I have seen an offer for ncl jade 30th May Southampton to Southampton, for 14 nights, it is with Vacations to go and the price is in dollars 1399 inside cabin, does this seem a good price?

Also a few questiond about NCL and VTG, are there any added extras when booking with VTG or will that be the final price, also on NCL ships is there a compulsary service charge?

Have only ever cruised with Thomson and Island so don't know about these things, and any extras we may have to pay for all have to be accounted for.

Thanks for any advice given.

Hi marjrie

I have merged your post with an existing topic which may have some information.

luci

We booked on this cruise with vacationstogo a few months ago. You will need to add government taxes about $111 onto price quoted i.e. total will be $1510 i.e. approximately £775 at present dollar rate. Compulsory service charge will be $10pppd, adding about another £75 so "total cost" becomes about £850 + travel to Southampton. For 14 nights this is a good deal, and it is being marketed in UK at moment between £1000-£1050.

We have cruised with both Thomson and Island (both ships), but have discovered much better value with better lines at similar, or lower prices!

Are you aware that the cruise previous to this one, leaving 17 May for 13 nights is $1099 with vtg although a one way flight will be necessary from Barcelona (low-cost). An identical cruise, in opposite direction on 23 August is only $999. In both cases you will need to add government taxes.

We have used vtg on 3 previous occasions, and they are excellent.

If you go to http://www.ncl.com and do a test booking you will get all the up front extras, Tax and fuel, there is also a $10pppd tips/service charge(don't be a meany and try not to pay this).

Try getting quotes on http://www.cruisecompete.com you may get a better deal than V2G, I have use http://www.bestpricecruises.com for 2 trips.

Jade 30May I get the following pricing for cheapest grade


_____Fare_______Tax______Fuel____Total
#1)__$1,224.76__$111.02__$98.00__$1,433.78 USD
#2)__$1,224.76__$111.02__$98.00__$1,433.78 USD
_____$2,449.52__$222.04__$196.00_$2,867.55 USD

If there is plenty of availability(check via the uk site ww.uk.ncl.com) I would wait and see if the higher grades get some reductions

We are yet to see what the final facilites will be on the Jade but they will be similar to the Jewel.
There is talk the self service laundry will be removed so may need to take 14days worth of kit.
They should do a pack a laundry bag for $20 part way through the trip.

Formal is optional.

Coffee is included with meals and there will be capa/expr machine in the garden cafe/great outdoors.

Sauna/steam are in the spa relaxation area and there is a daily charge or full cruise charge(guess $140pp)

Drinks are more expensivebu not oo much except wine $25min) than Thomsons/Island no AI option. NCL has a reputation for not letting alcohol to be taken on but we have managed wine boxes in checked luggage and things like beer in ports to top up the cabin options.

Some of the optional dining is extra charge so put $60pp in the budget to sample some of these(Bistro,Cagnies,Tepenyaki,asian/sushi, and maybe the italian), well worth it we do them all at least once

Inside cabins are very small but will do the job. Suites come with a lot of extras for a price.

If you book make sure you get on the rollcall on cuisecritic and go the meet&greet this will give you some inside info contacts.

If you have specific questions I can try and answer them, Jade is too new for specifics but been on Pearl,Jewel and Gem.

WJ...On the 2 nighters can you still pay a deposit for advance cruises and get the OBC?
Can the deposit voucher be used at any TA such as BP?
I am still watching the 13th October IST-ATH ...Just wondering if its worth booking now or later? We want a AD or AC or higher Would the chances of an upsell be better booking now or later?

Sorry to say I cannot remember if the offer was on the two Nighters.

Should be usable through any agent but there have been reports that they mix up the currency.

Some UK people booked throughthe US had them converted to £ and that caused a small issue later when they booked through the US again.

I noticed in a recent note from NCL that they are only part deposit on UK bookings but I thought they were a full deposit when we got them need to check the T&C again.

Upsells are a mystery, check the pricing on the 2 April cruises very closely and see what they do to offload the spare capacity, expect similar pattern in Oct.

Windjammer, thanks for mentioning that there may not be a self service laundrette on the Jade. I've just rung NCL and checked with them who confirm that disappointingly, there will only be the normal laundry facilities.

The good news for people who have yet to book NCL they are giving a free 5 category upgrade.

The good news for people who have yet to book NCL they are giving a free 5 category upgrade

Still cheaper through the US.

(upgrade are within catagory so no insdie to outside moves)

Ooh! Saw our category on this cruise so cheap with Vacations to Go a couple of weeks ago we could have wept unsurprisingly they now have the whole cruise listed as sold out.

Hamrag . We are booked on Jade 30th May which we booked when you spotted the great offer way back last Oct and posted it on here I have now paid in full but don't think I have paid the $10 pppd service charge should this have been charged upfront or is it added on to the shipboard account

Didn,t get any upgrade we have just booked a K grade inside but more than happy with the price

The $10pppd gratuities is normally added to the shipboard account.

luci

Update on 17 May 13 night cruise from Barcelona to Southampton, which was $1099 + other charges etc. a couple of days ago. It is now $949 + the other charges with vacationstogo or directly with ncl.com. When I did a dummy "booking" on the NCL site the total price is just under$1250pp and you only need to pay a service charge of $10pppd over and above, which will be added to the shipboard account.

Although leaving from Barcelona, it goes out to Nice, Florence, Rome, Naples and Cagliari before turning west again and heading to Southampton via other interesting ports. This is a good deal as it is easy and cheap to get to Barcelona.

Prindy

Credit where it is due - it was Windjammer who first posted the May 30th deal.

Bob

Windjammer/Hamrag

Apologies to you both about the Jade deal

Was away 4th Oct having a 45th wedding anniversary celebration came home on the 7th and read the deal Hamrag had booked

Both of you are a great asset to this site and we and 4 of our friends got a great deal so keep it up

Thanks Prindy for kind words. The important thing is to post the good deals, and help interested others to secure them. I have sent you a PM, which should be in your inbox.

For the record I was aware of the deal and trying to have my holiday request authorised for a few days back in October. After booking with vacations to go, I went onto HT to highlight the deal to others, only to find it already there....which is great!!

Windjammer does a really good job, much better than me, at posting many deals. I tend only to do this when I have been looking, and already booked something for ourselves.

Link courtesy of bobstheboy re the NCL announcement regarding Freestyle 2.0 being implemented on the Jade from 30th March.

http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/pressroom/pressRelease.html?storyCode=PR_031208_Freestyle2.0

luci

Luci

Thanks for posting the link - being a new boy I couldn't be trusted Only kidding

Freestyle 2.0 sounds really good -role on the 30th May

Bob

Just a few more posts Bob and you'll be posting links like a good 'un.

luci

Now I know why the 30th March sailing is sold out. I have been trying all day to find someone with a cabin on this sailing
If anyone spots any cancellations or cabins coming up can they let me know please