TashaB

We dock in Trieste on the Escape Oct 10th. There are 7 of us, 2 of whom will spend 2 nights in Venice. One flys out at 1pm on the 10th and the remaining 4 are spending the night by the Marco Polo Airport at a small hotel. Our flight is at 7am on the 11th so staying in Venice was not realistic. The 5 of us booked the NCL transfer to the airport as it appears to be the best option. We used the flight info for our friend, who is leaving that day, to make the booking. The plan is to head into Venice after checking into our hotel, by waterbus or taxi, to meet the other 2. We have been to Venice a number of times. The 2 ladies spending the 2 nights in Venice have yet to sort out their transfer and are considering a private transfer.

I think your arrival time in Victoria on the 17th is 7:30pm according to the Victoria Harbour Authority website and also the NCL website. I would imagine that this is a package exclusive to NCL especially since the Sun is the only ship docking that day. It's possible it will be served in the lobby where the afternoon high tea is served. However it could also be in one of their event rooms. Regrettably, since your arrival time is so late most, if not all, of the traditional places for tea are closed. If you really want to enjoy the Empress why not taxi or take a pedicab from the pier? Enjoy a drink or even possibly a pot of tea in the Q Bar which has a wonderful view of the Inner Harbour. BTW...it is walkable from the dock to the hotel. Around 30 minutes if you follow the waterfront.

By coincidence, we disembark the Escape on October 10, 2024 in Trieste! So it's going to be a busy day if both Escape and Viva are there at the same time. I investigated which airport to use on departure and yes, Trieste does have an airport. However the flights are regional such as Rome, Frankfurt (where we are connecting) etc. So we booked our flights to leave from Marco Polo Airport allowing for lots of time to transfer from Trieste. I would expect you will fly into Venice not Trieste from Detroit.

We recently returned from Active & Discovery on the Danube with 2 nights in Prague on the Avalon Envision. Our ship had 29 bikes but only 2 were E-bikes. For the guided tours they hired local companies who brought the bikes (not electric) to each port in trucks. The bikes on the Envision were available at most ports by signing them out at the reception desk.

Yup....we disembark on the 19th. I will let the pastry chef know to load up with goodies for tea time before we leave 🤣. Now if the water levels hold steady for us....and you!

Too funny. Great advice about avoiding indulging at tea time! We leave next Thursday to Prague and start our Avalon Envision Active and Discovery with 2 nights Prague on the 10th. 5 of us in single cabins. Only one booked the biking options (twice). Loaded up with lots of included excursions to wear us out. We also added 2 additional nights in Prague before we join the Avalon tour.

Sounds like the Envision which we also board on September 12th. Our first 2 nights are in Prague on our own then 2 in Prague with Avalon. We bus to the boat on the 12th.

After much research over the last 3 years 😀 we also (party of 5 single cabins) booked Avalon. We are on the Active and Discovery on the Danube with 2 nights in Prague (Eastbound). This is a 9 night package but we have added 2 more nights in Prague pre and 3 nights in Budapest post. Avalon includes the coach transfer from Prague to Vilshofen with a stop along the way at Cesky Krumlov a UNESCO World Heritage Sight. Since we live on the farthest point in western Canada on Vancouver Island our flights too will take a good 20 plus hours with layovers. We leave on September 7th of this year

"Heat warning at 25? I scoff. In DC we routinely have morning temperatures higher than that" The weather in Vancouver is measured at the airport in Richmond which is by the ocean. It is always much cooler there. If you drive just 45 minutes east into the Fraser Valley the temperature is a good 7 to 10 degrees warmer. I suspect that Heat Warning was for Greater Vancouver which covers a huge area. I used to live in Vancouver for 30 years but moved back to Victoria in 2014. Even Victoria has a huge range of temperatures ranging by a good 10 degrees from the ocean beaches to the areas just north and east. We too have a Heat Warning! We make good use of the Pacific Ocean AC 😄

I wouldn't take the survey too seriously. If you click on the "i" to the right of each cruise line you will see the sample size. Princess had one of the largest sample sizes and most of those that are rated higher had much, much smaller sample sizes. Seems larger the sample more complaints! Likely the people who took the survey and liked their cruise are in the small samples for the other cruise lines. These days there are many surveys and they often contradict each other. On CC you get a number of consistently positive posters for one cruise line and then the many complainers who may have a legitimate reason to complain or be loyal to the competition who can do no wrong! The only way to be sure is to take a cruise and do your own comparison. My last cruise was on NCL transatlantic in 2019. I swore I would never sail with them again as the food wasn't good. But my opinion was tainted as I had Accute Bronchitis part way through the cruise and nothing tasted well and my appetite disappeared with the days. So now we are booked again on both NCL and Princess for 2024 and deciding which one we will actually take. I haven't sailed Princess since 2008 but am Elite.

Good morning. Always happy for some good advice on booking. I always start off by checking directly with the cruise line first and then with the Big Box. In this circumstance (Nov 2, 2024 Enchanted 14 day Caribbean from NYC) the BB was less expensive when I went to the next stage of actually making the booking. The availability of cabins was certainly much less (Category B balcony) so I would assume they have a group on this sailing and blocked cabins. In addition the $150 OBC was added. Perhaps it was a coincidence that we chose this sailing and the price was less.

Another thought on the pricing model now being used by Princess. I have sailed 43 times over the last 45 years on a number of cruise lines (Princess Elite and NCL Platinum). It has been 15 years since I was on Princess having sailed NCL and Celebrity over that time period. Princess is now offering 3 options: Standard with just the basics such as MDR, buffet etc. Quite similar to the way it was when I first started sailing. To be competitive to other lines such as NCL they offer the Plus package and then to compete with the NCL upgraded Free at Sea package they offer Premier. NCL does not give you the option to opt out of their Free at Sea unless they have a Sailaway (aka guarantee) which typically comes closer to sailing. Yes you can opt out of the Beverage package but you are really only saving the 20% tip on $109 per day in other words $21.80 per day. The base cruise fare factors in the cost of liquor even if you don't take the Beverage package. I have long time loyal NCL friends who refuse to try any other cruise line. They are frugal and opt out of the Beverage package and also the Specialty Dining where you pay a small tip on the 2 or 3 free meals. Not logical since NCL has really included in the base fare the cost of those meals. Why opt out for such a small amount! We have two future bookings for 2024. One on NCL 11 days in Europe and the other on Princess 14 days in Caribbean. The NCL cruise was booked last year and Princess last week. On both sailings we have the full Free at Sea on NCL and on Princess we chose Premier. Both include prepaid gratuities and the Princess cruise $150 OBC. Same cabin types (single balcony). Bottom line Princess is actually $100 less per day. Most certainly hard to compare two cruises in different parts of the world from a financial standpoint. I think Princess is overall very competitive to the other mainstream cruise lines such as NCL. It would be much better, from a PR standpoint,had they grandfathered the additional perks to those that already booked in Plus and Premier prior to the changes.

Our last two cruises were both on NCL. Pre covid transatlantic and Europe. We booked an 11 day Mediterranean Cruise for September 2024. At the time (early 2023) the price seemed very fair and our Big Box TA included crew gratuities. We are also Platinum so free specialty meals included as well as liquor etc. As some of us travel single the price seemed very good. Today to book the same cruise it is 40% higher! Complicated but NCL decided to Interport the ship by have passengers board at multiple ports and differing durations. Having not sailed Princess ( Elite) for many, many years I thought time to check out options. We found a 14 day sailing on the Enchanted Nov 2024 from NYC to FLL stopping in great Caribbean Islands. I priced it out and it was $100 less per day for a single and included the Premier Package, balcony etc just like on NCL. In addition the Big Box TA has a group contract on that sailing and the price dropped quite a bit and an OBC of $150 is now included. To top it off the deposit is only $100 ($135 for we Canadians). So it seems Princess definitely beat out NCL in this circumstance. I know it's difficult to compare cruises in differing parts of the world but always nice to have some options and competition. BTW you can often find excellent pricing on NCL cruises after final payment of 120 days prior to sailing.

OMG Sorry. I meant Latino persons not Latin speaking. I guess I need to proof my posts better 😁

Thank you for the very useful information. I had thought that this might mean more European passengers. It's always great to cruise with a large mix of different nationalities and languages. I was once on a South America cruise that had lots of Latin speaking passengers from many South American countries. We had a blast.....but dining became very late at night for dinner!

In June of 2022 we booked the Norwegian Escape 11 day cruise from Barcelona to Trieste September 29, 2024 to October 10, 2024. Some months later we noticed that NCL is now embarking passengers in different ports. Sorry, a bit confusing, but here is what they are now selling: September 24 to October 3 Rome to Rome 9 days September 29 to October 10 Barcelona to Trieste 11 days (the one we are booked on) October 3 to October 10 Rome to Trieste 7 days Fortunately for us, the pricing we are paying is almost 30% less than what is being asked for the 11 days now. It seems that NCL wants to sell the 9 days not the 11. In addition the 7 day cruise is even more expensive! Has anyone experienced sailing on something similar where the cruise starts and ends in different ports? I have seen 2 but never 3 actual cruises on one ship. How would NCL handle situations such as menus, entertainment etc. I have been on 43 cruises over 45 years but this one definitely is new to me! Any advice greatly appreciated. BTW we are in the 70 to 75 age bracket, 3 cabins.

This is likely the reason they have to cancel Sydney: SYDNEY — The mayor and council serving the Cape Breton Regional Municipality have declared a state of local emergency after post-tropical storm Fiona brought with it widespread power outages, road closures, displaced residents and structural damage. CBRM residents have been asked to shelter in place or, if shelter has failed, to contact 911 for evacuation. A Red Cross shelter is in operation at Centre 200, the municipality said in a release. Additional comfort centres around the municipality will be posted via CBRM's social media sites throughout the day. Comfort centres are opening when local travel is declared safe by officials. "It is currently not safe to travel. Downed power lines and trees are a significant hazard. Please remain sheltered," the municipality said in a release.

The principal difference is that Alaska sailings from Vancouver take the Inside Passage of Vancouver Island and the Seattle sailings are on the Pacific (outside) of Vancouver Island where it is somewhat windier and less scenic. There are other cruise lines which sail from Vancouver roundtrip in 7 days including Celebrity, Princess and Holland America. As for budget airlines I understand that Jet Blue now has a daily flight to Vancouver from JFK.

Lots of discounting on Alaska for July through September of this year, especially on Sun and Spirit. From 5 to 11 day itineraries.