SomewhereGirl

I really encourage you to give it a try. It's only 7 days (assuming). If you don't try you'll never know. If you hate it, there's an end in sight. I'm an introvert. I'm not the type to ask to join a trivia team but I do find myself interacting more with other passengers than when I'm traveling with someone. It also helps to not care what other people think. You can be anyone you want to be. Smile--but don't expect everyone to be receptive. It's not you, it's them. I don't eat in the MDR. If I'm alone in the buffet I find the attendants to be chatty. And on Princess they'll bring you water or other beverages. My first solo was on NCL and the drinks could be tricky if my hands were full or I didn't want to leave my plate unattended. Princess also has free room service and TV/movie selection if you want to just chill in your cabin. My first solo was Alaska, then a Pacific Coastal, and finally the British Isles all within a year. I'm so proud of myself for going for it. I hope you will too.

My thoughts exactly for my first solo.

Oh, by Alaska is Alaska, I meant the Inside Passage. It's the same Glacier Bay regardless of (big) ship.

Encore is a huge, beautiful, not exactly old ship. Much more energy than Princess. What's important to you on a ship? For the kids, Encore has more things like go carts, lazer tag, VR, but those will cost you on top of the already higher cruise fares. Big pool slides are free (they were used when I sailed in September so I bet they would be used in June). Encore also has more dining options (additional cost). Alaska is Alaska. I never understood how one cruiseline could do it "better". This being a Princess board of course the preference would skew towards Princess. I'm in your age group. I'd prefer Encore. Plenty of outdoor deck space for viewing. While the observation lounge is large it can be a struggle to find seating, and I sailed when the ship was only half full after the restart. NCL cabin bathrooms are nicer. Princess has better closet space, free room service, better TV options. I wish NCL and Princess would get married. 😆 Just want to add if it's a Glacier Bay / Endicott arm difference, also look at NCL Bliss because Bliss goes to the one that Encore doesn't. Bliss is Encore's very slightly older sister.

Thinking about booking the 80s cruise 04/22/23 on Discovery from LA. Wondering if anyone can report on if the two long port days in San Diego and Ensenada might be filled with a little bit more daytime excitement onboard on a themed cruise than a regular cruise. Sailed a 7-day CA coastal on Majestic last year and was painfully bored by the end.

I'm going to guess this statement didn't come from an employee authorized to speak to the media.

Does whomever received the call from NCL still have that number in Caller ID? Seems odd that NCL would call your emergency contact and not you. What's that all about?

If your sailing includes Glacier Bay, the casino is closed while in Glacier Bay.

Doesn't hurt to ask at Guest Services (even if there's the ever present sign) if you are willing to pay. I asked and paid on my last NCL sailing Sept 2021.

Assuming you mean from the Long Beach airport, @ $30 for Uber/Lyft. Small airport. Very easy.

I once made the mistake of ordering a soda on NCL and received basically a glass of ice. That made mad. After that I would specify I want the can. But now with the ridiculous prices for beverages on NCL, I just go without and wait until I'm in port. Princess has fountain and can pricing, and can is only $2.36 with service charge. I'll buy on Princess. Never on NCL, but if I was desperate I would say no ice, like I would do at McDonald's with the $1 soft drinks. 🤣 Sorry to get off topic...

Baltics for the variety of ports. I did a Baltics cruise 7 years ago, and British Isles a couple months ago. The British Isles ports all blend together in my memory.

I played one game on my last cruise on a free single paper ticket they were handing out in the casino for like 15 minutes at one point. Didn't win. It was just something to do.

My recent 12-night cruise on Emerald out of Southampton was my longest cruise ever and first solo international trip. Normally I would cross-pack if I was traveling with someone. This trip I wanted to eliminate the chance of something going wrong so I packed carryon only (roller suitcase and a tote for under the airplane seat). It was tight. I didn't pack large liquids of course. As soon as I arrived at the hotel in Southampton I walked to a nearby Boots for toiletries (conditioner, toothpaste, etc). The leftovers were left in the cabin for disposal. No gym clothes/shoes for this trip. No formal wear. I even packed a small foam pillow that squished down pretty good. First trip I ever did self-laundry. It's all in the planning.

I disembarked Emerald Princess this year on Tuesday, Sept 6 and took a Princess bus to LHR. Arrived at the meeting location on ship @ 7:40. My bus pulled out before 8 (didn't haven't retrieve luggage). Was through LHR T5 security before 10 (didn't check luggage, zero wait at security). Flight was @ 14:40. Princess assigns meeting times based on flight time. There were at least 10 times. I switched to an earlier one out of concern and it all ended up being the smoothest process ever.

I hope others from the US will read this and be aware. Someone had posted about this in another thread not long before I flew into LHR in August and I'm so glad I caught that thread and knew just where to go. The line kept moving and there was no waiting at all. Very cool.

Mine dropped $5 when I clicked early ticketing. I wish it was $100!

Seems very long when you watch it twice on the TV but it doesn't register that you watched it so have to watch it a 3rd time on the mobile device to get the green check mark or whatever.

Itinerary first, ship second. Like for a recent British Isles cruise, that was about the itinerary and price, not the ship (Emerald Princess). There aren't a ton of options for that region. But for Alaska, Mexico, Carribean where there are sooo many options, I'd gravitate towards a newer ship. I've considered the short Carnival cruises out of California and I just can't do it on an old ship that doesn't even have balconies.

Why one of Europe's top airports has become a 'crazy mess' | CNN Travel I can't imagine standing in line for hours. That seems crazy. I was nervous about departing LHR last month and I zipped right through with no waiting at all. Hopefully AMS will figure out their issues.

I don't see the 24 hours as being necessary if different ships. Back in 2019 I did a one night on HAL Seattle to Vancouver, to board an NCL Vancouver to LA. Didn't overnight in Vancouver. Different vessels is not a PVSA violation. Maybe there's a different ship the OP can take Seattle to Vancouver.

The 10% off was mentioned on one of the many, many NCL postcards I've received. Problem is, I only receive mail addressed to my mom and showing her Latitudes number. I didn't receive a postcard with my name and there's no discount associated with my account online.

I haven't cruised on Princess that much but I recently received one of their casino free cruise offers. It was specifically Royal Princess out of San Francisco on 4 select dates. Are free offers always that specific as to port, ship, and date? I don't know what could've triggered the offer. I had sailed in April and probably didn't earn even 1000 points. I received the offer a week before boarding another ship booked with a casino discount and free play offer.

I've mostly sailed NCL (last on Bliss and Encore) but most recently on Princess (Majestic and Emerald). The buffet really depends on the Princess ship. Majestic's was much larger, easier to navigate and more like NCL, than Emerald. Princess doesn't have The Local or O'Sheehan's but does have the International Cafe for light bites, and the grill and pizza on the pool deck. Princess has better room service (mostly with no fee) and also easy to access free movies on the TV. I find the NCL casinos to be larger with newer machines, but Princess does give some great casino discounts and free play on future sailings, without even needing to gamble all that much. And Princess does not charge a fee to charge casino $ to your account. Princess does not have the Broadway shows like Six, Jersey Boys, or some others they've had in the past. And if you've been on Bliss or Encore, Princess does not have the Cavern Club and Beatles shows, which are awesome. To me, NCL just has more energy. I'd like to see Princess and NCL have a baby made up of the best parts of each. If price and itinerary were the same, I'd go with NCL. It's just more laid back. But you never know until you try.

A few weeks ago I took a e-giftcard printout to GS. The girl could not process it for some reason so she wrote my name and cabin # on the paper and said it would be taken care of later. Late that evening it still had not been applied so I called GS. Luckily I remembered the girls name and she still had the paper. Someone else had to apply it to my account though. This could've all gone very wrong. So my advice is to not leave the giftcard with GS without confirmation it is actually applied.