NikiPinkston

Loved hearing all about your excursion and the photos of you & your dad! DH is not far behind in age and sometimes I see him vividly in your dad's comments. (We call it a ship card!)

Have I ever told you what a wonderful daughter you are?! Wishing you and Dad a fabulous cruise!

Thank you for taking us along on your adventure, @graphicguy! We board in a few days and following along was a wonderful way to spend those long last days before we embark. 😁 You did a fabulous job!

2 hours ago, SightCRR said:

I found that video on line. I did not make that video or go on that cruise. sightcrr

Haha, well good job finding it and posting it! I did enjoy it.

15 hours ago, SightCRR said:

Here is a Y/T video from Bliss last week showing the ship and ports, glaciers, northern lts, and whales. No useful audio so watch it at 1.75 speed. sightcrr Norwegian Bliss Alaska Cruise - YouTube

 

@SightCRR Love your video! You did a great job - wonderful shots of everything and I especially enjoyed the whales & the stars and northern lights in the night sky. We'll be embarking soon and I'll probably be watching your video every day until then!❤️😁👍

10 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Hi Niki. Do Rothy’s have flat soles inside or are they shaped like a foot with some arch support?  I sound like an old lady! 

Hi, @YVRteacher! I am on old lady! LOL The trick with Rothy's, as they are flat, is to buy a 1/2 size to a full size up and then purchase a good pair of insoles with arch support. (I wear an 8 1/2, sometimes a 9, and I buy a 9 1/2.) I have Dr. Scholl's insoles in all 4 pairs of mine and I've worn them for a full day all over town in complete comfort as they're kind of stretchy and mold to your foot. They're also environmentally friendly as they're made of recycled and renewable materials and I love that they're machine washable. They're really cute, too. The "Point" has an Audrey Hepburn vibe. Amazon has a good selection of insoles and they're inexpensive. I'm really enjoying your live! 

1 hour ago, jennifereisme said:

They do not! It is an adjustment for me as well. I'm a roll out of bed and have a cup kind of gal. LOL

 

Me, too. Totally!

I wasn't familiar with Chie Mihara, but some of those shoes are adorable! Rothy's are also a great choice as they're super comfortable, can be dressed up or down, and take up virtually no room in my suitcase. They also have non-skid rubber soles which is a plus while onboard a ship.

26 minutes ago, justhappy said:

Interesting that the club balcony on the Bliss has a tub, the club balcony on the Encore didn’t. I thought they’d be the same!

I wondered about this, too, as we'll be on the Bliss in a club balony soon and I would prefer a walk-in shower to a tub. The videos I've seen on youtube show the walk-in shower (notably one filmed on deck 12). We'll be on deck 13 so I hope that we have a walk-in shower. It is odd that they wouldn't all be the same.

Just going to jump in here and say that, during our NCL Pride of America cruise last November, our cell service worked great when we were in port but it didn't work at all when we were at sea between ports.  Hope that helps.

I always pack for DH now, too (while checking the packing list I made for him). A couple of years ago, on a Mississippi River cruise, he packed FIVE  black t-shirts so, while it made dressing easy for him, it looked like he was wearing the same t-shirt everyday! 😁

@CPL1979, as you mentioned Seattle Shuttle, have you been able to contact them and get a response? We used them in 2021 and they were great, so I wanted to book them from SEA-TAC for our cruise next month, but I've tried to contact them via phone messages, email and their website but without success. We're now looking at Premier Airport Shuttle instead. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good shuttle service from SEA-TAC? (Or should I finally break down and try uber?) Also, I can vouch for how great Port Valet is!

4 hours ago, 2Cruise4Ever said:

I usually have gum and hard candies in my purse when I fly (ear pressure issues) and haven't had a problem.  But, they are individually wrapped, not sealed.  I would think if you have a ziploc bag with you to put the leftover snacks in, it probably won't be an issue.

I have sensitive ears, too, during take-off and landing, so I also do this, but I recently purchased ear planes to pop in my ears during these times and they work like a charm.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=ear+planes&crid=3L6CVTZQ9X9G&sprefix=ear+planes%2Caps%2C271&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

I got those for smaller ears or kids and the regular ones for DH. (Not to get off-track here...)

1 hour ago, www3traveler said:

Are you aware of the Port of Seattle's Port Valet Program.  Depending on your flight departure and airline, you might qualify.  The program is a FREE service of the Port of Seattle.  If you qualify, you will recieve full information.  The day before you return to Seattle, you will get luggages and your boarding pass.  Luggage is offloaded, sent directly to your airline and you picked at your final airport destination.  From the ship, you go directly through security and to your gate.  It saves time and hassles.

We used Port Valet in 2021 and it was awesome! We will definitely use it again next month if it's available to us.

Love your spreadsheet! I think I'm definitely an over organizer as I have a six-page excel spreadsheet with tabs for itinerary, packing lists, to-do before we cruise, etc., but I think I'll copy your format for DH and make him his very own. I love organizing the heck out of stuff!

 Thank you, @Moonglo! I'm so glad it was helpful. Have a wonderful honeymoon and many years of happiness!

Hello, @moolineI'm so glad that your daughter is enjoying the dailies. IIRC, there was a separate flyer that was left in our stateroom for the laundry special, although we didn't take advantage of it. I pulled out the hard copies of my dailies in case I happened to have it, but no luck.

5 minutes ago, jlacy1987 said:

That says they have them in balcony rooms on "most ships." It wasn't on the Breakaway a few months ago. 

I caught that. I would be sad if no coffee maker but, hey, I'm on a cruise so I would adjust. There's always room service, right?😊

@jlacy1987here's a CC webpage that says that NCL has coffee makers in balcony cabins (on most ships):

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1818

I guess I've just been spoiled and didn't realize it. Another reason to stick with NCL!

1 hour ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

You can order coffee 24/7 on your TV or through the ap. Especially that time of morning I’ve found it to be pretty quick. 
 

I sailed on the Diamond Jan 31, 2023 to Mexico out of LA. There was a hot pot in our suite. Now granted it was the 1300 plus square foot Grand Suite but I’ve never had a hot pot in other Grand Suites (or vistas, premium, penthouse or owners) 

 

Heres some pictures of it. It’s just a plain Jane Bodum that is widely available for purchase. If anyone sees anything that makes it different I’d really like to know!  

 

 

 

Oh, good, I'll try to request a hot pot in our stateroom prior to boarding. I just need hot water. Thank you for the photos!

1 hour ago, jlacy1987 said:

I haven't been on my Princess cruise yet, but we were in a balcony on NCL Breakaway a week before Christmas and did not have a coffee maker in the room (I was sad but knew it wouldn't be there in advance). So it's not fleet wide for NCL to have coffee makers in the room, just FYI. 

I didn't know that. We've been on 7 NCL cruises and have always had one in our stateroom. I thought you just had to request one if it wasn't already there.

Oh, that's too bad Viator doesn't pick up at the ship! I guess you could always do the "North Shore and Waterfalls" excursion through NCL and just ignore the "shopping opportunities." Haleakala is beautiful anytime of day. Congratulations on 40 years and happy anniversary!

Hi, @TMoore1144, whatever you do, you're going to have a fabulous time! @georgiacathas a great suggestion. A private tour might be perfect for you.

My hubby has a back condition that makes hiking or walking long distances uncomfortable, so I understand the requirement for low-impact activities. On our first trip to Maui, we stayed at Kaanapali Beach and rented a car and drove all over the island, but we booked a tour for the road to Hana. You are wise in not trying to drive yourself as I understand that it’s become quite congested with all of the visitors wanting to see it. If booking a private tour doesn't work out for you, Viator also has some road to Hana tours that might work:

https://www.viator.com/searchResults/all?text=road+to+hana

I didn’t know the date of your cruise, so I just picked a random Sunday in July as the POA is in port in Maui on Sundays and Mondays.You could book a tour for Sunday as the ship doesn’t leave port there until Monday (late afternoon-early evening, as I recall) just for extra peace of mind. 

Viator also has some “waterfall” tours.

https://www.viator.com/searchResults/all?text=waterfalls+on+maui+hi

You can just go to their main page and enter your search info and a lot of choices will come up. They’re a very reputable company:  https://www.viator.com/

We did the helicopter ride once and we saw a lot of amazing scenery and waterfalls. It was fabulous, although I realize it’s pricy. I also noticed that NCL has two Haleakala excursions, sunrise and sunset. We’ve visited at both times and enjoyed it so you might consider that. 

Hope that helps! Have a wonderful cruise! (I envy you.)

Wait, Princess doesn't have coffeemakers in their staterooms?! We usually cruise NCL and are used to being able to make coffee when we first get up. We're booked on our first Princess cruise in December and, if not, this will be an adjustment. Is the tap water really hot enough to make instant? I don't like the coffee NCL gives us to brew in the stateroom (or that at hotels, for that matter) so, on the recommendation of another CC member, I recently purchased these to add to hot water (from the in-room coffee maker) and they're quite good:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G4LWFKG?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

Love the chocolate lava cake in the MDR and my dessert-of-choice in Cagney's is the raspberry creme brulee, but I'm going to have to try that cheesecake in a jar.❤️🎂🍮