ImADaneFan

1 minute ago, hallux said:

I'm sure the cruise lines pay for certain priority, but it would make more sense to take the one that has to go farthest up the channel first, then the next one, then the next.  They could have them sail in faster (not at a higher speed but closer together) that way as they could all be slipping up to the pier (I guess quay in this case) at the same time rather than having to wait for the first one to get close enough.

 

NCL's berth is the first one of those 3 as they sail in (for now, while MSC builds theirs at the end of the island) so the others will be waiting on the Escape...

The pilot just came back on and said they were now doing MSC 1st  then the Escape.  I wonder if they will have them go to the turning basin and dock starboard side as normal, or dock port side just to speed everything up?

I just heard on the PortMiami Webcam site that they are sending pilots out to all 3 cruise ships.  The Escape is 1st then the MSC Seascape and finally the Carnival Celebration.

4 minutes ago, quillwercruisers said:

I was just on the Jewel in March, and they have the Atrium Cafe that serves Starbucks. It's not a full blown Starbucks as on some of the other ships.

Do you happen to remember if they had the Starbuck’s Refreshers?

Linda

I hope you have a wonderful cruise.  We will be on the Jewel in August for our southbound Alaska cruise.  It’s been a lot of years since I’ve been on the Jewel, can you tell me if they have added a Starbucks during her last drydock?

Linda

6 minutes ago, bonvoyagie said:

Well we bus from Fairbanks to Denali then train from Denali. The sealige center is one of the stops on the tour. We also visit a musher camp and have optional tours we can purchase as we go, including flight seeing at Denali.

 

 

That sounds like you have some great excursions to chose from.  I hope you have a great time!

Linda

3 hours ago, bonvoyagie said:

We are doing the 14 day Authentic Alaska cruisetour in late June hopefully we will see enough of the interior that we can DIY if we want to do it again on our own. Our tour starts in Fairbanks and we spent day one touring there, ending up at Denali for two nights, We then take the train to Talketna and bus to Anchorage for the night then on to Homer for two nights ending up at Seward to board the Jewel for the cruise. 

That sounds great!  Do you get to take the Alaska Railroad from Fairbanks to Denali?  The last time we went inland, the train was one of the best parts. I am disappointed that the road in Denali is still restricted this year due to repairs because of a rock slide at mile 43.  I was really hoping to go all the way to Kantishia again. We won’t be able to get to the visitors center either.😔. The views of Mt. McKinley were breathtaking from there.

I’ve not been to Homer, but I’ve heard the halibut fishing there is amazing.

If you have any time, the Alaska Sealife Center, in Seward is worth visiting.

Linda

Which cruise are you looking at adding this land portion to?  The reason I’m asking is we are going inland before our August 14, 2023 cruise.  We are planning all of the inland portion on our own, because we wanted to spend more time in Fairbanks, Denali & Seward than the NCL land portion allows.

I have heard too many horror stories to allow NCL to book my flights.  NCL doesn’t give you the option to select your flights. We were able to get a great price for 1st class flights on Alaska airlines from Indy to Anchorage, Vancouver to Indy for $1200pp. It’s a long flight to Anchorage and would recommend 1st class for the extra room if you can justify the expense.

If you don’t mind doing the planning I would recommend doing it yourself.

Linda

7 hours ago, sarahka1 said:

Good to know. 2 more questions...do you think it's reasonable to request 2 additional loungers for the balcony? And how does the alcohol ordering work, did you pre-order or wait until you boarded and spoke with the butler? My dad loves a specific Glenlivet LOL. I've looked but haven't seen a current menu.  Thank you!!!

You can ask the room steward for additional loungers and it shouldn’t be a problem.  For the alcohol, I have done it both ways, but I usually place my order with the pre-cruise concierge desk.  There is a specific list of items you can select from.  If what you prefer isn’t on the list, sometimes, you can get a substitution.  If you want a substitution, I would suggest ordering once you are onboard.  I find that the butler is more likely to get that accomplished.

Linda

6 minutes ago, sarahka1 said:

I was on the Panama Canal cruise in Nov 2021 (same as ImaDaneFan) but in a regular balcony. Looking to book the DOS for an Alaska cruise in 2023 and have a few questions. 1 - was it loud with noise from above and 2 - in you opinion, is the pull out couch for a third bed a good idea? Planning to travel with my Dad and his cousin/wife who will have the 2 bedrooms. Thanks!

The only noise we had was early morning when the crew were moving the deck chairs to clean the sun deck.  It wasn’t horrible, just annoying. It was usually around 5am.  I we were on the starboard side and I would recommend staying on the port side for 2 reasons.  The Haven smoking area is right above the starboard suite and we could smell the smoke when we were in port.  If I remember correctly, the port side sun deck doesn’t have any lounge chairs at the very front, or it has fewer, so hopefully there is less chance of the crew dragging the loungers around to clean.  We did not used the sofa in the living room as a bed so I don’t know how comfortable it is, but you could always ask for a foam topper when the bed is made up. The Murphy bed in the 2nd bedroom was very comfortable according to my adult daughter.  No matter what, the balcony will be fantastic for viewing in Alaska.  But there isn’t a very large overhang, so there isn’t much protection if it’s raining.

Linda

10 minutes ago, bornin49 said:

could you please tell me what a cvs bar code is, thanks.

When you do final online check in, you register with CVS for your Covid test.  When registered, you get a email with a bar code that you provide at the port.

Linda

5 minutes ago, drumexpert510 said:

Wow it looks almost empty!

Have you heard what the capacity is?

Linda

14 minutes ago, drumexpert510 said:

Yes, up the side escalator and check in is at the end of terminal building. Same room but it is partitioned off. 

Thank you!

Linda

Do you know if the Haven check in is in the main terminal area?  The entrance used to be to the right of the main entrance, as you look at the building, up the escalator.

Also, does the Escape have a full Starbucks now?  I know all ships will be getting them eventually.

Linda

Following… We will be embarking as you leave, for our b2b.  I’m very interested in how the Covid testing and embarkation is handled.  We have an early time slot.

Linda

22 minutes ago, Shellbelle28 said:

I've never sailed with Hanno, what did you love about him?

As 3Traveler said…He’s hard to miss!  On our PC cruise, when he found out that the day we were transiting the Canal was my daughter’s birthday. He made sure to have the photographer that was on shore take pics of my daughter on the front balcony and then gave her a lovely momento folder with her pic on one side and the Bliss going through the Canal on the other.

Linda 

1 hour ago, Shellbelle28 said:

Just found out that on the 10/24/2021 sailing of the Bliss we will have:

Djamel Benatmane – General Manager

Meyer Hanno - Concierge

We loved Hanno on our Nov ‘19 PC cruise.  I was hoping he would be on our Dec ‘21 Escape.😔

Linda

On 9/9/2021 at 8:11 PM, phillygwm said:

Even though I'm in a suburban area with lots of pharmacies (and I've used my county clinic for COVID PCR tests in the past) you're right.  Getting an appointment could be a hassle.

 

Only issue is that eMed site seems to sell 6 packs of the tests for $150.  I only need one 🙂

If you go to Royal’s website and follow the link for the Healthy Sail Panel, there is a link for the tests. They have a supplier that has a 3 pk for $69 and 4 pk for $99.  It’s the same proctored test, BinaxNow.  It doesn’t seem to require that you are on a Royal sailing.

I was able to book my dining reservations at 130 days for both of my December cruises on Escape.  But I was only to do one restaurant at a time.

Linda

On 8/3/2021 at 5:40 AM, Hadacareer said:

Reservations have now been changed to 120 days versus 130 days for haven guests..

I was just able to make my dining reservations at 130 days for my December cruises.

Linda

4 minutes ago, snorklinbarb said:

@ImADaneFanthanks for the heroic effort!  And so quick!

 

Hopefully someone will fill in some of the other specialties with the latest menus. Lots to look at!

I also have Cagney’s, Los Lobos and Ocean Blue.  I’ll work on the screen shots for them this evening.

Linda

13 minutes ago, saltsandknit said:

Thank you. I am on Bliss in December La Cochina is not listed as an option. I am curious if Onda might be

The menus for La Cucina and Onda are very similar 

3 minutes ago, snorklinbarb said:

For those of us who can't open this, does anyone have it in printed form to copy here?  Thanks!

This is going to be ugly…I had to do screenshots and they don’t line up correctly.

13 minutes ago, Sand and Seas said:

These appear to be the 'old' menus.  Dates at bottom are from 2019 and 2020.  

You are correct.  Those are not the same menus that I posted earlier.  The copies I have are from my TA who is currently on Encore, and they are definitely different than the one’s currently on NCL’s website.

Linda

2 minutes ago, SkierRobUMN said:

Is that Haven Lounge menu new? We are doing our first Haven in January and wasn’t sure. Do you just ask the bartender to order those lounge menu items?

It must be something new.  I’ve never seen a Lounge menu on any of the ships I’ve been on.  I can’t wait to try it out.

Linda