floridafish

14 hours ago, luv2kroooz said:

Well said, MSC has continued to disrupt the traditional North American cruise line market. They started out in Florida, expanded to NYC, and are next heading straight to Galveston.

I believe MSC will Tier match for Lattitude members?

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

You still want to book a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay. The National Park Service severely limits the number of cruise ships that can visit the park.  

Sailing into Glacier Bay is a must. Listening to the Park Ranger narrate is a day I'll never forget.

Always have paid invoices for extra services either on your phone or print prior to arrival.

They weren't able to punch up your Platinum status? 

For me, the White Pass Train is a must when visiting Skagway.

I used Chilkoot Tours and took the van up to Fraser, BC (try to sit on right side). The ride up was beautiful and informative. The train back to Skagway from Fraser, BC was just over 1-1/2 hours (again try to sit on the right side of train). It was the perfect amount of time. And don't forget your passport. Canadian customs will board the van to check.

For me Prima #1 (I like how the pools are separated from the front lounge area) and Escape # 2 (I appreciate the window in the sauna).

I'm on the Breakaway this month for the first time. Any opinions of that spa? TIA

Highly recommend Coastal Helicopters in Juneau. 

On 8/21/2024 at 4:55 PM, wolfie11 said:

You must be on NCL.  Be aware that when they advertise sailing by Glacier Bay it means you sail past the entrance like every other ship transiting Icy Strait.  You do not see anything but Gustavus Flats and some mountains in the distance.  The actual glaciers are 65 miles up the bay. 

This is absolutely not true. I just got off the NCL Sun and we spent the entire day sailing in and around Glacier Bay National Park. You should lose your posting privileges. 

Not worth it at all. 

Glacier Bay is a must visit. Park Ranger comes on board and gets on PA and TV to give history of the park etc. Wonderful day.

Juneau - Coastal Helicopters. They take you to Herbert Glacier. Worth every penny. If you're able, take a morning flight and then grab lunch by the dock.

Skagway - White Pass train is a must. I used Chilkoot Charters. Van ride up to Fraser British Columbia. Bring your Passport. Train back to Skagway is about 1.5 hours. Stunning. 

Sitka - You need to go whale watching. I would suggest checking out Viator. There is also a beautiful rain forest just on the edge of town.

I detest checking bags at airports or cruise ships for that matter. I just completed a 16night TA with just a carry on and side bag with minimal laundry cleaned on board and managed fine.

Are there less temp swings in Alaska during August. Am I nuts not taking larger suitcase?

Lisbon, Cadiz, Malaga, Ibiza and Barcelona are all cities you can do on your own. Wonderful places to explore. No need to book any excursions. Cadiz and Malaga have amazing food markets to visit and eat.

DO NOT waste your time going to Gibraltar. It's a cluster with having your passport stamped. The day is better spent in Cadiz. 

Seville and Granada are more suited for land trips given the hours spent driving back and forth. 

7 hours ago, MyriamS said:

I think what you consider rudeness also depends on culture. For example, at the buffet, if there are two food stations, let's say one with bread and one with pastries next to one another, a woman is serving herself some bread but no one is taking any pastry at the moment, I would definitely go and grab a pastry if I wanted one. Some might consider that rude because I "cut in front" of that woman but there's no need to create a line when none is needed. A buffet is not (to me at least, and to most Europeans including Germans with their reputation as sticklers for the rules) like a school canteen where you have to queue up and take the food in strict order. If people did so, buffets would be less chaotic but no less crowded and so slow you would eat nothing but cold food. If I were to visit a country where everyone is meant to wait in line at the buffet, I would of course adapt to the rules. That's the thing when you travel, you adapt to the local ways of life (like going extra early to the buffet if the chaos bothers you). 

7 hours ago, MyriamS said:

You might want to exclude Italians from your blanket statement about how polite Europeans are. 

 

One of the worst web sites. I do have better luck when I use the app on phone. 

55 minutes ago, evalbert said:

Do the chefs and cooks on NCL check food temperatures?  Generally, health standards require that "hot" food be about 130F when served.  I've seen Holland America chefs and cooks checking foods on their buffets, but this will be my first NCl cruise.  I'd think that any cruise line would want to avoid issues with food spoliage or contamination, so I am surprised to see so many comments about "luke warm or cold" food on the Sky.  Do you complain and request food be at proper temperature?  I sure will, I'm paying for it after all.

 

Yes, they do.

31 minutes ago, WonderMan3 said:

I thought it was a tidal issue that caused them to miss Gambia? Someone on the ship posted about it here and it was announced the day before they were to even arrive there so it must have been an issue that was impacting the port for days.

We need to merge this thread with "NCL intentionally misses ports"

1 hour ago, Menocchio said:

The airlines would sure agree that something has changed. There's been a definitive uptick of disruptive passengers- not just rude but abusive and sometimes violent in recent years. Some airlines are adding reminders to be nice to the safety briefing. With tones ranging from "please respect the flight crew and fellow passengers" to "we will tie you to the chair and send you to jail" depending on how cheeky the airline's branding is and how much of a problem they've experienced. 

At least the FAA has a "no fly" list.

14 hours ago, david_sobe said:

Everyone has gotten more rude.  Manners are no longer taught.  But to my surprise my co-worker originally born and raised in Miami (the rudest city in the USA) took a European cruise and came back complaining how rude people were. I wont mention the country that had his biggest complaint but he said he was routinely shoved out of line in the buffet and physically pushed all the time.  I was watching the Ben and David cruising vlog and even before their MSC fiasco they were mentioning how different the European crowd is on MSC.  They also mentioned rude kids and adults pushing and shoving.  So its not just Americans that are savages 🙈🙊🙉

About 10 years ago I took an NCL out of Venice. A fair percentage of the passengers were southern European. Many of them were incredibly rude and never got the memo on what waiting in line is all about. 

Is there really a dime's worth of difference with any of these Caribbean ports?  

Have you ever tried boarding a flight within 15 minutes of pushback? Once those gate doors are closed you can't board. Same principle. 

In my experience the bids are based on double occupancy (2x charge on bid). If you currently have a solo rate that gives you access to the Solo lounge, provided your ship has one, you would lose that access. 

Also be aware you have no input on cabin location. 

Figure using about as much cash (Euros) in Europe that you do at home. Just about none.

If anything, Europe is more cashless than we are. Some smaller operations won't even take cash.

I don't believe they bait and switch either. They're losing money on missed excursions. Last summer on Escape to Canada they actually added a port, Newport, which I loved. Some people on the ship were very upset about missing out on one of two planned sea days. Do they deserve compensation? Spit happens. 

2 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

I appreciate the information. It's just that people watching the video might not understand that it didn't happen that quickly and that the ship wasn't traveling that fast. 

While the film is speeded up, from a news report I heard that just before impact, the ship was traveling at 7 knots. That's REAL fast for a cargo ship to plow into a bridge pillar. 

I hear Antibes is a nice town and an easy bus/train ride from port. I'm going to check it out next month.