julig22

Yay - I was hoping double up was coming, thought it might. I just lost a double-up when I repriced an existing cruise onboard, so now to just put it back on!

Yes, the website recently had some issues. Correction - more issues than normal. Everytime I tried to view my edocs for my Feb cruise, it would take me to the payment page. And at one point, it said I owed for the DSC - which I did owe but wasn't planning on paying at that time. And so on. Wasn't just you, several others noted issues as well. Seems to have been fixed - or at least I haven't seen any recent posts about it.

As far as I know, every room on every ship, other than solo studios, will have a mini-fridge. Post covid, they aren't stocked with anything but water for purchase. No soda, beer, alcohol anymore.

Amen to that!! I had a layover that was very short because my previous flight was delayed - no other flights available to get me to my cruise in Italy so the airline told me to give it a try - even said they'd get me a wheelchair so I wouldn't have to run with my bags (I'm no spring chicken!) Well, of course no wheelchair or shuttle - the only one available was already being used, so I'd have to wait. I took off running and kept going and going and going - there was absolutely NO signage to let me know how far I needed to go. Got to the passport checkpoint and it wouldn't let me through so I had to interrupt someone to get me through. Made it to my gate just as my group was boarding. Not my favorite airport... PS - that was my first post-covid cruise. Now I usually fly at least a day early, lesson learned.

An electric heating pad is not allowed - might be able to smuggle it in but they also might catch it on the scanner. However, I do have some usb and/or battery operated heated clothing and hand warmers, never had an issue.

No need to smuggle - your room steward will loan you one.

Water gets pretty hot. Also consider something with a battery operated or USB heat source.

You are correct. They stopped the "reserve" option just prior to COVID. Which also means you also can't use OBC to pay for excursions if you book in advance. And as a reminder, if you book onboard you have to ask for any latitudes discounts - the $50 excursion credit is automatic (applied after you go on the excursion) but you have to let them know if you have a latitudes discount. If you use the app to book while onboard you still have to go to the excursion desk later to get your discount applied.

@njkate, @vacation44 I created a roll call for the Aug 28 Jewel.

Available on the Star starting mid-February. Start-up date varies by ship.

oops - sorry. You are correct, got my months/cruises mixed up!

I'd check on that before you do much planning. According to the website, the last train is on Aug 25, so your only train options are to go to Seward earlier or take the NCL charter. The NCL charter leaves at 1pm on 8/28 and you can use your excursion and latitudes credits. Other than the standard within-category upgrade, there hasn't been much in the way of onboard discounts or perks for quite some time. 10% in September, nothing since.

Link to my cruisetour info from 2019. I don't remember when it was actually sent out. https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/jewel_denali_valdez_southbound_2019.pdf At that time, if you were at all web-savy, you could easily substitute the name of your trip and get the appropriate pdf, not sure if that still works 🙂

Their prices will also not match because of the way they purchase tickets. They purchase in blocks and get discounts. People often complain that the "crappy" flight they got cost less than the "good" flight - but they have no way of knowing what the airline is charging NCL. Different airlines/flights, different discounts.

Do NOT count on being able to add the BOGO up to 75 days before departure. You can adjust the deviation if you already have the BOGO but adding the air promo after final payment date may be considered a change in your reservation - and there could be penalties. YMMV As to the deviation, it is based on your ARRIVAL, not when you leave. So no, you don't arrive one day before departure if you request a 2-day deviation. You will arrive sometime 2 days before, could be an overnight flight and you arrive early in the morning or it could be same day and you arrive later the same day.

I took a pre-cruise a few years ago and it was great. However, there are many variations, so read the descriptions carefully. I haven't looked at them recently but for example there used to be 2 different tours in Denali, so it depends on what you are looking for. They will send you details, not sure how far in advance. Our tour was very well planned, I know waiting is difficult but at the end of the day it's basically show up and they take care of the rest.

Contact info for each port is always in the Freestyle Daily, it's recommended that you take a picture with your phone before going ashore. Ship captain in Alaska told us that if you're ever running late, contact the ship and let them know. They'll tell you what to do, they will wait if they can. But if they don't know your situation, they'll definitely leave without you.

Recieved notice about 10 days ago that the itinerary for the Sky in September 2023 has been updated. Bar Harbor replaced by Portland, lost 1 stop in Nova Scotia as well. Itinerary on the web site does match the itinerary they sent out, changes due to "port congestion" according to the notice.

On the same cruise, booked the NCL pre-cruise excursion to Seward from Anchorage. Still trying to decide when to fly, but I'm a lot closer, so probably 1 day at most for me. Per NCL policy, you should only have 1 stop, so you can check what's available under those terms.

The airfare promo usually falls off at 75 days and you do have to choose a deviation by that time. However, I'm not sure that you can just add the airfare if you've already booked and are after final payment, without a penalty.

I hear you on that one. I did miss one once, totally the fault of the tour guide. She totally ignored me when I reminded her when we were supposed to return. She wanted a coffee break and proceeded to to make an unscheduled 45 minute stop, on top of already being late. But otherwise they've all worked out.

Early excursions normally meet on the ship. Excursions later in the day do not normally meet on the ship in my experience, regardless of the location. No need, there are NCL reps on the pier that form the groups, hand out bus stickers, etc. Done it many times, including Europe.

Not my experience whatsoever and I've probably taken well over 100 NCL excursions. Yes, excursions may end up in a location with others but no actual TOURS that haven't been exclusive. NCL does offer transportation and/or entrance fees to various attractions and in that case your private booking would appear to be the same.

Same here. Might be on the same train or boat if part of the excursion but never the same transportation to/from the ship.

Done it many times. For the most part, the meeting place for later excursions has been on the pier so no need to return to the ship. There should be NCL reps on the pier that will direct you.