coastcat

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Join the Bird on the inaugural voyage of the brand new Norwegian Encore to the Eastern Caribbean!  

Looking forward to your review! Your earlier reviews were instrumental in choosing NCL Bliss over the competition for my first cruise/first Alaska cruise, and of course I read through the Joy one carefully before booking that ship for my next one. Can't wait to see all the photos and comments for Encore because I want to try the Bermuda itinerary...

8 hours ago, littlelulu01 said:

I couldn’t find anything else worth an effort to book or rebook.  The Alaska sailings  have shot up to a pretty proud and problematic level.  I Definitely see some great last min fire sales for Alaska this season with the off kilter current prices. It’s not so much a glut of sailings available for Alaska this year as it is the, “it’s not for sale“  ncl Alaska pricing.

The Alaska pricing has gone bonkers. I took advantage of the 20% discount/$50 deposit to book an IB cabin (single occupancy) on one of the Jewel southbound trips. My booked fare is $1100, but a new search has that category as $1700 single occupancy for Latitudes and a bit over $2100 for non-Latitudes. Good grief.

Fingers crossed for discounts later on. Living in Seattle means feasible short-notice cruises and I'd like to take advantage of NCL's possible miscalculation!

The pricing has been all over the place on this one. When I originally booked, about 100 days prior to sailing, there was indeed a solo cruiser discount and Sail Away balconies were something like $799 for single occupancy. I opted for a BD balcony for $980 or so. When the emails went out inviting customers to bid on upgrades, minimum bid on a Mini Suite was $25/pp (so $50 for me). However, a mock booking showed that MA mini suites had dropped to $944, less than I already paid for the BD cabin (which had fallen to under $750). Now prices are rising again on the mini suites but I think the balconies are still low.

(the NCL rep moved me into a MA at my request, so I’m not bidding or anything, but I keep checking prices out of curiosity).

If you wind up snagging a good price, please head over to the Roll Call and sign up for the M&G. I’d love to meet another solo traveler!

1 hour ago, kenzie said:

can you use starbucks gift cards. We can use the employee discount at Starbucks stores in the UK & USA but not franchises, are you suggesting that the starbucks onboard is not a company Starbucks but a franchise? 

These Starbucks are licensed and run by the “host” corporation. If I go to the Starbucks inside my local Fred Meyer supermarket, I’ll be sold Starbucks products by Fred Meyer-employed baristas. Starbucks does not franchise their concept, so you’re not going to find standalone Starbucks that aren’t corporate owned. 
 

But you can still use gift cards and get a proper Vanilla Sweet Cream cold brew at the licensed stores, including the ones on Bliss, Joy, etc. 

On 11/15/2019 at 9:32 PM, shadowmeboy said:

 

It actually got rougher 😞

And now I'm seasick all over again...  🤢

Your photos make me eager to get back on the Bliss and back to the Studios to spend more time with my favorite thing ever, the espresso machine in the Studio Lounge. Looking forward to more photos from that (despite the Day 2 seas) fabulous cruise.

To reiterate what I posted on another recent thread:

According to what I’ve been told by Starbucks baristas, only corporate store employees get partner numbers and only corporate stores accept partner numbers for the discount.
 

The Starbucks on cruise ships, supermarkets, Target, hotels, and some other locations are licensed stores and the employees there are not Starbucks employees. These locations are "real" Starbucks in that they carry all/most of the full product line as well as merchandise, but they're not owned by corporate. People with partner numbers do not receive a discount at any licensed store (but sometimes the rules get bent a bit if you ask nicely). You cannot redeem stars or get free wifi on board, but you do earn stars for purchases made and can use the app even without internet access - your balance will update in the app when you have internet access again. Note the scannable barcode in the app's payment screen - it knows who you are even when you're far out to sea.

Side note: if you are doing a Starbucks "dash" to earn stars, not all purchases made at licensed stores qualify. If it's a # of visits/# of consecutive days/time of day challenge (such as make 3 purchases after 3pm), purchases at a licensed Starbucks count. If the challenge is to buy specific items (buy three iced teas after 3pm), they don't.

I'm not a barista, just someone who's been a regular customer longer than many current baristas have been alive. And who asks a lot of questions. ☕

I’m booked on this cruise. Many people apparently shared your viewpoint as NCL has been discounting it heavily until recently. I received a good solo cruiser discount, balcony, all the Free At Sea stuff, and an extra $50 ShoreEx. So here’s the plan.

• Day 0: Fly from Seattle where, by that point, it’s been 4 months of gray drizzle and I’ve become soggy and translucent.
• Day 1: Board the Joy. Order a Moscow Mule. Bask in the not-Seattle weather. Have dinner with wine. Ignore my work email.
• Day 2: Order another Moscow Mule. Maybe a margarita, too. Eat some soft serve. Bask in the not-Seattle weather. Have dinner with wine. Ignore my work email.
• Day 3: Get off the ship to look at whales and eat churros. Get back on the ship and bask in the not-Seattle weather. Have dinner with wine. Ignore my work email.
• Day 4: See Day 2.
• Day 5: Get off the ship to visit a winery and eat churros. Get back on the ship and bask in the not-Seattle weather. Have dinner with wine. Ignore my work email.
• Day 6: Fly back to the drizzle. Read my work email. Plan the next cruise. 

Sounds like a nice vacation to me. All I need is sunscreen, a few Kindle books, and a recommendation for a churros stand in Cabo.

Thank you for the news about hard seltzers! Trying to avoid sugary booze is a challenge onboard and a gal can’t live on vodka sodas alone.  
 

You might have been projecting a little regarding dining alone. The staff on Bliss treated me with the same graciousness as they did the other diners, even though I was a party of one. (yes, even at Le Bistro - in fact, that was my best experience) If any fellow diners are judging you for dining alone, [bleep] them. 😎

Looking forward to the next installment of your review!

On 11/14/2019 at 2:14 PM, kenzie said:

Does anyone know if discount codes work, such as staff discount at the Starbucks on NCL Joy 

According to what I’ve been told by Starbucks baristas, only corporate store employees get partner numbers and only corporate stores accept partner numbers for the discount.
 

The Starbucks on cruise ships (and supermarkets, Target, hotels, etc) are licensed stores. No partner discounts. 
 

Cruise ship Starbucks cannot redeem rewards but you DO earn reward points when you use your Starbucks app/registered card. I confirmed this after my Bliss cruise which featured some lovely flat whites. I just wish they had some cruise-specific designs for the You Are Here mug series. 

And really, you don't need a balcony (although it's a bonus).

1. Obtain a hot beverage of your choice.
2. Go to Deck 8.
3. Go out to the Waterfront.
4. Wander along until you find a seat that appeals to you.
5. Settle down and enjoy the view.
6. Repeat.

At this time, NCL and Oceania both use Pier 66 (the other lines use Pier 91). When I disembarked from Bliss I rolled my bag over to the Edgewater to pick up a Lyft ride - even with a heavy-ish bag and my little legs, it still only took about 5 minutes.

17 hours ago, hallux said: Welcome to the world of solo cruising!

IMO, NCL has a GREAT solo program on the Breakaway/Breakaway+ class ships (Breakaway, Getaway, Bliss, Encore and possibly one more I'm forgetting but the Joy does NOT have the cabins and lounge).  

Escape is the other BA+ ship with Studios. NCL Epic does as well. I had a Studio on Bliss and really enjoyed it! Having the private Lounge was handy for refilling water bottles or making a late night cookie run. I only attended one group dinner but did spend some time in the Studio Lounge just chatting with people & warming up with a (free) latte before heading back to the chilly Waterfront. Joy doesn’t have this feature but there will be Solo meets before dinner. 
 

I’ve been looking at HA for an Alaska cruise but there’s no easy way to find sailings with reduced solo supplements. Celebrity and NCL make it easier. 

On my first cruise I missed the luggage dropoff point (got swept up in the crowds) and wound up taking my 26" rolling duffel bag through security and then onto the ship. No problem at all, the scanner was more than big enough for my bag.

Luckily it was late enough that rooms were open so I didn't have to drag it around afterward, though...

In his biography of the Roman general & politician Lucullus, Plutarch included a story about solo dining. Lucullus was famous as a foodie who held frequent banquets with lavish menus. One evening he chose to dine without guests. The story claims that a servant brought Lucullus a pretty basic dinner since he was a party of one. Lucullus, rather haughtily, admonished the servant that this was just as important a dinner as any other banquet: "What, did not you know that today Lucullus dines with Lucullus?^"

That shaped my attitude toward solo dining. I confidently stride in for my dinner-for-one reservation, for I dine with myself tonight by choice and darn it, I deserve the good stuff.

The Studio cabin on Bliss has a virtual window - basically just a large screen by your bed connected to an outside camera. Not as fancy as the virtual balcony on RC but hey, I liked it! Other ships just have a window to the corridor there, which makes less sense.

I enjoyed having access to the Studio Lounge and would book again for the convenience of the espresso machine, good grief did I ever take advantage of that. There was always ice water available, making it easy to fill my water bottle without a long trek to the Garden Cafe *, plus juice and light sweet snacks.

I'm booked for a solo trip in an inside cabin next summer so it'll be interesting to compare. Okay, I'm sailing solo in January as well, but it's in a mini-suite just a few steps away from the Observation Lounge so it doesn't count as a contrast...

* Are there other places to get water? There's the buffet, pool deck beverage station, and Observation Lounge, but I didn't see anywhere else.

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

The nice thing about the Bliss is that it was purpose-built for cold weather. So, if it cool (not icy cold) there are heaters in the out door dining areas (buffet, waterfront), and the pools and water features are all heated, large observation lounge for indoor space. 

This.

When I was on the Bliss in late September (Alaska), a buffet visit turned into the usual “er, are there any empty tables anywhere?” search. A crew member suggested I go to the outdoor seating because it was heated and usually fairly empty. And that was my go-to Garden Cafe seating for the rest of the trip. 

One of my fellow Studio travelers noted that he was alone in the pool for the first few days because no one else seemed to realize it as heated!

Book a Studio cabin! I lost track of how many lattes, cappuccinos, and Americanos I made in the Studio Lounge... 

Yeah, if there were a specialty coffee package I’d happily take that over the booze. 

On 10/24/2019 at 7:50 AM, eileeshb said:

My first was on Escape, I’d booked my second within a week of getting home I had such a good time. 

My first was on Bliss. Being the true analytical introvert, I had to go home and process the experience for a few days.

And then I booked my next cruise.

I'll be cruising on NCL Joy, embarking January 12 on a 5-day Mexican Riviera trip with a solid solo discount that got better due to price drops - I started in a nicely discounted balcony and am now in a mini suite for no extra charge. Now I've got a deposit in place for the June 1 sailing of NCL Jewel (but no solo discount... yet).

My flight leaves at 3pm and I was contemplating doing what you did. Clicking over to the NCL site **right now** to add an airport transfer to my January trip...  

Thank you for posting this warning!

They're more or less the same. I go with MasterPark because the rates are reasonable, the customer service is good, they have multiple locations including a garage, and the shuttles run very frequently on the quick lot-to-airport-to-lot run. I've settled on Lot C as my preference. My husband parks at WallyPark instead, also with positive experiences. WP is the less expensive choice, though.

Groupon has coupons for both. Right now they've got a coupon for MasterPark Lot C, 7 days for $94.99 (regular price would be $146.53).

2 hours ago, Budget Queen said:

Alaska was given away early season though June this past season.   It is my most cruises itinerary- I go every year.   I spent 6 weeks on board-  solo.  1- $449 for the Bliss.  and 5- $ 249 and $299 sailings on the Jewel.   😀

Wow! You truly live up to your user name! If I learn to find bargains like that, eventually I could afford the Haven without the upgrade bid process...

3 minutes ago, richg35 said:

 

 

Essentially they are legitimate, non-counterfeit products that are imported into the United States without the authorization of the manufacturer.

 

It's mostly a thing with electronics. Products are manufactured for distribution and sale in a specific region. For example, I can buy a model of a camera intended for sale in Japan only in the U.S. from a grey market seller and it will cost less. The flipside of that is no warranty or support for the product so if something goes wrong you are basically SOL.

This is a good reason to stick with well-established gray-market dealers rather than gamble on eBay or similar outlets. 
 

At the very least, the Jomashop site gives you the retail prices which may be hard to find elsewhere. I’d feel a little twitchy buying something at the Tag level from the gray market, but have happily purchased several Hamilton and Citizen watches through Jomashop.

5 hours ago, Budget Queen said:

As a solo traveler all your bids are double since they are always based on double occupancy.     

And when I re-read the fine print and realized that, I decided that the mini suite was perfectly lovely and no upgrade was needed! 

I’ve booked an IB cabin for an Alaska cruise next June; might be worth the price to bid on a balcony for that one since it’s not likely to have the same price plummets as the Baja Beach Break has experienced. 

2 hours ago, kattlinx13 said:

I agree 100%. Already have redone shampoo and conditioner. Do you remember if the hand soap is dispenser too or just bar soap? My husband won’t use the bar soap lol. Whenever we go away I have to bring a hand soap. 

There's a wall-mounted dispenser filled with liquid hand soap by the cabin's sink. There's also a (boxed) bar of soap. 

Can't remember the last time I bought bar soap for home use... was it even in this century?

Assuming the balconies are not less luxurious than the Studios, the bathroom will include dispensers of:

• Body wash - it's an unattractive green but it has a nice lemongrass scent
• 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner
• Hand soap

There was also bar soap and a tube of body lotion, but I didn't open either one.

If you have colored hair (I do, too), I strongly recommend bringing along your own shampoo and conditioner. My hair felt almost crunchy after a few days of using the NCL stuff. I pay far too much for this color to mess it up!