vswan

Have read here that you can carry on two bottles of wine per stateroom. Do you carry on the wine opener also? Is there a specific type that you can get through security in a carry on bag? Assume you could carry a corkscrew in checked baggage. When we booked they had a promotion that we got a free bottle in the room. Will there already be an opener there and we won't need to bring. I am not a wine drinker, but am going with my daughter who is and thought we would each carry a bottle, just trying to be sure we can open them once onboard.

Do a little more exploring here on Cruise Critic. You will find a section further down in the boards section with departure ports where you will find info about hotels, shuttles, transportation, etc. and another section where you can find info about Alaska.

LOL, I am loving this review. I am sorry your luggage is still in London, but you can buy a European swimsuit, some extra underwear and you will be good to go. I just looked at the pizza picture and laughed out loud. I have great respect for MelB and how she has handled all of this. Hope she enjoys clothes shopping with a hangover.

I would have done a guarantee, but was booking a balcony on Oasis and the only spot on the web booking section that had the guarantee as an option was at the beginning of the balcony booking - meaning I could have had any balcony cabin - interior-facing or OV. The only way to guarantee an OV was to click on select your own cabin. I didn't book online, called Royal to book. I was not offered guarantee as an option, but I also did not ask. I have booked many guarantee rooms in the past on many different lines. Overall, have had a few not so desirable rooms, but most were pretty good, and saved quite a bit of money.

We sail late July and got our info this week. I am pleasantly surprised, non-stop both ways on Alaska Air. Have already gone into their website and changed seats on flights out.

I booked for November (not holiday, so should be a shoulder season cruise) on Easter Sunday when my daughter was here - she and I going. There was some "sale" going on, but I didn't pay any attention to what it was, since there is always some kind of sale. I thought the price was high, but booked anyway. Since I'm before final payment I have been watching the "sales." Every sale I've checked is much higher than what I paid. I paid gratuities upfront, knowing a number of cruise lines are raising those often now too. Seeing the prices now I feel like I got a deal. I don't see prices decreasing anytime soon. They are to far in debt and to much demand. It's not just cruise prices that go up and down with a sale and change retail prices - look at the airlines and hotels. The fuller they get, the more they can charge.

Just got our airfare for a late July cruise SEA to SEA. I had opted for a one day deviation on the front end, same day out on the end. I was pleased. Have non-stop Alaska air both ways. Will arrive about 6:15 day prior and leave about 6:45 day of disembarking. Hopefully will be able to get the bags to the airport option and we can explore downtown Seattle the day we get off. I have pre-booked my own airport hotel with a shuttle (also a restaurant/bar and pool), figuring if we got there early we could drop bags and take the light rail option downtown. I have also pre-booked a shuttle service with hotel pickup to the ship for the day of the cruise. Booking the air through NCL was a significant savings. Did the math and figured going in a day early we will be fine even with all the horror stories.

Things are changing. My husband passed away about 6 months ago. Found out the night of the memorial that my BIL tested positive for covid, my sister had been battling a low grade cold for a few days and at that time we realized that she also probably had covid and had been around all of us for several days. (she has always been extremely careful and had similar symptoms twice already this winter and tests had always come back negative, so she didn't test this time). I panicked and contacted those who had gathered at the house since they would have had the most prolonged contact. What I found was that those who had been vaccinated were not concerned, and that the one person I was most worried about - over 50, diabetes, overweight - was not vaccinated and he wasn't concerned either. Had done his research and had made the choice not to get the shot and was comfortable with his choice. This experience was enlightening to me. Everyone has to make their own choice and what I feel is right isn't necessarily what another chooses. All we can do is take care of ourselves, make good choices and do our best not to expose others. I think you did the right thing self-isolating, but there are others that probably wouldn't have done that. Anytime we gather in groups we take a chance.

I sent mine in for renewal the first Monday in April and just checked on the website. Said it was approved and being printed. Estimated mail date is May 23. That's about 6 weeks or so on a regular time period, not expedited. I have a cruise late July and was concerned, so sent in earlier than I normally would have.

Since the ships are similar I would focus on price and itinerary. Really depends on what your family likes to do. If you are interested in beaching both CocoCay and Labadee are total beach/water days. The Western itinerary offers more options for exploring - Mayan ruins, etc. I would generally say to check how much time is in each port, but with kids that might not be an issue. They may be ready to get back on the boat after a couple of hours. I've done the western ports many times and enjoy them. Heading on this "Southern" itinerary in November. Picked for a beach-heavy cruise with my daughter. Whichever you choose you will have a great time. Kids will get to see something new everyday and it will open up a whole new world for them.

Have a cruise late July and my current passport would have been just short of being valid for 6 months after travel. Sent in the first Monday in April. Just checked the website and it says it was approved, are printing and should be sending May 23, 2023. So that's just over 6 weeks for regular, not expedited delivery. I'm very surprised.

Have cruised on nearly all of the standard cruise lines. At one time I would have put Celebrity as number 1, followed closely by HAL and Princess, with all of the others tied below those. We would generally book based on price, itinerary and the week we were looking at. Attended shows nightly and basically ate in the MDR. Now, I'm not sure that anyone who hasn't cruised lately on both lines can answer your question. All of the cruise lines have needed to make cuts following covid to try and stay in business. What I remember liking about a certain cruise line may no longer be applicable. Add to that the variables from ship to ship. I will say this about NCL which I have cruised (Escape) on since covid - the food was better than it was a number of years ago. The ship was very nice, the entertainment was good and even though not big drinkers it was nice to have the drink package - which was reasonable since the gratuities were like purchasing about 2-3 drinks per day. Really enjoyed District Brew House and H2O Spice, the specialty dinners included - gratuities minimal - gave a nice break from the MDR. Only you can decide what cruise line will work for you - depends on what your priorities are. I am again going on NCL this summer. Traveling with my grandson and felt it was a better fit than Celebrity, HAL or Princess.

Before bidding, check the website and see if the price has gone down and if you could get a better deal by just booking it. This way you could pick your room and not just accept whatever room they give you. One thing to consider is that if you "re-book" you will have the current promotions and not the promotions you got when you originally booked. On my last NCL cruise I called and upgraded for less than the entry level bid. I did lose the double/triple latitude points by rebooking and I would have made platinum with that cruise. This time I am bidding the lowest possible $$ on the upgrade to keep my latitude offers. If I get the upgrade fine, if not I am happy in my balcony I already have.

Have done both tours and walking around on our own. In Sitka, there is a walk along the marina that goes past an aquarium and if you keep walking you will get to the park - either a state or national, not sure which - in the park there are totem poles and a number of trails to a beach, etc. There is also a very old church in town, closes early, so if you want to go through it, go early. There are also some old canons/fort up on a hill which is kind of neat.

Our first trip to Alaska we prebooked a shore excursion at each port, wanted to see as much as we could figuring it was a one and done. Been to Alaska 4 times now, and am heading for the 5th this summer. Since the first trip we haven't booked any shore excursions through the cruise lines. If you want to get off and walk around, fine. If you don't that's fine too. Most ports have tours available as you get off if you want. We have also just taken the city bus in Juneau, it was very authentic. To me one of the best things about Alaska is the views from the ship - glaciers, just passing the scenery.

This can depend on whether the ship is docked or you need to take a tender. I've seen tenders prioritize shore excursions.

If you are taking a taxi in a port, be sure to agree on the price before you get in the cab. Some ports have general beach transportation for a couple of dollars. For us, we never had meals on shore - just weren't comfortable eating food (or drinking ice in drinks). For some that is the fun of going to shore. Depends on what you want to do. At a private island you can spend nothing or a lot, again, depends on what your family wants to do. As a rule of thumb for us, we set our budget at $100 per port for both of us for activities (probably would now budget more since prices have gone up) plus additional money if we wanted to purchase things. This did not include any food and minimal canned or bottled drinks. If we wanted to do a more spendy day at one port, we did, but in general we hadn't spent that much elsewhere. For a family of four I would budget at least $250 per port - taxis, beach entrance, a couple of drinks, beach chairs, etc. I also set my casino budget for the week, I like the casino, but when it was gone I was done.

As others have said, with what you have pre-paid, I don't see you having much for expenses onboard. On this site, it seems that many do tip extra, I am not a big extra tipper, other than perhaps to a bartender to get them to return for drinks quicker. On shore. Without knowing what activities your family would be interested in, it's hard to gauge. I would suggest going to the ports of call section of this website. For us, it was always about getting to the beaches. Some stops have a beach within easy walking distance, some not close at all. I would generally write down which beaches sounded like they would work for us and then write down what others had paid for taxi, entrance fees, etc. We generally budget a max $$per day amount we are willing to spend and what we didn't spend that on day 1, it rolls into day 2 and so on. Do you plan to eat on shore, that will cost more. I would suggest if there are any boat-type excursions (or something you really have your heart set on at a stop) you book these ahead of time with a private company or do a shore excursion.

My husband got very sick from Sushi years ago. we both avoid after that.

We originally sailed with 4 of us and to keep to the budget booked inside cabins. Once we were upgraded (for free) to an OV. I did like the daylight coming through the porthole, but other than the light there was little to see. As we became a party of two we continued with a combo of inside and OV until the last couple of years. Many times we booked guarantee with mixed outcomes. At this point I book a balcony. I like the light, being able to get outside in a private space and spend a lot of time out there. This was most important when we started cruising again after covid. If we were going to be stuck in a cabin I wanted to be able to get to fresh air. (Know that some lines moved you and you didn't get to stay in booked cabin). I have nothing against an inside cabin and my daughter takes her family of four in inside cabins for price and what she's used to. I have no desire to pay the price of anything over a balcony. Am happy just having a private space to sit outside.

Nope, always needed to spend more than you had already paid, even if it's just a couple of dollars. I found that you could go up in the next category to higher than "entry level." For example if you booked an OV cabin and could go to a balcony cabin for less money, just go to a higher level of balcony.

In the past I've found that I can generally get a better deal just calling close the cruise after the price drop instead of bidding. I know that if you call you can lose perks that may have been part of your original booking. I now see on my next cruise the club balcony is about $120pp more than the booked balcony cabin. The bidding info showed up this week and the minimum bid to the club balcony is $100pp. It doesn't make a lot of sense not to just call and upgrade, but with the original booking I received additional latitude points and will reach platinum with this cruise. I had this basic situation on my last cruise and would have reached platinum, but called to upgrade and the extra latitude points dropped off with the "new" booking. My question is, if I put in a bid and they upgrade me do I keep my extra latitude points of the original booking? I'm traveling with my grandson, so not a real big deal if I stay in the balcony or club balcony, but the larger bathroom and bag of laundry might be worth it. If I would keep the points I may put in a minimal bid, otherwise I won't bother.

We had a club balcony suite on the Escape. The bathroom was nice with a large shower and two sinks, if the room itself was larger, I didn't notice it, so would not have been much larger. We received "treats" twice on the trip - cookies and strawberries. Had one laundry bag free and think the bottle of champagne was for the club balcony, but could have been from something else I guess. To me the biggest benefit was the larger balcony. Had two loungers and two regular chairs and a table. If the price is similar I would do it just for the balcony, nicer bathroom and laundry, but I use my balcony a lot.

The title of this thread is "Highest prices we have seen." Of course they are. Most things do not go down in price, but up. After not having any business during covid, the increased cost of fuel, food and labor, and having to honor money paid prior for those who "let HAL hang on to their money," I wouldn't expect prices to be down. It's up to each of us to determine if we can afford (or are willing to afford) the new prices.

And don't forget resort fees. Seems all hotels have those now.