Go2SeaTheWorld

1 minute ago, JandC_Cruising said:

We love the Encore Thermal Spa.  It's in the aft and has quite a large number of cushioned  loungers, a fair number of stone loungers and very nice views.  It has all the key features; Large therapy pool with jets, hot tub, steam room, sauna, Ice room, salt room, Men's and Women's locker rooms with showers.

Thank you! Just what I was hoping to hear/read. 

On 9/2/2024 at 10:10 AM, TGfromTX said:

Maybe this is why the others look underwhelming to me.  Honestly I can't find photos of the spa on Prima - just the 2 pools with the falls beside.  But I have found no Spa pools that compare to what I experienced on Epic.  I just didn't care for the people 'flow' on the rest of the ship. I felt like I stood in line for venues and bars more on that ship than any other I've cruised on. 

What about the Encore? in less than a month embarking on a 21 day cruise, so purchased the TS pass. Having had some back & hip issues, I knew I would get a lot of use of it.  Opinions on size, thermal pool, cold plunge, etc? This will the be 1st time ever to make use of the amenity.

On 7/29/2024 at 10:17 AM, drew69 said:

It varies port to port.  This year in Piraeus, our car pulled up, the porter came over to take the bags out of the van and saw the Haven tags.  Called someone over with a clipboard who checked our names and escorted us to a separate security line and then directly to the Haven seating area

We had that same experience Nov. '23 cruise.

1 hour ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Down on the Bow:

 

 

 

---Uncruise's SS Wilderness Legacy

 

 

 

Goodbye Glacier Bay!:

 

 

Particularly love these! Always happy to share in vicariously with fellow cruisers' incredible experiences. Blessings on you & your family for the rest of your trip.

38 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Promptly at 7:30am a Park Ranger started talking to us here in the Observation Lounge, right as the fog lifted and we started being able to see the beginning of Glacier Bay's beauty. 

 

I'm sure I'll be sharing lots of posts of GB today as we sail through so hopefully that won't be annoying to those of you following! 

 

I believe the best views will be around 9-10am local time from what they've said so far.

 

---

 

Passing Gloomy Knob on the Starboard side of the ship: 

 

Thank you for sharing. Excited to see the pics!  Our cruise on the Bliss was bound for the Hubbard Glacier, but didn't even make it halfway through the passage due to all the "chunks".

On 7/19/2024 at 10:41 AM, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

I'm sure we will be back in time to get the shuttle, but if an Uber/taxi are available (as numerous people told me there were), I'd much rather spend a few bucks for that than wait in a long line for a shuttle. 

It may be different at the time of yr you are traveling. However, we were on the Bliss last June & took one of the NCL excursions. Our bus back to Ward Cove from Ketchican was STILL 15 min. after last call to board. But, of course, our guide made sure they were aware we were stuck in CRAZY traffic. There is basically only one way in and out of downtown. After we boarded the bus following the Lumberjack show with plenty of time to make boarding, we had to sit there almost 20 min. waiting for cars to move out of the way so the buses could start moving. When it comes to Ketchican transportation & traffic, I wouldn't make any assumptions. It is a wonderful cruise experience, though. ENJOY!

On 7/20/2024 at 3:13 PM, karenna00 said:

Hello!

Can anyone on subsequent cruises from the incident where the family was left behind in Ketchikan provide some insight on how things are going now? Have any changes been made by NCL or the tour operator?

We are scheduled to go on an NCL tour excursion that also includes the Lumberjack show in a few weeks and are traveling with kids and seniors- one with mobility challenges that uses a walker/wheelchair while in port. The description of the chaos after the lumberjack show is worrisome. We definitely don't want to be left behind!! 

Does anyone have any tips on how to navigate the NCL excursion tour buses after the show?

Thanks!

I was thankful I had booked the NCL excursion for the Totem Park & Lumberjack show in '23. It was a madhouse downtown. We had assurances from our tour guide she would maintain contact with the Bliss & let them know of all delays in getting out after the show. Traffic was horrific & we were 15 min. late on final call back to ship for all excursions, but our guide assured us the ship was being held. It was. So that's my advice, if wanting to tour/see the show, in Ketchikan, it's worth it to book with NCL.

1 minute ago, havoc315 said:

Just curious: assuming the itinerary was the same, why would you pick the Haven over the smaller luxury lines?

 

I haven’t had trouble finding the same itineraries, though often with fewer choices for departure dates. 

We have already, in 4 cruises, become Platinum Latitude members, have had 2 of the cruises discounted 10% & are pretty familiar with how things go. For us, it's more of a comfort due to familiarity & a hubs who lives by the adage "Why change?"

1st: Our expectations for the Haven was simply to have more room to spread out, a bit more comfort since we both have back & hip issues. We could both do our stretching & PT exercises without being on top of one another. Other than that, we weren't really sure how much different it would be from our cruises on the Star & Pride of America. On those ships we had a mini suite with balcony & and an aft-facing suite (no haven). But so far, our Haven stays have far exceeded expectations, such as they were. I apologize in advance for my lengthy post, but it said share your Haven experience & thoughts. So 🤷🏼‍♀️...

Our 3rd cruise, 1st in Haven, was on the Bliss Alaska cruise exactly 1 yr ago. Though there was a Butler with the suite on the POA, we spent most of our time off the ship & needed very little. Had it not been for Sthrngary's help posts we wouldn't have any idea of the types of things to request in the Haven staterooms. Mostly it was simply to have the pitchers of iced water 2X a day & the types of Nespresso coffee pods we preferred. We're easy. Our Butler (sorry, I have become awful at remembering names) would make suggestions on a daily basis, which were always perfect. We knew he was covering at least 8 other rooms, but he still made us feel like we were in his special care.

We LOVED the Observation Lounge, the food offerings & the coffee machine. Best cappuccino I had on the ship.  It was a wonderful place to read, relax after excursions, most of which were rainy & very chilly throughout the cruise. I concur that the Bliss Haven Bar was 'boring'. Very few people hung out there that week. On our cruise, there were a lot of large groups & family travel parties that occupied all the seating in the bars across the ship which was a bit disheartening, since it made it more challenging to interact with other passengers. But still thoroughly enjoyed the ship & the "ship within a ship" experience.

However, our Nov.'23 11 day on Epic out of Athens to Rome (originally scheduled for Haifa, but itinerary was reworked when the war broke out) was an entirely different Haven experience, in the best way. We immediately connected with a couple as we were waiting in the Lounge for the dining room to open for lunch upon boarding. Though there were a few small family groups in the Haven (we were sailing over Thanksgiving),the rest of the Haven "residents" composed of couples. The Lounge was lively every evening & we formed some great travel friendships. The staff was much more engaged with the passengers & while remaining professional, seemed to have a lot of fun with us! The rest of the ship was very crowded & again, most entertainment & drinking venues were filled. So it was great to have the fun crowd in the Haven Lounge this time. It was also nice to not have to book tickets for the theater in the evenings, with the escort by the Concierge as they did on the Bliss, too.

 Most meals were in the Haven dining room (did get a bit repetitive) with only real negative note being very fatty, tasteless prime rib for hubs on the 9th evening.  We used our 2 FAS specialty dinners, but also ate in Manhattan DR 2 evenings after having had a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner there.  A CC member had asked prior to cruise who would be interested in sharing Thanksgiving meal together and there were 10 of us. 3 of our fellow diners were from the UK & had a lot of questions about holiday traditions & regional cuisine for the rest of us. 

THIS kind of happening is why hubs & I really enjoy cruising & why I love having found this CC forum as a conduit to make such interactions possible. 

Our stewards, butlers & concierge staffs (and that still feels weird just saying Our staff) have been exceptional both times. We were both raised in middle class (at the time) households so such luxury was awkward at 1st. Not anymore, though. 😉 Fortunately, in retirement, we are comfortable enough to be able to continue to book the Haven for as long as we still enjoy it.  Our 3rd time(only 4th cruise ever) is coming up in October on the Encore, a 21

day Seattle to Miami Panama Canal trip. Cannot wait.

36 minutes ago, dexddd said:

What type of internet forums are you on exactly?

Started years ago on AOL with a Troy Aikman Fans chatroom which led to meeting some really wonderful people at Cowboys games. When kids were in high school, logged on to both state football & marching band message boards & again, made some excellent friends & contacts. After our son entered college I found an affiliated sports blog & message board for the fans of that U. & quickly connected with a lot of amazing people. That led to tailgates, trips to bowl games & even national basketball championship with them. Once that site was closed down, we all found each other again on Twitter & have a special group set up, much like this site. It's pretty special to have the chance to establish real friendships with people across the country you would have never otherwise encountered, if not for forums like this.

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Oh schmoopie....we're going to be so close to y'all! We'll be leaving New Orleans for a 7 day cruise on February 2nd, heading to the Western Caribbean. 

 

I'd love to see Dubrovnik. Are you going on a land-based vacation or cruise? Nothing's posted for 2026 yet. We could do a Med cruise. A few private shore excursions between members could be a strong possibility!  

Croatia was our last stop on our very 1st cruise in 2017. We just spent time in the Old City, but it was incredible.I had no idea Dubrovnik was that beautiful. We did the "Game of Thrones" excursion when it was in it's heyday & it was outstanding. Our guide was a young school teacher, native of Dubrovnik.  Lunched at a cafe overlooking one of the coves "sandwiched" by the city wall & even on a very hot day in July, the breeze coming off the water coupled with the view, excellent food and surrounded by history made for a perfect ending, or so we thought. Once back to Venice, our Sun.am flight home was cancelled due to a flight staff shortage & no others available until Tues. AA had to provide hotel/meals for over 50 of us. Ended up at a Doubletree outside of Venice, very comfortable. Then, we found transport to the closest train station to take some of us into Treviso on Monday. What a treat that was! all on American Airlines😉 Oh & we actually made money on the reimbursement for our flight due to the EU traveler protections. Memorable trip for sure!

On 6/21/2024 at 1:31 AM, sailingships said:

The right age for that cruise but the music? What about Chicago etc?

Chicago did have it's 1st hit album prior to '73, so they would qualify. As would The Supremes, The Fifth Dimension, The Jackson 5, Frankie Valli, The Rolling Stones, Led Zepplin, Yes & many many more! Oh, and completely agree with the poster that "70 is the new 50" & the Swiftie poster, as well. I'm actually a 35 yr old in the body of 67 yr. old.

And we would certainly be interested in such a CC cruise. I'm not at the 70 milestone yet, but will be celebrating hubs attaining it on the Pride of America in Jan. '25. No other cruises set beyond that date. He also thinks I am eternally weird for enjoying "internet forum friendships", but he's at least open to meeting folks once on board.

On 4/29/2024 at 10:21 AM, Cruiser4955 said:

Thank you!  I'm a bit claustrophobic so as much as I read/hear that the solarium decks are nice, I think I'd like the open air.  Any thoughts if I'm looking for open air... go to the sides of deck 17 then? or is the extra space note above in 17001 that much better? 🙂

 

We were in 2 BR 17026 last Nov. for 11 night cruise of Mediterranean. We were SO pleased with it. Our balcony was very nice & it's located very close to staircase going down to 16 for restaurant/lounge. We also enjoyed the small lounge area on 17 overlooking the pool/spa area on 16 on sea days. Quiet place to read.

13 hours ago, david_sobe said:

The last Haven cruise I took in 2020, the luggage tags were gold but not plastic.

The color or priority word on them don't mean anything.  All the luggage is boarded together and in the order they are dropped off.  Each piece receives the same priority no matter what deck you are on.  I have stayed in Haven and balcony cabins.  I have never found that luggage arrives faster in the Haven.

Our "sticky" luggage tags sent to us a couple of weeks before cruise were white, but printed in colors. For one cruise it was purple, the other was goldish-brown. With each of our cruises to Alaska on Bliss & 11 day Mediterranean on Epic, our luggage was taken as we reached the Terminal Haven entrance sign, then sent on to the check in at Haven area to wait for the Concierge staff. Each time our bags were in our room before 5pm departure. Maybe we were lucky? 

On 1/15/2024 at 11:55 AM, graphicguy said:

On 1/15/2024 at 11:55 AM, graphicguy said:

Sailed with this group in Nov 19-Dec 1 '23, Our favorite cruise so far!!

5 minutes ago, nordicacres said:

What a lovely thread! We are taking our first cruise to Alaska in June, and are very much looking forward to it. I have come to realize that we aren’t as picky as many, ha!

We cruised Alaska 2023 last week of June into July on the Bliss. It was an incredible experience. So beautiful. The people at each port were so warm, friendly and anxious to share everything that is special about Alaska. Hope you have as much fun as we did. 

34 minutes ago, Alatraveler1 said:

Can't wait for our upcoming cruise on the Epic!  We loved the location and quick bites at O'Sheehan's and the show at Teppanyaki and drinks on the balcony.  Bowling, yes bowling on the mini-lanes and the amazing crew!  Love the Waterfront of other ships, but the activities and crew made up for it.  Dreaming of hopefully trying Haven on the Epic someday.

 

We were on the Epic on 11 day cruise Nov-Dec '23 in Haven. It was our 2nd Haven experience and it was fantastic! It might have just been the group of cruisers we were with at the time, but we met and socialized with so many friendly & interesting people. The staff was warm, friendly and were real pros at helping to promote a "family" feeling. Of course, it is on you to reach out, too, and engage with those around you, but I would sail on the Epic Haven again in a heartbeat.

Never mind. I must have had some weird filter on the NCL search that didn't show the Jan. '25 dates.

On the NCL website, there are no cruises listed in '25 prior to June. Upon a google search for Hawaii cruises, cruise.com has 2 listed. Has anyone used that service to book for NCL cruise? As a Latitudes member do you still get the points credited/perks if not booked through NCL?  Hubs is wanting to celebrate a landmark Jan. birthday next year with the Hawaii cruise & didn't really want to wait till June or July. Thanks for any info you can share.

There isn't a Haven on the POA. We had the Aft-facing Penthouse Suite with the Butler & we were still able to place pre-excursion room service early breakfast orders that I thought tasted better than what we had when we went to Cagney's later in the morning.  Granted, I realize kitchen staff probably has a considerable turnover, much as restaurants on land do, but my husband & I both felt that paying the extra (since we did have it) was worth it.  It always boils down to what is most important to the traveler.

Both our Butler & Cabin Steward were excellent. They were always accessible and accommodating for anything we asked or needed of them. 

We were in a Bliss penthouse for the Alaska cruise in late June. Our 1st Haven experience was incredible. Though I never saw a sauna on the sundeck, we never ventured into the Posh area to see what was "behind the door". There is a sizable hot tub elevated above the enclosed Haven pool area which would be another way to warm up after a day of chilling in Alaska. The layout of the Haven, from the huge, 2 story forward observation deck transitioning into the pool area & moving directly into the bar/lounge was perfect for us. I believe there are thermal spa Suites in the Haven that would give you the sauna access without having to purchase the extra package.

They are only offering future cruise credits to all non-Israel residents/citizens. All NCL booked excursions will be credited back to original method of purchase, ie. credit card, if choosing to cancel cruise.

1 hour ago, sjane39 said:

1 hour ago, IAcruising said:

 

Isn't that like saying "I'll never do a b2b because we'd be in Miami twice"?

But this isn’t a b2b, so I really don’t want to be in that port twice on one cruise.  I can’t imagine 4,000 passengers, not being upset,  having to redo their flight to Athens.  That’s just how I, and my traveling companions, feel.   We are not happy campers - well, cruisers.  

Just curious, not being snarky, but what large cruise port alternative to Haifa could there be available that would be a better alternative to fly into and embark from that wouldn't be repeating one of the ports of call on the Epic's itinerary for 11/20-12/1?  

If Piraeus is indeed the departure port on the 20th, then think there may be a lot of passengers who will be flying in just in time to board in Piraeus and won't have any time for sight seeing prior to embarkation. Not to mention all the excursions already purchased for the full day in Athens. That would also be one less day to try to substitute yet another port by maintaining the 27th as scheduled.