NCL but considering HAL or Princess

[toyotamom]

17 minutes ago, RB9643 said:

 

It's good to be an Xer.  The Boomers and Millennial's always seem to be in a constant battle, while we just kick back and laugh at both of you.  🤣

You must be hanging around the wrong boomers.  When I hit 50 (14 years ago) it was like the weight of the world was lifted from my shoulders. I didn't have anything to prove to anyone any longer and drama was no longer for me.  At the old age of 58 I started a nonprofit that supports students in our local schools.  We currently distribute over 500 articles of new clothing and shoes weekly and 1295 weekend food bags for needy students to take home each Friday.  These are needs that are seen by educators and they relay the needs to us.  I don't have time to be battling with anyone.  I'm to busy raising money for underwear and ramen.

[RB9643]

51 minutes ago, toyotamom said:

You must be hanging around the wrong boomers. 

 

The whole generational angst thing is overblown for sure.  Just another way to divide people. We are just barely Xer's, but my wife's siblings are much older and solidly in Boomer territory. While there is little difference between us due mostly because of our environment and how we were raised, there are definitely some differences that are quite stark.

 

 

[Firehunter]

So based on cabin preferences we have narrowed it down to NCL Encore or Discovery Princess, both larger ships.

 

We are Gen Xer's who are now part of the sandwich generation.

 

 

[RB9643]

14 minutes ago, Firehunter said:

So based on cabin preferences we have narrowed it down to NCL Encore or Discovery Princess, both larger ships.

 

We are Gen Xer's who are now part of the sandwich generation.

 

 

 

White bread on one side, multi-grain on the other. We're all the good stuff in between!

 

Can't speak about Princess (yet), but you won't be disappointed with Encore.

 

 

[Sigyn]

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Uh oh! My Millennial self feels targeted. ❄️

 

We're watching you!!!! 😂

 

2 hours ago, RB9643 said:

 

It's good to be an Xer.  The Boomers and Millennial's always seem to be in a constant battle, while we just kick back and laugh at both of you.  🤣

That's because we were latchkey kids. 

[toyotamom]

We have never been on either of those specific ships but think you will have a great time on either of those lines.

[Panhandle Couple]

On 5/28/2023 at 1:17 PM, kitkat343 said:

Historically, Princess and HAL both have a longstanding tradition of excellent cruises to Alaska.  We sailed Princess to Alaska, and they did a phenomenal job, especially with the port discussions and bringing puppies on board in Alaska (or dogs when there aren't puppies).

 

I'd agree that Princess tends to have younger clientele, and tends to be more supportive of families.  Their kids clubs are excellent for small children (we haven't sailed them with older kids yet).  

 

Prior to covid, we found the mainstream cruise lines to be more similar than different, and we sailed for the best itinerary but others sail for the best price.  

 

Two things to be cautious about with NCL:

 

1. They've changed itineraries after final payment.  On my cruise, they dropped one port and the morning of another for environmental reasons and continued to advertise the original itinerary for the next month.  No one was allowed to cancel or reschedule, even people who purchased  the cruise after the port cancellations who bought their cruises directly from NCL and weren't notified of the changes by NCL.  The Spirit was also affected by cancellations this season, and NCL canceled the inside passage after final payment and did not let people make changes.

 

2. NCL has "free at sea" drink packages.  You pay significant taxes and fees on these packages (and can choose to decline the free package if you don't want to pay the taxes and fees).  Recently, some NCL ships were not serving alcohol to guests in some European ports who had purchased the drink package, and at least initially refused to refund their taxes and fees (I think after some protest NCL refunded fees on some sailings but am not sure since this turned into a really long thread I haven't finished reading).

 

In Alaska, I'd strongly recommend Princess for a younger family.  Hal is a good choice for an older family or people who are happy sailing on a ship with mostly older passengers.

For the 5th or 6th time you mention the dropped port issues that aren't associated with an Alaskan cruise.  And you have been criticized for it. 

 

The UK tax issue for drinks in port are not an issue for an Alaskan cruise.

 

Missing the Inner Passage has also been explained to you by other posters here.  There is a reason so few are offered across all cruise lines.  And that cruise is shown as an either/or for the Inner Passage.

 

The regulars here know you have something against NCL, and continue to bash them every chance you get.

 

Just bringing this up so the OP understands your personal vendetta on the NCL side of things.

[Panhandle Couple]

5 hours ago, Firehunter said:

So based on cabin preferences we have narrowed it down to NCL Encore or Discovery Princess, both larger ships.

 

We are Gen Xer's who are now part of the sandwich generation.

 

 

We have sailed on NCL Jewel and Bliss to Alaska pre shutdown, and on the Discovery Princess (DP) last year.  Bliss and Encore are similar enough for this comparison.

 

Last year on DP, the ship was 4 months old. So everything was still the "new ship" smell.

There were several things we liked about the ship.  The 2 different large lounges allow for 2 events at the same time, a plus.  The Jazz club was nice, although the style of jazz there (Dave Brubeck) was not mainstream.  That maybe different this year.

The buffet area was too small.  The aisles going through the buffet to the aft elevators are too narrow and in the table areas, which always meant crowding traffic in the path of the diners.  (NCL has wider paths and partitions for better separation)

The balconies are very small, something you will see comments for on the several on line video reviews.  Our regular sized cabin was also smaller than the NCL version.  The bathroom was extremely small, and not wheelchair accessible.  However, I assume there are cabins that are accessible.

The inner atrium is very nice, with several bars and activities.

We liked the shows, even though they weren't "name brand".  The theater was nice.

Another downside (for us) is the lack of a mid deck outside area. (see NCL Ocean 876 below)  This forces all outside strolls and site seeing onto the two upper decks, which if windy, can be very challenging, and wet when raining.  This happens often on Alaskan cruises. 

The aft dining room is hard to find, I never could figure out the path, although luckily my wife could.

The large TV screen above the pool is OK, if that is a movie you want to watch.  But with foggy and misty weather, not really enjoyable.

The upper deck jogging path is the best I have used, nice and wide, so that's a plus.

 

We found the specialty dining was not that special.  My meal at the Italian place was particularly bad.

The MDR was avg at best. Our dinners took at least 2 hours every time.  We were late for the late theater shows twice because of this, even skipping dessert once.  We found asking for the chef recommendation that night resulted in better food.  They still had lobster night, which is a plus.

The buffet was OK, but used only for breakfast and quick afternoon snacks. 

I can't recall a "cruise specific tailored cuisine". That would mean lots of snow crab and salmon, which weren't on the menu.

The bars were OK, sail away was very crowded (of course) the rest of the time the bartenders were avg to great.  

Room steward was good. 

 

To us, NCL ship design is better.  On the Bliss we had an aft balcony, so there was lots of room outside.  The access hallway might be tight for a wheelchair.

Ocean 876 means that decks 8, 7 and 6 have outdoor verandas that go up tp 2/3 of the way around the ship. Several bars are there, along with several styles of lounge chairs. Good hang out space and out of the rain and wind protected with large clear panels along the way.

But if the weather is too nasty, the observation lounge on deck 15 forward is simply outstanding.  And it will get crowded.  But two continental breakfast areas, a bar and some music offerings make it a must do for an Alaskan cruise.  Nothing like it on the DP. 

As noted, more "pass through" room in the buffet.  Three options for the MDR, 2 of which are on same deck.  I believe all are wheel chair accessible. 

Specialty restaurants are good to very good, but that can be subjective.  But there are more options than on the DP.    

 

Ketchikan NCL port is outside of town, although several early reviews here have said that the travel issues are better than last year (which was the first for that location, and coming out of the shut down).  That location is used because Ketchikan has run out of dock space, and will probably restrict the number of ships in the future (which Juneau has done).  The drive between the dock and town is scenic.  Princess dock is in main port, which can get congested with 3 ships all exiting at the same time.  Your cell phone should have service there. simply use a map app to find your way around, it is a relatively small town.

 

[Firehunter]

18 hours ago, Panhandle Couple said:

We have sailed on NCL Jewel and Bliss to Alaska pre shutdown, and on the Discovery Princess (DP) last year.  Bliss and Encore are similar enough for this comparison.

 

Last year on DP, the ship was 4 months old. So everything was still the "new ship" smell.

There were several things we liked about the ship.  The 2 different large lounges allow for 2 events at the same time, a plus.  The Jazz club was nice, although the style of jazz there (Dave Brubeck) was not mainstream.  That maybe different this year.

The buffet area was too small.  The aisles going through the buffet to the aft elevators are too narrow and in the table areas, which always meant crowding traffic in the path of the diners.  (NCL has wider paths and partitions for better separation)

The balconies are very small, something you will see comments for on the several on line video reviews.  Our regular sized cabin was also smaller than the NCL version.  The bathroom was extremely small, and not wheelchair accessible.  However, I assume there are cabins that are accessible.

The inner atrium is very nice, with several bars and activities.

We liked the shows, even though they weren't "name brand".  The theater was nice.

Another downside (for us) is the lack of a mid deck outside area. (see NCL Ocean 876 below)  This forces all outside strolls and site seeing onto the two upper decks, which if windy, can be very challenging, and wet when raining.  This happens often on Alaskan cruises. 

The aft dining room is hard to find, I never could figure out the path, although luckily my wife could.

The large TV screen above the pool is OK, if that is a movie you want to watch.  But with foggy and misty weather, not really enjoyable.

The upper deck jogging path is the best I have used, nice and wide, so that's a plus.

 

We found the specialty dining was not that special.  My meal at the Italian place was particularly bad.

The MDR was avg at best. Our dinners took at least 2 hours every time.  We were late for the late theater shows twice because of this, even skipping dessert once.  We found asking for the chef recommendation that night resulted in better food.  They still had lobster night, which is a plus.

The buffet was OK, but used only for breakfast and quick afternoon snacks. 

I can't recall a "cruise specific tailored cuisine". That would mean lots of snow crab and salmon, which weren't on the menu.

The bars were OK, sail away was very crowded (of course) the rest of the time the bartenders were avg to great.  

Room steward was good. 

 

To us, NCL ship design is better.  On the Bliss we had an aft balcony, so there was lots of room outside.  The access hallway might be tight for a wheelchair.

Ocean 876 means that decks 8, 7 and 6 have outdoor verandas that go up tp 2/3 of the way around the ship. Several bars are there, along with several styles of lounge chairs. Good hang out space and out of the rain and wind protected with large clear panels along the way.

But if the weather is too nasty, the observation lounge on deck 15 forward is simply outstanding.  And it will get crowded.  But two continental breakfast areas, a bar and some music offerings make it a must do for an Alaskan cruise.  Nothing like it on the DP. 

As noted, more "pass through" room in the buffet.  Three options for the MDR, 2 of which are on same deck.  I believe all are wheel chair accessible. 

Specialty restaurants are good to very good, but that can be subjective.  But there are more options than on the DP.    

 

Ketchikan NCL port is outside of town, although several early reviews here have said that the travel issues are better than last year (which was the first for that location, and coming out of the shut down).  That location is used because Ketchikan has run out of dock space, and will probably restrict the number of ships in the future (which Juneau has done).  The drive between the dock and town is scenic.  Princess dock is in main port, which can get congested with 3 ships all exiting at the same time.  Your cell phone should have service there. simply use a map app to find your way around, it is a relatively small town.

 

 

Thank you so much for this wealth of information! Such great information you shared and we appreciated it a lot. We took everything you said, what we read about both, and cabin options into consideration and booked with the Encore today! It sounds like the best choice overall and the kids are excited by all the extra fun activities on the Encore: go karts, laser tag, and vr.

[Panhandle Couple]

1 hour ago, Firehunter said:

 

Thank you so much for this wealth of information! Such great information you shared and we appreciated it a lot. We took everything you said, what we read about both, and cabin options into consideration and booked with the Encore today! It sounds like the best choice overall and the kids are excited by all the extra fun activities on the Encore: go karts, laser tag, and vr.

Thanks.

Remember to book your specialty dinning 120 days out from the start of the cruise.