bbqbears

Tgianco, thank you for the review.  We will be on the ship in two weeks.  Any comments about housekeeping since the line has cut back to once daily cleaning?  I have been on a lot of cruises, and this has never been an issue-in fact, I've often felt twice-daily cleaning was a bit much.  I always try to keep things picked up so the staff have a fighting chance.  But given I will be sharing a room with my two teenaged granddaughters this time, I wonder how it will be with housekeeping staff stretched  thin.  

I did a search and didn't find an answer to my question-so thank you so much for those of you who took the time to respond.

Kathy

We are a family of 9, sailing round-trip Seattle to Alaska next month.  All of us have late post-cruise flights and I am looking for suggestions for where to park luggage for the day while we spend time touring Seattle. 

Kathy

Just re-read my post-dang punctuation!  LOL!  Apparently, Mary Lou and Kathscof-you got my intention, despite "son's"  (sons).   My granddaughter is quite the fashion plate-and I will leave it up to her. Thanks to both of you for taking the time to respond.   

We are headed to Alaska on the Encore in a month.  I am taking my son's, daughter-in-law and 3 grandchildren.  I think my 16 yo granddaughter has the idea of taking a long gown and high heals.  But we have such limited space in suitcases and for that matter-the car to get to the airport that I am encouraging them all to pack light.   Can anyone who has been to Alaska recently comment on the "dress code" at night.  My recollection is that this itinerary tends to be much less formal-or even dressy.   

Kathy

We are on NCL, sailing June 4, 2023.   I spoke to the cruise line yesterday, and they insisted that this port is not cancelled.   We shall see...

On 2/7/2023 at 1:45 PM, Sailing12Away said:

Early, I think we were at the hotel before our room was ready. Left our bags at the desk and went to the space needle and gardens nearby.

That would be great! 

On 1/9/2023 at 8:22 PM, Sailing12Away said:

It all depends on where you're flying into/out of. We've used it about 4-5 times with no issues at all. 

 

For Alaska, we flew JFK straight to Seattle nonstop with decent times. Had a 1 day deviation coming in because we wanted to catch a baseball game the night before.

 

Coming home on Alaska Air they lost our luggage, but that's on Alaska Air and not NCL. Bag ended up going to San Diego instead of NY and made it back to us via a taxi drop off the following night.

 

Our next trip is in February and we have great flights. JFK to LAX leaving NY at 6am. We'll get into LAX around 9am for a 4pm cruise departure. Coming home we have an 11:30am flight from Miami, I'll be home in my living room before 3pm.

 

Going we're on AA, coming home it's on Delta. We were able to upgrade to comfort plus for about $50/person, and even with those added charges it's still half price what the same flights would have cost on our own.

 

In total we've saved several thousand dollars on flights by using the promo and haven't had an issue yet.

Sailing12Away-what time did your Alaska flight get in?  Some of my family is flying from the east coast (MI and SC), and have 1 day deviation.  Hoping they get in early enough to enjoy an evening and then full day in Seattle.  I am flying from San Jose with my other son and grandkids the day before the cruise-less worried because the flight is so short, but still hoping we get to enjoy an evening in Seattle the day before the cruise. 

On 1/9/2023 at 11:30 AM, Cali82 said:

We actually just cancelled our trip. We requested the 2 day flight deviation and they claimed we did not. Our cruise was starting in NZ and ending in Sydney, while NCL had us arriving the day of our cruise at 6 am. As long as you can get the flight deviation (if you choose) it would be worth it. The lesson I learned was after requesting flight deviation, make sure to get a email confirmation!

  This happened to my son and daughter-in-law last fall.  I would add that in addition to getting it in writing-you check in with NCL periodically, and for sure before the 90 day mark, when it's too late to make any changes. They did not check in with NCL, because they didn't expect to hear anything about their flights until a month or so before the cruise.  By the time they got their flights, and thus, realized they didn't get the flight deviation as they had clearly requested, it was too late and NCL refused to budge.   In son and DIL's case, they too were told "someone cancelled that request."  Well-they certainly didn't.  

I was expecting the same answer I always get-no, the price has actually gone up for your cruise.  But instead, I saved over $800 on each of the 3 staterooms I have booked for Alaska for next June.  The agent who assisted me said that the price reduction is through tomorrow only. 

We are just back from our cruise, and like mapleleaves, we also used Aldo Limos.  This was my second experience with this tour company (the first was over 10 years ago) and once again, they did not disappoint.  I treated my son, daughter-in-law and dear friend of over 50 years and we experienced a magical day from Naples, to Positano/Amalfi Coast, Sorrento and Pompeii-everything we requested.  I highly recommend Aldo Limos. 

I bought something similar.  Thanks, llhillman!

I toured with Aldo Limos about 12 years ago and am about to do the same in a couple of weeks. We couldn't have been more pleased.  They will do whatever you like, and they are very reasonable. 

Thanks, everybody.  Ontheweb, I think you're right.  DIL was able to get seats on Delta, but had no option to upgrade, and although ticket says Delta, because Atlanta to Barcelona is on KLM, couldn't get seats. That was on the weekend, but  I called KLM for them this morning and was finally able to get through and got them two seats together, one of them an aisle.  So that was great. But no other changes were available.  

One last question about NCL 2:1 fares.  Son and DIL were told that once flight had been assigned, they would be able to go directly to the airline and request seat assignments, and even pay for upgrade.  We know the second part of that is not true, but wondering if anyone who has used the 2:1 air has been able to get requested seats when available? 

My son and DIL are scheduled to arrive in Barcelona at 8:30am, the morning of their cruise.  They will have a shuttle to the port-but I'm wondering how that works with an early arrival.  Anyone know what time they will be allowed to check in, or at least check their luggage?  

Thanks, cruisemom.   Yeah-after that experience in Cuba-me neither! LOL!  Thanks for the info.  I know I had one of those brick-like converters (I think I bought it after that experience), but I don't recall ever using it.  But my memory isn't great these days, so appreciate you weighing in.  I think I have one of those 2-pronged adapters, so should be good.  

Deviations were requested at the time of the booking (1 day early inbound and 2 days post cruise).  Without naming names of the parties involved, there was a lot of finger pointing. Ultimately, the TA refunded the amount but allowed the kids to keep the flights.  I used the refund and bought them one way tickets for 2 days after the end of the cruise.  That will allow them to see a bit of Barcelona-one of the main reasons we booked this itinerary to begin with.  Again, the lesson here is that if you're going to use the 2:1 air-book early and check back often, i.e. do not assume that because you haven't heard from anyone that everything is going according to plan.  If they had done that, they would have been told that the flights haven't been booked yet, but they also would have seen that someone cancelled the request for the air deviations and presumably, could have done something about it. 

We will be on an NCL cruise in a few weeks.  I haven't been to Europe in over a decade.  I know that we do not need adapters on the ship, and I know that we will need a plug/adapter at our hotel in Barcelona, but does anyone know if the same plug adapter that will work in Spain will also work in France or Italy?  And anyone know if we need an actual voltage converter anywhere so we don't inadvertently fry our devices?  Twenty+ years ago while traveling in Cuba, I got a surprise after plugging in my curling iron!  Don't want another surprise! 

Hullux,

We learned this the hard way.  I posted about our experience but mentioned our TA and the posts were taken down.  So without mentioning any TA-son and DIL booked 2:1 through a TA and were told because they booked so early, they would almost surely get their request.  Being new to this-they believed what they were told.  They did not think much of not having their flights confirmed 60 days out, but at 45 days out, were shocked to see that they would be leaving the US the day before the cruise and arriving the morning of the cruise, then would be flying out within a couple of hours after docking in Barcelona.  They only learned about this because NCL sent them a confirmation, asking them to check to make sure that all the info was correct.  And Just like the person above, when they called they were told "nothing could be done" to make any changes.  Here's the lesson we learned from this-IF you're going to take advantage of NCL's 2:1 deals, make sure you call frequently to make sure no mistakes have been made.  Once the flights are booked "there's nothing you can do."  Now they are just trying to get seat assignments.  The airlines are telling them because NCL booked the flights, they have to go through NCL.  Fingers crossed that their flights aren't delayed (3 weeks from today)and that they make the cruise. 

Thanks so much for the info!

On 8/9/2022 at 12:56 PM, Cruise-mom said:

We are just off the Epic, we did Bamboozled in the Spiegel tent and there was also an aerial act on 3 times per week. 

Cruise Mom-we leave in 3 weeks, and I don't see anything listed for the Spiegel Tent.  Is this something we need reservations for, and if so, do we get them when we are onboard?  Thanks! Kathy

Thanks for taking the time to post!

Victory-were you at any stop for more than a few minutes?

Thanks everyone for taking the time to post.  I was put off by the NCL person telling me that we would stay 5-10 minutes at each stop.  From your posts, it sounds like that is indeed what we should expect.   I've been to most of the places on this cruise, but my family has not.  Five to 10 minutes doesn't give them time to explore anything.