GORDONCHICK

On 4/16/2024 at 12:07 PM, KeithJenner said:

120 days out (slightly longer if you are booked in a club suite or higher or higher latitudes status) you will be able to reserve restaurants on the website or the app.

How many days out for latitudes status?

Stanley Park and the aquarium is plenty to keep you busy before the cruise, IMO.

We used the HOHO bus for 2 days and it was great for getting us all around the city.  it helped us cover a lot of ground in a shorter amount of time.  Stanley Park is beautiful, and we loved the aquarium.  We went to so many places and saw so much in 2 days.

On 4/5/2024 at 5:51 PM, bonvoyagie said:

I have seen in the past where people who organize the meet and greets are given VIP status by the cruiseline. This allowed them to have similar privileges as suite guests such as lunch in Cagney's and breakfast in Modernaro.

But that doesn't/didn't show on your booking.

On 4/6/2024 at 10:00 PM, dobiemom said:

If I remember correctly, this also happened last year? The first cruise or 2 did not have Port Valet. 

I hope this is the case as we are hoping to use the service in September.

On 4/5/2024 at 2:19 PM, TashaB said:

I think your arrival time in Victoria on the 17th is 7:30pm according to the Victoria Harbour Authority website and also the NCL website.  I would imagine that this is a package exclusive to NCL especially since the Sun is the only ship docking that day.  It's possible it will be served in the lobby where the afternoon high tea is served.  However it could also be in one of their event rooms.  

 

Regrettably, since your arrival time is so late most,  if not all,  of the traditional places for tea are closed.  If you really want to enjoy the Empress why not taxi or take a pedicab from the pier?  Enjoy a drink or even possibly a pot of tea in the Q Bar which has a wonderful view of the Inner Harbour.

 

BTW...it is walkable from the dock to the hotel.  Around 30 minutes if you follow the waterfront.

 

 

As far as I can see, The Empress doesn't serve high tea, which is in the evening and has savory pieces as well as the sweets (an evening meal, tea style, and at a table instead of off a coffee table).  I'm good with either experience but I want it to be the full experience - especially for the price.  I brew my own tea all the time, so it's not really about just the tea part.  If the full tea experience isn't available, then I'll just go find a beaver tail, call it good and head back to the ship.

On 4/5/2024 at 3:59 PM, lepidoptera said:

I am on the Sun in July. I was researching it as well. I think it is a different menu. Looking at the things they said could be available none are on the tea menu. I found pics of “tea to go” which includes iced tea on their website, I’m afraid it might be something closer to that than the full tea experience. 

This is what I thought as well and why I cam to ask specifically on the NCL board.

On 4/7/2024 at 6:03 PM, bonvoyagie said:

in reading the NCL description of the tour it flat out says iced teas and savory treats that are very different from the afternoon tea offerings.

Yes, this is what concerns me.

12 minutes ago, littlegit said:

I can phone the Empress for you if you have a date and specific questions.

That would be very helpful.  We will be on the Norwegian Sun and in Victoria on 9/17.  Thanks for your help.

25 minutes ago, julig22 said:

If you read what is written on what people assume is a voucher, you won't find anywhere that it says to include it. Just instructions to put your latitude level on the bag and slip.

Poor layout on the card, since it is below the vouchers needed for latitudes meals. But not a voucher.

It said to attach it.  But we already knew that we could write "platinum" on our ticket.

2 minutes ago, julig22 said:

There is no voucher to begin with. What you get is a non-coupon with instructions to write your latitude status on the bag. 2 bags on a 10 day cruise might be pushing it, but it's up to the CruiseNext folks.

We had a voucher in September.

Just now, Pitzel said:

Could you contact the hotel and ask them directly? There should be someone on the staff who is familiar with what they offer as a group "excursion" and how that does or does not differ from their typical tea offering.

I might end up doing that but I would have preferred to get a personal observation.

1 minute ago, littlegit said:

The Fairmont Empress does have a lovely afternoon tea. https://www.fairmont.com/empress-victoria/dining/tea-at-the-empress/  It is only about 4 km to the Empress so it would be an inexpensive cab ride. If the Empress charges $95CAD that is about $70USD.

Yes, that's the info I got from the port board.  What I'm asking is what is the tea experience from the NCL excursion.  They normally only have afternoon tea until 4pm.  The ship doesn't dock until 6:30.  So do they open for tea on ship days or is this just for cruise passengers on an excursion and how does the food differ from the regular afternoon tea?

5 minutes ago, n4w said:

I just completed my first cruise with platinum benefits and did not use the laundry voucher (7-day, Caribbean, no deviation).  Does anyone know if I would I be able to use the saved coupon on my next cruise (10-day, European, 2-day deviation prior) in addition to the fresh one I'll receive upon boarding?

No, it's a use it or lose it coupon.

I am looking for information on specifically NCL excursion in Victoria BC for tea at the Fairmont Empress.  Many on the port board talked about the experience from not being on an exursion.  I'm trying to find out what the experience is on the excursion.  Is it a skimpy tea or a full tea experience?  The excursion info says iced tea, so I would like to know if it's been altered in other ways from their regular afternoon tea experience.  The excursion is in the evening - after the Empress offers afternoon tea.  Can anyone who has done this excursion through NCL post their experience please?

37 minutes ago, martincath said:

A whole buck less! 😉 My concern with a mid-September date is that this might actually be a 'just for the cruiseline' excursion, with who knows what compromises made to the menu to drive down the value even further... I just checked, because it's been a while, and they have jacked the price up yet again (now CAD$95!) and changed reservation system to SevenRooms from OpenTable - right now, resos only go until 4pm on the September dates I checked so you might want to enquire as to precisely what's included on this excursion and compare it with the detailed list of the included nibbles, types of tea etc. for the regular 'good but pricey' version... which not that long ago had a blatant Summer Tourist Tax added (prices in June-Sep were 50% higher than rest of the year when I first moved out to the west coast ~13 years ago - now they just keep the tourist tax on year round, while other Fairmonts have near identical menus for about two-thirds the price).

Yes, that's why the question - this isn't the standard tea that they do.  But I do know people who came into the Empress on their own and had tea there while in town on their cruise (also in the evening) so I don't think it's ONLY for cruise passengers, but primarily.  And if they can make some extra bucks off some walk ins, I'm sure they're all for it.

And the irony to me for the name of high tea is that it's for the working class who don't have the opportunity to have afternoon tea except on days they aren't working.  High tea = working class.  But I wouldn't mind the beefed upvariety myself.

5 hours ago, Ileneilene123 said:

OK, OP here — I’m back w/ an update, a twist and another question. Here goes:

 

First of all, thank you all for your helpful responses. It’s been a journey. Initially we booked our group of 10 onto the HAL Koningsdam for 2025. Then, some of us got cold feet about the cost. We are now down to 2 couples. 

 

For just the four of us, this summer 2024 is actually better than waiting until 2025. Unfortunately, we decided this too late for the Koningsdam — our “must do” excursions, including Tracy Arm, are sold out for our potential 2024 dates. 

 

The next best option for 2024 is the Zaandam. It has the dates that we need, the ports that we want, it’s truly inside passage the entire way, and all of our dream excursions are available. No, the Zaandam was not our first choice (older, with fewer bells and whistles) but we are going for it and now we are excited!

 

So, I’d appreciate a little more help from those familiar with the Zaandam. I’m trying to pick cabins on Zaandam now: Any advice on selecting a Vista cabin on the Zaandam?
 

Specifically, we are looking at Deck 6 (Verandah) Vista balcony staterooms. Midship, maybe port side above the Explorations Cafe? Around A 6188, A 6190. But open to suggestions. 
 

We really want a quiet location. Above, Deck 7 is all cabins — so that’s good. Below, Deck 5 is the Upper Promenade Deck — but we are hoping it wouldn’t be loud right above the Explorations Cafe? There are some Vista cabins on Deck 7 but they are below the Lido, which someone reported was loud.

 

Anyone notice any issues with weird noises on Deck 6 — creaking, vibration? One reviewer said their balcony was creaking loudly enough to keep them awake. Has anyone experienced this on Zaandam? Thx again for your continued help. 

Personally, I pick cabins that are between floors with cabins - above and below.  If you have that option, I would go that route.  I realize it's late in picking cabins and that you're lucky there are verandahs left at all.  But if you only have that option, definitely cabins above you.

9 hours ago, Coral said:

I had a huge inside cabin on the Oosterdam also! I agree - it was the nicest inside cabin on any ship I have had. I later had a balcony on that ship and it was probably 1/2 the size. The inside wasn't an accessible cabin - it was like a deluxe cabin or something. It was nice. Corner couch, etc...

That's how ours was.  Our son slept on that corner couch that made up into a nice bed.  It was his first time to not be in a pullman!

2 hours ago, martincath said:

To the best of my knowledge it's the same experience regardless of the time of day - and cruise seasons for the prior 5+ years have seen OpenTable bookings available until 9pm, at least until Canadian Summer ends on Labour Day! This is very likely going to save you some money, as the cruiselines jack up the laready outrageous CAD$90pp to cover a shuttle bus into town which you could either walk in about 20min or pay $10 for a cab full of people to do instead.

 

Honestly less money does buy better elsewhere - but if you only have a PVSA compliance evening stop none of the better value tearooms have followed the Fairmont down the path of evil that is Afternoon Tea In The Evening! At least book it directly yourself though and cab or walk it, US$100 = $130ish Canadian, so you could hire a cab both ways yourself, tip the cabbie 100% of the fare, and still break even!

The excursion price is only $99pp (USD) so it's actually a little less with a few other things thrown in.  I've never had afternoon tea, though I was hoping for high tea since it is in the evening.  And they said they would be serving iced tea, which I found odd but wondering if catering to Americans is why?  My stop would be med-September so I think hot tea would be more welcomed - at least by me!  I was wanting to make sure that the experience being given was the whole tea thing instead of a skimpy version for the cruise line excursion.

4 hours ago, BuckeyeMark said:

Please post details on how you managed the DIY - did you use a guide, book your own hotels (which one), who you used to go rafting, etc. This sounds very hopeful and we'd like to try do the same thing. Any and all info on that would be much appreciated!

I just researched and found places we wanted to go and grouped them together by the areas to figure out where to stay and how long.  We stayed at one of the Princess lodges for 4 nights.  I know we stayed at a B&B on the outskirts of Anchorage, too.  Denalirafting.com is who we rafted through.  I scoured tripadvisor for things to see and do, and used them for lodging on some except the Princess lodge.  There's tons of info on tripadvisor.  We found great restaurants there too.

We usually do whale watching with Harv & Marv's in Juneau.  Sometimes the driver will make a quick stop at the Mendenhall lookout, but it's not a long stop.

Just MPO, but with those ages, I wouldn't do a HAL cruise.  I did one in my late 40s and swore to not do another one until I was in my 80s.  I refered to it as the COP cruise - Crabby Old People.  Besides being run over by scooters, wheel chairs and walkers, there was an abundance of rude, entitled behavior.  But the icing on the cake was all the old people cutting in front of my 10yo for ice cream more than once.  For some people, the fact that HAL ships tend to shut down between 9-10pm, if you're looking for nightlife, HAL isn't it.

The ships are nice, the food is good as is the service.  We had the nicest inside cabin we'd ever had on that ship (Oosterdam).  But we clearly didn't fit into that demographic.

I think Princess would be a better choice.

We did 9 days post cruise on our own and it was very easy and much less expensive.  We had several favorite things we did/visited.  One of my faves was white water rafting around Denali.

In Skagway, we either booked the Yukon experience with Chilkoot Tours (up on the train, back on motorcoach).  We also rented a car one time instead of doing the train.  You will need to take your passports if going into Canada.  We like Harv & Marv's for whale watching in Juneau, and if there's time, the driver will sometimes swing by Mendenhall for a quick stop.  Ketchikan, we've done the Duck Tour or walked to Saxman for the totem poles.  Ketchikan is the best place to buy a rain jacket, IMO.  Victoria is kind of a toss up.  Not there for long, and it's usually late and not much open.  You can walk around the wharf.  This year, I plan on having tea at the Fairmont Empress to try that out.

That seems a little too ambitious.  But I'm all in for the beaver tails!