skittl1321

I LOVE the Barbie and Ken costumes!!! Captain Barbie looks incredible. Was his job Ship?

Oh that's a bummer. We had our status match within 2 days, and our military discount applied within 3 hours of emailing.

MSC will match your status if you've never done a match with them before, so you can keep your diamond status. You'll probably miss a lot of the things you are used to on royal, but the cruise will be cheaper. (I loved MSC, personally, but I suspect it is very different than Royal overall.)

For those doing a search in the future, I will say my Oct 8th cruise was AMAZING. I did have a few excursions cancelled: a mendenhall glacier visit because the cruise line ran out of permits, then a mendenhall glacier canoe because of 'water levels'; they didn't say if they were too high or too low. But I just picked up whale watching and we actually got a beautiful view of the glacier from the boat (and a Mom and calf humpback swimming in the water). Juneau was chilly, and a bit cloudy, but absolutely gorgeous, just needed a hoodie. We had a drizzly morning in Skagway, so one train ride was given the option of cancelling due to fog; but my rock climbing excursion (amazing!) went as planned. The weather cleared up in the afternoon and it was the most amazing day. Rain gear came in handy, but I only wore a light fleece under it. Ketchikan was the most gorgeous day I could imagine. Sunny and clear. Our glacier bay day was just above freezing, with tons of wind, and heavy rain. So that wasn't great for views, but it was still nice to see the national park. Only downside is our sea day was ROUGH. Tons and tons of very sick people on the ship. Now, personally, I'd select a cruise to get that, but I know a lot of people want to avoid it.

Trying to work out what the thermal suite is? It's a collection of heated rooms: sauna, steam room, etc. Not a suit, which would be the formal attire. The conditioner confusion is funny. I asked in an airport for a cup of "tap water" and got a cup of near boiling water instead. I guess the waiter (who spoke a different first language than me) heard "hot water".

The thermal suite (on Encore at least) needs a better place for those in the pool to set their towels. Some would hang them off the ledge but there was limited space, so piling them up on loungers was the only option really. MOST people put them onto the padded ones, but some people would put them onto the stone ones if those were open and the blue weren't. If no one was near the lounger, I just moved them and used it. No one ever said anything to me. There were also people who got up and left the spa, but didn't clear their lounger. I assumed they were too lazy to put their towel away, not hogging, as they never seemed to actually come back anyway. The spa was incredibly relaxed and civilized, unlike the pool deck. I never felt like moving a towel would cause confrontation, and I would never do that on a pool deck.

My interpretation of their website is that you cannot remove prepaid gratuities. Once they are paid, it's final. "In the unlikely event that a guest onboard being charged the daily automatic gratuity does not receive satisfactory service, the guest may request to modify the daily amount at their discretion by visiting Guest Services onboard and will be able to do so until the morning of their departure. Guests who have pre-paid their gratuity will not see a daily charge during their cruise." My interpretation: You can modify the daily amount. If you do not see a daily charge, no modification is possible.

Do you know they are getting all of them? Or is their share of the pool docked based on any sort of 'demerits' or the like? Will their pay go up when the gratuities go up? Seems like now that they have more rooms than ever before, they should really be raking in the money.

We cruised Seascape this summer, not in Yacht club. We had a fabulous time. We had a balcony cabin for a family of 4, kids liked the bunk beds. The buffet was an absolute madhouse on embarkation, and after Grand Turk, but otherwise, while it was very crowded, it wasn't horrible. (We cruised in peak summer season). We always ate dinner in the MDR, and the food was wonderful and the service beyond wonderful. We were so pleased. On the last morning we had breakfast in the MDR, and had no wait, but by the time we left, the line was absolute insanity, and they had allowed people to pile their luggage outside the doors, so you could barely even get out of the dining room. (Seemed like a huge evacuation hazard, quite honestly. Which is really our only other complaint- the muster drill was an absolute disaster, I have never had a problem finding a muster station on any other cruise, and this one not only could we not find it, the staff we asked couldn't help us. People wandering everywhere lost, it was an absolute madhouse. Don't have a lot of faith an emergency would have gone well.) Our favorite part of MSC was the shows, which my kids were just enamoured with. We loved and appreciated that the performers took the time to come out and greet the audience and take photos afterwards. The kids pool was wonderful, the slides super fun for the kids; the jungle a hot, humid, hell that we avoided. The soft serve ice cream was DELICIOUS, but sadly only included with kids drink packages, so I had to beg my kids to share. The line to get back on the tenders at Grand Turk was about an hour long, but they had snowcone vendors, so it was a very reasonable hour. I truly expected a horrible cruise on MSC; and we only booked because of the ports and knowing it would be like a cheap hotel with cheap food. It was the absolute opposite for us. I can't wait to cruise MSC again.

Does the crew actually get them? I was really surprised when the NCL cabin steward told me that his pay doesn't change at all if guests pay their service charge; and the only thing that matters to him is cash. (Granted- NCL's is a service charge, not a gratuity; but I'm distrusting that the staff get them at all...) I've always paid them, but it is just a generally shady thing on how they are handled.

I mean thanking for the feedback and caring about the feedback are two different things. Customer service reads from a script then the complaint goes nowhere. I hate that I have to call to prepay. Why can't I prepay them online like every other cruiseline?

I saw it on the Encore at the beginning of October, and the character was there. It was, however, an incredibly brief mention, not like a plot point, so maybe you missed it? (They also looked for both men and women in the audience when pointing out potential dates for the bartender; and in the two times I saw it, they didn't always bring up the same gender to dance with background characters for various songs, so the men dance with other men; though the pina colada and the slow ballad were both women who came up, and likely always are?) I hope they didn't change it; and since they license the show, it seems like it would be hard for NCL to just change script points?

There was SO much food at Los Lobos, it was impossible to eat everything served to me. (That said, I did FAS, and they let me get 3 appetizers, a side, and a dessert, though I skipped the dessert. I wanted the churros, I was just too full.)

Solo cruising is amazing! I love cruising with my husband. I really enjoyed cruising with our kids. I have another family cruise scheduled. But OMG, solo cruising- it is phenomenal. I didn't have to worry if someone else wanted to go to dinner at the same time as me, if I planned the 'right' shore excursions, if my husband thought I was getting too much ice cream, if I was being too boring because I wanted to take a nap, if the kids had sunscreen on, etc. It was just 100% what I wanted to do. Also, I am a super talkative introvert, and I found that there were always people to talk to, and to hang out with (might depend on cruiseline); but when I wanted to have nothing to do with other people, also 100% an option. And NCL's freeestyle dining was perfect, because I could just go to the MDR whenever I wanted and get a table for 1 and I never had to wait, and there was no issue with eating on my own; but as mentioned, the solo program also had tables reserved if people wanted to go eat together.

The rooms were called, and it would probably be helpful to the readers if I knew when that was, but I don't... It wasn't a super long wait though, totally pleasant to get lunch and then read. I had waffled a lot about getting a studio, to save money, or a balcony. I went with the balcony. When I booked, it gave me room 8142 and no other choice. Since it wasn't a guarantee rate, I called to ask them why I couldn't select a room, they said there were no other rooms left in the category. There were plenty of balcony rooms left on the ship when I booked, but all were higher priced due to location. I was nervous as this one was right above the main theatre, a potentially noisy location. And yes, it did turn out very noisy. I would not book this room if I had a family of young kids or was a light sleeper. I heard every sound from the cavern club and the theater. I could make out what songs the beatles were playing it was so loud, and had a constant bass of the theater. Honestly, I didn't have a problem sleeping through it, but during daytime rehearsals, it was a little much. I am also someone who spends a lot of time in my cabin, some people would be out so much they wouldn't notice it. No early morning noise though, so nothing woke me up. The location was otherwise wonderful. Yes, I went up to deck 16 a lot, so took the elevators there, but it was central to so much dining, and so many great locations to go sit and have a drink, the mojito bar ending up being my favorite. For Alaska, this is 100% the right choice, I think. The room was a very standard cruise ship balcony room. The couch was nice and spacious. I don't think I ever sat on it, but my stuff sure did! There was a stool under the counter so it made a great desk area. The bed was comfortable, and the pillows were decent. The bathroom was also about the same as every other cruise ship bathroom. I do prefer the cruiselines that have doors instead of curtains, so I liked this. I only used this shower once though, as I tended to shower in the spa. It did NOT have the bar to set your foot on when shaving, which was inconvient. It's a nice addition. The room had plenty of space for my things, being by myself, but no drawers. I really would have appreciated some, but just kept things in their packing cubes. With a family though, drawers would REALLY have helped. I didn't bring my standard over the door organizer, and for one person, that was probably OK, but would bring it with my family for sure. I also had a ton of magentic hooks which I didn't think would be used as much on this cruise as in the carribean where we hang swimsuits, but I had my fleece, my raincoat, my hat, my scarf- lots of things to hang up from the wall to make them easier to find, since the shelves quickly got messy (i'm a bit disorganized) without any drawers available. Strangely, I didn't take a photo of my balcony with the chairs and table. It wasn't a very large balcony, but it also was bigger than I expected as people complained a lot about how small the balconies are. There were 2 chairs and a little drinks table. I had plenty of room to stretch my legs out, but honestly, because of the cold, most of the time I was out there I was standing to take photos, and then going back into the room. My balcony was NOT an obstructed view, but it's probably worth showing what the view is. I think obstruction just means facing forward. However, because of the bend in the ship, if I turned towards the bow, I saw cabins, and if I looked down, I saw the waterfront. Also note, that because of the light pollution from the waterfront, it isn't possible to take star photos. That's OK, I'm a mediocre photographer anyway, but my husband would have been bummed. After settling into the cabin, it wasn't long until sailaway. I decided to go up to the top decks and enjoy the sunshine, as it was a beautiful day in seattle. Of course, a gorgeous view of the space needle. And a few sailboats enjoying the day. Is there anything than a reflection of sun on the water as you head out to the ocean? The activity I had planned for the night was the spa raffle and solo meet up, so I decided to look slightly less like a slob. I didn't win the spa raffle (but really, the money won wouldn't even pay a full treatment, so you end up spending more anyway. Later in the cruise, my cabin steward gave me a $50 coupon, it said "happy anniversary" on it, but I think he was just being nice... I decided not to use it, as treatments just cost too much.) After not winning, I headed to the mojito bar. The group was probably about 20 people, and we all introduced ourselves and said where we were from. I didn't end up going to any other meetups, just always doing something, and then the one day I tried to go there wasn't anyone to open the door to the studio lounge, so it just didn't work out. I'm glad day 1 was in the mojito bar; as I did see many of these people throughout the cruise and it was nice to know people. The solo groups had standing tables for 10 at 6:30 in each of the MDRs, so I joined a group that was heading to the manhattan room. (Glad I looked all fancy). I got the Brushetta, which was amazing and I had it a ton. And the beef sirloin medallions. The french fries were EXCELLENT. The sauce was well flavored. The beef, though I asked for it to be cooked medium, was dry and tough to chew. I gave up after one medallion. We don't eat beef at home, so I was really looking forward to steak on the cruise (a highlight of my summer cruise), so I was super bummed. This was not the only bad steak I had. 😞 Dinner took a long time, so I skipped dessert. I was tired, so I went ahead to bed for the night. The next day was a sea day. Although I went to bed in calm seas, I did not wake up in them!

I bet you thought this review would involve a ship...sorry, life got busy, and i have not had a chance to process many photos...but in today's installment- I board the ship! I had originally planned to take the light rail into the city, and I still think that is a decent plan, but I figured with luggage, it was just going to be easier to take a shuttle. Since i was on my own, and only paying for one, it wasn't too expensive. I booked with Seattle Express, reserved it the day before the cruise, and it was $50 round trip, hotel pick up and drop off (well, the drop off didn't work as promised, see more later, but I still highly recommend them). I asked for a 9:00 pickup time, and was outside at 8:55, and their van pulled in right as I walked outside. I was the van's last stop, so there was just the back row of seats left. Everyone was on the Encore as there were no other ships in port, and we were all ready to go. The driver gave a nice mini-tour of the area we drove through, and pointed out the space needle as we drove by. I felt better having seen it, since I didn't go during my seattle day. I feel like seeing the space needle is required, just like the fish throwing, that I also missed. Of course, that first view of the ship is always thrilling! The shuttle took a lot less time than I thought it would, and I got to the pier about 30 minutes before my check-in time. No worries, no one was looking at check in times. Seeing the pier building was as exciting as seeing the ship, it's so pretty! Dropping off luggage was much more informal than other ports, almost suspect. It was a single guy taking bags, and putting them onto a conveyor belt. Not like the lines of porters and luggage carts I've seen at every other port I've been to. In the first of many lines, we entered the building, and waiting a few moments to have it checked that we had a boarding pass. They held us here for a moment, because they said the security line was backed up. No big deal, it was pretty chill. Line number 2 was security. I had forgotten to empty my water bottle, so had to do that. Line number 3 was for check in, and they handed you a boarding card. All of this took me maybe 30 minutes, and then I had about an hour wait until boarding started. Once boarding started they called numbers so quickly, they were on number 14 by the time we had managed to walk across the room (oops, sat on the wrong side). And then we were on the ship!! The first thing to do was find my muster station, and it could not have been easier. After the giant cluster that was MSC's muster drill (go to room to watch video, then everyone go to your station to scan your card; except no one could find their stations!) this was incredibly quick and pleasant. I took a photo of the stairs to be silly- my kids were so jealous I was on a cruise, and MSC has those amazing Swarvoski crystal staircases, so I was trying to "prove" to them this cruise would be no good and they weren't missing anything. (Uh, this cruise was amazing. They totally missed out. Suckers.) Then I went to the local and had a cobb salad, no ham, and an loaded nachos. I made a mistake on the cruise of never getting wings. I kept meaning to, but just was rarely hungry and never thought to go get them. I had really been craving wings in the run up and missed my chance. I'll need to go on another cruise. The salad was lovely and fresh, but the nachos weren't for me. I didn't care for the sports stadium style melted cheese, and the chips just got too soggy too fast. After lunch, I left the table, as I knew lots of people would want to eat, and found a spot in the atrium and read my book. Everywhere along the way, embarkation waiting room, the local, the atrium, I found people to chat with, NCL cruisers are an incredibly friendly bunch. I also went up to the Garden cafe for an ice cream. I did a quick walk around and didn't find the scooped ice cream, but found the soft serve. I will say, this is one place MSC won- their soft serve was like really good ice cream, not ice milk; but it also isn't available free to adults, only with kids drink packages, so I was at the mercy of my kids to let me have ice cream, so point to NCL, I could have all the ice cream I wanted. (And I wanted quite a bit of it...) After my ice cream, I walked around the decks just a bit, gave the drop slide a few scared looks (my kids dared me to do it), and sat down in the sun until the rooms were ready.

We did not ask, but I suspect they would if you asked them to.

Alright, so, now in our story we are on the pre-cruise day of the NCL ENCORE, which oddly, is not the same ship as the Escape. Glad we got that established early on. (On the ship, I never once forgot the name...so I do not know what was going through my head yesterday.) Anyhow, pre-cruise day, I kind of just wanted to stay in bed all day, but having never been to Washington (woo hoo! 1 state down, 5 to go to hit 50), I felt like I needed to go out and explore Seattle. I did not even hit the smallest tip of the iceberg of what Seattle has to offer, but I had a good day. I started off by walking to the light-link from the hotel, a very easy walk. Apparently I give off an air of knowing what I'm doing, as 3 different couples asked me how to buy tickets. Here's my question for locals- at no time were these tickets checked, or scanned, or anything. Is it indeed an honor system, or did I do this wrong? I did pay, so I feel OK about it. The ride was super easy, and I got off at Westlake Station. I then went to Pike's Place Market, as I think this is a requirement to say you went to Seattle. I took this photo to prove it. I walked around the flower stalls for awhile and took a few photos, but not nearly as many as I wanted, as I wasn't buying so it felt a little rude, and it was super crowded so I didn't want to back up stalls. Absolutely gorgeous, and good prices on flowers. I liked the "yes, you can take plants on airplanes" signs. There was also a huge amount of gorgeous handmade pieces, but many booths asked you to not take photos (makes sense, they don't want their art replicated.) There is also a big shiny pig, who tourists seem to rub his nose and ears. Being from Iowa, I appreciated the pig. I also really loved the murals on the walls as you walk down to the harbor. I did a bad job of being a tourist and did not see fish being thrown. Not really liking the smell of seafood, after viewing flowers and crafts, I didn't seek it out. I also was not at all hungry, so I didn't get anything to eat at various stalls. I did go to the waterfront where I saw the Bliss. The weather was about 45 degrees when I left the hotel, and said it would be 60, so I went with warm joggers, a fleece jacket and a t-shirt. Despite being in Seattle, I chose not to bring a rain jacket with me. Well, let me tell you, warm joggers was a mistake and I should have gone with cooler hiking pants. It was SO HOT. It did only get to about 65, but there was no wind, and it was so sunny, I was practically melting. The waterfront was really pretty, but also, very industrial. I just sat and relaxed for awhile, it was just so nice to be off work. So, as I left the waterfront, I sought out somewhere to get a drink. I really wanted a smoothie, but I actually wasn't able to find one. I ended up finding a really delicious rootbeer, at the cafe attached to the Seattle Museum of Art. I had waffled quite a bit about what to do with my day- and Chiluly Gardens or Seattle Art Museum were on the top of my list. In the end, I decided to go to the art museum. It was truly fabulous. After about 20 minutes of wandering, a docent tour started, so I joined them. It was about 75 minutes and told a lot about the curation of the exhibits and some of the information behind the pieces. After that, I spent another hour or so at the museum. I think my favorite pieces were the Aboriginal exhibit. I also really love geometic art like this: and I was super amused because I thought this woman had my haircut...or perhaps I had hers... Following this, I was famished, so I went to Noi Thai. I apparently thought I was already on a cruise, as I couldn't decide on an entree, so I ordered two. (Oddly, I never actually did that on the cruise...) The drunken noodles were AMAZING, the pineapple fried rice was OK. The presentation on both was excellent. I then found my way back to the hotel, I loved this mural, which I think may have been a child care facility. I actually found a rail station closer to where I was that was much easier to navigate, and way less crowded than where I left off from, so it was a very chill ride back to the hotel. For dinner, I had my leftover drunken noodles, and because I'm really really cool and exciting and love fabulous nightlife (sarcasm here), I spent the night diamond painting and watched youtube (That's a Cruise with Ben and David video...).

Well, next year when I go to Alaska again (fingers crossed...spoiler alert on how the cruise went), I will make sure to visit!

I got a coupon for a free appetizer during my second stay, but I never went over. Maybe that was a mistake.

OMG, I got the ship name wrong... That's embarassing. I typed Anthem at first, because that is on my mind as I am planning next summer's cruise, and I was like "no, that's wrong", and then racked my brain, and I should have looked at my pictures. I'm an idiot... I asked a moderator to change it, but feel free to point and laugh at me in the meantime.

So the travel day! My flight was not until 7 am, which is a late start for when I usually fly out (always have a connection to make!) so my family dropped me off at 5 am. The kids usually wake up just a little after that, so they seemed fine making the drive to the airport, and were happy to give me hugs. I watched the sunrise as I waited to get on the plane. There were no issues at all with the flight. I watched Mamma Mia!, which I won't do again, but it was one I hadn't seen before, so it kept me occupied. Question- how old was Meryl Streep supposed to be? She seemed like she was late 50s or 60s? But the movie made it seem like she had an unexpected pregnancy when she was really young; but wouldn't she have been mid-30s when she had her daughter? I was so confused by the timelines. Anyhow, I got to Phoenix, and had a delicious breakfast taco. It was nearly $20 for breakfast, but it ended up being the only thing I ate all day, so well worth it. And one of the best airport breakfast offerings i've had. The waiter misheard me ask for "tap water" (as I didn't want to pay for bottled water), and brought out a cup of "hot water". Really really hot water. I burned my tongue on it. But also, once I finished my meal, and it had cooled down, I drank it, because I didn't want him to feel bad, and would prefer he think I'm just weird and order plain hot water. I walked a lot of the airport, and because I am so super cool spent a lot of the layover diamond painting. And reading. My kindle was packed with old favorites for the trip. Our plane was delayed 30 minutes because they said that it had to come over from the maintenance hanger and the cabin temperature was 114 degrees, and they couldn't board us until it came down. I was fine with that. It was a 100 degree day in Phoenix, so I was concerned it would still be scorching when we boarded, but it was quite lovely in the cabin, and the delay wasn't unreasonable (since I didn't have another connection...) Got to Seattle without furthe issue, and was amused by the indoor airport bike parking. My bags were ready after about a 5 minute wait, and then I easily followed signs across the entranceway road to where courtesy shuttles pick up. Coast Gateway has you go to any of the shuttle huts, and then call to tell them which one you are at. I called to ask them which one they picked up from when I was walking, and they told me just pick one then call them. So once I got to one, I called, and then it was about 10 minutes total waiting to get onto the shuttle. There was a couple on the shuttle who were carrying a grocery sack and a banana, so I assume they were coming back from the light link rail, and not that they just got off an airplane. Coast Gateway runs a 24-hour shuttle and it was so easy to use. Check in was quick with no line. I had a queen room. It was small. I'd call it "new york size". But it had a comfy bed, a desk, a tub and shower (at first I thought it was a half tub, but it actually extends back hidden behind the wall). They had starbucks coffee in room (I did not drink it.) There was also a microwave (I always travel with popcorn, so that was my dinner), and a mini fridge. Despite being right next to the airport, I never heard any plane noise at all. Coast Gateway also included a breakfast in the morning, standard choices- waffles, bagels, sausage, boiled eggs, some cereals. I had waffles in the morning and they were good. The location could not be beat, walking distance to the light link rail, 5 minute drive on the shuttle from the airport. 1-hour light rail ride to downtown, 30-minuteish shuttle to the port. I paid $125/night for the two nights before my cruise, booked directly through the hotel (they had a special stay 2 night's rate), and $150 per night after my cruise, booked through Orbitz. My only complaint about the hotel was the pillows were awful.

Also, precruise someone asked on this board who the officers were. I never figured that out. So that is one question I can't answer, but happy to take questions!

This review is a bit late, because I think the Encore has already left Alaska for warmer waters, but I was on the 10/8 sailing. It was my first cruise on NCL, and the first time I have cruised solo. On past cruises, I've done extensive reviews with tons of photos, but this cruise I honestly just relaxed, so until I get through the review, I am not really sure how thorough this will be... I did not take notes like I usually do, and I didn't film videos. So, let's get started. Me: I am a 41-year old living in Iowa. My family took a cruise on the MSC Seascape this summer (it was amazing!), and previously I have sailed on the Carnival Spirit (way back in 2008, when Carnival still had lovely 'fine' dining), Triumph, Freedom, and Magic (the cruise on the Magic earned the Walmart of the Seas reputation, the food was horrible, the service bad, and the ship just seemed to always be smokey, so we left Carnival...), and on the Celebrity Xpedition (not really a Celebrity experience since it really is an expedition based small ship.) I've always been curious about NCL, as I heard they had amazing Broadway shows, and a really relaxed ship feel. Way back pre-pandemic it seemed like NCL had a lot of extra pay options (but really EVERYONE has gone that way), so we never booked them, as I like an 'all in' style-fare, and I felt like "freestyle" would mean a lot of planning. I really like a set dining time where I don't have to make reservations or know what I want to do on a specific day. (I did the my time dining once on carnival, and the waits and service were such a disaster...so I was nervous going into NCL.) I decided to take a solo cruise because I just needed some down time from work and family, and I just love cruising. I also really really wanted to go to Alaska, as, prior to this cruise I have the remaining states on my "reach all 50" list: Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii. My husband had been to Alaska, so going without him wasn't going to cause jealousy issues! Booking the cruise: In the summer when I was just so overwhelmed (and also before we even went on the family cruise), I decided I needed something. I went on NCL's website, they had a good deal, I didn't even think about it, asked my husband, and booked. I should have maybe done more research... like compare prices on different lines? Or think about the itinerary? I did comparet the Bliss and the Escape, and I thought Glacier Bay National Park sounded good, so I went with Escape. I waffled on the balcony vs. solo cabin for awhile, but decided a balcony in Alaska is an essential. The fare advertisement said it was reduced solo fare, but my cabin came to the same amount whether I was trying to book it for 2 or for 1, so not sure what the fine print of that offer was. I got free at sea, declind the drinks package, because $22 a day for tips is more than I have ever spent on drinks (I don't drink alcohol), got 2 free dining, the 150 minutes of wifi, and the $50 off shore excursions. Pre-planning: I was right. The "freestyle" approach had me a nervous wreck. I booked, then used the chat feature to cancel, then rebooked, then cancelled, about a million different restaurant reservations. (Why can you not cancel yourself?) I researched every available option. I combed through menus, watched youtube videos, looked at blog posts. I just could not decide. In the end, I went with Los Lobos and Food Republic as my restaurant options. I still kind of wonder if I should have gone to Cagney's and Le Bistro, but the decision was made! Continue reading to find out if it was a good one. Because I was a solo, I decided it would be easier to book NCL shore excursions, and I was trying to pick inexpensive options because this trip was already costing a fortune. In the end I settled on the Mendenhall Glacier and Gardens tour and then a ticket for the Mount Roberts Tram in Juneau, Rock Climbing and Rapelling as well as the Ghosts and Goodtime Girls tour in Skagway, the Rainforest Island Adventure in Ketchikan, and a walking tour in Victoria. The "free shore excursions" is actually a good perk for a solo, as $50 off each of these excursions meant it was cheaper to book with the ship than off the ship for everything I compared. (I assume NCL gets you when you have to book the rest of your family on the excursion...). The tram in Juneau and the walking tour of Victoria were free tickets, and the Ghosts and Goodtime Girls was only $20. The other tours, even with the discount, were still expensive excursions, quite honestly. Alaska is $$$. I also waffled extensively about a soda package. As I said earlier, I declined the drinks from free at seas. On my Carnival cruises, I had never purchased more than 2 total drinks all cruise (usually virgin strawberry daquiris!), but I always brought a 12-pack of soda on. Xpedition, drinks were included and I didn't have many. Seascape drinks were included, and I had a lot of soda. With just me, and no allowable carry-on, I wondered if it was a good time to go on a soda detox. Let me tell the next part of the story, then I will get back to this... I also waffled extensively about the thermal suite package. So many reviews said this was the BEST part of the ship. And I LOVE a good hot tub. But OMG, it's so expensive. So anyhow, I manifested both of these into being by talking to my parents about my cruise, my plans, how I was thinking I might want both of these things but they cost a lot and I just wasn't sure. Well, my Dad venmoed me the money for both, told me I had to return it if I didn't buy them. So thank you Mom and Dad for my soda package and thermal suite. The soda package, I would get again on a solo cruise. I would not get it on a family cruise where everyone needs the package. That would be a water and buffet juices only cruise. But it was worth it as a solo. I think in the end I probably had 5-6 sodas more over the course of the cruise past where I "broke even", drinking 3-4 daily, but without the package, I probably would have only had one a day, and it was just more relaxing to not worry about it and just get a drink with my meals, and whenever I felt like it. And honestly, paying ala carte would have been very demotivating because they don't even pour a full can into the glass. That's an expensive soda. More about the thermal suite later. Flights: Booked with points from American Airlines. I was shocked it was only 22,000 round trip from my regional airport to Seattle. That is one of the cheapest flights I've ever had. I connected through Phoenix and had an 8-hour layover on both ends. I flew in two days early and out the day after the cruise because our airport is a nightmare (evidence: husband was supposed to fly to Cozumel today, and it was cancelled; Our trip to catch the Xpedition in Ecuador, we had a 3-day buffer, and arrived the morning the charter plane from Quito was leaving to Baltra, barely making it.) and a day early isn't always the buffer you would hope for. Pre/Post cruise hotel: I chose Coast Gateway hotel, and got a great rate. I arrived in Seattle on Friday, and flew out on Sunday, so I had 3 total nights in the hotel. I promise more photos in the next post!!!

Well on such a generic flyer as that, it's also only on a rare ship. I get ads from Carnival all the time that are like "prices from $50 a day". Which I know means on their oldest ship, on a 3-day sailing, in an inside, out of a crappy homeport.