Priority Access

[janroatan]

Has anyone use Priority Access? Feel its worth the $179?

 

[CaptainWoody]

I wasn't familiar with it, so searched at NCL.com.

 

Priority-Access-FAQ (ncl.com)

 

A - Priority Access Pass package includes the following amenities:

• Priority Check-In and Boarding
• Tender Priority When Applicable (Off the Ship)
• Priority Debarkation (Homeport)
• Daily Complimentary Standard Room Service Breakfast
• $50 Spa Discount per person (Port Days Only)
• Complimentary Canapés (Second Day of Cruise)

Q - How much does it cost?
A - Package prices are set by cabin and on the number of days in the sailing:

• 3 to 5 Days - $99 per cabin
• 6 to 9 Days - $179 per cabin
• 10 to 15 Days - $249 per cabin
• 16+ Days - $299 per cabin

For us, it wouldn't be worth it.  I would likely appreciate the priority boarding, but we'll soon be platinum which I believe will include that.  Tender priority is, of course, only of value when there is a port that uses them.  We generally allow a lot of time to get to the airport, so the priority debarkation would be of no value.  Other than one Epic (disaster) cruise, I can't recall any issues getting off the ships quickly.  We don't use room service or the Spa, and I'm not sure why complimentary Canapes would be of any value.  That said, it's a personal choice and may be worth it for others.

[luckyinpa]

id need to know who gets on before me and after to see if there's value . 

[DCGuy64]

25 minutes ago, CaptainWoody said:

I wasn't familiar with it, so searched at NCL.com.

 

Priority-Access-FAQ (ncl.com)

 

A - Priority Access Pass package includes the following amenities:

• Priority Check-In and Boarding
• Tender Priority When Applicable (Off the Ship)
• Priority Debarkation (Homeport)
• Daily Complimentary Standard Room Service Breakfast
• $50 Spa Discount per person (Port Days Only)
• Complimentary Canapés (Second Day of Cruise)

Q - How much does it cost?
A - Package prices are set by cabin and on the number of days in the sailing:

• 3 to 5 Days - $99 per cabin
• 6 to 9 Days - $179 per cabin
• 10 to 15 Days - $249 per cabin
• 16+ Days - $299 per cabin

For us, it wouldn't be worth it.  I would likely appreciate the priority boarding, but we'll soon be platinum which I believe will include that.  Tender priority is, of course, only of value when there is a port that uses them.  We generally allow a lot of time to get to the airport, so the priority debarkation would be of no value.  Other than one Epic (disaster) cruise, I can't recall any issues getting off the ships quickly.  We don't use room service or the Spa, and I'm not sure why complimentary Canapes would be of any value.  That said, it's a personal choice and may be worth it for others.

Hey, thanks for the breakdown. Actually, based on everything you said, I think we'll go for it.

We DO use room service and the spa, and we love getting priority embarkation and disembarkation. All of these are things we'd use so the $179 price tag is well worth it. See, all rodents don't think alike. 😉

[classy_cruiser]

This could be a good deal for the Greek cruise. The ship doesn’t embark til 11pm so getting on as early as possible would be nice. I’m not sure how much extra time it buys you. Priority tender for Santorini would be great too. Though there are only supposed to be 2 ships in port the day we arrive, ours and a much smaller one. Maybe it won’t be that crowded anyway. I thought the continental room service breakfast was already free? I didn’t see this as an upgrade option online, do you have to call? 

[KeithJenner]

Priority boarding - Priority over whom? That may be a great benefit, may be fairly useless.

 

Tender Priority - Again, over whom? Many latitudes members get priority and all it means is that you don't have to queue for a tender ticket, but you still need to join the queue. Nice, but not something I'd pay anything for.

 

Priority disembarkation - Very much depends on where this is. In Europe, I wouldn't pay anything for this as there are no queues anyway. In the US it may be worth something but again, priority over who?

 

Room Service Breakfast - As stated above, breakfast is complementary except for a few cooked options. Are you going to get a full cooked breakfast delivered to your door? I doubt it.

 

Spa and Canopes - Couldn't comment, I wouldn't bother with either even if they were free (actually we do often get stuff delivered to our room and I sometimes do eat some, so that was a bit of a lie, but wouldn't pay a penny for them).

 

I'd need to know a lot more about this to comment on whether it is any sort of value (although it certainly wouldn't be for us). I suspect that it would depend mostly on whether the spa was an attraction as that effectively reduces the cost.

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, classy_cruiser said:

This could be a good deal for the Greek cruise. The ship doesn’t embark til 11pm so getting on as early as possible would be nice.

I think you have very likely been misled by the NCL website (not unusual - its like they do it on purpose).

 

11pm will be your depart time. The ship will almost certainly start embarkation much earlier than that - unless things are delayed due to Covid issues it will be around midday. It will certainly be well before 11pm.

 

This means that embarkation will be a lot more spread out than cruises with an earlier depart time, so the priority embarkation would be less of a benefit here than with other cruises.

[DCGuy64]

I just went ahead and purchased the Priority Access. The benefits were just too good to pass up.

We've enjoyed similar perks onboard MSC and for us, the $179 was quite reasonable.

 

[classy_cruiser]

11 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

I think you have very likely been misled by the NCL website (not unusual - its like they do it on purpose).

 

11pm will be your depart time. The ship will almost certainly start embarkation much earlier than that - unless things are delayed due to Covid issues it will be around midday. It will certainly be well before 11pm.

 

This means that embarkation will be a lot more spread out than cruises with an earlier depart time, so the priority embarkation would be less of a benefit here than with other cruises.

Thanks for explaining! 

[KeithJenner]

8 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I just went ahead and purchased the Priority Access. The benefits were just too good to pass up.

We've enjoyed similar perks onboard MSC and for us, the $179 was quite reasonable.

 

Please report back after your cruise with how it went.

 

I recall some discussion on here about the offer when it was first introduced, but I'm not sure whether we got many reports back (mainly because of Covid - I'm not sure that many actually got chance to use it).

 

It may be worth it for many, but it could very easily be one of those things that NCL advertise well, but don't deliver on.

Edited June 3, 2021 by KeithJenner

[KeithJenner]

Just now, classy_cruiser said:

Thanks for explaining! 

A caveat on my explanation - it is possible that covid regulations mean that things will be delayed, so I may be wrong.

 

I don't think so but in these times we don't know for sure.

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, KeithJenner said:

Please report back after your cruise with how it went.

 

I recall some discussion on here about the offer when it was first introduced, but I'm not sure whether we got many reports back (mainly because of Covid - I'm not sure that many actually got chance to use it).

 

It may be worth it for many, but it could very easily be one of those things that NCL advertise well, but don't deliver on.

Thanks, I will. I know for sure we'll use it in the spa (to be fair, it's more like you're buying 2 $50 gift certificates, in a sense), because we always end up doing a couple's massage. And the standard breakfast will allow us to order a hot meal and skip the $10 fee (sorry, $9.95 😉). The main thing is I hate waiting around to board, and I know our cruise has a least 1 tender port. I'll report back later what our experience was like.

[AndyCapn]

Also note that the spa offer is only good on port days and cannot be combined with any other offers. Every NCL cruise I've been on already offers a 20% discount on port days, so that $50 off would presumably only be applied to the list price.

 

Still a deal for a $100 treatment, of course, but it may not be a full $50 value.

[luckyinpa]

carnivals FTTF is much cheaper 😝

[CaptainWoody]

3 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

carnivals FTTF is much cheaper 😝

I'm guessing that many on the NCL sub-forum have no idea what an FTTF is.

[BermudaBound2014]

I’m with @KeithJenner... I would need to know priority over whom? I suspect haven will still board first, tender first, etc... (at least they should imo).  However if this is really priority tender with a priority ticket, then there are some ports this is worth its weight in gold. Santorini was mentioned and I agree. Taking the donkeys up isn’t ideal because you stink all day. Walking up is slippery. The cable car is a good way to get to the top but the line for that can be hours long. 
 

I suspect Many people know what FTtf stands for, but it’s a similar program offered on carnival  (first to the fun or something like that.)

Edited June 4, 2021 by BermudaBound2014

[Old & Retired]

Experienced cruisers know it means Faster To The Fun.

[Two Wheels Only]

7 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

id need to know who gets on before me and after to see if there's value . 

 

According to the Cruise Critic article...

 

"As such, members of Norwegian Cruise Line's Latitudes past guest loyalty program who are eligible to receive priority embarkation will be called for boarding prior to anyone who has purchased the Priority Access program."

 

So I guess purchased priority access is the last priority. IDK for sure. 

[CaptainWoody]

2 hours ago, Old & Retired said:

Experienced cruisers know it means Faster To The Fun.

Yep. I’m a rookie. Thanks for your “expert” guidance. You’re really a helpful person!

[kelib]

3 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

carnivals FTTF is much cheaper 😝

I liked that you also had immediate access to your cabin, so no lugging around carryon luggage. 

Did it twice in San Juan and I was first in swimsuit with drink in hand in their over 18 section. 
Getting the impression not the case with NCL unless I missed something 

[CaptainWoody]

4 hours ago, kelib said:

I liked that you also had immediate access to your cabin, so no lugging around carryon luggage. 

Did it twice in San Juan and I was first in swimsuit with drink in hand in their over 18 section. 
Getting the impression not the case with NCL unless I missed something 

If a person went straight to the bar (with their backpack), wouldn't they have a "drink in hand" quicker than the person who paid extra to be able to drop their backpack off in their cabin?

[Fun4Us2013]

1 hour ago, CaptainWoody said:

If a person went straight to the bar (with their backpack), wouldn't they have a "drink in hand" quicker than the person who paid extra to be able to drop their backpack off in their cabin?

Wow. Your picture suits the tone of your comments. Lighten up Francis.

[Old & Retired]

9 hours ago, CaptainWoody said:

Yep. I’m a rookie. Thanks for your “expert” guidance. You’re really a helpful person!

You are most welcome.  Helping rookies is a good thing.

[CaptainWoody]

8 hours ago, Fun4Us2013 said:

Wow. Your picture suits the tone of your comments. Lighten up Francis.

😜

 

(hint: it was a joke....so right back at you)

Edited June 4, 2021 by CaptainWoody

[kelib]

11 hours ago, CaptainWoody said:

If a person went straight to the bar (with their backpack), wouldn't they have a "drink in hand" quicker than the person who paid extra to be able to drop their backpack off in their cabin?

Wow, I guess this was a joke but,

 

I had my own small line for checking in and got onto the ship at least a half hour prior to what I would have if I did not have the FTTF

Not everyone uses backpacks so dropping off my small wheeled bag, being able to change and get greeted by my steward was great.

instead of this 60 year old 5’ tall woman trying to get the attention of a bartender at a bar 3 people deep, I ended up being first person at Serenity and was asked for my drink order before I even sat down. 
So I actually had my first drink in hand earlier and more relaxing than if I had not bought it.