Melli56566

Have one booked for dec 2020.  Booked a year ago....hoping to still go...we'll see!

On 6/5/2019 at 10:03 PM, GoofyontheHiSeas said:

 

 

This was a last-minute trip with myself and my two young adult daughters.

We booked it only two weeks prior as we got a great price that we could not pass up.

This was our fourth trip to Alaska therefore we did a lot of DIY excursions on our own.

We have previously been Anan Creek for bears, seen whales bubble feeding in Juneau and taken the train in Skagway.

 

• 5/25 Seattle

• 5/26 Day at Sea

• 5/27 Juneau

• 5/28 Skagway

• 5/29 Glacier Bay

• 5/30 Ketchikan

• 5/31 Victoria

• 6/1 Seattle

 

We flew out of Los Angeles on Saturday morning landing in Seattle in about 10:30 and able to get to the port by 11:00.

Boarding was very smooth and we were on board within a half an hour.

It started raining as soon as we boarded the ship and fortunately for us it was the only rain that we experienced our entire trip.

 

By the time we reached Port Angeles the rain had stopped and got a glimpse of the mountains of Olympic National Park.

 

Our first night was spent attending Stephen Schwartz’s Magic to Do show exclusively produced for Princess Cruise.

Both of my daughters are very musical and love Stephen Schwartz's music the show to be disjointed and would

have been much better have they just done seems from each of his musicals.

 

The next day was a sea day so we slept in and enjoyed a buffet breakfast. In the morning they had a lecture on

30,000 years of art history in 45 minutes which was quite interesting. Following that we went to Princess’ pub lunch which we enjoyed.

 

Bangers and Mash

 

Fish and Chips

 

Bread and Butter Pudding

 

Later that afternoon we went to our first trivia contest. It turned out that the three of us were actually pretty good

at trivia. We wound up attending most afternoon trivia and won a total of four times. We got to be known as “that family”.

That night was formality and enjoy the very nice meal. After that we attended the evening show with impersonations and

comedy of Michael Wilson. He was one of the highlights of the cruise.

 

The next morning we woke to the beauty of the Alaska archipelago during our approach to Juneau.

 

We arrived in Juneau around 10:30 in the morning and luckily we were the first ship in port that day.

Since it was memorial day and there are four ship scheduled to arrive in Juneau that day we got off the

ship rather quickly and took a taxi out to Mendenhall glacier to beat the crowds. It was a beautiful day

with the temperatures in the mid-60’s.

 

We had only taken one prior trip out to mendenhall in our previous trips to Alaska. I had always wanted

to take the hike out to Nugget falls but never had time to do that. The trail from the visitors center is

2 miles round trip. It is a well maintained path that is fairly level and can be done in around an hour.

The scenery along the way is quite spectacular.

 

 

 

 

As the sound of the falls gets louder you are treated to the true magnificence of this glacial waterfall.

 

One of the best features of this waterfall is that you can walk right up next to the falls to get the full experience.

 

 

From the extended shoreline you have a great vantage of Mendenhall Glacier.

 

We returned to the ship for an afternoon of shipboard activities. Sailaway was around 10:30pm and

as you can see the sun had just set.

 

We awoke the next morning in Skagway. It was again in the low to mid-60’s but the wind was blowing

15-20mph so it felt colder. Before the cruise I had signed up for a free NPS Klondike gold rush walking

tour. I was about 45 mins and very informative.

 

After this I had researched a short walk from the cruise ship to Yakutania Point. The trail started

just at the end of the airport maybe 15 minute walk from where our ship was docked. It started

with crossing a bridge across the Skagway river.

 

 

Trail was mostly level with some spots where you had to climb over some rocks.

 

Once you arrive at the point you would never know that you were a mere half a mile from the cruise ships.

 

Once back on the ship we headed to the Piazza where they brought out a bunch of 5 week old sled dog puppies.

 

The next day was by far our best day as we were to be visiting Glacier Bay. We got up early and bundled

up and headed to the Promenade deck. I prefer to be closer to the water to experience the glaciers

instead of being up high. The mountains were still full of snow as we entered the bay unlike when

we had visited in late July.

 

 

Then we arrived at the main event, Margerie Glacier. On our previous trips to Alaska we had

heard glaciers calf and saw a small splash in the distance but we never experienced what we saw today.

 

 

 

We then sailed back out to enter Johns Hopkins channel where we could glimpse this glacier.

 

And then on to Lamplugh Glacier nicknamed the blue glacier.

 

And the mountains above.

 

The next morning we arrived in Ketchikan and had the best weather of our trip. Temperatures

were in the low 70’s and shorts and sunblock were the attire for the day.

 

Again there were four ships in port this day and the crowds on Creek St were enormous

so we took off on foot up Married Man’s Trail to escape the crowds.

 

We then meandered along Ketchikan Creek to the Deer Mountain Hatchery and Totem Heritage

Center which were both closed since it was early.

 

 

Since we were leaving at 1:30pm we headed back to the ship for lunch and sail away.

 

We had almost 24 hours until we made our mandatory stop in Victoria BC. We decided to

take the short 20 minute walk into town and were rewarded by sunset over the Olympic peninsula.

 

Victoria was beautiful at sundown including the Parliament building and Empress Hotel.

 

 

 

It was back to the ship and packing up for our departure in Seattle in the morning. We used the

Seattle Port Valet service which was great. Put our bags outside our final night and did not see

them until arriving in LA. Disembarkation was a breeze the next morning. We caught a cab to

Pikes Place for a few hours and then caught the train to the airport.

 

Thoughts about the ship. I was somewhat skeptical about Princess’ Medallion Internet service

especially traveling north to Alaska. It actually performed far beyond my expectations. There

were a few dead spots but it was fast enough to keep connected with home. The ship itself was

in great shape. We were familiar with the layout since we had been on its sister ship the Emerald

Princess before. Most of the shows were good and there was always something to do if we were

not outside enjoying the views.

Thanks for review.  We sail soon!  Slightly different ....we go to icy strait instead of skagway.  Anyway, how did you get around in victoria BC?  We were debating between hop on hop off trolley and bike rentals.

Anyone do the Big bus, hop on hop off, while in Victoria BC Canada?  We will be there end of june, and trying to decide between that and bike rentals.  Any input appreciated.  

Thanks!

any MDR menu pics?

23 hours ago, Sadric said:

***Note*** If you read my previous post and dont want to retread the same ground skip down to the new part where I talk about Victoria

 

 

Written Day 5:

The NCL Joy is a large and pretty ship with copious features that will no doubt delight many people. Prior to departure, I had read many accounts of people’s journeys with the Joy post westernization and found many to be overly critical. Expectations should be managed. Nothing is perfect by any means but to condemn a brand new ship and crew based on one error shows flaws in expectations.

I write this on the last sea day. Victoria tomorrow followed by a return to Seattle. I write this review to highlight where this ships flaws are and where her strengths are.

Embarkation was a breeze at 11 am. We arrived and were in our cabin by 11:30. There was no discombobulation as many have reported. It was incredibly efficient and well done. Pier 66 is a bit hard to get to as the Streets of Seattle are not conducive to the volumes of people arriving at one location but inside the building, NCL handled the crowds with precision. The few problems I witnessed were with guests who did not have proper documentation which I lay on their shoulders not NCL.

The ship itself is an odd layout with multiple decks reserved for just cabins with no public space at all. Basically everything from Deck 9 – 14 is cabin territory with nothing else public except for the oddly placed medical center on Deck 13. There is ample deck space which was never utilized on this Alaska voyage. The cool weather was just too persistent. So why pools, slides, and a few bars were open up there, only the most intrepid of explorers wandered out and a few people who had an apparent total immunity to cold used the pools. I think the Government should take these people to research facilities for close study. Few really used the laser tag and the go karts. One major flaw on this ship is devoting so much deck space to this and mini golf. For the love of God, please put a sports court back on this ship. A basketball court that is free is a much better use of space for most people. The teenagers on this ship were aching for it. I had a 14 year old with me and he reported how disappointed everyone was. He used both the go carts and the laser tag once. A sports court would have been used consistently. The mini golf was never used and is no better than a putting green. Eliminate this!

 

Written Day 6

The atrium stays bizarrely crowded with no seating and consistent mayhem. Between people arguing , Dan Dan the Cruise Director shilling for Bingo, pre cruise consultations, the internet café, a great bar, and Starbucks there is a lot going on. I don’t understand why they don’t use Q or the theater more for the game shows and other things.  The Atrium is packed liked a clown car all the time while the rest of the ship remains largely unused. Basically a mom or someone with a family sets up camp in the morning in the chairs and never leaves. Refuse builds around them as the day progresses until at the end of the evening, they are largely buried under buffet plates and tall mocha frappacino double soy expresso frappe cups. You see small eyes periodically peer out from under the pile furtively glancing around for a glimpse of a free jewelry giveaway.

Speaking of the buffet, my knowledge here is limited and my few experiences were not the best. The buffet is a jabberwock of a setup. The dream of a mad man in a maze. I don’t understand the layout at all. It takes up a huge amount of Deck 16 while still managing to offer as little seating as possible. It is very confusing and rarely yields too many edible nuggets despite the volume of the offerings. Much is repeated at different areas and lines are crazy long. There is enough seating for maybe a family of 5 while most make the death march down one deck to the Observation lounge for additional seating wistfully looking around for a tray so that they might add a drink to their plates. At one point I very much was thinking about the scene in the Hobbit where the Dwarves invade Bilbo’s house eating everything in sight and sing wildly “Chip the glasses and crack the plates that’s what Bilbo Baggins Hates”!

 

The Observation Lounge on Deck 15 is HUGE and used nicely with a Starbucks, a bar, games and drink stations as well as evening light meal offerings from 10:30 PM to midnight. My favorite, the egg salad was very well done and reminiscent of a southern 4^th of July Picnic sandwich lovingly made by your favorite grandmother. I liked this area in general and it would be better used as a place once in a while where you could go for a game show (rather than the atrium). Also a note…I never found either Starbucks to be crowded.

 

Now on to the entertainment. Footloose which is a movie I loved was not well executed. The primary problem is not the acting and singing which was all admirably well done but the source material itself which is thin and to continue the Hobbit reference felt like too little butter spread over too much bread. Again the cast did a lot with a little here but you just can’t shine dirt. I knew we were all in trouble about 30 minutes in. The first of the kids started to become restless and parents started breaking out games on phones for them. Across the theater little beacons of light started erupting all over the theater as if we all received breaking news at the same time. This was ok at first but after 45 minutes the first cries erupted followed by parents trying desperately too quiet them down. I didn’t know then but wish I did that we had over an hour left. Things really took off during the second diner scene an hour in. Parents started ushering their little crying treasures out of the theater never to return. They were the lucky ones. At 1 hour and 15 the drunks started leaving, either needing to use the restrooms or to get more drinks (they don’t serve them during the show and there is nowhere to get one). They also never returned no doubt finding solace in their drink packages. At 1 hour 30 it was pandemonium. This was what I call “The Exodus”, older folks mostly no longer able to sit for such a duration had to exit. It was just time. I don’t know why. It was like some universal unseen bell went off and en masse our elders left. I never saw many of them again. There is a science fiction book in there somewhere I just know it. Finally, at 1 hour 50 minutes as the last song was sung and the lights went on, the survivors were revealed. It looked like the Fields of Gettysburg in 1863. Those that were left were in some fashion wounded, no longer able to stand and pale as ghosts. We mostly sat stunned and withered waiting on Dan Dan the Cruise Director to release us with his healing powers.

 

Now that being said, Elements was awesome and at 50 minutes just the right length. This show rivals any cruise lines best attempts and even compares well with my favorite, Aladdin from DCL. It hit all the right notes and was well executed.

 

Ok back from Victoria and currently in the Delta Sky Club. Victoria was quite beautiful and we were there from 11:30 to 10 PM. All went well here. A 30 minute taxi to the Gardens and Back as well as a bit of touring downtown followed by a return to the ship.

As we returned to the ship, a bit of a shocking moment. The Holland America Eurodam was parked next to us. This ship brings some terrible memories back and my wife, son and I looked at it with terror in our hearts. You see, we had flown to Fort Lauderdale one sunny day back in January 6 2017. As we get our luggage at Carousel #3, a madman open fired on us. His name was Esteban Santiago. Everyone within 5 feet of us died. My son was missing (it was his 12^th birthday that day and we lost track of him as we hit the ground… because dropping is what you do when you hear gunshots). The mad man circled us like a shark. As I dropped to the ground, a bullet zipped over my head hitting a 90 year old lady killing her within seconds.  Her and her husband were celebrating their 60^th anniversary on that cruise. I kept thinking if I could find my boy I could throw him through the luggage flaps where it was safe behind the scenes but I could not find him. After killing 5 and injuring many others in a semi circle around us, we heard clicking….he ran out of bullets. At this point he gave himself over to authorities leaving pandemonium in his wake. My son had been crawling along the serpentine belt and we found him moments after the shooting stopped, the air filled with smoke and blood. The next 12 hours were total chaos with rumors of other shooters and passengers on our flight under guard. The shooting was about noon that day and finally we were released via bus to the port at 11 PM. Thousands of us descending to a place with no taxis. Ultimately they shut down the port leaving us dazed and confused. We had no luggage as it was confiscated by the FBI (I think) for blood splatter evidence. At 1 AM we walked from the port  not knowing how to get to our hotel. I had a few percentage points of battery left (due to the fact the FBI charged my phone when they duped it as I had video evidence of the shooting) and downloaded the Uber App whereby an Angel answered. As I blabbered into the phone, she said “you are close to a Walgreens, meet me there”. I met her. She was a large blond lady with a huge smile and kind eyes. We were all in a state of shock. We went in Walgreens and bought a few basics and she delivered us to our hotel at 2 AM. As a gift from God, there was oddly a slew of Baptist Ministers in the lobby on conference. They gathered us in their arms and prayed with us. A hellish day ending with prayer by men of God at a Westin at 2 in the morning on January 7, 2017. We decided to go ahead with the cruise not wanting to get back on a plane and bought some clothes at Wal-Mart the next day. The Eurodam had counselors on board and did their best but we were in a state of shock and the weather stayed grueling for the next week. Most never left their cabins and stayed seasick. This was a “vacation” we would never forget. I could go on about how we spent months still shocked and so forth but that was in the past and this Joy sailing was our first cruise since then so to see the Eurodam parked next to us was jarring to say the least.

You know, Im a bit tuckered out after writing that report on the shooting. Ill write more on the Joy later. We liked our cruise this time …all in.

Best to all.

What a horrific experience!  Glad you are here today!

1 minute ago, Gigi1068 said:

A few weeks before we were set to sail in October, My husband informed me that he would not be able to go.  I simply changed the cruise from him to my mother, no extra charge involved.

perhaps it depends on the cruise line.  Lucky for you!!

9 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

 

why would it cost additional $ to take someone else in his place?

that makes no sense.

 

and to the OP:

yeah, it also makes no sense that removing him costs $1000 more than a no show

 

makes no sense to me either, but when I called the cruise line there was a change fee.

A couple years ago my son couldn't go because he got a summer job as a seasonal police officer. It was kind of heartbreakingm but it would have cost additional money to take someone in his place.  It happens, and you owe nobody onboard an explanation.  Just simply say, "unfortunately, he is not sailing afterall".  At the main dining room, they always said all of our names.  A reminder that we were missing one!  😞

do you happen to remember if The Local pub was open or embarkation day?  (I'm home sick all week, hence the numerous posts!) ☠️

7 minutes ago, BayAreaCruisers4 said:

I found my picture of the disembarkation program from guest services. Next to it were all the luggage tags of various colors that you could take. Hope this helps. We did light blue at 9am and offboarding traffic was busy.

Just a thought..You can do self assist and carry your bags off.  We've done this before and it was nice to just get off the ship very quickly.  I'd consider it if we had an early flight.  Quite the contrary, we have a 10pm flight and we are going to try out the valet service because we want to sight see without having luggage!  

do you happen to have any copies of MDR menus?

anyone have any menus from MDR NCL Joy? (alaskan itinerary)

Hello, as of right now we do not have a balcony (though we have a bid on one).  So, what is the best area for glacier viewing specifically on the JOY.  I've read the observation deck is great but can get crowded.  Is there a good spot outside if weather permits?  I heard that it is great to hear the glaciers breaking off etc. 

Thanks in advance!

thought of another question,,,,best area for glacier viewing (we cruise through glacier bay)?  I've read about observation deck is good (but can get crowded). Is it best/possible to view outside (I heard there is a lot to hear too)?  We bid on a balcony, but that's yet to be seen.

1 minute ago, BayAreaCruisers4 said:

No, we weren't, but friends of ours were. I'm a Hilton Honors member and checked with the hotel about leaving our bags with them for the day. They said no problem. We tipped them $15 to hold the bags.

 

I would have done the same at the Marriott right across from Pier 66 (I'm a Bonvoy member, too), but the Hilton ended up being our home base for the day. Our flight didn't leave till 10pm that day.

10pm for us too!!  seems like they leave very early or very late!  How was that flight?  Get any sleep?

10 hours ago, BayAreaCruisers4 said:

Oh, another tip: Go to the Atrium bar and ask Ahmed to make you a Pistachio martini.🍸 It looks like pistachio, but it tastes like heaven. We called it the Pismashio. You’re welcome. 😜

will def try since we have the drink package!!

12 hours ago, magicstacey said:

We used the port valet for our luggage and checking into our flight. It was very convenient. 

so you had luggage tags and boarding passes delivered to stateroom?what time approx? thx!

7 hours ago, BayAreaCruisers4 said:

We used the regular disembarkation tags, picked our time, and left the ship by 10am. Then we dropped our bags off at the Hilton for a $10 tip and spent the day touring Seattle. I would have used the Marriott across the street, but we met friends at the Hilton Seattle. 

were you staying at the Hilton?

7 hours ago, basktchic said:

As one one of the ones in that line...it was because my tag and boarding pass showed up about 6pm and my husband's where nowhere to be found. We were on the same form, same confirmation number, etc. but they printed them separately. Unless you waited in that horrible line, who knows when/if we would have ever seen my husband's boarding pass. We wanted to make sure our bags were together and there would have been no reason to check one and not the other. 

I certainly hope they work this out before I sail mid june.  Sorry you had to wait in that line!  Thanks for the clarification.  Did they give any explanation to why this happened?

10 hours ago, BayAreaCruisers4 said:

Yes, a lot of folks used this service, but we didn’t. For some reason a LOT of these folks stood in line for an hour the night before disembarking to get their luggage tags. Not sure why, since the tags were supposed to be delivered to their rooms. I don’t know why they had to go to gust services. I can think of a lot better ways to spend my last night on the cruise. 

hmm, yeah I'd be curious to know why they had to go to guest services too! I cannot lug bags around Seattle all day though 😥

Thanks for the info.  We have a really late flight on the way back to the East Coast and would like to sight-see before departing the area.  I read somewhere that offer luggage valet at the pier back to the airport terminal.  Did you see any info in your stateroom regarding this/use this service?

Thanks

Just now, Melli56566 said:

Taking a ship excursion that includes Mendenhall glacier area and Mount Roberts tramway.  Any suggestions for best hiking trails near glacier visitor center for best glacier viewing?

Also, only have about 1.5 hours 

Taking a ship excursion that includes Mendenhall glacier area and Mount Roberts tramway.  Any suggestions for best hiking trails near glacier visitor center for best glacier viewing?

18 hours ago, rma2001 said:

I'll be there in early July and will be doing Deer Mountain.  Another forum member wrote this blog post that was very helpful

https://www.melindabrasher.com/2017/02/deer-mountain-trail-ketchikan-alaska.html

that's so crazy, that's my name, Melinda!