Lineaway

Thanks, I really like the ease of just walking up one level of stairs instead of waiting for the elevator.  I would have moved cabins if there were no stairs.  We are right off that lobby area.  

Great review, I do have a question about deck 15.  We just booked on Wed. for a cruise next Oct.  When I look closer at the deckplan I noticed that the center lifts go to level 16 but it looks like the stairs stop on 15.  I picked a cabin in the center of the ship so I could use the stairs to get to the pool deck and Horizon court.  I looked at multi deckplans showing deck 15 and they all seem to use a copy and paste off the Princess site.  Do you remember if there were stairs going up to deck 16 from the Scenic lift lobby? Its not clear if thats just a misprint.  One picture showed a peek a boo shot of the stairs but only the edge going down not up.  Hoping you could remember.

So what is the GO Green Program?  We keep our cabin picked up and besides wanting towels each day I really don't need much.

Snohomish

We haven't done any of those specific tours but have done Alaskan cruises 3X in the last 8 years.  Always gone in August and have another booked the end of the month.  

Skagway: I liked walking around the town the best.  Typical touristy place but they mix history in with the experience.  Every shop seems to have Spruce or Birch syrup and Ulu knives.  Ulu knives are worthless so don't waste your money, I did buy one to try it though.  On NCL that time and had it in my backpack.  Walked right through security with it.  Luckily it wasn't something dangerous like a bottle of Scotch.  The different tree syrups are worth getting a small bottle for the novelty of it.  My Daughter and Son in Law did the hiking experience.  They enjoyed it.  

Ketchikan:  I thought this place had the most shops to walk around and explore.  Did the Totem pole excursion and thought that was boring.  Wasn't much to see. Creek street is always worth exploring.  Should be Salmon runs in the creek.  Your really limited on time here.  

Juneau:  Tram is worth it.  I thought pricey at 50 bucks pp, kids are less but cheaper than some other tours.  I think its an all day pass but the evening is the most scenic time to go and get pictures of the ships below the mountain.  Whale watching was good here.   Juneau is alot bigger city than what you see from the port and downtown area.  Its spread out alot.  Definitely see Mendenhall glacier as its going to go away soon.  I would take a shuttle and do my own hiking.  Then you can come back when you want. City bus is another option.  

Victoria:  We stayed on the ship the last time.  Most of the shops were closed.  Bars are open.  Butchart Gardens is nice at night but your 14yo won't enjoy it.  We docked out from the main part of the city.  The one time we went in we walked and that was a bad idea.  Safe but took up too much time.  

Glacier Bay is nice too.  You have a choice,  Get your chairs early as the decks and inside Observation areas fill up fast.  Both have advantages.  Outside is nice because the Glaciers Calf, you can hear and feel the air blast sometimes when your outside but not inside.  But its also mostly standing and the weather is usually crappy.  I've done both and prefer inside.  Kids get bored after a bit too.  

We live north of Seattle so August is our dry and sunny time but wet for Alaska.  Bring really good binoculars, raincoats, Umbrellas and bug spray.  On your first night leaving Seattle the scenery is amazing.  We enjoy sitting up on the top decks. Starboard side you won't have the sun in your eyes.  You'll go by Edmonds, Whidbey Island, Useless  Bay, and then you see the south end of the San Juans and after that a very distant Victoria.  Port side you will see the Olympic mountains, Kingston, Point no Point, entrance to Hood Canal and Port Townsend.  Sun will be in your eyes until you turn at Point no Point.  We stay on deck until you get to Port Angeles, roughly about 2-3 hours after leaving Seattle.  The ships usually slow and the Pilot gets out and transfers to a little boat.  Neat to see if you haven't seen that before.  After that your in the Straights and it will be getting dark.   

If you only get one thing out of this post it should be bring a quality pair of Binoculars.  We bought a compact pair for under 50 bucks and they were useless.  We next borrowed my Dads, 250 dollar Minoltas.  They were awesome.  You get what you pay for.      

The video does a good job of showing you what the balcony will be like.  I used to look for the angled ones but you get a slightly larger / longer side on one end which when sitting out there, it kinda becomes a wall that blocks your view to the side.  We were on the Bliss (sister ship) a month ago to Alaska and had great weather so sat out there a lot.  I wanted a more 180 degree view as you will be looking for whales and the scenery is amazing vs in the Caribbean I didn't care and just wanted a larger balcony.  BTW what you may not have noticed which to me is a plus was the overhang of the 16th floor.  It does drizzle in Alaska and that overhang protects you from the rain and keeps the balcony dry.  We saw more whales on the last day towards the south end of Vancouver Island that the entire trip.  We also spent a lot of time in the Observations lounge in the front of the ship on your deck.  It does get crowded so then we ended up on our balcony.

As for the NCL Air.  Don't do it.  Not worth the risk you could get a bad flight time.  Its nice your planning this surprise.  Imagine your surprise if your flight is a redeye connecting thru DFW, LAX and Jersey. 😞 I always want control over my flights and which airline.  The less you have to deal with NCL and their customer service reps the better.  Less for them to mess up.  I don't think air out of SLC is that much anyway.  Alaska and Southwest are my go to airlines out of Seattle.  

Not a fan of Victoria.  Been there several times.  The late arrival of the cruise ships limits what to see and do.  This last time we just stayed on the ship as the time before , we found a lot of the shops had closed around 6.  Just leaves the restaurants and bars open.  Buchart Gardens is nice but not my thing.   

Like the idea of a flat fee but make it reasonable.  We were on the Bliss last week and walked by it alot.  It was empty then too. 

Had 4 cruises cancelled since March 2020.  2 were less than 2 weeks out.  Both were NCL.  One was last January and one was at the start of Covid.  Of the other two they were cancelled months out so we weren't scrambling last minute to get refunds (we are out over 350 bucks for cancelled flights).  One was NCL and one was Princess.  

Point being they can cancel any time and you just have to deal with it.  You can get insurance or hope your credit card covers you.    

Carnival gives you the basic cruise experience for a good price.  NCL is a step up but your paying for it.  For instance, Carnival will do a lunch buffet by the pool.  Its a Salad Bar, basic, with Hamburgers and Hotdogs.  NCL will add chicken patties, maybe fish and chips or some other condiment like Chili for the Hotdogs.  Salad bar will be a bit more expanded.  Still an inexpensive buffet just a bit more over what Carnival does.  Same with entertainment, and food in the main dinning room. 

Nothing wrong with Carnival, been on 3 and was happy with them.   Both cater to families but I thought the entertainment on NCL was alot more adult oriented.  NCL also has more gimmics, take the sales and all the perks that are "free but really aren't."  Hence they are known to nickle and dime you.  NCL was our first cruise in 97.  We decided after that to try as many as we could then we could decide which one we liked the best.  Been on 8 different lines.   You should try NCL at least once.  FWIW, Celebrity is our favorite.  Fits us better.  Just trying to use up our cancelled cruise credits on NCL now.  

Your post got me thinking and I did a search.  Not sure if its good info but it said updated March 2022.  Drink lists show Sugarfree Redbull, 3 flavored seltzers, lemon lime, Mango and Grapefruit,  along with Diet Pepsi but that was it.   Also showed generic diet lemon lime but didn't say they were in cans.  I will be on the Bliss in August so was interested in what they had too.  Will still bring my Mio Drops. 

They did have diet (Sprite, 7 Up, Sierra Mist, not sure which) Only had in Cans.  However, that was on my last cruise just before the Pandemic hit.  I doubt they expanded any in the no sugar category. 

I avoid carbs too.  Not to go off topic but I use those MIO drops with the club soda.  They are small, fit in my pocket and the Bartenders seem to know what they are.   

Been on both lines multi times.  Really have to agree with all that has been mentioned but will add that standard balconies on Celebrity are a lot larger.  Breakaway balconies are so tiny you really can't sit unless you sit sideways.  NCL also has more passengers on board which is really noticed in the public areas because the Haven takes up a lot of room.   

We usually go on NCL when our kids were on Spring Break but as of this year they are on their own.  NCL is only better for Families.  I have Cruise Next deposits to use up then I am back to Celebrity.    Celebrity doesn't nickle and  dime as much.

Our refund was not divided but the total amount was returned to my Credit Card within a couple days.  Then we got a FCC on our Latitudes account which we didn't expect.  So not sure why so many others are having different experiences??????????  Our cruise was cancelled by NCL and not us.  3/29 Getaway.  

Shouldn't you be able to use your FCC on anything?  

Costco refunded us our cruise almost right away!

Update on the Shore Excursions refund.  I was finally able to call today as I am off work and had the time.  You have to call the Shore Excursion dept. not NCL directly.  Its a different number and almost impossible to find on their website.1 866 625 1167 if you need it.  

They told me no refunds will be processed before Monday the 23rd.  Seems odd I got a full refund on the cruise and not shore excursions.  Lady said they can't access the reservations until then.  My BS meter was pegged by then but its their rules and I may be stuck.  

Last Saturday 3/14 in the AM received an Email from (Big Box Co. TA) stating our 3/29 Getaway cruise was cancelled ( there was a snippet of what NCL had sent out in an email that was attached detailing the offer of 125 percent of a FCC or full refund).  There was a link that took me to an online form to fill out then hit submit.  Very easy.  Spoke to my wife yesterday and she said she forgot to tell me but our credit card showed the refund minus the shore excursions.  My impression was it had posted a day prior.  

Booked through that Big Box Company.  Had an email within 24hrs of NCL announcement.  Clicked on the link and filled out a short form.  Emailed that back.  Had full refund a couple days ago.  

However,  we had booked shore excursions through NCL website and paid for those several months ago.  That has not shown up.  I don't blame the TA company as they had nothing to do with shore excursions but NCL could at least acknowledge they are working on it.   

So I am also reading this that you have a year to book but you just have to actually go on the cruise up to Dec.  2022.  Doesn't that sound right????  The devil is always in the details.  

Totally understand wanting to bring back a certain brand,  maybe you like the brand or its a momento from a trip.  For me,  everything is half the price of what I can get here and an expensive bottle now is affordable.  Not sure why others don't seem to "get it." 

Last time I was on a Princess ship was 18 mo ago.  Got 2 bottles on by putting them in two separate checked bags.  Have done that on other lines w/o any problems.  Never heard of them dumping it out unless the bottle is open.  Worst case scenario is they call you to the "Naughty Room." Tell them what you posted here.  They will keep it and return it on the last night.   

True story, a few years back on the Ruby Princess we met a couple that we kinda hung out with during the week.  He was a Dewars fan and bought one of those 3 or 4 litre monster bottles in St. Martin to bring back home.  He literally walked right to security after boarding and told them he needed the bottle in his room to pack correctly and not be damaged.  They let him take it to his room.  No issues.  He even got it home without breaking as he sent a picture of it above his bar.

Customs might be a different story.  

My assumption based on reading your post is that your not into seeing any of the sights in Seattle but just want a nice hotel prior to your cruise.  So, stay away from Seattle Hotels.  They are very pricey during cruise season.  Start at about 250 and go up from there.  We use Embassy Suites in Tukwilla.  Should be under 200 for the night and they have a free made to order Bfast.  Its a 10-20 min free shuttle ride from SeaTac.  Not out of your way as the Hotel is rather close to I 5 to go north into Seattle.  They are East of I 5 instead of West like SeaTac.  This way you will only have one Uber/Lyft ride to the port.  Keep in mind Seattle traffic is terrible but if your ship leaves Saturday or Sunday morning there should be very little traffic going that way.  

If your set on staying downtown, we have stayed at the Grand Hyatt several times and would again.  

I have.  They are great if you need to cut out sugar.  Never been on a cruiseline that had more than a couple diet soda flavors.  Gives you more options.

I second the Jim Zim Utube video.  Very unbiased review and a well put together video tour.  I actually have made some travel decisions based on a couple of his reviews.   

Was on the Star a couple months ago.  I am picky about food but still thought the MDR was good.  Not excellent but good to very good.  Had more issues with the Specialty Restaurants (orders wrong, slow service and food no better than the MDR). I agree NCL used to have terrible food but has greatly improved. 

BTW the Star just came out of some sort of Drydock and was spotless.  Everything seemed new.  However, I hated the layout.  Old ship design, seemed small and few places on deck to look out.  Best place was back of the ship.  I believe it was the same level as the Buffet.  Had nice cushioned chairs but could get filled up fast. 

I had surgery on my neck , 2 discs (repaired/reamed out) and I was in agony before the surgery.  Daughter was getting married in Hawaii about a week later.  Dr. was not keen on letting me go but said it was up to me.  I went.  Flight from Seattle was about 7 hrs.. 

I am so glad I went.  Flight was the easiest one I have ever been on (Pain meds work well for long flights) While in Hawaii I didn't have to drive or lug suitcases around (son did that) and totally enjoyed the entire week.  Best of all if there was a dull sounding touristy thing to do I just said I was a bit tired and didn't have to go. 

Two good points have already been made.  You will be mostly in US waters (your insurance may cover if needed) and Victoria is very close to Seattle.  Healing on a Cruiseship is a lot nicer than sitting around home.  

Just got off the Star last week.  Was not impressed with Cagneys.  Food was OK at best.  They got our order wrong on each course.  That didn't happen in the MDR.  Service was also OK but really,  considering the inflated claims on this place I really expected better.