Calicoskies1234

I’d appreciate any opinions on this in-process itinerary. First time to AK for our group of 6 60yr olds. Juneau 230-11pm Whale Quest plus Orca Point Lodge w/dinner included (5.5hr) resv thru NCL, operated by Allen Marine or Jayleens Alaska small group whale tour (4hr) After both tours we would like to explore Juneau on foot to shop/snack and have dinner if we do Jayleens. Skagway 7am-815pm Chilkoot Charters (booked direct not with NCL) 730am Train up Bus back (4hr) After tour we would explore Skagway on foot shop/lunch Ketchikan via Ward Cove 7am-115pm This port is causing me stress, it’s a short stop and we are at Ward Cove. We would really like to do Totem Bight SP or Saxman Park. Not sure of timing and transportation. I understand Saxman is very near to Ward Cove so that makes good sense. We also want to walk the town and Creek St, grab a snack. Not sure what time will be like after Saxman, I would need to grab the ship shuttle to town, 20-30min. Then allow for shuttle time back. Is it better to skip Saxman and just enjoy the town?

Covid is just like a cold or flu or Norovirus risk that could possibly affect you on vacation. 12 out of my group of 19 on the Breakaway have Covid from early Feb sailing. That’s the new normal. Only way to prevent a respiratory virus would be a hazmat suit and oxygen mask 24/7.

Does anyone know if I sign up for the NCL Totem Bight SP excursion if they pick us up at Ward Cove or do we still need to shuttle to Ketchikan to meet the tour?

I have some questions regarding our port times and excursions. We port in Juneau from 230-11pm. We want to do the Whale Quest and Orca Point Lodge +salmon dinner (at lodge.) I’m not seeing available times listed for this excursion yet. It would be doable to do this excursion straight from disEM, correct? This tour is operated by Allen Marine Tours but their website asks that we book via NCL. It runs about 5 hours. Then, upon finishing that tour are there suggestions for something else to do in Juneau after? Or should we just return to ship? Not sure what stays open in Juneau on a Tuesday evening. I’m guessing it will be 8pm-ish after that tour. Our next port is Skagway 7am-815pm. We plan to do a train + bus tour with Chilkoot Charters. Please give advice if we should do the train up and bus down or vice versa? Also, should we do this tour right from disEM or later in the afternoon? We’d like some time to shop and explore in town as well as fit in a meal. I am thinking to do the tour early then find lunch in town after? Our Ketchikan port is short, 7am-115pm and I understand Ward Cove is a 30min-ish shuttle to/from town. This leaves us barely 4 hrs. Is there a short but worthwhile excursion here or are we best off just shopping, walking town and grabbing lunch? I’ve read about the Ketchikan Ducks, the Trolley tour, Totem Bight SP, Lumberjack show. Last port is Victoria BC 8pm-12am. Not sure what we can do with this odd late port time.

My #1 fave was Rye and Rum Sour at Maltings. I also enjoyed Mango Meltdown, Mr Worldwide, Grass Clippings, Mudslide.

TwoWheels, any thoughts on Encore cabin 12310? We found limited info, but I think the balcony is 84sf. I don’t really mind where the bed orients. I hope it’s a great cabin, we went over budget for it but YOLO. Can’t move now because two couples traveling with us booked inside cabins right across the hall. Sail away party on our balcony hopefully!

We used the messaging 9.95 add-on. Worked well for. Msg alerts came thru to my Apple Watch. I could also message any iPhone user with airplane mode on, not using my Wi-Fi min. We also used sticky notes on doors. And we established meeting places. Most of my group gathered in Maltings between 4-5pm to catch up on our days and head to dinner. My inner circle and I had a few areas where we knew the others like to be on Deck 8 Waterfront near Starbucks.

Thank you all for help! I will start researching on the Alaska forum too. We did switch to the Encore because of its itinerary. We chose an aft cabin deck 12 and booked today. I had cruise-next credits from last cruise and it’s a double-up so I used 2.

We had 11-1130 time, it was busy but seemed to move along well. I had zero issues with either EM or DisEM.

Thanks so much for all this info. I will reconsider the Encore. So many factors to research.

Just off the Breakaway Feb 12. We were a group of 19. So far 8 of us have covid today. There was so much coughing, sneezing on the ship but also in the airports/planes that I knew I was going to get some flavor of virus. I’ve had OG Pfizer then one booster. No boosters since. I had all other vax tho, flu and Shingles. Just decided no more mRNA shots. I think my headache and slight sore throat began Feb 11, last cruise day. Didn’t have obvious symptoms till yest. Today I feel pretty yucky, but not the worst. I’ve been knocked harder by flu. I’m hoping I turn the corner another 1-2 days. My sore throat has almost lost my voice. Some fatigue and only a bit of congestion. Mostly it’s sore throat with a little bit of cough and headaches/earaches.

We were on this sailing as a group of 19, cabins spread all over, ages 25-70+. We had great weather. The last night the ship was really rocking badly. I didn’t get sick but felt that sway after 2 days back on land! I loved my studio cabin, I was a solo traveler this trip but had adjoining door to my sis-in-law which was fun and cozy. The Studio lounge was probably best place for coffee besides Starbucks. Ship coffee in general was undrinkable, even in specialty restaurants. My cabin was really clean, bed slept great. The Studio private halls were pretty quiet. Others in my group also pleased with their cabins, spread all over the ship. I found the ship for the most part to be very clean, hard working staff always busy cleaning areas. We loved Teppanyaki, great food and the Chef was goofy but warm and fun. The Wasabi cocktail very good, shrimp was great! Cagneys was the big hit with my group. Lots of raves. Don’t miss that 7 layer mousse cake, mmmmm. Le Bistro was hit or miss. Some dishes really yum, and some meh. But omg, the desserts. I had the chocolate hotdog looking thing and ate every bite, soooo dang good. We almost never enjoyed meals in buffet. Its a huge amount of choices and food looks good but hardly anything tastes very good. By the time we sat every item on plates were cold. My best play was to build a mini charcuterie for myself and skip hot foods. Then enjoy the scooped ice cream for dessert. Some of the buffet desserts were good. I liked the small portions, you could try two. The vast amount of food is there, but imo lack of quality ruined the buffet. Some manager should be aware of the massive tonnage of food waste and start investigating. We did ok in the MDR, Taste and Savor. We tried to do these most meals and skip buffet. We kinda learned that meals tasted best if you got there early in service. We also started ordering 2 apps/desserts and in doing so we usually ended up with one good one. Manhattan Room again meals were hit or miss. Setting was nice though. Setting pretty nice in T and S too, we almost always got window tables. To sum up: we all were mostly disappointed in foods but we all found a few things that worked. Our meal service was always a slow event, between 90 min to 2 hr +. We had to leave without dessert twice to make our show times. O’sheehans was awful, we never went back. Really bad, imo. My group loved the shows. Six, Burn the Floor, Rumours all excellent. We liked the Dueling Piano guys, some in my group complained they were too silly. I found them fun and engaging and the 2 nights I popped in for 2hr+ I really enjoyed, good crowd interaction. We never got into Syd Normans sadly. We had to line up one hour early to get seats for Rumours, it was worth it. Syd’s and Headliners venues too small for such a large ship, imo. I didn’t see any comedians myself so no comment. Six was our fave, great cast and funny script. Good beats and good dancing. Burn The Floor also excellent. Some in group did Bamboozled tabletop game and had fun. The Atrium festivities were very hit or miss. Trivia too tough to be fun, some things were just not fun. The musical bits were the best. I liked the duo that played oldies and had ppl up dancing. Pianist Andy was ok too. My fave bar was Maltings, both for the comfy seating and menu. My fave drink on ship was the Rye and Rum sour. My group were big fans of the old fashioneds. Lots of afternoons at 4pm my group would convene there for drinks to catch up on day’s happenings. It was our “spot” and Thugget Harshit the bar waiter was fantastic! He knew all of our names and fave drinks by Day 2. Shakers was ok for music but we never had a good cocktail there. The Atrium Bar had good menu, I loved the Mr Worldwide, like jazzy strawberry pop. We are an older group and didn’t venture into the bars for the younger ages. I myself love a good spot to sit, read, sip, chat and look at the waters. Deck 8, the Waterfront is that space. I only wish they’d invest in some good comfy patio seating! All seat cushions were very tired, and chairs were oversized so that you would never be comfy. I’d go when it wasn’t crowded and steal cushions from other seats to make one mostly good seat. Of course I put cushions back when others arrived. Lounge chairs were plentiful everywhere. I’m not a pool person, didn’t enjoy the atmosphere. I like quieter spots. I also have lower back issues that make loungers not comfy for me. Wish there were some other nice seating options. I did Vibe and not really pleased. Most days were incredibly windy, couldn’t put umbrellas up for shade. If your hat was not tied to your head it wasn’t staying on. Only seating is the low loungers and bar stools. The staff was really kind. I just didn’t use it much because it was too windy and not any good seating for me. It was a waste of money. We’d pop in grab a drink and leave. This was my first cruise. We didn’t choose the ship or itinerary. My sis-in-law didn’t want to do excursions so we just shopped the ports. Others in my group had great adventures with excursions. I think their faves were snorkeling in Cozumel and horseback ride/zip-lining/sloths and monkeys, I think in Roatan. All the ports had beautiful coastlines. I’m not a fan of the flea market style shopping and I bore quickly with 30 leather shops, 30 silver shops and 30 teeshirt /souvenir shops. I did like Moho Chocolate on Roatan. For Seinfeld fans, I like to stop at the Duty free shop. Sing it like George and Kramer. Mostly because it’s usually neat, spacious and AC, lol. I did buy perfume but once on ship I saw the price was the same as Belk and Macy, oh well I didn’t pay tax! My first cruise had ups and downs but more ups than downs. I lost 3# from lack of tasty foods and lots of walking. I only had the 150 min Wi-Fi but it was plenty. I could text any iPhones on mainland without using my minutes which was great. I typed daily emails then logged one 5-10 min to send/rec and read some news. I have such appreciation for all the 100s of hardworking crew members, they work so hard and always greet you happily. The staff were one of the highlights. I can’t wait to book my next one! No pics because I’m not good at posting them and others have posted so many great ones.

I’m just back from the Breakaway. 2 of us did Vibe and were very disappointed. Most days incredibly windy, so no umbrella shade, and one day no lounge pads. The wind was so strong you needed to hold on to all belongings and only hats that tied to your head were safe. I feel like it could have been great space but maybe on a lower deck. Also, loungers are only option for seating other than barstools. Not everyone’s back can appreciate a lounger 12” off the ground. I would have loved a few table-chair setups. The staff there were wonderful but we just didn’t find the space useable or comfortable. We’d pop in for drinks and leave.

I’m planning a group cruise to Alaska. I have decided on the Bliss in July 2024. I like the Bliss for the Beatles Cavern experience, as well that she’s being refurbed 2023 and hopefully feel like new in 2024. There are 3 itineraries and I’m hoping someone can give me guidance on which to choose. We will be a group of 10-20 mostly 50+. None of us have been to Alaska and this is a dream trip for all of us. I recently completed my first cruise on the Breakaway (trip report in the works) and I still feel like a newbie. We want to do excursions of course but a few in the group have some mobility issues and won’t be able to do strenuous hikes and such. I’m looking for the best itinerary for natural beauty and great ports that will have a blend of excursions for all levels of fitness. I know that my husband and I will be booking a large balcony room, we want upper floor, I think more bow than aft, but we don’t know which side: port or starboard. I did search the forum but it pulls up all kinds of threads not necessarily helpful for my research. I appreciate any and all help, thanks! This forum has been an invaluable resource as well totally fun to read. Itinerary #1 Seattle Juneau Skagway Ketchikan Victoria BC Seattle Itinerary #2 Seattle Sitka Juneau Icy Strait Ketchikan Ward Cove Victoria BC Itineray #3 Seattle Ketchikan Ward Cove Juneau Icy Strait Victoria BC Seattle

I had no idea so many people eat in the middle of the night! I eat dinner, dessert and that’s it till breakfast. There should be some grab and go options set up for folks that eat late.

I am trying to buy a water pkg in the app and it won’t let me add to cart. I’m about 30 days out, any idea why? I’ve done other purchases in the app with no issues.