Happycrafter123

Our first Alaskan adventure! Our cats are concerned as the suitcases are out in the dinning room again…..it’s almost time for our next cruise and we are back with another live review!! We are excited (and a bit nervous) for our next cruise, it will be our first one to Alaska. My NCL app tells me it’s 15 days to go! We leave June 30 and will be spending our Canada day, as well as American Independence Day, and (more importantly?) my birthday too, on this cruise. We’ll be sailing on the Sun, our first time on a smaller and older ship, out of Seattle. We picked this one after heavy debate and analysis of a large spreadsheet assessing pros and cons and costs of different cruise options. I wanted the Disney cruise out of Vancouver — the entertainment and enrichment programs looked far superior to NCL (and who doesn’t love Mickey Mouse??) but Hubby wanted the bonus NCL points and a trip with less kids. They were actually cost neutral, but the NCL cruise had a better itinerary with 6 ports of call rather than 3. (10 days rather than 7) and was the winner of the debate. (Clearly hubby hopes it goes ok and I don’t talk about the Disney cruise we didn’t do in perpetuity lol!!, but we have WDW booked for Jan so he tells me I can see Mickey then). here’s the awesome places we’ll visit: We are in our late 40’s and 50’s and while normally active, I’m recovering from a severe case of pneumonia and hubby just had a knee treatment so hoping we have selected the right types of excursions that will be interesting but not too strenuous. We love nature, living on the West coast of BC - I’m an avid skier and golfer and spend most of my “free” time in quiet nature environments. We see bears often in our backyard and on the golf course, as well as deer, coyotes, bunnies, hawks, eagles, and wild birds. When skiing I get magical views of the mountains and ocean and snow topped forests. We held off on an Alaska trip for a long time figuring we wanted to focus our vacation time and dollars on things we don’t have at home, like palm trees, castles and ancient ruins, but this time we are going to check out things we know we love, with fresh air and inspiring views of the ocean, forest, mountains and wildlife. We are curious—-will we LOVE Alaska? or will it be too much the same as home? Will this become a new annual vacation item (my visa shudders at the thought) or a one and done? As for the smaller, older ship—we are hoping for less lines and crowds than on the breakaway class ships, and a more zen environment. We got a great promo and price was shockingly low compared to the newer bigger ships. A bit worried though as the last review on the sun I read had comments from the traveller wondering if the ship had stabilizers and noting a lot of movement. Was that a one off? Will I spend this trip drugged up on gravol and puking, or will it be fine? Too late to cancel, so guess we will find out!!! As for my biggest worry, it’s my health and the air quality. our last cruise was overrun by cigarette smoke which caused me to avoid significant areas of the ship and made me ill, I’m curious if Alaska caters to a healthier demographic and if this one will be better? I will let you know! We lucked out with what seems to have been an unusually early response to our upgrade bid (58 days before sailing!) so have managed to scoop a club balcony. It looks to have a huge bathroom and walk-in closet! I’m hoping the chairs on the deck are cozy as I want to spend a lot of quiet time there. I’m so grateful we will have a balcony instead of the interior room we initially booked. We’ve booked specialty dining for most evenings and are quite excited to try Los Lobos as that one will be new to us. Hubby is excited for Cagneys and eating fillet as many nights as possible. We would like to go to Moderno and Tepanyaki but this time they would not let us prebook without making a payment, for which we’d have to get refund onboard (oh that sounds fun) so they suggested we book other options and then shift some reservations once we are onboard. Hmm. Such great customer solutions. We’ve also never eaten at the Italian and did make a reservation for it this time, hopefully it’s good! For me, a bit anxious how it will go for food. I submitted a gluten free diet restriction form before our last cruise and found they were much stricter on gluten than I normally am and it was a pain having to preorder each day—they all seemed to have different ideas about when and where I should go each day to make the requests, if I forgot they got mad the next day and they were kind of grouchy about it on a number of days. I think if you are severely allergic this is great but mildly allergic I suggest you save them and yourself the grief and self manage. I’ve tried to get them to take the note off my account so I could just self manage for this one but looks like once you submit it you are committed so we’ll see how it goes. Hopefully I remember each day to do the preorder so I don’t get in trouble again! (Not that I am normally forgetful but between the constant rush running to and from excursions and a few drinks here and there, it can be distracting 😉 ) We’ve booked a number of excursions, but debating on switching some (a) to bring the cost down a bit so we can save for the next (WDW) vacation, or (b) get a better experience… so many choices! If you have recommendations I’m all ears as there are always chances to change options, so let me know what suggestions you have! Here’s the itinerary of our trip: Overall, I think hubby is looking forward to eating food we don’t cook at home, and taking the week off work, and for me, excited to be inspired by nature. For those of you who are experienced Alaskan cruisers please pepper me with all your tips!! Still debating what to pack and even what camera to bring. Please visit Alaska with me vicariously here online and share your stories and wisdom 🙂 for those of you taking a similar itinerary later in the season, I’ll post the dailies, menus, photos, and answer as many of your questions as I can, so speak up! The live review will be more interesting with your voices, and it will be fun to have you traveling along with me!!

You can acquire it at time of doing your online check in at about day 21 it is one of the options in the check in process, or if it does not show up you call ncl customer service and they add it on.

We found the priority access expensive and not sure on value, but it really did help with embarcation and disembarkation on a full ship. we were able to get boarding group 1 on embarcation so were with the first set of folks on board, instead of boarding group 11 they were going to give us, and we did not have to wait long for check in as there was a separate line. as for disembarkation there was a huge line of folks waiting to walk off and we were able to by pass that via a separate exit so off the ship in about 5 minutes rather likely 30-40. there was an option to exit ship for tender early too as below what would have made it seem more worthwhile was to get priority for tender on RETURN to ship on tender ports but that is not included. it was a port intensive cruise so did not take advantage of the spa credits but did get the daily room service for breakfast. all in all not sure it was worth the cost but it did smooth out the process and save us time both on and off. We got it as we had a tight schedule to get to airport on day of disembarkation and so I am glad we got it.

Wishing you an awesome cruise! Hope the internet is good enough that you will be able to check in and tell us how it goes a few times.

Would you please share the dailies? On the sun in a few weeks and contemplating the sea day activities…. how was the behind the scenes tour, btw?

We had the plus package on last cruise, the one that is not just upgrade for alcohol but also gives you excursion credits and wifi. We found it well worth it. I enjoyed the upgraded bourbon and wine, but more importantly i got a lot of value from the bottled water and Starbucks. Really all depends what you are looking for.

To my recollection Pompei was a half hour bus ride. The pathways are very uneven and definitely not suitable for anyone with mobility challenges. There are long lines for entry so good to prepurchase tickets or guide to ensure you get in, if you do go. Also I saw very few markers with commentary, you really would benefit from a guide to explain what you are seeing.

Thank you for this, I checked out Jayleens, which looks great but they are booked up when we will be there, but she recommended another local option. There was one spot left with Harv and Marv’s so booked a spot for hubby while I go see dogs. He is very grateful to you on this 🙂

Cameos are handmade carvings from seashells. Usually with a metal rim added of silver or gold. They are usually roundish and can range from a centimeter round to a couple inches round. They are then turned in to earrings, necklaces, rings and broaches. I picked the necklace version. The pictures on them vary based on the artist. It is very interesting to watch the artists work on these, you can see them at work in more than one shop outside the gate at Pompei. hubby left me to go to the bathroom which was in the shop, as all bathrooms on our tours seemed to be in the bowels of a shopping establishment, and he came back to find me with a necklace on my neck and swarmed by sales ladies. My visa was in my hand. Prepare yourself lol!

I am curious, i did not see any options for an excursion on a small boat on the glacier day for my upcoming cruise on sun. Is this only offered on some sailings or something you have to call for (ie not on app) or maybe was sold out before we looked….curious if you booked online or if it was one of those things you have to do on phone.

We only had about 30 m free time which needed to include your bathroom break. It was not enough, as there was lots of shopping and views

Hi @southern reader it was a full day and we were late as with all excursions getting in close to 4, all aboard was 4:30. I don’t think there would have been time or energy to run in to town at that point.

Thank you, @YVRteacher this is the sickest I have ever been, much worst than I was with covid last year, this one landed me in ER and has really scared me. We take breathing for granted till we can’t. I’m going to go back and read some of your posts on Alaska, thanks for the tip about the Encore. as for gelato, we ate lots of it in Rome. In Olympia we got peanuts covered in sugar and stuff which were delicious. And for shopping I got this gorgeous cameo at Pompéi…… I always thought cameos were ugly things old people wore but was amazed at the beauty and craftsmanship. Wish I had had cash on me to be able to negotiate better, but still very happy with this, my sole souvenir given our carry on only limitations.

Just starting to recover now. Hoping I am able to get my stamina and health back soon. Must confess to not being keen to go on my next cruise. So grateful my body didn’t fall apart till after disembarkation. Overall on reflection I was impressed with the onboard experience on the Breakaway. Service was excellent onboard, much better than I expected after reading many bad reviews. Staff seemed in good spirits and wanted to help. Everyone was very accommodating from the room steward, guest services, excursion desk, bars, restaurants. The lady at Starbucks remade my drinks more than once (they are exceedingly generous with dairy) but was still nice though I was difficult. There were lots of excursions available to book on the ship so I was able to make some changes last minute, and the excursion desk was helpful with the changes. room was always spotless and done up early in the day. The Stewart if he saw us always asked if he could help with anything vibe was an excellent purchase and I’m so glad we had it. The best drinks—they have some exclusive ones and I found one with gin and fruit juice that I loved. Bartender premade a batch of it just for me so when I wanted some it was ready to go. my gluten free was catered to with excellent care and food was top notch. They tried to help me make good choices and premade my food. The gluten free bread got boring, it was always the same sliced white bread, but it was good tasting. My onboard experience was significantly impacted by the cigarette smoke. This was unexpected and had not been an issue on our last trip due to the smoking restrictions during covid. I did not go to syd Norman’s or hang out in whisky bar like I had planned to, as the smoke in those areas was bad. I avoided large areas of the ship to avoid the smoke so wasn’t able to enjoy the amenities as I’d hoped to. I will absolutely not book an NCL cruise again that has such open smoking configuration. I worry for my next cruise which is non refundable, I hope it is better not worst. And I am interested in any recommendations for ships that are better—I hear the Bliss is better, I wonder about Prima and Viva? What about the others, are there some that are more friendly for non-smokers? Apart from the onboard experience, I found my self deeply disappointed in the Mediterranean. Most of the places we went to were very Dirty, with grafiti and litter everywhere, rude grouchy locals, smoking everywhere, no bathrooms to be found, bad smells everywhere, vehicles in poor repair. It was very slummy. A stark difference To the day in Cannes, France (which was gorgeous, and scrupulously clean) or our visits in prior years to baltic, germany and Scandinavia where everything was pristine and folks so nice. Italy and Greece were a bit too gritty for me. I will not return to any of the ports visited, or Italy at all, except for the exception of Cannes. I would love to go to the French Riviera again, it was heavenly nice. Our next cruise leaves on the Sun from Seattle June 30th to Alaska. I keep hoping someone on the similar itinerary will post a live blog between Now and then. I will post one for that cruise when I go, though I believe internet will be much weaker without starlink and in Alaska so we’ll see how much I can post. things that should make alaska better than the Mediterranean for me: (1) no flights, I can drive there. (2) air quality should be excellent. (3) more trees and green stuff (4) better food—I can’t wait for some fresh salmon and crab! (5) whales and animals to see. I’ll share this next adventure with you when it starts. thank you all for taking this journey with me!!

Sorry for not checking in these past few days, I woke up the next day after getting home with a chest cold and fever that rapidly deteriorated—turns out I got pneumonia! I’ve got a bunch of photos and some dailies that were missed etc to upload so will come back and do that later, just need to (literally) get my breath back.

Air canada suggests being at airport a full 4 hours before flight.

we had a 1:20 departure time originally and then it was delayed an hour.

Made it to Montreal and waiting for our next connection. Some more photos and thoughts to post when I settle back home.

I did book six and burn the floor on the app before the cruise. I think the day after online check in on the 20th but I could be misremembering. It was around that time. i really liked burn the floor but six wasn’t my cup of tea, still something to do in an evening. we really liked the magic act, which was more of a comedy show. It was on two nights, once in the first half and one on the last night. Watch the dailies for notifications. No reservation needed.

the acropolis is interesting. You see very old ruins of the Greeks. We did book a small group tour through NCL. Wear good shoes as the stones are slippery. Here’s some pictures

Yes, a vacation is always a pleasure, even with the bumps along the way. we had managed to find a rare good deal on business class seats so splurged, so we’re able to go through expedited lines. It took us maybe 45 minutes to an hour? even for those who had done online check in, we all had to line in to enter airport, then go to the check in desk for the air carrier to check passports and give printed boarding passes. Then we had to go through security. Then after that passport control.

I was happy to share the experience and chat throughout, thank you for the company!!

I’m sorry, I’ve looked back through my photos and don’t know for sure. I can say the port had a larger mall like building with many shops in it, and so it is almost certain there were cabs for hire. In general all the ports had cabs (except Santorini) and most also had hop on hop off and other tours you could sign up for/ buy a ticket for (not through NCL) just outside the port gates.

Tough news to Come home to, sending hugs and wishing for the best!!! will be catching up on your posts as we restart our return journey. good luck today

Disembarkation started about 40 minutes late with the first group called at 640ish we had only carry on so left our room then. Huge wait for elevators so we took stairs to 7. Line up was already right across the entire 7th floor, so folks must have lined up before the announcement. we had gotten the priority service, but there was no signage so as we approached the end of the long line I showed my card to a staff member and they escorted us to an expedited departure area through the breakaway theatre on the 7th floor, which is also where the folks with tours were meeting. we then had to go through a terminal but no security, exited the front of the terminal just after 7. There was a covered area to wait for your transport with benches and also some public bathrooms that were free to enter and relatively clean. we had originally arranged a 7am pick up by bobs limo, but they said that they would not wait more than 30m if we were late, and so I had moved it to 8. The driver showed up at 7:45 and we were at airport by 8:45 the drive from port to airport is scenic through countryside on a highway. our driver, though, stopped at one point at the port to pick up a sketchy looking hitchhiker!!! He then took a long detour to drop him off at the other end of the industrial section of the port. I was terrified we were going to be kidnapped or have our stuff stolen. I have never had a private driver service or cab just stop like that to allow a stranger in and give them a lift. !!!! Luckily it turned out ok. at the airport, long lines for entry.