As I may have posted previously, these NCL certificates will end up costing
you some money - the cruise isn't totally free. For most of them you will
have to pay port taxes and fees, which often include something called a
"guest fare" which often runs more than $100 per person. Also you will pay
gratuities, plus any extras such as shore excursions, cost of internet you
use, etc. Still, you will end up paying far less than the best available
fare you'll find for a similar cruise, but you might end up paying something
closer to 2 for 1 than "free." You also pay your own airfare. Booze in
the casino bar will be free however, on most of these! (yippie)
On a recent trip to Alaska, we paid about $650 in fees for 2 people in an
oceanview cabin, plus $12 per person per day for the "service fee" which is
the mandatory gratuity. Fees for a cheaper cruise such as Mexico would be
less.
The certificates are not transferable - you must get on the ship. If you
take a guest and something happens to you, your guest might have to pay a
higher fee, so get insurance.
If 2 people both have certificates, such as husband and wife, they may (or
may not) allow you to combine them for an upgraded cabin.
Certificates differ from person to person and offer to offer. In some
instances certain cruise ships or dates or types of rooms may be excluded or
specified. I've had some certificates that specified a 7 day cruise with
Mexican Rivera as Balcony, while Alaska was Oceanview, and Europe was excluded,
for example. Another certificate was Balcony for all cruise itineraries,
and most were included, including Europe.
Try to find out from your host what sort of room is included - balcony or
oceanview, etc. Some higher rollers may get offers that include MiniSuites
or Suites.
You generally will have to book within 3 months of getting the certificate
and use the cruise within 1 year (though some may have other specifics).
You can generally upgrade to a higher category of room, for additional
monies. These amounts vary from cruise to cruise and date to date. I've been
told some people have been quoted differing amounts for upgrades depending
on when they called and who they talked to, so you may want to call
several times to pin down costs. For an Alaska cruise we were quoted something
like $300 per person to upgrade from oceanview to Balcony, for a Caribbean
cruise from New Orleans, the cost for the upgrade was only $110 or so per
person to upgrade. Oceanview, inside, and balcony cabins are generally about
the same size on a ship, but many people prefer the rooms with the view
and the bigger the better. If you are handicapped, those rooms are a little
larger. Some people have found it worthwhile to pay extra to upgrade all
the way to a suite, while others are happy with an inside room to save on
costs.
You can also book 3 and sometimes 4 people in the room and pay extra for
those extra people (the certificates give you a cabin for 2 people). The
extra people will pay close to normal charges.
NCL isn't the best of cruise lines, in my opinion, but considering how much
you can save using one of these certificates, you may still be quite happy
with the almost-freebie. We enjoyed our time on NCL's Norwegian Pearl to
Alaska more than the smaller ship of the Norwegian Spirit to the
Caribbean, because the larger ship had more amenities and better entertainment.
Food was about the same on both.
Extra costs should also be considered beside the fees, gratuities,
airfare, and shore excursions. Drinks such as soda are not included. NCL only
provides hot cocoa, tea, coffee, and milk at lunches and dinner - fruit juice
also available at breakfast. Soda can run $2 a drink, unless you buy an
unlimited soda package (about $7 a day). Alcohol on board is also
surprisingly expensive - many drinks running $8, and you cannot bring your own on
board. Bingo is very expensive and doesn't payout much, gambling is
available with generally poor slots and VP and okay table games, shopping on board
is pervasive and persuasive and sometimes can include both bargains and
non-bargains, art auctions seem inviting but prices are inflated (including
very costly framing and shipping that they don't advertise too much), spa
treatments are available and expensive.
We found the food in the main restaurants and the buffets (all included for
free) to be very good. NCL heavily promotes its specialty restaurants
which cost $15-25 per person extra. Some people love them and feel they are
worth the price, but we found the food in the main restaurants pretty much
just as good and free. The ships promote these alternate restaurants
heavily, and imply that you need to "book now" or they will fill up - don't
believe the hype, except perhaps for the last night. They also promote
"discounts" for buying packages of wine and so on, but the wine is pretty expensive
by the bottle.
If you don't watch what you are spending it is easy to run up a lot of
extra charges. Internet onboard and "cellular at sea" cell charges are very
expensive. Some people use their cell phones without thinking and run up
huge charges. Easy availability of nice cocktails that are actually pretty
expensive can run up your bill. So be a bit cautious.
Shore excursions are generally well run but can be a bit expensive. You
can often save quite a bit by researching ports before you go to find out if
you can easily book shore excursions elsewhere online or just by going
onshore. Often you can hire a taxi to take you to various landmarks and get a
great tour for a lot less (this works really well if you have 4 or more in
your party).
Be sure to look at a map of the ship when you book your cabin and try to
avoid places that may be noisy such as near an elevator bank, close to a
dining room or public area, or under a busy area (such as the buffet).
Generally midships is better (less movement) than fore or aft. Some Oceanview
rooms may have an obstructed view - if they offer you one of those, try to
find out how obstructed it is. NCL's staterooms are very small, sometimes
smaller than equivalent on other cruise lines.
Most cabins on most ships come equipped with showers, refrigerators, hair
dryers, TV, phone. On the NCL Spirit, however, an older ship, they still
had ice buckets. Refrigerators often double as mini-bars - but if you want
the room and not the stuff, ask the steward and he can remove items from the
refrigerator for you. If you have questions about what amenities are
included, ask NCL.
Some ships are now charging extra for things that used to be free. On the
Pearl for example, using the spa steam/sauna rooms required an extra
charge. On the Spirit, this was free. Right now Room Service is free (though
you should tip when items are delivered). Cruise lines seem to be adding
fees all the time, so don't be surprised if you find something is now no
longer free.
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