PATRLR

If I were you, I'd check with some of the online cruise travel agencies. They typically offer more benefits than NCL direct. Usually in the form of OBC that the cruise line doesn't offer, but it could be more than that, including a less expensive cruise fare. Check multiple agencies.

If I understand correctly, the people who missed the ship actually missed the train to get to the ship. So, it's not like @DrUrsula implied in that some on the train made it while others didn't, the folks who didn't make it weren't even on the train. Not surprised. As they say, there usually is more to the story.

PBM13 - I suggest searching this forum for words like Isreal and Haifa. There are other topics on this matter. Once you find those other topics click on the "follow" button so you will be notified as other communication is shared.

If you like hanging out at the pool, with the crowds and all the partying that goes on around the pools, and I mean really like it, Vibe may not be fore you. We enjoy Vibe because we want to get away from that scene. Vibe is a quiet place, guaranteed to have enough loungers, dedicated bar staff and bar servers, no pool, but does have hot tubs. Some Vibe's have a water feature to cool off in. As others have said, we won't sail the bigger ships in warm weather without the vibe. As for the spa, it's indoors. We don't like being cooped up indoors, especially when the weather is nice outside. We would never do the spa, but that's just us.

We booked a room at the Hyatt Centric Brickell Miami using dayuse.com when we have a late flight. Turns out it was a rainy day, so, we were glad we had a room vs just booking a "resort pass". But had it been a nice day, they have a big rooftop pool and I have no doubt it would have been a great place to hang out.

Well, for one, men can wear shorts on any given night. For many people that's huge, especially on a warm weather cruise. The "Smart Casual" applies to only certain restaurants and is very, very easy to avoid.

Bliss to Alaska 2018. Inaugural of that ship to Alaska. Great weather, great excursions, a bonus that it was inaugural so had fire boats and such meeting us. Wyland onboard (the artist who did the bow work). If we include non-NCL, then it was a B2B on the Dolphin Lines Oceanbreeze that included a Panama Canal transit. Captain invited us (and a few other couples) to the bridge for the transit. San Blas Islands was a stop that was incredibly interesting.

Been a while since we were on Carnival. I think of them being more similar than different from NCL, but, my experiences on Carnival are getting dated at this point (over 5 years) so I won't comment further. Except for one point: I've yet to find any cruise line (or land restaurant) that does Chocolate Lava cake as well as Carnival does. 🙂

Sigh. I don't know who the "we" is in your statement, but my comment was directly related to my "plausible" statement and the Joy certainly contributes to the "plausibility", at least in my thought process.

They took cabins out of somewhere on Joy for the OL.

I would show that letter to your TA and ask them to explain how your booking was made and under what program. There is no doubt in my mind that they are using some sort of reduced group rate. If the NCL list price really was the same as what the TA charged you, I'd be making a fuss with the TA. You might also ask your travel agent to share all of the rate codes associated with your booking (I know I'm not able to see them when I use a TA).

They absolutely make things up and that's a fine example right there.

I never said that Bird knew anything. Read carefully: Can't get much less committal to actual knowledge than that. You took the one part of my statement that was the least definite, and decided to comment on that. Whatever. Well, OK. Just seems odd to me that you felt the need to comment on the least definite part of my statement, but so be it. Why is it not plausible? There used to be staterooms where part of that OL is now.

And you know this how? Of course you skipped right over the "sometimes" in my post which means I am acknowledging the fact that Bird may not have any insight into this specific issue. So the relevant parts of my post, the parts I stand behind remain: "What was drawn certainly is plausible. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if this is being contemplated somewhere within NCL."

Yes. But, Bird sometimes seems to have some insight that others don't. What was drawn certainly is plausible. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if this is being contemplated somewhere within NCL. No - you don't understand. You get both rooms so you can be assured of being on the best side of the ship for scenic viewing.

I'm in a similar situation. Most of my recent cruises were NCL, but all the cuts drove me to check out RCCL this summer (far superior entertainment) and I am trying desperately to get next summer's cruise on a different line. We love Encore and Bliss for Alaska in large part because of the OL. Take that away and when next we book Alaska there will be zero incentive to book NCL. All that being said, the ships are still going out full, so, all these cuts aren't yet affecting revenue.

Wow, those pictures genuinely make me sad. Those OLs are such beautiful, special spaces.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Regarding the enrichment lectures, were they oriented towards the port stops? And what itinerary were you on? Oh, that's interesting. If doing any time dining, as a couple, would we still be sharing a table or would they seat you alone?

I do not know the specific numbers for what you are asking. They are not supposed to sell more passes than they have loungers. You should never have to worry about getting a seat. We have never worried about getting a good lounger when we've gone into the Vibe.

Yeah, all ports were on the table. I definitely looked at quite a few that left from Amsterdam, Rotterdan, Copenhagen, etc. For various reasons, likely related to port stops, they were ruled out. I really want the right deep fjords and the right coastal cities.

Strange. Because OP wrote this: And I assumed that these words were spoken from experience: Glad I got that cleared up.

Just curious, when were you last on Cunnard? Were you on the QM2?

Have you found the pinned "fjords" post over in the North Atlantic ports forums? Lots of good information there. I'm narrowed down to one of these three at the moment. I really want to do the Apex, it has the two fjords that I want to hit, but at twice the cost of the Anthem, I'm just not there yet (price was for a standard balcony for 2, last time I checked). It also swaps a Norway stop for Belgium which isn't great, IMO. Still looking though. =================================================================== 7 Nights, Anthem of the Seas Jul 12 - $3522 Fri, Jul 12, 2024 SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND -- 5:00 pm Sat, Jul 13, 2024 CRUISING -- -- Sun, Jul 14, 2024 STAVANGER, NORWAY 7:00 am 5:00 pm Mon, Jul 15, 2024 FLAM, NORWAY 8:00 am 5:00 pm Tue, Jul 16, 2024 ALESUND, NORWAY 8:00 am 6:00 pm Wed, Jul 17, 2024 BERGEN, NORWAY 7:00 am 2:00 pm Thu, Jul 18, 2024 CRUISING -- -- Fri, Jul 19, 2024 SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND 5:30 am -- =================================================================== 7 Nights, Sky Princess July 13 - $4005 Sat, Jul 13, 2024 SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND -- 4:00 pm Sun, Jul 14, 2024 AT SEA -- -- Mon, Jul 15, 2024 BERGEN, NORWAY 12:00 pm 8:00 pm Tue, Jul 16, 2024 SKJOLDEN/SOGNEFJORD, NORWAY 8:00 am 4:00 pm Wed, Jul 17, 2024 OLDEN, NORWAY 8:00 am 5:00 pm Thu, Jul 18, 2024 STAVANGER, NORWAY 10:00 am 5:00 pm Fri, Jul 19, 2024 AT SEA -- -- Sat, Jul 20, 2024 SOUTHAMPTON), ENGLAND 7:00 am -- =================================================================== 7 Nights Celebrity Apex $6584 Sat, Jul 20, 2024 SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND -- 4:00 pm Sun, Jul 21, 2024 BRUGES,(ZEEBRUGGE),BELGIUM 7:00 am 3:00 pm Mon, Jul 22, 2024 AT SEA -- -- Tue, Jul 23, 2024 FLAM, NORWAY 7:00 am 4:00 pm Wed, Jul 24, 2024 GEIRANGER, NORWAY 8:00 am 5:00 pm Thu, Jul 25, 2024 BERGEN, NORWAY 7:00 am 2:00 pm Fri, Jul 26, 2024 AT SEA -- -- Sat, Jul 27, 2024 SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND 6:00 am -- ===================================================================

One thing to be thinking about with Norway is whether or not you want the Artic Circle as part of it. It basically adds 4 days to any itinerary (sea day to get there, couple days up there, sea day to get back). We struggled with should we go up there, so long as we are so close. We've ultimately decided to pass on the Artic Circle. If you want it, Celebrity Apex for 2024 had a very nice looking itinerary (balconies are already sold out for 2024).

We're looking at this itinerary for 2024. We were leaning heavily to Prima, but the feedback and reviews is that she isn't well suited for cold weather. We've rejected it and are looking at other options.