Jason82

Plan for varying weather and pack layers. I have done two Alaska cruises and each time had days where I was in jeans and a hoodie and other days in shorts and a t-shirt. In June we had one day that was cloudy and cool. The others were mostly clear and warm.

As others have noted Alaska is all about the scenery. Depending on your cruise line, you’ll have all ages…not just older folks. We cruised Alaska on NCL and it skewed younger. Seeing the coastal mountains, glaciers, and wild life is incredible. You can also find any number of excursions for whatever activity level you prefer. Whale watching and other wild life excursions. Kayaking, hiking, zip lines. You can find it. Weather can be mixed. Could be cloudy and cool, possible rain showers. Or you could have sun. In summer days are long and the sunsets are gorgeous. On our Alaska cruise in June, we had one cloudy cool day. The others were sunny and comfortable, for people who like to cruise, definitely recommend doing Alaska at least once.

Our Alaska cruise was amazing and worth the wait. We had 2 cancelled the last two years. juneau was overcast, but the rest of the week the weather was gorgeous. Glacier Bay was incredible. Skagway and seeing the White Pass was special. Mountains. Whales. All the drinks and food. Easily one of our best trips yet.

We did not run into any issues with lack of alcohol on the Encore last month. Every drink was available on demand.

I enjoy the whale watching and wildlife quests, but that’s lame me. 😉 One of the first things you’ll see in ports are companies selling private tours. I’m sure you’ll find ones that interest you. For Juneau, check out the Mt Roberts Skytram and hike a trail. Look up trails that might interest you. For Ketchikan checkout private kayaking companies and maybe get a reservation in advance. If you’re in Skagway, the national park offices will be able to recommend day hikes of varying intensity. As others have noted be back on board at the “all onboard” time. Or people will be watching you take a vigorous sprint to the ship. All aboard is absolutely no more than 30 minutes prior to departure time. hope you enjoy your cruise. It’ll be lovely either way.

We docked in Ward Cove last week in the NCL Encore. Buses were aplenty both at 7 AM when we got off and around 11 AM when we returned. No waits either time. While I was disappointed it cuts into port time, it went better than expected. We had a sweet driver who told us about the town and area. Most of the ride has pretty views.

Just sailed NCL to Alaska June 19th. They were not sitting us together with other cruisers in the MDRs. However there was plenty to do on the ship.

Watching for pier runners is one of my faves. We were treated to 4 in Skagway last week.

Typically “all aboard” is 30 minutes before the ship leaves. So 2:30 is the latest you should be back. Keep in mind in Juneau NCL docks at the AJ Dock right outside of town and has shuttles to and from the main-strip. It is a good 10-15 minute walk. Don’t get caught running.

Used Walgreens for a rapid antigen for our June 19th Alaska cruise out of Seattle. No problems. It was also free.

They’ve been added to this thread.

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Entertainment venues were generally packed to capacity. It seemed anything that required reservations were booked quickly once people got on board.

Yes it is. They had shows both for reservation and open seating.

Iceberg strike has been officially confirmed: https://www.yahoo.com/news/norwegian-cruise-line-ship-hits-184924972.html

Given we’re pretty active in ports we savor the sea days for extra rest and relaxation. Hit the bars and try all the drinks. Soak up the sun and take in the ocean every. Take a nap. Read in a lounger. Stay hydrated with more than alcohol.

We’ve been waiting for this cruise for 2 1/2 years after previous bookings were cancelled. My favorite part of an Alaskan cruise is simply soaking in the scenes of the coastal mountains through these inlets, spotting whales, all while sipping drinks. Embarking was incredibly smooth. We arrived at 11:30 and we’re in the buffet eating just after 12. It was one continuous line always moving to get on going through customs, show health docs, and get the key card. As soon as we had the key cards we were able to walk straight on board. Only item to note is that the line to check your baggage is behind the line to go through checking, so it’s easy to miss. We stayed in a balcony on deck 10. Our room steward was warm and genuine and always happy to see us. We heard the ship was at 60% capacity. It rarely felt crowded. We frequented the Whiskey Bar, Cavern Club, Sugar Cane Mojito Bar, and District Brewhouse the most. The waterfront is a nice set up, especially when it’s two floors down from you. The Observation Lounge is also great. From the incredible panoramic views to the cozy furniture and light snacks. We stopped in daily. We ate in MDR’s three times. Frequented The Local a lot, I liked their burgers. Otherwise it was the buffet where there was always something. I generally enjoyed the food. For entertainment we caught the Beatles cover band at the cavern which was fun. Also caught a stand-up comedy session. In the main theater we caught a Best of Broadway where the cast did numbers from Hamilton, West Side Story, Greatest Showman, and others. We were unable to get tickets for Choir of Man. Several nights the District Brewhouse had someone at the piano playing all the hits you’d expect from a piano bar, so that was fun. Getting into Juneau was a bit of a cluster. We weren’t cleared by the port to get off until around 3:15, 45 minutes late. By then the line stretched half the ship to get off. We had limited time before our excursion, so briskly walked into town and poked around for an hour before catching a shuttle back. We had the evening whale watching which was lovely seeing humpbacks with the backdrop of the mountains. Skagway was lovely. We checked out some of the museums and historical sites. We ended up buying train tickets directly from the station rather than the ship. The weather and views were incredible. Glacier Bay was gorgeous. Saw whales, mountain goats, and bears, albeit from a distance. Binoculars are highly recommended. It was beautiful, seriously. Ketchikan went better than expected for Ward Cove docking. We were off the ship before 7 and shuttles both ways were abundant. Someday I would like more time in Ketchikan to catch a wildlife excursion. Having to dock In ward five cuts that short even more, but it went better than I expected. We did not get off in Victoria. Overall we loved the Encore. The ship is gorgeous and huge. It’s easy to get lost, which is great if you don’t like feeling stuck. We loved the staff and experience. It was an incredible trip.

An appetite, positive attitude, and ability not to take yourself too seriously. 😃 Clothes for any weather...We've had 70's in Juneau and several inches of rain in Roatan, just for an example. I love the soft light idea for the bathroom.

I think they did a "send-all" email. Very confusing, but NCL loves the send-all approach to marketing and communications. It should be easy for them to run a query in their database to identify who this policy change could possibly apply to and only send the email to those people, but they did not. I say this as someone who builds and sends these types of communication in my profession. I perceive they put the lowest level of effort possible into how they target communications.