ChiefMateJRK

Me too. Higher prices and lower levels of service may not offset the uniqueness of the HI itinerary forever. I really wish that NCL would establish a longer itinerary that sails to and from the West Coast with the cursory stop in Mexico. That would likely solve a lot of the challenges.

Thanks. That said, when it works it works quite well. I paid $52 pp on my last cruise to upgrade from an inside to a balcony.

Yep. It's strange business, but Covid has made it a strange world. In return, I've just gone on record as saying that my cancellation is forth coming. I'll be on the phone in the morning. Need to free up some SW points and Hyatt points for other adventures. I've heard that New England is very nice in the fall. 😎

Generally during June (i.e. four months out). I'm not going to buy that (expensive) lottery ticket.

Actually, I've paid bare minimum for an inside a number of times and that puts a person in the best position if/when fares drop. It's cheap/easy to upgrade to a balcony for couch change. 😎

There is growing evidence that POA is a mess right now, and perhaps getting worse and not better. We cancelled our original May booking and have final payment due for a fall booking in the next several weeks. I'll likely be cancelling that upon consensus agreement with the others on the reservation. We still have bookings in 2023, 2024 and 2025. I'm reasonably confident we'll get back to "normal" at some point in the next three years. 🤥

It is clear that @mjkacmomis just screwing with us. 🤣Good one! 😎

Really?! On that balcony?

Yep. Especially while waiting for significant other to be ready to leave the room. I much prefer a nice observation lounge or other venue with ocean views.

Don't most of the new NCL ships have outside dining available at many of the specialty restaurants? Why the heck would I want to cram onto a small balcony to eat cold food when I could be waited on in fine fashion at a real dinner table with tablecloth, silverware, etc? My personal opinion is that some folks try to make more out of the balcony experience than what is reality. It's a small outside area with tolerable furniture. It's not a romantic getaway. 🤣 (disclaimer: I've only sailed in balcony rooms my last two cruises)

I think the biggest concern is when multiple parties are traveling in more than one cabin and are past final payment date. Worst case scenario is one cabin gets cancelled but the others don't. Now what?

Some go up. Some drop. Same as it ever was.

Don't send your money to @Sailing12Away!! I also have week old Platinum pins and I'll beat her price by $10 (or whatever it takes). 😎 (jk) I asked about the OBC and was assured that it would be automatically applied to my onboard account. When I last checked it the morning of disembarkation, I didn't see it. Of course, it also said they had billed my VISA which hasn't happened yet. I think I was supposed to get a paper account summary delivered to my room, but that didn't happen either. I couldn't have missed it because they told us we had to be out of our room by 9:00 and, as a matter of principle, I closed the door at 9:01. Neither DD or DW were really amused, but I was (which sometimes is all I get). We then squatted in the observation lounge until 9:30 when they announced that everybody had to get their butts off the ship. 😒

Next time just do that.

Wow. Thanks for letting us know. We were originally booked in May but punted to October. It might be time to punt again. We've had 2023 booked as a contingency since last October. Hopefully they'll get the ship staffed by then.

Thanks. That's what I remember seeing posted before. Cabins at the front of the ship near those "bridge wings."

I just assume that I'm exposed to Covid on a daily basis when traveling. I don't want notifications, contact tracing or any of that. I want a fun time. In the rare event that I become seriously ill, I also want some assurance that there is medical staff available. I just got off the Encore on Sunday and it was great not hearing about Covid for a week.

Thanks. At the end of the day, anybody who gets to cruise is a spoiled 🐀😎 It's hard to tell with NCL, but there are some truly enclosed balconies in some areas on some ships. There is a wall with a window instead of a railing, so no open air (unless the window opens). We've been told here on the forum that it is for structural reasons. I've seen photos of those and definitely want to steer clear. For now, I've just booked 15208 instead, and the confirmation doesn't include that same text regarding an enclosed balcony.

Thanks. I don't know why they would categorize those as enclosed.

I've put two balcony reservations on hold on a Joy sailing (rooms 15226 and 15228) and both invoices indicate in bold red print "This cabin has an enclosed balcony". Both are Port aft. I thought that only the forward balconies were enclosed. Is this an error? Thanks.

Not the Joy, but we just got off the Encore. Didn't need my mask from the moment I left home until we were back in Seattle. I saw one store in Juneau that had a sign requiring masks. We checked our bags at the P***** Store in Seattle on Sunday to kill some time at Pikes Market (late flight out of SeaTac). All was cool when we checked them. When we came back they had a sign requiring both full vaccination plus a mask to enter the store (I'm guessing the later shift was worked by the nervous types). They would allow a negative test in prior 48 hours in lieu of vaccination. You can't make this "stuff" up! LOL. But seriously, all seemed absolutely normal and I heard no reports of the dreaded Covid. Sure, if you test 100 folks anywhere right now, you'll get some positive results, but they weren't having burials at sea due to a full morgue.... 🤣

Unless somebody died or became seriously ill, does it really matter??

Lol!

Source?

AK cruise round trip from Seattle. Is passport card sufficient for Victoria shorex? Or, will I need the book (or neither)? Thx.