AstoriaPreppy

I like to remember the "four corners" rule when dealing with NCL: the only thing that matters is what's between the four corners of a document, not what any rep or website tells you. Always compare the cruise docs that are emailed to you after speaking with a rep or making a booking change. This way, you can verify the codes in the upper right of your booking are correct/carry over... the worst case scenario is getting on a ship a realizing something isn't correct, with no recourse.

Yes. Also good to note that NCL reps are notorious for processing upgrades, promising the promos will still be there, and screwing the whole thing up. On our upcoming NCL cruise, we attempted to book an upgrade, and somehow lost all of our promos (free at sea, etc) in the process. It took 5+ hours on the phone trying to get our old room back and the promos reversed with the “resolution desk.” We did end up with a complimentary $100 OBC for the fiasco, which was a nice gesture.

Not to hijack, but I believe Hubbard is where the Sun hit a pretty large growler (smallish iceberg) in 2022. I assume not going up to the glacier must be a corporate requirement to stay back, likely because of maneuverability or insurance issues?

Balcony cabins on the Gem don't have a lot of outlets, and I think fewer than the Club Balcony/Minisuites. There's one near the table (since balconies don't have a proper desk), and one at the hair dryer/makeup corner seat. I also seem to remember an outlet hidden in one of the closet area cubbies, but I don't remember if it's 110 or 220. There are no USB-A outlets in the rooms or bedside lamps... the ship hasn't received the in-stateroom upgrades that similar ships like the Pearl have received.

As far as I've seen, only Royal/Celebrity ever run sales on the pre-purchased beverage packages, and those sales are much less common than they were even a year or so ago. It wasn't uncommon to see them going for 25 or 30% off on Black Friday, but this may be a thing of the past.

As a general rule, NCL’s MDR are not going to compare favorably to Celebrity MDRs. I’ve always described NCL MDRs as airport Holiday Inn convention lunch, and Celebrity as like an upscale Westin banquet. To get comparable food to a Celebrity MDR you’re going to likely need to eat in a specialty restaurant on NCL The quality of ingredients on NCL tends to be lower (cheaper proteins), and the preparations tend to be less creative… you won’t be getting lots of flavors or spices in an NCL MDR. It’s much more direct (and their passengers tend to like).

At the hiking trails reopened? As of 2019, I thought they had been destroyed by rockslides.

I think that's just called MSC Yacht Club? 🤣

From experience, generally, the trains are a faster and more efficient way to do the Cinque Terre. The ferry from La Spezia to Monterosso takes over an hour (at the fastest)... I think the train is around 20 minutes? If you're looking to maximize time in the towns, the train is almost always a better choice. Also, I think the ferry skips Corniglia, which we ended up enjoying the most for the views, cooler temps, and fewer tourists.

Hypothetically, yes, but you'd have to cary your bags with you. IAH has two different tram systems. One is inside the secure terminal space and is called the Skyway. The other is called the Subway, is in the basement, and connects all of the terminals and airport hotel outside of security. (Fun fact: in the 60s and 70s, Disney wanted to sell the world Peoplemovers (like the Tomorrowland kind). The Subway is the only publicly-accessible WEDway Peoplemover outside of WDW that Disney ever sold ... it's a deep cut geek experience.) Each terminal only has check-ins for the specific airlines at that terminal. For example, Delta is in terminal A, so you can't check in at Terminal B. So what you could hypothetically do is get off the bus at the first terminal stop, take your bags to the basement, and wait for the Subway to come by and head to your terminal for check-in. Just tell the driver that's what you plan to do when you get on, so they don't sort the bags by terminal/check-in.

I'd agree with other posters who mention that 12:15 might be pushing it for a flight from IAH. It's about an hour and a half + ride in the shuttle on a good morning, and if there's any delays (and there always seem to be delays in Galveston) a noonish flight might be too close for comfort. The shuttles stop at each terminal at IAH; if you're the first terminal this is great. If you're the last terminal, it's a slow process.

One thing you may like about NCL is that it is *very* casual, and you won't get the freaking out about dress codes, hats and shorts that you do on the other lines. We always joke that it makes Carnival/Royal Caribbean feel like a Cunard formal night much of the time... there's not an expectation of dressing up in the evening. It also allows us to pack very light compared to the other lines. Generally, there will be one MDR that says they require long pants (aka jeans). Le Bistro (and ships with Ocean Blue) also says they require long pants and a collared shirt. Everywhere else, as long as you're not wearing a bathing suit, you'll be fine for dinner. Cagney's, and the other specialty dining venues are absolutely casual, shorts are 100% okay. Speaking from experience, enforcement of the collared shirt/pants recommendation varies widely... we've had friends and family wearing shorts/t-shirts in Le Bistro without issue, and I've seen reports that aft MDR "no shorts" enforcement on some ship has been disbanded. If anything, the line has gotten more casual since the restart of cruising, not more formal.

Compared to every other cruise line we've sailed on since the restart (Carnival, Celebrity, Princess, and Royal), NCL internet is staggeringly poor. If you can't video chat clearly or stream music without buffering, it's not proper internet in 2023, full stop. Also, I'm with your husband! The ability to take a meeting or stay on top of things from a cruise ship is far better for me than coming back to an inbox full of follow up work and missed opportunities. Taking 30 minutes for a conference call poolside reminds me why technology should exist in the first place.

Zooming in for a meeting from an NCL ship isn’t an option using the onboard internet… that still hasn’t changed 🤣

Someone on the Italy port board that was just in Livorno on the Epic said the train station shuttle is no longer a thing... just the shuttle into the middle of town. We'll probably stick with the NCL "on your own" excursion to Florence. Getting a cab from the port to the train station in Livorno is nearly impossible. From my experience the cabbies all want fares directly to Florence, or into Pisa/Lucca. We're also trying to avoid the shuttle to town, then another haggle with a cabbie (or public bus) to the train. Whatever we'd save in money at that point would be wasted in lost time.

Thanks for all the details everyone, and TBH a bit sad the shuttle to the train isn't offered anymore. We're not really interested in the center of town shuttle + taxi/bus to the station + train, or doing the (admittedly cheap Tuscany Bus). At that point we've likely blown any time benefit getting into Florence ourselves would have offered. We'll still ask onboard, but will likely just stick with the NCL "on your own" transfer to/from Florence at this point. We've already booked tickets for the Accademia and Uffizi, so we should be able to maximize our limited time in the city!

From what I've read, there's a standard "get you into town" shuttle all cruise lines run out of the port area. But I remember reading that NCL specifically has/had a $25 train station shuttle, so you didn't have to transfer to a public bus/taxi to get to the train station. If no one knows, we'll absolutely ask onboard. We've already got an NCL transfer excursion into Florence booked, but the shuttle/train would offer a bit more flexibility and possible a few more hours in Florence.

What I'd recommend for a first timer in Alaska is to try and make sure you get Glacier Bay on your itinerary. Having the park rangers, and a day full of commentary and glacier/wildlife viewing (without bingo or gold by the inch announcements every hour) is quintessential Alaska. Also, (this may be heresy on the NCL boards), but I'm not a huge fan of NCL in Alaska. They don't have full-time naturalists on board, so we've found you miss a lot of the context. For example, when we've sailed Princess (or even Carnival) in Alaska, there's a person on board who will lead wildlife viewing from the deck, make announcements when wildlife are spotted, do lectures about the trip, etc. It's a cost NCL doesn't want to take on, and they seem to do okay without it, but we missed it. Also, HAL and Princess tend to do a much better job with included enrichment onboard (alaskan food/beer onboard, axe throwing, sled dog puppies) than a lot of the other lines... but you'll pay more for those lines in Alaska. The crowd in Alaska on almost all the lines is less drinking/party oriented than a Caribbean cruise. It's absolutely more a jeans, fleece and sweaters crowd. If they're looking for all-night party cruising, it might not be a good fit, but as long as they know what they're getting into, they'll be fine.

Posted this on the Italy ports board, but no one seems to know specifics regarding this NCL-only option. I've heard in passing that NCL has/had a $25 ship to Livorno Centrale train station shuttle bus, but it's only offered onboard and they don't like to talk about it. It's not pre-bookable, and I can't find any specifics. Does anyone have info if this shuttle is still running as of 2023, and experience using it? Any info would be appreciated.

As of a few years ago, the end of the Alaska season used to be when Princess/HAL wrapped up cruising, around mid-September due to weather. We actually did the last cruise of the season on the Star Princess, and were surprised at the number of shops, restaurants, and tourism stuff that was already closed. Now that NCL has pushed way into October, weather can be much more volatile. I'm not sure if shops are staying open for NCL, or if they're wrapping up when most of the other lines leave for the season. That said, if you want vacuum packed smoked salmon at 75% off, it may be the trip of a lifetime for you!

For cruise lines, "inside passage" generally used to refer to the east side of Vancouver Island, passing through the Seymour Narrows. As ships have gotten bigger, the Canadian pilots association won't let those ships through the narrows because of navigability issues, so lines have gotten creative. Princess seems to have started this when they couldn't get Royal class certified for the narrows, and they rebranded with "oh, everything is an inside passage cruise now, even on the other side of the island!" At this point, I think Princess' Grand class may be the largest ships that still do the narrows regularly? (please correct me if I'm wrong) Re: NCL, it's hit or miss if they'll take the Jewel class into the narrows. We did a Vancouver-Seattle trip on the Pearl in 2015, and expected a leisurely first sea day sailing up the inside passage... instead we made a beeline out of Vancouver and into the open ocean.

You can't cary on with wine you'd bring to the airport... this would violate liquid limits and would be confiscated at security. You can carry on full bottles of wine, but it requires shopping at the duty free, post-security. Most duty free stores now have tamper bags, and you keep your purchased wine in the secure bag for the duration of travel. This allows you to take your duty free liquor/wine through most security checkpoints if you happen to have an international connection.

Hahaha, you would be surprised! Things still wrapped up by 11:30ish most evenings, but for Holland America we were impressed! It was nothing like what we've seen on another line where I coined the term "Piazza Zombies" to describe our fellow passengers.

Loving your review, and adding a quick context note re: these stones for anyone who might visit Iceland in the future. From our time in Iceland last year, we learned these are called cairns, they were used as waypoints in ancient times, and the Icelandic people really REALLY don't want any tourists making new ones. From what we could gather, old & historic cairns are viewed as part of the cultural fabric of the country... you'll find massive ones dating back hundreds of years around the countryside. The flip side is that new cairns are viewed as offensive trash, almost like geographic graffiti. As an American, I was surprised, but they took it very seriously.

This is one of the highlights of the newer HAL ships for us: continuous live music in the evenings. They have a "music walk" on the Pinnacle Class ships that include Rolling Stone Rock Room (rock band), Billboard Onboard (dueling pianos), and BB King Blues Club (blues, and modified pop/r&b). The best part is that all of the venues are large, with full bars, plenty of seats and no queues. They even time each to perform 30 to 45 minute sets, in sequence, so you can see all of them in a night.