NCL Mastercard FAQ

[TifffanyD]

I have done a single meta upgrade twice. Here is how I do it.

 

Step 1: Buy future cruise certificate onboard (optional)

Step 2: Contact TA and book cruise at the price level I will be paying (you would choose an inside)

Step 3: Call world points and upgrade your booked reservation from inside to balcony.

Step 4: Repeat step 3 as necessary if you get an agent that can't/won't do it.

 

You need to make sure the category you want to book into has an appropriate level (If you want a BD then you need ID or better).

[$hip$hape]

I have done a single meta upgrade twice. Here is how I do it.

 

Step 1: Buy future cruise certificate onboard (optional)

Step 2: Contact TA and book cruise at the price level I will be paying (you would choose an inside)

Step 3: Call world points and upgrade your booked reservation from inside to balcony.

Step 4: Repeat step 3 as necessary if you get an agent that can't/won't do it.

 

You need to make sure the category you want to book into has an appropriate level (If you want a BD then you need ID or better).

Okay' date=' I'm confused (not unusual for me):)

 

Inside to Oceanview or Oceanview to Balcony upgrade (Single meta upgrade)

 

Are you saying you book an inside, then upgrade to an oceanview, then upgrade to a balcony?

I understand/agree about getting a rep that will work with you.

We also use a FCC for a deposit.

BTW, in the past, My rep at World Points said I could have any balcony except an Aft.

For the Pride of America, we got a BA for the price of an inside cabin.

Maybe we got lucky.

Edited March 29, 2017 by $hip$hape

[TifffanyD]

Okay, I'm confused (not unusual for me):)

Inside to Oceanview or Oceanview to Balcony upgrade (Single meta upgrade)

Are you saying you book an inside, then upgrade to an oceanview, then upgrade to a balcony?

 

I book oceanview and go to balcony. I wrote inside since that's what the PP would do (see prior line where I said "you would book an inside")

[Clay Clayton]

QuiltingCruiser

Since you don't have all the points yet, which is exactly where I was (though I was less than 500 points shy and knew they were going to be credited within the next month as I had already charged that much), I think you would be wiser to book the room you want (balcony) and then when you have the points, go through the effort of having it repriced. This only will work if you have plenty of time between now and the cruise, which it sounds like you do. My concern is that if you took TiffanyDs method and booked an ID but when you called back there were not any BDs availble, you might not be able to upgrade.....you might but I just don't know.

 

In our case we wanted one of very two BCs on Sun (best balcony cabins in the fleet) and if we couldn't have gotten those, we wouldn't have taken the cruise...so I booked them on the very first day that the sailing was available to book. Then once I had the points, repriced our booking to the appropriate inside (which wasn't the very cheapest...but it was close!)

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I have done a single meta upgrade twice. Here is how I do it.

 

Step 1: Buy future cruise certificate onboard (optional)

Step 2: Contact TA and book cruise at the price level I will be paying (you would choose an inside)

Step 3: Call world points and upgrade your booked reservation from inside to balcony.

Step 4: Repeat step 3 as necessary if you get an agent that can't/won't do it.

 

You need to make sure the category you want to book into has an appropriate level (If you want a BD then you need ID or better).

 

Thank you, Tiffany. When you say TA, you're not talking about the World Points folks, right? I'd really like to book with my TA, but she can't help me with this. As long as I can book with her and then have my points applied to that booking, I'll go ahead and book with her. I assume this will impact her commission though and would also impact the OBC she give me, but I'm fine with that.

 

Thanks.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

QuiltingCruiser

Since you don't have all the points yet, which is exactly where I was (though I was less than 500 points shy and knew they were going to be credited within the next month as I had already charged that much), I think you would be wiser to book the room you want (balcony) and then when you have the points, go through the effort of having it repriced. This only will work if you have plenty of time between now and the cruise, which it sounds like you do. My concern is that if you took TiffanyDs method and booked an ID but when you called back there were not any BDs availble, you might not be able to upgrade.....you might but I just don't know.

 

In our case we wanted one of very two BCs on Sun (best balcony cabins in the fleet) and if we couldn't have gotten those, we wouldn't have taken the cruise...so I booked them on the very first day that the sailing was available to book. Then once I had the points, repriced our booking to the appropriate inside (which wasn't the very cheapest...but it was close!)

 

thanks, Clay. It definitely makes sense to book the cabin I want now instead of an inside and hoping there will be an acceptable cabin when I have the points since it'll take me a few months to accumulate the rest of them.

 

Do you book through a TA or with the world points call? I just want to make sure I don't have to cancel when I book with my TA since she charges a small cancellation fee. It's only $25 so not a big deal, but I still don't want to make a mistake and have to cancel and pay the fee.

[TifffanyD]

Thank you, Tiffany. When you say TA, you're not talking about the World Points folks, right? I'd really like to book with my TA, but she can't help me with this. As long as I can book with her and then have my points applied to that booking, I'll go ahead and book with her. I assume this will impact her commission though and would also impact the OBC she give me, but I'm fine with that.

 

Thanks.

 

No - I don't mean World Points when I say TA. I mean my travel agent I always use.

 

As far as it impacting commission - that's paid out on whatever your price is... so if you book an inside and she gets$ x commission and quotes you a $y OBC... I wouldn't really expect that to change when you upgrade to a balcony.

[TifffanyD]

BTW - what 14 day cruise are you looking at to save that huge amount of cash? :)

[Quilting_Cruiser]

No - I don't mean World Points when I say TA. I mean my travel agent I always use.

 

As far as it impacting commission - that's paid out on whatever your price is... so if you book an inside and she gets$ x commission and quotes you a $y OBC... I wouldn't really expect that to change when you upgrade to a balcony.

 

Well, my TA is confused and told me to just book it with them and then transfer it to her. I book with her for the OBC she gives, which is pretty good. But, i definitely know more about cruising than she does. She was trying to convince me that a balcony on deck 8 would be better than deck 9 because of the way the ship is built, but that would put me right over the theater--not where i want to be! LOL.

 

Anyway, I was trying to do it the way Clay was saying and book the cabin I want and then deal with the World Points call later. But, even though I explained to her that I was just booking it, she called the World Points desk and they said I can't do it because I don't have the points (which I told her to begin with). Sigh.

 

Now I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I have more than enough points to book an OV and upgrade to balcony, but that's about $1k more than an inside. I just don't want to be stuck with a balcony in a bad location. Of course, it is 18 months away, so that probably isn't even an issue.

 

sorry for the rambling!

 

BTW - what 14 day cruise are you looking at to save that huge amount of cash? :)

 

The savings is $2,750 on the Norway, Iceland, and UK cruise in Sept 2018.

[TifffanyD]

Oooh norway, Iceland, and UK sounds fabulous!

 

We used 30k for an OV to Balcony upgrade on alaska and saved about 1100. Used another 30k on OV to B for panama canal and that one we saved even more. I love this upgrade program!

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Very nice!

 

:)

[Heather1972]

With the current pricing, the saving would be just shy of $3,000. It's a 14-day cruise, so even an inside it's spendy for even an inside. That's why I'm thinking this is a good one to use the 60k points on.

 

 

I heard back from my TA this morning and she said she can't take care of it for me and she doesn't think I can transfer it to her after it's priced. So, it looks like I just need to gather my information and call the World Points number to book.

 

You need to book with your TA first and deal with world points later. BUT I would contact world points first to get an idea of what kind of balcony you can get for the inside you are willing to pay for.

 

I booked a cruise with a TA that was cancelled by NCL, and then I got it price protected for this spring break. I hardly paid anything for our upcoming cruise on Escape because of it. It was only later I upgraded to a balcony using my credit card rewards point.

[Heather1972]

BTW, in the past, My rep at World Points said I could have any balcony except an Aft.

For the Pride of America, we got a BA for the price of an inside cabin.

Maybe we got lucky.

 

The rep really should not have said any balcony. It would have been better for her to say no afts. What you are able to upgrade to depends on what inside you pay for and what other secret requirements there are.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

You need to book with your TA first and deal with world points later. BUT I would contact world points first to get an idea of what kind of balcony you can get for the inside you are willing to pay for.

 

I booked a cruise with a TA that was cancelled by NCL, and then I got it price protected for this spring break. I hardly paid anything for our upcoming cruise on Escape because of it. It was only later I upgraded to a balcony using my credit card rewards point.

 

 

I attempted to do that yesterday, and she called the World Points number and told me I couldn't do what I wanted to do because I don't have enough points. I know that and I told her that and I also told her I would handle the points part and just wanted her to book the cabin for me. It took me a long time to find a TA who gives as much OBC as she does and is really very easy to deal with (until now). I'm about to leave on a business trip, so will have to deal with this tomorrow.

 

When you say book with the TA first, how do you do it? Do you book the inside and then upgrade through World Points or do you book the cabin you want and work with World Points to have it repriced?

[$hip$hape]

You need to book with your TA first and deal with world points later.

BUT I would contact world points first to get an idea of what kind of balcony you can get

for the inside you are willing to pay for.

 

I booked a cruise with a TA that was cancelled by NCL, and then I got it price protected for this spring break. I hardly paid anything for our upcoming cruise on Escape because of it. It was only later I upgraded to a balcony using my credit card rewards point.

I would do it the other way around; first locate the balcony you want,

then discuss what inside cabin price you have to pay.

...maybe just semantics.

[Heather1972]

I attempted to do that yesterday, and she called the World Points number and told me I couldn't do what I wanted to do because I don't have enough points. I know that and I told her that and I also told her I would handle the points part and just wanted her to book the cabin for me. It took me a long time to find a TA who gives as much OBC as she does and is really very easy to deal with (until now). I'm about to leave on a business trip, so will have to deal with this tomorrow.

 

When you say book with the TA first, how do you do it? Do you book the inside and then upgrade through World Points or do you book the cabin you want and work with World Points to have it repriced?

 

Just book the cruise with the TA and don't mention that down the line you are going to use your points to upgrade to a balcony. Personally I didn't care what balcony I get, but I typically buy one of the higher levels of inside or oceanview, so I'm not going to wind up on a balcony on a low level. I've never gone in reverse, balcony to inside. Sounds like too much pain. If your TA is this difficult, you might want to rethink it. But like I said if you book inside now, the TA has nothing to do with contacting world points down the line to do the upgrade.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Just book the cruise with the TA and don't mention that down the line you are going to use your points to upgrade to a balcony. Personally I didn't care what balcony I get, but I typically buy one of the higher levels of inside or oceanview, so I'm not going to wind up on a balcony on a low level. I've never gone in reverse, balcony to inside. Sounds like too much pain. If your TA is this difficult, you might want to rethink it. But like I said if you book inside now, the TA has nothing to do with contacting world points down the line to do the upgrade.

 

Thank you, Heather. I don't know why she contacted World Points. I specifically told her I'd handle that part, but she did it anyway. She doesn't seem to be a good listener. If I knew of another TA who would give me as much OBC as she does, I'd change in a heartbeat! LOL.

 

Thanks for your help.

[Clay Clayton]

thanks, Clay. It definitely makes sense to book the cabin I want now instead of an inside and hoping there will be an acceptable cabin when I have the points since it'll take me a few months to accumulate the rest of them.

 

Do you book through a TA or with the world points call? I just want to make sure I don't have to cancel when I book with my TA since she charges a small cancellation fee. It's only $25 so not a big deal, but I still don't want to make a mistake and have to cancel and pay the fee.

 

I booked directly with my PCC at Norwegian. I usually check around and see who can offer me the best deal which is what it sounds like you do also. In this case, Nobody had a better deal than Scott could put together likely because I was booking on the first day of availability ...some online TAs didn't be even show it yet. My other go-to is the online TA of a big box warehouse membership store based out of Washington state....theybare usualky the winners in the obc/cashcard/cruise fare sweepstakes!

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I booked directly with my PCC at Norwegian. I usually check around and see who can offer me the best deal which is what it sounds like you do also. In this case, Nobody had a better deal than Scott could put together likely because I was booking on the first day of availability ...some online TAs didn't be even show it yet. My other go-to is the online TA of a big box warehouse membership store based out of Washington state....theybare usualky the winners in the obc/cashcard/cruise fare sweepstakes!

 

 

I used to always book with the cruise line and then I found this TA who gives about 10% of the fare in OBC. I have $400 for my upcoming Alaska cruise. That's the only reason I stay with her. I've not submitted a request for bids on a site where TAs compete, so we'll see what I get from that. :D

[Clay Clayton]

I used to always book with the cruise line and then I found this TA who gives about 10% of the fare in OBC. I have $400 for my upcoming Alaska cruise. That's the only reason I stay with her. I've not submitted a request for bids on a site where TAs compete, so we'll see what I get from that. :D

 

Good luck. I've never had good luck from them. Our best value (that covers everything) has always been either from the online TA I mentioned, another online TA whose prices are always the "best" or directly with the cruiseline

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Good luck. I've never had good luck from them. Our best value (that covers everything) has always been either from the online TA I mentioned, another online TA whose prices are always the "best" or directly with the cruiseline

 

 

I think I did well with them. Found a good fare and talked with the agent on the phone for a bit. No change or cancel fees and $600 off booking directly. Time will tell if he's as good as he seems.

[cukal6]

Upgrade question. We are currently booked in a category OA on the Pearl. 2 categories up would be a balcony. Can I use the 2 category upgrade (10,000) points, or do I need to use the OV to Balcony upgrade (30,000) points?

 

Thanks

[Heather1972]

Upgrade question. We are currently booked in a category OA on the Pearl. 2 categories up would be a balcony. Can I use the 2 category upgrade (10,000) points, or do I need to use the OV to Balcony upgrade (30,000) points?

 

Thanks

 

30,000 points

[cukal6]

That's what I thought. Thanks!

[shellmisi]

An update as we are fresh off the ship.

 

The OBC from my NCL credit card was used DIRECTLY to pay the daily service charges. There was no need to pull money out at the casino. The $150 was posted on the first day and my credit balance went down and down through the week.

 

Strangely enough, my $5 charge at Margaritaville was not able to be covered by those OBC.

 

 

Okay so my day has been ruined. I know you all are just the messengers!

 

We plan on spending nothing more on this cruise. We had a job loss after final payment and all other travel booked. So we are going, but doing absolutely nothing extra - dining, drinks, excursions, etc. We are perfectly happy with this plan as we enjoy the included activities and food.

 

 

Now I just read that I can't pay for the service charge with my Mastercard OBC that is already processed and sitting there for me. #$&@%#%&

 

 

So this is the plan and please tell me if I have any of this wrong.

1. Go to the casino.

2. Ask to get $150 out.

3. Take $150 to guest services and place it on our account.

4. Deal with $4.50 charge and $39 remaining DSC balance.

5. End of cruise, pay $43.50.

 

 

Is this a workable plan of action? Thanks in advance!