Sailing Smooth

We had our kids booked in an inside cabin for Alaska cruise.  Upgrade offer made sense for them.  Paid $300 each and upgrade was accepted for a balcony.  We were even able to move their room and ours next to each other in connecting cabins.  Their balcony was $2990 including airfare from Green Bay and the perks.  Ours was $5494 for the same category.  So do you feel lucky?

Your cruise report is making me excited for our Seward to Vancouver cruise on the Jewel on June 5.  We can't wait for you to post the southbound dailies!

It's a really nice beach with great loungers.  It's relaxing for families, couples, whoever.  It seems like once the cruise ships leave, it's more of a clubby scene.  Some famous DJs and musicians have shows there--but it seems to only be at night.  You can get there by taking the free tram from  the port.

NFL games probably, but not bowl games.  We had to try to watch the Wisconsin Badgers bowl game in Belize Harvest Caye.  The bar was playing the games, but the time difference didn't allow for us to watch it.

On 6/25/2022 at 7:38 AM, Sailing Smooth said:

Day 6 Riga, Latvia

Here we took the Turaida & Sigulda Tour through NCL--it took us to Sigulda first outside of town.  It's on beautiful grounds.  There is a fancy manor house that we didn't go it, some touristy shops to buy local goods, and Sigulda Castle.  It was raining while we were there, but it was fun to explore the area and see the Turaida area from there.  Next stop was the "cave" with the legend of Turaida Rose.  It was a nice walk down with an interesting story and history.  Sigulda was our last stop.  Along the way, our guide explained the history and answered any questions we had about the area. Turaida had a cafe, gift shops, nice bathrooms, sculpture garden (we didn't walk down there), high tower we climbed (very narrow stairways).  We explored the buildings to learn about its history.  Then, we headed back to Riga old town. We had some time to shop and explore. They dropped us near the Blackheads building, and it wasn't a very long walk back to the ship. Black Balsam is their alcoholic drink Latvia is known for--free sample at the Blackheads gift store--not a fan tasted like cough syrup.  Our guide recommended Folkklubs ALA Pagrabs" (Folk club ALA cellar) for a beer--easy to get to and really cool basement bar/restaurant. The show this night was a couple from Ukraine.  They did ariel gymnastic type things.  They were amazing--Don't miss!

 

Day 7 Talinn Estonia

 

We used the Rick Steves walking tour here from Smithsonian mag--search it.  It Helped us explore the old town in a logical way.  Our friends took NCL tours and found them to be interesting.  Many guides could give personal insight into the Soviet years, and they are not fans.  It's a really lovely old town area-lots of cobblestones and hills so wear decent shoes. It's maybe a 10-15 minute walk from ship.  We ate at a restaurant in the Town Hall Square--many choices.

 

Day 8 Stockholm, Sweden

 

Quite the long taxi line here.  Try to arrange a taxi/transportation on your own ahead of time if you can.  As we moved through the line, two taxi drivers were arguing with each other and one kicked at the other.  Then, with our luck my brother had to ride with one driver while we rode with the other.  Our driver ripped us off and charged us 80 Euros to go from port to downtown.  It sounds like it happens a fair bit in Stockholm taxis. My brother's cost was 40 Euros for the same number of people, bags, and car type.  I took a picture of the car dashboard and am hoping for a resolution.  We should've used a charge card and taken a picture of his license plate.  Live and learn.  

 

 

We stayed in Sweden two days afterward.  We would not recommend the Hop on/Off bus.  There are two companies there so it's confusing at first to know which company you even have tickets for.  Their hours are quite limited--10-4.  If you're staying downtown try to use the public transportation/streetcar or walk.  We went to the ABBA museum, castle, Vasa museum while there.  The ferry might be a good way to get from Gamla Stan/old town across the lake, too.  We stayed at the Kung Karl Hotel--breakfast there was really good.  Our friends stayed at an AirBNB.  We had our hotel arrange our taxi after our first experience. We flew on KLM to Amsterdam then Delta to US.  We had no issues with our flights.  

 

When we came home, three member of our group of 16 tested positive for covid.  No idea where exactly they picked it up.  So far, not us.  My husband and I both took our second boosters a few weeks before our trip.   

 

Tips & Suggestions for NCL

• NCL needs a lot more entertainment on this route.  Get comedians-Carnival had them this year! Plans shut down too early.
• Streamline check in process
• Try the mojito bar--the bartenders are great!
• The buffet has soft pretzels for lunch time...yum!
• Take care of dinner reservations when you board.  Shows are typically at 8 if those interest you.
• NCL should be allowing bartenders to give out water bottles to passengers with beverage package.  They did last summer, but not anymore.  
• Gatsbys has a good bar, but not enough seating to watch entertainment.  Go early? Hey NCL, get rid of the smoking room there and expand the area.  
• Casino allows smoking again.  Yuck. Had hoped covid would end that.
• The stores were rarely open even when posted hours said they would be.
• For some reason even when phones were on airplane mode we were able to get I-messages on our apple devices without internet plan.  The paid internet was sooo slow!
• It's cooler in the Baltics.  Bring clothes you can layer. You will want a swimsuit if it warms up and there are hot tubs.
• Last day they typically have a cheaper laundry bag.  
• LaCucina Italian and Cagneys were amazing as always.
• Don't forget O'Sheehans is always open for a bite to eat.

And towel animals by request would be nice.  Again, Carnival has them back.

We were told there were 900 some passengers on our sailing.  Dawn's capacity is 2,340.  I'm sure it accounts for one show per night and limited store hours and activities.

Day 6 Riga, Latvia

Here we took the Turaida & Sigulda Tour through NCL--it took us to Sigulda first outside of town.  It's on beautiful grounds.  There is a fancy manor house that we didn't go it, some touristy shops to buy local goods, and Sigulda Castle.  It was raining while we were there, but it was fun to explore the area and see the Turaida area from there.  Next stop was the "cave" with the legend of Turaida Rose.  It was a nice walk down with an interesting story and history.  Sigulda was our last stop.  Along the way, our guide explained the history and answered any questions we had about the area. Turaida had a cafe, gift shops, nice bathrooms, sculpture garden (we didn't walk down there), high tower we climbed (very narrow stairways).  We explored the buildings to learn about its history.  Then, we headed back to Riga old town. We had some time to shop and explore. They dropped us near the Blackheads building, and it wasn't a very long walk back to the ship. Black Balsam is their alcoholic drink Latvia is known for--free sample at the Blackheads gift store--not a fan tasted like cough syrup.  Our guide recommended Folkklubs ALA Pagrabs" (Folk club ALA cellar) for a beer--easy to get to and really cool basement bar/restaurant. The show this night was a couple from Ukraine.  They did ariel gymnastic type things.  They were amazing--Don't miss!

Day 7 Talinn Estonia

We used the Rick Steves walking tour here from Smithsonian mag--search it.  It Helped us explore the old town in a logical way.  Our friends took NCL tours and found them to be interesting.  Many guides could give personal insight into the Soviet years, and they are not fans.  It's a really lovely old town area-lots of cobblestones and hills so wear decent shoes. It's maybe a 10-15 minute walk from ship.  We ate at a restaurant in the Town Hall Square--many choices.

Day 8 Stockholm, Sweden

Quite the long taxi line here.  Try to arrange a taxi/transportation on your own ahead of time if you can.  As we moved through the line, two taxi drivers were arguing with each other and one kicked at the other.  Then, with our luck my brother had to ride with one driver while we rode with the other.  Our driver ripped us off and charged us 80 Euros to go from port to downtown.  It sounds like it happens a fair bit in Stockholm taxis. My brother's cost was 40 Euros for the same number of people, bags, and car type.  I took a picture of the car dashboard and am hoping for a resolution.  We should've used a charge card and taken a picture of his license plate.  Live and learn.  

We stayed in Sweden two days afterward.  We would not recommend the Hop on/Off bus.  There are two companies there so it's confusing at first to know which company you even have tickets for.  Their hours are quite limited--10-4.  If you're staying downtown try to use the public transportation/streetcar or walk.  We went to the ABBA museum, castle, Vasa museum while there.  The ferry might be a good way to get from Gamla Stan/old town across the lake, too.  We stayed at the Kung Karl Hotel--breakfast there was really good.  Our friends stayed at an AirBNB.  We had our hotel arrange our taxi after our first experience. We flew on KLM to Amsterdam then Delta to US.  We had no issues with our flights.  

When we came home, three member of our group of 16 tested positive for covid.  No idea where exactly they picked it up.  So far, not us.  My husband and I both took our second boosters a few weeks before our trip.   

Tips & Suggestions for NCL

• NCL needs a lot more entertainment on this route.  Get comedians-Carnival had them this year! Plans shut down too early.
• Streamline check in process
• Try the mojito bar--the bartenders are great!
• The buffet has soft pretzels for lunch time...yum!
• Take care of dinner reservations when you board.  Shows are typically at 8 if those interest you.
• NCL should be allowing bartenders to give out water bottles to passengers with beverage package.  They did last summer, but not anymore.  
• Gatsbys has a good bar, but not enough seating to watch entertainment.  Go early? Hey NCL, get rid of the smoking room there and expand the area.  
• Casino allows smoking again.  Yuck. Had hoped covid would end that.
• The stores were rarely open even when posted hours said they would be.
• For some reason even when phones were on airplane mode we were able to get I-messages on our apple devices without internet plan.  The paid internet was sooo slow!
• It's cooler in the Baltics.  Bring clothes you can layer. You will want a swimsuit if it warms up and there are hot tubs.
• Last day they typically have a cheaper laundry bag.  
• LaCucina Italian and Cagneys were amazing as always.
• Don't forget O'Sheehans is always open for a bite to eat.

We boarded in Amsterdam.  We had arrived days earlier and toured other areas.  Come early enough to adjust to time zone.  First day is a tough one. Recommend a canal tour and getting tickets to Anne Frank house (month before) if Amsterdam is your port.  

Boarding in Amsterdam was slow going.  They did check our vaccine cards and passports, but disregarded any check in times and NCl statuses.  So we came after our time and waited a fair bit of time.  They didn't seem to have enough people working check-in and more than enough at the vaccine card/covid test check counter.  They seemed to have trouble with printing room cards early on--should do like Carnival and leave them outside of rooms. Once we boarded we headed to dining reservations as we had a large group of 16--it seemed that some of the reservations we thought we had were not to be found, but we worked out some new ones.  Then headed to  O'Sheehans for some lunch.  Always a dependable place to grab a bite or a drink.  The show on the first night was Shimi Goodman--he was good.  Sang some Broadway tunes, opera, etc.  On our whole cruise there was only one show per night (8 pm) as we had less than 1,000 people on board.

Day Two was a sea day--time to sleep in.  It's cool in the northern area of Europe, so little time was spent outside on most days..  The warmest place we found was in the smoking area up at the Bimini Bar.  The wind was blocked so we could enjoy the sun.  Noticed throughout the cruise that the shops were seldom open and definitely not always open in the hours posted.  

Day three-Kiel--we found transportation for our group from shoreexcursions.  They were waiting for us at the port and took us to Hamburg (@2 hour drive one way)--saw several sites--town square, drove by St. Nikolai Church, Speicherstadt, St. Pauli, Alster Lakes.  Had time to get out and walk around at Alster Lakes and Town Square.  Ate at a Brewery downtown Hamburg at Brauhaus Joh. Albrecht on the river--great location and good German food. When we went back, half of group was dropped at port other half went to Kieler Brauerie.  It's a short walk to back to the ship from there less than 15 minutes.

Day four Poland--went on NCl tour to Stutthoff Concentration Camp and Gdansk 8 hour tour.  The first part was so very sobering.  The concentration camp still has many buildings in place with much information about the camp buildings, its prisoners, and its history.  We began with a short video to give us some background.  Then, toured several buildings.  Water closet access is somewhat limited, so the lines were kind of long when we arrived.  After Stutthoff we went to Gdansk.  We had very limited ideas of what to expect there and we were pleasantly surprised.  Beautiful in tact old town area there with many souvenir shops, restaurants, ice cream stores, etc.  We spent some time shopping, having a beer, buying candy, etc.  There was no main dining on the ship that night, so we ate at O'Sheehans.

Day five Klaipeda Lithuania-  some members of our group went on tours (kayaking was fun), but my family just walked around the old town.  It's an easy walk from the ship.  Lots of restaurants along the river.  Fun places to rent paddle boats--they have a Flintstones one that is super cute!  This town seemed to have less historical buildings, but it was due to their destruction from after World War II by Soviets.  I found this quote:  Soviets decided to demolish all the city's major churches. Many houses in the Old Town and especially the New Town were destroyed as well during the 1940s and 1950s Sovietization of the city. These changes left Klaipėda without some of its original character that once made it unique among Lithuania's cities.  We walked around Klaipeda and found the statues that are scattered throughout the city.  There was someone local at the pier that handed out maps with various points of interest.

I'll add other stops soon...

Our daughter tested positive right before coming home for Xmas break and a new year's cruise.  We had her stay in her apartment until she tested negative--less than 5 days later.  We all were negative.  No issues.  You have plenty of time her for to become negative.

We got a cruise over spring break (6 day Horizon) for $200/person in a balcony.  I've never seen anything that cheap, and we don't gamble more than $10 in a quarter machine.  Great deals!

My sister-in-law is feeling the same way and has been trying to get help since the flights were ticketed.  No one at NCL Air Program has been willing to do anything about them whether it be change them to an earlier time or different route.  She's flying through Madrid to Greece on the same date as you on Iberia.  Calling Iberia customer service is not helpful as it's almost impossible to get an English speaking rep.  She's been documenting all of her contacts, but hopes she won't need them.

Here's to everyone making the boat on time.  Our group of 17 is coming on 3 different flights.

We are heading to Greece in August.  Any flights you see before they are ticketed/emailed to you are just place holders, and they change often.  Originally in our NCL account they had us going through places like Zurich and Munich.  When it was finally ticketed it was totally different--way there is direct from Chicago to Athens.  Way home goes from Athens through London to Chicago.  

Be wary of the flights.  Maybe request with your agent at time of purchase a more direct flight, flights on only one airline each way,  or avoiding smaller airlines.  My flights are on American and British Airways.  We have a group of 17.  Most flights are good (United, American, Canada Air, British Airways), but some are on Iberia which doesn't have the best reviews/record  (google them 🥺) and switching ticketing from different airlines.  The flights are ticketed by multiple airlines.  Seats are not selected for you.  You will need to log into each airline using the ticket/locator number to select seats.  The airlines we were booked on didn't charge us to choose, but some airlines (Iberia) charge you if you want to select a seat before the check in date.

The NCL air group isn't terribly helpful and it's nearly impossible to get an Iberia airlines English speaking customer service rep. I think it would be ok if it weren't for the Iberia flight.

We are doing several excursions on our own as we have a large group (17) going in August.  In Corfu we have a charter boat cruise with lunch and stops, in Oia/Santorini we have someone taking us by boat to a bus to avoid the backup by the cable cars to a winery and sights We so far only have the HOHO bus reserved in Crete through NCL, but looking at other excursion sites I think it's overpriced. My research shows that Rhodes is an easy DIY port.

We are to be refunded if there is a cancellation on our private excursions.  We made sure the terms were such.

On 6/13/2021 at 12:48 PM, barbiecruiser27 said:

This would be Orlando to Greece- so assuming we'd land the day prior and need to book a hotel on our own? Do they select seats together for the flights? Or can you pay extra on the flight to sit with your travel partner?

My family received our flights to Athens this week on American Airlines.  We are a group of 6.  Could only find two sets of three seats a few rows apart on our flight from Chicago to Athens.  There were no seats selected for us. British airways on the way back, so we had to log into British Airways to select those seats.  It's not explained anywhere.  My sister-in-law is a travel wizard.

My sister-in-law has to pay on her flight (Iberia) if she wants to sit next to my brother/select seats on their flight to Athens.  We are all flying out of Wisconsin through Chicago.  Some of us from Green Bay and some from Madison.

We are using the airfare deal for the first time in August on the NCL Jade.  Our flights are ok, but our party of 6 cannot all sit near each other. We have to sets of three seats separated by several rows.  We could select seats ahead of time without fee on American airlines/British Airways on the way back and are able to sit near each other on other legs.  

My brother and his wife have flights on Iberia and will have to pay extra to be assured that they will sit together on each leg of the flights.  Apparently if you take the airfare deal from NCL, you are taking a chance on the flights which may have several stops and the airlines' policies on selecting seats.  I'm not sure we'd do it again.

On 7/7/2020 at 4:08 PM, Thequietone said:

NCL have chosen not to return the voucher saying it has expired and can not be used again. This is the issue . The accepted payment with the voucher and not refund

 

I had the same thing happen.  Used the Cruise Next for August Alaska cruise.  It was to expire in May 2020, but used prior to that date.  My other Cruise Next certificates are in my account, but not that one.  I called and was told the same thing as your situation.  It doesn't make sense.  

For people not understanding, pretend your cruise next expires next January.  You use it today to book a cruise that is in March.  The cruise gets cancelled in February.  They say they will not give you back that credit.  That is what is happening to us.  The one I used I bought from another party, so I was unaware they had already extended the date.

13 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

When they cancelled our April 5th cruise, it stayed on My NCL until after the date of cruise.   Return of my CruiseNext deposits and receiving the FCC took awhile after that.

 

(BTW, still waiting for a $203 refund of prepaid service charges....it won't break me, but now so many more for them to work on)

How long does it take for Cruise Next to return to your account if you request a refund?

We cancelled our early August Alaska cruise yesterday--before final payment was due.  We are keeping an eye on the news and outlook.  Since the airfare isn't fee free to change yet, we are hoping for the best, but planning for the worst.  I still would like to go...but if we have to we will go next summer.

I second Infinity Bay.  We have been there twice now. The first time we had a driver from Rony's and saw the sloths at Daniel Johnson's.  We asked him to take us to a beach, and that's the one he chose.   Love the beautiful pool and beach.  The water is sooo blue!  Our friends snorkeled in December and their boat was just outside the buoys.  We didn't snorkel but can see how it would be amazing.  We walked down the beach and saw the other hotels/restaurants.  Safe area.  Lots of police presence. 

We took a taxi from the port.  Same driver arranged time to bring us back.  $20 at Infinity Bay--can use credit card. We did not arrange ahead of time either date (June/Janaury).  It was no problem.

The Carnival dock/shops/amenities at Mahogany Bay are way nicer than the NCL dock.  It's still under construction.  Few shops/bars.  No amenities such as a beach/beach chairs/tree lined walking path there.

We were on the Dawn this year.  Last year we were on a Carnival cruise.  Both were really fun.  Large party up on deck.  Both had favors for all the guests that they passed out at dinner.  Both had large ice numbers and dumped the 19 into the pool and pulled out the 20.  Both had DJ/Band and dancing.  Really fun atmosphere with champagne flowing on both cruises.  On Carnival they closed down all bars except by pool deck and it was packed, but fun.  Carnival had an atrium balloon drop at 11 pm. Norwegian doesn't shut down interior bars and they had a balloon drop in atrium at the same time.  

On the Norwegian Dawn last weekend all wild card games were shown in O'Sheehans and they were on room tvs too.

I appreciate the helpful comments--you rock!  We will see how it goes.  Maybe we can stream it with our friends.

We are sailing out of Tampa.

Two and a half years ago we could see US golf on the tvs in O'Sheehans--I only remember because it was in Kohler, WI. 

Where can we watch the Rose Bowl during our day at Harvest Caye?  Will there be somewhere on the island that we can watch it, or will we have to go back onboard?  Will they show it on a big screen somewhere onboard?  We are excited to see our Wisconsin Badgers play and our two cruising Badger daughters will want to see it, too.

I know you're off the ship now, but what was the general age of people on the ship?  We are bringing high school/college aged kids next year.