BayAreaCruisers4

2 hours ago, Melli56566 said:

will def try since we have the drink package!!

A lot of people were ordering these all week long. We also started a trend for Irish Coffees. My wife and I ordered a couple and everyone asked, "What's that?" By the end of the cruise it seems like everyone ordered them.

The bar staff at the Atrium are the best. Super happy and professional.

2 hours ago, Melli56566 said:

were you staying at the Hilton?

No, we weren't, but friends of ours were. I'm a Hilton Honors member and checked with the hotel about leaving our bags with them for the day. They said no problem. We tipped them $15 to hold the bags.

I would have done the same at the Marriott right across from Pier 66 (I'm a Bonvoy member, too), but the Hilton ended up being our home base for the day. Our flight didn't leave till 10pm that day.

On another note, you know what? Enjoy your cruise! It’s a vacation!  Don’t sweat the small stuff*. *And it’s all small stuff. 😉 First world problems. 

We used the regular disembarkation tags, picked our time, and left the ship by 10am. Then we dropped our bags off at the Hilton for a $10 tip and spent the day touring Seattle. I would have used the Marriott across the street, but we met friends at the Hilton Seattle. 

This is it: https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/tour/yukon-rail-bus-adventure/AKSGCCBUSTRN2

Best. Excursion. Ever. 

We sailed on the SS Norway on our honeymoon, the week of August 3,1991 in the western Caribbean. 27 years later, we sailed last week on the Joy to Alaska. Had a GREAT time! I think we’re NCL customers again. 

On a side note, we weren’t credited for or first sailing because they had no record of it. 😜

Oh, another tip: Go to the Atrium bar and ask Ahmed to make you a Pistachio martini.🍸 It looks like pistachio, but it tastes like heaven. We called it the Pismashio. You’re welcome. 😜

44 minutes ago, calpal said:

Did many people get upgrades and if so how close to sailing? Thanks for the information!

We booked our cruise on short notice (booked Wednesday before leaving Saturday) so no idea about upgrades. A number of people went to guest services asking for upgrades when we asked about changing our cabin, but were told the ship was at capacity and no upgrades were available. 

BTW - short notice travel is THE BEST !!! 😀 

11 hours ago, ParrotheadKev said:

Thank you for the Daily's . They were very helpful.  We got on the Joy on Saturday.  Again Thank You  very much.

You’re welcome. Enjoy your cruise! 😀 

2 hours ago, Melli56566 said:

Thanks for the info.  We have a really late flight on the way back to the East Coast and would like to sight-see before departing the area.  I read somewhere that offer luggage valet at the pier back to the airport terminal.  Did you see any info in your stateroom regarding this/use this service?

 

Thanks

Yes, a lot of folks used this service, but we didn’t. For some reason a LOT of these folks stood in line for an hour the night before disembarking to get their luggage tags. Not sure why, since the tags were supposed to be delivered to their rooms. I don’t know why they had to go to gust services. I can think of a lot better ways to spend my last night on the cruise. 

14 hours ago, ute_fan said:

How busy was it getting off the ship for excursions?  We've got a coupe of really early ones in Juneau and Ketchikan, and I'm worried all 3800 passengers will be trying to get off at once.

 

All the ports were docked (no tenders) and we didn’t run into any crowds. I honest don’t know how they did it. We had excursions that left 30 minutes after docking and it was no problem. 

1 hour ago, Birdie And Sue said:

 

I sincerely hope you only request an ADA cabin if you actually need one.  Booking such a cabin when not an ADA passenger is despicable.

Thanks for passing judgement. We did not request this cabin (NCL assigned it to us), even though my wife has mobility issues. We offered to change cabins with guest services, but no one requested our cabin.

I don’t know for sure, but I suspect it will be a regular offering. 

BTW - If you like this information, please rate it at the top. 🙂

Dailies for all seven days. 🙂 

Embarkation took about 30-40 minutes from walking onto Pier 66 and getting on the ship.

We had tickets to see Footloose (twice), but never went. I heard it was good, but not our sort of thing. Elements was the best show I've ever seen on a cruise ship. A definite must!

Our ship was at capacity, but it really didn't feel that way. Some of the bars, like the atrium bar, can get crowded when shows are going on, but just wait and a seat will open up. The Malting was always quiet and classy. The District Brewhouse has comfortable seating and great views. 

We did three excursions, but only one from NCL. Juneau (whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier tour), Skagway (White Pass railroad and bus trip into the Yukon – We got to hold husky puppies!), Glacier Bay (saw glaciers calve off), Ketchikan (Lumber Jack show and Totem Bight State Park tour [NCL]). All were good. We walked around the ports and got a *little* taste of the area, but that's hard to do from a cruise ship. Lots of souvenir shops.

We did three specialty dinners, Cagney's Steakhouse on day 1 was one of the best I've had. Service is everything to me and King, our server, was the best. Ask for him. Where else are you going to be served by royalty. 😉 Q was on day 2 and it was a complete disappointment, especially when I learned that we missed out on Alaskan King crab legs in the buffet and MDR. The food at Q was sub-par. Le Bistro was another very fine meal when we visited Victoria. Service was spot-on and the weather was so nice we dined outside. The Local was good and is open 24x7.

Disembarkation was fine. You choose when and how you want to disembark. Just go to Guest Services and pick the color luggage tag for the time you want. It got pretty busy around 9AM, but the hold up was due to customs.

Some FYI’s about the NCL Joy, while I'm waiting for my cruise review to get published. We sailed the inaugural public cruise May 4-11 to Alaska/Glacier Bay.

• The speedway on the Joy is $15 per session, 8x laps per session. The Joy website still says $9.95, but the cost on the ship and on the NCL app, where you can book it from you mobile device, is $15. Not positive about the Laser tag arena, but I’m pretty sure it’s the same price. We did the racetrack once and I was disappointed with it. The track is too narrow and everyone was being throttled to slow down.
• The beverage package is now called the “Premium Beverage Package” instead of the “Ultimate Beverage Package”. Link to the drinks included for this package is https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/premium-beverage-package.pdf. You can get any drink any menu that is $15 or less. If you get a drink that’s more expensive, you pay the difference. Personally, we found that this package was worth it. It does not include bottled water (that’s another package, I think $15 for 5x 1L bottles).

• We loved our ADA cabin #10932, aft starboard! We didn’t know it was a disabled person’s cabin till we got there. It was twice the size of a normal balcony cabin. I would request this again. 😊

• Our excursions booked offshore ahead of our sailing instead of the ship were great. No issues and cost a fair bit less than NCL.

Happy to answer any questions you may have.

Ahoy fellow cruisers,

We're traveling next week to Alaska (Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan) and was wondering if there's cell service at any of these ports? We're on AT&T.

Thanks!

We’re cruising with NCL. I think we’ll try dropping them with the porter first. If too early we can do the Marriott. Thanks all!

Thanks! I’ve been to the Seattle area so many times I’m not sure what to do besides walk around Pike Place. Maybe get some Beecher’s Mac and cheese. It will just be a chore dragging luggage around. 

Looks like the port is walking distance from Pike Place or visa versa. I wonder if we can drop our bags off early at the port and then go walk around?

Hello cruisers,

My wife and I arrive at SEATAC Saturday at 8:00AM and our boarding time opens at 11:30am. Any suggestions on where we can store our bags till then? 

Thanks. 

My wife and I are thinking of booking an Alaskan tour and cruise on Princess. My parents have done the same and say that Princess has the best lodging and tours for their cruises. We don't have a specific date or even year in mind, but probably within the next year or two.

When is the best time to book something like this? Is it better to book early or "last-minute"? We just finished an Eastern Caribbean cruise on Carnival and it seems that Carnival's prices only increase as it gets closer to the sailing date. Is Princess the same?

We did a 10-day Princess cruise from San Francisco to Acapulco years ago, but I don't remember what the pricing was like. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Eating conch fritters and drinking Kalik beer after visiting Cabbage Beach. Oh yeah. The ship seems not quite full. Had dinner at the steakhouse last night. For those thinking of having the 5 spice ribeye - Do it!

Umm lunch is here.

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I booked three weeks ago for the first night on Conquest. Made my reservation late at night and got a reply the next morning.

Carnival Conquest 2/16/2014

Princess Dawn Princess 2/16/2007

Royal Caribbean Monarch of the Seas 12/26/2005

Carnival Paradise 3/4/2005

Carnival Elation 4/13/2003

Norwegian SS Norway 8/3/1991

Thanks for the info scubagirrl! What do you think of Cabbage Beach? What's the best way to get there and how much would it cost?