shukapaw

4 minutes ago, sidari said:

So no extra 25% on the cruise fare then for cancelled cruises.

Here is an excerpt from the email I received:

"Please note, if you booked your cruise with a Future Cruise Credit that you had already received for a previous cancellation, you will receive 100% Future Cruise Credit for the total amount paid, including your previous Future Cruise Credit value, whether your cruise was paid in full or outside of final payment."

My newly canceled cruise was booked after my 2020 cruise was cancelled. I used the original cruise credit plus the 25% bonus FCC to make this booking. As such, I am assuming that I will still retain the 25% bonus based on their wording. It doesn't sound as if this is your first cancellation you will receive the bonus 25%.

Once this is all sorted, I'll report back

~Brian

13 hours ago, Budget Queen said:

I never jump on a ship in Whittier and always go out on a boat tour.    Far superior experience to anything you will see from your cruise ship.    Don't waste your Alaska touring opportunities,  this is an excellent option.  

 

I also suggest a one day car rental and see some of the Mat Su.    Anchorage is a "city".   🙂   

Yeah, we say that Alaska is just a short drive from Anchorage. 😉

You are really selling yourself short by allowing 2 days pre-cruise.  Budget Queen's suggestion of a Whittier boat tour is a good one. I've done the 26 Glacier Cruise a number of times and it never fails to delight! So much to see and do and you are traveling so far that 2 days seems woefully inadequate.

~Brian

The inlet is on your right and land is on your left. The best views are on the inlet side. 

~Brian

2 hours ago, localoneguy said:

Always pick the cruise which goes to glacier bay. End of story

What he said!

There are no shareholder's OBC since the company is privately owned. Those perks are reserved for people who are stockholders in various companies (Carnival, NCL, Royal Caribbean....)

They do offer up to $200 OBC when you book a future cruise while onboard.

~Brian

Our sailing was scheduled for June 6. I submitted the electronic form for the future cruise credit on May 2 and immediately received notice that it had been accepted.

I received an email on May 31 with a link to a webpage.  On that page was another link that downloaded a pdf copy of the actual certificate to  my computer. I sent that to my TA and she was able to immediately apply it to another reservation.

~Brian

I currently have cruises on the books with 4 different cruise lines over the next 2-½ years. I have gotten discounts from my TA on all of them.

~Brian

2 hours ago, gskimmel said:

I was wondering the same thing as I got the email, too.  When I looked at the cruise price for my sailing, the price is the same as it was before.  Has anyone noticed a difference?

 

 

I have B2B Rock Star bookings for May of 2021. I’ve reviewed the rates and they have dropped a few hundred bucks per cabin. I’m hoping to upgrade to a suite with larger balcony but cannot get through to VV. Was on hold 45 minutes and then opted for callback but that was hours ago.

This sort of cryptic announcement is frustrating. They should be clearer about the changes. They seem to be more interested in generating cute, edgy messages than clearly worded messages.

~Brian 

I've gotta side with @littlelulu here. The offer of the 20% is for the newly booked cruise, NOT the canceled cruise. The 20% is off of the base cruise fare, not including taxes, etc. And I was able to take the FCC from a canceled 7 day cruise and use it to help book an 11 day cruise at 20% off the listed price.

~Brian

NCL's site states that if your new cruise is less than the value of your FCC, you will be issued a new FCC for the difference. In that case, you could still use the remaining balance of your FCC to qualify for another 20% discount.

We did exactly that.

Also, know that if you book online, the 20% is deducted only from the individual with the FCC, not the traveling companion. CALL NCL and they will apply the 20% to the companion as well. 

~Brian

4 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

@shukapaw This is excellent news thank you for sharing. NCL isn't offering OBC incentives, but allowing no penalty changes through September just trumped RCL''s July. And they are allowing re-booking through December 31, 2022. Bravo! Very customer friendly.

 

 

Most of the sailings I've looked at with NCL are offering OBC... the higher your cabin category, the more OBC.... from $100 up to $1000.  Also, NCL is now allowing even lowly inside cabin cruisers (like me) to get all 4 of their "Free at Sea" offers. These include internet, unlimited beverage package, Specialty dining package and $50 per port excursion credit. In the past, an inside cabin had to pick one of the 4 offers but now all 4 are included.

Also, I had a December 2020 SE Asia cruise booked with NCL. Just today, they made the decision to not sail in Asia through March of 2021. As a result, my cruise was cancelled. They are offering a full refund of deposit, up to $300 for airline change/cancellation fees for those who might have booked airfare independently (with documentation) and a 10% credit toward a different booking. I have a number of "issues" with NCL (obviously not enough to avoid them) but they certainly seem to be doing the right thing under the circumstances.

~Brian

Looks like NCL has followed suit...

1 hour ago, don't-use-real-name said:

 

To be fair NCL is not the only fish in the Alaska cruise scene

there is Princess and Holland America for more views and

discussion options with their own forums

 

 

Gotta agree here... As a long time resident of Alaska, I would have to recommend Princess for a cruise to Alaska. I don't have any problems with NCL in general but Princess does a much better job with Alaska itineraries. You can see from my signature that I've recently sailed NCL more than Princess. I'm not loyal to one brand only.

A few years ago we sailed south from Alaska to Vancouver on Princess and after a few day in Vancouver we sailed back north to Alaska on NCL. The itineraries were identical..... same ports for a similar amount of time in each. We had the same category of cabin on each ship. Princess, who has been sailing Alaska longer than the other lines, just "Alaska-fied" the trip.

With Princess:

• Staff were often in Alaska/Gold-rush-era outfits.
• Ship was decorated in Alaska theme.
• In one port (Juneau I think) They brought sled dog puppies onboard for play time and photo opps.
• In one port Libby Riddles, first woman to win the Iditarod, came on and gave a lecture.
• Alaska-themed menus
• If you are planning a land portion be advised that Princess owns/operates their own hotels, lodges, rail cars, etc. NCL rents or leases whatever is available. Princess has a long history in Alaska and has made some pretty sizeable investments in infrastructure for their passengers
• Princess sails from Whittier, a port much closer to Anchorage than NCL's port of Seward.

I wrote a review of this trip shortly after we travelled but it has been lost since CC revamped the site. I do remember saying that NCL will provide you with a cruise to Alaska but Princess will provide you with an Alaskan cruise.

You won't be disappointed either way but why not take the one that offers you the most?

Also, regardless of which line you select, make sure your itinerary includes Glacier Bay. 

Hope this helps,

~Brian

Thanks so much for taking the time to share these great pics with us.

Our first NCL sailing was on the Spirit in 2015 and we are scheduled to sail on her again this December in Asia (fingers crossed)

~Brian

22 hours ago, BoughtMyPoints said:

Eggs Benedict, French Toast only available on "rotation" now in the MDR.  Overall, looked like they needed a new chef de partie at dinner.

Shocking, unannounced cutbacks in the International Cafe on graveyard.

The entertainment scheduling was dire.  Only 1 worthy lounge act :  Dwight Blake, only sparingly scheduled.

Aaron is best described in his native vernacular as a twat.   He was the proverbial deer in the headlights with the stage lift fiasco.  

All said,  I was still loath to disembark after 15 days.

 

We were on this same sailing. I agree with many of your points.

The selection of ports was very nice. We generally do not take excursions through the cruise line but made an exception this time. We were quite impressed with the "Panama Canal & Locks Transit By Boat" in Panama City and the "Discovery Family Las Caletas Private Beach Getaway" in Puerto Vallarta 

We found the meals in the MDR at dinner to be quite good. Other times it was really hit or miss. Princess serves an excellent French Toast at lunch time in the MDR and they refer to it as a "brunch" item. Too bad you cannot get this during breakfast hours. The breakfasts were generally poor in the MDR and served at a temperature that was somewhere between room temperature and lukewarm in the buffet. 

As for the International Cafe, cutbacks and changes have really ruined this. At any given time, about half of the available desserts are either gluten-free or sugar-free. Princess' attempt to placate a small minority with dietary restrictions has left those of us who want "real" desserts with few (and poor) choices. The same holds true in the buffet.

Aaron (CD) is NOT ready for Prime Time. He is amateurish, not funny and clearly out of his league. On a positive note, Alex, an assistant CD from Serbia, was great and will hopefully have a ship of his own soon.  

This cruise had the worst entertainment we have ever encountered on a cruise ship. The ship's own performers were the worst. The juggler/magician wasn't worthy of a 6-year old's birthday party. The few bright entertainment spots were Dwight Blake, an excellent violinist named David Klinkenberg and a singer/impressionist named Trish Kelly. There was a good comedian onboard as well. His name is Ken Boyd. He was never the main entertainer but did provide a couple good shows in one of the smaller venues on the ship. He would have been a lot funnier had he not been hamstrung by Princess' rules on acceptable language.

There was a gentleman named Chris Roberts who was the ship's "Destination Expert". He gave talks about the canal and many of our upcoming ports. He was funny and very entertaining. Pretty sad when a port lecturer provides some of the best entertainment on a ship. 

I know this has been covered in other threads but the Platinum/Elite happy hour held daily in Skywalkers offers an extremely poor selection of drinks at happy hour prices. The have cobbled together a menu of 6 or 8 drinks that you will find nowhere else (thankfully). Very odd concoctions consisting of unappetizing combinations of alcohol on mixers. 

Over the past 4 or 5 years Princess has gone from our preferred cruise line to 4th place. We spoke with many Elite passengers and the consensus was unanimously that Princess is headed in the wrong direction. We did purchase a couple more Future Cruise Certificates but have serious doubts about using them before they expire.

As stated by @BoughtMyPoints, "All said,  I was still loath to disembark after 15 days."

~Brian

Great review so far. Thanks for taking the time to write this up and post all the photos. Looking forward to more!!

~Brian

On 12/8/2019 at 1:46 PM, mamaneedsavacay said:

In grand cayman, you can book a local operator to do a combo tour of stingray city/ snorkeling.  Search the Grand Cayman forum for recommendations and prices. In Costa Maya, you can't beat Maya Chan,  however they book up fast because their all inclusive service is amazing. 

Agree 100%! No visit to Grand Cayman is complete without a swim with the stingrays. You get to hold/touch/feed them and it makes for awesome photos.

Maya Chan in Costa Maya is excellent. We've been three times and are returning again in June. 

~Brian

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 If you want a drink, pay by the drink. That way you avoid the inflated gratuity on the beverage package and dining package. 

You will be automatically billed a gratuity for each individual drink you purchase under this scenario. So two $10 drinks a day will actually cost you (10 + 2 dollar gratuity + 10 + 2 dollar gratuity) for a total of $24. (and I don't believe there are many drinks as cheap as $10)

That is more than it would cost you for the "Free at Sea" unlimited drink package on a daily basis. Your scenario only makes sense if you are a VERY light drinker. 

~Brian

I also feel this is a generous offer. 

Hope your trip is a good one.

~Brian

This is duplicate information I made to another thread with the same question.

My wife and I (we live in Alaska) did a roundtrip from Alaska to Vancouver and back in 2017 with a Princess ship one direction and NCL the other. I can't seem to find the review I did on that experience but you can read an excerpt here.

Princess sails into and out of Whittier and NCL utilizes Seward. There is a roughly 1-½ hour trip vs 4-½ trip to Anchorage respectively. 

Both Cruise lines are great and I sail them both but for Alaska, Princess is the clear winner. As for land packages, Princess wins hands down! They are by far the most heavily-invested cruise line in Alaska. They have their own lodges, rail cars, tour buses, etc. NCL leases their rail cars from the AKRR and utilizes 3rd party hotels, buses, etc. The one item I'd give NCL the win on is the drink package. If you purchase the adult beverage package, NCL always has it as a potential "freebie" when you book with them.

Hope this helps,

~Brian

A quick search revealed that some princess cruises do see Hubbard glacier. Although it is impressive, I’ve never heard of anybody visiting it on their own… As you mentioned, that would be a very expensive excursion.Have you considered a southbound cruise? Have you considered a southbound cruise?

For what it’s worth, car rentals in both Whittier and Seward are prohibitively expensive..... And you are going to be saddled with a one-way drop off charge to Anchorage. Generally speaking, you’d be better off taking the cruise line’s transportation to Anchorage and having a rental car awaiting you there. You will want to crunch the numbers to verify the house.

Alyeska tram is easily doable from Anchorage in a day.  Of course, it’s just a tram ride and an equally nice one is available to you in Juneau on Mount Roberts. Just something to think about.

Driving to and from Seward from Anchorage is not a big deal but you need to allow a good three hours each way. So, in short, you could do a round-trip and the Kenai fjords in a single day. you will want to crunch the numbers to verify the house.I suppose it all depends on how well adapted your family is to road trips.

The road  (and railroad) south from Anchorage to either Alyeska or Seward require that you travel along Turnagain arm..... it’s unavoidable! Both the roadway and tracks are built right along the edge of it.

I’m not one to tell people how to do their vacation. However if I were going to do a land portion in Alaska either before or after a cruise I would do it on my own and not through the cruise line. This way you decide what you want to see and are not at their mercy.

~Brian 

@JcJ81,

My wife and I (Alaska residents) did a roundtrip from Alaska to Vancouver and back in 2017 with a Princess ship one direction and NCL the other. I can't seem to find the review I did on that experience but you can read an excerpt here.

As you mentioned, Princess will end in Whittier and NCL in Seward. There is a roughly 1-½ hour trip vs 4-½ trip to Anchorage respectively. 

Both Cruise lines are great and I sail them both but for Alaska, Princess is the clear winner. As for land packages, Princess wins hands down! They are by far the most heavily-invested cruise line in Alaska. They have their own lodges, rail cars, tour buses, etc. NCL leases their rail cars from the AKRR and utilizes 3rd party hotels, buses, etc. The one item I'd give NCL the win on is the drink package. If you purchase the adult beverage package, NCL always has it as a potential "freebie" when you book with them.

Hope this helps,

~Brian

We generally book through outside agencies. We have visited all the ports you listed and have ventured out on our own in each of them. 

When you contact outside vendors, ask them specifically what happens if the ship is unable to make it to their port at the advertised time. Make sure that you get a refund if you miss the tour for reasons outside of your control.

~Brian

Thanks for sharing your experience.

~Brian

We found both to be very good but would select Teppenyaki for the fun factor

~Brian