retired714

We were on a cruise last summer and there was an extended family that had quite a few people and the staff moved some tables for them so they were all together. 

Wow! Do you have a travel agent? You might talk to them. If you went through NCL to set your cruise up, you should call. The balcony cabin on the Spirit is about half the size of the club balcony on the Sun, so in our family that would definitely make a difference in the quality of the cruise. The email you received didn’t say anything about compensation or credits? I know you haven’t had much time to process this, but is your schedule flexible enough to change to a different cruise on a different ship?

The larger room would be way more comfortable for all 3 of you. 
we did a cruise in the Bliss in rear facing haven, and found 2 things that would apply. First is the Haven dining room is not stuffy, but we found it quieter and less hurried than the main dining room (we tried the MDR one night). The second thing is I am lactose intolerant. They were so attentive. I don’t know how many gluten free choices they may offer, but I do know that I mentioned lactose intolerant before the cruise and so they were ready for me, actually in every restaurant to let me know what I shouldn’t eat. Still be a good idea to bring you GF muffins & snacks for just in case. 

We were on the Bliss in a rear facing Haven for Alaska last year. It was amazing. I had a very recent back injury so the walk to the Haven area in the front of the ship was pretty daunting- but the balcony and the views were great. The cabin was so spacious. We had a bar a couple decks below us as well as a bottle of wine, so without too much effort sitting on the deck with a cool drink (or coffee with a shot of baileys) and the yummy hors d’oeuvres went a long way toward easing my pain.

I’ve been to Alaska twice. We have ATT and our service has always been fine. We didn’t need to do anything to get service because Alaska is a state

3 hours ago, cruzbound said:

 

This has nothing to do with opinions, just a quick question - will NCL customize, so to speak, the meals?  I do not do vegetables (so would they leave them off the plate?) and I only like certain kinds of potatoes (so if they have potatoes I don't like, could I get mashed potatoes in their place?).

We have only sailed on NCL one time on the Bliss last summer. I am lactose intolerant, so I am careful about things with sauces and with desserts. The staff in all the restaurants we ate in were great  about subbing things for me. I am sure they will do it for you.

Maybe because September is Hurricane season, so the ship lines go where the weather is better?

We were in an Aft facing Penthouse last summer on the Bliss. I actually don’t remember the slippers, but I don’t ever wear slippers, so that may be why. I will say the robe and towels were great. They were both very nice quality.

@casofilia, @julig22

Was you flight information for the flight from Alaska to Seattle in your edocs? Or is that in never land with my flight to Fairbanks? 

We are supposed to be starting a pre cruise land tour on July 19. Yesterday I talked to my TA and she confirmed that she does not have my reservation to get to Fairbanks to start the tour. Today her manager called and said my TA had been on the phone 4 hours with Norwegian Air and no reservation yet. An hour ago, Norwegian air called me and wanted to know where I was trying to fly since I live in Seattle, where I get the ship. Norwegian definitely has me on the land tour. What should I have done different so Norwegian Air would have known where I needed to fly? I thought the pre and post cruise land tours are not that unusual? Right now, I am very concerned about this whole fiasco and how we will be taken care of during the 4 days we are in Alaska. Is this a “normal” problem? Lots of people say these land tours are wonderful. Well, except for the ones that say it is difficult to find places to eat dinner. And now this.

Even though it’s not the best time, at least you know they are making some albeit minimal effort to get you where you need to go. We have an air/sea that is supposed to start 3 weeks from today - and have NO INFORMATION about our flights. And of course, my TA was on vacation until yesterday, so haven’t been able to connect with her either.

Yes - if it is listed as a land and sea. The price you see on the website does include the hotels, transportation between the cities and the airfare from where the cruise ends to where you get on the ship. You have to pay for your food. My husband and I are doing one in July

They currently have cruise tours listed for 2023, but I don’t know when they will post the 2024 ones, sorry

this is from NCL Q&A. BTW - you are going a couple weeks before us. We are flying to Fairbanks - did they tell you what to do when you get to Alaska? I understand there is supposed to be a man with a sign that will take us to a hotel. Do you have more information than that? I’m a planner and this is driving me crazy. Thank you

All your info will be in you e-docs when you down load them. Here is part of mytour.….

thank you so much. We our going on this tour in July. Could you share what time your flight is leaving Anchorage? TIA

We had a cruise scheduled on the Escape last May that as cancelled & we got the latitude points and extra FCC from that one. We then scheduled on the Jewel in January this year and did not get any latitude points or addition FCC. 
 

I sent my renewal in Feb 24th. About March 15th was when all the Passport Employees went home. They started processing Passports again about he beginning of June. I got my replacement June 24th. At the time the employees went back to work, there were over a million passport renewal and original applications backed up. They were processed (by hand) first in, first out. So they might still be taking a little more time than they usually do.


Sent from my iPad using Forums

It is usually the one who does the booking. just thought it interesting that you assumed the husband even though it was the wife who posted.

Hey all! 
 
I haven’t posted in awhile and honestly coming to the boards made me so sad. I had wanted to cruise 3 times this year instead of the just once a year that we normally do. 

Anyways, my husband works for a company that won’t allow him to cruise (for the foreseeable future) and if we fly anywhere or are in Contact with anyone that has recently flown, he has to quarantine for 2 weeks. I understand where they are coming from, and they are all essential employees. I was wondering if anyone is dealing with something like this? 
 
We live right outside of Seattle and are still sheltering in place so I know it’s going to be different for everyone. 

Can someone explain the desperate need for a passport renewal outside of a family death? Latest travel advisory is still this:

 

The Department of State currently has in place a ‘Level 4: Global Health Advisory,” which advises that U.S. citizens avoid all international travel because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

This means most travel insurances won't even cover you if you did travel.

 

I see talk of people wanting to go to the Caribbean or Dominican Republic? Did they have a death in the family there? You can still get passports for those events.

People who applied for a passport renewal in February had no idea that the pandemic was going to shut the whole country down and most travel would be suspended for the rest of the year.The last time I renewed my passport, 10 years ago, I was pleasantly surprised that it took less than a month to get it back. I don’t see that anybody applied for their renewal because they suddenly had a “desperate need” to get it in the middle of a pandemic, but rather due to travel plans in the future the they thought would actually happen, sent their information in to get the renewal processed. There might be concern because the US government has cashed the checks and not provided the service, and that our valid passports are floating around out there, somewhere.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

i tweeted the cdc and they said during phase 1 of reopening states they have been working on apps already submitted and the poster above said she got hers junes 10th. 

oh wow , for a simplle renewal?  smh  i know covid is going on but they werent efficient to begin with.   if they think im paying more money out of pocket to expedite an emergncy one they are out of their minds.  how long do they need? 6 months? and then tell us we have to have 6 months of validity? so we lose a year? 

I sent my stuff in for renewal and have documentation that they received it Feb 24. I don’t have my new passport yet. It’s a good thing my May cruise got cancelled I guess.


Sent from my iPad using Forums

By the way we had two cruises cancelled and have received THREE copies of the email for each cruise so far.  

I wonder if I got yours!!!   VBG

TA will be off for the weekend, if we don’t hear  by Monday, I will get back yo you - thank you

 
Thought Jewel underwent repairs in Honolulu after she limped there with passengers in March/April from Australia/South Pacific. She had to offload the passengers onto chartered flights directly, and had to go thru mandatory repairs before she could sail back to the USA.
 
NCL cancelled the cruises in the Australia/NZ/South Pacific region for 2020/2021. But maybe they are looking for itineraries to replace. JMO.

For those of us who received FCC for canceled cruises, they are running a "deal" for 20% off on sailings July 2020 through December 2022 "when you use your future cruise credit." Does anyone know if you actually have to APPLY your future cruise credit towards payment at the time of booking or if you can just book with a normal deposit or CruiseNext and can hold off on actually applying the FCC until final payment?