SuzieQ521

Hello: Looking at an Alaskan cruise for May and we will be with our 4 year old son who cannot sleep in a high pullman bed since he is still too young to be that high. Do the regular balcony rooms have lower beds or do we need a deluxe balcony for the sofa bed? Also, any balcony rooms to avoid on the Royal? We were looking at the Emerald Deck and trying to figure out if the obstructed view ones are worth the lower price. Thanks!

Hello: We are booking a big family Alaska trip for this summer out of Seattle (likely end of May) and it will different generations traveling: elderly, middle age, teen boys and a 4 year old--all but my husband and I have never been on a cruise or Alaska. In 2017, my husband and I (before our 4 year old was born) did the Ruby Princess which we enjoyed (and which had Glacier Bay on the itinerary). Question is this: I really want to try the new ship Discovery Princess but its glacier stop is Endicott Arm and it's only there from 6 am to 10 am, whereas Royal is at Glacier Bay most of the day--I will admit that Glacier Bay was amazing when we saw it and I want our family members (first time Alaska travelers) to be able to experience something similar...will Endicott Arm for a few hours be "good enough?" Also, how is the entertainment/activities for teenagers on Royal vs. Discovery? Any other important differences? (My husband, son and I just did the Norwegian Bliss last month so I imagine Discovery is similar to that?) Thank you!

I can only speak to the Bliss (was on it last week) but it might be similar: yes, the kids club is closed during Port hours but they usually have a "free play" on those days (for a couple hours) where parents have to supervise but the kids can play in the kids club. I would imagine that all kids clubs are closed during port hours because they don't want parents to leave the kids onboard while they go down to Port. Once the ship leaves Port, then the kids club usually opens an hour or so later; for example, we left Ensenada at 5 p.m., and then kids club opened at 6 p.m. Have fun!

We did Bliss last week and yes, that same kids menu is everywhere. I wish they had better options and even the food they have on it is not kid-friendly. My 4 year old got the chicken tenders the first day (usually his favorite) and it was way too spicy (I even thought so and couldn't eat it). The hot dog is also pretty thick so definitely needs to be cut. The pizza at the buffet was way better than that one on the kids menu. It may be better for older children. The Buffet is great though and has lots of options.

I do see a Bliss 5 day one that leaves on Halloween. We did the same one last week (mid January) that was a 5 day Mexican Riviera and got a great deal (booked about 3 months out); I believe there was even another Mexico cruise in January as well on another NCL ship out of San Pedro.

You can also check on the NCL app, which I did daily so was able to go to guest services before the last night or last morning (when the line was huge).

We bought the 6 pack of litered water ahead of time (I think about $21?) and it was more than enough for our 5 day cruise last week on Bliss (we had one full carton left over). You can also bring your own water bottle to the buffet to fill up (but you would need to use their cups then pour into your water bottle). I do not know for sure, but I don't believe bottled water is included in the drink package.

Just FYI (I wrote this in my recent cruise review): it depends if you get off early or late but expect immense surge pricing for ride shares as many other passengers will be requesting an uber/lyft ride (not to mention longer wait times). What we did is take the shuttle back to the hotel we stayed at the first night (Crowne Plaza), wait a bit, then request Lyft from there. Price went from $80 to $25 to Long beach airport. Not sure if you have the flexibility to do so.

Thank you so much! Very helpful information. We love Vancouver (been three times before) but unfortunately we would need to get back to get our son in the SF area where my parents are watching him. We are from Vegas so would likely be flying back there the next day from the Bay Area. May I also ask if you would choose West Jet or Air Canada back to SF (both about the same price?). We flew West Jet a few years ago and it was fine (I believe it is equivalent to our Southwest airlines which we fly often). Thanks

So we just got off the Bliss a few days ago and we disembarked at one of the farther berths (B50). We actually self disembarked and carried our own luggage but for others, they had shuttles running but it seemed pretty crowded. We actually walked to the tent area where they had all the luggage (instead of a shuttle) since that was also where the ride share area was. The walk wasn't too bad with 3 carry on rollers and a child in tow. Is your car at Berth 92/93? I believe they would also have shuttles there but ride shares, taxis and cabs were at the next few berths over (I think 46?).

Hello: We are looking into a Princess Cruise, 3 nights from SF to Vancouver in late April. The ship is supposed to arrive back in Vancouver at 7:30 a.m. on a Monday; in looking at return flights to SF, there are some 12 p.m./12:30 p.m. flights on WestJet, Air Canada or United (right now they are all about same price). We would be self disembarking with our own luggage off the ship so I think those flight times are feasible? Do you think it would be faster to do the train or find a ride share/taxi? I assume that the train would be less expensive? Thanks

Didn't try it but looked at the menu and I would say it was in the $15-25 range for dinner which I guess is standard these days. If you walk out the back door where the restaurant is and make a left, you are in Little Italy and there a bunch of restaurants within a few block radius. We tried going to San Pedro Brewing Company after hearing good things about it but 45 minutes of not receiving our appetizers we left and went elsewhere (it was a Sat night and kitchen was short staffed). We ended up going to a really good pizza/Italian place that was actually a shorter walk from the Crowne...Buono's Pizzeria.

Just did this last week…about a $25-30 Lyft ride.

The Bliss. Just got off of it but didn’t get to use it unfortunately.

The Queen bed was by the balcony and sofa bed by the front of the room (which I believe is different than the traditional balcony room). We also had an angled balcony which was great with the added space.

DISCLAIMER: This was our first NCL cruise, first post-pandemic cruise AND first cruise with a child so my opinion may be a bit skewed based on those factors. Our last cruise was pre-child: A Princess cruise to Alaska in 2017. Overall, we enjoyed our cruise, although it was much more crowded than I expected for mid-January (I think it may have hit 4k capacity but don't know for certain). I also believe it was understaffed (this was also according to another passenger who frequently sails NCL); the crew seemed overwhelmed at times. However, the price was amazing for this time of year though and that is why we decided to take this specific cruise. We flew in from Vegas the afternoon before and stayed at the Crowne Plaza--yes it's a bit outdated but it's perfectly adequate for one night. Great location, great convenience and customer service was good. Lots of restaurants within walking distance and we utilized the shuttle for our 9-9:30 a.m. port check in. (PRO TIP: as will be discussed below, take the shuttle back to the Crowne if time allows upon disembarkation to avoid the insane ride share surge pricing...our Lyft ride went from $80 to $25 back at the Crowne!). EMBARKATION: I knew going in that although we had early check in, boarding of the ship would be after 11:30 a.m. at the earliest. Check-in was smooth and appeared organized; the line moved along. We got our group number and sat down to wait. Unfortunately, the Port employees told us that NCL was delayed in allowing people to board...it wasn't until after 12:30 p.m. that groups were allowed to board. At that point, there were people waiting outside to even be allowed into the building to check-in and other people had to stand as all chairs were gone. I would still recommend obtaining an early check-in and that way you at least have a seat while you wait for the boarding to begin. BOARDING: We made our way into one of the open dining rooms (Taste or Savor...don't recall which); you could tell that the waitstaff was a bit stressed out with the delays and still had limited supplies (apparently, they were out of lettuce until the Cabo port!); It was a bit confusing though as to when our room would be ready. We made it up to our rooms but apparently our steward had not finalized it yet so we went back down. Our bags came a few hours later. We were supposed to leave the Port at 4 p.m. but did not end up leaving until around 6:30 p.m. because the Captain said they were still bringing supplies on (something to do with a truck getting delayed); we did end up making up time and arrived to Cabo without delay. ROOM: We chose a family balcony on the 13th floor that had the sofabed for our 4 year old son. Upon walking in, I was a little surprised as the room seemed smaller than expected--I think it was mostly the layout of it...it's not very wide so there is very limited space to walk to the balcony door in front of the beds. However, they do make such great use of organizational space so it was fine in the long run and the bathroom had ample organizational space as well. Our steward did not seem very friendly on the first day but I think it was because the staff was overwhelmed as they had just come from a Panama canal cruise and had very limited time for turnover. He was very helpful and we did end up leaving him an additional gratuity. FOOD: The food was generally very good; the wait to get into the dining rooms did take some time on occasion and sometimes the food did take a while to come out but that was generally during peak times. I was very pleasantly surprised about the BUFFET- we did not expect to eat there much but it was probably the best cruise buffet I've ever had and we did end up eating there for convenience sake as well. The LOCAL had good (pub-type) food too. HIDDEN GEM: observation lounge had a great layout of food...light bites and desserts...which was great to have midday. We used our FAS at Cagney's and it was excellent (except for the creamed spinach which was a bit too watery). STARBUCKS: We did take advantage of our unlimited Starbucks package; during peak times (8 am to 10 am) the line was long but the staff did a great job of moving it along. NOTE: whenever near the L.A. port, there is a tax on drinks, even with the unlimited package. I was also charged twice in error for drinks but the guest services did remove it. I would recommend constantly checking your onboard account on the app so you don't have to wait in the super long line on the last day to address issues. On occasion, given the amount of people, the wait for the elevators was very long so we had to use the stairs but it was manageable. ENTERTAINMENT: Jersey boys was great; did not get to see other shows as we had our son. They also played movies by the pool at night and some in the Atrium for the kids. My son loved the Arcade as well. SPLASH ACADEMY: I was a little concerned if my son would like it but he did. Note: they are closed during Port hours but they do have a couple hours of free play where parents need to supervise on these days. One gripe is this: they ask the parents where they are going to be and you are somewhat beholden to these decks (you could call and tell them if you are moving though). But I think it would be much more efficient to allow for free messaging from the staff to the parents on the App in case the child needed to be picked up. On one day, even though we told a staff member we would be on a certain deck, I went back to the room hours later and found a voicemail saying my son wanted to be picked up...a messaging system would have been better. CABO: This was the tender port and it was mostly a smooth process; however, on the way back, the line for the tender was extremely long....it snaked through all the shops on the marina. The NCL staff however did pass out water and cool towels and so it was bearable (it helped that the weather was very pleasant). We did not get off at Ensenada as we did not have any interest and wanted to take advantage of less people on the ship to do more activities that day. SPA: I did take advantage of a port day special for a massage but I did wish I purchased a week pass for the thermal spa as the regular relaxation room for a service is very basic. The massage was very good though. DISEMBARKATION: We chose to self disembark (we had 3 carry ons and a couple of backpacks) so we could take our time with breakfast and our flight was not until late afternoon. We ate at the buffet and then waited on the pool deck for the final call. Upon getting off, the Port seemed a bit chaotic since you had people embarking for the Bliss's Panama Canal cruise right after ours. ***As noted above, avoid taking a ride share if possible from the Port because of the insane surcharge and wait time. I called Crowne Plaza and asked if we can take their shuttle back and they said to just hop on when we see it as they were dropping people off for the Panama cruise. We hopped on and just waited a bit at the hotel before taking our Lyft (way cheaper). FINAL THOUGHTS: Overall, we enjoyed our cruise (as best as we could with a kid, ha) but just had some minor criticisms with the crowdedness and likely understaffing; however, we would sail NCL again if the price is right, possibly on a smaller ship. The Bliss is a beautiful ship though with lots of activities to do and great food.

Got off cruise today. Stayed at Crowne last Saturday. Yes there is a regular Keurig coffee maker that takes the regular pods. In regards to our opinion of the hotel: It’s more than sufficient for one night and very convenient to the cruise port. We ended up utilizing the shuttle which was useful. The surcharge for rideshare was ridiculous leaving port today and so I called the Crowne and they said just hop on the shuttle to go back to the hotel…we just stayed there and waited till the prices went down for Uber before going to the airport. Yes the hotel is a bit outdated but for one night it is fine. Very convenient and also close to many restaurants.

I'm staying there tomorrow night so I can let you know!

Hello: We are sailing this Sunday and I cannot locate this answer: Are personal steam inhalers like this allowed? My husband has sinus issues and this helps with dryness. It's not quite a humidifier so wasn't sure. Thanks! https://www.cvs.com/shop/cvs-health-steam-inhaler-prodid-521031

Thank you for the info. Been thinking about them for a couple months but had some personal issues and time escaped me. My parents went to a NCL cruise a couple months ago and booked an excursion on board (but I guess it was because someone cancelled as you said). But in any event, we just decided to make it easy (especially since we are traveling with a young child) and do something more land-based like Medano beach.

That looks amazing! We can bring snacks onboard, right...they just have to be sealed? (still don't understand why you can't bring sealed water bottles but I guess it is so you purchase their water bottles...which we did).

No one knew the answer to this on the Mexico forum since it's NCL specific: Does anyone know if NCL provides towels that we can take off the ship to use at Medano Beach? Thanks

Hello: Last minute decision to do this instead of a boat tour (husband says, "we just got off a ship, why get on another one!?"🤪) for our Cabo stop this coming Tuesday. Our young son has never been to a beach so decided to go to Medano. My question--I believe they have beach chairs, umbrellas etc. for rent; does anyone know how much that would be? I'm not sure if NCL will let us bring towels down (and not sure I want to carry any) but if not, are towels available to rent? Any good casual and reasonably priced eateries right on the sand? I've been to the Office years ago but was wondering if there were other recommended places as well? Thanks!

Wow, very organized! We're on the same cruise...we have 3 US outlets in each room, right? (plus a USB next to each side of the bed)? Wondering if I should bring extra...

We purchased the package for our cruise next week on the Bliss. When I did the math, it was almost 3 drinks to break even but depends on what kind of drinks you like (the lattes, Frappuccino's etc. cost more than an Americano for example...like close to $6 or more). If you search the forum, someone had posted a recent sample menu.