DarkJedi

The Captain will make an announcement on the PA, at night you will get a time change notice telling you what to set your clocks to.

That is the extent of it.

"Infants with diapers, pull-ups, or swimmers are not permitted in the hot tubs and pools." - Epic dailies.

The kids aqua park isn't part of the pools or hot tubs. Basically just a big splash area with a bunch of critters to crawl over.

Which port in Tokyo?

And Haneda is probably closer to both, but you will still be doing train rides, so consider cost more than location.

You are incorrect, no NCL ship has a splash zone or kid pool area that allows swim diapers. These must meet other design criteria, which are difficult and costly to implement if not done at new build.

Epic has the kid's aqua park. That is definitely targeted at toddlers in swim diapers age.

Jewel has not done a southbound from Seward to Vancouver yet.

Just finished the repositioning cruise last Saturday, and a custom 10 day currently.

That's scary if it happens all of the time!! We are suppose to go 6/9. Hope they get everything fixed by then!!

When you see it you will understand how it happens all the time. The train is right on the side of the cliff, any slide is going to close the tracks until cleared. But I would expect that they are used to this and how to clear it.

Have not done this but was in the last car of the train when they stopped to pick up the Packer Expedition group.

The guides were very nice and professional and included those of us already in the car in all discussions, a big bonus IMHO. The people who did the hike seemed to really enjoy it and they had an older Chinese woman with them who they had to help on the hike, so I would say it can't be too hard. She thanked them for helping her up the climb and on the hike.

That is hard to say.

For us we hiked out and then hiked across the glacier, it was an incredible experience to us.

We did see the big canoes come up and beach, they took their groups in a very controlled walk around the area of the ice caves. You DO get to walk on the glacier and take some pretty cool pictures.

In Japan's bigger cities, only young children and teens wear shorts.

It is common practice for Japanese people to shine their shoes every time before they leave their homes.

 

Unfortunately the American "grunge look" is gaining popularity with the lower Japanese social classes.

Ummm, I've got pictures of adults from April/May wearing shorts in Kyoto. While I am sure some of those that look Japanese may not be, I doubt all are.

Does anyone know if i would be able to do the ice cave tour 7:15am -12:45pm then get to my ship for a tracy arm fjord cruise that starts at 1:30pm. I privet booked the ice cave with liquidalaskatour and have the tracy arm fjord booked through the Norwegian Bliss.

Just came back, caves are completely collapsed, rock is now showing.

Going to say it depends on your age. We were there during Golden Week and saw a variety of styles of clothing from miniskirts to full dress up.

Just did a quick review of some pics and did see people walking around in shorts at Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto. So I suppose most are going to be similar.

Good evening all

 

First day as a member

First ever cruise in a couple of weeks

First post

First questions

 

I've read a lot of reports (on various websites) about the on-board efforts by NCL staff to lighten your wallet during your cruise.

 

I just wanted to know what it is that costs, any traps to avoid and how best to prevent a hefty bill at the end of the cruise.

 

Thanks in advance

Just took a 21 day cruise on the NCL Jewel.

Pre-paid service charges.

Pre-paid for additional specialty dining.

Used the fill a bag for $19.95 laundry option twice.

Took two shore excursions, $144.00 each.

Purchased a memory card from the photo studio, $89.95.

Nothing hidden, no surprises.

Can you a luggage forwarding service to send a bag from a hotel in Tokyo to the cruise port/ship in Yokohama?

 

 

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We were not able to, they had to have someone to sign for it.

Depending on when you send it you should be able to send it to Yokohama Station though, they have an office there that does luggage storage. We were going to do that but had issues at Narita with getting them to understand that was what we wanted to do, so ended up just storing our cruise stuff at an HIS office in Shinjuku (500Y per piece per day) for the week we traveled around Japan and picked it up when we got back to Tokyo.

We traveled from Shinjuku to Yokohama with 2 sling bags, 2 backpacks, 2 carry-on sized suitcases, and 2 max size suitcases. We used a cab from the hotel to the subway station and then took a direct train from there to the station a couple blocks from Yokohama with no problems. From there we actually walked with our luggage. The only difficulty was right at the end where you have a slight incline up to the entrance to the port. But you could also take a cab from the station to the port entrance.

The trick is to know where you are and if there is a direct route. Even if the direct route is only to Yokohama Station you can switch there or take a cab from there. Although cost for cab from Yokohama Station to port would be about 2,800Y.

Can't help with that much, but a man's haircut on Jewel was $44.

I would definitely pre-book Skaguay, especially if you want the train.

We used Dyea Dave bus and train combo. 15 passenger bus up to Emerald Lake and then the train back. Best of both worlds.

If we did it again on our own we would probably rent a car, but doing the train once was well worth it.

They cancelled about half of the flights the day we were there in May.

That said, layers is the key to all of Alaska. Make certain you have something for rain as well.

We hiked out to the glacier in thermals, pants, t shirts, and light jackets, used sweatshirts and heavier jackets along with rain gear on the glacier.

Port of calls for our Alaska cruise::

1. Ketchikan: Monday July 30th, 7:00am - 3:00pm

2. Juneau: Tuesday July 31st, 7:00am - 1:30pm

3. Skagway: Wednesday August 1st, 7:00am - 5:30pm

4. Victoria: Friday August 3rd, 4:00pm - 10:00pm

We are not sure what is the best way to plan our excursions.

Initially, we considered the following as the most important for us:

* A Helicopter Glacier tour with Dog Sledding in Juneau

* White Pass Railway & Suspension Bridge in Skagway

Ketchikan, for something a bit more unique try going snorkeling. We did it and the colors of things were super bright. The wet suits were a bit of a learning curve being very thick 7mm suits, but DW and I loved it.

Juneau, with such short time there not sure what would work for you. Might want to try just the helicopter glacier tour.

Skagway, we used Dyea Dave tour with train option. Drove us up to Emerald Lake and then we took the train back from Canada. If you have never done the train it can be interesting. If you are not doing the train renting a car is probably better. The tour was nice, but stopping at the scenic overlooks can be done without it.

Victoria, no clue.

Traveling around is pretty easy, you can use Google for a lot and Hyperdia.com for specifics.

I would definitely make a list of the things you want to see/do, figure out where they all are and then do them in groups. No guide is really needed, but using one can get you some local insight.

There are tons of YouTube blogs about places and things in Tokyo, but a lot depends on when you specifically are there and what you are interested in. I made a point of going out of our way to go to the hidden shrine in Akihabara, but skipped many of the more well traveled sights. So it is up to you and your timing.

We had an unplanned overnight our first day in Japan. We were supposed to leave Yokohama at 8pm and instead left at 8pm the following day. Several people contacted the ship and checked in the day of departure. And I spoke to people who checked in as late as 11pm the originally scheduled day.

If you really want glacier time head to the other side of the lake, GPS Skater Cabin and then drive down to the end and park, this is where the boats put in. Then hike out to the glacier and you can actually touch it.

You should be able to catch a Major Marine shuttlebus from ship to office, but if not it is maybe a half mile from the farthest berth. We took the bus not knowing where the office was, and figured we waited longer for the bus than the time to walk it.

Also, right next door is a great place to eat in the Train Rec.

Those Greeks are slow builders, they started that building over 3000 years ago and they still don't have a roof on it or at lock up stage.:p

It's the economy, they just can't afford it right now.....

The only reason to go to the Bahamas is to scuba dive unless someone is paying you to do so. I agree with the dive or stay on the ship for the Bahamas.

Not a fan of the private islands, but I live in FL, so they offer me nothing I don't have at home.

Never been to Progresso.

Love Cozumel. Great diving, good snorkeling, several all inclusive beach places, good parks, and the best bar in the Caribbean - Coconuts.

Getting the cabin that I want.

If I was just going to book a guarantee I would wait until after final payment to book when the prices start to drop to fill the rooms no one wanted at full price.