NCL Steals and Deals

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, PATRLR said:

I agree.  Maintaining a high level of accuracy and a minimum amount of BS will be important for the survival of these boards.

While I certainly agree with the thought, internet discussion boards of all flavors will continue to survive and provide high levels of inaccuracy and a lot of B💩 for the remainder of my lifetime.  Perhaps your comment was sprinkled with a touch of sarcasm?

[graphicguy]

While I can't read all of some of the remarks on this thread given I think the offending party is on my ignore list (the only one there in all the years I've been a part of the CC community), I believe I know who it is.

 

A few here like purport their conjecture and opinion to be knowledge.  I am not that.  I have taken 5 (soon to be 6) cruises since the restart...2 (soon to be 3) on NCL.  I've tried to give first hand experiences sailing since then...whether it's regarding testing, boarding, ships and activities, ports, etc.  Not conjecture or opinion....just my own experiences.  As such, they are not based on some sort of weaving of this or that to make it fit a tilted agenda, which the person in question is trying to do.  

 

Why?  I don't know.  Maybe it's to depress NCL's stock price.  Maybe it's because they have little experience to share and their opinion has to suffice.

 

Doesn't matter to me the reasoning.

 

I thought this would be a fun and useful thread that would help those of us who sail NCL to spot and shop deals...not to fulfill someone else's internal need for validation.

 

Anyway, there are some good deals to be had as it's end of season for both Alaska and New England.  I just scored one for the end of October.  Will start a new thread as it's my hope it will be a live report.

[BermudaBound2014]

Firstly, everyone can tell I'm on your 'fake' ignore list. It's clear as a day to those of us with any knowledge of online forums 😉 .

 

But that's ok because I will continue to provide the forum with factual information.

 

If any information I have ever provided is inaccurate, I welcome the correction. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 15, 2022 by BermudaBound2014

[cruiseny4life]

24 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

 I just scored one for the end of October.  Will start a new thread as it's my hope it will be a live report.

I'm so going to enjoy this live! Can't wait to follow along on that cruise. Enjoy!! 

[BermudaBound2014]

4 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

I'm so going to enjoy this live! Can't wait to follow along on that cruise. Enjoy!! 

I agree - the live posts are really good! 

[PATRLR]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

While I certainly agree with the thought, internet discussion boards of all flavors will continue to survive and provide high levels of inaccuracy and a lot of B💩 for the remainder of my lifetime.  Perhaps your comment was sprinkled with a touch of sarcasm?

No sarcasm at all.  Having been working on systems since the days of ARPANET I've seen plenty of boards and other social media technologies fall by the wayside (many of these technologies existed and were heavily used long before the term "social media" was coined).   Some were due to advances in technology causing critical mass to be lost, others due to their signal-to-noise ratio getting to be too low.  So your statement that "internet discussion boards of all flavors will continue to survive" may be correct but I don't care about "all flavors", I care about this specific flavor (Cruise Critic).  

As we prepare for our return to cruising I've spent a lot of time coming back up to speed after nearly 4 years off.  I've looked at a lot of other blogs, vblogs, "expert" sites and of course FB.  CC is so far above all the others (especially FB) that I think it's worth the effort to correct misinformation.  

FB is an interesting example.  Clearly far more active users on the various cruise related groups than here on CC, but my goodness are those groups full of misinformation and and other BS.  I really don't want to see that happen here on CC.  I am thankful to the mods for keeping the BS at bay.  We, the users, need to keep the misinformation at bay, to the extent we can.

[Travelicious]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

Anyway, there are some good deals to be had as it's end of season for both Alaska and New England.  I just scored one for the end of October.  Will start a new thread as it's my hope it will be a live report.

Looking forward to another one of your excellent reviews!

[mpk]

On 9/2/2022 at 5:27 AM, graphicguy said:

NCL will give me $50 OBC.  TA will give me $120 OBC or pay for my tips on board.  AMEX Platinum will give me at least a dinner at LeBistro + bottle of wine and add $300 OBC if I sail in the Haven.

 

I have Amex Plat, and see the OBC under the "Cruise Privileges Program".

 

But couldn't find any info on the specialty dining and other perks for NCL using AmexPlat.  Are those subject to specific sailings?

[graphicguy]

8 hours ago, mpk said:

 

I have Amex Plat, and see the OBC under the "Cruise Privileges Program".

 

But couldn't find any info on the specialty dining and other perks for NCL using AmexPlat.  Are those subject to specific sailings?

My TA (as well as others) has a relationship with AMEX.  I’m sure they pay a fee to be part of the AMEX cruise program.

 

For as long as I’ve had a Plat card (many years), I’ve always received OBC and a LeBistro dinner with a bottle of wine as a perk.

 

I would…

 

A.  Ask if your TA is part of this program

B.  If so, will they book with the perks mentioned.

 

I do know NCL PCCs direct do not participate in the AMEX  Platinum perks.  So, you’ll

have to find a TA who will accommodate the AMEX perks.

 

 While Amex Travel does offer the perks, so do many other TAs who have partnerships with AMEX!

[pcrum]

On 9/5/2022 at 12:35 PM, Sailing12Away said:

There's lots of last minute deals to be found for September... Regular cabins:

 

Less options for suites:

Can you share the website this is from? Love the comparison! 

[Sailing12Away]

1 hour ago, pcrum said:

Can you share the website this is from? Love the comparison! 

Search google for cruise plum

[rbxlady]

12 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

Search google for cruise plum

Where has this site been all my life? So useful. I greatly appreciate the tip!!!

[Sailing12Away]

For anyone willing and able to do a last minute Panama Canal trip, Haven pricing is < $300/pp/night on the Joy. Haven rooms have been sold out for a while, so there must be onesies twosies rooms popping up.

 

Plus a bonus that you would be sailing with me. First bottle of DP bubbly is on me!

 

[WV Ridge Runner]

I would like to learn more about this AmEx Platinum benefit.  I paid with mine, but booked online.  Looking for the next one, how does this work?

 

WVRR

[slickpat]

43 minutes ago, WV Ridge Runner said:

I would like to learn more about this AmEx Platinum benefit.  I paid with mine, but booked online.  Looking for the next one, how does this work?

 

WVRR

You need to go through AMEX travel OR a travel agent that works with AMEX (not all of them do)

[ExArkie]

50 minutes ago, WV Ridge Runner said:

I would like to learn more about this AmEx Platinum benefit.  I paid with mine, but booked online.  Looking for the next one, how does this work?

 

WVRR

The way that I believe it works, based on my limited experience with this benefit, is that a particular code needs to be added to the reservation to grant the benefits. AmEx-affiliated travel agents should have the code, which doesn't help you in the least.

 

The appropriate people to talk to at AmEx appear to be "Cruise Support." Having had an issue with the AmEx benefit not being applied last year (not on NCL), I asked enough people at AmEx travel until I got the following contact information: cxccrzcommercial@arrivia.com

877-287-0831

 

If your currently booked cruise hasn't happened yet, I'd recommend starting there to ask the question about applying the benefit to a cruise you booked yourself on-line. I was able to get the benefit added to one I booked on-line by asking for it with those folks.

 

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by ExArkie

[graphicguy]

Just to add, good info here.

 

I have used the AMEX Platinum to book my cruises over the last several years.  I used it for NCL, RCCL and Celebrity.  Tried to use it on an MSC cruise, but MSC does not honer the promo.

 

That said, for premium cabins (i.e. Haven for NCL) the promo was $300 OBC, 1 specialty dinner-LeBistro and one bottle of champagne.  I think Celebrity only offered $300 OBC and a bottle of champagne with no specialty diner.

 

NCL DID NOT recognize the promo directly.  I had to book through my TA who did offer the promo.  So, to use it, you can not book through NCL.

 

Ask your TA if they honor the AMEX Platinum Promo before booking with them.

 

The Delta AMEX Platinum card is excluded.  Only the American Express Platinum card is included in the promo.

 

You DO NOT have to book through American Express Travel to get the promo.  You do have to book the entire cruise fare using the Platinum Card to receive the promo.