I’ve gone on many cruises with a number of completely different cruise traces, nevertheless it wasn’t till a number of sailings on Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) that I lastly noticed some advantages from my membership in a cruise loyalty program. I moved as much as the Platinum tier in NCL’s Latitudes program.

Right here’s how NCL’s Latitudes program works and the way I used my advantages.

Cruisers earn 1 level for each cruise evening and extra factors for reserving a collection or The Haven. It’s also possible to earn further factors with explicit gives.

NCL mechanically enrolls passengers after their first cruise, so that you don’t should do something to enroll.

My latest cruise on the Norwegian Getaway was my seventh on NCL, relationship again to 2009. I’ve earned factors on every one. Earlier than this cruise started, I had spent 53 nights on board NCL ships and earned bonus factors for 2 of my cruises, so I had 81 factors earlier than my crusing on the NCL Getaway. After the cruise, I had 88.

That made me a Platinum Latitudes member, which is the mid-level tier and the one the place advantages actually begin to kick in.

Latitudes has seven tiers, largely named after jewels or metals:

• Ambassador: 700+ factors. 

On the highest Ambassador stage, one of many advantages is a free seven-day cruise.

The factors you earn ought to present up in your account inside 48 hours after you end your cruise.

Perks kick in after one cruise, with the most effective onboard profit for Bronze members being a ten% low cost in shipboard duty-free outlets for NCL brand merchandise. That low cost will increase to fifteen% in any respect different tiers.

On the Silver stage, members get reductions on shore excursions, pictures and on the spa for some remedies throughout port days. The quantity of the reductions will increase because the Latitudes stage will increase. For instance, the shore tour low cost is 10% for Silver, Gold and Platinum; 15% for Sapphire and Diamond; and 20% for Ambassador.

It’s good that you need to use this low cost when reserving shore excursions on-line earlier than crusing. The low cost will present up within the buying cart.

All ranges besides Bronze additionally get an invite to a cocktail celebration on board.

There are additionally advantages reminiscent of discounted or free laundry, precedence tender tickets and free water for Gold and better.

Actually, I by no means discovered these advantages to be price a lot since I didn’t purchase pictures and like to go to the spa on sea days quite than port days, so I did not get too excited when discovering the cardboard in my cabin explaining the onboard advantages on the Gold tier.

One factor I didn’t understand on my four-night cruise on the Norwegian Jewel is the very fact Latitudes advantages kick in solely on cruises which might be 5 nights or longer, so whereas I acquired the onboard reductions, I didn’t get any of the advantages of being a Gold tier member on the time, just like the water.

I’ve moved up on the planet of Latitudes and am now a Platinum member, so this time I used to be excited to get the advantages card in my cabin on the Getaway.

The improve in standing actually means expanded advantages that begin to add as much as actual price financial savings and an elevated expertise.

Beginning at Platinum standing, members get:

• Chocolate-covered strawberries. 

• Dinner for 2 with a bottle of wine.

• A behind-the-scenes ship tour. 

These advantages have worth to me.

Chocolate-covered strawberries price about $25 for a plate of six, and eating in a specialty restaurant might be $60 per individual, so two dinners for 2 individuals might be price $240. That is not together with the worth of the bottle of wine at one dinner.

Sadly, there have been solely two strawberries on the plate that was delivered to the room, however they have been enormous and scrumptious.

The behind-the-scenes tour is $139 per individual, and a bag of laundry is $34.

These advantages alone have a price of $438 (not together with a wine tasting or the bottle of wine), which goes a great distance towards saving on a cruise. These advantages additionally enabled me to strive the specialty eating eating places, that are actually good on Norwegian, without spending a dime.

One other good thing about being a Platinum elite on Norwegian is the power to e-book leisure, eating and onboard actions early. This could come in useful since specialty eating reservations are often solely out there to e-book as soon as on board.

Whereas advantages enhance at larger ranges, I don’t assume the precedence restaurant seating or the dinner with officers are actually that significantly better than the advantages on the Platinum stage. Diamond members get a one-time free cabin improve, and Ambassadors get a free seven-day cruise. These might be price some huge cash, however you’d should spend a few yr complete on a ship to earn the cabin improve and nearly two years of cruising to get the free cruise.

Whereas among the Latitudes advantages are automated, others required some motion on my half as soon as on board.

It began at check-in on the pier after I was ready to make use of the precedence space. I admit I used to be a bit excited for this profit for the reason that common traces might be very lengthy.

My buddy and I have been in a position to bypass the common check-in line and have been on board about 10 minutes after going by safety. The opposite line was not too lengthy after we arrived, however we didn’t have to attend in any respect.

The Platinum card that was in my room had some coupons hooked up to it. To make use of the laundry profit, I needed to embody the coupon with the laundry bag. The coupons additionally needed to go to my dinners within the specialty eating places with me.

I want there was a strategy to make this stuff automated so I’d not have needed to maintain observe of the coupons and never by chance throw them away. I additionally needed to bear in mind to take them to dinner with me.

As for the behind-the-scenes tour and wine tasting, I needed to cease by the CruiseNext desk to search out out the main points about these occasions.

I ended by the desk just a few hours after getting on board solely to search out out the behind-the-scenes tour was already offered out, so I wasn’t going to have the ability to use that profit. I used to be ready to enroll in the wine tasting, however came upon it was just for one individual, not each of us within the cabin. It will have been the identical for the tour.

Whereas I perceive the reasoning for this, it was a bit annoying to go to the wine tasting alone and I didn’t keep lengthy because it was merely strolling round to 4 stations and making an attempt wines, not a tasting at a desk with explanations like I assumed it might be.

Whereas the decrease ranges of the NCL Latitudes program don’t have many actual advantages of worth, the Platinum stage is the place they begin to turn out to be noticeable. Free dinners and actions could make a cruise each extra satisfying and value efficient.

My buddy took house the free bottle of wine (since we had a drink package deal on board) and unpacked clear garments after utilizing the free laundry profit. We additionally each loved the 2 further dinners on the specialty eating places.

Prime photograph by Tiffani Sherman.