LAFFNVEGAS

I honestly do not think this will do any good at all. Ship Hotel Services can do nothing what was done previously. Their biggest problem is about 70% of the Inventory/Revenue Department calls are now answered by very untrained overseas call center employees. The OP really needs to talk with someone that actually works in Seattle in the Inventory/Revenue department. They are still open another 3 hours and about this time in the afternoon is when the Overseas center signs out. They really need to call that number between 4 and 5 Pacific time and speak with inventory at 1-888-628-8107

Wishing EVERYONE Safe Travels and An Amazing Voyage!!!

Sadly I think this is what did happen with not getting the full refund but that would have been the computer adjusting the price. I will say this is VERY Wrong on Holland America's part.

I know everyone's likes and disliked are different but I honestly think you still made the right choice. Princess's technology of the medallion really only works opening you door, just like your key card will with HAL. The only difference is it will welcome you with you name near the door and unlock it on Princess. The OceanNow and Medallion App to say it has problems is a huge understatement. Most are extremely frustrated with the app before they ever get on board the ship. I know of many that attempted to order things such as a drink never get them. Many have the Princess Plus and ordered in plenty of time for the Medallion but in recent months many are not getting them needing to get them at the pier. The ships have twice the number of passengers and often feel extremely crowded far more than HAL. Dining and getting reservations is a disaster,making pre cruise reservations is suppose to be easy on the app but it is not and many think they have reservations only to find they do not. One must just go with the flow and except that is what happens on Princess.I will not get into Food because of it being subjective but will state of the cruise lines I frequent Princess food is at the bottom(this is the main reason I currently do not have any Princess cruises booked (I currently have 7 cruises booked into 2026). Yes, I have cruised Princess a lot, I am Princess Elite with their frequent cruiser status which is far easier to achieve that HAL 4 Star or even 5 Star. Which falls into almost everyone on board is the highest status lol What I do like about Princess is their entertainment, I give them that, they have excellent shows but Princess has a very strange problem that I do not see often on other lines. Princess passengers are big on saving seats in the theater lol.Families will send a child or teen to go save two rows down front, just one time I seen this happen with HAL, I said to the lady saving seats.."Oh you must be a Princess Cruiser" She looked surprised then smiled and said Why Yes how did you know?" I just told her she looked familiar. After my long story above I just want to say that I think you will have an excellent time, HAL really does do the best of all the cruise lines that sail Alaska. The key with whatever cruise you go on is to go with a positive attitude and not let things bother you. You are there to enjoy the cruise.

I would not call it bait and switch but it really is a Buyers Beware. HAL started this many years ago, I would say it was around 2008 when they changed around the categories and the category ID names. This was when all four of the vista class were fairly new and right about the time the Signature Class ships came out. The deck 5 mid ship balconies were not selling well because once you were on them you saw that deck 5 mid ship had much small outside balconies. They were listed as a lower priced category. Then all of a sudden they became VA which was the highest price balcony category. Agents were told to tell clients that these are mid ship and lower so less sea movement when in fact they were inferior fur to sitting on top of the life boats and having smaller balconies. To this day they are what most people get when booking a balcony guarantee on a Vista Class ship or when they are first time cruisers and being sold to believe that highest category is the best . Then the same thing happened when they put in those Neptune Spa Suites on the Signature Class, in the very beginning they did start out as the lowest category Neptune, then they flipped it saying the highest. I would venture to bet 80% of the time they are filled with those that chose a Neptune Suite Guarantee because no matter the Neptune Suite you choose they state this is a higher category..

Love seeing my ships for the next three cruises lol Westerdam up next then the next two after that will be NCL Bliss 😉

I agree with much that has been said but will say both Encore and Bliss or going into Dry Dock for some definitely structural changes. Exactly what is happening to both has not yet been announced. My guess is they will both have a portion of the Observation Lounge removed and replaced with staterooms. I think it is also possible Laser Tag will be taken away from Bliss and replaced with more Vibe Beach Club. I think that Galaxy Pavilion on Encore will be reduced in size or removed and Spice H2O will be placed there. I suspect in the upcoming months NCL will make an Official announcement to this effect. As for which one I have cruise on both ships, Bliss numerous times and two more sailings coming up. They are both equally great ships.

For the most part yes but there are some loud banging but some of it some of it is consistent with a loud pounding sound. For those that have experienced the aft staterooms a lot of it is just sounds that are normal for the aft of the ship. It is kind of hard to explain until you experience. I will state it is not the same as being more mid ship. As I mentioned it is far more noticeable when the ship is going a higher speeds which cruise lines try not to do too often so they can consume less fuel.

I have stayed in the Westerdam aft facing cabins plenty of time. Deck 4 and 5 really does not have much problems with anyone looking down on you. Deck 5 is 100% covered and deck 4 is pretty much covered. You would need to be really looking over 5 to see onto 4 and if on 4 be at the very edge. I cannot speak for 6, 7, and 8. I have never noticed any smoke smell nor have I seen anyone comment about that with the design of the Vista Class aft. I love the aft cabins have sailed more times on the aft than I have fingers lol. But I will state there is a definitely a noisy vibration on the aft of the Westerdam. It may be more noticeable on decks 4, 5 and 6. I know that nothing has been done to change it. It is most noticeable when the ship is going at higher speeds (first night and last day. We always joke it is the Magic fingers bed and one of the perks of being in a Neptune Suite. If you have never stayed in the aft it may be a bit alarming. For us the view/locations beats out the vibration and noise. It has always been that way for the Vista Class ships. Although I will say in December we were on the Nieuw Statendam corner aft deck 5 and thought the noise and vibration was actually a bit worse than the Westerdam that we had been on in September. As long as you are aware of what to expect it will not be alarming, if you are taking Westerdam to Alaska the aft facing is one of the best locations!!

I know the bars are all closed disembarkation morning but it has been mixed getting a mimosa. I know we could not get one when using the Main Dining Room but there have been at least two times I can think of that we got a mimose when having a Neptune Suite and dining in the Pinnacle. But pretty sure we could not have any when were in Club Orange this past December on Disembarkation but I could be mistaken. It is probably a ship by ship thing. We all known HAL is not always consistent 😉

Actually they are already charging more, some of their competition is considerably less, Princess and Holland America as an example especially when comparing their Free at Sea program compared to what is offered with other cruise lines. Comparing Haven to other Suites they are probably some of the highest with premium cruising. Sadly the dumbed down their entertainment and shows, they are no longer nothing like Royal Caribbean for entertainment across the fleet. But Royal is also charging a premium for their cabins. Don't get me wrong I love NCL my last 12 NCL cruises were Suites /Haven but I am actually stepping down for our January cruise, I no longer can see the value of Haven especially with the drastic price difference between the Club Suite and Haven. Over all NCL in my opinion is charging a lot more than competition. I am cruising to Alaska on HAL in what is similar to a Mini Suite and full packages of dining and beverage and shore excursion credit for close to half the price of NCL.

Bon Voyage!!!

Thanks John!! Saw several familiar faces 😀

I have actually had this offer for this sailing showing for over a year now, I wanted to use it for other dates and ships and they told me no.

Hmmmm I think there was something called a pandemic that the cruise lines were shut down and lost a lot of money. I believe they are looking at every way possible to add money to the bottom line. NCL is definitely not running in the black.

I cruise numerous different cruise lines most recently besides my NCL Joy cruise last month, I have recently cruised Windstar and Holland America. In all honesty I see nothing wrong with the updated new menus, I actually think it looks quite good. ALL cruise lines have cut back. I feel NCL still offers a lot more. If in that menu you do not find anything you want you can go to so many other options to eat such as The Local, The Garden Cafe, anyone of the numerous specialty restaurants. Many other cruise lines do not have those options for dining. They are all looking at the bottom line of profit which they should be and they cut back on items that were more costly and that the majority of people did not order. Las Month on the Joy we were Haven Guests but did 5 nights specialty dining one night in the Haven and one night in the Manhattan Dining Room. One of the top meals was actually in the Manhattan Dining Room. We are looking forward to November and February cruises on the Bliss 😄

My guess NCL did not proof read this 😄

The only time NCL offers airport to hotel transfers is if you are on a Land Cruise Tour with them, then it will specifically state Airport to Hotel transfers. Unfortunately NCL is one of the few cruise lines that does not include these transfers when you book the pre/post cruise hotel with them. As I mentioned the only exception is their Cruise Tour. Depending on when you are flying in you may want to consider the 2 night Pre Cruise NCL is offering. 3 Days / 2 Nights Pre-Cruise Tour Rome & Etruria Immerse yourself in the magical city of Rome. Learn about its rich history and breathtaking architecture from magnificent churches to ancient Roman ruins. During this tour, you will admire the main highlights of this fabulous city. Rome Cruisetours available on Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Getaway, Norwegian Pearl, Norwegian Prima and Norwegian Viva. 2 nights hotel stay with breakfast Airport to hotel transfer Colosseum Venice square Trevi fountain St. Peter's Basilica Necropolis Wine testing Guests arranging their own flights must fly into Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport (FCO) the start of this program.

My 10% off coupon was for a specific ship (Bliss) and a specific Sale date only the September 28, 2024 sailing. Your Exclusive 10% Off Coupon – Latitudes Cruise, Norwegian Bliss, September 28th, 2024 xxxxxxxxx 10% Off Expires On9/25/2024 Sail by10/5/2024 Not Applicable

I tried it in July of 2021, we were on the first sailing on the Nieuw Amsterdam from the covid shut down/HAL's return to cruising, I wanted to treat myself so I did several treatments and this was one of them.I was a good facial while it was happening. After they finish they have you look closely in the mirror and point out how there was less wrinkles and my face was firmer. Of course they did do a slight sail of promoting some stuff that I did not buy. I did however have one of the products they stated to use already in my stateroom and have been using. When I got back to my stateroom I was still impressed that I thought my face looked pretty good. Fast forward the rest of the day and washing my face before bed. Unfortunately the wrinkles reappeared and it I looked the same as I did before I went. Now granted it may work better for others but I was not impressed. That is why I always just go for the least expensive Facial. It is still a good facial and the products they use are good with the Super Foods one. I just won't spend that kind of money for that facial.

If you pre-pay your Crew Incentive (as long as you do not have the promo) or if you pre purchase Spa treatments or purchase ship board credit or Purchase Casino Ship Board credit, or if you are gifted ship board credit those will all appear as refundable ship board credit.

You may want to ask this question on the CC Asia board, HAL does not frequent that port often and it has only been recently HAL has been doing more Japan cruising. When I was planning my Japan cruises on Princess back in 2017 and 2019 I would frequent this Asia board. Unfortunately a large majority of the HAL cruisers have not cruised to Japan. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/43-asia/

I love a good Facial and have had plenty on board, usually I have it as an add on to a 75 minute massage or do a 50 min massage and 50 min facial. It really would depend on your needs but the Superfood one is good for a lower price as well as the Collagen, the higher priced one to me does not really do anything more other than use those tools that to me is more hype making you think it is doing something. A very plain basic cleansing facial is just as beneficial as the high end ones. Longer is always better so they have to a few more steps. To me it is better to pay for longer than some fancy name on it. Just my opinion those that complain about being sold stuff have not gone to their local salons. First off that is their job to sell, believe it or not they actually do not make that much money doing your massage or facial, it is the gratuities and selling products that make up a majority of their income. This is the same with your local land based salons. Many times those that start pushing and try to do the whole spiel are fairly new and that is what they are being taught. Their supervisors are watching for them to do that. In the past few years I have been cruising at least 4 times per year and each and everyone of those cruises over several cruise lines I have had Spa Services. They ALWAYS ask when was your last massage or facial? I always answer just a few weeks ago. So at that point they know I have had the pitch. I often then say I purchase my products frequently from Elemis on line. At that point I seldom get much for selling of products. They may ask which products I use so I then state a few products from the Elemis line (even if I do not use them frequently) Actually I have found with some if they know they do not have to do their sales pitch they relax a bit. Then to counter on the prices, those saying they are too high, have you actually checked pricing at your local salons. I have found that over all HAL pricing especially if you buy in advance is cheaper than I can get at home, plus is far cheaper than cruise lines I have frequented in the last two years.

Enjoy your 2 weeks cruising the Last Frontier!!

I still have the Waterford Crystal Seahorse they sold on the Zuiderdam, As well as the Waterford Crystal globe like what is hanging in the Atrium of the Oosterdam.