webzila

There are still no dates for that timeframe on NCL sites. On other 3rd party sites I saw those dates listed but unable to find any rates

I haven't seen this posted yet - did anyone catch the Impractical Jokers episode from 5/7/15? I was just catching up on my recordings and watched it - the whole episode is on NCL. Not sure what ship since they didn't mention it but it was hilarious!

http://www.trutv.com/full-episodes/impractical-jokers/2054324/index.html

Was anyone on this cruise with these guys?

^ I travel constantly and that's not the way it should work. It's very easy to activate a global plan online from your account effective the date you travel. You can then turn it off the day you return, effective that same date. You will ONLY be charged for the timeframe you use it at a partial rate equal to the cost of the service divided by the number of days in the month.

 

You will be told fees will be "prorated" because you pay in advance for service. So if you left it on, you'll get charged for what you used this month AND the next month on next month's bill. But if you only used it for 5 days and then turned it off, you only get charged for the 5 days you had international plan on. For instance, when I travel to Mexico for work it is $10 for data. If I'm there for two days out of a 30 day month and don't go over 100 MB, they only charge me $0.67. If I used 101 MB they only charge me $10.67.

 

So if you had turned on your service the day you left for your 22 day vacation and turned it off the day you return, you shouldn't have paid for two months. You should have paid for 22 days. The service reps are particularly stupid and the online interface is much, much better for adding and removing global features.

 

 

 

PSA: That 100 MB data plan Verizon used to have for cruise ships appears to have recently bitten the dust and is no longer available. :(

Hmm, you are right. Within the past week Verizon retired what they call their "older" global plans. I confirmed with them. They say that they replaced them with better / newer options. That must have been a joke.

Lets see - old plan - 100 MB for $25

New plan - 1 MB for $20

I don't know where that would be considered better

I have never had issues with embarkation / debarkation at Galveston.

Only been delayed by fog once but even then the ship made it to all scheduled ports.

Personally I think that all Fantasy class ships look like floating sardine cans but that's just my opinion :) I never been on one, they maybe very pretty inside.

I'm wondering this, too. We are on the road and will be there in about 2 hours. Not sure what to do if we can't go to terminal

It's raining today so I would not go to port until they are ready to start the embarkation. Normally you could hang out on the strand but not sure if you want to walk if its raining.

Around a 10 min walk. Unfortunately, no money savings for skipping the shuttle.

We parked there on the last cruise. There was a good discount for not using the shuttle and it took us less than 10 minutes to walk. Very close to the terminal. You can get there even faster if you want to jaywalk.

As I mentioned, don't get the $40 plan if you are going to use your phone for voice service on the ship. It wont cover it.

As far as signal, I don't remember about NCL but I could always get 1X reception without any issues. You need to make sure you have a global phone (most newer Verizon ones are) and also make sure your phone is set to allow global roaming.

You may want to double check that. I don't think Verizon international plan covers calling/texting from the ship. You may get discounts in ports though.

For $25 you can get 100 MB of data allowance which will include data while on the ship and in ports.

I have Verizon and always get the international data before leaving then drop it a few weeks after coming back.

You can see here that the 100 roaming minutes and 100 texts is for travel to specific countries

http://www.verizonwireless.com/landingpages/global-roaming/

Cruise ship voice is still 2.49 per minute, 50 cents for msgs sent and 5 cents for received but as I mentioned they do have a 100 MB data plan that will work on the cruise ship.

Thanks for posting the review.

What was the casino hours like in Alaska on the Jewel?

I would be interested in your review. We are doing the same itinerary on the Jewel this summer.

Also looking for same insight.

We have 4 stops all of which have zipline excursion available including British Columbia.

So we were also looking at Ketchikan zip line but wondering if we should do something else and just do the zip line in Victoria BC

Thanks for the responses 😄

I grew up in an area where it snows in the winter but moved to south Texas when I was 12 so haven't been around any real snow for about 20 years.

So I figured if we are going up north then might as well look into possibilities of being around some.

Alright, let me rephrase. How do we touch ice or snow? There are expensive dog sledding excursions (not the sleds with wheels) so there has to be snow for that somewhere? Otherwise I don't understand what those excursions are...

What is the best / cheapest way to see some snow and ice on a cruise to Alaska in July with stops at Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway? (Juneau stop is not very long)

We see excursions that take you to glaciers by helicopter for trekking and/or dog sledding. That looks cool but most of them are priced close to $500 pp. That is a little over my budget.

Are there any other options to get close to snow and ice at these stops in July?

I have been on all 3 several times. I don't discriminate, love all cruises but if I had to rank them it would be:

1. Royal

2. NCL

3. Carnival

We like the design of RCCL and NCL ship a lot more than Carnival. Love the promenade on Royal ships. Also, in our opinion service is better on other lines vs Carnival but thats just my opinion and I still cruise Carnival but given a choice I would go with the other lines.

Yes, that is the correct name for the small boat excursion. It leaves right before the ship leaves Juneau. They take you down their "I95" corridor and they open up a small gang plank to get you onto the boat.

 

When we took the excursion, both the ship and the boat ended up going to Endicott Arm, rather than Tracy Arm, due to ice. The small boat got within 1/2 mile of the glacier and we also saw bears, otters, and whales. The ship got to 3 miles from the glacier. I am not sure if the ship stopped to see any of the wildlife. I personally think the excursion is worth it.

Thanks for the info. So I am guessing we can go on excursions in Juneau before this one since it starts right before the ship leaves.

What kind of conditions are on the little boat as you head toward the glacier? Is it cold?

 

I'm also wondering about the Preferred Rewards bonus. I also have a BOA Cash Rewards card but do I have to have a checking/savings to get these rewards? If it does, will that entitle me to better rewards % and can that be combined with the above "double cross meta" offer? Very confusing

Having BofA checking/savings accounts will give you more reward points based on your combined balance in those accounts (there are 3 preferred level tiers)

According to NCL.com, that tour is only available on the Pearl, not the Jewel or Sun.

Pearl doesn't go to Sawyer glacier.

Jewel goes to Sawyer Glacier

Pearl goes to Glacier Bay

We have a cruise to Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway late June. I totally understand about unpredictable weather. Most sources say average highs around 63. So thats fine.

What is the temp like when the ship is navigating? Near glaciers?

What if you take excursions that go up mountains. Whats the temps like there? Possible to see snow?

What is the name of the add-on Sawyer Glacier excursion on the Jewel that I saw mentioned and recommended?

Is it called "Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer"?

That's the closest match I see and it says it starts at 1:15 PM. Is that after the ship leaves Juneau or right before?

We wanted to first do an early excursion to see Juneau and then do this add on to see the glacier. So just trying to figure out the itinerary and this particular stop.

Thanks

What about oceanview? While not a balcony, you can still look out

Why do some book so far in advance? More than a year. Nothing wrong with it, just wondering about reasons since it seems that you can book a week before and still get a good price

FYI - you can earn a lot more points if you are a Bank of America preferred customer (depends on how much you have in your bank accounts). You can earn 25% - 75% more points per dollar based on your BofA status.

No Carnival doesn't advertise the full price. It's always the cabin price and after going through the booking process they add in the port fees and taxes. Also I found the port fees to be cheaper for my Alaskan cruise then my last Caribbean cruise. Alaska fees $203.25 and my 7 Caribbean was $266.38.

 

Op flights appear to be high in Seattle during the summer as it's their tourist/cruise season. I know you said early June is what you're thinking, but know in mid to late June the U.S. Open is going on raising the ticket and hotel prices significantly as demand is higher. Also after doing some research on Seattle for this time of year I found out the Seattle Pride festival will be going on again raising prices to get to and stay in the city.

 

I hope you can find a cruise that will fit your wants and needs for you and that if you decide to go its a great bargain and is filled with unforgettable memories!

Ok, I guess I was thinking of Southwest Airlines and them showing full fare prices but still taxes seem much higher in Alaska. I just did a quick mock booking and 7 day Alaska from Seattle taxes were $180 pp on Carnival and 7 day Western Caribbean from Galveston was $80 pp