chillyw

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Note: Gamblers need to be very conscious of the casino hours on the last two days because you need to cash out your chips and vouchers before the casino closes. If  you wait until the last day, you may be stuck with expensive cruise souvenirs. 

On our sailing, they made it pretty clear thankfully when Casino and Shops would close (3pm with 7pm Victoria time).  That was my first one with Victoria that late, but definitely was easier - opened after Ketchikan until 3pm the next day.

8 minutes ago, MacGuffin3 said:

Do they make any sort of announcement, or ring a bell, that first night when WA's extortion stops, so I know when I can start going crazy ordering drinks?

None on the Encore this past week.  They also generally didn't warn when buying drinks (although some did).  Just ask first and I'm sure they'll tell you.

The laws in Victoria, BC are weird too.  Only one bar per deck allowed open, so most of the bars close down when close to port.  We ate in Le Bistro, and the servers had to run to another deck to get alcohol because the bar in Le Bistro was closed.

18 hours ago, MacGuffin3 said:

According to your dailies you didn’t get to Juneau until 4pm on day 3.  Our booking said 2, wonder if there has been a change. Seems quite late to do much there.

It did change, they pushed back our whale watching tour a couple hours, but daylight is so long it didn't matter.

18 hours ago, MacGuffin3 said:

 

We’re the comics funny? Worth booking?

I only caught one show (not both) but didn't enjoy it.  They used several cliche jokes you've heard tons of times before.

Comedians on cruise ships are hit and miss and change out often though.

25 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Thank you soooo much. I was just looking for this yesterday. We will be on the Encore next month and wanted to see what the Glacier Bay schedule was like. 

I was on the same cruise.  A couple notes on Glacier Bay:

- Non-Haven Observation Lounge filled up EARLLLLY on that day.  I had some family members get there at 4:45 AM to get spots. 

- With the weather being so farm, we found the best spots were actually on the Bow, which they opened up for us, or at the Waterfront just outside The District.  We ended up walking out to the Bow to view the first glacier (which you can get to when it's open down the room hallway just next to The District), then coming back and going to the Waterfront.  Depending on warmth, I'd opt for that over Observation room.

- My family liked the presentation at 1pm in the theater (I skipped it), but it filled up as we were pretty much done with Glacier Bay at that point.

If I had to do it again, I wouldn't bother with the Observation Lounge and just go to the Waterfront.  The upside to the Observation Lounge is two park rangers hung out there, but one went to the Bow too, so you could go there and find out what you wanted.

4 hours ago, bookbabe said:

The price and type of drink package available will differ from the regular NCL drink package, or at least that was the case on the Kiss Kruise we did in the fall.  The info will be on the festival website in one of the sub-sections, I think under On Board Experience maybe?  We booked and paid for the drink package with Sixthman through their booking site, not via the NCL website.
 

The Haven was closed for our cruise, again, that’s where the talent stayed.  The only suites available to book were the ones located outside of the Haven, and didn’t include Haven access even if they normally would.

 

You won’t get your NCL booking number until close to the cruise, so NCL shore excursions don’t become available for actual booking until much later than you normally would be able to.  You’ll only have a Sixthman booking number right away.

 

It’s on an NCL ship, but it doesn’t really run like a normal NCL cruise.  The Sixthman staffers are excellent, though, and they have this type of thing down to a science.  It’s really well organized, and I’d do a Sixthman charter again if the right date and theme combination came up.

That drink package experience was similar for me too.  One of them, it was the same as normal NCL retail prices.  All the others, it varied.  I think it depends on what Sixthman (or the other companies) can get away with for that audience.

Interestingly enough, on The Friendship Cruise this year on the NCL Joy, they're actually opening one Haven deck for guests, and leaving the other for artists.  First time I've seen that done.

Agree that the charters are a blast, and if I find the right one, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

1 minute ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I wouldn’t call it huge, but it was much larger than typical balconies. The yacht club rocks!  We spoke to a lot of people that preferred it over the haven and retreat. Can’t wait to do it again!!  Next summer we’re doing the NCL Pearl followed by the MSC World Europa. I’m sure my answer for favorite port will change!  

I've only ever done Haven of those three, but those YC cabins do look awesome.

Just now, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Cabin - I have to go with the deluxe balcony in the yacht club on MSC’s Seaside. It was the biggest cabin and baloney we’ve ever had. ❤️ 

I might have to try that just for the huge baloney.

20 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

From memory, and not sure this is true of all NCL ships (as some have much smaller Haven areas) but I think the Haven cabins are on decks 10,11,12, 14 (Haven Spa Suites) 16 and 17.  The Haven Proper is on deck 16, where the Haven Lounge, poll, restaurant and bar is.  Deck 17 has the Haven lounging chairs and looks down on the Haven Pool area.

 

It's only accessible with your specific cabin key card.

 

If you want to be right in the Haven, then deck 16 is where you want to be.

In addition to this, the Prima setup is a little different, so make sure you peruse those deck plans if you ever book it after the Joy.

3 hours ago, AK Dreaming said:

I'm looking at booking a Sixthman cruise on the Gem in 2024.  The presale is next week and I've never done a Sixthman cruise before.  I am saphire and I do see that I get some of my benefits, but I have many questions that I cannot find answers to and was hoping someone with experience could fill in some blanks.

1.  I saw that I get a 30% discount on the drink package which I assume is not included in the pricing.  If there are 3 of us in my cabin will the discount be for all 3 of us?

2.  The website gives 3 ways to pay.  All at once, quarterly or monthly.  All starting as soon as you book.  Do they offer the same cancellation policy as NCL normally does.  I don't mind paying in advance, but the cruise is November 2024 and that's a long way off.

3.  The website only shows pricing for the cabins.  Are the drink packages the same as a normal NCL Cruise?

4.  On a typical Sixthman cruise are most of the activities an extra cost? (photos with guest, crafts, panels)

5.  I usually get trip insurance, does Sixthman offer their own or is it NCL insurance.

6.  What is usually included in the Sixthman fare?

 

Any other information regarding Sixthman will be greatly appreciated.  

I've done multiple chartered cruises including one through sixthman. My experience:

1.) The drink package should be at NCL retail for each person minus any discounts, so the price will vary by sailor.

2.) Everything is non-refundable the moment you start paying and there's a fee to change passengers on the reservation.

3.) This can depend on the sailing but my experience with sixthman is that it was the same. On my other charters, it was different (ticket based).

4.) The only extra activity I ran into was anything usually extra by NCL. e.g. Casino, arcade, etc. All the festival activities were free.

5.) Sixthman had a third party for mine that offered two plans and enforced pre-existing conditions if late. I believe I went with my own if I remember right.

6.) It's basically just your cabin + any events the festival is doing. Also know that most specialty restaurants are pretty empty in my experience (or maybe even closed) and most venues get taken over so no normal shows. From my experience most people just eat at the buffet the entire time, but they did have one MDR open, and a couple specialty restaurants if you got bored of the food.

1 hour ago, skittl1321 said:

 

Thanks- that makes me feel a bit less worried about evening entertainment.  I don't mind waiting in line, and I'm solo, so I don't need to find a group of seats. 

Just off the Encore last week, they did take reservations for comedy, but it was only on the ship, in the social, after you boarded.

1 hour ago, UKstages said:

people can refuse to believe this, but they do so at their own peril.

Plus, I'm sure there's some sort of recourse they have with Fincantieri to fix defects. It would be really dumb for them to not be tracking all issues that have come up.

I wouldn't doubt if it's in some shared spreadsheet given that was how the casino tracked credit lines, but I have no doubt it's being tracked.

I do think the customer facing behavior on it kinda sucks though, they should be more proactive until it's fixed.

Port: Rome. Spent a lot of time there now and nothing like it for me. The combination of current day culture plus history is amazing.

Ship: Epic when it first came out. The shows were awesome, between Blue man group, cirque, and the other performers, and the specialty restaurant selection was great.

Cabin: Room in the Haven please.

I will say I'm interested in trying Virgin if I can find the right time / itinerary. Reminds me a lot of the way the Epic was at first. I'm just off the Encore and it's definitely gotten... boring. I'm also going on Prima in a month so we'll see how that is.

Just now, amygutman said:

Cannot wait to see Skagway in 77 days (not that I'm counting or anything....)😄

I concur Skagway is awesome! Don't miss the food at the Skagway Brewing company near 4th and Broadway, fantastic.

30 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I read that report when it was first released because someone linked it here. If you read it, you'll see that several items were being corrected as the report was being written. Considering the number of cruises they've done since April 27 and the number of passengers each cruise, I think whatever issues they experienced nearly 3 months ago have long since been addressed. Check out the link I provided where the reviewer says exactly what I did, the bad score they received got things corrected right away.

 

I said I was half joking because it wouldn't stop me from trying them out again, especially YC. It's been a while since I've been on the Poesia or Divina. I've been to plenty of places that have failed health inspections (or should have lol).

But I don't think a passenger will be able to really know if they've fixed issues of things in non-public areas until a corrective action report is issued or another inspection is done. No passenger is going back into food storage rooms with thermometers to check.

Just now, DCGuy64 said:

That report is old, I'm sure they've corrected all of those things by now. In fact, I'd argue that a ship with some issues to correct is MORE likely to be doing things right. For confirmation, I'd check out the CC page for MSC and see what recent passengers are saying.

I was half joking but April 27th isn't that old for the 4th worst score of the past 20 years of any inspection. Especially since there's no corrective action report by MSC yet:

https://wwwn.cdc.gov/InspectionQueryTool/InspectionCorrectiveActionAcknowledgement.aspx?ColI=MjEyNjA0NTY%3d-a9ov%2by%2b%2f%2bqU%3d

19 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

MSC in Europe are doing ok maintaining service levels as long as you avoid the overcrowded school holidays.

(US it seems there are other issues with passenger demographic)

I might avoid the Seaside for the time being though: 

https://wwwn.cdc.gov/InspectionQueryTool/InspectionDetailReport.aspx?ColI=MjEyNjA0NTY%3d-a9ov%2by%2b%2f%2bqU%3d

They weren't ready until about 3:30 or so on the Encore this week. Think it's likely the new normal with staff cutbacks.

8 hours ago, mshaines said:

I know I'm treading into controversy here, but I thought I saw something that suggested NCL reversed course on the baked wings.  (And, yes, I searched the board to no avail.)  Anyhow, recent cruisers, how were the wings?  We had some on the Getaway in March and my husband thought they were disgusting.  Fwiw, I thought they were fine, but nowhere as good as our previous NCL cruise (pre-pandemic).  They almost seemed like they had been made in an instant pot, texture-wise.  Apologies if I've missed recent posts I should have seen.  TIA!  

I'm on the Encore right now and they are God awful.

25 minutes ago, complawyer said:

cagneys, moderno, le bistro, la cucina. you get to choose 2 of the 4 specialty restaurants bpttle of wine with cagneys and le bisrto

You can use them pretty much anywhere now. I used it at food republic two days ago. Just depends on the menu items you want.

Food republic is 4 items per person vs others 1-1-1

11 hours ago, omahabob said:

I don't use third party travel insurance, so I can't give feedback on them. I almost always buy a temporary policy with Medjet though. The NCL insurance and most travel insurance policies (except for the most expensive) don't cover medical evacuation back home. They only cover transport to the nearest medical facility. They do provide management and coordination for evacuation back home, but not for the flight, unless the medical care you need absolutely requires you to go back. I don't want to recuperate from an accident or illness in a foreign hospital where they may not even speak my language, and that becomes more important as my wife and I get older. What we usually end up with is the Medjet policy, the NCL insurance and the airline insurance (we book our own flights). And, since that combination does not cover missing the cruise due to delayed flights, or missing a flight home due to a delayed cruise ship, we always book to arrive one day before the cruise, and to depart at least a day after. That is, IF we're flying. We usually plan on driving to the port if feasible.

I think the medijet terms do require you to be admitted in a hospital already in order to do an evac. Makes sense you're doing it in combination with NCL's.

I've heard geoblue is pretty good about approving coverage for moves, but it does require it to be deemed medically necessary, which is a difference.

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Penthouse close to the Horizons Lounge. Starboard will have better views for the Dawes glacier day. And port better for glacier bay. Alaska is one of the cruise destinations where you want to be in the Haven with fast access to the horizons lounge and sundeck. 

I second this!  Horizon Lounge is where it's at, and Courtyard = right there.

56 minutes ago, JandC_Cruising said:

Yes!  that is the issue with the Cavern Club on the Joy...It is long and narrow..

Sounds like they're really embracing the Cavern side of the Club.

1 hour ago, MtnGolf4 said:

Leaving for the Mexican Riviera this November on the Bliss. Looking to get a little better insurance policy than what NCL offers. There are so many companies offering policies. 

Has anyone had any good or bad experiences with the top list companies?

Thanks 

I haven't had to use insurance (except the one time my bag was lost on the way to Alaska, and Chase's insurance partner rejected it for using points, even though that's covered by their terms, and Chase is no freaking help ever... but I digress).

I will say, I've done a lot of shopping for insurance.  I've landed on doing a combination of GeoBlue Medical, and depending on the cost of the trip and whether I want to self-insure it or get CFAR (cancel for any reason), I actually buy NCL's.

My reasoning:

- I do a year long insurance plan with GeoBlue, but you can do a one-trip too.  It's very inexpensive for what you get.  It's a primarily healthcare plan with high limits and is a primary payer, so you don't have to submit to yours first.  Stories I've read indicate really positive experiences with claims.  They do require a medical insurance plan to use them, and don't offer a lot of travel benefits.

- If I want to insure the cost of my trip (for me, I have a threshold amount of $s that make this worth it), I like NCL's platinum.  The limits are low for medical, so I'd never just get it by itself, but I love their CFAR.

Most CFAR coverage is very expensive, and only offers 75% cash on any penalty.  NCL's offers 90% on the penalty as FCC.  If you aren't going to sail NCL again, obviously a bad idea, but my intention usually is to do it again. 🙂 It's also very reasonable for CFAR since it's based on the price of the cabin, and there's no "you need to book within 14 days" type thing for CFAR, you can book up to final payment.

The downside obviously is you get it in FCC and not cash.  NCL self-insures that part and assumes they can re-sell the cabin x% of the time so that's part of the reason it's cheap and actually offers 90% CFAR.

Hope this helps!

8 hours ago, drumming cruisers said:

And when you get to your cabin you have to watch it again on your tv, before you can change the channel. 🤣😁

I wish they'd just lock my TV on that channel to be honest.  Love those 7 short blasts followed by one long blast.