GORDONCHICK

11 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Do you always travel solo?

No, just with easily distractable men who won't necessarily remember to keep up with their own luggage muchless my own!  And it's hilarious because my husband is usually very focuses - until we board a ship.

9 minutes ago, Cruising Lynne said:

I like to be able to get into my cabin as soon as possible. It is nice to be able to use your own bathroom, instead of a public one, and get your carry on unpacked. 

How about not lugging a carry on into the public bathroom?!

When we embark the Joy in September, the ship is supposed to leave at 3pm.  So this will be quite interesting when we wind up in the MDR for our 5:30 dinner reservation with our carry on luggage.

If I were going to do the online check-in while DH is at work, would I be able to do this if I took his photo before he went to work?  First time cruising since having to upload photos.

My best friend and I were looking at cruises for this September (started looking in April) but the prices were well over what we were willing to pay.  We live several states away and have both had a really bad past 9 months (understatement for sure).  We had given up the idea of cruising - on any line.  But she was looking and found one that we wanted to do for a reasonable price, but we had to wait until after final payment for the prices to drop - not my favorite way/time to book a cruise, especially when flying is involved.  But we booked anyway.  Definitely not at pre-covid prices, but we made peace with it and off we will go!

On 7/2/2023 at 8:21 AM, Keksie said:

I like my ariats for a trip like that.  They are lightweight and have good ankle support.  I sprayed them with waterproofing.  They have been my go to shoes for Alaska, Norway and New England.  I wear them on the plane and pack other shoes.

Which Ariats do you have?  I have the H2O (waterproof) Terrains.  Bought them for an AK trip in 2007 and have been loving them eer since!

Well, I guess I should clarify.  I use cleanser and my fingers to massage the cleanser around my face.  Then use the wash cloth to wipe off the cleanser, rinse it then run it over my face again.

On 6/24/2023 at 8:59 PM, newoncruise said:

Ladies, I need your help!

I will hopefully soon book my first cruise for the end of September (Costa from Kiel to Savona). While I know which shoes I will pack, I am struggeling on which bags to take. The backpack, in which I can store spare clothes or a bath towel and a large water bottle, is very practical, but not nice.  much!
 

First, please don't pack a bath towel.  The only towel you might want to pack is a hair towel if you're like me and need microfiber for the hair.

The Loqi bags and the like are great and easy to pack and have multiple uses.

I am partial to a little crossbody for evenings that can easily slip into other bags when no on the ship.

I'm doing a similar cruise (NYC-Quebec) except it's at the beginning of September.  I will be checking the weather for sure because I expect to still have some pretty warm weather and some cooler.  I'm going to have to pack a wide variety because we will have a week in Maine after a few days in Quebec City.  One night in NYC, cruise is 9 nights, 2 nights in Quebec City, 7 nights in Maine = complicated packing!

These are my musts:

Comfortable walking shoes - sandals and waterproof walkers

packable rain jacket

thin long sleeve jacket

maybe a sweatshirt 

At home I use cleanser and a washcloth.  Sometimes when I travel, I use make up remover wipes

IMO, once you fly to HI, you might as well do your own thing for a couple of weeks and then fly back instead of cruise it.  I never saw the benefit of cruising HI, or especially cruising to HI (with a total of 10 sea days on other lines).

When it comes to Europe, I'm more about the itinerary and care very little about the cruise line or ship.  That's a cruise that's way more about the ports than the ship.  Same goes for AK in my book.

Now, the Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda, etc, the ship/line is of more importance to me.

You can do a glacier tour out of Seward for a fraction of that cost.  Now, they are smaller and lesser known glaciers, but glaciers nonetheless.  There are also glacier tours in kayaks.  You can also do the hike to the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau instead of whale watching.  You get really close on that one.

I hadn't heard if they started doing them again since covid.  

43 minutes ago, MacGuffin3 said:

Will they still make the onion ring volcano for them?

I thought they did that for everyone?

6 minutes ago, 2bc cruisers said:

I’m saddened by this.  One of our fav things is after show dessert and coffee/tea. 
darn you ncl, don’t ruin a great thing.  
I will stock my room with fruit and cookies.  for my convenience of course. 

You'll have to hide your stash from your cabin steward so they dont't take it away.  But since they are only servicing cabins once a day, it's not as hard as it used to be!

Just now, laudergayle said:

Early September…pricing is similar.  May be something we should consider.  But, being from the south…seeing snow is always a treat. Thanks for your insight.

You'd still see snow in many places - depending on the weather that year.  To me, Hubbard is jaw-dropping - when you can get in to see it.  Glacier Bay is cool, lots of wildlife.  But that early, there will likely be a lot of ice in the water so the ships won't get as close.

In Skagway, I would recommend Chilkoot Tours for the Yukon rail & bus tour.  It's pretty cool!

Ketchikan is a great place to buy inexpensive rain jackets - and you may need them.  There are several places by the pier.  We usually ended up at the Tongass Trading Company.  It's especially great if it's your first stop

It's too early to get in to see Hubbard.  Between ice and fog, the chances of seeing it are incredibly small.  Though we heard it (and that was the last week in May).  For off-season AK cruising, try the beginning of September.  You will get in to see Hubbard.  And there are lots of sales on stuff if you are into the shopping part.

We always do whale watching in Juneau with Harv & Marv's.  Smaller boats than the cruise line sponsored excursions for sure.  We are partial to the 6 passenger ones but they also had 12 and 20.  Depends on how many from your ship books with them as to how big of a boat you'd be on.

As far as getting close to Hubbard, that late in the season the ships can get in pretty close.  Exactly how close will be up to the captain.

20 minutes ago, jemz1949 said:

If dining at Teppanaki with children, be sure to clarify when seated if you want your children to eat off of the child's menu.  Otherwise, they will likely assume that the child will be eating off of the regular menu and will charge accordingly.  

 

This is true with any specialty restaurant.

4 minutes ago, LoungerOnBalcony55 said:

Glad NCL is keeping this as is. Royal has an obnoxious new "clean your plate" policy that you can only order a second entre after finishing your first.

Yikes!  What if you don't like it?

1 hour ago, MacGuffin3 said:

Does anybody have a recent typical schedule for the Encore buffet?

I don't think "typical" exists.  I think it depends more on the itinerary and the homeport than the ship specifically.

I've also been known to order a plate of steamed veggies in the MDR to go with my entree.  I try to do a big salad at lunch but know I need more veggies with dinner and this has never been a problem.

42 minutes ago, Koali said:

I will keep this in mind, but we’ll probably have to break out the tablets and screentime. Do you know if we could take any food “Togo” like the dessert if things take too long. I mean I guess I could wait until the server brings to our table and then we take the whole dish. 

I've taken dessert to go from both specialty and MDR - though never ice cream.  Sometimes I'm just too full at that time and will eat it later in the evening.  I will warn - creme brulee isn't even close to as good later so by gosh, I will force most of that puppy down!

Just now, MacGuffin3 said:

Bummer, can kids order off the "proper" menu in the regular dining room?

Absolutely.  They can also do it in a specialty but you will be charged for it.  Or at least be prepared to be charged for it.

1 minute ago, MacGuffin3 said:

Do the kid's menu have anything to do with the restaurant in question? Perhaps a small portion of bbq for example, Or just chicken strips everywhere?

It's the same kid's menu for the entire ship.  That's why I suggest giving the kids some off your (the parents' plates) along with a kids' meal.

When my son was little, he ate off my plate plus a kid's meal.  That kid loves steak and seafood.  He's 22 now and has loved trying all kinds of food - and a lot of that was on cruises.  He found he loved crab legs, escargot and mussels on cruises.  Sadly, you won't see crab legs anymore unless you're on a top tier line.  I can't remember if he first had lobster on a cruise or not.