avic77

Another vote for Riviera. We almost always book R745 or R744 on that class ship, noise is very rare and was totally worth having the access to the aft deck.

I am in R740, the 2 you mentioned were already filled.

That's why i picked it. I wanted the access to the aft deck and bar :) I started second guessing about the buffet being above us

I am booked on the Ruby for next year for an Alaskan cruise. I am trying to decide between Interior room Aft Aloha deck or Interior room aft Riviera deck. The Riviera deck is on the hall leading out to the Aft pool but is directly below the Cafe Caribe. So I cant decided if its convenient or will be noisy. Aloha deck is sandwiched between to decks of cabins and its only 1 deck lower so still close. to the Lido deck. I like to be close to outside space so i really like the idea of the Riviera deck.

Anyone stay in the Aft Riviera deck cabins? Did you hear noise from the Lido deck?

Maybe they will move you to the May 26, 9 night sailing and hold pricing for you? Couldn't hurt to ask if the dates work for you.

I wondered about that but the dates do not work for us. My daughter graduates June 2nd so i have to be home for that

i spent almost 2 hours on the phone this morning and I am still not clear on what's happening to the April 19th 9 Day Alaska cruise out of Seattle.

One rep told me its completely canceled and my TA got an email explaining my options but basically its canceled and I can move to the Pearl's April 29th sailing (7 day not 9 day) for the same price. She also said my TA would need to call and make the changes and we only have until the 19th to accept the offered alternative.

TA called, was told emails will be sent out tomorrow but we will just be moved from the SUN to a different ship she didnt know if it would be the Pearl or the Jewel. BOTH have cruises going during the dates of the cruise I am booked on. So I am guessing its more likely my cruise has been completely scrubbed and I have to take the Pearl cruise on April 29th or change everything.

I'm really annoyed because I choose a 9 day cruise with an extra port, if it has been canceled I will only have the option of a 7 day cruise for the same price

Yes, that seems to be a big hole in the itinerary for now.

 

Where was Sun scheduled to go during that time?.

Alaska out of Seattle

Ok so my cruise has been bumped so i wonder what ship we will end up on?

Well the cruise I am booked on NCL Sun April 19th-28th is now missing. NCL Customer rep was unable to determine if it was taken down for updating or if we will be reassigned to another ship as well.

There are no sailings listed for the Sun between March and November now.

I just discovered NCL no longer allows passengers to carry on Soda. Does Princess allow you to bring Soda, water, and wine?

We would only bring 1 bottle of wine and a case or soda and a case of water. We do not like fountain machine sodas at all :( and do not drink Pepsi products either. So NCL is falling off my list of possibilities.

I have to be back home between the last week of May and first week of June. I am coordinator for our schools graduation ceremony and banquet. So i have to be back to prepare for that. Also I dont really want to go in high season or June-August. So we have looked at the sailings between April 19th and May 12th.

I am looking at NCL Sun or Princess Ruby for a cruise to Alaska in late April - early May 2018. I got a brochure from Princess and it mentions The Scenic Sanctuary Packages for cruising in Alaska. How much are these packages and what is included? Do you have to pay to go in the Sanctuary area?

So I have narrowed my choices to the two previously mention.

NCL Sun April 19th - 28th:

Pros:

9 days

Extra port Icy Straight

Longer time in Victoria

longer time in Ketchikan

previously cruised with NCL

Cons:

Early in the season (1st cruise to Alaska for the season but that could be a good thing)

Does not go through the Inside passage between Victoria and Vancouver

not as fond of the deck plans

Princess Ruby April 28th - May 5th

Pros:

a little later in the season

goes through the inside passage

longer port time in Juneau

I like the deck plans of the Princess more It looks like it has more viewing decks

Cons:

Less days

1 less port

short port time in Victoria

was only able to book a guaranteed room

I do not have any promotions to make one a better value. They cost about the same with the NCL slightly more expensive because of extra days.

I had the same question OP. We have passport cards and i wanted to make sure we would not need to upgrade for Alaska cruise. I like having the passport cards. They are easy to carry.

This just in from NCL:

 

"...this change is only for the Norwegian Sun reservations between the dates of 5/26/2018 - 9/10/18. All future cruises aboard the Norwegian Sun will have no change..."

Ok thats good to know. We are not effected then

I am currently booked on the Sun for April 2018 Alaska. Is this going to be her last cruise? Is the ship in bad condition? I thought it had a recent refurbishment so I wasnt too worried about the condition but with this news I starting to worry.

It isn't allowed on CC ...but look around; there are quite a few out there.

If you aren't picky about your room, I would wait for the 3 for free sale ... that is a great one if you are not big drinkers.

If you are picky about your room, I would go ahead and book under the current promotion so you can get the rooms you want, especially with a group, and then you can switch to a different promotion when it comes available since the Sip and Sail promo has a refundable deposit.

Alaska sometimes books quickly and pricing is dependent on how many cabins are available ... don't wait too long.

What is the 3 for free sale?

Pick a smaller ship

Sail in shoulder season

Pick an itenirary that has fewer ships in each port at the same time

Certain times of the year and iteniraries draw different passengers.

I thought it was automatically added

Thank you for this review. I am glad I found it. I am currently torn between the NCL Sun and the Ruby Princess for Alaska next year.

Hi Victoria - if your husband says he can take 14 days off, why not consider HAL's 14 day itinerary which is roundtrip from Seattle? It includes several little visited ports like Homer, Kodiak, Anchorage (the city itself, not Seward or Whittier), Icy Strait Point, and Sitka - as well as the usual 'suspects' of Ketchikan, Juneau, Victoria, BC, plus Hubbard Glacier and Tracy Arm. I've done this particular itinerary three times and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. It is a wonderful trip on a smaller HAL ship (the Zaandam next year, I believe) that feels like 'home' in no time. Something to consider....

I will have to look at that one. We need to add travel days to the beginning and end of our trip. Flight is long and, from what i can tell by looking at flights currently listed, will put us haveing to fly in the day before we embark and fly out the day after the ship returns. 14 days plus 2 travel days would be outside his alloted vacation time.

Would you lean more toward the 9 day NCL or the 7 day Princess?

Same exact price no major perks for booking one over the other (onboard credit etc) I have cruised NCL before so i like "dine when you want to" deal but Princess offers that option as well.

Both ships are smaller and older and i am fine with that. Husband says he can take 14 days off so there is that part of me that wants the longer cruise but another part isnt sure about it.

All the cruise line iteniraries are almost the same. One may have a little more time in one port while a different line has more time in a different port like this is NCL Sun 9 day

Thursday, April 19Seattle, WA4:00pm

Friday, April 20At Sea

Saturday, April 21Juneau, AK2:00pm 10:00pm

Sunday, April 22Skagway, AK7:00am 8:00pm

Monday, April 23Glacier Bay National Park, AK (Cruising)

Tuesday, April 24Icy Strait Point, AK7:00am 4:00pm

Wednesday, April 25Ketchikan, AK10:00am 7:00pm

Thursday, April 26At Sea

Friday, April 27Victoria, BC, Canada12:00pm 11:59pm

Saturday, April 28Seattle, WA8:00am

I didnt mean it as settling for something less but more of thats the best choice for our circumstances. I am not a well traveled person. I have never flown and only cruised once before. Usually we vacation close to home (within an 8 hour drive). So traveling by air and cruising is a big deal for me. I am very excited. However I do not want to overwhelm us with "fly to A, take train to B, board cruise ship, cruise to C, Take land tours to D E and F, Travel back to B, Take train back to A, fly home". Its probably more then i can plan and enjoy at this point.

I'll stick with Seattle RT and enjoy the heck out of the cruise :)

I have decided on Glacier Bay and am ignoring anything with Tracy Arm. Looks like Ruby Princess and NCL Sun or Pearl are more most likely options. I am leaning toward the Princess

This is the Princess Line up:

Saturday, April 28 Seattle, WA 4:00pm

Sunday, April 29 At Sea

Monday, April 30 Juneau, AK 11:00am -10:00pm

Tuesday, May 1 Skagway, AK 6:00am- 8:00pm

Wednesday, May 2 Glacier Bay National Park, AK (Cruising)

Thursday, May 3 Ketchikan, AK 7:00am -1:00pm

Friday, May 4 Victoria, BC, Canada 7:00pm -11:59pm

Saturday, May 5 Seattle, WA 7:00am

Thanks for the info on Transport to Vancouver. Currently flights are not released for May so I am going by times for previous months. All the flights from my airport arrive in Seattle late in the day and all the flights back leave early. Like the flight up leaves here at 7:50 am arrives and 6:55pm then to return it leaves at 6:35 am and arrives back at 7:05 pm. Im going to have to convince my husband to drive and fly out of New Orleans I think but that only curts it down to an 8 hour trip

I will loo at Vancouver. I kind of got overwhelmed trying to figure out getting from Seattle to Vancouver in time to board a ship. It looked like I would need to fly in one day, stay over night travel to Vancouver the next day, get another hotel for the night, then board ship. Seemed like it would add 2 days/nights to the beginning and end of the trip. Maybe I misunderstood the whole process :o

I feel like I am already late planning. Next year my husband and I wish to celebrate our 20th anniversary with an Alaskian cruise. We are limited to about 10 days of vacation and flying Southwest airlines. We still work and have children at home. So I have been looking at Seattle for departure and return port. I have never flown and only cruised once before.

I realize there are much more spectacular cruise and land tour packages but I think we are going to have to settle for a round trip cruise out of Seattle.

What itineraries do you suggest?

What should I avoid?

We will be sailing in May I prefer not to push it back but if there was a major reason why we should, we might be able to. I understand this is called "shoulder season" and kind of early for Alaska?

Many thanks :)