laudergayle

Haha…that’s exactly why I started pulling my card. I embarrassed myself having to go to GS to review our account and get a new card…lol. Thanks for your help.

Lol…but they do heat the pools on an Alaskan cruise. Not hot tub temp…but swimable if you can stand the arctic blast upon exiting. on a side note…on another thread you had told me to check with CAS as our $100 per cruise might offer a discount of perhaps 10%. We’ll I did call…the CSR was kind and didn’t laugh. Between me and DH we had a measly $15 play. Little did I know that our room card needed to stay in the machine. makes sense. I was loading $$$ then cashing out and getting my card back so I didn’t forget my card in the machine. Do I need to keep my card in the machine even if I am funding it through a voucher?

Lol…I just assumed you were sailing NCL. We did Bliss last year and we were not impressed with the port times, especially Ketchikan and Victoria. We were not impressed with Alaska based on this itinerary. In May we are going to do the jewel Vancouver to Seward and then the train to Anchorage. Based on reviews we believe this is a better agenda to experience Alaska. Out of curiosity, what is your objection to the smaller ships?

We have booked an OA where we selected our cabin on the Jewel mid-May ‘24. We want to upgrade to a BA. Right now Balcony cabins are Guarantee Only. Will this mean that if we upgrade now, we wouldn’t be able to select our cabin?

Lol. Ok. @graphicguy in just a few days YOU can report all about taxes, VAT, etc. as you begin/enjoy/indulge on your EPIC TA cruise. We’re watching 😃

My guess…VAT, whether in Spain, Italy, France, for drinks consumed onboard a cruise ship is not new. What’s new is NCL passing this tax/cost onto the cruiser. For NCL it’s a Win/win. NCL pays less and if you don’t fancy paying the tax…you drink less. Short-sighted IMO as this is not how you retain guests. Unless, of course, other cruise lines follow suite.

We are cruising 5/13-20 NCL Jewel Vancouver to Seward. I have read that each cruise line charters a certain number of cars on the Alaska Railway train on disembarkation day. I couldn’t find any opportunity to purchase this on NCL…so I called the excursion desk. I was told it wouldn’t be available until 50 days out. So for any NCL folks wondering…there is your answer. And I believe you can use your excursion credit.

I second what @karatemom2 says about the excursion to get closer to the Dawes glacier. We chose that excursion in May last year…but it was canceled due to ice. Never did get to even see the glacier. Late summer should be perfect. Enjoy!

Just didn’t want you to get onboard expecting more. Wishing you an amazing cruise. ☺️

Another idea. Do you have the NCL credit card yet? If not, get the card ad 25000 bonus. Book a OA csbin, pay for it with your card and get 3x points. You will have enough points (30,000) to upgrade to a BA balcony. FWIW…I am claustrophobic, and while I don’t really use the balcony, I need to know I can open the door snd get fresh air when I need it.

I looked at the deck plans, and I don’t see a Starbucks on the Jewel. I do see a coffee shop in the atrium. Does the coffee shop serve frozen and iced coffee drinks? Would these be included in the Premium+ drink package?

@Coral

Ok…now I know we were meant to take this cruise. I have been watching airfare, doing mock bookings. I have tried every combination…using companion ticket to SEA then multi city SEA to YVR then ANC to ATL, one ways, miles, dollars, etc. all the combos I have tried have been around $1300 plus 92k miles for two. Today I tried a multi city, same day ticket, ATL to SEA then SEA to YVR…I was SHOCKED to find the flight was $350 pp. Booked. And, Delta ticketed as a one way ATL to YVR with SEA layover (which BTW was $850 pp if booked the way Delta ticketed it). The return from Anchorage to Atlanta was 29K each, total of 58k. End result…two tickets Atlanta yo Vancouver and Anchorage to Atlanta for $700 and 58,000 miles. Yay me☺️…again.

I agree…I like the Latitudes perks…hope they don’t start to skimp on them. Great job finding a deal. Your cruise sounds amazing…but that flight time…ouch. On a 12-day I think you only get $100 OBC.

Win, win!

I feel quite powerful…any cruise you want me to negotiate pricing for you? 🤣

Awesome…thanks. I don’t know how to clear the cache 🤷‍♀️

Where do you find the 2025 itineraries? I don’t see anything online yet.

It really was a pleasant surprise to find this price drop…and for the date and cabin category we had been watching…it was meant to be (lol). And, final payment is not until Jan. 15. It is the 5/13 Jewel. We did the Bliss in May 2022 which has short times in port…that and we saw most of Alaska from our cabin due to Norovirus.

Since the OP is booked already on Bliss (by way of someone else) I was really just speaking how Bliss was a beautiful ship. I agree with both you and @Coral that NCL itineraries are subpar to Princess and HAL. @Coral since we didn’t get to see Dawes, do you think the closeup excursion is not worth the cost (IIRC is was about $289 pp)?

The sister ship to Bliss goes to Glacier Bay in June… and that ship is Encore. If that is important to you, you could probably switch with no penalty..cost may differ. If not, you will still enjoy Bliss. If you can swing the excursion from Juneau to get close to Dawes Glacier…do it. It is somewhat confusing…when we went the excursion time was like 2 pm, when the ship was only in Juneau till 1:30 pm. That’s because they pick you up at the dock in Juneau, cruise the glacier, then deliver you back to the ship several hours later while it is anchored to see the glacier from a distance. Hope that makes sense. Enjoy. BTW, Bliss is a beautiful ship and far exceeds the amenities you will find on Princess. Food, especially the specialty restaurants, are excellent.

Is this the one you’re looking at? https://www.ncl.com/cruises/7-day-alaska-round-trip-seattle-dawes-glacier-juneau-and-ketchikan-BLISS7SEASITJNUICYKTNVICSEA?destinations=4294949410&sailMonths=4294949347&numberOfGuests=4294949461&sortBy=featured&autoPopulate=f&from=resultpage&itineraryCode=BLISS7SEASITJNUICYKTNVICSEA

What time of day were you able yo get into Glacier Bay? I’ve read elsewhere it was like 6 am.

We walked out to Mendenhall Glacier, but you don’t really get a great view. Other than that we didn’t see any. We had booked the NCL excursion in Juneau where you take a smaller boat yo get close up to Dawes Glacier, but that was also cancelled due to ice.

We will be doing this route in mid-May next year. Where inside the Jewel were good viewing spots? Did you get to go on the bow of the boat for glacier bay? Where would suggest for that day? glad you had a spectacular cruise.