Firehunter

This sounds fun. Is it an excursion? Can you share more information as tion about scheduling it? Thank you.

Great advice thank you. With the a6700 available for pre-order I'm sure there will be lots of a6000 or other a6XXX on the second hand market soon. Which bad do you like to use with your gear? I'm going to look for a rain cover too just in case.

Cool, thank you so much. Glad to hear the 70-350 would a good choice. I'll keep an eye on the 18-135 for the future. I know we won't have the opportunity in Alaska due to the season, but what would your recommendation be for a night sky (milky way) lens?

Hi All, I have a Sony a6400 with the kit lens 16-50mm and I'm new to manual setting cameras. I bought a used Sony 55-210mm to practice taking dog agility and sports shots which after some research on good manual settings I got some decent shots. I was thinking of getting a used Sony 70-350mm to get even better action shots, but now that we are going on a cruise to Alaska in June of 2024 I thought maybe I should spend more and get a lens with more reach. So I'm reaching out to you all to get some advice and recommendations. I would love to get some good shots from our aft balcony as well as public deck areas. From our aft balcony on our 2013 Alaska cruise we saw dolphins playing in the wake some mornings, whales as the ship passed them, and spotted sea otters and puffins on our way through Glacier Bay. We will be on deck 15 on the NCL Encore, so pretty high up for surface water shots. I also hope to take a small boat whale watching excursion in Juneau. I'm open to both tripod and hand held shooting as well as lenses from Sony or other brands and used or new. The a6400 does not have IBIS, so I think I would need a lens that has OSS. Budget is under $1000, but could stretch a little further. And I'll also read through the "What to take to Alaska" post. Thank you!

Thank you. Most definitely reading the policy before I choose. 🙂

Thank you to those advising to speak with TIS directly and not just plug in info into their website. I spoke with them earlier today and they sent me two policy quotes. We were told we need two policies, because my MIL has a different permanent address. We were given quotes from TravelSafe Classic for us and IMG (iTravelInsured Travel) SE for her. Both are underwritten by US Fire Insurance Company. We will be within the timeline for pre-existing conditions to be covered (21 and 20 days after initial deposit). They both provide good medical and med evac coverage, 100k and 1M and 250k and 500k. Also very happy they both include trip cancellation due to hurricanes, a big concern for us living on the gulf coast and summer trips during hurricane season: IMG SE - "Your Scheduled Trip Departure City or Scheduled Destination is under a hurricane warning or hurricane watch as issued by the NOAA Hurricane Center within twenty-four (24) hours of Your Scheduled Departure Date. Cancellation of Your Trip must occur more than fourteen (14) days following Your Effective Date of coverage for Trip Cancellation;" TravelSafe Classic - "Your Scheduled Trip Departure City or Scheduled Destination is under a hurricane warning as issued by the NOAA Hurricane Center within 36 hours of Your Scheduled Departure Date. Cancellation of Your Trip must occur more than 14 days following Your Effective Date of coverage for Trip Cancellation;" TIS says neither of these require us to insure all non-refundable trip costs, so we don't have to include airfare. They also said that we would put the total cost of the trip in now for the premium and not just the deposit we paid, so no adding the rest later when we pay it. Anything else I should look out for?

You will love the aft! We were lucky to get one on our first NCL Alaska cruise. Beautiful view, Glacier Bay was amazing from it, saw lots of wildlife (sea otters, puffins, orcas, and some mornings dolphins swimming in the wake), sunsets and sunrises. We got aft again for our cruise to Alaska next summer. Enjoy!

Oh good to know. I thought you insured the total cost of the cruise right away, not as each payment was made. Which insurance company do you normally use and have you ever had to submit a claim? I'm going to call a couple companies with some questions. With my 89 yr old MIL, insurance is pretty high.

How would you insure airfare if you have to buy a plan now to cover x days after 1st deposit for pre-existing coverage, but don't plan to buy airfare for another 8+ months and dont know the cost of it?

Category B1 cabin 10168 on the Jewel is a very nice large aft balcony. Can fit 2 loungers and two chairs. Would be perfect for Alaska. We had this Jewel cabin for a Caribbean cruise and the comparable 10668 on the Pearl for Alaska. There is one other aft cabin on the other side that has the same large size balcony. We love afts and will have two aft cabins for our Alaska cruise next summer on the Encore. Those are also category B1. No extra amenities with B1. Check out prices to see how the family suites and club balcony suite cabin prices compare to the aft cabins. Our aft was priced higher for 3 people, can't remember if it was for 2. They should also list the differences/amenities in the cabins.

I'm starting to research insurance options for our trip in 2024 with NCL. We are on 2 reservations, one for each cabin. Will get insurance for all of us together. When I get quotes for the cost of each traveler, do I take the total and divide or do I go by what the cruise line shows for cost of each person on the confirmation? We are also looking for CFAR, since we need to be watchful of hurricane's. Got a quote from bigbox TA's Covermore (didn't buy cruise through them and they just asked for cost for each person and not any ages) for about 5% of cruise cost, so $650. Need to see if CFAR is included or extra so I am printing the whole policy now to make sure I understand all they cover, but so far coverage seems very good. Will also check Travel Guard and Travel Insured. Any advice on what else to look out for our what I should make sure it covers with a 90 yr old MIL?

Oh this is good to know. I wonder why it doesn't show them all.

So this is the first time we booked directly with NCL. Are offers to bid sent by NCL via email?

If you want to buy Cruisefirst now at the $250 for $500 promo, go to the NCL website and click on the learn more for the front page promotions. Then scroll down to the Cruisefirst promo and click more. There is a link to purchase a Cruisefirst certificate. Make sure you read all the terms.

Hope keycard issues are resolved quickly and definitely hope those toilets work! We considered the Sun for next year, but went with the Encore. Have a wonderful time!