SeahawkSiren

Just booked NCL Viva today for July/August 2023, Lisbon to London!  We have never been to any of the ports on the 9 day itinerary so it will be awesome to experience an all new itinerary! Already dreaming of my first glass of Prosecco once aboard this beautiful new ship! 🥂

84 days until the Bliss Mexican Riviera!

On 1/30/2021 at 5:10 PM, 4daughters said:

Just booked😀
Norwegian Sun 11 night Bangkok to Singapore 2023, best things to do / see? TIA

My husband and I just booked this cruise as well.  Have never been to Asia before.  The itinerary looks amazing! Have been on several cruises but have never booked airfare through the cruise line until now.  We'd much prefer to book our own flights but with second person flying free promotion for this exotic cruise we decided to go for it.  Hopefully there will not be any issues.  We are choosing to arrive 2 days prior to the cruise.

We have been on the Sun once before back in 2016 for a Panama Canal cruise which was prior to its refurbishment.  Looking forward to being on the updated Sun!

Thanks for the photos.  I was supposed to be boarding the Bliss next weekend in Los Angeles for a Mexican Riviera cruise.  Encore, I've got a 17 night full transit Panama Canal cruise scheduled next year.  I hope you'll be back in the US by then and please pick me up in San Francisco in October 2021! 🤞

Another vote for the aft mini suites on the Sun.  We were in 9278 back in 2016 and absolutely loved it!  And that was prior to the Sun's refurbishment so I can only imagine how nice it is now.

Nice large cabin with plenty of storage and room for a full size couch and table.

Large balcony with room for two loungers.

Full size tub in the bathroom with a separate toilet room (door to the right).

Also a large closet with loads of storage and drawers and a sitting area across from the closet.

This cruise was originally supposed to be an 11 night Mexican Riviera but NCL cancelled that and turned it into a 14 night full transit Panama Canal cruise from Miami to San Diego.  I had secretly upgraded us from a side balcony to this aft mini suite prior to the itinerary change to surprise DH.  When I told him about the itinerary change he was initially concerned about how much more time off he'd have to take from work and was reluctant to go.  So then I had to spill the beans about the aft mini suite to convince him!  There was no way I was giving up an aft mini suite for a Panama Canal cruise so of course we went!  Priceless views from the aft. Still in my top 2 of best cruises ever!

Goodbye Mexican Riviera cruise in October.  Goodbye angled balcony on the Bliss.  Goodbye to sitting on The Waterfront sipping drinks.  Goodbye to so much more.

We've just been doing road trip getaways here locally in Washington state.  We have a lakeside cabin to escape to that's been in the family for over 40 years.  I have always treasured that place but even more so now.

We have also been to a couple VRBO rentals that are just awesome (we had been to both prior to the pandemic as well).  Both are on huge pieces of property with no neighbors nearby.  I've called those trips social distancing to the extreme!  Peaceful and quiet locations.

I have a Bliss Mexican Riviera cruise scheduled for October which I know will be cancelled any day now and understandably so.

Wish I was there!  I have to wait a year for my turn on the Solstice!  Bucket list cruise in April 2021 doing the Transpacific from Sydney to Honolulu.  20 days of bliss on the Solstice!

Bliss (a beautiful ship; The Waterfront is so awesome along with many other places on the ship!)

Spirit (loved Raffles Terrace at the back of the ship)

Sun (the best aft mini suites ever!)

Pearl

Star

A few years ago our Panama Canal cruise included a stop in Acapulco.  We did an NCL excursion called Endangered Baby Sea Turtles and City Drive.  I don't know if that is still offered.  It was a lot of fun releasing the turtles into the ocean and learning about them.  Here is a link to my review and there are photos of this excursion if you are interested.

We had lunch at Los Delfines along the water.  It was a bit of a walk from the ship but a nice, casual place that we had almost to ourselves.

We never felt unsafe in Acapulco.

I called and re-booked our excursions.  I didn't want to risk trying to re-book on my own on the website.  Saved $200.00!  Nice!

65 days until my first Celebrity cruise - 7 day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Summit!

511 days until my second Celebrity cruise - 20 day Transpacific on the Solstice!

Looking forward to your review!  Doing this exact same itinerary in a couple of months on the Summit on January 25, 2020.  Will also be my first time sailing Celebrity.  Actually, the entire trip will be firsts as I've never been to San Juan or any of the ports!

Too many to post, but these are some of my most memorable:

Sailing out of Venice, Italy in 2007.

Amazing weather in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska in 2014.

An 11 day Mexican Riviera cruise in 2016 was cancelled and turned into a 14 day Panama Canal cruise from Miami to San Diego.  I had upgraded from a side balcony to an aft balcony prior to the cancellation to surprise DH.  He didn't want to go on the PC cruise as he was worried about taking more time off work.  I had to spill the beans about the aft balcony and told him we were not cancelling having an aft balcony (and getting price protection and 3 extra nights) going through the PC (a bucket list cruise which fell into our laps).  Needless to say, it's one of our favorite cruises to date.

Sailing into Valletta, Malta on a 2017 Mediterranean cruise.

The Acropolis/Parthenon in Athens, Greece on that same cruise.

Santorini, Greece on that same cruise.

Pompeii on that same cruise, followed by an amazing sunset as we were leaving Naples, Italy.

Spent 2 days in Rome, Italy after that same cruise.  Toured the Colosseum one day.

Toured The Vatican on our last day before heading home.

Cruising is awesome, to say the least!

I'm another vote for Hotel Barcelona Universal.  We stayed there 2 nights pre-cruise back in 2017.  We stayed in one of the Junior Suites on the 9th floor with a huge terrace.  Great hotel in a convenient location.  Metro stop right across the street.  10 minute walk to Las Ramblas.  The breakfast was really nice too, very expansive for a continental breakfast.

https://www.hotelbarcelonauniversal.com/en/

There are photos of the room and the terrace here in my review.

Here is a link to my Sun review.  We were on the Sun back in 2016 (before the refurbishments) on a Panama Canal cruise.  We loved the ship!

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2334907-review-of-panama-canal-cruise–14-nights-on-ncl-sun-october-14–28-2016-with-photos/

3 hours ago, Oldgoat61 said:

I have a question about this perk.  When did it first become available?  I am trying to get this perk thru my TA, and they say it only applies to cruises booked on, or after 9/9.  Is this true??

 

Thanks

I think your TA is mistaken.  Our cruise was booked back in January 2019 and we were able to add this no problem by calling NCL.  The booking window for this extra $50 began on 9/9 but I didn't see anything on NCL website in the T&C that it only applies to cruises booked on or after 9/9.  We were able to take advantage of a price drop as well.  Good luck!

Thank you so much to tallnthensome and LaCal for this information!  I just called NCL and was able to get the extra excursion credit for our Mexican Riviera cruise on the Bliss next year.  And the price had also dropped since the original booking so we saved an additional $540 too!  It was worth the 45 minutes on hold! 😀

I did a Panama Canal cruise on the Sun back in 2016 (Miami to San Diego).  Still one of my favorite cruises to date.  Here is a link to my review with plenty of photos of the Sun, the canal itself, and all the excursions we chose.  Our cruise was prior to the Sun's refurbishment.  Really enjoyed that ship, the perfect size.  Enjoy your cruise!

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2334907-review-of-panama-canal-cruise–14-nights-on-ncl-sun-october-14–28-2016-with-photos/

We've had two amazing aft balcony experiences, one on the Sun (aft mini suite) and the other on the Bliss (aft balcony).

Here are a couple photos from our aft mini suite on the Sun going through the Panama Canal back in 2016 (we were in cabin 9278).  Such an incredible, unforgettable experience!  While we did move around the ship for different vantage points, nothing beat our own private view from the aft.

And here a some shots from our aft balcony on the Bliss last year for an Alaska cruise.  We were in cabin 12910.

We did have some soot on our balcony during both cruises but certainly not enough to stop us from booking the aft again.  It was a very minor issue to us.  Staying on the aft, the pros far outweigh any cons IMO.

I think you will love the aft balcony experience!  In fact, you may have the same problem we did after being on the aft, going back to side balconies!  😉  Enjoy!

Great review, thanks for sharing!  Brings back memories from my Bliss Alaska cruise last year. 

So glad you enjoyed Seattle too.  Love seeing photos from my hometown.  I have not been up in the Space Needle yet since they did all that remodeling and added all that glass.  I may have to pass on that.  I was getting sweaty palms just looking at your photos from up there. 😅

Have a great cruise, Bird!  I got a few shots of the Joy Saturday afternoon before you left Seattle!

No, we were on a land tour with a rental car.  But I would be nervous trying to catch a 6PM train with a tour that ends at 5:30, especially if it does not get back exactly on time.  Maybe you could book the 7.5 hour Major Marine tour instead and give yourself that extra 90 minutes buffer (I know you mentioned above you already booked the 9 hour one Kenai Fjords Tours)?  The 7.5 hour MM tour also has glacier viewing.

11 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

 

We also have done the 8.5 hour Major Marine tour in addition to their 7.5 hour (or so) tours.  Just to make sure that folks understand that there is no "assigned seating" such as an assigned airplane seat on any of their trips.  You are not assigned a seat and expected to sit in it during the trip duration.  You are assigned a table seat slot.  All of the Major Marine ships have enough space so that there is no issue in moving around the vessel during the day cruise.

We were not assigned a table seat slot.  When we boarded we were told it was open seating and we could choose where to sit (I think this may only be applicable to this particular vessel as it was worded as "there is no assigned seating on this vessel."  I can see where there may be the need to assign a table seat slot on the much larger boats).  Some chose to sit inside, others chose outside.  There was a max of 36 passengers on this particular cruise.

I will say on a completely separate note for those that are very interested in photography and want to be outside a lot, if you choose to sit inside you may want to sit on the aisle as on this vessel it was 6 slots per table, 3 on each side (and it was bench seating, not separate seats).  If you were to sit in the middle or next to the window you will need the people next to you to let you out of your seat if you want to go outside.  There was always a mad dash to get outside to the railings every time we got close to something of interest so if you don't have quick access to the outside that could be problematic for getting photos.  We purposely chose to sit outside for the entire cruise for that reason, to be closer to the railings, to be able to get photos and move around outside easier.

We just returned from our Major Marine tour earlier this month.  It was the longest tour they offer, the 8.5 hour Northwestern Fjord cruise.  I believe the Viewfinder, the vessel we were on, is the smallest vessel in their fleet and it does have covered outdoor seating (the clear tarp surrounding was never completely opened).  We chose to sit out there for the entire cruise and not inside the cabin.  There was no assigned seats or tables, it was open seating and people were moving all over the vessel - inside, outside, taking photos, etc.  Having said that, even without assigned seating people did return to their original spots as that was where we stored our belongings.

I have read that some of their larger vessels do require assigned seating but just wanted to point out that our vessel was small enough that it did not require that.

https://majormarine.com/tour/8-5-hour-northwestern-fjord-cruise/