lostone65

As always I enjoy your reviews, and like everyone else will miss your Dad!  We will be on the Bliss twice this year the first in July to Alaska and since we live in an hour ferry ride from the Seattle port we are excited to sail from home and skip the travel days! We will sail her again in November for the Mexican Riveria.  I have a good friend that works for NCL and was given a personal tour of the Bliss in 2019 and I was able to see I-95 on embarkation day and other areas between passengers disembarking and embarking it was amazing!  

I look forward to continuing the rest of your live! 

21 minutes ago, LGinPA said:

New cruiser here. Now that I've successfully paid my cruise balance 120 days before departure I'm thinking about expenses incurred on board. From reading this board I've learned that: 

 

• I'll attach my CC to my NCL account during online check-in.
• Any charges accrued on board will be charged to my account. 
• I should check the account often for accuracy using the NCL app, online, or the TV in our cabin.

 

Question 1:

When are the charges actually charged to my CC card; as they occur or at the end of the cruise? 

 

Question 2 (OBC application):

I have $100 of OBC from a group perk. I understand from reading this board that I can only apply it when ON BOARD and not for item's ahead of time.

 

At what point can I apply the OBC; Can I save it until the end and apply as a whole to knock down my final balance due?  Or do I need to apply is as I make charges, and if so how do I do that?  

 

Thanks so much this board is awesome! 

The charges will show up as they occur, but the final charge does not happen until the end of the cruise.  They place basically a hold on the card and if you exceed the hold or your credit card company flags for fraud you will need to call them or approve in your app for the credit card (I had to do that last cruise because I forgot to notify my credit card company and we waited until onboard to book our excursions so there were higher charges than normal on a daily basis. You onboard credit will automatically deduct from charges you incur that qualify for onboard credit to be used (daily service charges do not qualify) so your onboard credit will reduce your final total at the end.  Hope that helps!

34 minutes ago, eileeshb said:

Normally I’m not one for running risks with my flight planning but travelling between the west coast of Ireland and Seattle at a time when flight options are reducing is making me consider a noon flight departing Seattle. 
 

my cruise finishes Oct 21st, so I’m partly concerned that there could be potential for weather delays getting back to Seattle and then secondly the potential check-in/tsa effects at the airport as I’ll be an international traveller.

 

right now the cheapest flight options involve Alaska Air which seems to have truly awful reviews, so when avoiding them the next cheapest is a noon flight from Seattle to Boston that will connect to the Irish flight. Otherwise it’s a red-eye near midnight and a 10hr wait in Boston before getting the flight back to Ireland. The other alternative is stay in Seattle overnight in the 21st and fly home on the 22nd. Btw none of the airlines that look viable are part of the port valet program, plus the FAQ for that program doesn’t include info for international travellers and I’ve only once been allowed to do curbside bag drop in over 20 visits to the USA which makes me doubt it will be available even if I did use one of the airlines participating in the program. 

 

anyone have any insights on potential delays? 

I live an hour from the Seatac airport here in Washington state and fly exclusively Alaska Airlines(over 20 round trips on Alaska this year) and can provide some insight for you. Alaska Airlines had a horrible spring and early summer which was related to the pandemic and Alaska Airlines not looking to the future for pilot training and a few other issues that were completely Alaska Airlines fault, that said they have resolved those issues and have been pretty reliable for the last half of this year other than unavoidable weather issues.

October is a mild weather for this part of Washington and you shouldn't have to worry about flight cancellations from Alaska or any other airline in October, I wouldn't be afraid to fly Alaska next October.  Seatac airport security can be challenging for people who do not have TSA pre-check or Clear so you will need to plan to arrive at the airport 3 hours in advance to check your bags and get through security this will provide you plenty of time to get through everything.  I believe Alaska does participate in the bags program if you choose that option.  The trip to the airport from the port takes about 20 minutes on a good day during off traffic times but coming off a cruise where 4,000 other passengers are headed to the airport you need to plan in an hour commute, possible more depending on the mode of transportation you choose.

I hope that helps answer some of your questions.

1 minute ago, travelmama06 said:

Our on line check in is approaching in a week - I have the ncl app on my iPhone 

will I be able to check in fir my husband as well or should he download the app etc 

thank you 

only 30 ish dAys until our cruise !!

I have never checked in from the app but from the website on my laptop I have always been able to check both my husband and myself in, I would assume the app would allow it also.  

On 12/15/2022 at 9:57 PM, BirdTravels said:

If you are cruising later in the season to the Dawes glacier, it is better to be on the port side. It is actually better to be out on deck from the time you leave Juneau until you get to the glacier, but if you're in your room for  while, the port side will have more views. Other than that, you are far out to sea moving from/to Seattle to Alaska and once in the fjords, either side is o.k. 

 

We normally spend a lot of time out on our balcony in the evening watching for sea life (whales, dolphin, etc.). 

 

I am attaching three links below so you can see some of the Dailies. These are my live posts from Alaska cruises: 2021 Encore to Alaska (no Canadian stop due to COVID restrictions); 2019 Joy to Alaska; 2018 Bliss to Alaska. In 2022, we sailed to Alaska on RCL (oops). 

 

 

 

 

This is great thank you! We plan to sail on the Bliss and I will look for a port side cabin.

On 12/15/2022 at 9:47 PM, YVRteacher said:

Are you cruising out of Seattle, Vancouver or Seward?  Is there a specific port you’re wondering about or more general casino hours? I have dailies and can look up the times.

On the Encore this past summer, we left Seattle at 5:30pm and the casino opened at 8:30pm.

We will cruise out of Seattle, looking to for the times the casino is open throughout the cruise as I have received conflicting information from multiple people.  Thanks so much!

22 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Yes. The casino is open.

 

On departure from Seattle, the casino won't open until you are out of Washington State and Canadian waters. So, it will open between 8:30 pm and 9:00 pm.

 

During the cruise, the casino will be open shortly after leaving each port.

 

On return, the casino is normally closed on the last day as you approach and enter Canadian and Washington State waters for arrival in Victoria. 

Thanks so much, great to hear the casino will operate mostly as normal!  4-5 hours seems pretty fast to get out of Washington and Canadian waters from my experience on our boat in the Sound.   Have you been on an Alaska cruise recently?  Any tips for side of the ship to book our stateroom?  Looking forward to cruising without having to travel for the first time but hard to give up a week of our precious PNW summer which is why we haven't cruised Alaska before!

I have searched this forum and the internet, and I can't find recent actual cruisers who can tell me when the casino is open on an Alaska cruise, there is a lot of guessing but not actual firsthand knowledge.  My husband and cruise yearly and even though we live an hour and half from the Seattle cruise terminal we have yet to sail to Alaska but we are looking to book this summer on the Bliss to Alaska.  Is the casino open on an Alaska cruise like it is on a Caribbean or Mexican Riveria cruise, open shortly after leaving each port and closed while in port of course?  I would love to hear from recent Alaska cruisers who are casino cruisers as things change over the years as we noticed on our recent (just disembarked Sunday) cruise from NOLA where the casino opened as soon as we pushed away from the dock in NOLA and every post stop there was no 3/12 mile wait for international waters rule.  Thanks!

Just off the Breakaway on the 11th and we got in to every show via the standby line without a problem as we like to go with the flow also and were let in between 15-20 minutes before show time.  There were only 2 of us and we never had trouble finding good seats either on the aisle or a few seats in. I wouldn't worry about reservations unless you have a larger party. Six is a must see and so are the comedy shows in Headliners.

@complawyer I don't believe they mentioned anything about sharing drinks, the OP stated the wives aren't drinkers I see nothing wrong with the question or the logic. The other post you are referencing specifically mentions giving extra drinks to friends who do not have the drink package, which is not the question or even implied in the OP's original question.  I believe your response is out of line in this case, assume positive intent unless otherwise stated.

On 11/16/2022 at 8:03 AM, Sthrngary said:

Well 18 days away and I have noticed that other than an article about the Slot Pull Financials, for Carnival Cruise lines, very little is published on this one.   My wife who has the chance seems to have a LACK of excitement.  Maybe her strategy is the correct one.  When she won the ship slot tournament on the NCL Joy last November 2021, she did not even want to be in the slot contest.  She said doing it made her nervous. Then she wins the thing.  So what ever she did seem to work for her.  

 

Do we both think she will win.  The answer is "No".  Do we both think she has better odds to win than the lottery.  The Answer is "Yes".  As it gets cold were we life, a little sun, pool, hot tub, dining and drinks sound pretty good.

 

Our ability to upgrade to the Haven is seemingly impossible since it has been sold out for quite some time.  We are thrilled to learn and take advantage of the "Free At Sea Plus" program.  My wife will have her first experience with the Vibe Beach Club which I know already will be a grand slam for her. I just finished my Journey Document with all the crazy details I do when cruising.  The last element was the bar codes for checking in.  Off to the print shop who know me as the cruising guy.

 

I will do a real time overview of the NCL Breakaway with an emphasis on the Slot Tournament to have information for future slot winners.  That is my update for now.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

My husband and I are on this sailing booked through Casinos at Sea at a great discount, we are not in the slot tournament but will happily cheer your wife on! 

This is our first cruise sailing alone, we normally have at least 4-6 family members sailing with us one of them my sister who we lost to Covid in December 2020 so we decided to go alone and celebrate her in our way as both her birthday and when she passed is during this cruise.  Hope to run in to you and your wife during the cruise!

10:00am will be tight, if the ship is cleared and you walk off with all your luggage you have a shot but that is about an hour earlier than I would be comfortable with.  Good luck!

I'm so sorry I didn't see your question.  I hope its not to late but I did see a couple $5.00 machines.

We are on the Encore now and you can go on and listen to the music and have drinks for free they will tell you where you can sit.  It's a pretty cool venue, nicely decorated and comfortable. Live music is from 8:30pm nightly from what I've noticed.

Beautiful ship with a great crew!

We received the e-mail yesterday for our 1/19/19 Encore sailing and even though I like GSC, I love having the last day of the cruise be a sea day.  I specifically try to book cruises that don't stop in the Bahamas for this reason.  I won't let it bother me though still planning on having a great time as always.  

Great review as always Doug, thanks so much for taking the time to share.  We will be on the Encore on January 19th celebrating my Dad's 87th birthday.  The Escape is also our favorite ship and I look forward to enjoying the Encore.  Thanks again!

Interesting article.  I know they work very hard and a lot of hours however they do make decent money for the cost of living in their home country.  I have had many conversations with different crew members about their life outside work and they all have a good life, nice homes, take vacations, many who have children have them in good private schools and all have smart phones and nice clothes.  We can't compare the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe income to most crew members home countries.  There is no denying they work hard and more hours than many Americans but they do make a good living. 

We have sailed the Epic twice, not a fan of the ship and will not sail her again. We all disliked the layout and the staff on both cruises we not the friendliest for the most part.  That said did we enjoy both cruises? Yes we did.  Did we enjoy the other NCL ships we have been on more? Yes we did. Everyone has their individual preference on the ships they like the most.  Give the Epic a try, you may love her.  if you don't I bet you still have a great cruise.

Thank you for taking the time to take pictures and post your observations.

 

One of my very favorite Bartenders, as I understand it, has been assigned to the Observation Lounge--Dhruv Bogati from Nepal.

Dhruv is one f my favorites also! Met him on the Star in December 2012 when he was a bar waiter, hoping to sail with him again one day!

Seriously laughing out loud. Like anyone is really gonna do that and the bartender really remembers or cares.

Actually some of them do remember people. One of the bartenders on the Escape in 2017 remembered us from the Star in 2012. We didn't remember him until he referenced a couple of funny situations. You just never know. Of course passengers remember the crew individually more than the crew remember individual passengers, the ratio of us to them is crazy.

Great review Doug, always entertaining and informative!

Its Interesting some of the replies. First off I'm a Veteran and not scared. Secondly when we booked the cruise there was no State of emergency 10 miles from where we will dock. Look it up Falmouth is 10 miles from the parish that's in a state of emergency. Thirdly I would not book a cruise that docks in the southside of Chicago or the eastside of Detroit or Compton ca. Those comments are inane. I would think a company as large as NCL would seriously consider changing to keep up with "current events". Anyone not sailing to Falmouth in the near future has no dog in the fight. The state of emergency is until at least Feb 15th we are do to dock the 13th. I appreciate the well wishing comments Not the critical ones that are not sailing there. If we go we will do the gated area only we have a group that includes elderly and small children

I completely agree with you. There are so many who hide behind the keyboard on this forum and try to make others look stupid, silly, or ridiculous. We sail Saturday on the Epic with Jamaica as one of our ports, our group of 9 will not be leaving the secure area as a precaution, I believe in being pro-active and we can't control anything once out in the country. Jamaica has always been a wild card for me, I was there in the late 90's and the crime then was bad and the harassment was awful I am older now and choose not to subject myself and my group to that or worse.

We sail on her Saturday, i am looking forward to seeing the dailies. I hope you had a great cruise!

Honestly you will not ever need unlimited internet. We had 250 minutes free plus another 30 minutes free for platinum. We signed in to set up the account and used MAYBE 20-30 minutes the entire cruise. If you are on the computer for more than four hours on your cruise you are cruising wrong! BTW before you go there, I own a small business and checked in every day for mail and to ensure all was well.

Actually some of us need to work more than 250-300 minutes while on vacation. I have to spend about 2-3 hours each day working, not all businesses can go a week without certain tasks being done. Each business is unique. I got the unlimited plan last cruise and it saved my company a bunch of money. There is no right or wrong way to vacation, it is very situational to the individual.

Note: this post is purely meant to lower the tension and bring some levity to this thread

 

On my honeymoon cruise, a private group chartered a large chunk of the cruise ship. The main "sponsor" was www. b e a r f i l m s . com(***WARNING***NSFW***). It also happened to be during Halloween. No, there was no notice until we were on the ship. Turned out ok. It was quite interesting whenever an elevator would open its doors on Halloween though.

I shouldn't have checked out that website! :eek: Yikes! Unfortunately I don't know what NSFW is, if I did I bet I would have known better than to check out the site. :')

I was on the Escape last year when Spice H2O was closed for the Super Bowl. I will be on it again this year for the Super Bowl and I am beyond excited to hear that the Irish group has chosen a different ship this year!!!:D

Have fun, the Escape is my favorite ship! Was the Irish group a bad experience? I'm trying to keep an open mind but I am a little worried they will think they own the ship, the group is almost 600 people!