INDIANA JOE

3 hours ago, langleyfld said:

We are staying at The Auberge in May 2020.  How was your stay?  Did you walk to the ship?  Was the SkyTrain easy to navigate?

We did stay for 1 night at the Auberge. Nice, new re-model of the rooms this spring/summer. We got there late (7 pm) and ate at the Lion's Pub nearby? Short term stay and no complaints. Could look out our window directly at Canada Place. After travelling all day we wanted food and a bed, lol.

Pretty easy downhill walk to the port( about 2 blocks).

We ended up just taking a taxi since it was late so can't tell you about skytrain. Taxi was $32 CAD plus tip.

52 minutes ago, Sauer-kraut said:

Check-in time is not boarding time.

I agree but the problem still was that phone reps were giving info regarding boarding at 12:00 (noon) and it was actually closer to 12:00 (midnight). People paid gratuities for that day. And Ncl never posted an arrival time on Ncl.com which would have kept lots of people from booking. Not illegal but leaves a bad taste.

20 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

Wow! We were looking at the Bliss PC itineraries, and I'm afraid we did not pick your itinerary due to the US immigration - the Vancouver -Seattle-Victoria-San F- etc is a bad route. So we went on the Northbound one Los Angeles-San Fran-Victoria-Vancouver one and it was great except the casino closed early and the ship had one bar per deck open policy when we reached the Canadian waters. We overnighted in Vancouver on the ship.

 

I'm so sorry to hear your cruise turned out to be a bit of a disaster. I wonder if NCL would wake up and realize that your itinerary was a bad one. Was it really necessary to go to Victoria? 

 

On our April's PC on Bliss there was a great majority of Asians, therefore the Garden Café was so busy. The Noodle station was the one we could never managed to get in! But we had a great cruise and enjoyed the ship.

 

P.S. Bliss (and also Joy) have to wait until low tide to go under the Lions Gate bridge. And also there were 3 other ships already docked in Vancouver so Bliss had to wait for a ship to move out before being able to dock to let you all embark. But there is no excuse that you had to suffer with the embarkation nightmare. Hope NCL learns!!

 

 

 

 

Bluesea777,

We were aware for a long time about the low tide situation on our rollcall. What Ncl FAILED to do is show the arrival time as later for new bookings and their reps continued to give out regular boarding times. We had booked June 2018 and got an email early on about boarding time then it just kind of vanished until less than 30 days to go.

This cruise was a slow seller and Ncl, imho, held the info back to sell it out. Nothing illegal but not forthcoming either.

With the late boarding, cancelling Seattle and the long debark in San Francisco due to customs/immigration, I understand why so many unhappy people. Did I have a good time....yes. Did I have a great time.....not even close!

We were on this cruise too and I agree with some of what you mentioned.

Once the ship actually got to the dock and they got all the computers set up, then processing could begin. I'm sure Ncl knew it would be a zoo. I wasn't too happy with communications from Ncl pre-cruise either.

This was our 7th cruise with Ncl and definitely the worst all round! Will it keep me from cruising with them again....maybe, maybe not. There were so many changes/screwups that it might make a difference down the road.

Wasn't how I wanted the cruise to go for our 40th anniversary. The wife even got a card for her birthday for a free cake( BD is in Feb.)

Had 2-3 meals where we didn't get what we had ordered but we "took it in stride".

1 hour ago, drvmywifecrzy said:

Its very laid back which is an awesome feature of NCL

Yes, that is what we like too! This will be our 7th cruise with Ncl but 1st in the Haven.

As long as shorts/jeans are accepted, I am good! Thanks for the input.😀

29 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

As others mentioned, Haven attire is no different than it is on the rest of the ship.  It's casual.  I don't think I once saw anyone in a dress or a tie.....ever....and I've been in the Haven 3 times.

Good to know!

48 minutes ago, elwood_98034 said:

We saw a few shorts and t shirts. No one cared. It was mainly an older group, and almost everyone was well dressed and well behaved. Having good manners was the key.

Roll up drunk for breakfast with your cap on backwards a t shirt to your knees, and a heap of gold chains on, and you will soon realise that you look stupid and everyone is laughing at you.

We saw a lot of that in the hot tubs in the Haven, but we just figured that they had snuck in from the Vibe, as there was a connecting door on our ship that was often left open a crack, and we never saw them any other time.

Thanks for the info. We will be on the Bliss Pacific Coastal and , if anything like our 2010 PC cruise, it will be pretty laid back.

Just like to dress casual (jeans, shorts, nice t-shirts,etc) and  definitely understand about good manners.

1 hour ago, KeithJenner said:

The dress code in the Haven restaurant is the same as the majority of restaurants onboard. Very casual. It isn’t one, like Le Bistro for example, which doesn’t allow shorts etc.

 

The dress code is exactly the same on any night. It isn’t any different for the Norwegian Night Out or Dress up or Not nights.

 

”Business smart” isn’t required anywhere on any night.

Thanks for the info. Glad to hear jeans and shorts would be ok ( no rips, holes, unclean or worn at the knees for me)😁

1st Haven experience coming up.

What is the dress code for the Haven restaurant/Haven area?

Any menu's available to see? TIA

1 hour ago, waterjock said:

I just got upgraded to a aft facing balcony has any one  stayed in this cabin. Is the balcony bigger than a regular balcony.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/topic/2237597-escape-aft-balcony/

Not sure which cabin# you have  so maybe something in here to help.

23 hours ago, Arkansasgirl412 said:

I'm on the same 9/30-10/6 Norwegian Bliss sailing. When I signed up for arrival times today, 7PM was the EARLIEST arrival time available. Some people have boarding times as late as 9PM.... What I'm wondering is, what time will the mandatory safety drill be?

Hey Arkansasgirl412, come over to the rollcall and join us. We have a M & G and Group Slot pull going so far if you would be interested. The link to the rollcall is back up in post # 6

8 hours ago, BEAV said:

 

Here’s the link to the Port of Vancouver schedule you’re referring to. As you said, Bliss pulls into the Canada Place East dock around 6pm after Jewel’s 5pm departure. Note: The link was last updated on July 22. 

 

https://www.portvancouver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2019-Canada-Place-Cruise-Schedule-as-of-July-22-2019-VFPA.pdf

 

Its unfortunate that Ballentyne Pier is no longer used on those rare days when 4 ships are in Vancouver. A few years ago we boarded the Pearl at Ballentyne when there were 3 ships at Canada Place. 

Thanks BEAV. This schedule is updated from the one I saw from May, 2019. Just wish Ncl would inform the passengers

so they could make definite plans for embarcation day.

17 minutes ago, Cruise_More_Often said:

 

I believe what Indiana Joe said is that both the Jewel and the Bliss depart Vancouver on September 30. The only reason he mentioned the date October 6 is because the Bliss ends its Pacific Coastal cruise on that date in Los Angeles.

Thanks CMO. You are correct.

2 hours ago, tlc1972 said:

I'm booked on the Bliss for a 6-day coastal trip from Vancouver to LA and just noticed today that the boarding time on my e-docs is 7:00 pm. That's right: PM. 

 

I have never experienced such a late boarding time and now faced with what to do with my crew, which includes two who are a bit mobile-challenged. Walking around downtown Vancouver won't be an option, so any suggestions other than a very late check out from the hotel? 

 

I also have to admit that I'm frustrated with the late boarding time. NCL just got away without having to deal with a lunch and, in some cases, even dinner as I imagine a number of guests will probably eat before boarding. I mean, the muster drill alone would cut into dinner time...no?

 

 

We are on the Bliss Pacific Coastal on September 30 - October 6, 2019. We have a rollcall going which includes some info regarding late embarcation. Click on the link below. Come join our rollcall too.

Canada Place cruise pier can't handle 4 larger ships so it is believed that, per the port cruise schedules, that the Bliss will slide into the space that the Jewel vacates around 5 pm.

And as mentioned, the Bliss can't leave until low tide to get under the bridge

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2569414-ncl-bliss-6-nights-pacific-northwest-september-302019/

12 hours ago, joern said:

How strict are NCL with the "Must be onboard 2 before sailing"?

 

Are booked on the Epic, oct 27 and talked to my TA about flight into Barcelona. I was looking at a flight with Norwegian from Copenhagen with ETA Barcelona 14,30. The TA said that it should be time enough, but now I am unsure if it was the right decission to book that flight. It will be very expensive to change it as I', affraid that the tickets are non changeable, but on the other side it will also be a bummer if we are denied to come onboard even though the ship hasn't sailed yet.

 

So anyone tried to arrive last minute? 

Did I see that the ships departure time is 18:00 pm and your flight lands 14:30 ETA?

Still pretty close if you have any delays, baggage issues, customs inspections, etc. How far is the airport to the cruise port?

A lot of variables to consider....

On 6/30/2019 at 4:11 PM, Heidi13 said:

All YVR taxis should be set up to accept at least Visa & Mastercard. They are not permitted to charge extra for luggage.

 

 

Will Vancouver taxi's accept USD ? A flat fee of $35 CAD plus $5 tip CAD will be about $ 31-32 USD I think at today's conversion rate if you don't want to credit card it or have CAD available?

On 7/24/2019 at 12:10 PM, PNW Traveler said:

Sunset at the end of September is approximately 7 pm.  You'll have "twilight" for about a half hour after sunset.

 

Thanks, good to know. Should be just about dark when we get to the hotel.

1 hour ago, scottbee said:

 

And it's not really that well marked, you want the exit at the end of the platform that the train entered from, it's marked "WAY OUT - Granville St".  You don't want to go into the pedestrian tunnel at the other end of the platform

thanks for that tidbit too!

24 minutes ago, martincath said:

Relatively quiet - you may get a few 'bridge & tunnelers' joining once the lines merge at Bridgeport, but that's a bit late for most folks coming downtown to dine and a bit early for most of the 'pre-drink at home before hitting the clubs' crowd so not many. It's also way too late to be heading downtown for any concert/sporting event. Start of the line anyway, so unless your flight has a few big wide-bodies land about the same time and a horde of pax all want to take the SkyTrain at the exact same time you do you'll have no difficulty getting a seat.

 

If you get out of Waterfront at the Granville exit you'll have basically a straight shot along Hastings to the hotel - that's accessed from the South end of the platform, and it does have an elevator so no problem getting your luggage up to street level (and as a bonus, you avoid walking up a hill, albeit not a big one). Translink have maps here - choose Canada Line then Waterfront and you'll see two, it's actually the accessible map that you want showing the entrances with elevators.

martincath, thank you for the info. I enjoy reading your informative posts.

Any idea how busy about 7 pm on a Saturday at the end of September?

At waterfront station which exit towards Auberge hotel?

Any useful info appreciated......

1 minute ago, ute_fan said:

I was in a regular balcony room on our recent Joy cruise and got them too. The first few times we sailed we got them (10-15 years ago) and then they stopped sending them and you had to print them. 

 

No idea why we got them this time. 

20% gratuity not included, lol

5 hours ago, beckyboo1986 said:

I've been checking the prices for a few weeks now and I think I just got the best deal on the 5 day Pacific Coastal Charms from Vancouver. I'm travelling solo and I managed to book a sail away balcony, the free at sea package (I choose the beverage package and Internet package)  and included gratuities for £408.65. This seems like an amazing price!

 

Has anyone done this cruise before, if so what do you think? Being new to NCL what are the 'must do's'? Any advice or tips will be greatly appreciated.

Have done that cruise on the Pearl in 2010 and will be on a 6 day on the Bliss at the end of September. If you can swing it, add a couple of days in Vancouver pre-cruise to make it like a 7 day. We loved Vancouver.....so much to see & do

If you are stopping in San Francisco the ship will be closer to Fisherman's Wharf/Pier 39 area than we were in 2010.

On 7/6/2019 at 9:04 PM, MNshortie21 said:

Flew into YVR from US in June. You will deplane and flow the signs to customs/baggage claim. For customs they have Kiosks where you enter your info and it prints out. You then take that print off and your passports to an agent. Keep the print off out! You walk a few feet and baggage claim in right there. Pick up your luggage and then go to exit with your luggage and another agent will take your print off as you exit baggage claim. 

 

We were through everything within 30 minutes. Note our plane landed at about 10PM so your time/experience maybe different. Happy travels!

great info about YVR. Gives me a better idea what to expect and possible time involved getting thru the airport. We land about 6:20 pm on a Saturday in late september

3 minutes ago, FredZiffle said:

 

NCL normally gives VIP status to the organizer of a M&G.  You get concierge service, daily snacks (like the strawberries), invitation to an officers' reception, and ability to eat breakfast in whatever restaurant is reserved for suite guests. That last one may have changed now that the Haven is such a big deal - it's been roughly 4 years since the last time I hosted a M&G.  

Never have gotten more than the strawberries, but that is not why I volunteer to organize it. I enjoy talking to

the various people who attend.and have met some very nice people.

1 hour ago, FredZiffle said:

 

You just caught a bad one.  I've been to several where it was quite obvious that the organizer only volunteered in order to get the VIP status on board and put zero effort into it.  Fortunately the good ones outnumber those few bad ones.  

I have organized 2 or 3 M&G's and what is VIP status. May have gotten chocolate covered strawberries but that was about all and they weren't bad M&G's.