eileeshb

Talking to an expert is a good idea and they would/should know any specifics for different countries. as I’m in Ireland our travel insurance providers offer Europe only / Worldwide excluding USA / worldwide including USA and we can have the price reduced if you have personal health insurance as long as that policy has a certain threshold for overseas coverage. And they also ask about pre-existing conditions and what level of medical intervention those have needed in the past. E.g. I’m asthmatic but have never been hospitalised by it so my premium didn’t get increased. My father fell ill on a sailing holiday in the Greek islands and had to be airlifted to Athens, unfortunately he passed away (aneurysm) but it was his health insurance that took care of everything, so much so that it wasn't worth the hassle of trying to claim a couple of hundred € from the travel insurance afterwards.

it’s definitely not 2 mattresses as I didn’t feel any divide like on Epic. It is supposed to be hypoallergenic bedding in the Studios but, as I experienced, bedding can migrate. The mattress was a European double size, which is smaller than king or queen size. You may want them to take away the throw pillows as I suspect they are not hypoallergenic. I kept them stuffed under the bed for my cruises. I will say I slept really really well on Escape and no itchy eyes or sneezing which would happen if there were feathers.

I’ll be sailing in October and trying to decide between 2 whale watching excursions. I’d be booking via NCL but from some digging I figured out the excursion providers Discover Alaska’s Whales - smaller boat run by Gastineau guiding Whale watching & wildlife quest - bigger boat run by Allen Marine. I’m hoping someone has experience of either of these companies and the likelihood of excursion cancellation if it’s a bit rough. Heavy seas aren’t a problem for me but I know some companies are more conservative than others. There is a greater chance of inclement weather in October hence my concern. (And before anyone asks it’s the only month I can sail for an Alaskan itinerary due to work)

I’m pretty sure it’s a door but it’s been a while since I was on Escape. i haven’t a clue about the mattress but I did find a feather pillow in my studio when I arrived and had to call housekeeping to ensure all feather bedding was removed. Apparently the feather bedding is only supposed to be in suites or haven cabins. You can notify NCL ahead of time about allergies and check if they have the right materials to protect you.

Phishing and smishing (text messages) is getting more and more sophisticated. the funniest e-mail one I’ve gotten had the actual legit company’s info about what to look for to see if was a legit email and their fake didn’t match the format their own mail listed. I also regularly get phone calls from “amazon prime” telling me there’s a problem with my renewal, makes a change from the “this is Microsoft and your computer has a virus” calls …. Those were fun to string along if I wasn’t doing anything else

I’m not familiar with the various gambling organisations but I’ve certainly met folks on the ship who were on free cruises via casinos. NCL themselves are running some special promos on this year’s Alaska itineraries for latitudes members.

No tipping in Ireland cos our bar staff are paid a decent wage. I still remember a friend who was working as a waitress at a local restaurant here running up the street looking for a group that had left a tip of £50, she thought they’d made a mistake until I asked what their total bill was and told her that sounded like a normal tip relative to the bill. I’d spent the previous summer in the USA so learned the standard tipping then.

I know how I feel after hauling a few boxes around and moving wetsuits all day at work so I always tip the porters, also if you tip them well at embarkation they’ll keep an eye out at disembarkation and get you to the fast lane at border control.

I used the €2 coins on a European itinerary but I switch to dollars for cruises out of the states

For those thinking of taxis the main app in use here is FreeNow (used to be HailO) and there are no rideshare operators like lyft or uber. The Discover Ireland website is a good option for finding general tourist info.

oh there is .. I had an Italian housemate in college who definitely had more than one too many Guinness' over the course of 12 hours . But in a short pace of time you're unlikely to sink so many pints, apart from anything else it takes a bit to pour it properly and to let it settle.

I just came across a news story this morning that the Natural History museum in Dublin will be closing again later this year. They are moving some of their exhibits to the Collins barracks museum while they undergo renovations to stop their roof falling down, the joys of old buildings. This round of renovations is expected to take 5 years as they're going to do a full renovation to bring the building to modern energy saving standards. They haven't announced a closing date as yet as they are still doing the planning and everything for the works.

As an Irish coastal girl I will emphasise hooded coat as you won’t want to be handling an umbrella in changeable conditions.

I’m sailing on Bliss in October and at the moment it’s the only ship scheduled for Skagway on that day so I’m hoping we’ll make it to the port but I’m keeping an eye out for what happens during the season. There’s a lot of @sea time on the itinerary already with only a morning in Ketchikan and a night time in Victoria so Skagway and Juneau are the only ports with a decent amount of time in port.

From what I remember reading here last year NCL switched all their Skagway itineraries to ISP after the rockfall. I’d hope most of the cruiselines with big ships have alternative ports lined up for this year after last seasons issues.

Packable waterproof pants and/or quick dry hiking pants are definitely top of my packing list for Alaska. I also have 3in1 coat so I can switch between warm&waterproof/waterproof alone/warm alone between the various weather changes. I got waterproof pants that are super light and pack down to about the size of a lemon that I will use over jeans if I wear them, or as a wind proof layer over the hiking pants. if you find a restroom with a hand dryer or hair dryer you can partially blow dry anything that’s completely saturated. I had to do this after a rugby match when I was travelling home later that day, the queue for the handryer in the hotel restroom was lengthy that day.

The daily gratuities are probably higher on a suite, also depending on your original booking date the gratuities could also have changed. E.g. the daily gratuities charge for my next cruise have increased twice since I booked and the FAS benefits have shrunk which is why I haven’t seriously looked at upgrading. however, if a bid for upgrade is offered I would consider that as I’d retain all my FAS promo benefits and avoid the increased gratuities.

I don’t do too well with descents (I get vertigo going down long/steep escalators and have blacked out trying cliff jumping). However I managed a 15min helicopter ride over the 12 apostles in Australia. I had one hand hanging onto my seat with a death grip while the other was holding my camera. Working to get good photos distracted me just enough to avoid the full on vertigo reaction. I was sitting in the front seat beside the pilot.

I’ll be on Bliss in October when she’s the only ship on the schedule that day in Skagway. I am hoping that tendering won’t be necessary by then. My one experience of tendering on that size of ship at great stirrup caye did not fill me with confidence so I’m hoping to avoid it in the future.

I’m sailing with NCL in October (yes I know it’s late season but work dictates it’s the only time I can go). so I’m looking for advice from those who’ve done one or more of the various whale watching excursions in Juneau. Due to the cruise being in October some excursions that are available earlier in the season will not be available, shorter hours of daylight. the 2 NCL listed excursions I’m considering are: Discover Alaska’s Whales - this is more expensive but a smaller group size and is run by Gatineau Whale watching & wildlife quest - a bit cheaper but could be 200 people on the boat and I think is run by Allen Marine Going independent of NCL I think these 2 might be available and about the same price as NCL’s whale watching & wildlife quest Premier whale watching experience- listed by Juneau tours Alaska outback whale watching experience- Harv and marv if anyone has experience with what any of these providers do when the weather is less than calm I would appreciate it.

I don’t see EU laws around travel as government overreach, they are necessary protection measures to stop travel companies being complete rip-off merchants. If the EU hadn’t stepped up consumer protection in the air travel sector Ryanair would be leaving people abandoned at airports all over Europe anytime a plane got delayed. There are a few consumer protection laws around travel and advertising in the EU. The advertising of known to be incorrect itineraries could land NCL in serious hot water as false advertising regardless of T&Cs. Flights involving EU destinations also come with a bunch of protection such that the airline has to get you a replacement flight/refund/compensation for a cancellation or any delay more than a couple of hours. I have noticed when doing some mock bookings lately that a dialog box has popped up to say there are itinerary changes on a specific date I’ve looked at and a reminder to check those changes before paying a deposit. I don’t know if that is solely a feature on the European version of their website or not, or even if the changes are all correct as I didn’t dig too deeply. I check this forum regularly to see if there’s any gotchas on the horizon and having experienced an itinerary involving GSC myself I will never book an itinerary where that is one of only 2 ports of call and especially so if it’s on a breakaway/+ class ship after the shambolic management of the tender process I experienced.

Not entirely correct. The policy of opening the lounge during the meet-up varies depending on the managers on the various ships. When I was on Escape it was opened but on Breakaway all the meet-ups were in Sugarcane as someone higher up the food chain that the solos host dictated they weren’t allowed to open it to non-studio guests. From seeing the various dailies it seems the policy does change at different points in time so I’m not sure who/how that changes but do not assume that the meet-up will always be in the lounge or that the lounge will be left open during that timeslot.

Have they changed the terms on the platinum dinner vouchers? I had a solo with a platinum voucher invite me to dinner for their second guest. I thought the platinum vouchers were dinner for 2 with one of the 2 people being the person who earned the voucher and no restriction on who the second person would be.

I am curious as to whether the hostesses at the restaurants can see the age info of kids when they scan their cards because it’s possible some were underestimating her age at the other specialty restaurants particularly if she is petite . My mother was getting away with kids bus fare up until she was 6 months pregnant with me in her late 20s, and I was getting carded for alcohol purchases until my mid 30s. Most of my family on both sides regularly get our ages underestimated 10 years or more.

I generally fly in a couple of days early and depending on flight time I may stay a night after the cruise too. I would recommend joining the cruise roll call both here and on Facebook to see if anyone else is arriving early. check the home ports section of this forum for recommendations from other cruisers and also trip advisor. I always check trip advisor hotel reviews before finalising a hotel booking when possible. And those reviews will often include tidbits about the neighbourhood the hotel is in and what is close by. There are also forums on trip advisor that include participation from local residents who will give advice in response to any questions. I do a lot of online research and pin places on google maps, you can download maps for offline usage and you can also download languages in google translate. the worldwide emergency services number is 112, most countries have another one that’s better known to their populations but with the advent of mobiles someone decided there should be number common across all countries and 112 was the one picked.