Cruisingal22

We're in the beginning stages of planning a cruise/tour and looking at the itineraries online, I don't see times associated with any of the ports or land portion of the journey. I've not sailed with HAL yet so I may not be looking in the proper spot? Time in port is a bit of a decision maker so I could use some help. If anyone's familiar, we're looking at the R5L Seattle Yukon & Denali Land & Sea Journey.

Would it be wise to wait and book this when we get there or should we do the ship excursion?

How much is the minibus to Horseshoe Bay?

Ship returns to port at 7:00 and our flight isn't until 2:15. Ideas on what we can do for that time? We will not have our own car so will need shuttle/cab from the port. Would it be feasible to shuttle to the airport and check our luggage and then take a cab somewhere from there? Never cruised from Baltimore so don't know much about area/distance from airport to any areas of interest.

Thanks for any ideas!

As always, CC folks are coming through! Thanks for all the things to consider, as that is pretty much what I was looking for. BTW, I'm guessing our group to be 8-10 people. All active/healthy. No mobility issues. We were thinking late May after a couple weeks into the cruise season. Any more comments, pointers, ideas??? Keep em' coming and thanks again. This is really helping!

So we have decided on doing a Princess Cruise/Tour, doing the tour first & cruising southbound. Now for the fun part...which one? Start in Anchorage or Fairbanks? We are planning on a group, all in our 50's, active/healthy. Can anyone shed a little light on these tours? We do know the cruise needs to have Glacier Bay, but other than that, we're a bit overwhelmed with the choices. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

We sailed on the Epic in an aft balcony.....loved having the bed near the balcony! I sleep much less than my husband & would roll out of bed & quietly slip out onto the balcony & enjoy the peace! BTW, hubby wants to go again in the same cabin.

Excited to be going in May! Let's talk cash and how much I might need. I know I need the balance, 17 for taxi each way, and some tip money! How much did you tip your waiter? Does the 17.00 taxis ride include the tip? I have to go read my receipt, but I need the balance in cash right? I'll take my own towel and float. Anything I'm missing ???

Thanks for the help.

Taxi price is just the posted rate so tip is not included. I think they took credit cards for balance at Nachi. We tipped the waiter $20 but that is up to you. Yes, bring towel & float or you will have to spend to rent. Any of the extras are also cash only like massage etc.

Not sure if that's a good thing! My husband and I took our first cruise 2 weeks ago on the Epic and had Aft cabin 10318. It's an end cabin and we LOVED it! In fact, my husband has declared that is the only place he wants to be when we cruise again!

Our friends had a mini suite with balcony and they kept coming to our cabin to visit because they just loved the wake and the view. Got some fantastic sunset pics.

We were also next to the door leading to the crew stairwell so we would go out there to get a port side view occasionally too.

We did have the vibration from time to time, going into port but not enough to bother us at all.

Looking forward to our next cruise, knowing DH "insists" on an Aft Balcony!:)

We were just at Nachi 4/16 and absolutely loved it! We had Carlos as our waiter and he was literally running up and down the beach in the hot sun waiting on people all day...he def got and earned a very nice tip! And I didn't find the drinks to be weak at all! In fact, I was afraid I just might be a participant in the "running of the drunks"!

The water was calm when we were there and loved swimming in the ocean. Hit the pool a couple times, but it got way too warm for me by the second time we took a dip. But it was a very nice pool otherwise.

The food was fantastic. I got the quac..to die for! Went for the fruit for my salad part. Too many marqaritas and don't remember my main entre! But I was full! We shared the desserts and nobody finished them but they were delicious.

I had an amazing massage on the beach! Dorita was my therapist and she was excellent...I say this from a professional view as I am a massage therapist myself...these women know what they are doing and worth every penny!

We absolutely enjoyed every minute of our day and if we ever find ourselves cruising back to Cozumel, I would not hesitate for minute to make Nachi our home for the day again!

Are these just on deck 11? We have a cabin booked near the aft of deck 10, and as it's an inside these balconies would be a nice place for us to go :) Did they have any chairs on?

I believe this refers to the crew stairway (some have referred to it as secret stairway) and yes you can access it on deck 10. We were in aft balcony 10318 and it was right next to our door. There were a couple chairs in there but the windows are a bit high for sitting & looking out. It is still a nice spot to go. We took the stairs and it's only 3 decks that you can access. We went out there several times to get a different view from our aft balcony.

Fab thanks- didn't want to dissapoint my partner by not going but also didn't want to pay for a meal if I wouldn't like it! My partner has been to these brazilian places before and loves them.

And there's also a fantastic salad bar with lots of great items.....go, you won't be disappointed & I'm sure you'll find things you will enjoy!

Thanks for the review! Myself and my partnee are going on our first cruise on Epic in Jan. Can I ask a question- how was the meat in moderno cooked? My partner wants to go there but I only like meat well done (squeamish about the blood). Was there any well done meat or was it all medium/rare?

My DH likes well done and he had no issues with anything. For the beef they asked how you wanted it. We both really enjoyed it.

This was our very first cruise, so I'm just gonna wing it here as far as reviews go! DH and I travelled with 6 other couples so I can tell you we all did different things onboard as well as in ports....and all of us had a fantastic time! I'm going to summarize by category our experience and keep this fairly short and to the point...well I'll try anyway!

Embarkation:

No issues for us being newbies. We arrived about 10:30 and were in group 15. Started boarding pretty much at noon and it was pretty quick and smooth. Not much more to say on this.

Cabin:

We were in Aft Balcony 10318. We absolutely LOVED the location and balcony. We had plenty of room for a lounger. We didn't bother the steward and just grabbed one out of the secret staircase right outside our door. We had the lounger and 2 chairs & small table with room to spare. We spent lots of time out there enjoying the view and the wake.

O.K....gonna break rank here and say we actually liked the bathroom setup. For a couple married 25 years we had no issue with the "potty as art" toilet stall and separate shower, it made it easier to not be using the whole bathroom when you really only needed to be using half of it at one time!

Our cabin was clean and our steward was wonderful. Had everything we needed, plenty of storage, hangers, etc. Only negative for us was the bed itself. We did not find it very comfortable and the rounded corners shortened it. We never got around to asking about an egg crate topper which I'm sure would have helped.

Food/Restaurants:

We did not have UDP so we only ate at one specialty restaurant to celebrate our anniversary. That was Moderno and it was fantastic! The lamb chops were to die for! The salad bar was great, excellent service and we got such a kick out of the staff singing for us. It was an excellent dinner and would highly recommend the restaurant.

Garden Cafe offered quite a variety and we always found something very good there. Sure there were some misses but it's a buffet so if you don't like something just go get something else.

Great Outdoors had the BEST burgers. We each had different varieties and just loved them. They also had the quickest omelette station for breakfast and it was very good.

Taste ended up being our favorite after Moderno. The food was really good and the menu was different every time we went. Service was very good except one meal when dessert was a little slow but we also had 10 people at our table that night. We also had breakfast here a couple times and it was excellent.

O.K....so no vacation is completely perfect so here are our least favorite dining experiences:

Manhattan Room was our first dinner on the ship. We were seated near the dance floor and up close to the band. It was too loud for dinner conversation. We also did not like the dinner itself. We had four in our group that night and nobody cared for it...at all. Your experience may vary as they say.

This may surprise some folks who just love it (and we were really anticipating a great experience) but I was very disappointed with O'Sheans. Both food and service were lacking here. Waited forever if you just walked up to the bar for a drink. Went for all you can eat ribs...well, we got one serving and our waiter disappeared for the rest of the night, seriously never saw the guy again. And they served pork & beans in a cup the size of a thimble! Seriously??!! Another server heard us comment on wanting dessert and took over taking care of us but we never could get anybody to attend to more ribs. Also, listening to the clacking sound of the air hockey game behind us and the very loud music below us made us decide this wasn't a place to waste any more time of our vacation there.

Entertainment:

Legends in Concert for this trip was Rod Stewart, Sting, and Gloria Estefan. The show was just O.K. for us. We did enjoy Rod Stewart. Sting didn't seem to hit the mark. Gloria was good. Overall, it was a free show and only an hour long.

Cirque Dreams....now we went back and forth as to whether we wanted to spend the money to see this. We had OBC so we went ahead and booked premium seats along with another couple in our group and were seated near the stage. Wow! We were so glad we went! The show was great, and our dinner was really good. Only negative....it was hard to eat and watch! You didn't dare look down at your plate and miss something!

As many know, BMG was gone and we had no idea what to expect for a replacement. Well, it ended up being Oh What a Night. We were happy with this choice and ended up being in the second row midstage. All I can say is Oh What a Show! Those guys were fantastic! They had the whole theater on their feet!

Staff/Crew:

Again, based on what I'd read, I was concerned staff would be less than enthusiastic. Glad to say that was just not the case at all. We had great service and interaction with everybody onboard, save for the one venue. We were always greeted with a smile and treated very well. Our steward came to our room to introduce himself the first evening and whenever he was in the hall when we passed would greet us by name. He did a great job and left our towel animals every night. He also left us a note to remind us of the big events of the evening. Customer Service was also very friendly and accommodating. DH went to Guest Services for something and just mentioned our disappointment with iconcierge and he immediately took the charge off our bill.

UBP Experience:

We had no trouble, for the most part, getting drinks. Occasionally, or at a certain (O'Sheans) venue, it was slow. We never had anything that wasn't included and I tried all kinds of drinks. Sometimes staff would suggest a drink and it was always really good! The only thing I would say is a negative is the inconsistency in how the signature drinks are made at different bars. Other than that, we were pretty happy with the package. Just an FYI, we sailed out of Miami and while docked you are charged tax on the drinks. We drank several drinks before we left port and our tax charge total was just over $4.

So there it is....our first cruise....and first review. We had an absolutely fantastic time! And now DH is an AFT Balcony snob....says he has to be there when we cruise again! Yes, he said AGAIN!!!! I'll be happy to answer anything I can for anybody that cares to ask

I just returned yesterday from our first ever cruise. I was also concerned about all the changes that happened after we booked and was a bit nervous because we also cruised on the Epic which has a lot of mixed reviews.

So, having just experienced all the changes first hand I can say without question I would definitely cruise again! Sure we had a couple minor hiccups, but just 2 venues we really did not care for. The rest was fantastic! No issues with UBP at all. I will tell you that sailing from Miami you are charged tax only while in port. We drank all day and our tax bill was just over $4. No additional charges on drinks at all and good service and drinks. Ship was full and we were able to eat/drink wherever/whenever without issue. More lines wait times during peak, but we had no issues. Our group size varied as well for dinners.

Food quality is subjective of course, but we had mostly very good meals in various venues.

We also used room service a few times for coffee/danish/fruit for breakfast. It was delivered on time and Epic had no charge for this on our cruise. Haven't read if changes were happening after we left but no charge last week. Hope this helps answer your questions.

Shuttling from Fort Lauderdale to Miami for our cruise. Pick up is noon. Is that cutting it a little close with pick up of 12 people & all our luggage and traffic to Miami? Don't want to seem like a nervous nellie, but someone else in the group made the arrangements. Cruiseline says passengers must be onboard 2 hours before sailing...which means onboard by 2:00. Should I be concerned, aside from feeling rushed?

5!!! Leaving for Miami Saturday, sail Sunday!! :D

We've been on Epic twice and really enjoyed both cruises. Hope you have an equally wonderful time.

 

 

kjquilts we are in cabin 10318....loved your pics and that is one of the reasons we are soooo excited! Can't wait to be in the Aft Balcony cabin!

Being new I've been pouring over threads all over CC getting ready for our cruise. I've been driving DH crazy since I've been reading and planning since we booked our cruise last July.

It's easy to fall into the negativity trap. While I too am unhappy with changes to things since we booked....entertainment we thought we'd have is gone, increased charges to DSC, increased gratuity charges, increased bar prices, etc....anybody that reads the threads knows all about it and some of these threads have hundreds of posts which seems to suggest a lot of NCL customers are very displeased. However, being that our cruise is next week and all of these changes have occurred long after final payment, I have stopped reading the "OMG look what NCL did now!" threads.

I am going to start packing and doing all those things that need to be done the final week before we leave for our vacation...and, yes....that includes...

DOING THE SINGLE DIGIT DANCE!! :D

We typically tip at the end of the day, but start off with renting a floating mat for $7 (I usually give him $10 and let him keep the change). At the end of the day we tip 15-20% of the admission fee for good service and I usually give another few bucks to the bartenders who let me practice my Spanish at the swim up bar.

Is it o.k. to bring our own float mats? Got a couple cheap ones, mostly to use on the loungers. Figured if we couldn't deflate/pack them flat again afterward, we would leave them for someone else to use.

This will make a big difference for us. We have room service breakfast on our balcony every morning, and completely love having coffee and pastries in the ocean air. Definitely do not want to take a shower and go to the buffet just to bring something back to our balcony.

This is exactly my disappointment. We aren't huge full breakfast eaters, but coffee is a must and something light would be nice. Being in aft balcony, having to get dressed and schlep the entire ship to get coffee to have on the balcony is a big deal. We've been talking about having coffee & pastry on the balcony early in the morning for months. Sadly, not at $7.95 a pop. And to those that say "no big deal"...for our particular cruise on the Epic in April, we've been hit right and left with added fees and no entertainment booking, no Blue Man Group. Each individually may be no bid deal, but one thing after the other, all of which happened after final payment, not like we could just cancel. We're just stuck paying for one thing and getting a whole lot less than we had planned.

Well, this is our first cruise coming up in two weeks. Booked last July as a celebration for our 25th anniversary. Since we have booked, all the great things we had looked forward to on our first cruise have disappeared....Blue Man Group...gone. DSC...increased. Planned dining in specialty restaurant for our celebration...cost increased by 18%, planned on Cirque, increased by 18%, planned on coffee delivered with light breakfast to enjoy on our balcony...now we have to pay extra for that too! All added we now have to spend quite a bit more than we had originally planned/budgeted for. Looks like our first cruise will now sadly, most likely, be our last. :(

I know that on our last cruise the suite breakfast server was our same server in the evening when we went to the same specialty restaurant. This was on the Sun so the suite breakfast was in La Cucina.

 

There's just 2 of us, so at the specialties, we usually leave around $5 tip regardless of the restaurant. Turns out adding the 18% tip will only add .40 cents for the $15 specialties, $3.20 for the $20 ones, $4 for Teppanaki, and an extra $5.80 for Cagney's. Not anything that should cause this many pages of responses for folks who normally tip. Hmmm.

Those tip adds are correct...per person. So my DH and I would now spend $11.60 more in Cagney's, plus an additional 1.90 in DSC per day...so yes, sorry but now we're talking closer to $15 per day just in tips...I think that is cause for a lot of pages of responses. Especially since it is NOT clear they are removing specialty dining room staff from DSC. Double dipping and I for one will seriously consider "adjusting" for this.

Just did a mock booking and the homepage says choice of UDP but when you do a booking it doesn't show up. I'm thinking it's a glitch.

Gonna chime in....I'm a newbie and no TA....and I knew to do this! First cruise ever, booked back in July. Saw the promo, did the math & rebooked with free UDP although cabin was higher. It was still a great deal. Sheesh.