bluesea777

Easier to save it as pdf document into your Files so you can easily access it without internet/WiFi.

On Getaway TA from CPH to Miami back in Oct 2017 we stopped in Bermuda which is our home. We had done some shopping in DK including several bottles of booze. Upon embarking in CPH we had to temporarily give up the booze, kitchen knives, stainless steel skewers, etc, but got them back as we entered into Bermuda to dock. There was some crew exchange so Immigration and Customs officials came on board to deal with the outgoing crew, and then deal with our customs declarations … we paid duties there and then left the ship with all the shopping stuff and dirty laundry. A friend met us off ship and took the stuff home. Then we rejoined the ship to continue to Miami. Be honest and declare what you’re bringing into the country and you’ll be okay. Another earlier TA (Jade the year before), the ship had to bypass Bermuda due to stormy weather and we had to buy an extra luggage on board and excess baggage fees when we flew home from Florida!!

We are on the Spirit SB right now, entering the Yakustat Bay to go see the Hubbard Glacier. The seas have been calm since leaving Seward 2 days ago … but still cold in 40’s, overcast with some low clouds. So I’d say, like I said about the seas between East Coast and Bermuda as well as Bermuda itself, it’s crapshoot.

@Asawi is correct, however, the Spice H2O is on deck 10 aft, not 11. We were on Spirit in Feb 2020 (just before the pandemic) and loved the Spice H2O and the aft terraces from deck 10 up to 12. We’re back on the Spirit on Wed for 2 weeks Alaska (B2B) and have OV cabin. Didn’t bother to upgrade.

Tel Aviv. Haifa isn’t that far from Tel Aviv.

see post #535

Did you lock the bags before setting them out in the corridor?

Nice, but you get some 23 hour days ... we prefer westbound TAs with several 25 hour days 😁 We're on the Viva for WB TA this coming November.

When you check in you’re at the port authority’s mercy, not NCL.

Since your daddy has the same as yours, they need to differentiate you from him, hence all bookings, credit cards, etc need to match the name on your passport with the suffix. Fraud is getting so widespread now so the credit card companies are clamping down fraud by using stricter authorization methods. NCL possibly tried to put your CC through using your booking name without the suffix, but the CC company saw that there is a suffix on the card, so they rejected it. We already are noticing an increase of CC authorizations in the past year or two, since the C-pandemic started and the online shopping increased many-fold. Sorry about your experience. Hope the cruise itself and Bermuda were lovely.

Thanks for correcting that Bliss doesn't have Galaxy Pavilion, however, the Joy had it built in as new-built, not during refurb.

No forward Observation/Spinnaker lounge: Dawn, Star, Epic, Breakaway, Getaway, Escape. No aft Spice H2O (Adults only during day): Sky, Sun, Dawn, Jewel, Jade, Pearl, Gem, Encore. Ropes Courses: Breakaway, Getaway, Escape. Race Track (pay): Joy, Bliss, Encore, Prima. Laser Tag (pay): Joy, Bliss, Encore (hence no Spice H2O). Galaxy Pavilion (pay): Joy, Bliss, Encore, Prima. Vibe Club (pay): Breakaway, Getaway, Escape, Joy, Bliss, Encore, Prima, Epic (Posh Club). Note: Encore's Vibe Club has unpadded loungers! Haven Courtyard: Jewel, Jade, Pearl, Gem Haven Proper: Epic, Breakaway, Getaway, Escape, Joy, Bliss, Encore, Prima. Studio cabins for Solo guests: Epic, Breakaway, Getaway, Escape, Bliss, Encore, Prima. Spirit is the winner as she is not listed in any of the above. Plus her Spice H2O has padded loungers!😁😄

Whenever we check in we always select Cash, and hand over our credit card when we check in at the terminal. NCL doesn’t like our credit cards when checking in online because they weren’t issued in the US (even they’re in US$). It’s fine that you select Cash - even for all of you.

Were you on the Spirit in Feb 2020 from Rome to Dubai? She went to Haifa. We were on that cruise!

@ConnieTact Great review and photos! And to answer to your topic question ... NO! Not your last time on a smaller ship! We have been on all NCL ships, except the Sky and Prima. We have enjoyed all our cruises, however, each ship has its own pros and cons. For port intensive cruises we prefer smaller ships, Spirit being our favourite (you gotta try her sometime!), and for longer cruises with several sea days (like transatlantic) we prefer the larger ships. Remember very large ships cannot get to the ports where the smaller ships can, so when you book cruises you need to decide: itinerary vs ship. For this reason we chose Spirit for our upcoming two back to back Alaskan cruises and chose the new Viva for our transatlantic in Nov. Enjoy planning your future cruises!

No problem, you're welcome. May I add, I like to research which major airport hubs that have cheaper hotels near that we can stay overnight when making connections. ORD just under $200; SEA, JFK, BOS $300-350 and up; YYZ pretty okay but YVR so expensive! I see you're on the Viva TA from San Juan to Lisbon .... if this helps, TAP air does non-stop LIS to ORD!! We're doing TAP from JFK to LIS for our Viva TA from Lisbon to Miami this November.

Spirit June 7-14 is from Vancouver to Seward. We're on Spirit May 31-June 7 Seward-Vancouver and June 7-14 Vancouver-Seward. We booked our own air. Getting to Anchorage 3 days before cruise. P.S. Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Not sure, haven't decided whether to do a live review. We'll see. We go down to Seward two days before the cruise.

I have never been on a floatplane, but have been in a helicopter and up in a balloon (twice). We're taking a regular train, not the NCL chartered train (that goes directly to the pier). We reserved GoldStar Dome seats and the train will stop at Seward Train Depot, closer to hotel, lol.

We're on the Spirit B2B Alaska later on this month, starting from Seward. We chose to book our own air .... we're in Bermuda so need to hop over to one of the getaway apirports (JFK, BOS, CLT, PHL, EWR) before making connection to ANC. Found a great route - BDA to JFK to ORD same afternoon/early evening, overnight in an ORD hotel (that comes out much cheaper than New York or Seattle), then early the following morning non-stop flight from ORD to ANC, arriving there at noon! If that flight is cancelled we have ORD-SEA-ANC as backup. We've booked a floatplane flightseeing tour over Anchorage with Rust's Flying Service later in that afternoon!! We travel to Seward by train early the next morning for 2 night before embarking the Spirit. We're beyond excited!

Great review and photos! Can you please take pictures of Pinchos and its menu? Thanks!

@nimbex1970 thought you might be interested … there are non-stop Alaska Air flights between ANC and Chicago ORD and hotels near ORD are a lot cheaper than Seattle!! That’s why I researched and booked our own flights. I think you should be able to find nonstop flights from ORD to SJU.

“…beginning in October…” ? It’s been in existence for about a decade or so, it’s not new.

Nope, it's 2024. The topic header says so. 2024 season. And the Paris Olympics is in Summer 2024.

We prefer to book all our own flights and hotels (pre-cruise & post-cruise). I have been lucky to find good deals on one-way and open-jaw flights as well as round trips on highly rated airlines.