Uff da

Again, it is dependent on your insurance, if you have it, and if you cancel for a covered reason. They don't just refund out of the kindness of their heart. We can debate this all day long, but the only one who can answer it is NCL and even they don't always tell you the right answer.

Exactly how I felt yesterday. More confused than ever. The devil is in the fine print. I see you ran across the high risk clause. I saw that too. Every vendor of these activites requires you to sign a waiver, so you aren't covered at all. I think many would be surprised at what is not covered if they actually read a policy like that.

Excursions are ticketed also. Just like Viator, if you don't cancel far enough in advance, no money back. Penalty phase...

Are you sure you are mock booking a 7 day cruise? It appears it's charging for 9 days. Our 7 day Alaska for 2024 shows $305.20 for the FAS beverage package for 2 people.

This is the NCL cancellation fee schedule. It appears to include penalties for all "add ons" which are not fully explained and I'm sure are buried in another document. I'm not convinced you get anything back if you don't have the right insurance and cancel for a covered reason. https://www.ncl.com/about/cancellation-fee-schedule Here are the conditions of their Book Safe Travel Protection plan. https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/booksafe

It depends on when you cancel and why. You can cancel any cruise for a full refund up until final payment. After that you enter "penalty phase" for cancelling and that's when insurace kicks in. You have to know what your policy does and does not cover as a reason for cancellation. Then you also have to know what the cruise line policy is. Trying to figure it all out is like a full time job! 😉

After spending much of the afternoon reading find details of travel insurance as research for an annual policy I planned to buy next year, I'm not sure insurance would have saved this family. Once they left for the trip, all "cancel for any reason" insurance went out the door. The flight delays would probably not have been covered either under the regular cancellation clause. They might have gotten a little from trip delay like the Colorado family, but that's a drop in the bucket. The "covered reason" clauses in those policies are limited. Unless someone gets really sick or dies, it's hard to cancel and get money back. Their only hope for any recovery would have been from an NCL policy that had a "cancel for a non covered reason" clause that would have given them back 75% of the cruise fare as a FCC. No taxes, fees, FAS, air, transfers or anything else, just the room cost basically. Since they were in a Haven suite, that may have been a good benefit to have. I think insurance gives people a false sense of security. Reading the fine print is eye opening. We have an annual plan for medical care and evacuations since our medical plans do not cover us overseas. I was going to upgrade us next year, but I'm not sure it's worth it. It's all kind of scammy if you read the fine print. Easy to pay for, hard to collect on. Maybe the doctor can recoup a little money from his credit card insurance.

Alaska has the highest population of bald eagles of any state, followed by Minnesota and Florida. If you don't see a bale eagle in Alaska, you aren't looking.

From what port? If you are talking about the boat tours from Seward, the main company that runs those is called Major Marine.

Juneau Lighthouse Tours does a combo whale/lighthouse tour. I just saw it yesterday on ParoDeeJay. Looked great!

I told the rep I was new to Holland and also an AARP member and she found that humorous. What she didn't do is tell me I needed to create an account and link my membership before booking the cruise. It was a pretty horrible customer service call to begin with. Imagine talking to a rep clearly working from home and constantly saying excuse me to deal with barking dogs and screaming kids and then being left on hold for an extended period because "she got to talking" when checking on something for me an forgetting I was on hold. It was not a good first impression but I'm hopeful it turns around after talking with rep #2 today. If I don't get the OBC, I'm cancelling.

To be clear, we sailed out of Panama City, not Colon. I don't know where you are starting from. We stayed at the Raddison Amador. It was nice and close to the cruise port. They provided transfers the day of the cruise.

It depends on where you are going. Domestic flights, yes. However, we each had one free bag for Panama. I think it's an airline thing moreso than NCL. We flew United there and Delta back.

It was just a general statement, it had nothing to do with you in particular. As Julig22 pointed out, many people have an opinion without experience. First hand experience is fine. The OP started off by pointing out they know all about NCL Air good and BAD. That's what prompted my comment. I know much of the bad is "well, I heard...or I would never..." It's not helpful.

I get so sick of people bagging on NCL air. We've done it 3 times in the last year with great success and zero issues, including a flight to Panama and back. If you can go with the flow it can save you a lot of money and there is nothing wrong with that. If you want to pay twice as much, fine. Do it. As for the OP's original question, we always deviate 2 days everywhere we go. We research and book our own hotels and any transportation needed. It's not hard and it's really nice to visit the embakation city prior to the cruise. We've had no issues...Orlando, Seattle, Panama with more to come. Fear not and have fun! Happy sailing!

NCL hotel rates are insane. As mentioned, it's per person, not per room. Also, if you deviate, NCL does not provide transportation. They only have it for people flying in the day of the cruise. If you deviate, it helps to find a hotel with its own airport shuttle. You also will need transportation to the pier. Some hotels provide that service too. You can book the return transportation (ship to airport) if you are leaving the same day the cruise ends. Otherwise, transportation is on you.

I think the list is wrong. I've heard elsewhere that all lines are having a hard time finding places to schedule dry docks. I'm sure the Joy is being refurbed overseas, regardless of what that list says. The person that posted it said it might not be totally accurate.

I hope people were able to go to the canal visitors center today. For me, watching the 3D movie of the making of the canal greatly enhanced my experience going through it.

If this is your big vacation and the $3500 you have budgeted is something you can afford to do, then do it! Don't cheap out or over spend based on what others spend. I think what you described is very nice and reasonable for you and your family. Have a great time!

Have you already logged in to the airlines sites and added your trips and picked your seats? That should be first. If you are in the states and flying to Seattle, you will need to pay for baggage, yes. You can do that on the app or computer. If you are flying to Canada, you may have a bag included. You will see that when you log into the airline and go to the baggage part. If you have any questions about that, call them. We had a bag each included for Panama, but not Seattle or Orlando. I don't know about bathrobes. I've never had one in a balcony cabin. They do have soap and shampoo.

Not on all ships. I was unable to use gift cards or the app on the Jewel. As was mentioned, if Starbucks is part of the Atrium Cafe, it doesn't work. However, I was able to use them on Getaway and Bliss.

We have used NCL air three times. Two domestic, one to Panama. All went off without a hitch and saved us tons of money. We always take the 2 day diversion going in just to be safe. So far, no issues. It's true you don't get to pick what time you fly. You have to be flexible. Our flights have all been early morning out (6 am or so) and last flight in (11pm to midnight). No big deal. We are retired and can go with the flow. We also live in the midwest and fly from a regional airport (12 gates) vs an international one. That means we always have a stop somewhere to change planes. No biggie. What is not true is that you don't get to pick seats and such. The minute you get your flight notification from NCL, the first thing you should do is log in to the airline to pick your seats. Our flights thus far have been on United and Delta. They do offer the option to upgrade to a higher class of seat if it's available. So far the flights have been short enough that we haven't so I can't comment on that process. We have had the occasional seat charge for a window or sitting closer to the front, but nothing major. If you are flying domestic, you have to pay if you are checking bags. That is not included. When we flew to Panama, one checked bag was included and I think that's true of all overseas flights but I don't know for sure. We have had good luck with NCL air and are using it for our next cruise too. People always spout the bad, but there are plenty of good stories too. P.S. If you check luggage, put air tags (iphone) or tiles (android) in your luggage. Peace of mind.

I'm glad she's better and out and about now. Please remind her she is never going to see these people again so it's okay to let loose and have fun. Nobody has to know! 😉

Sipping Ginger Ale helps also. Usually available at the bars.

This is exactly how I feel about Jubilee's itinerary. How disappointing. All that glam and nowhere to go.