kimandtim

Sounds like you had a great trip! Not trying to pry, but with all the talk about downgrades to Casinos at Sea, could you give me a ball park on how many points you earned to get your comp cabin?  I know its not an exact science, but I also know about what I have earned on past trips to qualify for a comp and I am curious if its even anywhere close (I am a video poker and blackjack player)

I am platinum on NCL having sailed 9 or 10 times with them.  I have also sailed RCCL and Princess and most recently Carnival.  I actually think there is a lot to like about Carnival. I think the service is quite good and I think the food is also surprisingly good much of the time.  I do not like the buffet but can avoid it and opt for the MDR, Seaday brunch, Guys burgers, Blue Iguana, etc. and be perfectly happy. I may have been lucky on my two Carnival cruises, but the atmosphere was fun and lively and I didn't see any bad behavior of any sort. There are always things going on around the ship that are fun - trivia, line dancing, poolside contests, etc.  Maybe I have been lucky but I have a NCL cruise booked to Alaska and a Carnival cruise booked to the  ABC islands and I am looking forward to both.  I would also add Carnival casino comps are WAY easier to get if that is any consideration.  That being said, NCL is my favorite cruiseline, but I do enjoy Carnival also.

So if we are near first of line after Haven, etc., do we have a chance to make it to town and back or would we be at risk of missing our shore excursion?

Thats a reasonable price difference between the inside and balcony ( and you get to pick your location vs bidding to upgrade ).   With three people, I think you will enjoy the extra space even if you don't think you would use the balcony that much.  I think you will enjoy the balcony more than you think on that itinerary since its not really port intensive.

Question for those who have been recently (we were on very first Encore trip to Alaska when they used Ward cove as a dock and it was a DISASTER!!!!!).  We are platinum/sapphire so supposedly have priority disembarkation. Will we have time to take first of the shuttles into town, walk around for 30 minutes or so and make it back for a 9:00 shore excursion that leaves from Ward Cove? Want my daughter to at least get a chance to see Creek Street.

Maybe look at Alaska shore tours.  They were the only ones operating a whale tour for our stop in Icy Strait Point in April.  Hoping to see whales but if not, I hope that we will see seals or other marine life at least

Just got off this week. We used terminal 3

There were quite a few cabs waiting right outside the area waiting to take us back to the ship. The beach was pretty crowded but no more so than other beaches that we have been to - Paradise Beach or Mr Sanchos in Cozumel for example.

There were lots of taxis and shuttles waiting.  We grabbed a shuttle with another family and were charged $7 a head for the quick airconditioned ride to the beach

On the Vista last month, we had preregistered and were going by embarkation night just to check it out and they were actually open, so we dropped our Penguins off for just an hour or so to get them used to it /see how they liked it.  Five year old loved it and two year old liked it but hes a little on the shy side.

Sailing from Galveston, I had drinks on us everywhere and it started as soon as casino opened.  Cheers for rest of my group started at 6am next morning.

Also, under the heading of positives, we went to both the pasta place as well as Mongolian Wok for lunch and there was no wait and the food was really good (in my opinion)

You will be fine for a noon flight if you self carry your luggage off.  You will be fine even if you don't provided you are either priority disembarkation or get one of the earlier luggage tags available.  We were still off the ship by 10:00 or so.  It just seemed like it was a hurry up and wait situation for us and we had a drive ahead of us as well as trying to help our children load up our grandbabies for the trip home.

Our group of 11 went to Montego Bay last week on Carnival and split up into two groups.  First group took a shuttle/taxi for 7 dollars per person to Doctors Cave beach.  They charged us for my 2 year old grandson who sat in my daughters lap which I thought was a bit ridiculous but it is what it is.  It took about 10 minutes to get to the beach which I thought was beautiful.  We didn't stay long (maybe 2 hours)  because we were wanting to get the kids back to the ship to nap but it is definitely a nice beach and I would return.  We had paid $20 for 2 chairs and an umbrella so when we left we had offered them to people from the ship and we noticed as we were walking out that the workers seemed to be complaining to them about it which was a bit annoying since we paid for them and could do what we wanted with them, I would think. But again, whatever. A non- airconditioned taxi returned us to port.  This time we did not pay for our lap child. The rest of the group did the Dunns River falls/Blue Hole private excursion for around $100 per person with Peat Taylor tours. They returned to ship in plenty of time for sailaway.  They all said it ranked among their favorite shore excursions ever.

I don't want to hijack this thread, but I was on the July 8-15 sailing as well.  My observations were as follows:

Good

Service - dining staff was amazing. Everyone was helpful and friendly

Dining room food was tasty for the most part and served piping hot.  One of my pet peeves is cold or barely warm food.

Bad

Casino was small and smoky.  No video poker to speak of.  Very disappointing.

Was supposed to have priority disembarkation and it took me 2 hours of waiting in Lounge to get off the ship.

Overall, it was still a fun trip!  Looking forward to my Mardi Gras trip in October to compare my experiences on the two ships/ports

This is my experience and mine only. Went on Carnival and received pretty good offers.  They were good for up to three cruises. I would think that you will have some similar if not SLIGHTLY better offers under the "todays deals" section of your carnival login than what they offered. They will have booking dates a year or so out and you will probably have a month or two to book.  Check that todays deals section before making a decision.  A year later without sailing, my offers have begun to drop some but are still half decent

Heading out on the Vista next week and our just turned 2 year old is still in a crib. Carnival only reserves cribs for under twos so we are supposed to go to guest services as soon as we board to reserve one. Wondering if they have plenty or if we need to drag our pack and play with us since its a sold out cruise. thanks in advance for any advice

So sorry you guys went through that.  Has the rental car company been of any help?  Thats so unforturnate as I have heard that Slovenia is absolutely beautiful. We always obtain an international drivers license (from AAA)  when renting cars abroad.  I don't know that it would have made a difference in your case but maybe it would have? Regardless, I am sorry that your family went through that.

I don't think that air is available through NCL on cruises booked less than 90 days in advance.  So airfare would need to be booked separately anyway.  I would look at ports of call section of cruise critic to get some ideas about what might be of interest in each port.  I've done both the Med and Greek Isles and loved them both

You can prepay gratuities if your cruise is already paid for.  I've done that in the past for an Amex offer and it worked.

Not as good as the Amex offers, but I had a spend $100 get a $35 statement credit on my Chase ink business card.  My daughter also had it pop up on her Sapphire card yesterday.  Every little bit helps. 

We went in mid-August and had near perfect weather. Only one day of rain and that was in Icy Strait Point and it didn't even last all day.  I think the key is to pack in layers and hope for the best whenever you visit Alaska. It is one of our favorite desinations!

Norwegian was 6/5 on $10 and under (actually had a $6 table) and 3/2 on at least one $15 blackjack table on the Gem Greek Isles this month.  VP tables were surprisingly decent on dollars at the bar but I mostly played DDB super times pay at 8/5 and won a few hundred with not a lot of play.

It's probably too short notice, but in Juneau, we rented a car and visited Mendenhall Glacier.  I think a cab would work as well. It was amazing as was all of Alaska.  Have a great trip whatever you end up doing!

Definitely will be following along.  Curious to see if you guys leave from main port in Trieste or are shuttled to a different one as was reported by another CCer.  Safe travels and have a wonderful trip!