ILCTCRUISER

A month ago, we took an NCL Panama Canal cruise. When we dined in the MDR or the specialty restaurants, the very first thing the waiters asked after introduction was: Does anyone have any allergies? Off topic here: Food in NCL MDR was a bit better than RCL. Specialty dining was much better for the most part. Ocean Blue wasn’t that good and La Cucina was OK. Cagney’s was better than chops. Le Bistro was the highlight. Waiters even do a formal reveal of the entree and the food was exceptional.

My biggest complaint was the quality of the food in the main dining room. Very bland. The appetizers and dessert were mostly good but the main dishes were often lacking in flavor and quality (with the exception of the Indian options). Pastas were bland. We VERY OFTEN go with the Indian menu items. We got to the point where we usually asked the head waiter about curry options, knowing that so many of the kitchen staff members are Indian and, safe to say, know how to prepare the recipes. And, of course, there is the need to prepare meals for crew. However, we’ve heard that Miami has put a stop on ordering off menu. We haven’t sailed Royal since last November and we were able to do so then. Will have to wait until next Royal cruise to see if that’s is indeed the case. Just returned from an NCL Panama Canal cruise. Buffet (Garden Cafe) usually had a nice selection of Indian offerings for dinner; not so with breakfast though.

Hopefully your documented all of this or can recreate the steps you took, including dates, names, etc. I’d start with RoyalGuestRelations@rccl.com. If no response in a timely manner, you could escalate. I’d start there. Be advised, though, that that dept won’t get back to you promptly.

It’s been mentioned on other threads that it’s no longer being done.

I feel that all that was missing on the thread was a little clarity. Is it a matter of booking as a solo pax or booking as a solo pax seeking the DP340 supplement discount? DP340 discount does have some blackout dates.

Did the agent possibly misunderstand and think she was asking to book a studio on a ship that doesn’t have studios?

It seems OP has lised all ports covering the B2B, so the Athens and Barcelona entries may be end of first cruise and start of following cruise. Option 1 with the understanding that you need to book another cruise or land tour that includes Barcelona. Also, if you’re doing this as your intro to European travel add 2-3 days precruise in Rome and maybe two days post cruise in Venice.

If you’re planning to use them to hang clothing, such as pool coverups, windbreakers etc, make sure you get ones that can handle weight. They’re really inexpensive so beefier is better. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=magnetic+hooks+cruise&crid=1P9D5J747ZAGX&sprefix=Magnetic+hooks%2Caps%2C157&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_14

It’s interesting that you can’t get what seems to be really important information. How can you plan? I did go to the Princess site and pulled up one of its cruise tours. Clicked on Excursions and it did provide a list of excursions for the Denali stay. There must be time during the stay there to take one of those excursions or they wouldn’t be listed. Interestingly, some of them appear to be very similar to the excursions offered at Viator. https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details/?voyageCode=A316&resType=T&tourCode=T3ADA4 https://www.viator.com/tours/Denali-National-Park/Black-Diamond-Tundra-Golfing-Package/d22364-17896P6

Thank you, @DragonOfTheSeas! Denali is so HUGE that it’s rare that the ENTIRE mountain is completely visible. Clouds may block out a portion of it and, unfortunately, some have said that couldn’t see any of it due to cloud cover. We were also lucky and saw it in its entirety. This was a number of years ago and we traveled much further into the park. Yes, one should upgrade to the Tundra Tour. Buses are operated by a concessionaire. They are equipped with video screens and the driver/guide had a telescopic lens. We were able to see grizzly, caribou and moose relatively close to the bus. Dahl sheep are usually up on the cliffs and the guide will find them and show them on the video screens.

This may very well be the case. I simply can’t recall.

I did a quick search but couldn’t find an answer for you. I also quickly checked 2023 assuming that possibly offerings for 9/24 haven’t been finalized. Nothing. I’m even having a hard time trying to remember exactly what we did during those times noted as “your free time.” Any add’l excursions you’d like to add would be those offered during any of those times. For example, during your stay in Denali, there may be a whitewater raft trip on the Nenana River or ATV trips. The Lodge that RCL uses outside Denali will have an evening dinner/theater show. Talkeetna? Tour of a sled dog kennel. I recall there’s a zip line there as well. You can even book fixed wing plane and helicopter trips. You’re right, though. I can’t find anything at the RCL website or app. I should also say we tend to NOT book the cruise line excursions. If you’d like to get an idea about the types of excursions offered, you could check out Viator or Shore Excursions Group (which is not affiliated with RCL). For Shore Excursions Group you can plug in your ship, sail date etc and you will be shown excursions for the cruise ports. To find excursions for Talkeetna, however, click on DESTINATIONS on the top bar. Then click on ALASKA EXCURSIONS. Then scroll down until you see a click-on for INLAND AND CITY TOURS. Click on ALASKA INTERIOR. Or do a search to find contact information for the individual vendors. Very often the vendors you can book, say, through Viator are the same vendors that RCL contracts. Upgrade from Natural History Tour to Tundra Wilderness Tour. Yes, you can book in advance through RCL (call in). When we did it, we did it on the motor coach after it left Seward.

There really isn’t a set date when RCL releases such information for any cruise. Some suggest that one should start looking about 6 mos before the sail date. Alternately, you could check out roll calls for this season. Often times people post photos of cruise planners etc. Will they be the same for 9/24? Not sure but it will give you an idea about what to expect.`

For the cruise portion, you will be able to book RCL excursions in advance of the sailing as you would for other cruises. Alternately, excursions are available through other vendors. Landtour. Typically landtour packages include the Natural History Tour in Denali. There is an upgrade to the Tundra Wilderness Tour which we’d recommend even though the Tundra Wilderness Tour has been amended the last few years. I think it may even have been cancelled one year recently. There’s a rock glacier at one point and the NPS finally decided that it needed to build a bridge to go around that area (for many years it dealt with the damage with road maintenance but the increased frequency of the damage led the NPS to shut down the road at that point and go for a permanent solution. Here’s information: https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/nature/pretty-rocks.htm

It would be great if Miami had Global Entry kiosks. Not sure why it doesn’t. Disembarked NCL 3/11 and process was very slow. Terminal reps worked lines seeking out flyers with flight departure times that might be in jeopardy. You needed to show a boarding pass and when you did you were diverted to a special line. Of course, if Miami had GE, the long lines probably would have simply moved outside. We never buy the cruise line airport transfer. On the NCL disembark day we noticed so many people wearing Airport Transfer IDs. We kept wondering how in the world NCL could handle that many. As it turned out, it really wasn’t able to do so. Outside there were long lines as these pax waited and waited for buses. On an NCL thread, some pax said they gave up and took a taxi.

An Alaska cruise is more about experiencing Alaska than it is about onboard amenities. It tends to be port-intensive, which is as it should be. Kids will enjoy Alaska as long as the emphasis is on “Let’s get out there and explore!” There will be kids on an Alaska cruise but, as already noted, not as many as on a Caribbean cruise. Princess does have some pluses. As mentioned, it has access to Glacier Bay. Glacier Bay has a slew of glaciers but only 8 are tidewater and those 8 are split between 2 arms of the bay. Hubbard is one of the largest glaciers. I think face wall is about 13 miles long. Of course you can’t see it all, but it is special. Princess will do things like bring sled dog puppies onboard. They also have guest speakers. Norwegian, I believe, also has some limited access to Glacier Bay. All lines will stop at the usual ports: Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Sitka, Icy Strait Point are the ports most often visited. We’re Elite on Princess and D+ on RCL. If it’s just about the cruise, I think I’d go with Royal or Celebrity. Cruisetour? Princess. Lodges are much better.

Self-assist luggage. You could try putting out luggage the night before and picking up the next day. However, having your luggage with you is the sure thing. No chance for it to go missing. Usually clearance to disembark is 7AM. You need to get in line though. We tend to get in line about 6:30 and are often amazed by the number of people already in line. Large ship? We’ve seen very, very long lines. Day of week. Weekend, very little traffic so you’re at airport 15 minutes or so. May be more traffic weekdays but not a deal breaker. We take taxi rather than ride share because taxis are lined up waiting

Since assigned times were mandated, we’ve always arrived before our scheduled time and there’s never been a problem (one self-inflicted hiccup). For one cruise out of Miami, we arrived VERY early. I even told the rep that we were very early and he looked at me like I had two heads and waved us right in. On the other hand (the hiccup), we arrived early for a cruise out of Seattle, August 2021, for restart of Ovation. They had set up “holding” areas using rope and stanchion with signs indicating check-in times. We were told we needed to wait and obeyed. We waited too long. We turned to someone else in line and that person told us he had a much later check-in time and that he thought those with our check-in time were already being admitted. Sure enough, that was it. We left the holding area, got in line, and went right in, and we probably could have done so as soon as we arrived. My take on this: The timed check-in process was created by someone in an office in Miami. Covid precautions were probably the driver, but smoothing the entire process was probably a consideration as well. Now, management on board (keep in mind, each ship is set up as a profit center) wants you onboard so you can book speciality restaurants, buy drink packages, have a few drinks while waiting for rooms to become available, etc. etc. They’d kill if they were allowed to open the casino! They have budgets they need to meet and will do what they need to do to meet those budgets. If they don’t then another person sitting in an office in Miami calls them on the carpet.

When in port in Aruba, we have also used the public bus to get to beaches. The station is a very short walk from the pier. We usually go to Palm Beach so have never asked for a stop at Eagle. Eagle is just down the road from Palm so I have to believe the bus also stops there.

Count on it. Not wishing to dash your hopes, but count on it. As D+, we prefer the current voucher system and spend very little time in the DL, when the DL is the only option. I think many are following suit. Is there method to RCL’s madness? Not madness, but method. As more and more people choose not to visit the DL, it opens the door for RCL to shut them down ultimately.

Yes, we just did this when we crossed into DP340.

My experience as well. Won’t go into details but I believe I provided the documentation Allianz required. Major stalling. I’m confident it was all about attrition: Allianz recognizes (and probably has the statistics) that if it stalls long enough x number of claimants will give up. During one of my dozens and dozens of calls, one rep even told me he didn’t understand why I hadn’t received my claim funds because his review of the file showed that my claim had been approved for payment. In the end, Allianz asked for more documentation, documentation that would have been very very difficult to get and which seemed to be unnecessary. I was told my file would be closed and would be reopened when I produced that documentation. It got to the point at which I felt I needed to call my lawyer. Then, one day, I get an email: Your claims have been paid in full. Sure enough, the funds had been deposited to my bank account.

Haven't been on all in class, but Oasis is our favorite for this reason.

At times…very RANDOM. On one cruise this year, we entered our stateroom to find 6 cans of water which we typically get. Then, at the base of the dresser, on the side, we found a case of 24. Go figure.

Princess “loyalty ambassadors” will tell you, and I can confirm, that the most valued perk of being Elite on Princess is Free Laundry. If Princess ever takes that away, I think there would be blood….