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Thank you! I'll look into this option!

Okay, thanks! I'll keep watching.

My husband and I are also looking at Norwegian cruises that  go all the way up the coast in summer of 2021. Our current choices are Princess and Hurtigruten, two very different experiences. I am not seeing the NCL offering. Can you tell he how you found this and the name of that cruise?

Re: "NCL no longer places life jackets in cabin so that leaves los of extra space. I put beach towels, coffee maker and other sundry items that collect. Have fun !!"

Just got off the Breakaway. Our life jackets were stored under the bed.

I would like to make MDR reservations, but I'm not seeing the main dining room listed in my cruise planner. I only see the specialty restaurants. Can anyone offer help with this?

Yes, we did sleep with our balcony door open. However, even with it closed we could hear our neighbors talking out on their balcony. If your snoring is really that bad, sleeping on your balcony could easily annoy your neighbors .

Get the Rick Steves book on Northern European cruise ports. We followed his walking tours in many of the ports we visited. We did the canal tour first thing when we arrived, which gave us a good overview. If we'd had one more day there we might have done tbe free walking tour, as well. We only had two days.

We also stayed at Hotel Bethel. Would highly recommend it, but it can be noisy if your room faces the canal.

We were just there. No need for rubles. We could even buy from street vendors using dollars, as mentioned above. You will likely be on a tour and your guide will get you to free toilets. We tipped our guide and driver with dollars. It's a good idea to prepare your tips in advance. Your tour company will suggest how much. Don't wait until the last minute when you may not have the right amount or need to change large bills. Just be ready to hand it to them.

Book a studio cabin. Please don't annoy your neighbors by sleeping and snoring on the balcony!

Just off the Breakaway. We used public transportation to and from the boat. It worked fine for us, but we did not have huge suitcases. If you can manage your own bags, bus 25 goes right to the port. Depending upon where you are staying in Copenhagen, you will likely need to take another bus or the metro and transfer to the 25. To head back to the airport from the ship, the ticket kiosk is just across the street from the terminal. There is an information booth there. Short walk to the bus stop. You will transfer to the Metro from the end of the bus route. Ask the driver. The metro station is across the street. Look for the red M. M1 or M2 ends at the airport.

We just got off the Breakaway. We had booked our specialty restaurants and maybe two MDRs in advance. We discovered, once onboard, that we were unable to book any MDRs from the screens onboard. When we asked at the MDR check-in desks, we were told we could only reserve a 5:30 seating (if there was availability). For any other time, we should just show up (and hope they had availability). They handed out buzzers once you were on the list. We wanted the flexibility some of the evenings, but found it too hard to get into an MDR without prior reservations.

Great news! We've been wondering how this was going to be worked out. We sail next week. Thanks for the update!

Try searching "seacruise Panama canal". That should narrow it down for you.

In the summer, you may have a problem if you are checking luggage. We fly out of SEA quite often but were caught by surprise last summer by very long check-in lines. (We try to stay home in the summer because it's so beautiful here.) Several people around us missed flights. The airline employees said that was typical for summer. Light rail from downtown is easy and direct. 30 minutes. You will have a bit of a walk from the train to the terminal, but there are carts you can ride, if needed.

So happy to hear a good review of the Bethel, as we will be staying there for two nights in June. It looks like a wonderful location.