dmwnc1959

On 5/11/2024 at 9:30 PM, pkt1976 said:

I can’t upload photos 😑here or on my Facebook. 
 

the pool/hot tubs in the spa area are still broken. We are being told their will be compensation by the end of the cruise and they don’t know when it will be fixed.

Ill try to upload photos in the next post 

 

There was a deck party last night with all of singers and the band, so much talent and fun!! 

I hope you'll come back and give us a post cruise round up! 

2 hours ago, telecheck said:

Today, there are four ships visiting Tracy Arm: Celebrity Edge, Majestic Princess, ms Westerdam, and ms Nieuw Amsterdam. Yesterday, only two ships visited: Norwegian Bliss and Ovation Of The Seas. If they can accommodate four ships today without any issue, why couldn't they add one more yesterday, which would have been only three ships in total?

Looking at the schedule (and Marine Traffic) I only see once large cruise ship actually visiting Tracy Arm. The majority of the ships you've mentioned go up Endicott Arm. 
 

https://claalaska.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/TA-Tracy-Arm-2024.pdf

Keep in mind too, that the ventures into this area are booked and regulated a year in advance or more, and are timed - either early morning or late afternoon - and it's one cruise ship at a time up in the narrows. 
 

Here you can see where Celebrity Edge this morning went up the Endicott Arm and Nieuw Amsterdam is there now, whereas Westerdam went up Tracy Arm earlier. 
 

Today's schedule for Endicott Arm and Tracy Arm:

And here you can see the tracks for Celebrity Edge and Majestic Princess for this morning, where they were two hours apart up in the narrows. They most likely passed each other in the wide entrance to Endicott Arm as they switched places. 

Today in Skagway...

6 minutes ago, Asawi said:

Actually they aren't supposed to fill you own cup (post pandemic). Some do anyway and some don't. 

THIS ^ ^ ^

It's sort of along the same lines as refilling your own water bottles from stations in the buffet, where you're supposed to fill up individual glasses and use those to fill up your personal container. I think handing over a personal cup at a bar poses a real risk of spreading germs and viruses. 

9 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

There's nothing stopping you from bringing your own on board and having the bartenders fill it with soda if you wanted to be able to carry more than one cup at a time.

Is it a given that regardless of which bar or bartender that I go to, if I handover an unsanitized personal drinking cup that they will fill it from their soda fountain nozzles?

7 minutes ago, grouchomarx said:

Yes it’s for suites/Retreat guests.  I asked if it was ok to show up dressed like that and they were like heck yeah.   I was surprised it was so relaxed given it was a very elegant and high end restaurant.  I thought maybe NCL being a more relaxed style of cruising might be relaxed about this too.  I haven’t sailed NCL in 8 years so I can’t recall these little details and don’t want to look out of place or tacky.

I think Luminae being a 'limited access' dining venue specifically only for suite and retreat guests they are more likely to say yes, as opposed to turning you away like they would for the general main dining room, even on NCL, while they still try and follow some manner of a dress code. 
 

Norwegian Joy will still dock as usual. There's a pretty good chance that you're going to be docked on the opposite side of the terminal from the USS Bataan. Most of the other ships are going to be docked elsewhere i.e. down by the Intrepid or over at Staten Island. You'd be surprised how small these navy ships are compared to something the size of Norwegian Joy. Probably expect more than usual traffic congestion along the waterfront, especially by cars and people that are showing up for tours. 

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/fleet-week-nyc#:~:text=Where is Fleet Week NYC,Here's the full event calendar.

https://cnrma.cnic.navy.mil/Operations-and-Management/Fleet-Week-New-York/

15 minutes ago, grouchomarx said:

I wasn’t sure because we sailed Celebrity in the retreat and the Luminae restaurant always allowed it and it’s kind of fancy.  I’ll be best to not wear them just in case.

Isn't that the suites-only restaurant? That may be why they allowed some leeway in the recommended dress code for that restaurant, since you were a suite guest. Generally, swimwear with cover-up is only allowed in the buffet. 

On 4/14/2024 at 12:46 PM, wolfie11 said:

“This is from the NCL Shore Excursions lists. Right now I'm only seeing it on the April 28, 2025 southbound from Whittier, but it should also be available on the April 3rd cruise eventually.”

April 3 is out of season.  I don’t think the buses start up until late April.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I was referring to my April 3rd cruise out of Tampa through the Panama Canal which doesn't get into Juneau, Alaska until April 25th. 

On 5/12/2024 at 4:56 PM, back2cruising1 said:

Random question, but back in the day when I used to cruise with other cruise lines, I would purchase the soda package, and it would come with a reusable cup. Does NCL give you a reusable cup if you have a soda and/or alcoholic beverage package, or do you just get your sodas in glasses from the bar?

THANK YOU for such a really great question! Having last cruised Royal Caribbean the soda package tumbler used in conjunction with the freestyle soda machines was really great. If NCL had this as a package separate from the FAS I'd definitely buy it, but I'm not going to spend all of that money just for a glass of soda here and there. Just not worth it to me personally. 

39 minutes ago, pkt1976 said:

I am easy going but getting very frustrated with the lack of customer service, and some flat out rude crew. I’ve had mixed experiences in the past, 3 really awesome cruises and 2 I was ready to get off of. Im thankful I met some amazing new friends this cruise, we are keeping it fun 

I don't know how much the customer service people have their hands tied, and how much they can do. But on your exit survey make sure to mention them specifically by name, as well as any and all issues that you had. Same goes for your friends.
 

In the meantime have a GREAT rest of the cruise!!! Looking forward to more reports on any specialty dining that you may do. 

Just now, zqvol said:

Of course they do . . . Getting a refill might take forever. 

😂  This is going to be my first NCL cruise, and my first time venturing back into the MDR for dinner on a cruise ship in quite some time. Still contemplating the Starbucks package, but I'm thinking as many of those that I would have in a day the caloric intake would kill me! 

2 hours ago, MeHeartCruising said:

For Free:

The buffet provides coffee, water, flavored water (usually strawberry or mango), milk, and lemonade out of dispensers all day long.  There is also hot water for tea.  In the mornings, orange juice and maybe another juice is available.

 

I don't know what restaurants can get you for free other than water and coffee.  Probably milk. Probably tea.

Do you think that the main dining rooms offer for iced tea for lunch and dinner? 

Our ship isn't scheduled to arrive until almost noon, and leaves at 6pm. Is it even worth getting off the ship unless you're doing the ship-sponsored shore excursion? 

On 5/8/2024 at 9:07 AM, pkt1976 said:

I bought the spa package for the cruise, I have back and leg issues and the jet therapy pool and stone loungers are so nice to relax and enjoy.

 

the co Ed jet pool was not working yesterday but hopefully will be fixed today. 

Do they offer a Day Pass? Hopefully it's not too expensive? Thought this might be a nice way to pass the time on one of the port days when I'm not leaving the ship. 

Lovely view from the PTZtv webcam of the Norwegian Jade docked in St. Thomas. 
 

45 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

Seems like a good idea.  There will be 4 or 5 big ships in Juneau when I'm there in August. I'll take a ship's shore ex, but probably not even go looking around the town. Therefore, I will not be spending any money to support Juneau's small businesses.  I'm not cruising Alaska to stand in endless lines and walk through crowds everywhere.    

I'm more fortunate, going very early in the season on my B2B: the first stop in Juneau there will only be one other ship, and on the second stop we are the only ship. Will give me plenty of opportunity to meander through town and hit all the shops and support the local economy! 

2 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

Much can change between now and early 2025.  But the Skagway Brewing Company doesn't open until about 11 AM with their bar opening earlier.  I wonder if the Westmark Skagway hotel offers breakfast?  It has a been so many years since we stayed there I have no idea regarding the current situation, particularly after the pandemic, which played havoc with the hospitality industry in Alaska.

The last time I was in Skagway was probably 2003 on Holland-America's Volendam. I remember going ashore somewhere to eat breakfast the year prior when I was on the Sun Princess, but don't even remember where. I just remember having the pancakes. 
 

1 hour ago, umaine89 said:

 

NCL Jade was classic cruising...I want to try a bigger Norwegian ship next. On that note, I bought $500 of next cruise credits for $250. I heartily endorse the NCL Jade and wish I was back on the ship. 

With every Live thread I learn something new, take notes, and continue to plan for when it's my turn - which is still 329 days away.
 

As a NCL newbie I've been beating up this forum for 4 months with a hundred questions and hounding people for information, but for a cruise that will be over 30 days long every new insight helps make my journey that much less stressful. 
 

I hope we continue to see more Live threads from Norwegian Jade this year. Thank you for taking the time from your vacation to help the rest of us. 

1 hour ago, pkt1976 said:

Breakfast and lunch menus and food. 
 

great service and great food 👏 the orange chocolate mousse dessert was awesome. 

Wanted to say THANK YOU for posting the MDR breakfast and lunch menus, don't think I've ever seen them before. It also lets me know which specialty coffees I can get there. Never much been a MDR person, but this makes me very excited to try all of it! 
 

😁

And have him email the CEO. This seems to be a case where NCL on board customer service staff have handled this poorly.  
 

Try this email too...

publicrelations@ncl.com

and 

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) executive customer service contacts

Primary Contact
Katty Byrd
Vice President, Guest Services

kbyrd@ncl.com 

11 minutes ago, wolfie11 said:

These places are all located along the dock on the walk to the Swiftwater Cafe.  There are no customs or immigration to clear in Whittier.  You can get on and off the ship all day.  I also really like the shorter boat tour offered to Blackstone Bay.  There’s a small museum in Begich Tower, which is where 95% of the residents live and a dive bar in the old hotel.  In the old days they used to let the crew off at around 2am to go party at the bar, but I don’t think they do that anymore.

The shorter excursion to Blackstone Bay I had also looked at, but it appears we will be there before the tours start up for the season. When all is said and done I'll probably opt for a chill-day and just enjoy the local offerings and a scenic walk-about. 

6 minutes ago, pkt1976 said:

Another passenger is having issues too, Much worse issues. 
 

he woke up this morning with multiple bites all over his body. NCL staff checked his room and there were bed bugs and signs of them in the drop down bed he wasn’t using, so they’ve been there a while.  They are moving his room and doing cleaning his clothes… but only after he had to fight with customer service. Originally they said HE had to pay for the clothes to be cleaned, then tried to offer him a discount for cleaning but still have him pay part of it until finally relenting. That’s just not acceptable. And apparently this just escalated to a stupid and beyond unacceptable level. I’m encouraging him to go to the customer service director so we will see how it goes. 
 

Problems happen,  it’s how they are addressed that lives in memories.

Have him go specifically to the HOTEL DIRECTOR, have him settle for nothing less - no customer service people, no in-between people. The Hotel Director. 

1 minute ago, wolfie11 said:

Expensive.  Stops for coffee, ice cream, home made fudge, local gifts, and a really cool hardware, marine supply, and souvenir store.

I imagine the turnaround day passengers will be back on board roughly by 1030am. Would love to get out and off of the ship for several hours and enjoy the local economy and some tasty lunch. According to Google maps it is about a 12 minute walk over to the Swiftwater Seafood Café. There doesn't look like there's anything at all in regards to a 'town' where some of the things you mentioned are available, are there local shops that you can specifically point out?

On 5/2/2024 at 10:53 PM, wolfie11 said:

My favorite cruise line is coming to my favorite state!  Can’t wait to watch the glaciers go by from my red hammock.

Amy idea when the itineraries and prices will be released? It should be interesting.