daffodiliaz

Once you are with your bags thru Customs and allowed to use your phone, you call the dispatcher, give your phone number (which is used as your reservation number) and they will tell you where to go.

Thank you Brighton Line! Would you recommend booking online ahead of time, or not knowing an exact time, wait and call? Would this be like Uber (except call instead of on a App), call to request a car when ready for pick-up?

Not directly related to the original question but I booked a flight on American just yesterday to find this morning that it had changed significantly. I called and the agent said that American had a huge schedule change for their domestic flights overnight so if you have reservations on a future American Airlines flight you might want to check your reservation. My particular schedule change didn't leave many options because the flight schedule was reduced and flights are full now. This is for early June.

Can someone who has used Dial7 for transport from MCT to EWR please explain the pick-up process in simple terms at MCT? Where is the pick-up location? I can see the taxi stand right across the street from MCT on Google street view but I don't think car services can pick up there. Had a flight change to 1:20PM on a June Saturday. And also any actual taxi fares paid from MCT to EWR. Thanks!

We were on the NE/Canada route. If there was one thing that I would think could use improvement it would be the on ship customs process when you approach the first port in the US after leaving Canada

Was there still customs/immigration upon returning to NYC?

After seeing xfers on NCL.com to all three airports I called NCL (twice). First person said only to LGA. Second person said yes to JFK and EWR also but then read further down on her screen which showed LGA only. The tours drop off at JFK and LGA only. I'd rather not go to JFK and the later flight.

So back to NCL.com and there's a link for GroundLink car service. Having read on CC about having to go across a street to stand in line for a cab, is it difficult to find a prearranged car service? Price isn't bad. Oh, would be sailing in a suite which I guess could help with disembarkation, but other passengers are staying in NYC for a few days.

This is an older thread so I'm hoping out of date about transfers to LGA only.

NCL.com lists post-cruise airport transfers to LGA,JFK, and EWR. I'm trying to decide on 1:40PM domestic flight from EWR using NCL transfer, or 4:40PM tour with drop off at JFK. The tour says 9:15AM and for flights after 5PM, so cutting close there. The transfer to EWR says 5 hours after ships arrival.

NCL Gem, Saturday June 8, coming from Canada/NE but other U.S. ports before arriving back in NYC so shouldn't have immigration in NYC, I wouldn't think.

1. Has anyone used transfer recently and can confirm transfers JFK and EWR actually exist?

2. 1:40 PM from EWR plenty of time on a Saturday morning?

Pearl, Sept 2017, extension cord and fan confiscated, both returned after electrician gave the OK. Front desk agent printed prohibited items list from edocs and neither were listed. NCL is very on top of updating things, apparently. :rolleyes: Only ended up using fan, and it and no other electronics were ever unplugged by room steward.

We also rented a car from Avis in Skagway in September for the same $126 as the previous poster for a Ford Focus. It cost around $15 to fill the gas tank on the return. We arrived at Avis sometime after 10 a.m. and there were no other customers there. After filling out the paperwork the desk clerk walked us across the street to the parking lot to pick up the car and we were on our way. Returned around 4 p.m.

They provide some maps with directions in the area. There's really no way to get lost. We drove as far as Emerald Lake, stopping at Carcross, Carcross Desert and Caribou Crossing along the way. Most things in carcross were already closed for the season by the third week of September.

There are lots of lakes along the Klondike Highway and on a sunny day with no wind the mountains on the other side of the lakes make the most awesome reflections. You wouldn't see this from the train. The Fall colors were an unexpected surprise. The blue green color of the lakes just beautiful.

Highly recommend renting a car, having taken the somewhat boring round trip train ride a few years prior.

I go to sleep every night to the noise of a fan. I need the white noise

This. Maybe it's an Arizonan thing. Mine was confiscated on a cruise to Alaska so it wasn't a temperature thing. I was glad to have it for a past Caribbean cruise in September. The A/C doesn't provide that same breeze.

This is an older thread but a recent experience for future reference:

Pearl out of Seattle, Sept 2017. About an hour after we set sail from Seattle I had a voicemail from the front desk instructing me to come down because there was an issue with my luggage. As I was standing in line an agent was asking people what they were there for and when I said for my luggage I was pulled out of line and taken to the security office. The front desk agent called Security and while we were waiting I asked what the problem was. It turns out it was for a plug-in desk fan and an extension cord (not a surge protector) that I've brought on a few NCL cruises before and never had a problem. Looking back on earlier posts in this thread I'm assuming my luggage was held because it was locked. The items were confiscated but returned the next day after a very nice front desk gentleman offered to speak with the electrician who approved the return of my items which, BTW, were not on the prohibited items list on NCL.com or in the edocs (front desk printed). The security officer said this was a change within the past few months. Not a good way to start a cruise. :mad:

....

Will be on a Alaskan cruise in a few days. I have a quick question about where the NCL Pearl docks. Is it possible to walk into Skagway from the dock? From videos it looks like the WhitePass train is next to the ship. Is this the main thing that people do?

I'll be on the same sailing. NCL Pearl is scheduled at the Broadway dock. It's the most convenient/closest to the main street (Broadway) in Skagway. You can see straight down Broadway from the front upper decks on the ship. The train pulls up to the front of the ship whereas as the train pulls up parallel to ship at the Railroad dock which is a bit farther from town.

The link in post #6 has a good map of the three docks.

I debated this for an upcoming cruise on the Pearl. Considered booking the lowest category oceanview guarantee but looking at the deck plans I just couldn't risk one of the obstructed ocean views right by O'Sheehans and the atrium (noise and foot traffic). With the guarantee I had to be willing to accept the absolute worst location. Having the option to actually select a specific obstructed oceanview cabin I might have been willing.

Very good warning. If balcony door is open the cabin door will slam shut. I'm surprised there haven't been reports of fingers being chopped off. I cringe everytime I think about it.

Did the ziplines have weight limits?

75-275lbs

https://icystraitpoint.com/tour/worlds-largest-ziprider-and-scenic-mountain-ascent/

Sounds strange. Never heard of paying a partial deposit. And today is 2/19 but it sounds like you still have the reservation? Did you receive a confirmation email with an invoice attachment? I'm also holding a reservation for 2018 with the $50 deposit and neither my invoice nor my online reservation show any additional due until final payment in 2018.

$50 Reduced Deposits for Mini-Suites & Below

Booking Window: December 19, 2016 - December 31, 2016 11:59 PM EST

It's in the Free at Sea T&C at NCL.com

Dispute the charge

So why aren't they?

https://www.ncl.com/giftcard

SHIPPING INFORMATION

For standard shipping, please allow 10-14 business days for orders to arrive. For expedited shipping, please allow 7 business days for orders to arrive. Please note that shipping times are estimates and cannot be guaranteed. Gift card orders are non-refundable and cannot be cancelled.

And the giftcard order itself is not tied to a specific cruise. Worth a try to dispute but I wouldn't get my hopes up. The giftcard was received. Who's to say it wasn't received before the cruise and the OP just forgot to use it? Then what? Not saying that happened, but I can see how it could be a tricky "dispute".

Assuming the "daughter and four college friends" are all over 21?

We used Super Shuttle from LAX back in April. Didn't have any issues other than we probably waited for our van for around 1/2 hour. The SS rep was very easy to locate curbside and gave us our van #. Everyone else in the van was going to the cruise terminals (a few to San Pedro, another to Long Beach). When you make a SS reservation they ask for your destination which I'm sure they use for dispatch.

That said, we were sitting next to a group on our flight that was also on our cruise. They used Uber and were at the cruise terminal all checked in and waiting to board by the time we arrived to the terminal.

I'd be less concerned using SS from LAX than from the cruise terminal, a hotel, residence, etc.

Deleted. What the previous poster said.

It's probably not a good idea to broadcast if water/soda were allowed. NCL could see it here on CC and make extra sure it doesn't happen for future cruisers.

Pearl also has indoor and outdoor muster drill stations. I had a Deck 8 balcony and was outside on Promenade. DM had Deck 9 balcony and was in the Stardust.

Cool cam but I can't help but feel so sorry for those poor salmon. All that effort swimming up the river then to see them flapping around in the bears jaws then have their head bit off. So sad. :( ;)

Security and delayed embarkation? Where exactly? I don't think I've ever seen anyone carry on a case of anything. And if cases are being given to the porters for delivery with luggage, that doesn't delay embarkation. I usually have a couple bottles in my carry on. Sailing out of San Pedro I was asked if I had any unopened beverages in my bag and I said no (could've just as easy said yes, no one opened my bag). DM had to empty the water bottle she had in her hand. And that was it for the beverage police.

NCL would have a little more credibility with me had FDR not made the comment in the past year about getting that extra $5/day per passenger, and increasing the price of a can of soda because a "captive audience" will pay it. Wanna bet dude? I can wait until I'm in port and find a Diet Coke. Last time we sailed through San Francisco I bought a couple 20oz bottles in port and carried them right back on the ship, no questions asked, no inspection. The security screening was basically in a warehouse, not on the ship in that case. I don't think port security gives a damn.

You know what would delay getting on the ship? A crowd of people blocking the gangway guzzling their beverages. If it was just a bottle or two, I think I'd just risk carrying it on.