don't-use-real-name

Oh that was so good !

Ordinarily the bidding for upgrade program starts somewhere around the 80 days before sailing. You receive an email invitation - log on to your NCL account - look to see what is available/offered and bid away. Now at any anytime you can call NCL and broker barter* an upgrade - * booking thru a TA Travel Agent you would use that method for communicating your offer/interest - If you are booking through a TA (not a Big Box retailer) hopefully the TA will have connections to make the deal even better or easier to negotiate. Depending on what you have booked and what you want to upgrade to NCL may be interested in what you propose. If the cabin you have booked is in high demand and selling for the rack rate you may have a better chance than if in a less desirable cabin. Balcony or Club Suite is within the range of the bidding program (2 categories up from your present position). An OV Ocean View or Inside would not be eligible to bid for a Suite or Haven but NCL could entertain a direct offer. NCL may not be interested in an offer for upgrade weeks in advance of sailing - simply NCL would rather wait to see how the sales are developing and then make the deal. There is always the possibility of guest cancellations resulting in something becoming available. Also beware when doing an upgrade deal - it may be a one time deal - no further upgrades or changes. Popular specific cabins DOS OS and prime location Suites (Haven) are apt to be sold out months in advance leaving a variety of cabins left - those at the end of a passageway near high traffic area. You did not note the ship you would be sailing on and what you have booked already. With the number of your posts here at CC you have been around the horn - the answer you asked for is - - - 80 days before sailing - by email invitation - bidding thru your NCL account Note if you don't receive the invitation you can still entertain offers to upgrade. Good Luck - I have scored 4 out of 5 times - when cruising resumes there will be a lot more variables to the mix.

Perfectly -VALID- POINT- however as the previous post by Silver Sweethearts residing in Maui has noted - there is more here than the simple lets go forward with this - CDC - State of Hawaii rules regulations etc. As for NCL I am sure that NCL wants to get cruising back in business forthwith - An airline company does not make money with planes grounded - The same for cruise ships sitting idle at anchor at a pier ! Positive steps must be taken before the -Negative- guests can cruise. At least -Negative- airline passengers can fly to Hawaii and not suffer the quarantine restriction. Surely some bright forward thinking officials can get the cruise ship business back to cruising and as a result get the tourist trade functioning saving jobs and residents livelihood. But getting back to if a guest is -Negative- why not open the doors to flights cruising travel by ship ? All this would affect a small quarantined area namely the Hawaiian islands of which only 4 are visited by the POA. A trickle of qualified -Negative- tourist resort traffic would at least be better than none at all - Masks can be worn and space distance observed - limiting the exposure - Also with a limited capacity on board the ship and shore excursions it would very easy to pin down a breach if one were to occur. As of this post the virus is on a upswing in many places on the mainland - so there is no need to rush this forward. Seeing that it will take 60 or more days for cruising to resume (Florida-Caribbean) should not impact the start up of POA cruising that much - just add crew and guests and sail away - sail away - sail away - perhaps early '21 ! Side note: My sister relocated to Honolulu shortly after the pandemic hit and had the 14 day absolute quarantine treatment - fortunately we have extended family on the island to ease the obstacles of the restriction i.e. getting groceries food and medicine and a place to hole up in for that 14 day period.

The Holland-America line has had this design long before NCL. Thinking of the HAL WESTERDAM for one example. There is one cruise line that has exposed elevators in the side of some of it ships - Celebrity ? Like BirdTravels has posted makes for larger footprint balcony class/category. At least the cookie cutter shop did not design all cabins alike (one size fits all). The placement of the life boats may also play a part in the design.

There is a lot more here than meets the eye: Planned date of travel ? Cabin accommodations same like for like ? Same promotion on both cruises ? 7 day cruises ? Extra port PEI is worth it compared to a day at SEA ? The BREAKAWAY out of New York departure furthest point out is Halifax - probably more port excursion time The GEM out of Boston furthest point of travel is PEI - may offer less port time Both ships port call at Bar Harbor (tender port) and Halifax Ship guest capacity a factor i.e. BREAKAWAY just under 4000 - GEM around 2400 - crowds and covid 19 virus spacing ? Consider ease of getting into and out of the departure port city ? Boston is better (personal opinion) Are you local to the area ? Traveling by air ? Just starters - - - - -

LINK to Marine Traffic showing Regatta position: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-123.858/centery:46.183/zoom:15 Google (Satellite) Map showing Astoria {Map can be zoomed in-out}: https://www.google.com/maps/@46.1886057,-123.8594944,1384m/data=!3m1!1e3 That normal tie up is where the West Mooring Basin office is (lumber facility) the black dock is the one we used (NCL SUN) my last visit. There is a pedestrian passage way to the city from that point.

And so the JOY would also not use the IP ? Been on the JEWEL and the Carnival SPIRIT - the narrows portion north of Campbell River is the critical spot.

Sadly that itinerary does not include Glacier Bay Skagway and the return via the Canadian Inside Passage.

Using almost any search engine (Google for one) just put in the generic info you are looking for i.e. NCL JEWEL 15500 and a host of sites should appear - videos reviews summary of features etc. If nothing appears take a look at the deck map and see if a similar cabin mirror image cabin pops up even be it on the other side of the ship. When looking at a row of cabins on the same deck realize that every other one is a reverse (mirror) image of its neighbor until you get to the of end of the row and a bulkhead or other hull structure may change the cabin orientation. When looking for a cabin on the deck that the lifeboats are hanging in their davits (these are Obstructed View OV) not all the reverse/mirror rules apply. Search to find the best and worst features of your cabin selection. And then there is Cruise Critic - - - for reviews of those that have been in the cabin you are researching. Cruisedeckplans has a membership plan (lifetime fee about $25) that covers all the cruise ships of all the lines and when viewing the deck plan of a ship there is the "DRAG-DECK" function where you take your mouse click and drag one deck over another so you can see what is above or below your cabin selection. Also with cruisedeck look for the little camera icons click on them for photo or video images of that cabin* *note maybe a generic floor plan but you will get the idea - again the cabin you are inspecting - no camera look on the other side of the ship - next door - maybe a cabin a few steps away to get an idea. There is a lot of information out there - use it to make your cruise better than ever. When booking or viewing a website some of these only provide a limited number of cabins to select - see something close to what you have in mind but not showing availability - then call the cruise line or your travel agent for looking at the BIG PICTURE of what is actually available. Just because there is a limited selection does not mean that you have to take what is left. Sometimes for a few dollars more a whole different bank of cabins become available or possible upgrades. Timely shopping the sales and promotions may result in a wider inventory or unexpected selection cancellation of something previously booked. Find a better cabin or promotion as long as you are outside the FINAL Payment period check and see if you can trade what you have for it. After the Final Payment there maybe the possibility of bidding on a upgrade and/or calling NCL for entertaining a phone offer upgrade (usually a one time offer deal). xxxxx The OP was interested in an inside cabin - on some ships there are inside cabins on upper decks that maybe more appealing in location and accessibility - you don't always have to accept lower deck locations.

Yes Starboard would be the side facing land - going - returning Port side would be the place to be - Northbound from Seattle the usual route is the ocean side of Vancouver Island - - - therefore Starboard - Southbound from Alaska a required PVSA port call at Victoria may result in using the "Inside Passage" land on both side of that passage. But in reality unless you are at or near the glaciers for viewing you are miles out at sea to take in anything close (binoculars telephoto video-still camera needed). Once passed the "Outside Passage" of Vancouver Island there is a spell of open water and then land closes in on both sides. When at the pier either side maybe the side facing the pier. When viewing the glaciers most all ships rotate 360 degrees to give everyone a photo opt view - Some cruises have a National Parks Ranger come on board for a narration of what you are viewing right in front of you. Inside cabins use the bridge camera on the in house video or go up on an open deck for the view. Most of the ship movement will be in the late evening hours even if Alaska is the land of the midnight sun - not much to see - Think spectacular sunset photos. In reality no difference either side - peak viewing for the cruise would be in June/July lots of daylight - shoulder beginning end of season May September less daylight. A Balcony is the way to go - you can pop out of your cabin at anytime to take in whatever is there - consider a Balcony location near a top deck with easy access to an open deck on the opposite side of the ship to see what is on your blind side. Best be near stairways (elevators may not be favorable to your timing) - zip up a couple of flights of stairs open the deck door and voila the view of the other side. For some views don't anchor yourself in your cabin you will only have half the view and some of those views a fleeting by the minute - wave to the stern of whatever is passing. Use that in house TV - tune to the Navigation channel and see where your location is reference to points of interest and sometimes a PA announcement will reveal a movement of whales giving a clock location i.e. 1 O'clock sighting off the starboard bow. Good golly you are going to have a fun time on your cruise. Also if the weather makes things difficult your Balcony offers some degree of refuge to seek shelter as well as going to a lower outside (Promenade) deck with a overhead cover. For the most part the usual weather hold up is FOG - low hanging mist - it burns off with the rising sun and gone by noon.

Another way to view this as "SOULS ON BOARD" - the cruise line is responsible to account for everyone on board - and that means everyone ! So many guests (including infants and on some ships non-fare paying children) are assigned to a life boat station. It is all about accountability. Often in emergency situations one will hear the request for the "Souls on Board" count to enable the emergency services to send enough equipment to handle the distress.

Aren't all crew members cross trained in some function of emergency situations on board. Essentially - essential personnel ! So many crew persons are required regardless if the ship is operating at any level of occupancy. Just like the airlines requiring so many flight attendants for the number of seats on an airplane whether flying full or half masked ! No short cuts to safety !

The ships laundry operates 24/7/365 - take the Back Scene Tour and find out all about what goes on with the laundry. Pressing Dry Cleaning in addition to basic laundry at a premium fee - although pressing may be free the first night of the cruise or the night of pictures taken with the Captain. In a pinch NCL can do tailoring for ripped garments - There is more to that laundry operation than simply sheets pillow cases table cloths and napkins. The crew uniforms are taken care of too and the costumes of the stage acts. You don't need to overpack and bring a whole wardrobe closet for your cruise.

You can check the deck plans of every NCL ship: LINK: https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/cruiseline.php?line=Norwegian Click on the ship you are checking out (BLISS) LINK in post above Browse around (gray banner bar PICS DECKS (drag decks premium membership)) Left side Check out the classes of staterooms (colors and numbers) location Right side click on an individual deck and stroll along the Promenade or other deck. Note on some ships the floor plan for the Inside Cabin may be orientated different. The side-ways cabins may give you a few more square feet of comfort space and a slightly bigger bath room (no tub). Invariably the only chair will be a stool that slides out from the small writing desk. Need a chair with a back to it - ask your cabin steward for assistance - may be able to snag a chair from the buffet - otherwise prop a pillow up lounge around on the bed. Have a few too many steamer trunks - put the small one inside the big one and away they go under the bed. In most cases the bed can be split into two twins - again ask the cabin steward for help. You can always pull up the floor and let your feet hang - well not really but improvise - ask your cabin steward for extra pillow(s) if that will help. HINT: Musical Chairs is a solo enterprise in an Inside Cabin ! LOL ! Granted Inside Cabins are on the frugal side - consider for a few dollars (euro's) more stepping up to a Ocean view or even a balcony which may provide you with a couch and writing desk with chair.

My Ouija Board Magic *8* Ball oranges and apples apricots and mangos are not in alinement on this ! Re Check the math - You already have the premium package of $99 daily + grats that is a FREE promotional - Upgrading $29.00 daily x 7 (day cruise) = $203 per person or $406 double occupancy + those grats. I would not be paying $128.00 daily per person + grats WITHOUT the starter Premium package being FREE. Haven DOS OS suite suite or even a bilge cabin deck 3 - I have my limits. I might be interested to try the Premium Plus package whenever my ship comes in - - - LOL !