Treasure Hunter

There’s no communication. The Captain hasn’t talked to the passengers even once. They just want to know why. Legally MCL can do anything they want but the PR is dreadful.

Ground Hog Day

And check out the “Antarctica” NCL Star sailing on YouTube. There’s an uprising going on due to a change in itinerary made before the sail by Miami but not told to the passengers until at sea. No Antarctic. ( not weather related)

Good luck. Have Hope. You’ll have a great time either cruise. I too love looking at the ocean. The long flight home from Alaska would decide it for me.

Ok. Go with your gut. And you are a spring chicken at 65. We are 79 and 76 and have five future cruises booked. I’m going even when they wheel me on board. I gamble on sea days, they discount my cabin ( it comes out even). My Dad was a Navy man ( WW 2 on a destroyer escort The USS Day ) in the Pacific. Maybe that’s why I love the water.

Any chance of a Princess ship late May or June to Alaska? We did the Island Princess when new for the Panama canal and it was a wonderful trip. We took the small boat excursion through the locks ( you go by bus one way and meet the ship in a big lake. Fascinating . We live in NY and sail NCL all winter to the Caribbean. They have great private islands.

It’s shows the extremes of entitlement

Yes, I know!

When you go to the MDR, just tell them you have a time crunch and order your appetizer and main at the same time. Go for ice cream after the show.

We have been to Alaska with both Princess and NCL. With NCL on the Pearl which is a sister ship of the Jade. There is no comparison. Princess does Alaska way better. NCL cuts short the time in port. Princess has a naturalist on board. Princess is known for Alaska. If the cruises were reversed, I might feel differently. We sale NCL a lot but mostly in the Caribbean. And Princess has the best pizza at sea.

April is way too early for Alaska. Princess usually has a better CD staff with more fun and games on sea days. I gather that you are not a casino person. Try the MDR. Princess is more casual than it ever was and you’d get your variety there.

It was just an example of the kindness extended by the concierge.

My husband is totally old school. He does the crossword in ink over breakfast and after being married 55 years I know better than to change him. He’s petrified that they’ll stop printing a “real” paper. We do share the spelling bee every morning on his phone.

The most incredible incident happened on a Royal Caribbean cruise. A woman and a nurse wheeled a gurney down the center aisle of the theater to around the fourth row. The woman asked the person in the aisle seat to get up for her. The person refused and she started yelling. The man on the gurney looked comatose. It was at the very least a fire hazard. After booing from the audience, two security guards removed them. At first I thought it was part of the show. Bizarre but totally true!

That's terrible. And very disappointing.

We have stopped sailing Celebrity. Last year we sailed in a concierge cabin, a celebrity suite and a royal suite. We do not feel it's worth it anymore. We did not feel pampered or special in any way. The retreat sundeck is jammed and very little shade. The food in Luminae is weird and on the Edge class you can not order any longer from the MDR menu. As you said the prices are thru the Moon. We are on NCL Encore next week. Princess ( a Penthouse Suite in June and Next year a new Oceania ship. Remember you can as the Haven concierge anything. They print out my husbands NY Times crossword every morning.

Other room snacks. Crudités with dip, cut up fruit plates, mini BLTs, cold shrimp platter for extra charge, cheese and dried fruit plate, assorted cookies. We have found that in the Haven restaurant if they have , they will make it for you. Had a great sliced chicken BLT by the pool and a shrimp cocktail instead of Shrimp Louis. Also don’t forget that you can have surf and surf ( two lobster tails) instead of surf and turf. Get my drift. I don’t remember if they had the Japanese hibachi restaurant on the Getaway ( I know they do on the Breakaway,Encore and Bliss) and it’s always great.

We like to eat on the water when it's available and two lunches we enjoyed was DiMillo's on the Water in Portland ( we ate at the bar because the restaurant wait was long) for lobster roll and clam chowder and in Newport RI, 22 Bowens Wine Bar and Grill at the Wharf for two different kinds of Lobster Roll, both delicious. Since the MDR on the ship is closed when in port we really enjoyed walking over to these restaurants from the cruise dock instead of another excursion. But we had been in both ports many times before.

Your weather will be warmer. We ate a lobster roll in every port.

I don’t expect everything to be perfect. We just hope to share the excitement and experience of a new ship. And we love the ports. And will be sailing with very adventurous friends. It will be our first maiden voyage and we have a positive outlook about the whole thing.

We got an email directly from Oceania ( even though we are working with a TA. The gist was that the shipyard informed them that the ship would not be ready until July. They gave us first crack at the inaugural sailing ( a week before the general public) and $250 per stateroom credit. We found out on a Friday and our TA called at nine on Monday. If you look on the website, the maiden voyage is not listed. The first sailing of Allura is August 5, 2025 our end of cruise return. Since we are so far out, I’m not sure two months will make a difference . Oceania transferred our deposit. I had to call our insurance to change the dates. At least airfare wasn’t involved.

Not blocked but you can see into their balcony. I once had a neighbor who went outside to talk on his phone in his underwear.

Cruise mapper shows the Enchanted Princess near MSC cay so between Miami and Bimini . Must have left really late but at least it’s at sea cruising at 16 knots

I have never had these horror stories with boarding but have only boarded NCL from New York, Miami and Seattle. Everything always went smoothly and we were treated special from the get go. Hope you have the same great experience. Especially in New York and I think also in Miami. There is a separate security line Haven only and once past security you are ushered into the Haven waiting room. You meet the Haven concierge and are first to board.

Give the Haven a call. Have you heard from the shore side concierge?they usually email you a month before your trip. We are leaving in two weeks and my son called from Atlanta that he got my beautiful Haven sticky luggage tags. He hasn’t gone on an NCL cruise with us in two years! Bizarre. I called ( the regular number and they transferred me) . They corrected the address but they only mail on Fridays. My son sent them to me priority mail. But don’t worry, you can get them at the pier from the porters.