This was my ninth cruise, after two on Disney, five on Royal Caribbean, and most recently one on Carnival just a few weeks back. Unfortunately, this cruise was just "fine" and I've canceled a future NCL cruise to book with another line. This is rare for me - usually I'm clamoring to book another cruise with the same line by the time I've disembarked. I was sailing solo for my birthday and because ...
Booked short notice knowing this was the last sailing of the season, weather would likely be a factor, and port activities would be minimal. Figured we could enjoy the ship and view the wonders of Alaska in the fall. We previously cruised NCL Bliss in June 2022, Celebrity Millennium in May 2023 and visited each port but I had not seen Glacier Bay. I also thought fewer passengers would be onboard. ...
First the good - food, service staff, and drink package included were all good to very good. Now the bad - WiFi was poor at best (non-existent most of the time). Tips were included and paid for as part of the package I booked (about $350 beyond the $1,800 for the cruise) but NCL now adds $20 per day per person for an additional almost $300 unexpected service charge that even my travel agent was ...
I have mixed feelings about this cruise. I've only been on two cruises prior to this and both were with Carnival to the Bahamas.
FIRST IMPRESSION - The port in Seattle was dirty. The check-in process was long, which is usually par for the course. When I finally got checked in and on board the ship I couldn't even go to my room because it wasn't ready. When my room was finally ready they ...
When it came time to book our very first cruise, we researched everything we could...dining options, entertainment, onboard amenities, itineraries...and we decided that NCL offered what we wanted.
Freestyle dining? Yes please! Wide range of entertainment including Broadway shows? Heck yeah! Interesting itineraries? Yep, lots to choose from.
Sadly, much of what led us to NCL is no longer ...
We selected this cruise for my sons 40th birthday celebration. This was my 4th Alaskan cruise. Twice on Celebrity and once on Princess. Overall we have cruised perhaps 15 to 20 times, first off the on boarding process was actually very good, lines were minimal and staff friendly. The cabin wasn’t available until after 3pm so that wasn’t so good. But the cabin was very nice, loved the large shower. ...
I preface this review by mentioning that after 3 + years of avoiding COVID, I finally caught it bad on this cruise. I will mention my suspicion’s; take them what what they’re worth. The cruise itinerary in itself isn’t terribly impressive. For a first time Alaska cruiser I wanted more than we got from Sitka, Juneau, Icy Strait Point, Ketchikan and Victoria. The stops in each location were really ...
I last sailed this ship 6 years ago. This is the first time since COVID that I have sailed on NCL, my 25th cruise total and I am Platinum status with them. My fav cruise line has really stopped customer first service. My checkin was 11am, no rooms ready till 3pm so the common areas were flooded, no room to sit, not enough bathrooms. Then the buffet is a bad flow causing hundreds of people to line ...
Alaska has been on our bucket list for quite a while. This was our 13th cruise and all with NCL and the second time on the Encore(last Dec in the Carib).
There were some spectacular sights to see, particularly Glacier Bay and a whale tour in Scagway that we had to book on our because NCL didn't reserve enough spaces. We booked before we left home the very same tour(for less $).
On the down ...
The ship was beautiful. We had a bad experience at Ocean Blue (Bad Rock Lobster) it was mushy and sour. The music was way too loud in the Atrium and I'm a musician!! We were sick (along with several other cruisers) the last two days of cruise..got home and tested Positive for COVID. The scheduling of the ports was terrible. You didn't have time to do anything and the stop in Victoria is ...