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Personally we booked a balcony on the Encore for Alaska and hardly used it as the Encore has such an amazing wrap around lounge. In Glacier Bay we grabbed a couple of drinks and went to our balcony, half an hour later we were back in the lounge For us (I emphasise us) a balcony is a waste of money, we leave the cabin early for breakfast in the MDR and don't return to the cabin except to change until bedtime. It was Alaska that cemented for us that we won't book a balcony ever again, if you don't make use of it there, you won't anywhere.

For those in Europe who can't see the current cruise next offer, as I suspected in post #8 the double up on any cabin 4 months out, is now extended until 31st August 2023. EDIT: It does appear to be back on the Europe T&Cs so this thread is unnecessary now.

We did the Encore in October 2021, this was the first year they sailed as late as October, post covid they were trying to extend the season. We were lucky in 2021, it was not cold (by our UK standards), it was clear and sunny with quite a few whales left. The ship was beautiful and IMHO the best NCL ship. On the downside, half of Alaska was closed, all the seasonal workers had returned home so most of the tourist activities had closed their doors. I have no idea if that improved in 2022 as I think they sailed late into October again, maybe it will improve further in 2023 as they get used to a longer tourist season?

Yes, I never understand why they insist on doing everything in the Atrium while the Bliss lounge remains closed for most of the day.

Although the Library on the star is an internal room, you are right, you can see a window across the corridor, there is no actual window in the Library itself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vufHFICmSVU

For me, I normally book NCL cruises. I have a PCC (Personal Cruise Consultant) and find him brilliant. I have his email and direct telephone number for booking, and more importantly, if there re any issues or problems I can give him a call to sort things out. I was previously just dealing with random people on the switchboard why would palm me off with incorrect information and no accountability. If I did not get the PCC assigned, I would probably use a good travel agent just so I could have one point of contact. For me a TA just adds an unnecessary link in the chain as everything has to be done through them, my PCC on the other hand is an NCL employee, he knows all the contacts in HQ and gets things done quickly and efficiently.

You clearly need it in very very simple terms. 1, you said the marketing was removed due to FDA rules. 2, you then said the product is not available in the US. Prey tell why would they remove the marketing if the US is not a market,,,, not rocket science.

Because if its a UK product why would they need to remove the marketing? You say its due to FDA approval but then say it's not available in the US, that just does not make any sense at all.

I never said any different, except its still on the website readable in the US. But I did say it is removed from UK packs so I don't really understand your reply.

While it's been removed as a flash on the tub they still make the claims as I put in my post, they still state "EcoHydra kills Norovirus ........ Alcohol based sanitisers do not offer complete protection" EcoHydra does not use alcohol as it's active ingredient, and it contains zero alcohol. As it has no alcohol it also does not dry out your hands.

They had one on a recent cruise I was on but I can't remember which one as I did not go but saw it in the Planner it would have been Star or Spirit.

The White Hot Party will be a lot of fun 😂😂

Those automatic systems are a real bugbear of mine, the worst are those that everything is over the sink and you have to wave your hands in the right place for soap and another spot for water and a third for air. They are so tricky to get right and a real example of tech for tech's sake.

This is the one I use, the first picture is one I had saved on my CC images from a few years ago, they have removed the "Effective against Norovirus" from the current packaging so I checked their website and it does still say it works against Norovirus (see second image below). https://ecohydra.com/collections/foams/products/foam-hand-sanitiser-50ml?variant=35801602195609

I agree but there are very few hand sanitizers that work against Norovirus, I use one that does but most do not.

I won't even touch the door handle without tissue. That said the covid thread that has just been shut claims a lack of soap in the washrooms.

Yes, I have noticed on recent cruises there are no longer washy washy people.

You would think that with all the recent precautions that Norovirus would be rare, especially as it spread by touch and easily controlled through washing and cleanliness. But no, it's at a 10 year high. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2023/07/14/norovirus-outbreaks-on-ships-already-reach-10-year-high-in-2023/

Thanks, that's a Brit and their tea for you 😂

If you take the coffee pod tray out completely you have a clean untainted stream of hot water for tea.

It's the same, two vouchers, if you look at my post above in "offer details" it says "Two CruiseNext, CruiseNext Haven or CruiseNext Lite deposits".

I already explained, with a spend limit set to zero there is no "very expensive Cellular at Sea" to pay for, my phone company can't charge me for out of contract usage when my spend limit is set to zero. This allows me to continue using my phone on the ship right up until the moment they turn on the cell tower.

I know everyone says keep your phone on airplane mode, and I get that, but I have a slightly different approach that allows me to max out the phones data while onboard without wasting my limited WiFi minutes. My contract allows me to set a monthly spend limit, I simply set that to zero which means I can't do anything with the phone that costs money. This way I don't need to put in airplane mode or turn off roaming, when we get out to sea I continue to use my data, then when the ship turns on their cell tower my phone connects but can't use any data as I have a spend limit of zero. Using this method any time we are close enough to land to receive 3 or 4g and the ship turns off their cell tower my phone just kicks back in. I have to pay a small daily roaming fee for overseas usage, so when in port I just increase my monthly spend to allow this payment.

MSC are well priced but for me MSC has two weak points. The fixed meal times suck, and the entertainment is not as good IMHO.

It's been extended, I expect it to stay the same until the end of August based on my post #8