newcruisers04

We have Bearpaw Transportation booked and we will be stopping at WCC and also Alyeska Mountain for the tram ride up and having lunch. They have been excellent to answer emails promptly and create the transfer with the stops we would like to see and adding time for others.

Looking at options for our cruise transfer from Whittier to Anchorage in May. Originally we wanted to take the train just because none of us have ridden a train, but it doesn't leave until afternoon. It appears the only thing to do while waiting would be a cruise of PWS and we are not sure we want to do another small boat cruise (have one in Juneau).

 

The big bus website say they are the only ones with a bathroom but I read on here that they don't actually let people use it. That can't be right, can it?

 

We definitely want to see the Wildlife Conservation Center and will be renting a car in Anchorage to drive up to Denali for a few days. Would it be better to take a direct transfer and then drive back down to the WCC, or is it "worth it" to stop during the transfer? I know the cost is the same but I worry that there will be 1000 people there at the same time getting off buses and shuttles and we won't really get to see the animals for the crowds.

 

If you have taken the train, big bus, small shuttle, or stopped on a transfer at the WCC please let us know what your experience was.

I would also love to have some inside info on contact people at MSC. Website and both myself and my TA trying to get things sorted out has been complete waste of time so far. Not sure how to obtain this info from you short of posting on open forum my email address...suggestions?

thanks in advance

******* OOOOPS..just saw your email address post

Hi Rick,

 

Oh yes MSC has GREAT problems, but great ships.. I had more than a few HUGE problems with them, but always got resolved. However usually with great pressure. I have personal contact info on many people form MSC from top to down to reservation. If you want the right people to talk to contact me..

do you know if most cruise ships have a shuttle taking passengers into the Tourist Info center?

thanks

We always like to DIY in ports so we have the freedom to do whatever, whenever. Especially in ports like Tallin, so easy to do it on your own. Just walking distance from the port to old town.

thanks! I do not see the fall of 2019 for MSC cruises posted as yet. I love the March crossing from Miami to Genoa with the overnight stays, but still on the fence about booking. Is there a "perk" for booking a future MSC cruise while being on one , ie..doing Caribbean this winter and booking the TA for March 2019?

From what I can infer, the Seaside should be your better choice compared to the Divina. Besides being newer, it is specifically built to cruise the Caribbean and should be more Americanized than the Divina. Depending on your point of view, this could be a good or bad thing, but I feel it would make the transition to a European line easier.

EDIT...a subsequent post states you're looking at a 20 day crossing, so I guess that eliminates the Seaside. You could do the Meraviglia though in the fall of 2019 when she comes over. 😀

 

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I am just trying to dispel several apparently one sided comments from folks that had previously cruised MSC...."too much fish for dinners and too many smokers". Glad to see things have changed, and I am sure everyone has different opinions. We love cruising in inside cabins for the quiet and darkness for sound sleep, providing I select the correct cabin..hahaha..and not under a theatre or lounge.

thanks for your input. The itinerary we are looking at has several ports in the 20 day crossing, and not too many sea days which we prefer.

Cruise ships seem to be changing menus and smoking rules all the time. I think 2019 is a bit to far out for any accurate advice now.

I do hope you are able to opt for a Yacht Club cabin, especially for an anniversary trip. It is about the whole experience, not just the cabin.

thanks, I guess I was just confused reading that they honored status on other cruise lines and would place you in the equal category for perks on MSC, but thanks for your answer

Um, no. They are completely different cruise lines. Of course, I should amend that to say if you have a good internet package you should be MAY be able to book MSC while onboard NCL ;p

Do you happen to know if we can book MSC cruises while onboard NCL?

thanks

This sounds like me about 3 weeks ago. I booked Seaside for Apr. 28. I looked at everything--my invoice, enhancements for the cruise. Then, I searched for a replacement for my NCL fjord cruise. Bingo! The ONLY line that was truly competitive. We had a stop at Kirkwall on NCL and were looking forward to it as the British isles are on our bucket list. We found that the Meraviglia sailed the British isles immediately following the fjord cruise. We cancelled Seaside then booked 21 days on Meraviglia for LESS than our 9 days on Jade.

I do love NCL. We're looking forward to our third TA in Nov (our 6th cruise on Epic). However, next year's TA jumped quite a bit in price. We jumped on the MSC offerings, and I know we will love our cruises (flights and hotels have been booked!)

 

 

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thanks for the review! If I may ask a couple questions...were there a lot of fish dishes for dinner? Is there a lot of smokers on board this cruise line? We are looking for options for anniversary celebration in 2019.

thanks so much, Lori

The ship really embraces the sea! We've cruised the other mega ships and have felt like we were at a resort instead of on the water. You never forget you're at sea on the Divina!

For Sitka and a relatively inexpensive day, we went to Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor center.. we caught a bus from the city centre where the ship's coach drops ppl. off...very good day!

http://www.fortressofthebear.org/

https://alaskaraptor.org/contact-us/

Hi guys, will be goin to Alaska in May, an am wonderin the same thing. My roommate on this cruise, has been to Alaska several times, an at the moment, she's says she's just gonna wander around the ports. Its a 9 day cruise on the Radiance, with 6 ports, the 3 ports are the usual ones, Icy Strait, Haines & Sitka are the others. For me, Icy strait & Haines have been to once, an have never been to Sitka.

 

Virginia

Is that the same as the Capital One World Elite thru Mastercard? If so read the fineprint very carefully...especially the part about number of days total out of the country...ours says 22 days and I ended up in the hospital on day 26 with a bill of $12,000. Have not heard final decision on whether M/C is covering the bill

Just a heads up!

We used to buy travel insurance but last year we upgraded our MasterCard to World Elite and it covers us for everything ! Well worth the annual $150 .

 

 

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thanks! We were in Barcelona a few years back leaving on the Carnival Magic and folks went out into the duty free shop and brought liquor bottles back on board, hidden somewhere, since they were not taken..I imagine cruiselines are getting much more conscious of this practice. We may take a cple. bottles of wine to drink in the cabin, but not in the dining venues...thanks again

You can bring WINE on board and pay the $15 corkage fee for each bottle. Spirits are not allowed, if you want a bar set up in your cabin you need to purchase one prior to sailing from the Bon Voyage department.

Yes to all. It's a small shop, but it's there yes. Right at the escalator. But liquor can be taken in by ship's security when you need to pass security on board and won't be given back until the last night. Bottles of wines are subject to a corkage fee and are allowed to be brought everywhere, the ship will even store them for you and retrieve them for you to any venue.

at the port in Barcelona, is there a duty free store just before you board the Epic? Are you allowed to go back out once you are checked into the Epic to tour a bit and visit the duty free? Is liquor allowed to be purchased and brought back on board after your are checked in?

thanks

can we buy spa passes just for sea days, or is it best to get it for the whole 10 days? Guess I will pack us each one bathing suit...there are hot tubs outside the spa correct, that we dont have to pay to use?

I will not be using the slides this time that is for sure....just had surgery to try and repair damage to my knee from a fall on Allure in Nov. 2014...yeh that long ago...isn't our health system amazing???

:D Mine is the same. Our pool at home has to be heated to 85 with the day time temp closer to 90 from solar heat for him to get in lol and he certainly would not be getting in the pools on the Epic either.

 

They are heated...just not to those temps, mostly to take the "edge" off.

 

On our Alaskan cruise a few years ago the temps were similar. There were max 6 ever in the pool. It was heated enough that I was ok with it he got in every now and then to appease me lol ..but I swim in lakes rivers and the Atlantic Ocean so I am used to not having everything overly heated.

 

I may dip in once in a while...but mostly my friend who I am traveling with this time and I plan to use the slides and the spa.

thanks!!! guess I will go and check the deck plan and see where the hot tubs are, and I, tho being a hardy Canadian, will not be going in any pool when the outdoor weather is normally under 70 degrees this time of year..:p....might have to find info on the spa pass as well..DH doesnt "do" pools unless they are like 95 degrees!

thanks again

p.s......is the spa area likely to be packed and not enough loungers for all folks?

Hi there, I am on the epic out of Barcelona on the 24th jan also, I did a similar itinerary last january, I found the hot tubs were very popular, but the pools were only for the very brave xx:) I have booked the spa:D

We are on the 11 day west med next week. No covered pool on NCL ships....unless you get a spa pass then there is the thalssotherapy pool.

 

Many people find it too cold, but folks who are used to colder climates will be found in the pool and using the slides...like us hardy Canadians :D and enjoying them not being so crowded ;)

 

We also have spa passes for the days it is just a wee bit too cool even for us

I am just looking for clarification on whether the pool is covered or not? Wondering if the weather end of Jan. sailing from Barcelona will be nice enough to enjoy the pool..any ideas? I have searched the average temps for most of the ports and am thinking an outdoor pool is not going to be warm enough.

thanks

are there any cruisers on this Jan. 24/16 Epic cruise that have gone out of Barcelona previously? I do not remember what time we boarded or were allowed to when we went on CCL Magic in 2011...this itinerary says cruise leaves at 7 p.m.....anyone give me a time frame for boarding? As well, we get back to Barcelona the itinerary says at 5 a.m., so any time frame that is typical for disembarking? We are flying in the day before and staying one day afterwards, so I am trying to line up airport to hotel shuttles and then hotel to port etc.

thanks so much for any assistance

Lori

thanks for an amazing and very detailed journal of your adventure with your daughter. I am in the beginning stages of planning an Alaskan adventure with my daughter and grand daughter, who will be 10 at the time, in the summer of 2016. One subject that I did not notice you touch on....mosquitoes !!! Did you happen to have any issues with them or any other bugs either on the cruise, or inland on the land tour?

thanks so much

lots of information...now we need to decide what exactly we want to do while in that port. I appreciate your feedback and photos

Hi there!

It was me (Cheryl), my husband, and our son. I think he was 8 at the time. It's a husband and wife team that own the Russian motorcycles with sidecars. We had our son in one sidecar....and me in the other. My husband rode on the back behind the man driver.....however, it's not like he was hugging the driver....there was a handle in between them for him to hold onto. They said we could take turns riding in the sidecar, but my husband let me ride in it and he stayed on the back.

 

Goodness, I can't remember exactly how long it was. They picked us up in the morning and our tour was done by lunchtime because we had them drop us off at the Historic Properties sign on the Boardwalk. We wanted to have lunch at Salty's. Plus there was a neat glass shop and a pewter shop right there that we wanted to check out. (After we ate and shopped, we just walked the boardwalk back to the ship).

 

As far as the tour, it had various stops. We stopped at a bakery for a piece of pie. We stopped at a maple products store that I really enjoyed. Loved tasting the maple butter. Lots of things maple there. We stopped at a local author's home which was okay, but it wasn't my favorite stop. Then we visited Peggy's Cove light house and gift shop. That was the highlight of the tour.

 

While we were motoring around, our helmets that they supplied had microphones and speakers so we could hear them tell us about what we were seeing all along the way. (We premeasured our heads so they would know which helmets to bring).

 

They took local roads and took their time. They did not get on the interstate where a higher speed would be required. We felt very safe.

 

I cannot remember how much it was. I think it was probably a per person fee. You could always email her. I think I emailed her with questions prior to us booking. We all agreed that was our favorite excursion of the entire week!

 

If you want to see pictures from the tour, here's a link to our photo book....this tour begins on page 69. Also there's photos from our other excursions for the week. We love the Canada/New England itinerary. Hope the link works.

 

https://cherylhtravelpics.shutterfly.com/pictures/192

 

Does that help?

 

Have fun!!!

Hello...Can I ask you a question about the sidecar tour? Did you and your other travel partner (not sure if DH or DW), both ride in sidecars with separate drivers? How long was your day with this tour...it sounds exactly like what we want to do...the website does not indicate whether there is an extra charge for two bikes and side cars....thanks so much

When you say mobility is limited, do you just mean she can't walk too far? Could she ride in a sidecar? In Halifax, we did the Bluenose Sidecar Tour and it was our favorite tour of the whole week. We rode around Halifax like royalty. We had a few stops along the way. One stop was at a maple products store. We tasted maple butter, and picked up a few things. We had a stop at a local bakery for pie. We had a stop at a local author's home. And the final stop was at Peggy's Cove lighthouse. We had them drop us off at the boardwalk so we could have lunch at Salty's and we shopped at the glass and pewter stores and we walked the boardwalk back to the ship.

 

The motorcycles didn't go real fast and they stayed on local roads. It's a nice married couple that operates them. They had us measure our heads with a tape measure ahead of time and they brought along helmets. I would do that tour again in a heartbeat.

Yes, I did book a no deposit/cancel for free up to date of checkin/breakfast included room for the 3 nights we would be there prior to the cruise.

Thanks for all the info and links regarding transportation into the city...sounds very do-able. I am even considering the Newark to New York Penn station option the morning of the cruise, only expecting to take a large rolling suitcase and perhaps one carryon each.

thanks again

Did you book a cancellable room? Even if you didn't the price is still good.

 

When I stayed there, the hotel shuttle was scheduled to leave on the hour and half hour. I took a 9 am shuttle and was at Newark Penn Station by 9:10. My destination was Cape Liberty, so I took PATH to Exchange Place where I transferred to the light rail to Bayonne. Door to door with a rest stop in NPS and a relaxed pace, it took me 1 hr 5 minutes.

 

The New Jersey Transit site can give you all the train times and schedules from Newark Penn Station to New York Penn Station -

http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=TrainTo Train time is scheduled at 21 minutes. $5/pp each way

 

If you're going to lower Manhattan (911 Memorial, Statue of Liberty, Wall St, etc), PATH will take you to the World Trade Center in 22 minutes - http://www.panynj.gov/path/maps-schedules.html - $2.75. It is possible to go to Herald Square and Greenwich Village by taking PATH to Journal Square and transferring across the track to the 33rd St train. This is a more time consuming trip than taking the train direct to New York Penn Station.

 

Look at the maps carefully. it is possible to do a big loop through NYC via train, NY subway and PATH.

 

Sunday is the easiest traffic morning in NYC. I don't think you will have any problems getting to the ship.

 

You will have more interesting dining options in Newark than at the airport. The Robert Treat itself is a full service hotel. I did not use their restaurant. Someone recommended Nico's which is about a block from the hotel. A quick cab ride will take you to one of the many interesting Spanish or Portuguese restaurants in the Ironbound District

Great reply! I went ahead and booked the Robert Treat thru booking.com and will keep an eye on groupon.com later in June for deals...too early right now for a Sept. stay.

Can You please give me an idea on the time frame required for using the train from Newark Penn to NY Penn station during the week? Is the traffic typically crazy on a Sunday morning coming into the city from Newark for taking train and a cab.to the port..any guess on time frame "typically" that I should plan for?

We are not from Detroit...an hour or so north east in Ontario, but closest airport for us. Time to get down to planning and printing some directions.

thanks again

No shuttles to the New York cruise port.

 

The advantage of staying in Newark instead of the airport is the easier and less expensive transportation to NYC. You can take the train for $5 to New York Penn Station or PATH to the World Trade Center in downtown New York for $2.75. This means that you can easily do a big circle trip to Manhattan. From NewYork Penn Station you can walk to Times Square to access Hoho buses.

 

You're from Detroit, so unlike many folks you have probably experienced a "highly urban area". Downtown Newark has experienced a huge revitalization, but IMO you don't want to wander around by foot on the streets at night. However the hotel location is very comfortable and you do have easy access by cab to the Spanish and Portuguese restaurants in the Ironbound district.

 

To get to the NY port you would take the hotel shuttle to Newark Penn Station, NJTransit to New York Penn Station, and cab to the Cruiseport. This would cost you about $25.

We are also on the Sept. 20 Splendor and starting to search hotels etc. I forgot to print your suggestions on getting into Manhattan via shuttles..was it from Newark Penn Station to New York Penn and then is it possible to walk to various sight seeing or even locate a HOHO bus tour for around the City? Does the Robert Treat have shuttle to the Manhattan cruise port? * wishful thinking I am sure* We are likely going to fly from Detroit to Newark on Sept. 17 depending on what I figure out we want to see!

You have been a wealth of information...thanks so much!

Lori

My suggestion for a non flea bag budget hotel would be found on aa.com - Ramada Plaza for about $100 per night tax included.

 

If you're staying two nights and want to go in and out of NYC, look at the Robert Treat in Newark, also on aa.com. This has an airport shuttle and shuttle to Newark Penn Station for a $5 train fare to NYC instead of $12.50 from the airport. I have stayed at both properties, most recently at the Robert Treat. Even though the hotel is in downtown Newark, I really liked the hotel and felt very comfortable there as a solo female traveler. Shuttle was very goid as was the free breakfast. IMO much easier to get to NYC with luggage.

Thank you! My place of employment maintained those strips on any area floors/stiars that conceivably could be cause for a slip due to wetness.

Anti-skid strips seem like a great idea, especially on outdoor stairs.

No the cone would not have prevented the slip and fall, I was already exercising extreme caution. I was only looking for the cones AFTER security came and asked the employee where they were, as I laid on the step waiting for medical personnel to arrive. Common sense did tell me that the decks were still wet in places, hence the walking cautiously, holding onto the railing and looking down at the steps. The cones are not there to prevent accidents, but to generally alert you to the conditions present that COULD cause an accident. Suing was never an issue....that is typically not the first thought in a Canadians head when an accident occurs. I am merely suggesting an acknowledgement of lack of due diligence on RCCL's part ..if the staff had time to mop all the seats for the guests, why not the floors and steps?

So do you think your sliding down the stairs would have been prevented by a warning cone? Or did you slip because you were so busy looking for those warning cones?

 

I´m sorry you were injured, but come on use common sense, wet decks are slippery and a missing warning cone doesn´t make them any less slippery. You can watch your step without them just fine.

 

Let´s face it those warning cones are not really needed for the safety of People, but more to prevent someone from being sued. I alway shake my head seeing those cones on an obvious wet deck / floor.

the rain had ceased several hours before...so mopping could easily have been done before guests arrived for the Aqua show..the seats were all dried off

If it's been raining outside, I would expect that the deck will be wet. Lack of warning cones shouldn't mean that the deck ISN'T wet when you know it's been RAINING and the deck is outdoors...in the rain. And mopping an open deck in rainy conditions is just an exercise in futility. :confused: