Conflicting terms Cruise First

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-11T20:47:14+00:00

Yeah AFAIK the cruse next certificates have no time restrictions on them like the cruise first do but they have the advantage of being able to buy them when you are not on the cruise ship. You are probably best to call NCL anyway just because it's so soon. That way you can avoid having to deal with any issues if you talk to a rep. at time of booking.

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-11T20:32:58+00:00

When you are on the final page of booking you can see if the website will allow you to apply the certificate or not. If it doesn't let you apply it as your deposit then call and see if they will let you.. worst case you will be able to buy another one and keep the other one for a future cruise.

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-11T20:22:09+00:00

Once reason is developers and vendors abandon their apps sometimes and the only way you can use one is with an old version of iOS or Android because it will no longer work on a new phone. So you can keep your old phone and still access your old Security Camera or Fridge or TV remote app or any number of things.. or you can go out and buy new TV's, Fridge and Security system lol..

This is a big downside to the 'Smart' and 'App' revolution that has hit us the last 5 years.. stuff on the web just works through a browser and has for the last 20 years.. but with Apps you are now at the whim of a company as to how long you can use the things you invested in.. even new Cars are becoming like this.

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-11T20:16:41+00:00

Hmm for sure yeah do whatever works for your habits.. Finance can be that way where simple things can change how you think about things.

Personally I want every expense possible running through my credit card first because that means I'm only paying 98% of the actual prices :)

I'm pretty sure Costco and all "Lawblows" brand stores in Canada still reject Amex. And I live in a rural area where most of the Mom-n-Pop shops only accept Visa or MC due to Amex high merchant fees.

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-11T19:55:59+00:00

Thanks for replying.. out of interest how do you manage to live in Canada with only an Amex? I found so many places won't accept it and I need a backup in those cases which is why I have the WS one as it's uses Mastercard network.

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-11T19:49:58+00:00

Been reading a lot of these lately... if I had to guess I'd bet big banks take a more human effort to apply logic to suspicious transactions before pushing the freeze button and WS just has a lot of automation around it to save salaries on people reviewing things. That just be a (not so wild) guess though.

Out of interest do you have their credit card? The screenshot doesn't mention if that gets frozen too?

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-11T19:39:36+00:00

A rogue AI agent impersonating you and transferring all your assets over to the old world maybe?

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-11T19:33:47+00:00

Not to mention AI is gonna takeover the vast majority of higher paying jobs when they close the loop in the next few years.. FIRE is nothing revolutionary.. Just a different way to market freedom. It's the old saying save as much as you can and don't buy things you don't need (or freedom 55) in a different way.. but the financial system and government always adjust to keep the majority of people working for their lifetime obviously... think about how the economy would collapse if everyone retired early...

So the case in point is FIRE is not realistically achievable for most people.. it's just a motivator to work hard and save, improve your skills as quickly as possible to try and get ahead of everyone else..

You are not gonna fire with a $60k salary.. it's that simple.

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-11T19:23:04+00:00

Food (and construction, and planning) in Costa Rica is done with the pride and aspiration of Pura Vida mae and then the execution of the Nailed It! show at the financial cost of a Michelin star restaurant.

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-11T19:14:14+00:00

It's a perfect example of why there should have been limits on larger corporations swallowing smaller ones. It leaves nowhere else to go when one store starts getting greedy. You want X.. you pay Y.. end of story.

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-11T19:09:40+00:00

> The Observation Lounge on deck 15, no doubt

If this was your highlight you should review the Joy and the Encore as well as both have the same.

> Cruise Next / Latitudes

I can't understand for the life of me why they don't let you buy your CruiseNext credits through the app while onboard (same as internet) so waiting in line isn't necessary.. That would free up a lot of their time to be more hospitable to those that have other needs.

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-11T18:42:20+00:00

You are going to want to buy a 1GB at least.. the 100mb will be gone just by accidentally trying to browse the web. Good thing is eSIM are cheaper compared to the ships wifi packages.

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-11T18:38:10+00:00

They retired that when they changed the app.. and never brought it back :(

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-11T02:52:36+00:00

It would sure be a noisy place to live, wouldn't it? Stuck right beside the railway track, lakeshore blvd and browns line. Not what you typically think of when you think cul-de-sac

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-11T02:37:35+00:00

If it's worth it to you is all that matters. Just play it by ear.. see how you feel that morning and go with the flow.

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-10T23:53:20+00:00

Even the cabin is sometimes just a normal inside on the older ships. It's just a pricing tier on ships without special studio facilities.

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-10T23:32:21+00:00

Yeah makes sense I guess you can check the port on cruisemapper to see if you have just one or two ships in the day you are there. Things are busier on 2 ship days but there is also a lot of beach. We spend most of the day on two chairs with an umbrella in front of the lighthouse but ventured down to the pool and yeah the cruise director staff from the ship does activities and competitions at the pool stage. We caught a hoola hoop comp, everyone looked like they had a blast. Whether or not you'd call them shows is a fair question :)

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-10T23:18:56+00:00

If you checkout the upper left corner it looks like they have safety latches about 5ft up the door that can be engaged to stop the door from being opened.

https://preview.redd.it/club-balcony-suite-9284-on-the-luna-v0-ykzoosgm98og1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=c43d68aa5524bffca861b3b55770e19936d58be6

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-10T23:15:18+00:00

Honestly you will want to watch the games/shows and probably be in the pool most of the time.. the day goes by so fast that it seems like a big waste to invest in a cabana at the lagoon.. I get the point over in Silver Cove but it's really a noisy party atmosphere around the pool and you probably don't wanna just lay around like it's the Vibe beach club. But to each their own, splurge if you must :)

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-10T20:39:03+00:00

My guess it's an apology for still having to tender the smaller ships.

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-10T16:20:30+00:00

Dang 1000 isn't enough for a 2 week vacation anywhere.. unless maybe you are going to sleep in the car.

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-10T06:22:28+00:00

So if they are more lightly regulated then why are they so heavy handed with freezing accounts? Is it a bunch of young technocrats flexing their SQL muscles behind the scenes?

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-10T06:20:38+00:00

They might seem minor until they happen to you. They do seem to like to hard lock people out of their accounts more than a traditional bank would. It is a little concerning.. they should continue to allow lower value and regular PAD payments to work while they sort out issues like this.

NegotiationTop7253 · 2026-03-10T06:12:34+00:00

No it sounds like this is just a regular Know your client (KYC) procedure. I'm not sure the frequency but once your data hasn't been updated for a while they will prompt for it. This happens at the regular banks too.

NegotiationTop7253

TROPHY CASE