between the amount of my my excursions and the credit when I settled my account.

 

Just as a side note, the one excursion that was less than $75 showed up as a line item of $59, with the credit line item also showing up as $59, which I expected, but I know some people have asked if that difference carries over to other excursions. It doesn't.

 

HTH!

 

That is exactly how they explained it to me over the phone. Sounded straight forward, but as sometimes things translate differently when actually on the ship, so I am glad to hear it actually worked out exactly how they said it would.

[kosweeps]

 

Just as a side note, the one excursion that was less than $75 showed up as a line item of $59, with the credit line item also showing up as $59, which I expected, but I know some people have asked if that difference carries over to other excursions. It doesn't.

 

HTH!

 

Thanks Piper45maru! I think I'll try to pin down a few excursions now then. One more question if you don't mind. The excursion that was less than $75, the $59 one, did more than one person in your cabin go? I ask because my promo (which is $50 per excursion) is per cabin for up to three ports. So if you and someone else took the $59 excursion for a total of $118, shouldn't they have taken $75 off of that total?

 

I'm not saying buy one get one is a bad deal. :) :) Just wondering if it really is per stateroom or not. Thanks!

[piper45maru]

That is exactly how they explained it to me over the phone. Sounded straight forward, but as sometimes things translate differently when actually on the ship, so I am glad to hear it actually worked out exactly how they said it would.

 

 

Hopefully it does work out smoothly for you!

 

Thanks Piper45maru! I think I'll try to pin down a few excursions now then. One more question if you don't mind. The excursion that was less than $75, the $59 one, did more than one person in your cabin go? I ask because my promo (which is $50 per excursion) is per cabin for up to three ports. So if you and someone else took the $59 excursion for a total of $118, shouldn't they have taken $75 off of that total?

 

 

 

I'm not saying buy one get one is a bad deal. :) :) Just wondering if it really is per stateroom or not. Thanks!

 

 

Sorry! I should have clarified that I was traveling solo, but you're correct--if it had been $118 for the stateroom (assuming 2 people), all $75 would have come off.

[DorothyB]

New questions relating to the dining promo:

 

1) I was charged the $13.32 (approx) extra service charge. Am I correct that this in addition to my daily service charge covers all required tips for the specialty dining that is included? (4 meals on my 7 day cruise)

 

2) The specialty restaurants are showing up to book on-line and the price for Cagney's, Moderno, Teppanyaki, etc are $0 - so I can book them on-line?

 

Thanks!!

[hawkeyetlse]

1) I was charged the $13.32 (approx) extra service charge. Am I correct that this in addition to my daily service charge covers all required tips for the specialty dining that is included? (4 meals on my 7 day cruise)

The general understanding is that your daily service charge is not distributed to specialty dining staff. It covers complimentary dining, so you don't need to leave any additional tips at those venues. But the pre-paid 18% service charge on the price of the SDP covers your service for specialty dining. So you don't have to leave any additional tips on board in the specialty dining venues, either.

2) The specialty restaurants are showing up to book on-line and the price for Cagney's, Moderno, Teppanyaki, etc are $0 - so I can book them on-line?

Yes, you can book them on-line. Since they don't know which ones you will choose to apply your SDP to (you decide meal by meal during your cruise), they will let you book all of them in advance for no charge up front.