7-Day Mexican Riviera Round-trip Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta for only $ 249.00 per person Following weeks will be $ 299.00 per person, still good.
Ship: Norwegian Star Embarkation port: Los Angeles Embarkation: Oct 10, 2009 Disembarkation: Oct 17, 2009 Ports of call: Los Angeles; Cabo San Lucas; Mazatlan; Puerto Vallarta
7-Day Mexican Riviera Round-trip Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta for only $ 249.00 per person Following weeks will be $ 299.00 per person, still good.
Ship: Norwegian Star Embarkation port: Los Angeles Embarkation: Oct 10, 2009 Disembarkation: Oct 17, 2009 Ports of call: Los Angeles; Cabo San Lucas; Mazatlan; Puerto Vallarta
thanks nJoi Only
The Company reserves the right to re-instate the fuel supplement for all guests should the price of light sweet crude oil according to the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange Index) increase above $65 per barrel. NCL may collect any fuel supplement charge in effect at the time of sailing, even if the cruise fare has been paid in full.
It includes food. But NCL implements freestyle cruising for their dining. I figured out that it means, they have several restaurants and you can go eat anywhere on the ship you want but only a few places are completely free. Most of the "nice" restaurants have a cover charge of ~$15/person. AND for those restaurants, the "nicer" items on the menu has another ~$10 surcharge. eg. Lobster was $25 ($15+10) per person. But even with that though my wife and I (and our 1 yr/old daughter @ the time) really enjoyed our trip to the mexican riviera last November, and would happily do it again.
great trip for the price, we did this one in April and are going this weekend again, but this time on RCL (with the formal dinning, etc.)
HikerT
Member
posted: Oct. 6, 2009 @ 7:11p
Most of the cabins are cheaper at cruise.com linky plus I think you get some on board credit (albeit minimal). FWIW, I always check Travelzoo.com for the best deals on anything travel related.
We've done the Freestyle dining and only 2 of the 5 restaurants cost anything extra. The three that were included with our fare were quite nice also. Alcohol was, of course, not included. But the corkage fee to bring our own wine on board wasn't too bad and we were able to have wine with dinner every night.
The reason this ship is marked down is because originally it was supposed to be in drydock for refurbishment but that got delayed so they found themselves with some dates to fill. The Star will be used as a hotel in Vancouver for the Olympics in Feb.
Sorry all - but I'd put out a big warning about what to expect with NCL. We did this cruise in March of this year. Although the ports were some of the best touring and excursions we'd ever done, we'll never go with NCL again. By the 3rd day of the cruise, it was amazing how many other customers on board were vocally complaining -- it practically became the conversation starter when we ran into new people! Here was the letter I sent to both Discover card (we used some CashBack rebate bonus) and NCL. Hope this helps with decision-making.
April 11, 2009
Dear Sir or Madam:
This letter is in reference to our cruise aboard the Norwegian Star on 3/28/2009. We were very, very disgusted with the service provided by Norwegian during our 7 days aboard the ship. In fact, we would absolutely rank this the bottom cruise out of the five we have taken in our lifetime – very untimely when you consider this cruise the celebration of our 15 year wedding anniversary. Unless provided a very compelling reason, we would never sail Norwegian again. The number of issues that our family encountered during the course of the week was enough that I had to take notes! Regrettably, after Norwegian was alerted to a great number of these issues at the midpoint of the week, they still did not correct them. At the end of the cruise, I actually had to argue with the customer service representative as to why I had let the issues occur! The proverbial icing on the cake was when they refused to believe that a bottle of alcohol was NOT missing out of the mini-bar. The attitude that I received was such that I finally demanded that they remove all of our service fees as they had yet to acknowledge the issues that were identified or even offer an apology. I’ve attached highlights of the service issues that were prevented below.
• The TV and TV remote in our room were in terrible shape. The TV could only be powered down by unplugging it from the wall. Both were ultimately replaced. This should have been caught as a quality control item prior to arrival in our cabin. • The shower door in our cabin fell off its hinges. Unfortunately, my foot caught the brunt of the weight. • The thermostat controls in our room were not very responsive. The buttons would work if you really jabbed them hard. This should have been caught as a quality control item prior to arrival in our cabin. • Our 7 year old daughter did not receive a single towel animal during the cruise. I did not realize that we should have been getting them until Wednesday when I noticed an insert in the daily newspaper that invited us to purchase Norwegian’s “How to make towel animal demo DVD”. When I contacted the front desk, they informed me the issue had already been turned in by someone on our floor and it would be addressed. The issue was never addressed. • It was nice to see that we had a coffee maker in our room. Unfortunately, it was never stocked with a coffee pot so that it was usable. • We finally had to ask for our shower gel to be replaced two days after it had run out. I would think that a quality control check would be to inspect/replenish all dispensers daily. • We experienced multiple occurrences of having to wait in line for 15 to 30 minutes for dinner. Once seated, we also experienced a situation where we waited over 45 minutes for a bottle of wine that had been ordered. The lines got so bad that it drove us to pay the “up charge” of dining in one of the other venues. Overall, we found the food incredibly mediocre except in Le Bistro.
In closing, it also apparent to us that the crew suffered from morale issues and was tired. Although it had been many years since we had previously sailed Norwegian, this ship absolutely did not have the eager-to-please, beaming faces that we had grown accustomed to with Carnival Cruise Lines. Perhaps this was an isolated case, but the issues were of enough significance that I was compelled to write and share our experiences. The Discover Card and Cruise and Vacation Desk should reconsider their affiliation with this very poor performing customer service provider. Sincerely,
awishon said: Sorry all - but I'd put out a big warning about what to expect with NCL. We did this cruise in March of this year. Although the ports were some of the best touring and excursions we'd ever done, we'll never go with NCL again. By the 3rd day of the cruise, it was amazing how many other customers on board were vocally complaining -- it practically became the conversation starter when we ran into new people! Here was the letter I sent to both Discover card (we used some CashBack rebate bonus) and NCL. Hope this helps with decision-making.
April 11, 2009
Dear Sir or Madam:
This letter is in reference to our cruise aboard the Norwegian Star on 3/28/2009. We were very, very disgusted with the service provided by Norwegian during our 7 days aboard the ship. In fact, we would absolutely rank this the bottom cruise out of the five we have taken in our lifetime – very untimely when you consider this cruise the celebration of our 15 year wedding anniversary. Unless provided a very compelling reason, we would never sail Norwegian again. The number of issues that our family encountered during the course of the week was enough that I had to take notes! Regrettably, after Norwegian was alerted to a great number of these issues at the midpoint of the week, they still did not correct them. At the end of the cruise, I actually had to argue with the customer service representative as to why I had let the issues occur! The proverbial icing on the cake was when they refused to believe that a bottle of alcohol was NOT missing out of the mini-bar. The attitude that I received was such that I finally demanded that they remove all of our service fees as they had yet to acknowledge the issues that were identified or even offer an apology. I’ve attached highlights of the service issues that were prevented below.
• The TV and TV remote in our room were in terrible shape. The TV could only be powered down by unplugging it from the wall. Both were ultimately replaced. This should have been caught as a quality control item prior to arrival in our cabin. • The shower door in our cabin fell off its hinges. Unfortunately, my foot caught the brunt of the weight. • The thermostat controls in our room were not very responsive. The buttons would work if you really jabbed them hard. This should have been caught as a quality control item prior to arrival in our cabin. • Our 7 year old daughter did not receive a single towel animal during the cruise. I did not realize that we should have been getting them until Wednesday when I noticed an insert in the daily newspaper that invited us to purchase Norwegian’s “How to make towel animal demo DVD”. When I contacted the front desk, they informed me the issue had already been turned in by someone on our floor and it would be addressed. The issue was never addressed. • It was nice to see that we had a coffee maker in our room. Unfortunately, it was never stocked with a coffee pot so that it was usable. • We finally had to ask for our shower gel to be replaced two days after it had run out. I would think that a quality control check would be to inspect/replenish all dispensers daily. • We experienced multiple occurrences of having to wait in line for 15 to 30 minutes for dinner. Once seated, we also experienced a situation where we waited over 45 minutes for a bottle of wine that had been ordered. The lines got so bad that it drove us to pay the “up charge” of dining in one of the other venues. Overall, we found the food incredibly mediocre except in Le Bistro.
In closing, it also apparent to us that the crew suffered from morale issues and was tired. Although it had been many years since we had previously sailed Norwegian, this ship absolutely did not have the eager-to-please, beaming faces that we had grown accustomed to with Carnival Cruise Lines. Perhaps this was an isolated case, but the issues were of enough significance that I was compelled to write and share our experiences. The Discover Card and Cruise and Vacation Desk should reconsider their affiliation with this very poor performing customer service provider. Sincerely,
awishon said: Sorry all - but I'd put out a big warning about what to expect with NCL. We did this cruise in March of this year. Although the ports were some of the best touring and excursions we'd ever done, we'll never go with NCL again. By the 3rd day of the cruise, it was amazing how many other customers on board were vocally complaining -- it practically became the conversation starter when we ran into new people! Here was the letter I sent to both Discover card (we used some CashBack rebate bonus) and NCL. Hope this helps with decision-making.
April 11, 2009
Dear Sir or Madam:
This letter is in reference to our cruise aboard the Norwegian Star on 3/28/2009. We were very, very disgusted with the service provided by Norwegian during our 7 days aboard the ship. In fact, we would absolutely rank this the bottom cruise out of the five we have taken in our lifetime – very untimely when you consider this cruise the celebration of our 15 year wedding anniversary. Unless provided a very compelling reason, we would never sail Norwegian again. The number of issues that our family encountered during the course of the week was enough that I had to take notes! Regrettably, after Norwegian was alerted to a great number of these issues at the midpoint of the week, they still did not correct them. At the end of the cruise, I actually had to argue with the customer service representative as to why I had let the issues occur! The proverbial icing on the cake was when they refused to believe that a bottle of alcohol was NOT missing out of the mini-bar. The attitude that I received was such that I finally demanded that they remove all of our service fees as they had yet to acknowledge the issues that were identified or even offer an apology. I’ve attached highlights of the service issues that were prevented below.
• The TV and TV remote in our room were in terrible shape. The TV could only be powered down by unplugging it from the wall. Both were ultimately replaced. This should have been caught as a quality control item prior to arrival in our cabin. • The shower door in our cabin fell off its hinges. Unfortunately, my foot caught the brunt of the weight. • The thermostat controls in our room were not very responsive. The buttons would work if you really jabbed them hard. This should have been caught as a quality control item prior to arrival in our cabin. • Our 7 year old daughter did not receive a single towel animal during the cruise. I did not realize that we should have been getting them until Wednesday when I noticed an insert in the daily newspaper that invited us to purchase Norwegian’s “How to make towel animal demo DVD”. When I contacted the front desk, they informed me the issue had already been turned in by someone on our floor and it would be addressed. The issue was never addressed. • It was nice to see that we had a coffee maker in our room. Unfortunately, it was never stocked with a coffee pot so that it was usable. • We finally had to ask for our shower gel to be replaced two days after it had run out. I would think that a quality control check would be to inspect/replenish all dispensers daily. • We experienced multiple occurrences of having to wait in line for 15 to 30 minutes for dinner. Once seated, we also experienced a situation where we waited over 45 minutes for a bottle of wine that had been ordered. The lines got so bad that it drove us to pay the “up charge” of dining in one of the other venues. Overall, we found the food incredibly mediocre except in Le Bistro.
In closing, it also apparent to us that the crew suffered from morale issues and was tired. Although it had been many years since we had previously sailed Norwegian, this ship absolutely did not have the eager-to-please, beaming faces that we had grown accustomed to with Carnival Cruise Lines. Perhaps this was an isolated case, but the issues were of enough significance that I was compelled to write and share our experiences. The Discover Card and Cruise and Vacation Desk should reconsider their affiliation with this very poor performing customer service provider. Sincerely,
I stopped reading when I got to the TV part. I mean, seriously, do you really have time to watch TV on a cruise??? I'm having so much fun on the boat that I barely get 4 hours of sleep each night!
Nope, no response from NCL. That was the last straw with us -- they had plenty of opportunity during and after the cruise to win our patronage back. We didn't watch too much TV but it is a luxury item for a 7-year old.
awishon said: Nope, no response from NCL. That was the last straw with us -- they had plenty of opportunity during and after the cruise to win our patronage back. We didn't watch too much TV but it is a luxury item for a 7-year old.Do a chargeback with Discover.
winton said: So how much is it including taxes, tips, excursions, cab fares, this, n that? Thanks!
Ask a serious question and maybe you'll get a serious answer. An estimate of about 10% will usually put you pretty close to the price of the cruise with taxes and fees if you don't want to click through the booking process. Hopefully you're smart enough to know that the cost of excursions, tips, etc. will depend on the person taking the cruise. Alcoholic drinks cost extra if you imbibe.
By posing you're question in this manner, you seem to be implying that you don't think this is a good deal, when in fact it is a great deal for a 7-day/night cruise. If you estimate a final price of $550 for a couple, that breaks down to less than $80/night/couple for lodging and all you can eat food, not to mention the entertainment on board and being transported to some neat locations.
Cruises aren't for everyone, but where else are you going to find a week's vacation at this price?
I traveled NCL recently and read a ton of reviews beforehand so I knew what to expect and had a great experience.
NCL however is about $200person/week cheaper than comparable cruise lines so understand you do get what you pay for.
The biggest problem they have with service is that tips are automatically added on as a cost to your account, and you also end up sitting with a different waiter every night so they are not incentivized to provide great service.
One of the best things you can do is find out at the begining of the cruise who you room steward is and talk to them nicely. Tell them of any special needs that you might have (like a young child is traveling with you). Find out what their name is and call them by name. It is amazing how much better your service will be. And if you have any needs or issues go and speak with them first.
I've taken four cruises to Mexico from Los Angeles / San Diego areas. I can't speak from experience about NCL, but my travel agent, who specializes in cruises, won't book NCL cruises because of the complaints that she inevitably gets. If you look, you will find the same cruises on Carnival and Royal for $50-$100 per person more. Check out Vacations To Go. You'll see NCL cruises cheaper than others on the same routes, including Hawaii.
For those that enjoyed NCL, that's fantastic. A cruise is a great deal for the money. Food, entertainment and other stuff is all included. If one isn't piggish, you can usually bring booze on board without a problem.
Like restaurants--Sizzler vs. Cattlemans vs. Morton's, it comes down to what you're willing to pay for what you get.
HikerT
Member
posted: Oct. 7, 2009 @ 11:31a
mpattdu said: winton said: So how much is it including taxes, tips, excursions, cab fares, this, n that? Thanks!
Ask a serious question and maybe you'll get a serious answer. An estimate of about 10% will usually put you pretty close to the price of the cruise with taxes and fees if you don't want to click through the booking process. Hopefully you're smart enough to know that the cost of excursions, tips, etc. will depend on the person taking the cruise. Alcoholic drinks cost extra if you imbibe.
By posing you're question in this manner, you seem to be implying that you don't think this is a good deal, when in fact it is a great deal for a 7-day/night cruise. If you estimate a final price of $550 for a couple, that breaks down to less than $80/night/couple for lodging and all you can eat food, not to mention the entertainment on board and being transported to some neat locations.
Cruises aren't for everyone, but where else are you going to find a week's vacation at this price?
I don't see how you could get a final price of $550 for a couple. Maybe *per person* but not per couple. Don't forget to add the mandatory $12/day service charge. Beverage costs can also add up. Here's the minimum cost *per person* assuming you didn't want to pay for any excursions or eat at any of the nice restaurants:
Room: $299 (cheapest available now) Tax: $64 Tips: $84 (minimum $12 / day) Beverages: $70 ($10 per day minimum unless you drink water only, may be cheaper if you get a soda card, budget a lot more if you drink alcohol) Minimum: $517 per person before.... Transfers: ??? Airfare: ???
Not saying this is a bad deal (it's pretty good for a cruise), but it does add up.
svxman said: It includes food. But NCL implements freestyle cruising for their dining. I figured out that it means, they have several restaurants and you can go eat anywhere on the ship you want but only a few places are completely free. Most of the "nice" restaurants have a cover charge of ~$15/person. AND for those restaurants, the "nicer" items on the menu has another ~$10 surcharge. eg. Lobster was $25 ($15+10) per person. But even with that though my wife and I (and our 1 yr/old daughter @ the time) really enjoyed our trip to the mexican riviera last November, and would happily do it again.
Was there any trouble with the 1 yr old baby? Does the baby needs a passport?
Oops, I was a little low on my tax estimate; more like 20%.
Of course there is a difference between the cost of the cruise itself, and the cost of everything else you may or may not decide to add on to it. There's nothing wrong with mentioning or asking about those things, but based on the poster's tone, I doubt he/she is really interested; just trying to be a smarta$$.
Thanks to mpattdu for the initial response. Even though he got the impression that I wasn't serious in my question, and that I was implying it wasn't a good deal, he still wrote a civil post.
On his second post, while responding to HikerT, I am not sure why he felt it was necessary to drag me in again, and call me a smarta$$. Oh, well . . .
Thanks much to HikerT. While I may not have articulated my original question the best possible way, his response has much of the information I was looking for. I recently got burnt for more than $200 on a $39 airfare with assorted taxes, tack-on fees for segments, security, luggage, etc. Plus, of course, the cab fares to and from the airports. The $39 deal turned out to be not so cheap after all.
I had heard that cruises end up costing 2-1/2 to 3 times the advertised price, not including excursions and alcohol, both of which I can do without. In a nutshell, I wanted to know how much I needed in toto. At this point in time, I can't afford any financial surprises.
Thanks again!
HikerT
Member
posted: Oct. 7, 2009 @ 6:57p
winton, I hear ya about the "surprises". I've been researching cruises for a while and it's been frustrating trying to figure out what's included and what isn't (and I still don't feel like I've got a good handle on what to expect). A lot of the more recent cruise reviews I've read (on pretty much all the cruise lines) talk about being nickel and dimed for pretty much everything, with the trend only getting worse with the state of the economy. What's almost as frustrating is trying to figure out what kind of room you're actually getting. For example, the cheap "ocean view" rooms only give you a small porthole. Want a real window? Well, that's another upgrade. What, you actually want a window with a view that isn't completely obstructed? Oh, that's another upgrade... The "all you can eat food" comment kind of cracked me up since a lot of the reviewers commented about losing weight on their cruise because the food that was "included" in the price was that bad.
ramanarora
Member
posted: Oct. 7, 2009 @ 7:56p
I have been with carnival this Jan and will be going again in nov..
tip is already added 10-12 $ / pp / pday into ur account... it does hurt if u get bad service ...
formal dining is really good .. .as u get 6-8 course meal... so prefer to eat in restaurant whenever u get chance.. (u can always go to buffet)...
regarding onshore excursions ... read before u go .. and book them off shore... get off ship and talk with agents there., n book there,., it will be less than half price there.,,. TIP : pay in which ever currency u negotiate price ...ie dont negotiate in peso n pay in $$s ...
Food .. is always good as u get large variety ... never got time / chance to see TV .... entertainment is good ...
alcohol.. try sneaking in some in ur checked in luggage if u cant live w/out it ... or else buy from bars over there... they don't restrict u from brining ur own soda into ship.. so u can get ur own coke n save $$s...
if u wanna save $$s.. book cheapest interior room.,., as if u like to sleep till late in morning.., that will be boon as sunlight will not disturb u .. also most of time u spend outside.. so u will not get much chance to enjoy ocean view room (obviously good view needs upgrade)...
one thing .. just go to ship with relaxation in mind... u will enjoy everything ... As if u want to find mistakes.. u will find issue with each and everything ... remember u r on vacation .. and ppl serving u are humans...they can make mistakes...
ramanarora said: I have been with carnival this Jan and will be going again in nov..
tip is already added 10-12 $ / pp / pday into ur account... it does hurt if u get bad service ...
formal dining is really good .. .as u get 6-8 course meal... so prefer to eat in restaurant whenever u get chance.. (u can always go to buffet)...
regarding onshore excursions ... read before u go .. and book them off shore... get off ship and talk with agents there., n book there,., it will be less than half price there.,,. TIP : pay in which ever currency u negotiate price ...ie dont negotiate in peso n pay in $$s ...
Food .. is always good as u get large variety ... never got time / chance to see TV .... entertainment is good ...
alcohol.. try sneaking in some in ur checked in luggage if u cant live w/out it ... or else buy from bars over there... they don't restrict u from brining ur own soda into ship.. so u can get ur own coke n save $$s...
if u wanna save $$s.. book cheapest interior room.,., as if u like to sleep till late in morning.., that will be boon as sunlight will not disturb u .. also most of time u spend outside.. so u will not get much chance to enjoy ocean view room (obviously good view needs upgrade)...
one thing .. just go to ship with relaxation in mind... u will enjoy everything ... As if u want to find mistakes.. u will find issue with each and everything ... remember u r on vacation .. and ppl serving u are humans...they can make mistakes...
NachA said: is a passport required to go on cruises to mexico? my father's passport just recently expired.
yes!!!
ramanarora
Member
posted: Oct. 7, 2009 @ 8:56p
NachA said: is a passport required to go on cruises to mexico? my father's passport just recently expired.
expired passport might work.. check with cruise line... as if they just need proof of citizenship .. then exp passport / birth certi / naturalization papers and valid pic ID might work....
Carnival has this info @ their site
"Carnival Cruise Lines strongly recommends all of our guests travel with a valid passport. However, as of June 1, 2009, U.S. citizens embarking on a cruise that both originates and terminates at the same U.S. port are not required to have a passport, but will need proof of citizenship such as an original or certified copy of a birth certificate, a certificate of naturalization, a passport card, an enhanced driver’s license (EDL) as well as a government-issued photo ID. Children are also required to bring proof of citizenship, and if 16 and over, a photo ID is also required."
TrueKnight said: I stopped reading when I got to the TV part. I mean, seriously, do you really have time to watch TV on a cruise??? I'm having so much fun on the boat that I barely get 4 hours of sleep each night!I found the TV to be useful during a cruise. You can learn a bit about the next port, etc. In any case, the thing should work. It ain't the Flea Motel with the bolted down remotes
Actually, if you read on, the TV was the least of the problems
ramanarora
Member
posted: Oct. 7, 2009 @ 9:23p
mpkb said: TrueKnight said: I stopped reading when I got to the TV part. I mean, seriously, do you really have time to watch TV on a cruise??? I'm having so much fun on the boat that I barely get 4 hours of sleep each night!I found the TV to be useful during a cruise. You can learn a bit about the next port, etc. In any case, the thing should work. It ain't the Flea Motel with the bolted down remotes
Actually, if you read on, the TV was the least of the problems
u can get all useful info by attending seminar or reading brochure (5mins job)...
just wondering why ppl become so picky while on vacation... just think that ppl who are serving u are away from their homes for months .. and working @ lowest ever salary... ppl serving drink work on tip only .. their shift is 6-9 months...
just give them benefit of doubt.. thats what i will do .. duno about others...
Costco travel is quoting $1700 for mini suite, 1430 for Balcony (guarantee) - all inclusive + travel insurance for 2 adults + 1 infant, for oct 31st travel
I went on this exact cruise in March and loved it. I don't know what people are talking about NCL being bad. Yes, its not super fancy, but we always had good food, the staff was really nice, and people always seemed to be having a great time. You are getting lodging, travel, food and entertainment for under $100 a night, come on.
When we got there, our TV remote didn't work, but we called and they replaced it in 5 minutes. The specialty restaurants do have a co-charge, but the 2 main dining rooms are free, and had good food (one night was lobster tail). Even if you ate at the specialty restaurants every night (which we did twice and they were amazing), its still cheaper than going on another cruise line that has fancy food at every meal.
I have another cruise booked in December on NCL and cannot wait.
I recommend reading reviews here on this ship and cruise.
The price for most of the categories fell down by $50 per person when compared to last week. Did any one try calling ncl or travel agent to see if they will give an on ship credit or an upgrade? I called my travel agent today and they will be getting back to me tomorrow.
Disclaimer: By providing links to other sites, FatWallet.com does not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to FatWallet.com.
Members of our community may attach files to a post in accordance with the User Agreement. FatWallet is not responsible for the content, accuracy, completeness or validity of any information contained in any attached file. Files have *not* been scanned for viruses. Be especially wary of Excel files which may contain malicious content.
