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vicpylon

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  1. No kidding. We had a couple of home tests lying around and took those the night before to see if we were doomed or not. Given the cost and preparations for the trip, that was a stressful 15 minutes.
  2. See wordy post below. The gondolas are either 4 minute trip or a 7 minute trip. They move you between t-shirt and souvenir shops. Fun, but not too impressive.
  3. Been on an NCL Alaska cruise a few years ago, so that is my baseline. Both cruises were in Haven rooms. Some quick thoughts: 1. Ship was at 50% occupancy, so no crowding issues. 2. Everything felt slightly....lesser...than the previous cruise. Food was good, but not as good. Service was good, but not as good. Not by much, but enough it was noticeable. 3. Majority of crew was Filipino. I thought it was odd given the crew is usually more internationally diverse. I asked about it and apparently the Chinese and Indian staff cannot easily get in or out of their countries, so they are not available. Got the impression that the ship was short staffed. 4. You could not touch a buffet. Someone had to serve you. Made for some lines in the buffet. Even had to wait a bit in the Haven to get some cereal. Not a big deal, but I missed the grab and go aspect of the buffet. 5. The Sitka, Juneau, Icy Strait Point, Victoria itinerary was not great. I did not really notice the tight on-shore times when I booked the cruise. I thought it was all day, but it was usually under 6 hours. Barely enough time to go ashore, get somewhere and do something. Endicott Arm was nice to see, but Glacier Bay is far better. The Ports: Sitka: Fine, took a nature cruise, saw some otters and whales. Very pleasant Junea: Helicopter trip rained out, went to Mendenhall Glacier instead and saw Nugget Falls. This one particularly enraged me. They told us about 1 minute before the tour started it was cancelled, so all the other excursions were filled up. I am deeply annoyed because weather is not a surprise anymore. You know when the rain is coming, just pull it up on an app. They just pushed it to the last minute hoping to get lucky and save the excursion. Makes sense for the tour operator, but screws anyone who might want to know earlier that the weather on the glacier is bad. Got off the boat and hooked up with some local outfit that had a bus running out to the glacier. Basically saved the port visit. Icy Strait Point: Barely a clear spot in the forest. A few shops, ski lift and a building to organize tours. Basically it will be something in five years, but right now it is just a launching spot for tours. I took the Jeep tour. Avoid this excursion. Worst I have ever taken. You get to drive a 4x4 Jeep in the backwoods. At least that is the story on the NCL site. Instead you get to drive a Jeep for 2.5 hours on a dirt road I could get a Honda Civic down in two-wheel drive mode because their insurance does not cover the 4x4 mode on the Jeeps(I asked.) No wildlife, scenery was generic and the big finale is a beach the locals go to party on the weekends. Awful. Ward Cove/Ketchikan: Ward Cove is a post-apocalyptic Hellscape with a brand new building to organize tours and sell t-shirts. It looks like a toxic waste dump mutants crawl out of to eat coeds. The online pictures show only the new building, but it is surrounded by ruined factories and industrial areas. Maybe in 10 years it will be something, but again, lower your expectations. Ketchikan is fine. Saw the Lumberjack show which was fun. Otherwise not a notable stop. Victoria: You get to Victoria so late you have only 45 minutes of daylight. Butchart Gardens turned into a haunted house with dim lighting after we got there. Also, cafe and gift shop closed for lack of staff. Ship itself was great overall and the Haven is great as always, but likely an unnecessary expense given the 50% occupancy rate. The ship felt very...uncrowded. We were delayed on embarkation day due to a Norovirus outbreak that required deep cleaning of the ship. We did not have first hand experience with Covid, but a couple we met had a fun experience. Grandfather tested positive, rooming with grandson, both go into quarantine for entire cruise...starting the first day. I felt pity. They were part of a party of 18 and NCL only tested part of the party. Specifically, the grandson's mother, but oddly not her husband. It was really weird. Felt more performative than effective. One final note, NCL has banned parts of the crew from leaving the ship for the duration of their contracts due to Covid. Not even for day trips. I know the work on the ships is hard but now it is even worse. I have nothing but respect for the crew. Best I could do was up my tip at the end and try not to be a jerk to anyone. Packing some patience and understanding for a slightly reduced experience might be good idea. If anyone has a specific question, I will try to answer it.
  4. Just got off the NCL Bliss on a 7-day to Alaska. Thought someone might like to see what the Freestyle Daily looked like for the cruise. It is in the PDF below. Sorry for the bad photography, but had to grab it quickly before leaving the ship. 1625653526_NCL_Bliss_Freestyle_Daily_May_2022-compressed.pdf
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