Looking at booking our 2nd Alaska cruise

[RACRUZE]

I have noticed these extra perks free at sea.  Are these perks actually free or are there restrictions with them?

We sailed on ncl to Alaska in 2006 and loved it and are wanting to go back as our retirement gift to each other.  Only other cruise we have been on was carnival to the Caribbean in 2009.  I prefer the Cruise where I am not in on water for days, I like Alaska as we could see land all the cruise up the inside passage.  Also what port is better Vancouver or Seattle?

[ColeThornton]

 

6 minutes ago, RACRUZE said:

I have noticed these extra perks free at sea.  Are these perks actually free or are there restrictions with them?

 

Click on the promotion on NCL.com and read the Terms and Conditions.  Easy and informative.  🙂

[shof515]

33 minutes ago, RACRUZE said:

 Are these perks actually free or are there restrictions with them?

 

not really "free free". there is an additional cost for the gratuity of the drink and dinning package 

[Peachypooh]

I have never sailed out of Vancouver. We liked sailing round trip out of Seattle because

it was easy. We stayed at the Marriott across the street from the pier and just walked to

check in. Read the terms and conditions about the free at sea perks. There are usually associated costs in terms of taxes or limitations such as number of Wi-Fi minutes.

[zqvol]

Much better to sail out of Vancouver. 

[ColeThornton]

5 minutes ago, zqvol said:

Much better to sail out of Vancouver. 

 

 

Because?            

[zqvol]

5 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Because?            

The sail up the east side of Vancouver Island is much nicer than the open ocean out of Seattle. 

Edited Tuesday at 02:49 PM by zqvol

[The Traveling Man]

1 hour ago, RACRUZE said:

I have noticed these extra perks free at sea.  Are these perks actually free or are there restrictions with them?

We sailed on ncl to Alaska in 2006 and loved it and are wanting to go back as our retirement gift to each other.  Only other cruise we have been on was carnival to the Caribbean in 2009.  I prefer the Cruise where I am not in on water for days, I like Alaska as we could see land all the cruise up the inside passage.  Also what port is better Vancouver or Seattle?

When NCL advertises something as "FREE" it usually isn't truly free.  With most of the "Free at Sea" perks you still are required to pay a mandatory gratuity based upon the equivalent value of the perk as if you had purchased that perk at full price.

 

Federal regulations, the Passenger Vessel Service Act (PVSA), require that ships holding foreign registry cannot transport passengers from one US port to another on a cruise unless the ship also visits a foreign port at some time during that cruise.  As a result, Alaska cruises sailing round trip from Seattle must make a stop at a Canadian port, usually Victoria on Vancouver Island.  Typically this stop is pro forma, usually just a few hours on the last evening of the cruise.  Many passengers don't even bother to get off the ship in Victoria since there really isn't enough time to see or do anything meaningful.  The stop is made just to comply with the PVSA.  Cruises departing from Vancouver, however, already have touched land in a foreign country, so there is no need for any additional brief stop in Canada to satisfy the PVSA.  Most NCL cruises to Alaska from Vancouver, though, are one way trips to Seward, Alaska.  Once in Seward, the ship begins a separate return trip to Vancouver, alternating directions each week.  You can book back-to-back cruises (B2B) if you have two weeks to travel and prefer to sail from Vancouver, or you can exit the ship in Seward and travel by car, bus, or train to visit the interior of Alaska.  That way you can see Anchorage, Denali National Park, Fairbanks, etc.  You can do this on your own or book an overland tour extension through NCL. 

 

Cruise ships usually visit Alaska only from April or May through September.  At the beginning and ending of the summer season the ships will sail a repositioning cruise, either along the Pacific coast or across the Pacific to or from Hawai'i, Japan, or China.  You may want to consider taking either the first or last Alaska cruise of the season so you can sail B2B on a repositioning cruise to or from Los Angeles, Tokyo, or Honolulu.

[www3traveler]

48 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Because?            

Smaller ship (The Jewel) sails both portions of the Inside Passage ( much calmer water- beautiful scenery).  Lots of interesting ship traffic: British  Columbia ferries, other cruise passenger ships, lots of smaller vessels and being able to see land for the most part.

[www3traveler]

2 hours ago, RACRUZE said:

I have noticed these extra perks free at sea.  Are these perks actually free or are there restrictions with them?

We sailed on ncl to Alaska in 2006 and loved it and are wanting to go back as our retirement gift to each other.  Only other cruise we have been on was carnival to the Caribbean in 2009.  I prefer the Cruise where I am not in on water for days, I like Alaska as we could see land all the cruise up the inside passage.  Also what port is better Vancouver or Seattle?

Depends on your schedule:

  (1) Seattle has 7 day round trip-- Saturday-Saturday The Bliss  Sunday- Sunday The Encore

  (2) Seattle 9 days on The Sun leaving either on a Wednesday or Friday

 

 Vancouver: The Jewel 7 Day ONE WAY cruise up both portions of the Inside Passage.  Leaves on a Monday.  Seward to Vancouver on the opposite Monday

 

The Inside Passage gives you a view of land almost all the time.  You will also see a number of other ships from other cruise ships, British Columbia Ferries and water craft of all sizes.  Great cruise.

 

Both The Bliss and The Encore sail along the West Coast of Vancouver Island in the Pacific Ocean.  Sometimes you can see land but barely.

 

Both the Port of Vancouver (Canada Place) and the Port of Seattle are downtown-- a long way from the airport.

 

Whatever cruise you choose, enjoy.

[Saint Greg]

2 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Because?            

 

I love Seattle for a port but for Alaska you get to see more in a week on the one way Vancouver-Seward cruises and you don't have to waste a day with a Victoria stop. On the downside flights are less plentiful and you need a passport. I'm back on Jewel in five weeks.

[The Traveling Man]

1 hour ago, www3traveler said:

Both the Port of Vancouver (Canada Place) and the Port of Seattle are downtown-- a long way from the airport.

The Vancouver Sky Train provides convenient service from the airport to the Waterfront station, just a couple of blocks from the cruise terminal at Canada Place.  The ride usually takes just under a half hour.

 

A light rail line runs from the SeaTac airport to downtown Seattle.  The trip takes about 45 minutes, but the closest station to the cruise pier is about ten blocks.  A taxi or Uber from the airport to the pier takes about a half hour.

[The Traveling Man]

1 minute ago, Saint Greg said:

 

I love Seattle for a port but for Alaska you get to see more in a week on the one way Vancouver-Seward cruises and you don't have to waste a day with a Victoria stop. On the downside flights are less plentiful and you need a passport. I'm back on Jewel in five weeks.

If you're interested in exploring the interior of Alaska in addition to sailing the panhandle, Seward makes a great jumping off place.  I would recommend the train from Seward to Anchorage.  I think the view from the train is more scenic than from the highway.  Visiting Denali is a highlight of an Alaska adventure.

[Saint Greg]

1 minute ago, The Traveling Man said:

If you're interested in exploring the interior of Alaska in addition to sailing the panhandle, Seward makes a great jumping off place.  I would recommend the train from Seward to Anchorage.  I think the view from the train is more scenic than from the highway.  Visiting Denali is a highlight of an Alaska adventure.

 

I did the train last year. I'm taking a bus this year to get into Seward earlier. My pre-cruise activities last year were in Anchorage. This year they will be in Seward. Denali will be on my list for a future year when I have more time to spend there.

[Saint Greg]

3 hours ago, RACRUZE said:

I have noticed these extra perks free at sea.  Are these perks actually free or are there restrictions with them?

We sailed on ncl to Alaska in 2006 and loved it and are wanting to go back as our retirement gift to each other.  Only other cruise we have been on was carnival to the Caribbean in 2009.  I prefer the Cruise where I am not in on water for days, I like Alaska as we could see land all the cruise up the inside passage.  Also what port is better Vancouver or Seattle?

 

Based on my experience which is just 1 NCL cruise after 25 Carnival cruises, what you get from the free beverage package is great for just paying grats. Same with the specialty dinner. Great value eating in the steakhouse for that. Wifi is a bit of a joke. 120 minutes I think is what's free. So if you really want wifi you probably want to buy a package. The $50 off excursions is great. Use it. And you can use it on more than one excursion per port. Excursions/tickets of $50 or less can be booked for free. I had a debacle with their air last year and came out about the same price but much better flights booking my own this year.

 

I covered it all in detail in booking section of my Princess, Norwegian Carnival Comparison

 

[www3traveler]

19 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

If you're interested in exploring the interior of Alaska in addition to sailing the panhandle, Seward makes a great jumping off place.  I would recommend the train from Seward to Anchorage.  I think the view from the train is more scenic than from the highway.  Visiting Denali is a highlight of an Alaska adventure.

Just heard this morning that the entrance to Denali has been closed until further notice because of a wildfire. 

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Because?            

Sailing on the lower inside passage gives you more opportunities to see sea life. It is calmer than being on the open ocean. And the cruise gives you more opportunities to see Alaska versus being out at sea and doubling back to Seattle. 
 

Once you get to Seward or Whittier, you get a great land tour back to Anchorage. 

[EngrJones]

4 hours ago, zqvol said:

The sail up the east side of Vancouver Island is much nicer than the open ocean out of Seattle. 

Which itineraries are doing that now?  Be careful when the add copy just says "inside passage."  They take credit for all parts of the route that travel between islands and the mainland.

[cruiser1961]

Stating right up front that I may be biased based on where I live 😊.  I have sailed with NCL 7 times and have never sailed out of Seattle.

 

This post is long, yet hope it’s helpful.

 

In mid-May 2022, we sailed the NCL Jewel from Vancouver to Seward (totally Inside Passage – between the Mainland and Vancouver Island, i.e., protected waters vs. the west side of Vancouver Island (VI), which is open to the Pacific Ocean).  It was quite calm until we hit the north end of VI when the ship hit open waters for a bit.  Then it was calm again.

 

We enjoyed the northbound cruise so much!  We were fortunate to have only a half-full ship (post-COVID, and early in the season) on the way up and extra vacation time, so we booked the southbound voyage on the way back. 

 

We had a beautiful sunny day for sail-away and this city was in all its glory!  Unfortunately, after talking up Vancouver to various tourists we encountered on the southbound trip, we arrived home on a very rainy, gloomy day ☹ So much for getting up at 5 AM to watch the sail-back into Vancouver. 

 

I’m not going to quote all the suggestions here, but will respond as follows: 

 

SkyTrain from YVR (Canada Line) to the port area in downtown Vancouver (Waterfront Station) is easy, inexpensive, and takes about 30 minutes.  Hotels will NOT be cheap, especially near the port (think $350++ US per night). 

 

Have read many complaints about the almost non-existent port stop in Victoria on the Seattle round-trip cruise.  It’s way too short to actually see anything but necessary for the PSVA regulations to touch foreign soil per The Travelling Man.  If you sail from Seattle, set your expectations accordingly. 

 

Free-at-Sea is not actually “free”.  As part of your final payment, you will be charged 20% gratuities on what NCL considers the value of the beverage package and the specialty restaurants.  Based on a 7-day cruise, these two combined will be about $200 US per person.  The Free-at-Sea beverage package does not include Starbuck’s or bottled water, though you can refill your own water bottle at the buffet or the gym. 

 

This fee (above) is not to be confused with the gratuities that NCL charges per person per day for cabin stewards, buffet staff, and others behind-the-scenes.  That will add about another $150 US per person for a 7-day cruise.

 

RACRUZE, I note that your location is “BC” (assuming British Columbia?) so perhaps Vancouver would be easier vs. travelling south of the border to Seattle.  However, that would depend on how long you have and whether you want to fly back from Anchorage or do a roundtrip from Seatlle.

 

Lita

[bonvoyagie]

in 2023 we did a Southbound cruisetour starting in Fairbanks and ending in Homer and then to Seward to catch the Jewel. We have also done three RT out of Seattle in 02, 03, and 12 so we have seen much of Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan as well as Sawyer Glacier and Glacier Bay. All of which are great places to visit. Our last trip included Icy Strait Point and Hubbard Glacier which were once again great places. 

 

Since this is a retirement cruise, I presume that you will not have time constraints, so I highly suggest that you do a cruisetour either north or southbound, We did the 14 day Authentic Alaska tour and loved every minute of it. We first chose the Northbound tour as it spends more time in Ketchikan and Juneau and visits Glacier Bay, but opted for the Southbound for several reasons, one being ISP a new port that we had not visited, another being the long flight to Fairbanks was on day one, and third was on the land tour you are moving almost every day (Denali and Homer were the only exceptions) so having the cruise at the end was a nice relaxing way to end things. 

 

We were looking forward to seeing Johnstone Strait as well as the upper end of Vancouver Island, however a medical emergency in the middle of the night sent us back to Prince Rupert and threw the schedule out the window by almost 8 hrs. The captain poured the coals to her and we ended up in Vancouver only 4 hrs late. They let us have free internet and phone service to change our flights. We were already staying another couple of days in Vancouver so it didn't matter.

 

Good luck on whatever you decide.

[realnice46]

Look for cruise lines that offer covered pool areas for those less than perfect days. Also look for ships with good outdoor viewing areas. 

[zqvol]

8 hours ago, bonvoyagie said:

in 2023 we did a Southbound cruisetour starting in Fairbanks and ending in Homer and then to Seward to catch the Jewel. We have also done three RT out of Seattle in 02, 03, and 12 so we have seen much of Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan as well as Sawyer Glacier and Glacier Bay. All of which are great places to visit. Our last trip included Icy Strait Point and Hubbard Glacier which were once again great places. 

 

Since this is a retirement cruise, I presume that you will not have time constraints, so I highly suggest that you do a cruisetour either north or southbound, We did the 14 day Authentic Alaska tour and loved every minute of it. We first chose the Northbound tour as it spends more time in Ketchikan and Juneau and visits Glacier Bay, but opted for the Southbound for several reasons, one being ISP a new port that we had not visited, another being the long flight to Fairbanks was on day one, and third was on the land tour you are moving almost every day (Denali and Homer were the only exceptions) so having the cruise at the end was a nice relaxing way to end things. 

 

We were looking forward to seeing Johnstone Strait as well as the upper end of Vancouver Island, however a medical emergency in the middle of the night sent us back to Prince Rupert and threw the schedule out the window by almost 8 hrs. The captain poured the coals to her and we ended up in Vancouver only 4 hrs late. They let us have free internet and phone service to change our flights. We were already staying another couple of days in Vancouver so it didn't matter.

 

Good luck on whatever you decide.

I recommend skipping the cruise tour. Instead go a week or 10 days early, rent a car and make up your own tour. You see what you want for as long as you want and are not tied to some schedule. Also suggest using the train for transport. Then when you are done on land book a one way southbound cruise from Seward to Vancouver. 

[bonvoyagie]

2 hours ago, zqvol said:

I recommend skipping the cruise tour. Instead go a week or 10 days early, rent a car and make up your own tour. You see what you want for as long as you want and are not tied to some schedule. Also suggest using the train for transport. Then when you are done on land book a one way southbound cruise from Seward to Vancouver. 

That is all welI and good and probably what I would do if I ever go there again. BTW the tour was not that bad except that my wife is not an early riser so 8:00 AM start times were hard for her. We did use the train from Denali to Talkeetna plus we were in the special Wilderness Explorer cars owned by the tour company. The hotel we stayed at had a shuttle bus that ran between the two hotels the park and the small shopping area called Glitter Gulch so we could come and go as we pleased except for the Wilderness tour that picked us up at the hotel. 

 

Prior to choosing the cruise tour, I did research trying to do something similar on my own or at least finding another tour company. The only place I wished for more time at was Denali. Now that I have been there and know the lay of the land, I would probably spend an extra day or two there. I would fly into Anchorage, train to Denali, stay at the Denali Bluffs hotel, use their shuttle to go back and forth. Then train back to Anchorage and either cruise or fly home. But that is only because now I know the the lay of the land.

 

Back to my original planning, everything is more expensive in Alaska and in the end it was much cheaper than the alternatives.

Edited Wednesday at 03:40 PM by bonvoyagie

[www3traveler]

Denali is a wonderful place to visit however as of this past weekend, Denali Park entrance is closed as well as a number of the hotels because of a raging wildfire.  This has the makings of another very rough wildfire season from Southern California to Alaska.  Very hot dry weather and TOO few firefighters and probably not enough money or equipment either. 

[RACRUZE]

Thank you all. So Vancouver doesn't do inside passage back to Vancouver anymore?  That is what we did last time we did this cruise, it was on the Sun.  I was hoping we coukd do that again, because we could fly to Vancover the morning the day the ship leaves and then fly home the day we disembark too,that way don't need a hotel stay.