lax19

I am on the Dawn 2/1, and I sure hope they are broadcasting the Superbowl in more venues than Pearly Kings..... Folks who have been on board for Superbowl in prior years have said they broadcast it in multiple venues and have hot dogs, nachos etc... I hope that is right or I am going to hear a raft of complaints from my better half....

 

Terry

It was 3 years ago when I was on the Dawn for the Superbowl, and they had a viewing party in the Spinaker lounge. They had the movie screen in front as well as a couple of TVs on the sides along with some food and snacks.

As other have said, they are pretty much the same. If I recall correctly, the Star had fresh popcorn in the Red Lion Pub more often than the Dawn (Pearly Kings Pub). The Star main pool has water slides; the Dawn does not.

The back ends are different. Compare deck plans - the Star has an open deck in the aft where on the Dawn, that area is the kids/teens club. It was easier to kid to the aft on the Star. On the Dawn, you had to go through the fitness center.

Also on the Dawn the Market Cafe is larger on the port side and can be entered on both ends. On the Star, third of the Market Cafe on the port side is the teens club.

If you are sailing over Thanksgiving, the Kids Sail Free may be blacked out. KSF usually is for sailings when kids are in school - go figure.

When I was on the Jewel last August, there were a couple of nights where there was a special menu in O'Sheehans (ribs, prime rib) that was not available in the main dining room. I think NCL was trying to better distribute the diners.

I enjoyed the buffet on the Jewel (even though it was on the one side of the ship. Several different stations and overflow seating in the Italian restaurant. I did find that the selections went way down out side of prime time for that all important between meal grazing.

That is way cool. Looks like Vigor Industries is very close to University of Portland on the Willamette. She arrives in LA after a Canal transit from FLL on March 1st and starts her Mexican Riviera cruises on the 17th. I may have to wonder up there to take some pictures.

It's been several years since I was on the Star (or Dawn), but there are a few differences.

The biggest difference is that the Spinnaker Lounge is on deck 13 forward on the Jewel and has floor to ceiling windows on three sides. This makes is a great spot to sit during the day and watch the world go by. On the Star, Spinnaker's was moved to the aft deck 7 (where the shops are on the Jewel/Pearl) and replaced with more cabins.

The Jewel has the great outdoors seating area at the aft for outdoor eating. On the Star, that area is the Kid's pool.

There is more...and I'm sure others will add to this.

I will be receiving a deposit to my bank account 1 day into my cruise (actually the Friday before we leave but I doubt it credits till Monday and we leave Sunday). I have budgeted some of this money as part of our spending money. Is there a way to withdraw it on board? It would need to be accessed by using my debit card which I have read is a big no no and I will be providing the cruise line with a credit card but it only has a $1000 limit. I will need more than that for the excursions/spending we have planned. If so I would like to withdraw cash and make a payment at the pursers. Or can I make a payment with my debit card without it becoming "on file"? Is this doable or do I need to make other plans.

 

Thank you,

 

 

 

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It's been a while, but there should be an ATM on the Star. There is a fee ($4.00?) for a withdrawal. If you have access to an ATM from your bank on Friday/Saturday before your cruise, check and see if the deposit credited to avoid the on ship ATM fees.

If you prepaid the daily service charge and watch your on-board spending, you should be fine with the credit card.

No, she wasn't. :rolleyes:

True...she was all of three months old when her family moved there.

We'll be in port from 7:00am - 4:00pm. We plan to take the 3.5 hour White Pass bus/train trip at either 7:30 or 8:15. What would be a good way to spend the afternoon? (not interested in zip lining or flight-seeing. It seems like so many excursions are too long to get us back to the ship by 3:30 if we do the bus/train in the morning.

We were there last August and took the train to the Canadian border and back. We got back about noon and walked over the the Skagway Fish Company for lunch. Then just wondered around town, ate ice cream, went to the Sarah Palin store (she was born there don'tcha know). Went to a few other stores and just relaxed.

Drop 6 and luggage off at the port. Take car back to airport and catch a cab back to the port.

Sitting at the cruiseport waiting to board...Bahamas it is!!

Say Hi to "Snappin Scott" on the Cruise Staff from Russ and Lisa.

Next Stage was on the Jewel this summer. I remember them from my cruise in August. I really enjoyed them. They played an acoustic set in one of the lounges for those who did not fancy going to the White Hot Party.

Maybe, someone on your roll call who is driving in can bring you a bottle. Worth a try. Other than that, pick up some empty travel size containers and fill them up with what you like.

Why have you ruled out driving the day of the cruise and parking at the pier?

Barring a freak storm over the grapevine, a six hour drive is not too bad. You could leave at 6AM and arrive at noon Someone mentioned that parking is $12 per day or $84 per week..about what you would pay for the hotel room.

Great review:D:D! Your experience mirrored our Jewel Cruise in August. When we boarded in Seattle, there were no porters to take our luggage, just a line to drop off at the x-ray machine. (We arrived a bit after noon.) We had a great time with the Cruise staff (Ben, Nadine (his wife), Ally, Kevin, Zach and Scott (who is now on the Dawn). Ben spent most of his time behind the scenes, but the rest were a lot of fun. Hopefully, Ally has come out of her shell a bit.

I was looking at ships scheduled to be in ports during my scheduled stops(Aug. 10-20) and it's REDICULOUS!! were talking 4-7 ships at once at each stop. How bad is it really? I'm imagining thousands of people in these small little villages and I'm considering canceling and rebooking for September. Is September any better?

Our cruise took us to Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway and Victoria this last August. Each stop had 6000 to 10000 passengers and 3 to 4 cruise ships.

Skagway with 10,000 cruise pax was busy, but it did not feel crowded. The parking lot at Medenhall Glacier (Juneau) was crowded with tour busses. These "little villages" rely on tourists and have figured out how to handle several thousand people efficiently.

It's more like mid-morning at Disneyland on a Wednesday in early October. (Maybe not even that bad)

I looked at port loading on http://www.cruisett.com and September is not much different than August.

Exactly. My original birth certificate is safely secured at home and a copy is used when necessary. No way am I going to travel with the original. It is too valuable to carry with me on vacations.

I think your original BC is tucked away safely in the vital records office of the county in which you were born. What you have is a government issued copy.

The deck plans shows three person occupancy for that cabin (filled in triangle). Call NCL or your TA to get clarification. If it does hold four people, the fourth bed is most likely a trundle bed that is stored under one of the other beds. When it is out, your cabin will be wall-to-wall beds.

If we book through the cruise, will the train bring us back to the ship, meaning we would have to then walk back to town?

We booked the half day train ride up to the Canadian border and back. Since we booked through NCL, we were picked up at the Ore Dock (fifty feet from the gangway). When we returned, we were given the option to get off at the Train Station in town or at the ship. We got of at the station and headed over to The Skagway Fish Company for a king crab lunch!! Spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Skagway.

On the Dawn.... Which of the two dining rooms is less formal? We like to dress more casual for dinner and like the more casual dining room.

 

I think it is Aqua but wanted to confirm. Thank you.

Yes, Aqua is more casual.

That's absolutely bizarre, because I was just there last Wed as well on the 20th and did not have that water issue. When we started walking down the trail, they had signs out that said caution trail flooded ahead, but there was nothing. When we walked back out, that signage had been removed.

 

At one point, the trail split and there was a straight trail that went along the water more, and one that bent to the right. We followed that right trail, with basically everyone else, and got there with no wet feet at all?

 

We were there around 9 am. What time were you there? Did the water rise that fast?

My bad :o, we were there on the Tuesday the 19th. This proves I had a great vacation...couldn't remember which day it was !!!

Since the first post on this thread mentioned Skagway I would appreciate info. about distance from the port to the train station. I found that our ship will dock at the Railroad dock and not the Broadway dock as I expected.

How far is it and how long will it take to walk to the train station for the White Pass train tour.

Thank you to those who have done this for any info.

Skagway is tiny. It might take you ten minutes to walk to the train station from your ship. We docked at the Ore Dock and got on the train at the dock.

Which pier are you leaving from? Pier 66 (NCL) or Pier 91 (HAL, Princess, CCL)

 

But, NCL is letting their people down by forcing them to put up with that type of nonsense. By making their people put up with that type of bullying it only tells idiots like the fellow they can abuse the staff and get away with it.

Herb Kelleher (Founder and former CEO of Southwest Airlines) had the right idea:

"While Southwest Airlines CEO Herb Kelleher gives customers a terrific deal on an airplane seat, he makes it clear that his employees come first — even if it means dismissing customers. But aren't customers always right? "No, they are not," Kelleher snaps. "And I think that's one of the biggest betrayals of employees a boss can possibly commit. The customer is sometimes wrong. We don't carry those sorts of customers. We write to them and say, 'Fly somebody else. Don't abuse our people.'" " (Readers Digest July 1995)

If a customer has a legitimate complaint, do your best to resolve it. Once he becomes abusive or unrealistic in his demands, tell him that his business is no longer welcome. There will be plenty more people to replace him.

We were there last Wednesday (August 20). The trail is a very easy hike. About 100 feet of it is under about 4 inches of water. We took our shoes/socks off, rolled up our pants and walked through it.

If you want to get to the sand bar at the base of Nugget Falls, you'll need to walk through shin deep water (6 to 10 inches). It's not too bad...at least after your feet go numb. :eek:

This is looking back from the sandbar to the end of the trail.

4. Carrier's Rules and Regulations:

(b) Carrier's Right to Confine, or Refuse or Revoke Passage: The Guest recognizes and agrees that the Carrier reserves the right, without incurring liability of any kind, to refuse or revoke passage to, or confine to a stateroom, any Guest who, in the sole judgment of the Carrier or vessel's medical personnel, may be refused admission into a port of landing or into the country of destination, or may be suffering from a contagious disease, or for any other cause may endanger themselves or others, or become obnoxious to others.