bjtravelnews

Good to know the screens are functional again! Thank you.

Thanks. I actually went online 120 days out to book at Ocean Blue. There was some kind of glitch and I never got confirmation of the booking - the screen kept spinning, I went back in a few hours later and there were no reservations available unless I wanted to eat very late at night,

Hello everyone! For those of you sailing on the Joy more recently, do you recall where you could make dining and show reservations on the ship after boarding, The restaurant I wanted to book didn't have any available reservations and I want to try to get one as soon as I board. Not as important for the shows, but would be nice to know. Thanks so much!

When we were on the Joy two years ago the music from Q was so loud that we had a hard tine hearing what was going on in the theatre! Who in their right mind would put two music acts side by side with probably just a thin wall between them? Really poor planning!

As others have said there really is no way to predict which side of the ship will face land when docked. I used to think that the ship rotated - one week port side at the dock and the next week starboard side at the dock. Well, I was wrong. For some reason there were two weeks in a row that the ship faced the dock in the same direction. So that blew my theory. I can tell you that most times we were lucky and managed to face land (7 out of 8 cruises to Bermuda). Last year was the first time we faced the water. And it really wasn't too bad. It was nice to be able to see the stars at night. One thing that I think is more important is what do you want to see when you sail out of NY? I always book starboard balconies because that is the side that faces the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island when sailing out of the harbor. I LOVE seeing those sights! We get a glass of wine and sit on the balcony while we sail out of the harbor and under the bridge.

Thanks so much for the great review. I have heard some not-so-nice things about NCL lately and downgrading of service. Will be on the Joy in June, so I hope I won't be too disappointed (thied time on the Joy for this itinerary to Bermuda).

Everyone considering sailing out of Baltimore - it's possible that isn't going to happen for a while. If you haven't heard, a cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key bridge and the bridge totally collapsed into the water. I have heard that Carnival has already changed Baltimore embarkations to Norfolk, VA. Likely other cruise lines will quickly follow. Check with your cruise line for specific information.

Thank you. I find it very deceiving on the part of NCL that they called this southbound cruise Glacier Bay!

Thank you for your comments. I agree with those assessments and will make the best of everything.

Thank you for the info!

They are all fans of NCL and so know the need to pay gratuites. That cost (a bit more than $150 pp) is still way less than purchasing a drink package outright on other cruiselines. Believe me - O tried really hard to convince them to book with Princess! If I ever can afford to cruise Alaska again it definitely will be with Princess.

We are traveling from Denali that morning with a brief tour of Anchorage and a stop at the Alaska Wildlife Center. There is no set time listed for when we leave there. The ship is scheduled to leave around 8:00 pm, so I assume we will have to board by 6. I did a mapquest search and it looks like it's over 4 hours by bus to get to Anchorage . Then another 2 1/2 hours to Seward. I am not counting on having any free time before boarding, but want to have a back up plan just in case we arrive much earlier. Thanks for your input!

Do you recall how much time you had in Seward before boarding the ship. Wondering if we have time to explore anything? Thanks!

Thanks - I wanted to do Princess, but am traveling with a group and was outvoted. (Everyone likes the free drink package on NCL)

Hello everyone. I have a cruise booked for July 2025 on the Norwegian Jade. The cruise is titled as Glacier Bay.... However, when I recently looked at the itinerary, it shows Icy Strait Point and not Glacier Bay. I did some research and it looks like we may not be going into Glacier Bay, but rather just the opening to the Bay. Am I correct? If so, I am a little disappointed in not being able to see Glacier Bay National Park. Any thoughts on this? Thanks so much for all your comments. Alaska has been on my bucket list for so long (it's the only state in the US I have not visited). Being on the East Coast, it's likely the only time we will visit here.