Q about Vacations To Go for NCL cruise

[Amy]

We're debating about whether to add a cruise this December (because we're already planning to spend 9 days in WDW from mid-December to Xmas). Having sailed with RCCL, Carnival, and DCL, I'm really interested in trying Freestyle Cruising with NCL. So I'm looking at NCL Jewel that sails on December 31. After checking with NCL directly, Travelocity and Cruisequick (which I've used in the past), I was shocked to get a quote from Vacations To Go that is OVER $1000 less than Travelocity's quote, around $900 less than Cruisequick, and around $700 less than NCL direct -- all for the same category cabin. I know I'm still a relative novice when it comes to cruising having sailed only three times, but I always do a lot of comparison shopping and I have never seen such large differences in a cruise quote (at least not in recent years when the cruise companies started to crack down on "discounted" cruise prices). I thought NCL was one of those ships that forbids TAs from offering discounted cruises (with incentives and other bonuses okay)? Should I be concerned?

Edited to add: I just read some of the reviews on epinions. I expect mixed reviews for most agencies, but the bad ones here make me nervous. I really hope TUGgers with experience can chime in here. TIA.

[Amy]

Ugh, I just searched Skyauction for the heck of it after reading some people use it for cruises. The quoted total is over $100 LESS than the Vacations To Go quote! Now I feel like I need to keep checking for better deals.

I'd appreciate any caution/recommendation also for using Skyauction for a cruise booking. I'm looking at their "buy it now" offering.

[m61376]

I have never used vacationstogo, but I've heard good things about them. Sometimes these places buy bulk cabins and are able to offer drastic discounts- I have seen it before on other cruises. Keep in mind that people tend to post on eopinions when they are not happy; I'd recommend looking at places like cruisecritics or cruiseaddicts for better critiques. These are people who generally have cruised many times before.

I also would check those sites for reviews of that ship. Personally, I cruised with NCL once (the Hawaiin cruise) and while I know the staffing is different because they are an American flagged vessel, the service was deplorable. Besides cleanliness issues (as in having to call twice for there to be clean sheets in our cabin on arrival...forget about the sheets never being changed while we were onboard), freestyle dining translated into 2 hour waits for dinner and, once finally seated, different members of your party being served entrees 15 minutes apart.

From what I have been told their operations are better in the Carribean, but I would rec. reading other's experiences on this ship before booking with NCL. We are new to timesharing but started cruising before it became popular back in the very early '90's and are relatively easy-going, but our trip with NCL was awful and even their corporate offices were barely accomodating (as in offerring a 20% discount on a future cruise in response to a 3 page letter delineating all the problems). We loved Hawaii despite the cruise, but would never cruise with them again. For what its worth, I spoke to several people on a Celebrity cruise last year and no one had anything good to say about the NCL trips they had been on.

[Amy]

m61376: Thanks for the reply. I have read cruisecritic's boards extensively and I've read the good and bad re the Jewel -- it seems really mostly good. I have heard enough about the terrible NCLAmerica that I would never pay to sail the islands on that line; I'm sorry to hear about your terrible experience. I must say if I start reading about the type of freestyle dining experience you had on the Jewel or other NCL (not NCLA) ships, I'd probably drop my interest in trying NCL. With a toddler, there is no way I can put up with a 2 hour wait for dinner! If we were to cruise on NCL, I plan to make our dining reservations for the entire week on boarding day so we have "backup" reservations; then we can try changing as our needs/interests change.

Unfortunately, cruistcritic board no longer allow people to post or seek opinions/reviews about TAs -- they stopped doing that some time between our first and second cruises. I'll take a look at cruiseaddicts.

[m61376]

Originally Posted by Amy

Ugh, I just searched Skyauction for the heck of it after reading some people use it for cruises. The quoted total is over $100 LESS than the Vacations To Go quote! Now I feel like I need to keep checking for better deals.

I'd appreciate any caution/recommendation also for using Skyauction for a cruise booking. I'm looking at their "buy it now" offering.

I am not sure- but I think when I looked at skyauction there was a $195 booking charge (and I think that was pp) or something- may be confusing it with another place though.

[Fern Modena]

With both Sky Auction and Vacations to Go, make sure you are aware of what you are booking. Vacations to Go generally only lists broad catagories, such as "outside" or "balcony," when in fact there are many sub-groupings in each one...so you may be getting the lowest, middle, or highest rated cabin, check to see what it is. That said, I booked with them about five years ago, and was well satisfied with both the price and the location of the cabin we got.

Sky Auction generally prices at minimum cabin and minimum season and you have to pay more to upgrade to what you want. They also have a service charge...
Fern

[Amy]

Fern, The Vacations To Go quote I received was via the phone for a specific cabin/category. The Skyauction quote is not one via their "auction" format -- so not dealing with minimum cabin/season/misc. various fees; I searched its "buy it now" cruise pricing, which looks like a regular online TA search result with a specific cabin/category and a $15 fee.

[Kay H]

I sailed NCL twice and loved the free style dining. We ate when we were hungry rather than when scheduled. No complaints. Have not heard anything good about their Hawiian cruises. Would sail NCL again except for Hawaii.

[Jeni]

I've not sailed with NCL, but I just booked a RC cruise with Vacations to Go a couple of weeks ago and the experience has been top notch. I knew what cabin number I was getting, price, all charges, etc. up front. In fact, the cruise rep. called me back after I had already committed and paid, to say he was able to get me an even lower rate with the block they had reserved, saving me another $100+. All said and done, we booked a 4 day Bahamas cruise for $500 total ($250 per person), including all charges. Unless we arrive and something is terribly wrond, I would use VTG again.

[lvhmbh]

No comment re NCL but there are a couple of sites that I go to regularly for reviews (cruise critic is one but it is limited). www.cruisefans.com, www.cruiseaddicts.com, www.cruisereviews.com, www.cruiseclues. and www.cruisebuggie.com. Some are connected top TA's but their forums are very interesting. If you go to cruisefans.com and click on the ship Pagoda Swan (great name and what a help!) will show you every aspect of the ship. Linda

[PStreet1]

We've bought from Sky Auction and from Vacations To Go; we were pleased with both. Vacations To Go was easier to work with--but we didn't need much extra attention when we booked with Sky Auction so it was o.k.

[Judy]

I've booked through Vacations to Go three times, using the same agent, Jake Hyland. I've always been more than satisfied with his service.
jhyland@vacationstogo.com 1-800-338-4962 X306 M-F 5:30AM-2:30PM ET

I just got back from NCLA's so-called "freestyle cruise" of Hawaii on the Pride of America. It was horrible. We had to wait over 30 minutes to eat in either of the main dining rooms at dinner. Only half the capacity of those dining rooms was open! When we got in the service was extremely slow and the food mediocre. We were told that only parties of 5 or more could make reservations there. No reservations were available in the Italian alternate restaurant when we tried to get in. We had to settle for the buffet most nights.

[gnipgnop]

Has anyone used NCL for an Alaska cruise? What is a good time to go for best weather? Was the food any good? Did you have to wait at dinner time? Any info would be helpful. First time to Alaska.

[Kay H]

THE tug cruise in July was to Alaska on NCL. I had a great time and I haven't heard any complaints. There were 80+ of us.

Weather was somewhat questionable but I think that is typical of Alaska. When I went 5 yrs ago the weather was great. Since you can't control the weather, you just make the best of it. Didn't hamper my fun in the least.

[Dave M]

Originally Posted by gnipgnop

Has anyone used NCL for an Alaska cruise?

Echoing Kay, a number of us cruised to Alaska on NCL in late July this year. I thought the weather was generally great - for Alaska.

NCL is probably the low-end of the mass-market cruise lines to Alaska, but I think most of us had a great time.

What is a good time to go for best weather?

Expect it to rain some; perhaps a lot. Anytime. Be thrilled if it doesn't. For the most daylight, go in late June or early July. The warmest temperatures are in July and August, although it can be cold any time in Alaska, especially when the wind blows or if you are on or close to a glacier! You'll have a better chance of more clear days in May (great for mountain viewing!), along with lower cruise prices, colder temperatures and few if any mosquitoes.

Was the food any good?

It was okay, but definitely at the low end of what you would expect on a large cruise ship. The food was very good in the ship's restaurants that had a surcharge.

If you are picky about food preparation and presentation, you’ll likely be disappointed. If you almost never have a bad food experience in a restaurant, you’ll likely be pleased with NCL’s food.

Did you have to wait at dinner time?

No wait to get into the main dining room, other than the normal wait that any cruise ship's dining room has as people line up before the doors actually open each evening. Since NCL has open seating in the main dining room (they don’t take reservations, except for very large groups), you might have to wait if you decide to dine 30 minutes to an hour after the dining room opens and it’s full. Be sure to make reservations on the day you get on the ship for any specialty restaurants you want to try.

Any info would be helpful.

Go to any of the sites that lvhmbh suggested for a ton of info and reviews about NCL cruises to Alaska. My personal choice is www.cruisecritic.com , the one she skipped over.

Although I enjoyed the cruise immensely, much of that enjoyment related to being with the TUGgers group. I wouldn’t choose NCL again for an Alaska cruise. I would likely go with Holland America (on which I have twice sailed to Alaska), RCCL or Princess.

[Linda74]

We did an NCL cruise through Sky Auction in September. We decided to join friends who had booked through NCL direct. I bid on the cruise and paid $100 less than my friends for the exact same cabin. (They already had an excellent price) The only problem with Sky Auction was that when we tried to move our cabin next to hers, it was a hassle and never happened. I loved NCL and would definitely use sky auction again....

[Amy]

We ended up switching to a different NCL cruise and this time neither Vacations to Go nor Skyauction were able to beat the quote I got from a high-volume NCL booking TA. We'll be trying the NCL Jewel for the first time this December and I hope it'll be nearly as good as the other cruises we've been on. I've heard mixed things about NCL food quality, and it seems most would say the "free" dining room meals are not nearly as good as the specialty-surcharge restaurants. That initially really bugged us, particularly DH, but then I pointed out that this NCL cruise is costing us roughly $1000+ less than a comparable sailing (in comparable cabin) on RCCL and a greater saving from DCL, so that makes the idea of trying the fee-paying restaurants more acceptable.

Judy, next time I try Vacations to Go I'll call your agent. I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience on NCLA. I must say NCLA's cruise reviews on the Cruise Critic boards seem overwhelmingly negative, which is really too bad.

[folashade]

I've used cruise.com, a tradition TA (previous cruises) and a booked directly with Carnival this upcoming trip. I traveled to Alaska on NCL 4 years ago. We had great weather for Alaska in July. The cruise was ok. The service was fine and I enjoyed most of the shows. Food was edible. Not outstanding, not good just edible except in the restaurants with a surcharge were it was quite good. I would not cruise this line to Alaska again. In hindsight I should have gone with Princess. If you go with a lot of people then you have something to do. There wasn't anything to do activity wise on board the ship which made for a long 7 days outside of the ports