yankprintster

I can do certain things on their website, but I can't manage any of my upcoming cruises. Earlier in the day, I couldn't even login. At least I could login now.

Just rode this on the Jubilee a few days ago. It was fantastic! Worth the $15. As others have said, go full throttle the entire time and strategically use your 15-second turbo boost for the best possible experience. You can ride by yourself or with a second person. I had no idea you had the ability to control the throttle until I was ready to ride.

I know Onda is different from La Cucina, but the last time I went to La Cucina (about two months ago), they were now considering the pizza an entree. That was different in the past. I used to be able to both the pizza and entree no problem.

Thanks for the explanation. Wasn't aware Escape had a different configuration of lifeboats compared the the other Breakaway/Breakaway+ class ships. Any particular reason they choose to do that for Escape?

Prima and Viva are both Prima class. Aqua and the following ship (unknown name, rumors of Bella or Diva) will be Prima+ class. Encore (NCL's biggest ship) just went through the new locks of the Panama Canal. I'm surprised to hear that Escape can't fit through the new locks. Where did you hear that?

Don't know about the Sun specifically, but on the Jewel the darkest place I could find was in the aft on Deck 12 (behind the buffet area). It wasn't really that dark though, but it was the best place I could find to watch the Northern Lights. A big problem was that there was a bright strobe light that flashed every 10-15 seconds either green or white. I thought it was people taking pictures with flash on until I noticed the strobe light. There was no way to turn it off and the repeated, bright, white flashes basically meant there was no way to get your night vision to kick in.

Jewel is supposed to get it installed sometime in Q1 2024.

Technically, that code means 3 *extra* points per night (so 4 points per night unless you're in a suite, then it's 5.)

Well done! I should be able to reach Ambassador by November (assuming I don't miss any booked cruises). Any ideas what the age of the youngest Ambassador is? I see in your video you joked about being 40, but then clarified that wasn't really the case. 🙂

That's disappointing to hear. I was in Spirit B2B 5/10 and 5/17/2023 and really enjoyed the two stops in Valdez on 5/16 and 5/18. During the first stop they wanted $15 for transport to town if you had not booked the excursion, but on the second stop two days later, transport was free. NCL reportedly paid $12,000 that day to keep the free transport option in place for the passengers. The first time I did the Best of Valdez tour ($126 - $50 credit). It was a bus ride to show off some great waterfalls and other picturesque scenery. The second time, I took the free transport to town and spent hours visiting the family incredible museum ($15 or so) that was split between two buildings in different parts of town, and also did a short hike up a hill with great views of the small town. There was also a ferrry terminal with lots of great sculptures all around it. Valdez was a very unique place and it's sad to see others won't get to visit this year. And least they are giving you Stika as an alternative on one of the legs.

I was on a Spirit sailing last month and someone asked this question to the Captain during the Q&A. From what I recall, the Captain said there is a speed limit of 7 knots or so in that part of the inside passage (to limit the impact if they were to accidentally hit a whale) and based on the planned arrival time at Icy Straight Point, there was no way the original itinerary was actually possible. They can sail at 20-21 knots when in the open ocean.

I have had some good experiences with mine initially, but as time went on, they became less and less responsive. They often don't even reply to my emails anymore. Now, I find it easier to work with the CruiseNext representatives on the ships than contacting my PCC about anything.

Wouldn't be a charter, but maybe this could be a 77-day NCL world cruise?

Ships are big. I sometimes lose track of my wife for multiple hours. Usually means she got a deal at the spa and went to get a long massage or hanging out in the thermal suite (that I might not have a pass for). I wouldn't start worrying unless we missed a dinner appointment or if we sometime got separated on a shore excursion. It's interesting though that they refused to page your wife. I hear announcements all of time about "first name last name please call guest services". If it's not right after leaving a port, people just think people need to pay their bill.

Here's my take on the 22-day Luminosa voyage: It's also my longest cruise. Although earlier this year, I did a few ship-to-ships in rapid succession, 11-day (Norwegian Sky) another 11-day (Norwegian Gem), and then a 3-day (Carnival Conquest), so 25-days over 28 days but not quite the same. Food: I generally skip breakfast, only ate their one day, so can't really comment. I also generally only eat in the buffets and the other buffet food stations. Never tried the main dining room, and only ate in Steakhouse once. First off, the 555 Steakhouse was awesome. But the buffet, that's a different story. Franky, I found the buffet food terrible. Like, the worst I've ever seen on any ship, any cruise line, ever. For the different alternate buffet food stations: BBQ: Terrible. Pizza: Very good. Burrito: Just okay, sometimes good. Hot sandwiches: Just okay. Tacos: Didn't try. Burgers: Depending on the time of day, either too cold or just okay. I actually thought the ship had tons of activities to keep me busy. I didn't mind the sea days at all.\ There were *tons* of comedy shows. I probably watched 20 or so different comedy shows from the variety of different comedians they fly in at nearly every port. The first few comedians were OK but not great, as they were from Australia, and they often referred to Australian-specific terminology that I had sometimes had a difficult time following. The comedians kept getting better as the cruise went on. The last punch they brought up that got on were all super funny. I really enjoyed them--although the comedian host, Amber, oh man.... I got so sick of hearing him do nearly the same intro (give me some noise on the left, on the right, on the middle, etc.). It was fine the first time. I didn't need to see that 19 more times. I was glad the couple of nights he took off and had the women guest-host instead. I also really enjoyed the naturalists they brought onboard, especially the first pair of people they had that talked about all the animals at the places we were visiting. They did a terrific job. Once they got off in Tahiti, the next naturalist onboard seemed to be a bit on the spectrum and not a professional speaker, but it was still informational (more-or-less a Physical Geology 101 review with a little Oceanography thrown in). Between the comedy and naturalists, those ate several hours of every sea day and kept me busy. I never played in the Casino. I attended many of the trivia games. I didn't play as I had a hard time understanding what the hosts were saying--I prefer the way NCL does the trivia with the question written on the screen behind the host. Also never did Bingo, but sat in a the last Deal or No Deal game. I was surprised they didn't play more Deal or No Deal--I think they only attempted it 3 times on the 22-days. Overall, despite the food, I really enjoyed the cruise. I thought about booking the same one for next year or the return back to Australia, but the prices were crazy.