hallux

The pool deck is an 'open venue', as is the sun deck, yet smoking is banned in those locations...

I can only imagine trying to get a design like that past SOLAS protocols. ONE exit from an area with 100 cabins? OK, that may be a bit of an exaggeration as there are crew areas that are used as egress routes, but it still wouldn't make a lot of sense.

A tour, as I did, would not require a room. My tour, in 2019, was under $130 for one person. A $10-15 tip (or it was a flat $5 fee per bag? it's been 5 years) to the concierge at the Pan Pacific should be good for a couple bags storage for the day.

Yes, but that also hasn't been updated since the Prima and Viva sailed as they're not listed in that FAQ, I certainly wouldn't expect a change from a couple weeks ago to be on there.

It's not so much the costs - what flights are available for the route the OP needs? When I was there I self-booked the flight (well, a TA booked for me) and the options were to rush off the ship and hope to make the airport in time or take the late flight. Doing a quick look at flights from Vancouver to Little Rock on a random Saturday in June, the latest flight that gets there the same day is 12:40 PM, all the rest result in getting home the next day. NCL is also not likely to book those, based on the cost of the flight.

Yeah, the one on my last cruise got that way. I went to 2 or 3 and then just found a group of solos that were of the same mindset and we did our own thing.

The enclosed area by the pool may have been a dry-dock addition, but nobody has really reported from the ship since that was completed a couple weeks ago.

This. Or find a local tour company and do an 'excursion' that will take up much of the day. I did one that went up the Sea to Sky Highway to Horseshoe Bay, Shannon Falls, the Sea to Sky Gondola and Brittani Beach Mine. That got me back into downtown Vancouver around 3, but they wouldn't take my bag on the bus. For my bag, it just took a tip to the concierge at the Pan Pacific Hotel (attached to the cruise terminal) and my bag was secured for the day. I grabbed dinner, grabbed my bag then walked down to the train station to take the Sky Train out to the airport. Stanley Park also looks really nice, I didn't get there.

I believe the last show was on the cruise ending Feb. 24, on the Bliss. I agree - I'm baffled that SIX didn't get the attendance that Jersey Boys did, SIX is arguably the better (though less-known) show or at least on par. Even more amazing is that the 'swing' girls can do THREE PARTS! I was talking with one, she was an American and had to do three parts with different accents!!

wait, that's not in the drawer in the nightstand? lol

She does - But I agree with this, it's not a huge selling point in Alaska. Alaska would probably be the only place I'd sail on Encore, unless they remove the laser tag and put in Spice during her next dry dock. But, knowing how NCL has been going they'd probably find a way to charge for it...

Probably not the place for this, but I thought JB was so-so on my recent Bliss cruise. I was on one of the last that had SIX and I thought the first night was EXCELLENT, the second night was good but not as good as the first (and I said as much when I took a pic in front of the stage with two of the cast members that were in the first night but had the second off)

Sounds like Siglo on the Bliss - FANTASTIC group!! I saw a slightly different Beatles Experience group than you did (I think Ringo and one of the others swapped out between our cruises, which actually makes it all the more incredible) and I thought they were good

and yet sometimes they do. The Captain has the ultimate oversight over all activities on the ship. He should be out for this...

A lot of them are providing links to download for Android's wallet as well...

I download a PDF of the document and save it to my phone. Easier than trying to get it into a 'wallet' of some kind.

yes, as soon as you board get to Teppanyaki (deck 6?) and they'll be doing reservations there. Not all of the reservations are made available prior to embarkation. Maybe? Some people may cancel reservations because they decided to go elsewhere. NCL recently added some selections from Cagney's on the MDR menu. One of those selections is surf-n-turf for $30. This is available every night.

Checking in at 2:30 should be fine. it's not like they make you sit in a 2 hour 'quarantine' before boarding, once you're checked in you should be able to go right up the gangway and still have 30+ minutes to spare before all-aboard.

In case anyone wants to dispute the definitive info posted earlier, this info is in the NCL FAQ right on the website, easy enough to find - https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/when-can-i-pre-book-dining

Vibe - maybe, if there's a cancellation. CruiseNext are purchased on board, and ONLY on board unless someone is selling one to recoup some money because they need it. CruiseFIRST are available during booking (or maybe through the website). Exactly what's 'printed on the tin'.

Boarding time is 100% dependent upon how long it takes to clear the ship of the passengers from the previous cruise. If there's a delay with customs (as there was with my cruise from Miami in January) it can delay disembarkation and cause boarding to be delayed, and there's no way to know from one week to the next if that's going to happen. There could also be those people that insist on spending every last second on the ship that they can, forcing a sweep of the ship to get them to leave.

not gonna lie, I thought you'd next say hashbrowns. lol

I've always enjoyed the theater shows on cruises, and having 4 nights of them on a 7 night cruise (two for each show) has been nice. However, on my 15-night cruise there were STILL only 4 nights of the main theater shows, leading to lots of 'filler' nights. I still found plenty to do! As disappointing as it is to have some of the shows go away, I feel like having to only fill an extra night (if I only went to one performance of each of the shows) isn't going to be a deal-breaker for me. Side note - on the ships with SIX I feel like it could have actually been the superior show, yet there was ALWAYS extra seating for that show and the other show typically packed the house.

I would contact the access desk. They can have a fridge put in the cabin. https://www.ncl.com/about/accessible-cruising

I can speak to the Bliss, Joy and Escape - the internet cafe on those ships is part of the Atrium, a place that is not often quiet. I would not try conducting a Zoom meeting there. I'm not sure how good of video quality you'd have on the free minutes, you might need to have the streaming package to have a decent Zoom call. You MIGHT be able to get audio-only to work, but you'd definitely want headphones with a microphone to make it easier to hear the other side.