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Alaska on Encore in September..help me decide. Portside or Starboard??


pugsammy
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The only day that it really matters is the glacier watching day. On that day, the ship leaves Juneau around 1:30 and gets to the glacier around 5:00. That cruise up the Tracy Arm Fojord will have the best views on the port side (you pass the same scenes as you exit, but it will be darker and most people will be at dinner). 

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3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

The only day that it really matters is the glacier watching day. On that day, the ship leaves Juneau around 1:30 and gets to the glacier around 5:00. That cruise up the Tracy Arm Fojord will have the best views on the port side (you pass the same scenes as you exit, but it will be darker and most people will be at dinner). 

That schedule is old. Now what the Encore does is Icy Strait Point one day,  Next day it does Glacier Bay from 7 am to 6 pm and the next day it does Juneau from 7 am to 4 pm, Same schedule as we do on two cruises in October.

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2 hours ago, swmichigan cruiser said:

That schedule is old. Now what the Encore does is Icy Strait Point one day,  Next day it does Glacier Bay from 7 am to 6 pm and the next day it does Juneau from 7 am to 4 pm, Same schedule as we do on two cruises in October.

Actually our August cruise on the Encore visits Tracy Arm on our Juneau day not Glacier Bay. 

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2 hours ago, home-mom said:

Actually our August cruise on the Encore visits Tracy Arm on our Juneau day not Glacier Bay. 

I stand corrected. I hadn't noticed that August Encore  cruises were different than the September cruises that start on September 4.  Either way it will be good to get on the Encore again.

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i usually try for the port side. this isnt always true, but i have found that most of the cruises on ncl that i have booked (18 to date) if the ship didnt need a tender, when they docked the port side was usually facing the actual port. this allowed me to take some really interesting photos from my balcony. especially with a telephoto lens. 

 

before others blast me with their disagreements, this is "ONLY" from my own personal experience, and the opinions expressed herein are strictly my own

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For what it's worth, I'm on the 8/28 sailing and we have Icy Straight point & Endicot Arm & Dawes Glacier - so the itinerary varies greatly by sailing date. I'm also on the hotel California trip as we check in but never check out. Surprised they still haven't fixed that... quite annoying actually.

 

Not sure why, but I tend to prefer port side when I sail, but for this trip we're headed aft for the first time. 

 

image.thumb.png.d7a88693e66866d6996d4dffe75fc957.png

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On 7/24/2021 at 9:17 AM, Sailing12Away said:

For what it's worth, I'm on the 8/28 sailing and we have Icy Straight point & Endicot Arm & Dawes Glacier - so the itinerary varies greatly by sailing date. I'm also on the hotel California trip as we check in but never check out. Surprised they still haven't fixed that... quite annoying actually.

 

Not sure why, but I tend to prefer port side when I sail, but for this trip we're headed aft for the first time. 

 

image.thumb.png.d7a88693e66866d6996d4dffe75fc957.png

What do you mean you don’t check out? I don’t understand from that graphic you shared? 

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I’m on a September sailing and choose port side.  I’ve been to Glacier Bay before but on the Pearl and if the same holds true, the ship will turn around several times so that everyone gets a good view.  The best views were on port side in the morning though.  I haven’t been to Icy Strait Point before, but in Juneau, we docked on starboard, but it didn’t matter much since we are at AJ Dock.  I have no what they’ll do with Ketchikan now that there’s the Ward Cove dock.  

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3 hours ago, Jenjohncourt said:

What do you mean you don’t check out? I don’t understand from that graphic you shared? 

There are no departure times in the table on my itinerary. We arrive, but we don't depart. Hotel California song by the Eagles...

 

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
"Relax, " said the night man,
"We are programmed to receive.
You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave! "

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15 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

There are no departure times in the table on my itinerary. We arrive, but we don't depart. Hotel California song by the Eagles...

 

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
"Relax, " said the night man,
"We are programmed to receive.
You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave! "

end with massive outrageous guitar solo between joe walsh and previously don felder, 

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7 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

There are no departure times in the table on my itinerary. We arrive, but we don't depart. Hotel California song by the Eagles...

 

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
"Relax, " said the night man,
"We are programmed to receive.
You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave! "

Yes I am very familiar with the song! 😂 you arrive at 6:00 am. You will be depart the ship after it receives clearance. 

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12 hours ago, Jenjohncourt said:

Yes I am very familiar with the song! 😂 you arrive at 6:00 am. You will be depart the ship after it receives clearance. 

I understand that. But normally your itinerary lists both the anticipated arrival time and departure time at each port. Mine doesn't. It only lists the arrival time in port.

🐒 Koji 🐒 NEO TWEWY HYPE on Twitter: "Oh shit you flew over my head? Nice…  "

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On 7/23/2021 at 11:48 AM, pugsammy said:

I don't know what to pick...help!


Did you pick a side - or go with aft?

 

Since September is Glacier Bay instead of Dawes Glacier, I would say port, based on my experience cruising G Bay.  Going in, the glaciers were on that side.  When we reached the end, the ship rotated 180 degrees.  The eastern side of the bay had lovely scenery, just not the big glaciers.

 

I’m in a studio, so it’ll be The Waterfront or Observation Lounge depending on seating availability and weather. 
 

Have a great cruise.

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port side, definitely. i have posted before that i love to sit on the balcony with my camera and telephote lens.  i find that when the ship docks in a port, the city is actually on the port side, affording me a great opportunity to take pictures. while i can be just as happy on starboard, most of the time you're just facing the water

 

i was able to take some great photos of St Mark's Square in Venice from my port side cabin

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