Denise T

68 days out. Getting closer. We are all checked in and should get the boarding documents mid-April. I love that we can check in early. When I was on NCL last year, we could not check in until 21 days before our sail date. I have been routinely checking flights and itinerary for any changes. So far so good. At the end of this day, I have a lovely Margaritta having had a stressful day at work. I am imaging sitting on my balcony on the ship or sitting at any of the bars or perhaps sitting on the promenade deck on an evening. Soon, very soon. 😊

68

I booked through my TA. I do have the HIA package. I booked this trip 12/2021.I would love to be on an 18-day cruise!

Thank you for your review. I will be on the Nieuw Amsterdam in 69 days. Looking forward to following along.

Thank you for the great information. I have checked and found that at Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway, there will be several other cruise ships docked as well. It will be busy! I leave from Pennsylvania at 6:30 in the morning and will get into Anchorage at 8:30 pm. My sister and I are flying first class so I am looking forward to the free drinks. Preparing for the jet lag as well. I will nap on the planes.

I totally agree. The travel and tourism industry lost big during the pandemic. I have made several trips and noticed that with hotels, room service is now every three days and mostly all of the hotels that I stayed at no longer have room service. It is what it is. For me, it is the enjoyment that will come spending time with my family.

Thank you for the review of embarkation day. Can't wait for the pictures.

But who's counting? 😄

Here comes NA. My ship in 70 days!

Here comes Regal!

Love Boat toots!

Checking in.

Great pictures! Looking forward to the rest of your review.

Thanks everyone. Have a great evening and see you tomorrow.

I am so impressed with how these huge ships move.

I think they are still recovering from St. Patrick's Day.

Checking in. Hope everyone is having a great Saturday.

I am able to put this on my television and I have it on all day as I do my chores on both Saturday and Sunday. I often imagine myself at the port, soaking up the sun.

As I read the various threads on this board and the boards of other cruise lines, I see a lot of unhappy cruisers. It seems expectations are high, and reality doesn't quite meet those expectations. I have come to realize (finally, at my age), that stuff happens. I have choices. I can choose to get upset at those things that are not under my control, or I can choose to acknowledge my disappointment and get into problem solving mode. I don't expect perfection and I have come to accept that many businesses tend to underperform. It is the reality that we are living in at this point in time. So, I expect that things will probably not go according to plan on my trip. I will pivot and refocus. I am sure that I will be disappointed but, when there is over delivery of service, I will be extremely appreciative. This trip is to spend time with my family. If weather prevents us from visiting a port or we have a meal that just isn't up to par, we will accept it as it is and enjoy ourselves anyway. The one thing that we have that is in our control to change, is how we respond. And, yes, I am a professional counselor in my day job, and I specialize with working with teens. And to those who were disappointed in their cruises, I am sorry that this was your experience. Hopefully, on your next cruise, you can find enjoyment.

Here is our itinerary. I am looking forward to just sailing through the glaciers. I will be overnighting in Anchorage, then taking the train to Whittier. After the cruise, I will be overnighting in Vancouver. Looking forward to spending the day there with my family.

Thank you! And thank you for the advice. I have seen so many pictures of Alaska and the area is just so gorgeous. When I was in Canada/New England, my sister and I decided that we would just love to live in one of the little harbor towns like Sydney or Halifax. I am sure I will feel the same about Alaska.

Things I am looking forward to the most. 1. Alaska. I want to see the beauty of Alaska and experience sailing past the glaciers. I have a good set of binoculars that I used on my last cruise and will be taking lots of pictures. 2. Wildlife. Hoping to see lots. Granted there will be no penguins (my favorite) but sea life will be awesome. 3. The food. Love cruise ship food. Love that someone else cooks and cleans up. I love coffee and will be drinking lots. 4. Drinks. On my last cruise, my sister and I loved sitting in the bars (one day we tried all that were open). We would play trivia, people watch, and enjoy music. 5. Crow's nest. I loved Spinnaker's on NCL. I love these spaces where you can sit and relax and watch the sea with a nice drink or two. Our plan is to play cards and other small games. I think these are the best spaces. 6. Music Walk. I can't wait to experience this. I have read lots of posts about the lack of entertainment and how the quality has declined. I don't expect big production shows like NCL had and like many of the bigger cruise ships have. Just relaxing and listening to music is what I enjoy. Cabins My sister and I have a verandah cabin on the Rotterdam deck (7). My brother and sister-in-law have an inside cabin nears ours on the same deck. I saw picture of their cabin and it looks bigger than I thought. I am glad that they were able to book a cabin near ours. My sister is claustrophobic, so we got the verandah cabin. On NCL we had a balcony and absolutely enjoyed it. I saw the best sunrises ever. The only issue was that the closet had sliding doors and a light that automatically turned on when the doors opened. Our first night on choppy seas as we tried to sleep, the doors would slide open, and the light would go on. We fixed that though. It was hilarious. I like that the closet doors on NA do not slide. Sometimes it's the small stuff. If anyone wants pictures of anything on the ship, let me know. I can try and post menus and activity schedules if the old Internet allows.

Thank you for the suggestions. I have a verandah cabin and I love walking the promenades, so hoping to see lots of wildlife.

You are so welcome. Let me know if there is anything specific that you want me to get pictures of.

I will make sure the NA is in ship shape for you when I get off!