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The Math:

 

On September 26th, 2019 using TA booked as 1 B2B reservation in an Interior I1 Inside Family Cabin NCL Gem NY-SF-NY 01/04 -01/24/2020 & 01/24/-02/14/2020

Cruise Fare - Passenger 1, 2:  Rate: $2,928.00  Total: $5,856.00
Government Fees, Taxes, and Port Expenses - Passenger 1, 2: Rate $1,114.78  Total: $2,229.56
Specality Dining Package Fees - Passenger 1, 2: Rate: $51.60 , Total: $103.20
Travel Insurance (from TA @ Member Travel Privileges) Rate: $889.00, Total: $889.00
Sub-Total (1): $9,077.76
Using 4 ($250.00) NCL Cruise Next Certificates: $8,077.76

 

Used 60,000 World Points to upgrade from a I1 Family Inside Cabin to a BA Mid-Ship Balcony Cabin (Double Meta Upgrade)
Submitted and received $500.00 OBC for NCL Share Holder Benefit ($250.00 X 2)

 

Current NCL Website pricing (Oct 30th, 2019) in a BA Mid-Ship Balcony Cabin (with the speciality dining and shore excursion packages (but not including travel insurance)):
Jan 04th - 24th, 2020 : $7,195.06
Jan 24th - Feb 14th, 2020: $7,653.70
Sub-Total (2): $14,848.76

 

Total savings is $6,771.00 ($14,848.76 - $8,077.76) + OBC of $500.00 which I’ll use to purchase 4 NCL CNC

Edited by WYB!
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I have 39,000 points.  Thinking about a last minute cruise on the Gem in December. What would you try to do with this amount of points?  This is probably all I will accrue, as I have moved to another card, that I can use across the board on travel, etc.  Any suggestions would be welcome.  

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6 hours ago, Derbie said:

I have 39,000 points.  Thinking about a last minute cruise on the Gem in December. What would you try to do with this amount of points?  This is probably all I will accrue, as I have moved to another card, that I can use across the board on travel, etc.  Any suggestions would be welcome.  

I just used 30,000 for an upgrade from OV to balcony - you can also upgrade from inside to OV for that amount.  Cost difference was over $1400, so a pretty good deal as the point value was only $300.  I also use other cards for most things, but I do still use my NCL card onboard for 3x points, so I may never accumulate enough points for anything other than a category upgrade someday (10,000)

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6 hours ago, Derbie said:

I have 39,000 points.  Thinking about a last minute cruise on the Gem in December. What would you try to do with this amount of points?  This is probably all I will accrue, as I have moved to another card, that I can use across the board on travel, etc.  Any suggestions would be welcome.  

 

I don't think you'll be able to use 30,000 points for a single meta upgrade (inside to oceanview or oceanview to balcony) for a cruise next month because they usually run out of upgrade availability.   If this is what you are hoping to do I would call the NCL Worldpoint Department on Monday at 1-866-954-4077 to ask the question before booking the cruise.  They would ask for a reservation # and I would say I have a Worldpoint benefit question that needs answering before I can book cruise.

 

I know you can't do double use of points for stateroom upgrade (ie using 30,000 points to go from oceanview to balcony and then an additional 10,000 or 20,000 points to go to a better balcony category but I believe you can use the points for different amounts of onboard credit.  25,000 points would get you $250 Onboard Credit and 10,000 points would get you $100 Onboard Credit.  If they allow you to do both on one sailing it would take care of 35,000 of your 39,000 points.  

 

Here is link to the Worldpoints Benefits offering

 

https://www.ncl.com/world-points

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18 hours ago, Derbie said:

I have 39,000 points.  Thinking about a last minute cruise on the Gem in December. What would you try to do with this amount of points?  This is probably all I will accrue, as I have moved to another card, that I can use across the board on travel, etc.  Any suggestions would be welcome.  

I booked through an NCL Personal Cruise Consultant, who was able to get someone from Worldpoints Benefits (credit card) rep on a conference call so it was all pretty seamless.  However since you are sailing so soon, you might have trouble getting an upgrade.  If you cannot get an upgrade, and do not want to get cash, make sure that your points don't expire before you can use them and  if you are close to expiration, make sure to use the NCL card to book cruise and for all onboard charges, and then just take cash for the points that will expire soon.  You can call MC to find out when your first points will expire.

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Hello,

I suggest if you are going to try to use points for a cabin meta upgrade you'll want to book at least 4 months ahead of the cruise date:

to get a BA Mid-Ship Balcony, using 60,000 points (double meta upgrade), you'll need to book a I1 Family Inside

to get a BA Mid-Ship Balcony, using 30,000 points (single meta upgrade), you'll need to book a O1 Family Oceanview Picture Window


When redeeming points with NCL for a meta upgrade you'll get 1 cabin category down from what you book.

(ie booking in a category: 1 can get you an A, A can get you a B, B can get you a C, etc.)

 

The further out you book the greater the chance of you getting it.

 

Use a Cruise Next Certificate to create a reservation number.

You should then contact the world points people (1-866- 954-4077) the day you get a NCL confirmation number. They will tell you if you can redeem the points or not. If they are unable to accept the points to upgrade you can still cancel your cruise booking.

 

You can't do a meta upgrade if you book in a Sail Away "X" category.

 

Things you can also redeem points for:

https://www.ncl.com/world-points

 

Safe travels,

 

- WhosYourBuddy!

Edited by WYB!
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On 8/6/2019 at 9:51 AM, eiloo said:

Back in the day I thought it was 2 points per dollar.  Now they have it as 3 points per dollar on NCL purchases.

 

  • Earn 3 WorldPoints® points for every $1 spent on Norwegian purchases
  • Earn 1 WorldPoints® point for every $1 spent on all other purchases
  • Redeem points for hundreds of rewards like cash, gift cards, hotel stays, car rentals, and Norwegian redemptions
  • If you're a Preferred Rewards client you could get an additional 25% - 75% points bonus on every purchase, applied to the base earn of 1 point per $1

I don't disagree with you that the card is on its way out of my wallet.  Though I recently became a Preferred Rewards member and now I get 5.25 points per dollar spent with NCL.  That's hard to pass up.  I may just keep the card and pull it out when booking an NCL cruise.

We do the same with Preferred Rewards the NCL worldpoints card.  

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4 hours ago, *Luv2Cruz* said:

If I have cruise insurance and I need to cancel for a covered reason after final payment, are cruise discounts, and onboard credits given to me via the credit card points covered for reimbursement and/or returned to the credit card? TIA

 

 

I asked Nationwide about the cruise points and they are not reimbursable if you cancel. Any insurance payment will be paid as a check to you from the insurer. The amount will be based on your final cost after discounts and credits have been applied.  Your insurer may differ, best to check with them.

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How far before  your cruise should you call to have my points converted to OBC added to your account? Also will they apply it to my account or does it goto the person who booked? 

Edited by K922
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K922

It's been a while, but I had them send me a check instead of the onboard credit. I figured it would be less complicated if I didn't spend it all, and I wouldn't try to spend it all at the last minute on things I didn't really want. No cruise booked, but I did just have them send a deposit directly to my checking account.

Just remember that your points do expire at some point.

Have a great cruise!

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14 minutes ago, angeljt said:

K922

It's been a while, but I had them send me a check instead of the onboard credit. I figured it would be less complicated if I didn't spend it all, and I wouldn't try to spend it all at the last minute on things I didn't really want. No cruise booked, but I did just have them send a deposit directly to my checking account.

Just remember that your points do expire at some point.

Have a great cruise!

I agree.  I don't see any value with getting OBC.  Get cash or use your credits to pay toward your balance if you are still using the card.  If you are still using the card for your on-board purchases, wait until you get home to request the credit/cash so you can get all of your points taken care of at the same time.

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I just used 30,000 points to go from an obstructed oceanview to a balcony. I had 2 perks with the OC and of course still have the same ones after upgrade. Has anyone been able to add the other perks by just paying the additional cost? Travel agent didn't seem to be able to add them, but I would think that Norwegian would like the additional money.

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2 hours ago, chk-gnt said:

I just used 30,000 points to go from an obstructed oceanview to a balcony. I had 2 perks with the OC and of course still have the same ones after upgrade. Has anyone been able to add the other perks by just paying the additional cost? Travel agent didn't seem to be able to add them, but I would think that Norwegian would like the additional money.

 

I used 60,000 points to go from IB inside to BB balcony.  We chose the Premium Beverage Package as our promo perk because for us the $19.80 per person per day promo gratuity charge is a bargain.  When I log into my NCL account under Explore and Plan I have the option to purchase an Internet Plan and/or a Specialty Dining Package ranging from 3 to 11 days.   The other promo perks offered (shore excursion credit and sometimes 3rd and 4th guests free) can't be purchased.

 

What perks did you choose and what other perk do you want?

Edited by kjquilts
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1 hour ago, kjquilts said:

 

I used 60,000 points to go from IB inside to BB balcony.  We chose the Premium Beverage Package as our promo perk because for us the $19.80 per person per day promo gratuity charge is a bargain.  When I log into my NCL account under Explore and Plan I have the option to purchase an Internet Plan and/or a Specialty Dining Package ranging from 3 to 11 days.   The other promo perks offered (shore excursion credit and sometimes 3rd and 4th guests free) can't be purchased.

 

What perks did you choose and what other perk do you want?

When I booked Ocean View I took the Dinners and the Excursions. Now that I'm in a Balcony I'd hoped to be able to add the Internet and the Beverage perks by paying the additional gratuity. If I can't do that, I wonder if I can change my orginal choices?  If I'd booked the Balcony at the start I would have taken all 4 perks, but I wanted to use the points.

 

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17 minutes ago, chk-gnt said:

When I booked Ocean View I took the Dinners and the Excursions. Now that I'm in a Balcony I'd hoped to be able to add the Internet and the Beverage perks by paying the additional gratuity. If I can't do that, I wonder if I can change my orginal choices?  If I'd booked the Balcony at the start I would have taken all 4 perks, but I wanted to use the points.

 

 

Here is link to the current NCL Promotional Terms & Conditions so you can see the description of the promo perks.

 

https://www.ncl.com/termsandconditions/promotions

 

Since you used points to upgrade to the balcony from an oceanview you still only receive two promo perks.  You can't add the Beverage perk by just paying the gratuity for it but NCL does let you change your promo perk as long as you do it before you board ship.   You could drop one of your choices and add the Premium Beverage Package.  You would probably have to request your travel agent to make the change for you but first you need to decide which two perks are the best for you.

 

The Premium Beverage Package to purchase is a ridiculous $99 per person per day plus 20% gratuity ($19.80).  As a promo perk you just pay the $19.80 gratuity charge.  We're 70 plus but enjoy a glass of wine at dinner and a drink or two throughout the evening.  Occasionally we'll have a Bloody Mary or Mimosa or a Baileys for our coffee at breakfast.  If you only have one or two drinks a day then the Premium Beverage Package might not be your best option but it is our #1 promo choice.

 

The $50 shore excursion credit is per port, per stateroom (not per person).  If you don't take an NCL excursion you don't get the credit.  If you have a port intensive cruise and plan on taking several NCL excursions you might keep this promo perk.  If you are doing private or independent excursions I wouldn't take the shore excursion perk.

 

If you decide you want to keep the Shore Excursion perk and substitute Premium Beverage Package for Specialty Dining you can purchase Specialty Dining Packages from 3 nights at $118.80, 4 nights at $136.80, 5 Nights at $154.80 etc.  These prices are per person and include the 20% gratuity charge.  Prices for other dining packages should be shown on your NCL account under Explore & Plan.

 

An internet package can easily be purchased.  The prices are on your NCL account under Explore and Plan. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On 11/11/2019 at 1:52 AM, kjquilts said:

 

Here is link to the current NCL Promotional Terms & Conditions so you can see the description of the promo perks.

 

https://www.ncl.com/termsandconditions/promotions

 

Since you used points to upgrade to the balcony from an oceanview you still only receive two promo perks.  You can't add the Beverage perk by just paying the gratuity for it but NCL does let you change your promo perk as long as you do it before you board ship.   You could drop one of your choices and add the Premium Beverage Package.  You would probably have to request your travel agent to make the change for you but first you need to decide which two perks are the best for you.

 

The Premium Beverage Package to purchase is a ridiculous $99 per person per day plus 20% gratuity ($19.80).  As a promo perk you just pay the $19.80 gratuity charge.  We're 70 plus but enjoy a glass of wine at dinner and a drink or two throughout the evening.  Occasionally we'll have a Bloody Mary or Mimosa or a Baileys for our coffee at breakfast.  If you only have one or two drinks a day then the Premium Beverage Package might not be your best option but it is our #1 promo choice.

 

The $50 shore excursion credit is per port, per stateroom (not per person).  If you don't take an NCL excursion you don't get the credit.  If you have a port intensive cruise and plan on taking several NCL excursions you might keep this promo perk.  If you are doing private or independent excursions I wouldn't take the shore excursion perk.

 

If you decide you want to keep the Shore Excursion perk and substitute Premium Beverage Package for Specialty Dining you can purchase Specialty Dining Packages from 3 nights at $118.80, 4 nights at $136.80, 5 Nights at $154.80 etc.  These prices are per person and include the 20% gratuity charge.  Prices for other dining packages should be shown on your NCL account under Explore & Plan.

 

An internet package can easily be purchased.  The prices are on your NCL account under Explore and Plan. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the answer. Just got my balcony assigned today, very happy with the location and figure I saved $1,885.51. This cruise has many ports, so of course I would keep the shore excursion credit. Probaly will change to the drink package instead of the dinners, still debating about it. Seldom have more than 1 mixed drink a day, but drink a lot of diet pepsi. So I can either pay the gratuity of $435.60 for the beverage perk or just do the soda perk of $200. I'm not sure when I managed to make my cruising so complicated 😕 but would never give it up 😊😊

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  • 1 month later...

This topic currently  has 193 pages so forgive me if this was asked.  I would like to redeem 25,000 points for $250 dollars of OBC.  It's been a long time since I've done this.  I don't want to mess this up so how do I go about redeeming the points for my cruise to Hawaii in March?  Thank you!

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This topic currently  has 193 pages so forgive me if this was asked.  I would like to redeem 25,000 points for $250 dollars of OBC.  It's been a long time since I've done this.  I don't want to mess this up so how do I go about redeeming the points for my cruise to Hawaii in March?  Thank you!

Call them up using the number on the reimbursement page of the card and they'll take care of it for ya[emoji6]

 

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

 

 

 

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20 hours ago, Tutone56 said:

This topic currently  has 193 pages so forgive me if this was asked.  I would like to redeem 25,000 points for $250 dollars of OBC.  It's been a long time since I've done this.  I don't want to mess this up so how do I go about redeeming the points for my cruise to Hawaii in March?  Thank you!

it'll be better if you get 5k more points for 30k  and redeem for a cabin class upgrade. (ie: ov to balc)

bonus if you're doing back to back.

that 30k upgrade will work for both legs

Edited by fstuff1
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Thanks fstuff1 - I already have a mid ship balcony on the POA in March.  I've read that since the cruise is so port intensive, I wouldn't be spending much time in the room.  That's why I was considering OBC.  Maybe next cruise I'll upgrade 😁.

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