dmwnc1959

She is now officially on her way to FLORIDA!!! 🎉

Islander has moved to the inner anchorage and is currently refueling...

BOOKED!!! 
 

315 days to go and the shore excursion I have been waiting on finally showed up in the app today. 
 

Soooooo excited. 🎉 

Now positioned off of Gibraltar 

Absolutely not. The last time I was in Glacier Bay it was raining and you really couldn't enjoy it. Of the five times that I've been to Alaska everything else other than the glacier days were the most important part of an Alaskan experience. The shore excursions are incredibly important - get out away from the city and see the surrounding areas, do a helicopter glacier tour or float plane excursion out to a glacier area like Taku, enjoy a salmon bake, take the White Pass & Yukon rail trip, enjoy a whale watching adventure, or jet-boat down to Misty Fjords. Don't skip Alaska simply because you cannot see Glacier Bay. 

The Fleet Week ships arrived this morning.

BATAAN is docked at Pier 88 south. In the last screen grab you can see: (1) the tail end of the aircraft carrier Intrepid; (2) the Concorde; (3) USS BATAAN; and (4) Europa (with the orange and black funnel) docked at Pier 88 north. 
 

😁

Just now, SirTomster said:

How was Hubbard?  My wife and I will be there in less than 30 days.

Oddly enough I've never been. That was actually me just watching the ship's bridge cam while sitting in my apartment in West Virginia. My first ever visit to Hubbard Glacier will be in April 2025 on Norwegian Jade. I've been paying particular attention to the Norw. Jewel's bridge cam because she goes to Hubbard Glacier. I'm overly obsessed with my cruise to Alaska next year, even though I've already been to Alaska five times. I've heard about the only way you can get really close to Hubbard Glacier is to do one of the small boat excursions I think they run around $350 or more per person.

Here's the bridge cam shot from yesterday, you can tell it cuts out right at the best moments...

I don't know if it's been mentioned or not, but she is appearing on Marine Traffic if you want to follow along...

Heading toward Gibraltar:

2 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Here's my favorite cruise tip.

Layout all the clothes you plan to take.

Layout all the money you plan to take.

Put half the clothes back in the closet.

Get twice as much money.

 

BTW, pack your passport, cruise boarding pass, medicine in your carry on.  Not in your checked baggage.

This made me chuckle out loud! 😂 Sooooo true! 

On 5/19/2024 at 8:25 AM, Ferry_Watcher said:

Once you arrive at the restaurant, be prepared to stand in what could be a long line (rain or shine).

The picture from their Facebook page...

On 5/19/2024 at 2:08 PM, varpinater said:

Their website notes a Shack 2, which opened May 17th

On FB too..,

King Crab Shack

300 Whittier St.

Across from the JAHC/ the KTOO building. 
 

The screenshot from yesterday as the Norwegian Jewel had departed Hubbard Glacier and was en route to Seward...

32 minutes ago, wolfie11 said:

They’re building their own.

https://www.cruisehive.com/construction-begins-on-new-alaska-cruise-port-destination/84233

https://www.ncl.com/port-of-call/cruises-to-whittier

Very interesting. 🤔 I'll be on Norwegian Jade at the end of April 2025 when she docks in Whittier as the first-ever NCL ship to use this port. I wonder if that new terminal will be completed by then? 

24 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

I will be doing a live for the 5 weeks on the two Princess ships (it’s a side by side rather than a B2B.)

I did a B2B on the Royal Princess right after she first came out. It's my favorite class of ship. Love Princess Cruises. 🥰

3 hours ago, smokey11 said:

It looks like new this season NCL has added an excursion that is $99 per person and it goes from Ward Cove to downtown Ketchikan. In the morning from ward cove they serve doughnuts and coffee and from downtown to ward cove in the afternoon they provide local beer tastings. Has anyone tried this excursion yet?  It seems pretty high at $99 per person when the shuttle to and from ward cove is free. 

Keep in mind that there is the NCL shore excursion discount of $50 per passenger #1. 

1 hour ago, wolfie11 said:

Wait til they open their new dock in Whittier…

Isn't there already an existing cruise ship dock at Whittier? Are they building a brand new one? I know Princess Cruises and Holland-America already use that port. 

1 hour ago, YVRteacher said:

We will eat more meals ashore this time, enjoying the wonderful breweries in each port. We don’t ever eat dinner in port but that shift will give us more variety and less frustration/discontent.

Very much look forward to this aspect of your next Live thread! 

10 minutes ago, jrt.mom said:

Well, I signed up for it on my cruise in October.  Not sure why since I'm gonna be on the dang boat for 15 days...

It's one way and you still gotta ride the bus back, right?

According to the NCL shore excursions listing it can be in either direction. Keep in mind that passenger #1 gets the $50 discount. 

15 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

As I've mentioned to you in your threads, the Jade is now our favorite ship. Virtually everything was perfect (except the casino smoke). The food, service, cleanliness, etc., were all top notch.

Don't believe everything you read in the papers...I mean on the internet.

The final thoughts on OP's experiences are the ones that will stay with them. I'm definitely like her, not wanting to drop an enormous amount of money and come away completely dissatisfied and regretting my choices. 
 

In the past week I've joined a couple of Facebook pages specifically dedicated to the Norwegian Jade. I am keeping my ear close to the ground with updates on every sailing. 

On 5/17/2024 at 8:22 PM, YVRteacher said:

I canceled three future cruises with NCL today.

I requested a phone call from corporate to discuss some concerns.😂

Just wanted to preface this by saying I truly enjoyed your Live thread. As a newbie to NCL and having booked 32-nights on Norwegian Jade for the repositioning cruise to Alaska next April your Life Rings review, along with the cruise comments and now the sickness reports from your fellow cruisers, are giving me major anxiety attacks. Even over on FB I'm reading bad things on Jade and NCL. In January I cancelled a Coral Princess EB Panama Canal cruise in favor of the NCL itinerary. I'm trying to stay positive with 319 days to go! 🥺

3 hours ago, FancyTales said:

We will be arriving in Juneau on Princess line. Several in our group want to go eat crabs at Tracy's. How far from the dock is Tracy's Crab Shack. We have one person who has a mobility issue.

What ship are you on and what is your arrival date? Depending on where your ship is docked, it could be 10-15 minutes walking distance up a slightly inclined roadway or boardwalk, or right next to your ship. Keep in mind that depending on how many ships are in port the sidewalks can be extremely crowded, especially when it is raining and everyone is under an umbrella and trying to stay sheltered. 
 

😁

My cruise on NCL is at the very beginning of April 2025. I booked my first shore excursion on March 19th of this year. I now have 9 total booked.
 

Now, this cruise is a very LONG cruise that starts in Tampa, goes through the Panama Canal, up the coast of Central America, Mexico, California. and ends in Alaska. The very first shore excursion for the Alaska portion I booked was on March 28th of this year, still over a year before my ship even starts and still over a year before we even get to Alaska. 
 

So, if you see a shore excursion that you really want book it now. You can always cancel it later. 
 

😁

5 hours ago, Kellie in Texas said:

Did you mean May 15? (not June?) Pics are gorgeous!

Yup, my error! 😂

Just happened to wake up near 2am east coast time to catch Brilliance of the Seas departing Juneau (10pm local). 
 

35 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

I’m wondering if anyone has sailed on a solo inside on norwegian gem. 2 rooms offered are 4545 which is by a mystery space and 4507 and 5107. If you’ve tried any let me know! Sparse pickings.

As a self-professed 'expert' at reading deck plans 😉 5107 appears to be under the galley for the two MDR's, 4507 is way too far forward for my tastes, and 4545 is under a deck of passenger cabins. If those are the only options I'd go with 4545.