Total 1st timer

[scooton]

Hi guys, i'm going on my first cruise in Alaska in Aug. I can't wait! I've read so much about it that my brain is on overload. I was wondering if you could help me with a few things.

 

1) How long before actual departure time should you board?

 

2) What is the situation with credit on board? I've read that most people use their credit cards. This is fine. But how much do people usually pay?

 

3) Are things expensive online? I know the food is paid for apart from a few cover charges. Do you still pay for all your drinks etc etc

 

4) I have one excursion booked with an outside tour operator. Do you need to book the excursions offered by the cruiseline in advance? I've asked my travel agent and they just said we can book them when we're onboard but i'm afraid they'll be booked out.

 

5) How much do people normally spend onboard for a 7 day cruise.

 

Sorry for annoying you but I just want to be as prepared as possible. And we're sailing on the Norweigan Sun if that makes any difference.

[cruisinbuddy]

Hi guys, i'm going on my first cruise in Alaska in Aug. I can't wait! I've read so much about it that my brain is on overload. I was wondering if you could help me with a few things.

 

1) How long before actual departure time should you board?

 

2) What is the situation with credit on board? I've read that most people use their credit cards. This is fine. But how much do people usually pay?

 

3) Are things expensive online? I know the food is paid for apart from a few cover charges. Do you still pay for all your drinks etc etc

 

4) I have one excursion booked with an outside tour operator. Do you need to book the excursions offered by the cruiseline in advance? I've asked my travel agent and they just said we can book them when we're onboard but i'm afraid they'll be booked out.

 

5) How much do people normally spend onboard for a 7 day cruise.

 

Sorry for annoying you but I just want to be as prepared as possible. And we're sailing on the Norweigan Sun if that makes any difference.

1, you HAVE TO BE THERE AT LEAST 1.5 HOURS BEFORE DEPARTURE. Something to do with homeland security and the pax manifest being submitted ahead of time.

2 you pay for what you buy. Sounds silly I know but the more you buy, the higher your bill. I've read people having $300.00 bills and $3-4,000.00 bills.

3 all alcohol & pop are for sale. If you drink 'a lot' of pop, get the all you can drink deal.

4 if there's something that you really want to do, book it on line a soon as you can.

5 Same as # 2. Your souveniers, drinks spa( don't waste your $$) speciality restaurants etc are for charge. Our last bill was @ $1700.00 and only $600.00 was drinks.

[Toyz711]

if you haven't, already, check out the NCL board:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=107

and the alaska board:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

1) when you board in vancouver, you will have to be on-board 2 hours before sailing. best to plan to board between 11 to 1, to give yourself plenty of time and to get to enjoy/search the ship before you sail.

2)when they swipe you credit card, they are just making sure it's an open card. as charges start, they will put a hold on the card for a set amount, if you go over that amount, they will put another hold. they won't, actually, charge anything until the last day. i use one card for the on-board activities and another to take ashore. that way the holds they put on the one card, won't interfer with other purchases. (be sure to tell you credit card company you are going out of town, otherwise they may not authorize all of this)

3) all alcohol is $$, sodas are $ (but on NCL you can bring your own). bottle water is $, but tap water is excellent (when asked at dinner, just tell them tap, not bottled). coffee is free at all dining venues, you will have a coffee maker in your cabin. ice tea is free...juices in the mornining no charge. i take my pepsi....also, bring flavor packets (for water) to make lemonade for DH. everything goes on your onboard account, they will swipe your room card and you sign. keep the slips to keep track of your spending.

4) some excursions do sell out...especially the flight seeing ones (very limited...few planes/helio and few seats on each plane/helio). the tracy arms excursions does sell out before sailing. this is the small boat tour that goes to tracy arms before the cruise ship does. you can read more about this on the alaska boards. if something is really important, book early....if you book through NCL, they only reserve your place..the charge will go on your on-board account the 1st morning.

5) we don't buy drinks, bring our own sodas, don't do the surcharge dining...if we didn't go to the casino, our on-board account would just be the service charges.

if you go to the casino, make sure to sign up for the casino's slot card. NCL has a new policy, if you play with your slot card in the machine...they are offering free house drinks/sodas.

[CGinMTL]

Once you are onboard, if you are not sure if something is free. (ex - specialty coffee station) (and don't want to look cheap by asking) this is what I do.

Wait for someone else to go up, if they ask for the card & have them sign for it , it is not free.

[cb at sea]

You should get on that ship ASAP--after all, boarding day IS day 1 of the cruise--you should start using that which you have paid for!!!! Around 11am is a good time to board.

Use a credit card to "link" to your shipboard account. If you want to pay cash, then do it the night before you dock back at your home port.

Most food and entertainment is included in your fare. Get a brochure for your cruiseline--it will tell you ALL you need to know!!!

You will have to tip--runs about $10.00 per person PER DAY--depending on the cruiseline and type of cabin. This is covered in the brochure. READ IT!!!

 

You have a travel agent--did they NOT tell you anything about your trip??? I mean, this is their JOB! They should have given you the brochure and all of this info!

 

You should be able to book excursions in advance--if you don't--they do hold a certain number of spots for those who wait until onboard to book. If you book when you board, you should be ok.

Spending is so different from person to person---some spend next to nothing--other's spend $2-3 THOUSAND!!!!!!!

Take more money than you think you will need--you can always bring it home with you and put it back in the bank!

[Plant]

You have a travel agent--did they NOT tell you anything about your trip??? I mean, this is their JOB! They should have given you the brochure and all of this info!

 

You should be able to book excursions in advance--if you don't--they do hold a certain number of spots for those who wait until onboard to book. If you book when you board, you should be ok.

Spending is so different from person to person---some spend next to nothing--other's spend $2-3 THOUSAND!!!!!!!

Take more money than you think you will need--you can always bring it home with you and put it back in the bank!

 

I'm with cb at sea. If you've booked through a TA (which it appears you have), the TA should be able to give you all kinds of info!

 

I also understand if you want to ask here. We can give you our opinions and past experience, but your TA would be the best person to ask.

[KC_fn]

 

5) How much do people normally spend onboard for a 7 day cruise.

 

We don't drink, gamble, book ship excursions, buy photos, or visit the spa. For that lifestyle, we budget $25 per person per day for spending, and have a surprising amount left at the end. Next time, we'll budget $20 pp/pd, and I don't think we'll even notice the difference.

[Travel Angel]

Everyone has given great insight to your questions, so I need not repeat the great ideas, but this story is either a sad representation of what a TA's responsibilities are as a travel professional, to assist a new cruiser, or the OP just wants clarification of questions they have already asked their TA.

 

We are more than happy to help, but I certainly would be calling or setting up a face to face meeting with your TA with a list of questions just like this, so that they earn that commission !

[scooton]

Everyone has given great insight to your questions, so I need not repeat the great ideas, but this story is either a sad representation of what a TA's responsibilities are as a travel professional, to assist a new cruiser, or the OP just wants clarification of questions they have already asked their TA.

 

We are more than happy to help, but I certainly would be calling or setting up a face to face meeting with your TA with a list of questions just like this, so that they earn that commission !

 

Thanks everyone for your help! I'm a complete newbie at this and there's so much info out there it's hard to break it down into what relates to us!

I have been on the Alaska forum reading loads but haven't visited the NCL forum yet. I'll do that today.

 

I've only spoken to my TA on the phone. The trip is a sort of package deal which includes flights, 5 nights in Vancouver and the cruise. I didn't get an NCL brochure from them. I only got a brochure from the company organising the package deal.

 

I've gone onto the NCL website to book the Tracy Arm excursion. I really want to do that one but I'm not sure what reservation number to use seeing as we've booked the package deal. I'll give my travel agent a call on Monday and see what she says. I don't really want to end up missing out on the excursions because I haven't booked them in advance.

 

Can't believe some people spend thousands onboard!!! That won't be us anyway. I won't be paying for any speciality dining, we're more interested in the informal restaurants. The only thing I can see us spending money on is drinks, both alcohol and pop. For the people who bring pop with them, how much do you bring? Is there any water, bottled or tapped in the cabins?

[Travel Angel]

Good that you are going to call your TA.... get input from them and you should have a reservation # to book those shore tours already.....And tell them you want a brochure too !

 

Bottlled water is available, but personally I find that the ships water is just fine and ask fora lemon in it to give it an even fresher taste !

 

Relax... half the fun is researching and if you make a boo-boo... you will just have to book that next cruise to correct it !

[skf]

Every ship I know of now has purified drinking water on tap. There is no need to carry or buy it onboard.

Some people are in a state of shock when they get their final bills...usually from bar tabs,

[Toyz711]

we did alaska on NCL in '06 (and another NCL cruise last dec)....

for the family cruise in '06, between 7 of us...we had a bottled 6pk of pepsi for me and diet pepsi for DH, 2 6pks of dr pepper for BIL and, i don't know who many, cases of water for SIL and FIL.

DH and i have found the tap water, even out of the sink in the cabin, just fine on NCL ships. we bring a couple of water bottles to take off the ship, we refill them on the ship and keep them in the refrig to stay cold. don't bring big bottles (liters) of soda, they don't fit in the refrig.

also, you are can more at the ports...you bring more then you can carry. if you put it in your checked bags, you may be called to the naughty room..to allow them to check it for alcohol. if you bring it in your carry-on, it's easier.

when you go on NCL.boards...look for threads about "bar setups". you can order a bottle of booze for your cabin, you pay for more your local prices...but much less then per drink. bring your own mixers..to save more. there is a thread from a couple of days ago, look for it.:D

[scooton]

Every ship I know of now has purified drinking water on tap. There is no need to carry or buy it onboard.

Some people are in a state of shock when they get their final bills...usually from bar tabs,

 

That's what I'm worried about!

 

But I suppose if I keep all the receipts i'll know how we're getting on.

 

Toyz, the bottle to the room idea is really good! Thanks!

[skf]

The ones I was talking about have 6 drinks a day (that they can remember) & beer for lunch.

They had a beer special for 5 bottles of Beck's or Corona for $12.95.

Steve