CCJack

You could get a lot of differing opinions on this topic. My 2 cents.......... (our last cruise was NCL Joy, but previously on RCCL, Celebrity, Cunard, Viking, others) Food: I thought the food on Joy was outstanding, MDR, SD and even the buffet. Better than the other lines. Value: NCL seems to me to be the best value. For us, we lately have been more interested in spending our money on the destination / itinerary even if if means going with a lesser cost cruise line. Entertainment: On the Joy, we had one production show which was very good, but everything else seemed so-so..... a victim of budget cutting I suspect. A Beatles tribute band was good, but they had them play 3 nights with different song list and re-titled the "name" of the show to get 3 nights main entertainment from one band. Ship: Joy was fine. Very clean and no complaints. Not as beautiful and unique as Celebrity, Cunard, or RCCL. Cabin was great, they all seem to be the same across cruise lines now. Free-Style cruising: I like the tradition of more formal dress, but have grown to hate packing a lot of clothes, so informal is fine with us now. However, free-style isn't really free style in terms of schedules. On the Joy, it becomes a challenge to get the reservation times before anyone else, otherwise you end up going to entertainment / dinners at whatever times they have left (if they have any at all) which isn't really Free Style.

We really enjoyed Glacier Wilderness Safari out of Skagway. It includes about a mile hike through woods, canoeing (large 6 person canoe with a motor!), all to get to the Davison Glacier....I think it would be perfect for active teens. Also, I think whale watching would appeal to all ages.. We got extremely lucky on our whale watching out of ISP and saw fantastic views of whales.

the Pan Pacific would be great location,,, however, note that there are a couple of other hotels such as the Pinnacle and the Marriott Pinnacle (2 different places) which are an easy walk to the ship, even with luggage. We stayed at the Pinnacle hotel and it was very nice and convenient.

Cannot answer your question about the tea, but we were just on a similar cruise last month and I think Quebec City is the prefect port to skip the ship's excursions. The ships dock right near the old town and there is lots to do there in the city. We booked an independent city walking tour that started near the visitor center right across from the Frontenac and it was a great tour. I believe the hotel is open to walk into on your own and go to the restaurants, etc.

thank you... Our itinerary shows 8 am arrival, but ship's excursions list 9 am departure, but that might not be too reliable. I am thinking maybe the excursion bus leaves at 9, tender for cruise excursions may be before that (8?) , then other (non-excursions) tender to old port even later.

thanks, this is helpful. Considering both of these options (ferry/taxi to Oia, or a cruise excursion bus from Athinios.) I have read that the only way they tender you to Athinios is via a ship's excursions, all others tender to old port / Fira. Is this true? Leaning towards the water taxi to Oia. We are early risers, and tend to head out early. Maybe back at Fira to head down to tenders by 2 or 3 pm. We have 3 ships in port (9/9/24) but one doesn't arrive until 2 pm, we arrive 8 am, all 3 stay late until 9 pm or so. Maybe cable cars down would be doable at 2 pm. Walking down would be an option for us too- we are walkers...

I was told on the Joy to come to GS the evening before the last full day, so if Sunday disembarking then come Friday eve. I did and they gave me my cash. I suspect this is ship specific or maybe even employee specific. They have some wiggle room I would think. Avoid the night before embarkation if possible.

Thank you Hank,,, somewhat related question...... with 9 days in ports we likely are going to be looking for one or two days to take it "easy" and not have a full day excursion but just an easy walk in port near ship or something similar. Not sure how Santorini with its crowds fits into this planning....

We took a cruiseline cruisetour a couple years ago and loved it. I hope you have a good time. Although you can customize a driving trip yourself and see more in less time, driving on vacation is not for me. I do plenty of driving in my normal life ! We really enjoyed the scenery from the bus, commentary from the tour guide and driver, and also meeting other folks in the group.. One downside is we were told very little from the cruiseline about our tour before we left (excursions, etc.), but once we boarded the bus it was very well organized. We took only a couple excursions, we spent a lot of time day hiking around the lodges, etc. Not necessarily in the park on on an excursion.

I can recommend gogenova tours. It was a walking and public transportation (with ferry) - but outstanding day.

We were just on the joy. There were 4 BJ tables and two of those were $10 min for the duration of the cruise. However they paid 6:5 for blackjack.

They said there is not a fee, instead they give you a brand new quote (as opposed to the 2 for 1 price you are presented at booking + fee). Especially if you want to upgrade cabin class for an international flight that quote will be a lot more than what you are presented during cruise booking for the 2 for 1 air price. I know on Viking we paid $75 on top of their "special" air fare, and it actually worked out well for us..... they worked with us on flights and the $75 was well worth it. If NCL did that at one time, it looks like maybe the process has changed somewhat.

Thanks, I decided to book directly with the airline. I did call NCL and the agent was very friendly and explained the process but I decided against it. For reference here is what I was told: (note this is entirely different than the 2 for 1 special, where your tix are assigned by a computer 30 days out, etc.) between 200 and 100 days pre cruise you fill out a form and submit to NCL. the form allows you to indicate preferences such as cabin class, approximate preferred departure time, etc. they come back with a quote and suggested flights. you don't get to specify exact flights. Quotes will be more than the 2 for 1, 30 day out thing.... I wanted to be in control even if it costs more. Biz Class is out of our budget but I am not sitting in Economy for 10 hours, so premium economy is what we want. For some of these big transatlantic planes they only show 10 or 12 PE seats and in some cases some seats are already booked 11 months out. So waiting until 200 days out makes me nervous. It looks like post-pandemic there is a lot of people traveling so we all can expect to pay a premium for cruises and flights and need to book early !

I would like to choose my own flights, I see there is a number you can call NCL and they will provide you a quote for air. I think this is different than the 2 for 1 specials and the deep discounts where they chose your flights 30 days prior.... My question is....are there any advantages to calling NCL to get a quote vs. booking on your own with the airline. Do they offer a discount, or is there any other advantages to involving NCL? This is for Detroit to Athens. thanks.

NCL getaway. Sept. 2024. NCL not my first choice but i really like 0 sea days and overnight in Istanbul.

We were just in the Joy, also on NE/ Canada cruise in a club balcony suite on deck 8 with large balcony. The balcony is large but skinny. Same width as cabin but probably 4x the depth as regular cabin. However, i wouldn't book it again. In the cabin looking out the glass door the big balcony really restricts your view because of the tunnel vision of the balcony dividers. Plus these balconies are completely uncovered and thus very windy and cold. I think we would have preferred a regular balcony which is covered by the balcony above and has better viewing from inside the cabin. You won't be on the balcony much when you are at sea in October/ canada. We could hear the theater below but not enough to keep us from sleeping... On the plus side the bathroom was very nice and with the CBS you get a 5 day head start on dining reservations. I have always wanted to try an aft balcony but never have so i can't comment on that.

Yes. I got that message too ( to try at 120 days). It should let you in at 125 despite what it says now.

Agree... we are in a similar situation and when i do the math I say keep it. Keep in mind if you cancel both drink packages you don't get all the gratuities back because some are for the SD.

At least they are providing the kids a snack at that price. Goldfish crackers maybe?

If you are off the ship by 8, you likely would make 8:25. Thing do happen however. On our last cruise to Flam, our ship docked, they let only cruiseline excursion people off, then they pulled back to tender everyone else, while another ship docked. So we tendered and we tendered off well after our posted docking time. I still don't know what the rational was with that arrangment. All that said, the train is not a very expensive ticket, I would book the 8:25 and likely you will make it. Just my opinion.

How does the Uber app fit into this discussion? I have read that Athens does not allow Uber in the typical fashion (privately owned cars being used as Uber) but some taxis now use the app and you can call a taxi using the app. If so then wouldn't the app calculate the fare and charge your credit card accordingly? Or is the app being used just to hail the taxi, then you are on your own to negotiate?

Yes, this is a good suggestion, to check that. We have been on 2 cruises where departure was delayed from 4-ish to 8-ish pm but ship was in dock early in the am. The Quebec City departure was delayed (announced a few days prior) because they were having a hard time getting the NCL Air people on flights that arrived in time for 4 pm departure. ( I guess that computer algorithm that waits until the very last moment to find cheapest flights for NCL waited a bit too long and they couldn't get flights for everyone that arrived in time !) We also had a delay out of Amsterdam, announced about 3 pm we would leave 5 hours late. The local authorities there can arrange ship and boat traffic through the lock (the lock is an hour or so away from Amsterdam) but they sometimes make the big ships wait and let more smaller vessels go first. At least that is what they announced on our ship.

on our last NCL departure from Quebec City, the ship' s original sail time was 4 pm, but they changed it to 8:00 pm a few days before the cruise left. No changes in board time schedule. We reserved a 9:30 am check in time (which was the first time slot). On board by about 11:30 am. Boarding early is not necessarily for everyone, but since we were in QC for a few days prior it made sense to board early and relax rather than another afternoon in QC. Plus I had to make a dining reservation change, etc. and best to board early if you need to do that. Have fun...

I cruised a lot with my kids at that age, and it is a good age for them to travel. I hope you have fun.... My recommendation is not to choose a cruise based on the kids program or on ports that are kid friendly. I would choose the cruise you want and I feel kids that age will adapt and will have a great time, on any ship. We went on Radiance Class to Alaska and it was great. I do not think smaller ships are a negative. However, that was a few years ago and Radiance Class is getting up in years. Not saying she doesn't still look nice, cause I haven't been on Radiance class in several years. However, age of ship sometimes is more of an issue than size in my opinion.... That said, I really like Vancouver as a embarkation port. Stay downtown 1 or 2 nights before, walk to ship. Really a beautiful city.

I agree that finding a table for 2 may be difficult. I do hope, however, that you get the chance to enjoy a river cruise despite this concern.... river cruises are a lot different than ocean cruises and a great experience, in my opinion. I did find that by the middle of the cruise, people tended to sit in the same spots with the same people. Perhaps you could explain your partner's hearing issues to those at your table and they may be very understanding for the duration of the cruise.