jimsig

Yes. Had them last April in the "large balcony" category. There was one lounger, one chair, and a small table already there when we got there.

It was, according to the email "unforeseen circumstances." It wasn't just one cruise changed it was a total of 4 (IIRC) all in the month of April. From May on the cruise was scheduled to stop in Bar Harbor for almost the entire season. A lot of people on our cruise booked it specifically because it didn't go to Bar Harbor and had the extra time in Bermuda which would mean more time in warmer water on Wed on the way back to Boston. The change meant that Wed was not a pool day as we were almost 15 hours north or where we were supposed to be.

Or even when they change just the day before you are due to leave for no apparent reason. The day before the Pearl was due to leave Boston for Bermuda in April 2022 they announced that it would leave Bermuda Tue afternoon instead of Wed morning and instead of a day at sea Thur it would stop in Bar Harbor, ME. As it was so last min some people didn't find out until they arrived at the pier and a few didn't find out until they were on board. Needless to say some people had to wear the same clothes twice as they were not prepared for a cold weather port. At least I wasn't cruising until the next week and could prepare.

It's like when you rent a car and they ask if you would like to upgrade to a higher class. It probably means they are out of the category you selected and they are trying to get you to pay for a higher category without telling you they are out of what you selected. I have always declined their upgrade "offer" and almost every time I decline I end up with the upgrade. Last time I got upgraded to a Dodge Challenger from an economy for nothing after they asked me if I wanted to upgrade for an extra $25 a day.

In Boston there will be. Not sure about the others. In 2022 it was .70 a drink and I was drinking Mai Tai's and most likely either Captain Morgan and ginger or CC and ginger. You are only talking less then a dollar per drink. Unless you plan on buying a lot of drinks in port you really won't even notice it unless your plan is to try and owe nothing on your onboard account 🙂

We had her on our Alaskan cruise in 2016 on the Pearl. I don't know of her whereabouts currently but I do know she was in Alaska last fall as she was the concierge on my parents cruise, but I can't remember what ship. I know she said she likes the Alaskan itineraries. If no one here knows you might want to check out the Alaskan roll calls, maybe you can ask for someone on each current or next cruise who the concierge is?

2 or 3 NCL cruises have been on the Pearl. First was in 2016 to Alaska (you can read my trip report in my signature below) and again in 2022 on the BOS-Bermuda cruise. I can't really compare cabins as for Alaska we had a 2br family suite and for Bermuda (post refurb) we had a Club Balcony. But did notice that the cabins now have USB outlets near the bed so it makes charging things easier. It's a great size ship, easy to navigate, and as others have said does not seem dated. I would not hesitate sailing on her again. I looked at booking the BOS-Bermuda cruise on the Pearl again this past April but ended up doing the Epic from SJU-NYC repo cruise. It was cheaper to do the Epic even with flying to SJU and a night in a hotel. With the Epic we also got us an extra night and 5 ports with 2 sea days. Even after the flights and hotel the savings also helped to pay for our ShoreEX while on the cruise. Enjoy the Pearl.

How do you remedy it? You call and see if you can pay to get a cabin you want. If you can't get another cabin accept it and get over it or it's libel to ruin your vacation it you let it bother you. Don't let a cabin ruin what is sure to be a great Alaskan vacation. People in an inside cabins can and have just as good as vacations as those that are in the Haven.

Is that's one of the cruises that they just added recently? If so they are probably dealing with making arrangements/signing contracts etc. with the tour providers. I was on a cruise, it was also the Epic, in April and they swapped Puerto Plata to Amber Cove. Even though it only about 15 min away they took down the excursions and then added excursions back a while later with most being the same, just the pick up/drop off point changed. You will just have to keep checking back unfortunately as they could add them all at once or piecemeal.

I'm a bit confused by this. You said you arrived in you last stop in Reykjavik at 1:30 pm but then said you arrived at 6p the previous evening.

When making your excursion reservations by phone let them know what ship you will be on. If making them online sometimes they have a field to enter the info in or even drip down menus that you can choose your ship. Because they are so tourist/cruise ship dependent they tend to work around the ships time in port. But as mentioned before it's important to let them know which ship you will be on. You don't want to book an 8hr excursion if you will only be in port for 6 or 7 hours.

We sailed the Epic from SJU to NYC in April and took the larger balcony over the Club Suite. We had 5 ports and 2 at sea days. We had cabin 9029 and it has a 118sq ft balcony and half is covered and half is open. I liked it had a recliner and a chair instead of 2 chairs. For us the extras were not worth it for the Club Suite.

If you can swing it I agree with the others and go with the 2br family suite. If you look below in my signature I did a trip report when we did the Pearl to Alaska in the 2br suite. I have pictures and a video of the cabin in the report. I believe the only thing different is the suite no longer has the tub in it and there is no longer an upsell line to call for upgrades.

As an FYI the service charge on the soda package is $1.59 per day as of mid April. As it was just myself and my 13yo DD I got the Free At Sea she got the soda package

We sailed in the 2br family suite (non Haven) to Alaska in 2016. There is a link to my trip report below in my signature and included are pictures and a video of the suite. Other then the suites no longer having names and the bathtub no longer being there it should give you an good idea of what the non Haven 2br fam suite looks like.

My suggestion is to take all the suggestions you get and make sure you spend time in each of them especially when you are exploring the glaciers. Change decks and locations for the best views as they look different from different locations. Even if you had a balcony I'd say the same thing. When we were in Glacier bay they even opened the bow for viewing.

Weather was amazing. I think it was Thur, our first at sea day, we had that brief rain, along with a flash of lightening and roll of thunder. they didn't even clear the pool deck. I stayed, but I was also underneath on that riser so i stayed dry.

Off the Epic on the SJU-NYC trip last month and also did the Pearl from BOS to Bermuda last year. For a ship of it's age I thought the Epic looked good. But one of the things that surprised me was the lack of USB ports near the bed on the Epic like the Pearl had. So hopefully with the redeployment if it includes a dry dock or even just a small refurbishment maybe they add those USB ports.

They would have a separate boarding procedure for those returning to the ship like they do when people are doing B2B's and want to spend time at that port.

It's not a suggestion. This is from State Department Frequently Asked Questions "If you were age 16 or older when your passport was issued, your passport is valid for 10 years. If you were under 16 when your passport was issued, your passport is valid for 5 years. The Issue Date of your passport can be found on the data page of your passport book or on the front of your passport card. Some countries require that your passport be valid at least six months beyond the dates of your trip. Some airlines will not allow you to board if this requirement is not met. Check our Country Information to learn about entry and exit requirements for the country or countries in which you are traveling. To learn about returning to the United States after your travel, visit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's website." For those visiting the US: The US Requires a passport be valid for 6 months beyond the period they intend to stay. However there are some exceptions that allow you to only have a passport valid for their intended period of stay and can be found here US Customs And Border Protection

What's funny is they call it a new passport application for a child but they want the old passport sent in just like when you renew an adult passport. Basically the same steps just called a new application.

If you strike out on this post look up a recent roll call and you may find them there or someone who has them.

If you call NCL they should be able to give you the exact size of the balcony as balcony size in the B6 Large Balcony category vary quite a bit.

I don't know him. Tell him he got out at a good time. BET stands for Boston Engine Terminal

I'm on the commuter rail as a conductor and work out of North Station and have been there since 94. Chances are if he was on the track department I probably wouldn't know him, I knew a couple guys based out of BET though.