Monica887

I never drink $300 worth of drinks so it's not worth it. I'll have a few drinks, but definitely not nearly 3 a day or whatever will make it worth it. 

5 minutes ago, quercus alba said:

No kidding...I think the only time I ever got the messaging to work on the NCL app was after a martini "tasting" (they are really martini drinkings) on Pearl a few years ago.

She preserved it for posterity...name blacked out to protect the innocent...

Hahaha, omg the martini tasting!! My sister and I went with my mom and aunt for my bday a few years ago. My sister and I (in our early 40s) drank the martini samples, finished the ones my mom and aunt didn't like, and then ordered a full size of our favorites. We spent the afternoon laughing hysterically at everything, then in the bathroom, and by the time we got to the specialty restaurant for my birthday dinner, we couldn't eat a thing. I don't think mom and aunt have ever forgiven us. Lesson learned....(but d@@@mn those martinis were good....)

If you have the free drinks in the casino through the players club, can they make any of these, or are they limited? I don't drink enough to bother with the unlimited package, but would love to try a few. 

I generally like the flights of mojitos to try them all. 

12 minutes ago, CruzinMel said:

Oh, no - that sounds awful!!!  I'm so sorry - getting sick was the thing I worried about the most.  I made all my people get the bivalent Covid vaccine before we left and my workplace requires me to get the flu vaccine yearly, but I figured there wasn't much more I could do.  You can only manage germs and viruses to a point.  DH came home with some sinus thing which he refused to get treated for, but Indy, Drumboy and I made it through unscathed and we didn't communicate anything to Mom or her caregiver (I mini-quarantined DH once he got snoddy.)   Someone Who Shall Not Be Named and his girlfriend came home with the flu, though.

 

Did you get quarantined on board?  Ugh.  

 

The menus in the dining areas that we visited were clearly marked with vegetarian items.  If being around meat at a meal is ok for you, you could totally do Moderno if you wanted.  The buffet has tons of vegetarian items, and the sides and pineapple 🍍 would be satisfying and tasty.  It's important to enjoy your food and trust its preparation.

I'm fully vaxed! And I mask at work (I work with high risk kids). And I masked in the plane and bus...sigh. So I guess while eating on the plane or something I got lax, and I hadn't had it before so I was getting a litte over confident. I got sick on day 2 so I didn't even get to relax. 

No official quarantine - I didn't want them to lock up the whole family, including my young kids in a windowless room. So I masked. I ate alone outside. I didn't linger in crowded indoor places. I slept for 2 or 3 days and didn't move, and had never been more thankful for my balcony. 

I'm glad things are labeled. That's one other thing the other cruise line didn't do. And they were poorly informed when I asked questions. I've always wanted to try Moderno but don't want to pay for piles of meat when I'm just eating salad. I'm even happy in Cagney's with a good baked potato and sides. 

Thank you so much for this! A fun read and had me excited for my first Haven experience coming up on the Escape. I'm a vegetarian, and while accidently eating chicken broth won't land me in the bathroom, I do my best to avoid. So I'm glad to hear your were well taken care of, and I'll be sure to plan ahead 

After my Christmas week cruise on another cruise line turned into a covid-fest pity party for me, on a ship I hated....I'm more than ready!

I'd love to get to see monkeys and sloths up close, but want to be sure it's animal-friendly, maybe more of a rescue type place and not an unhealthy environment for the animals. 

Does this exist? 

I'm a vegetarian and the Haven menu options are limited. What can I reasonably request to make the most of the Haven restaurant? Food from the MDR? A specialty restaurant? How would that work? 

If I go once it's fine, but if we used it more often it would get boring very quickly. 

3 hours ago, JGmf said:

Agree with some others that staying outside of "Haven proper" is a higher value experience: for the room sizes, the relative cost, and the marginal exercise you get from walking to the Haven deck/bar/restaurant, and also for not having to see the same people over and over. 

 

Plus, depending on time of year or cruise, the main Haven pool/sundeck and lounge and, yes, even the bar can be loaded with kids....just saying it's not always an oasis of tranquility.

That's actually a good heads up. I'm leaving my kids home for this trip (hence the haven splurge and wanting the full experience), so it's helpful to brace myself for the fact that it won't be tranquil adult-only silence. 

I just went on another ("fun") l cruise line over winter break and the kids running up and down the halls at all hours was just too much.  I'm hoping for a more relaxing experience this time!

Thanks - I found the deck plans. I was eyeing an aft room for the balcony, but maybe I won't get the full experience if we aren't in the haven proper which is forward? 

How do I determine if the Haven in a particular ship is worth it? I'm eyeing the Escape. Do they have a "real" Haven area?

My tweens get weird about nudity, so I love the suggestion about the cheap shower curtain to make a changing space by the closet! I'm going to use that one. 

We bring a pop up hamper for laundry. And folding shoe box size bins for the dresser for headphones and chargers and books and that kind of clutter - each kid gets their own. 

The clothes are the worst, since teen boy clothes are so bulky, and my kids mostly "fold" not hang. Assign everyone a section of drawers or closet. If there aren't many shelves I like to bring hanging shelves (5 below has them). 

I also find there's never enough shelving in the shower. I'd love a good solution if anyone has one!

Magnetic hooks for the walls for hats and especially towels - otherwise we can never keep the towels straight!

And accept that no matter how much you tell them to pick up their stuff, it's still going to be cluttered, just because there really is never enough space. 

I had a bunch of kids snacks in my carry on since we came straight from the airport, and it didn't even occur to me to take them out. Zip lock bags of crackers, cereal, cheese, dried fruit etc. No one stopped us. 

What's the best way to get to a beach on our own? Taxi stand? Uber?

What beach is close, safe, family friendly? Chairs and umbrellas, food available. 

We rented a car and drove to emerald lake and back. The Caribou facility I believe is the bigger touristy spot with a museum and cafe etc. We did the Tutshi sled dog tours along that same route instead. Km 74.5 South Klondike Highway.  No bells and whistles. But for $7 a person we snuggled with all the puppies. For extra we also took the ride and a short lecture. The people were lovely. But since we know we were on a little time crunch it was just right for us and our ES age kids.

On 7/19/2022 at 9:09 AM, kstetser said:

Oh no!   We are flying Air Canada for the first time a week from today (PHL-YYZ-YVR).   How did they lose your luggage?  Any words of advice on how to possible mitigate that problem?  We have air tags in all our luggage, so that would at least help to locate it.

Air tags are smart - we didn't have them. At least then you can clarify where they might be to help things along.

We went from DCA to EWR to YVR. Not sure where the breakdown was. We think they didn't make it on the plane in Newark. We were told they were in Toronto at one point. They led us to believe they would get there by the first or second port, but nope.

I'm not sure there's a way to prevent it. Bring a carry on with one extra outfit, including any important layers just in case. We miraculously had windbreakers and bathing suits in the carry on. I was sad to not have my binoculars. 

I'll echo the above - I got coaxed into splurging for a family of 4 on a helicopter because of posts here and I'm SO glad I did. It was a butt ton of money for a couple of hours of my life but it was incredible. 

We did a ship excursion for the helicopter and Mendenhall. For what it's worth, the excursion was $339, and I looked up the same excursion through the same helicopter company and it's $329. I'm surprised there's not a bigger price difference, but worth knowing before seeking out something for much less. The guides and pilots were wonderful and we don't usually splurge like that for a family of 4 but this was well worth it!

https://temscoair.com/mendenhall-glacier-and-guided-walk/

You do need arriveCan for the cruise itself. But you need to fill it out again for your drive into Canada from Skagway. We were asked for it at customs while driving last week. No additional testing or anything. One member of our group didn't have it filled out and they asked to see her vax card, and then let us through. 

Just got back, and spent the week without any of my luggage (thanks, Air Canada). So I know about going minimalist. I wore jeans, tee, and zip up hoodie every day, with the hoodie going on and off. Those layers were perfect for most days. I added a windbreaker at glaciers or on small boats. The only gear I didn't have with me that annoyed me was binoculars, gloves (for those colder stops), and goggles for the saltwater pool for the kids. (Of course it would have been nice to have the rest of my stuff, but those were the things that did affect some of the enjoyment). 

I had packed extra sneakers and a dry bag thinking I might get wet on excursions, but I never felt I needed them. We were lucky though with minimal rain. 

Thanks! I'm in no position to do more than a week (I work full time, kids are still young). I'd love to do a land tour - one of the best things we did on this trip was rent a car and just drive. A cruise just makes it easier to plan, but I can look into other forums to help plan a land trip at some point. 

Just got back from my first Alaskan Cruise (ok, I'm not even home yet) and I'm ready for the next. We picked this one based on prices and dates, not knowing anything about the ports.

We did Sitka, Skagway, Juneau, Haines, out of Vancouver. I'm ready to branch out, so what's next, and why??

Thanks all. There was no excursion, just the ship. It was worth it to go up to the deck but we did still have spectacular views from our own balcony. The best spot we found was the helipad. 

We were there today, on RCCL and docked. We only had a half day there so I was worried a tender would cut into our time there, but we didn't have a problem docking. 

5 minutes ago, don't-use-real-name said:

Yes you can see the fjord from a balcony cabin -

Your ship transits the fjord round trip so your cabin would OK.

Most transits of the Fjord are in prime daylight - 6am seems a bit odd.

HOWEVER - being topside to see the fjord (both sides) is the best.

You wouldn't need to stay long in viewing caring for your little one.

Options:

Walking the Promenade deck you would be close to the comfort of the

ships interior and shelter

The ships buffet or cafe restaurant may offer windows to view

You certainly will have ample opportunity to research the best view points.

Thanks. That makes sense. Will do our best and trade off between parents if needed. But it's helpful to know that if I need to spend time in the room I'll still have a view!

Can you see the fjord from the room balcony or do you need to be up on deck? 

(We don't have luggage and our extra warm clothes and I'm not sure how my little one will do in the cold at 6am!)