Monica887

I didn't make a reservation. Partially because I was nervous about renting a car, and timing. But timing was fine and there really wasn't a way to get lost along the way. We did it on the way back, so we would know our time frame better and how long we could spend. There was no large bus tour or anything when we got there to make me feel like I needed a reservation. This was in the summer of 22, so of course YMMV. The venue was super low key.

Mozzarella sticks at the American Diner. No? Too soon?

Shh. I'm not that old.

Now I'm dreaming of mozz sticks. Did NCL used to have a restaurant called Blue something (blue lagoon?) that had munchie type food late at night? Can't remember if it was NCL or RCL that I used to go to at midnight on the last night with my cousins. That and spinach artichoke dip that wasn't bland and watery like Osheahans. Ever since then mozz sticks have been missing from my cruise ship life.

Nooooo!!! I was reading this thread thinking "meh. But I'll stop by at least once during a trip for mozz sticks!" Ugh. I'm a vegetarian and it's my go to greasy vacation food.

If there's no entertainment or event it would work. It definitely quiet I'm looking for...

Sometimes I need to escape the family too!

Sitting here dreaming of my next cruise, even though it's not until summer. My last cruise was Haven and this one won't be. My favorite thing was to sit at the indoor Haven pool at night. It was quiet and mostly empty, and I could bring a book and snacks and sit in peace. Is there a particular lounge or other indoor space that it mostly empty and QUIET at night, specifically on the Encore? I'm considering a Vibe pass but that doesn't help me at night, and I'm considering the Spa but I don't know how much I would use it.

Thank you for this. Last time I was there we rented a car and drove to Emerald lake and back, making some of the stops you mention here. This time we are thinking about just taking the train - seems like the bus part already covers what we have done. Do you know how far up the bus went? For others, I highly recommend renting a car if you're up for it. The car rental place that I found on the Alaska forum made it easy. We even pre ordered sandwiches with them so that we didn't have to worry about finding something on the way - we just picked a pretty place to picnic. There were 5 of us including one little one so going at our own pace was important, and it was way cheaper than the excursion would have been for 5 people. The drive was easy, and I'm a nervous Nellie about taking non ship excursions that aren't super close to the pier.

Does anyone find that Vibe or Spa adds to the viewing experience at all? I have a regular balcony room on the Encore.

Well the rest of my group didn't want aft, so, moot point. Sigh. Alaska seemed like the right place to try it. Now I need to decide if I want vibe or spa or if a plain old balcony will be enough.

The more I dig, I've found some of the perks. I don't care (much) about a better bathroom. And we are platinum and sapphire so that covers laundry and tender boarding. Anything important that I'm missing?

Looking at an aft balcony in the Encore. Only "downside" I can think of is that it's far from the observation lounge. Does anyone NOT like an aft? Why?

What is a club balcony suite? I usually get a regular balcony.

For Alaska, the ports matter more. I went last summer on a different popular cruise line (based on dates and prices) and I don't remember the ship at all, just the scenery. When I do Caribbean, I want the nicer ship (or Haven now if I can get a deal) becuase all the ports don't stand out to me much anymore. A Caribbean cruise for me is now more about relaxing than sightseeing. I booked Alaska for next summer and if I can get the Haven to work out, great, if not, it's Alaska and I'm happy to be there on my regular old balcony.

Our CAS representative seems to think we can get a good BF deal. We're considering an upgrade category and she thinks she can get us a better price on it then. No idea....I generally agree that all the sales are all 6 of one half a dozen of the other. But we'll take her advice and wait until then to decide if we're making a change.

Only time I ever watched tv on a cruise was when I had Covid and was trapped in my room. The selection was poor. But it makes sense that there aren't many options, and it would probably cost the cruise line $$$ to run more content. I don't need that cost passed along to me.

What is worth doing at 8pm in Victoria? There are some city tour excursions, but is there anything open that we can explore on our own?

This past August on the Escape it was American Diner.

When I started cruising as an older teen I remember it being more all inclusive. My parents said they would pay for excursions and I should bring my own money for drinks and room service tips, and that was all we would have to pay for. Now as a parent I miss that vibe a little. I hate saying constantly to my kids "no, it costs money" 100 times a day. I'm fine with saying no to my kids, but there are SO many add ons that I'm saying no constantly. We do a few add ons here and there, of course, but with some many of them we really pick and choose. When I go without the kids, I don't mind it much at all. I ignore most of the extra fee stuff and don't drink much, and leave with a very low bill. So, as I think I've said on other threads, it's fine for new cruisers who understand what they're getting into, but frustrating for those who were used to it being a certain way and don't like change.

This is close to what we did. I struggle with the waiter part. There were so many good ones but we had different ones each day. There were a couple who seemed to look out for us extra so we just tipped them. Next time I would try to ID the good ones early on and try to request them so I can tip them individually more at the end. We don't drink much so we just tip per drink. I didn't tip the maitre d.

So the luggage broke while with NCL. Got to the dock from the airport just fine but the wheel was broken was it got to the room. We reported it to see if it could be fixed, so she could get home easily, but they just showed up with a brand new one.

Also, when we first started cruising, customer service was better overall. Little touches, special requests, problem solving Now everyone seems rushed and overwhelmed and can't be flexible or helpful in the way they used to. The concierge though is able to still provide that level of customer service

I didn't think I would use the service at all, but the concierge was good and checked in with us multiple times. He showed up at specialty restaurants to make sure we had everything we wanted, called in specific food requests, made a spa appointment that the spa was making difficult. He called us by name, knew my dietary restrictions. Got my mom a last minute spa appointment, replaced her broken luggage. Rescheduled reservations when port times changed. It was all quick and seamless, and they get reservations and time changes that are impossible last minute on the app. Yes, we would have still had a great trip without the service, but this truly elevated the experience.

I went with 8 and 11 year olds, and the 8yo was a very difficult traveler at that time. We rented a car and it was the best day of the trip. We went at our own pace. She loooved the sled dogs at Tutsi. They both loved the desert. The car rental company had lunch ready for us in a cooler in the car, so no stress about food. Drove out ot Emerald Lake, picked some points of interest from Murrays guide. Wayyyy cheaper than any excursion would have been and really a wonderful, beautiful family day. That said, I'm going back without the kids and will take the train, because I feel like I "should". I'm sure I'll enjoy the scenery, but it was invaluable for all of us to be able to stop whenever we saw something of interest.