Uff da

Info on Skagway docking for the cruise season: https://www.cruisehive.com/alaska-port-rockslide-work-to-be-done-by-cruise-season/94215

First, I've taken NCL transfers a few times and it's not that bad. You could still ditch the transfer from airport to hotel without much financial hardship if it's that big of a deal to you. I'd take the others though. Second, their policies are quite clear about cancellations after final payment or "x" days prior to sailing. If you think about it, they also have to have time to work with the transport companies to secure enough transportation for everyone who signed up. They hire them, contract with them, agree to pay them based on reservations. They can't keep changing it every time someone changes their mind. Third, unless you are sailing with a high end line, they all nickel and dime. It's not just NCL. They all have their own way of doing it. Last, as for Prima, some people love it, some love to hate it. Why don't you go into it with an open mind and not let other people's opinon be your own? That's what I do, judge for myself. You may have a great time. I just saw a video from La Lido Loca on YT. Maybe you should watch it and see if you feel differently. It's Jenny's new favorite ship and she also addressed her dislikes too. There is not a perfect ship out there, but you may love what Prima has to offer after all. It does have good points. Wishing you blue skis and smooth seas! Happy sailing!

I did see it. There has got to be more to this story. I'm not buying that those transfers were only in the cart. She had to have started the checkout process and not completed it which turned it into a pending transaction that was not paid. That's my guess. With that said, if that was not the case and NCL did try to cover this up as the story implies, I hope she sues. I get their policy, but it's kind of BS. I can see cancelling a cruise for non payment of the cruise, but not the add ons.

I am pretty much where aubreyc1988 is at. Done with NCL CAS program. After hours in the casino and lots of money, I finally upgraded to Pearl. I thought this would help, but really, I was probably better off as Jade. It got me an additional 10% on my next cruise for a total of 20% off, which basically covers their bogus admin fees. Did I mention that I got a random 20% off coupon for Europe that is not casino related? Yeah... I may still sail them some since we're Platinum, but I'm not chasing casino comps. I have better offers elsewhere. As a matter of fact, I'm taking one of those other offers in May. It's too good to pass up.

I was on the Jewel last month and the temperature in Azura (one of the 2 main dining rooms) was quite chilly. You should pack for that being a possibility.

You will tell the hotel staff your ship check in time and they will assign you to a shuttle to get you there. Until you have a ship check in time, it's pointless to speculate. Check in doesn't even start until 11 am and Haven has priority. You will likely have a check in time no earlier than 11:30 if you are in a regular cabin. You need to understand that anything can happen. Your ship could be late due to fog or something. There could be a delay disembarking the cruise ahead of you and back everything up. This is why I suggested the hotel.

Get the hotel. Pick an inexpensive one like Holiday Inn Express near the airport that has an airport shuttle to pick you up and a paid shuttle to the cruise pier the next day. You don't want to be tired the first day. You can't get into your cabin until mid afternoon. There is so much to see and do on the ship. You'll want to get the lay of the land and check it all out. Saving $100 on a hotel is not the way to go in my opinion. Hit the ground running clean and refreshed!

Ha ha. It's entirely possible we met or were on the same bus. If you met me you'd know it. My lip was all banged up from a fall I took in Panama. I think we were on the first bus that was not Haven. It was fun being on the ship with hardly any other people on it. We went to the pool bar, had a drink and snack, wandered around...it was fun until I heard what was happening. But yes, the cruise was great after the first day. I really enjoyed this one even if we didn't get to do all we wanted to do ashore due to high winds and waves. It was all good. We made the most of it! I loved the Aviary at the port in Cartagana. That may be my favorite port of all time. No shopping! lol

We were on this cruise. We also had priority boarding and were on the second or third bus. We were fortunate. I really felt bad for the people who had the long waits. When we boarded that bus we had no idea the people behind us would have a different experience. It was running rather smoothly in the beginning, although late, since disembarkation of the cruise before us was late. I'm not sure where it went south later in the day. The in person muster is another area that bit them in the butt later on. It delayed us even more. People were not happy that there was a delay to opening the dining venues on top of everything else. So many unhappy people that first day (not that I blame them.) OY! As for disembarkation, it was also running late. That bottleneck came from them moving the luggage one color at a time off the ship to the shore and it was taking longer than expected. They would not call the next color until all the luggage was shoreside. People with earlier flights were kind of freaking out (it's about 1.5 hours to the airport,) but we had our luggage with us, had NCL transfer to the airport and were not flying until 3. We just hung out without the stress until our color was called since we didn't need to get off early. We made it with plenty of time to spare. Let's just say we were lucky and leave it at that.

One other thing to consider is that Icy Strait has one of the best whale watching excursion companies (not a ship excursion.) If anyone in the group is interested in whale watching on smaller boats, it is better to do it here and not waste your time doing it in Juneau, which has so much more to offer. The you tube channel ParoDeeJay is in the process of posting a series of port guides for all the stops in Alaska. They have been to all of them numerous times. They are a great resource when researching ports. They have on more cruises and been more places than any other tuber I know of.

We just got off the Jewel. They had an energy drink that had Stevia as the sweetener. I don't remember what it was called. It came in a carton like their water. I don't like RB, so for me this one was better.

It depends on who you are and what you want out of your cruise. Yes, a lot of people like that, but not everybody.

We have been on the Bliss twice and did itinerary 2 on the Bliss this past May. We chose it because I wanted to go to the Raptor Center in Sitka and my husband wanted to go on the zip line in Icy Strait. Icy Strait is accessible and riding the trams there is pretty fun. Others want Skagway for the train and I get it, but you have to pick. You should figure out what everyone wants before you just book something. As far as the glacier, I found Dawes to be the least impressive part of the trip. I liked the ports much more. As others have mentioned, the place to be is Starboard. If you look at the Bliss, it has places on the sides that go in and pop out. You want to be on a pop out part or your visibility is not as good. Try to be midship if you can on deck 10 or 11, maybe 12, which are high but not too high and sandwiched between other cabin decks. If not midship, I would choose aft as the seas can get rough and forward is the worst for that. The Observation Lounge is very nice and even has a small buffet with a limited menu for breakfast and lunch, which is nice if you want to take in the views and also grab a little something to eat. It also has a full bar.

It was. All the staterooms were refurbished.

I don't know what your point is here. The Jewel is doing canal sailings now. The OP was on the repositioning cruise. I'm going on her soon just for this reason. It goes through the canal and does a Southern Caribbean itinerary in 9 days instead of 14. Perfect!

I posted on another air thread the other day that our experiences have been positive also. I have no issues with NCL air and will continue to book with them when it is a good deal to do so. I don't live in a city with an international airport. It's rarely cheap to fly anywhere from here so the savings are noticeable. No complaints here!

Sky. It was a really nice 10 day thing. Great ports...

I know about that, but it doesn't go into effect until 2024. I was trying to get there before that happened. Oh well. I wasn't shocked about BH, but Portland surprised me. It's like NCL is pulling out of Maine, period.

NCL just sent a major itinerary change for our fall Canada/New England cruise. They pulled both Bar Harbor and Portland and replaced them with St. John and New York City. They moved some stuff around, changed some port times....I don't know how I feel about it yet, but it was a shock to see both stops in Maine pulled. I may have to revisit whether we want to take this one.

No. We travel with a 13 gallon kitchen trash bag and have one of those fold flat/pop up mesh hampers which I keep in the closet during the cruise. The folded hamper has the added benefit of sitting perfectly on top of the side of my luggage (medium size case) with the straps only and creates a barrier like the zip side has. It's really nice and super light weight.

Everybody is different. Our experiences with NCL air are positive ones. However, we live in a midwestern landlocked city with only a regional airport. They can't hurt us too much coming and going from here due to limited flights per day. They could get us on transfers, but so far it's been fine. (Knock on wood.) We also recently retired and we're flexible so it's easier to go with the flow. The savings have been worth it for us.

Those pods have an assembly that's required. There is a special metal plate they go on before you fill them and they have to be ironed closed to heat seal it. It's a process. You would need to pre-make them and take them with you. If you are talking about buying pre-made pods and taking them, that's different.

If you read the questions you will find these do not fit Hamiton Beach. You have to have the paper filter ones.

Our experience on Bliss was less than stellar. The food, at least that night, just wasn't that good. I seriously doubt we would ever choose it again. I notice on Prima, a bbq concept is no longer for pay and is now part of the food court concept thing they did that I can't remember the name of. I will not be surprised to see Q go away on the few ships it's on.

Not unless you want there to be. If you want to play some of the game shows, go to tastings, painting class or bingo, it costs extra. Starbucks is extra. Laundry is extra if you are not Platinum and need that service. One thing that can cost extra the first day is tips on alcohol while still in port. It's minimal, but it's there. If you are careful, you can avoid all extra costs if need be. You just have to know what to look out for.