Well, ahoy cruisers.
Let's talk about the five things we really wish we knew before we sailed with "Norwegian Cruise Line".
But before begin make sure you subscribe to our channel right now
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So tip number one are the "Free at Sea" benefits and these are really fantastic.
They offer fantastic for value for money and they're almost offered continuously now.
So you usually get to pick from five different things
and you can actually save up to four thousand dollars depending on the type of cruise you're taking.
It really depends on the fare or the cabin you book to see how many "Free at Sea" benefits you receive.
Cheaper category cabins, such as the "Sail Away" cabins, are not included in the "Free at Sea" promotion
and these are usually the guaranteed cabins on board.
But you'll be clearly told when you book on the website or by travel agent whether or not you can take the "Free at Sea" up or not.
So if you're booking from the UK you have to pay £99 each person to add it onto your cruise
and you get to choose choose two of the "Free at Sea" options.
So you can usually pick two of the five different "Free at Sea" options.
But now and again you'll find promotions where you can take all five of the offers available.
Now should we take a look at the five different offers that you can get.
The first one is the unlimited drinks package and we think this is the best value for money.
So basically you get an open bar whilst on your cruise.
If you are a drinker on your cruise.
You definitely save the most amount of money
by choosing this option as part of your "Free at Sea" promotion.
The second one is the speciality dining package
and this includes up to five meals included.
So you can use five speciality restaurants during your cruise for no extra cost
and again this can save you a lot of money.
Yeah the number three is shore excursion credits.
So here's where you get $50 per cabin, per port towards a shore excursion.
These can't roll over so you couldn't, sort of, save up for days
and pay $200 credit.
You only get $50 per cabin, per port.
Number four is the Wi-Fi package which includes a free internet package time plan.
Number five finally
is the friends and family package.
So you get free fares on select cruises for the third and fourth guests.
We always say, out of all of these definitely go for the drinks package.
Because it's definitely worth the most money isn't it?
Yeah and if you're not a drinker I'd really recommend the dining in package as well.
Because it's really great to try all the different speciality restaurants onboard.
So the second thing we really wish we knew about was "The Waterfront"
Oh my gosh this is on the brand new ships guys.
So ships such as the "Bliss", "Encore", "Breakaway", "Getaway", "Escape" and "Joy."
It's an outdoor promenade area.
It's a full wraparound deck where you'll find several of the speciality restaurants.
Where you get to eat outside alfresco and you also have a bar and loads of comfy seating.
How nice of an area is this?
Just to chill out and relax in?
Yeah, this is our favorite area on board the ship.
While a lot of cruise ships nowadays make you look inwards,
this is really because you're looking outwards towards the sea.
And it really reminds you that you're sailing.
You get some lovely sunsets and sunrises in the morning, if you up early enough.
You can be chillin' having a cocktail at one of the outdoor bars, while watching the world sail past.
It's lovely.
There's nothing like at sunset having a meal outside in say Cagney's Steakhouse.
Sitting in the outdoor section and just watching the sunset and the waves splashing against the bow.
It's just amazing. It's lovely.
Yeah we even did it in a cold cruise and it was nice just to have a nice evening stroll around.
So there's covered areas for the shade as well which is really nice
and we've always found it to be super quiet and super relaxed.
Yeah even if it's busy around the bar ares,
there's lots of other seating and lots of comfy chairs further around.
So you can get yourself a drink then move away from the busier area.
Yeah there's some really comfy sofas where you can just chill out and have a afternoon snooze.
Third thing we wish knew is the amount of up-charges on board.
This isn't just Norwegian, there's lots of up-charges now on all the different cruise lines.
So these include things like speciality dining, speciality shows,
excursions and onboard activities such as the racetrack and things like that.
Yeah you've got other things like your daily gratuities as well,
the video arcade, casino, any photography, laundry and transfers.
Some of the prices of the activities for the laser tag or racetrack on the new ships are $9.95 per person
Or if you're going to have a game of bowling this is $6 per person.
So it's all extra of charges.
Yeah and they're quite expensive.
Especially if you have a family of four that's gonna be a real big chunk of money right there.
But they do offer packages as well for some of the activity so you can buy like
the package for the whole of your cruise.
Gratuity is also are a big extra charge.
At the moment they are $18 per person per day for guests staying in the "Haven" area and suites.
And $15 per person per day for all other stateroom categories.
And you can pre bay.
Pre bay?
[Laughs] Pre Bay!
Prebay.com!
So you can pre-pay all of your gratuities before you even get on the ship which is a good idea.
We recommend booking as much as you can before you even get on the cruise ships.
So all of your speciality dining, all of your activities, shore excursions, pre-paying gratuities.
So that once you're on board you can really relax
and not have to worry about buying extra things
and paying too much money.
It's good to keep these in mind though when you book.
Especially if you know you're going to be doing all these activities.
You may have a low entry price to the cruise
so the actual cruise may be cheap.
You have got to think about all these extra charges on top when you book.
And this is not just with Norwegian.
This is all cruise lines which do this now so it's a good tip for any cruise you're going to go on.
So how do you pay for all of these things?
Well when you get on board the ship a credit card imprint is usually taken so that's on file.
You also have the chance to go down to guest services on your ship and pay with cash or via card.
whatever is easier for you.
Number four it's the Norwegian app.
So this is the app you download from the Apple iStore?
Apple iStore?
- The Apple Store? - Apple Store and Android
or the Android Play Google shop.
Whatever it's called.
You should know you're an Android head.
I completely blanked what its called.
Yeah it's really good it now includes all of the ships which is really good.
The entire fleet.
So it doesn't matter what ship you're sailing on.
You can view your itinerary and the summary of your cruise on here.
Before your cruise you can book dining, shore excursions, entertainment and check into your cruise.
During your cruise you can review your account, check the daily schedule
and also get other things such as helpful information and maps of the ship.
Yeah it's really good to to instantly see your on board purchases.
So you don't have to keep running down to guest services to ask how much you've spent.
So you can really keep track of what you're spending whilst on board.
So whilst you're onboard the ship you can connect to the ship's Wi-Fi to use the app
and this isn't an extra charge.
So you don't have to buy the Wi-Fi package to use the app onboard the ship.
There is also a chat feature available for a small extra charge while you're onboard.
So our last tip is don't try and do everything on the first day.
We are guilty as charged of this and we never learn our lesson.
Just relax, take it easy and make sure you do everything throughout your cruise.
Just don't try and do all in one day because you're just going to stress yourself out too much.
The ship is much quieter on port days.
So if there is a port you're not too interested in
or we really recommend maybe do half a day in the port and then get back on the ship
and enjoy all the facilities then because it'll be much quieter.
Do remain organized.
Use your app especially to figure out what you're going to do when and where/
Because you don't want to miss out on some of the fantastic things on these ships.
You can also pre book a lot of activities such as the shows for no extra charge.
So at least you know that you're going to have a seat at the theater on the set night.
So you've got that nice and organized before the cruise.
To help you prepare for your Norwegian cruise.
We've been on the Norwegian Cruise website and it's fantastic.
It's got some really good sections on there for help with packing,
spending information, onboard booking and all of that information.
So make sure you log on to Norwegian.
So we hope you enjoyed our show.
If you've got any tips about what you wish you would known when your going to-
Any tips of what you wish you knew before sailing with "Norwegian Cruise Line"
or any other cruise line.
Let us know in the comment section below.
We would love to use some of that information in our new shows.
Big thank you to our Patreon supporters and our cruise captain this week is Amy.
And don't forget to hit that subscribe button.
That's it till next time.
Happy cruising.