ptuser

1 minute ago, ChemistBabe said:

Thanks everyone.  I think we will stick with the bus tour I have reserved.  That way I know we will get back in time for our afternoon excursion.

I missed the part about the afternoon excursion. It's pretty easy to spend a good part of the day at the glacier, hiking the various trails, etc. If you're doing an unrelated excursion besides it's impractical to take the city bus, even with a lengthy day in port.

1 hour ago, milogurd said:

You can use the Juneau CapitalTransit bus if it fits your timeline:

 

https://juneaucapitaltransit.org/how-to-ride-to-the-mendenhall-glacier-visitor-center-with-capital-transit/ 

The city bus has always been an option but you have to have several factors work in your favor for it to be practical during a typical cruise ship port stop. You have to add the 3 miles of walking to and from the bus to however many miles you plan to walk once you get to the visitor center. Timing is somewhat critical since the bus runs so infrequently. My thinking has been that for a single person who feels up to the extra walking (or especially running) the savings might be worthwhile, but not so much for two or more, since rental cars and taxis are generally not priced per-person.

Have you tried to get a rental car instead?

Since I'm investigating this now for May 2024...

My understanding is that the traditional dedicated bus shuttles (Blue Bus, Glacier Tours, etc.) are not operating at any time during 2024 "open-ended" as they used to, meaning they are doing timed tours (typically 2hrs at the Glacier, so... inadequate) and you can't just hop on any bus at any time (until 6pm) to get back, as you could for decades. The city bus still leaves you 1mi from the visitor center, 2mi round trip roughly, and only runs every hour.  Some taxi companies have permits to drop you at the visitor center, but ask as not all of them do. Rental cars are allowed to drive to the visitor center.

On 3/21/2024 at 9:23 AM, canes20 said:

Not a fan. Just got denied for the first time because they said the shareholder was not in the room. Wife's official name is Melissa, goes by Missy. Carnival has Melissa, Schwab statement says Missy, first time being denied. Guess I have to refile and explain the name.

It might have been fortunate to have that happen now (or actually a couple of weeks ago now), since using completely different names as on different accounts in general could cause more significant problems later on. I'm not an expert but I would want my legal name on any financial account. I've even experienced occasional problems with including or excluding my middle name or initial. I would never have thought of Missy as an alternative form of Melissa (maybe "Mel", or even "Lissa.")

When I first had to submit a statement from my broker for a shareholder credit, I learned that the website provided me with the ability to label each account. So even if my IRA was owned by "John Smith", I could have the account statements show any title, for example "Mary Jones' IRA." Of course I had no reason to do that; just saying it was possible. The label has nothing to do with who owns the account - it's completely arbitrary. I put my actual name into the label for each account, because if I hadn't, I would have had to supply even more of the statement, since my name and the share listing didn't appear on the same page until I included my name in the label.

7 minutes ago, PurpleKa said:

This is very interesting. It sounds like you were on a lower deck, maybe not toward the front of the ship, and sleeping during the worst of it maybe? Thanks for sharing your experience.

Yes, as I mentioned my cabin was located on deck 4 aft. However during all the usual hours I moved around the ship's public areas on the other decks. Between about midnight and maybe 7am-ish I was sleeping (although still getting up and moving around the cabin occasionally.)

46 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Thanks.  So, I'm guessing, you weren't one of the people sleeping out under the life boats because you were so scared?  🤣

No, I was mostly oblivious to there being any problems at all. I've been on other cruises where walking in the common areas or around my cabin - or even standing in the shower - were somewhat difficult due to motion, but I didn't experience that at all during this cruise. I did respect the "deck closed" notices, and felt it would have been potentially dangerous to venture outside at times due to the high winds. I also realize the ship had difficulty maneuvering in ports at times due to the wind, possibly more so than during my previous cruises.

This is an interesting thread because it's almost like I was on a different cruise from everyone else. I didn't find the conditions particularly poor relative to some of my other cruise experiences. I had almost no difficulty walking around the ship (inside) to the usual destinations during the typical hours, or in my cabin at all hours of the night. A few times I decided to go down to deck 10 vs. walk across the exposed deck on 11 between the front and rear of the ship, but that was due to the high winds and rain, not ship stability concerns. For the first time ever I found myself assigned a room below deck 6; it was on deck 4, near where a water leak occurred early in the cruise (it was unrelated to weather, as far as I know.) Upon first climbing into bed on the first night I thought the surprisingly severe engine noise and vibration (which had nothing to do with weather) would keep me from sleeping. Apparently about two minutes later I fell asleep, and slept normally throughout the rest of the cruise.

I'd agree that there could have been more information provided in a more timely manner, along with maybe some reassurances that all was well.

I felt the crew was exceptionally friendly and helpful overall, and I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. Of course I was disappointed to miss one port, and have a shorter-than-planned time in another. I appreciated the longer time in Victoria, although I understand it didn't fully compensate.

1 hour ago, julig22 said:

As far as I know, everyone pays the same.  Seems to be the same when doing mock bookings.

Are these mock bookings done at different times, weeks/months/years apart? What I meant was whether the taxes/fees are updated daily for purchases, so someone who booked (at least put down a deposit, maybe?) last week/month/year would pay more/less for the taxes/fees portion than someone who booked at a different time.  Or, the cruise line could come up with an amount at the time they create the cruise, and stick with that throughout the multi-year life of the cruise (until that trip actually occurs.) I had never thought about how they handle that.

It makes sense that NCL could recover for underestimated charges at other ports, although presumably if it works that way they would explain the charges.  Do the charges get updated at least daily for new reservations, so someone making a reservation today would pay the current correct amount based on the latest information? I had never thought about it but possibly everyone on a cruise would pay a different amount in port charges?

It seemed that until a few days ago, I could have bought the 250-minute internet plan for my upcoming cruise online, but when it vanished from the website I asked and was told it was now online-only. Does anybody have very recent experience buying internet once onboard? Are there ever promotions for purchasing onboard?  I used to squeak by on the 30 minutes I used to get for free for my loyalty level, but that was eliminated before my last cruise.

I've always parked at the port in Miami, but in a couple of weeks will need to get back to the airport (MIA) via some kind of transportation. Is there any delay/problem getting a rideshare or taxi? I usually don't rush off the ship but do have a flight departing at noon. Any recent info/experiences would be appreciated. I was a little surprised that the usual shared shuttle services seem to be less available than at other ports I've experienced, but maybe I've been looking in the wrong places.

On 5/28/2022 at 6:14 PM, susiesan said:

My itinerary does not have any tender ports so that piece of information about Dawn does not apply. But thanks for the heads up anyways.

My itinerary showed "dock" for all the ports, including one where I'd been countless times on NCL and always docked. Not this time, though: while the dock facilities were of course still there (and used later in the day by other ships), it was definitely a tender port this time around. So docking vs. tendering is  always subject to change without notice.

I assume concern about  being located near an isolation cabin would be that the air would circulate between cabins without filtering, but I don't know if that's the case, or if it varies from ship to ship.

As of last week there was one 8pm show with the production cast on three nights in the theater, plus a smaller vocal-only show in the lounge, for a 7-day cruise. There were nights with just a movie in the theater. However, I don't think you can plan beyond maybe one day ahead. Some people at NCL probably have some idea of what entertainment won't be happening months from now, but even they have no idea of what will be happening. Nobody can assume anything to the degree that was reasonable to before the pandemic. Overall the crew made the most of what resources were available and seemed very appreciative to be back at their jobs.

Question on NCL covid testing policy: can anyone confirm that the times variously referred to as "2 days" or "48hrs"  mean you must schedule your proctored test:

1. within 48hrs prior to 00:00:01 on the day of departure, or

2. within 48hrs of the time of departure?

So if your departure is 5pm Friday, can you be tested at 9am on the previous Wednesday, or do you have to wait for 5:01pm (assuming port time in both cases, regardless of where you are tested.)

1 hour ago, erdoran said:

If you don’t like the location, why not cancel and then rebook a couple of days later?  Is that an option?

I bought during a sale and the cabin was not assigned until a few days after I booked, when the sale wasn't in effect. I did not see the price drop lower again, or I would have rebooked anyway (for the lower fare.) I don't have a horrible location by any means, just not as good as I was getting for several cruises after buying a mid-ship cabin on, I think, deck 10. Obviously deck numbers vary with ships but I've cruised on mostly-similar NCL ships.

I'm noticing a pattern that I'm being assigned guarantee cabins remarkably similar in location to the most recent cabin I've paid to select (in the same category, so in this case all insides.) That was wonderful for several trips after I'd paid for a cabin near mid-ship on an upper-deck. Then I paid for a less desirable cabin (to get some other benefits that came from an other-than-sailaway fare.) Now that I've gone back to guarantee cabins, I find myself assigned a cabin right next to that last one I'd paid for. And it was assigned before I even made the final payment, so months before departure. It seems like there is almost too much coincidence here to be random, and if so it would be nice if I could reset my preference without having to actually pay for an assigned cabin again. Nobody at NCL knows anything about the  assignment process, and I'm not surprised at that. It's been discussed, inconclusively, here before, but I'm wondering if anyone has any similar (or different) recent experiences.

I'm looking at available L cabins for a Maasdam cruise and am wondering if anyone knows what's in the room forward of L395. As you move toward the stern there is the elevator, then what looks on the deck plans like an empty room, then L395. Would it be better to choose one of the other cabins in the same location that are surrounded by other cabins? At least one of those is available. This would be for a fairly long itinerary so I'd like to not get stuck in an undesirable cabin. I've found one review of a cabin in the area but that cabin is not available. Thanks!

I have cruised NCL solo only three times, all to Alaska. The first one was May and I got 150%, the other two (one May one September) were 200%, but I can't wait until too close to departure since I have to buy airfare too. I haven't always gotten the cheapest 200% fare either. Recently I was looking at two cruises. One went down farther ($40/$80) after I bought, but the other one I had considered buying sold out entirely. So you always take a chance when you wait, even in shoulder seasons. If you have the flexibility to either go or not, and not have to arrange time off at work or air travel, and especially if you aren't fussy about the itinerary, I know there are sometimes amazing solo values out there!

I always find someone to go with me on RCI, but the winner for no supplements is NCL, I just returned Monday from a late booked, Friday evening booked, sailed Monday, on the Sun. Third trip to Alaska this year- 2 on NCL 1 on RCI

That's excellent! I know there are a couple of other NCL cruises with 0% now (not to Alaska that I know of.) I still wish there was an automated way to be notified when these offers come up, although like most people I'm not currently in a position to take advantage of something on such a short notice (too far from a port.)

I have 2 friends cruising on a 7 night cruise in Alaska and I plan to go with them in my own cabin. However choosing 1 person in the cabin doubled the price for me. How can I cruise without paying this exorbitant single price?

 

The cruise is RC May 18, 2018 7 night inside cruise to Alaska from Vancouver.

On the one hand, it's irritating to pay seeming twice the price; on the other hand, motel rooms also almost always cost the same for one or two people - they don't give you half off because you're staying by yourself. I think the issue is that cruise lines advertise half price for the cabin so psychologically that makes it more difficult for us to accept. So it's not really an excessive price since the cruise line is losing use of the cabin. You'd probably be upset if you showed up paying half price and found you had a surprise roommate. Actually that happened to me once at a corporate apartment - quite a surprise; I definitely wasn't expecting company.

Happened to a cruise I was looking at for April. I don't think it's that unusual for something that far out. If one that's scheduled in the nearer term disappeared I'd think that would be more unusual.

I'm "kind of" a solo cruiser. Daughter and I "kind of" cruise together. We share the same cabin, but that's where it ends. We eat breakfast together and then she goes her way and I go my way. Then we meet for dinner and then I go my way and she goes her way. Works great for us! 😊

That's the optimal situation as long as you can live in the same room without killing each other. It's good to have someone along who can help you if something goes wrong - that's definitely something I think about based on because of personal experience.

There is a site (TA) I cannot mention that lists these deals. Some 0% some higher. Google is your friend.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I know a site that allows me to search for them, albeit somewhat unreliably (it's necessary to confirm on the cruise line website, as the updates to the 3rd party site may not be instantaneous), but it doesn't send notifications (for changes in solo fares - it does notify of changes in double-occupancy fares.)