Likely to be the last post for the blog as we are in the final days to the great migration to Seattle! Seattle should be about 77 degrees and sunny for our departure. Our ports of call are predicting temperatures ranging from 50 degrees in Skagway to 57 degrees in Ketchikan. We will be expecting "showers" also which hopefully will only happen once we are back on board sailing to the next port.
When you get on board remember that changes to any tours you have generally require 48 hrs notice, so attend to that on the first day. Also, be watching for "two-fer" deals for the $peciality dining venues. These will be different than the coupons that you may have downloaded with your E-Docs. You might also encounter two-fer drink coupons. You might find these offerings in the main attrium which is the huge space you will come into on boarding the ship.
If you get on board early (before 2pm) your room may not be ready. You can drop your carry on luggage at the SPINNAKER LOUNGE and it will be looked after until you retrieve it. This allows you to explore without having to drag your stuff everywhere and LIDO deck will be serving food for the hungry folks. Your regular checked luggage will arrive at your stateroom about 5-7pm, so if you need medications or items between boarding and early evening, be sure they are in your carry on.
If you want a nice picture of your room for a souvernier, take it when you first open the door - it will never look this good again!
Every morning, you will find a "newspaper" under your cabin door. This will announce everything that is going on during the day including shows in the lounge, special events, sales in the ship stores, the TV schedule, facts about where we are crusing, the time of day for a "port talk" which is a quick run down on the tours on shore, where the ship is docked and sometimes a bit of the culture of the port. Use your highlighter pen to mark things you don't want to miss.
You will get an email shortly that has all the cabin numbers of each of the 40th Celebration Group. The cabin number is also you phone number on board. Your cell phone will probably not work inside the ship or if it does it might have monster sized roaming charges. So use the stateroom telephone. It also allows you to leave a voice mail and is great for wake up calls so you don't miss your shore excursion.
The blog has had 1698 page views since its inception, so I hope it has been of help to you in planning your cruise and looking at all the options to explore the ports. I have really enjoyed sharing with you all the information and keeping it updated for this cruise.
See you on board - Mike
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
ONLY 14 More Days
Time to pull the suitcases down from their storage place and think about what goes inside. Checking the weather for our stops I am still seeing some light showers in the forecast, so if you are doing a "walk about" a nice water repellent jacket should be part of your stuff. Also for the day we are going to Sawyer Glacier, that will be (depending on how close the ship can get to it) in the low 40 F range and if windy, a bit cooler. Layer clothing is best.
This is the Saturday at sea picture as the Star is following the Princess Sapphire down the Pacific Coast to Seattle.
It is great to see some blue sky here, and if you keep your fingers crossed that is what we will have for our trip too!
Evie checked out the wine list for the ship, and may order herself a Bon Voyage gift of a bottle or two to the stateroom. We priced it out. Our favorite that we can buy on discount for $5, plus $15 corkage (tax) from NCL is $20, and they will put the bottle in the room for $24 so it is a real push to bother with trying to smuggle it on board.
I updated the page with who is doing what in the various ports, I hope you have checked what I have there and it is correct. Let me know if it isn't. Before we sail I'll send you something to print out to bring with you that will have cabin numbers, the port excursions we have all selected and the date and time of the Meet & Greet which I hope you will plan to attend. It is a chance to talk with the people who run the ship in a small group setting plus have some nibble food and a drink or two on the house!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
16 DAYS LEFT
A few odds and ends that we haven't covered yet. First, the ship has a laundry and will wash and fold clothes for $25 a bag. People that have used the service say that you should pring tape so you can stuff the bag completely and then tape it closed without fear of it spilling your stuff because it is so full. The ship does not have do-it-yourself laundry equipment.
By now you should have printed your E-Docs. When you fold up your luggage tag, use some clear plastic tape on that to make it sturdy, punch a hole in it and use a zip tie to attach it to your bag(s). You need to do this for each piece of checked luggage you had on the airplane. Probably not do it before your flight, but after you get it from the baggage claim because this is not what you would call a durable tag! When I printed mine, the printer put it on 2 pages. Just cut the barcode off the second page and paste it onto the first one. All they need is the barcode and deck /room number. These bags will go away when you board the ship and be delivered to your room later - usually before sailing. Your carry on baggage will go with you on board. All of it gets X-rayed before it gets on the ship.
If you are hungry when you get there, the Lido deck has food available all day long during embarkation so head up there for food / coffee. Your room will generally not be available to you until about 2pm. If you need to stretch your legs and need a little walking, you can drop your carry on bags off at the Spinnaker Lounge for safekeeping and explore the ship.
By now you should have printed your E-Docs. When you fold up your luggage tag, use some clear plastic tape on that to make it sturdy, punch a hole in it and use a zip tie to attach it to your bag(s). You need to do this for each piece of checked luggage you had on the airplane. Probably not do it before your flight, but after you get it from the baggage claim because this is not what you would call a durable tag! When I printed mine, the printer put it on 2 pages. Just cut the barcode off the second page and paste it onto the first one. All they need is the barcode and deck /room number. These bags will go away when you board the ship and be delivered to your room later - usually before sailing. Your carry on baggage will go with you on board. All of it gets X-rayed before it gets on the ship.
If you are hungry when you get there, the Lido deck has food available all day long during embarkation so head up there for food / coffee. Your room will generally not be available to you until about 2pm. If you need to stretch your legs and need a little walking, you can drop your carry on bags off at the Spinnaker Lounge for safekeeping and explore the ship.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Alcohol - Booze - Drinkables
Had a short discussion this weekend about bringing YOUR OWN on board the ship. From that I decided you should know the official position of NCL (one that you have already agreed to follow when you filled out your passenger information). Here it is:
Bringing Booze Onboard
Bringing wine or Champagne onboard:Allowed, but you have to pay a corkage fee for wine that is brought onboard and served or consumed in any restaurant, public room / area or cabin. Fees are $15 fro 750 ml bottles, $20 for 1000ml and $30 for 1500ml. Boxed wine is not allowed.
Bringing liquor onboard at embarkation: Not allowed - items are secured until debarkation day.
Purchasing liquor in port: Retained until the end of the cruise.:
1. I had a suitcase "busted" on the Sun out of Miami. It was held and I had to go pick it up after opening it for the crew. It had a 6 pack of bottled water. The suitcase with the two 12 packs of Yuengling sailed right into our cabin as did the suitcase with the wine. Go figure.
2. It is a hit or miss thing with NCL. As for policy, you can not bring any liquor on board from ports or upon embarkation except wine. Yes they do check and yes, you will be called to the luggage area to identify your luggage and the alcohol if you are caught. There are many ways to smuggle it on board. I am really not sure it is worth it anymore.
3. I was on the Dawn a few weeks ago and had a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of vodka in my suitcase. It was held, and when I went to claim it I was asked if I had anything. I said - "Yes, one bottle" and I reached in and grabbed one of them then zipped the suitcase shut and took it off the table. They said nothing nor asked to through the suitcase themselves.
4. We chose to smuggle alcohol. This was in our checked luggage. We brought on the cruise ship package of filled rum runners and a box of wine. We had 5 checked bags between our two rooms so each suitcase had some contraband in it. Nothing was found. Thank goodness because the wine was so horrible that if I had to go to the naughty room of shame for that crap I would have had to throw myself overboard.
5. No cruise line has the policy of bringing your own liquor on board and if you are caught they all will confiscate it. As was suggested order a bar set-up and you will be happy. The bar set-up # is 1-866-625-1159. Or you can fax them your order with your reservation and confirmation #'s. The fax # is 305-436-4147. How cool is that!?!? The delivered bottles are of course more pricey than what you buy at home.
6. We were on the Star. We had a medium bottle of Vodka and 2 big litres of TGIF Mudslides which are premixed drinks. The bag with the vodka made it to the room. But the two bags witht he mudslides were held up by the ship. We had a notice to go to library between 5 and 7 to open our bags. Each person was taken in and asked to pick out their bag or bags. My wife and I got the two bags and a young fellow with rubber gloves on asked us to open the first bag. I told him we had a bottle of mudslides and would pay the corking fee. I took the bottle out and gave it to him. He asked what it was and I told him it was a mixed drink with very little alcohol in it. He took the bottle over to an older fellow who studied the label and came back to us with it. He handed it to me and said it was ok. I said there was another bottle in the other bag and he waved at us and said it was ok to go.
You pay a corkage fee anytime the cruise line finds you carrying on (or in checked luggage) any bottle of wine. Corkage is just a term for a tax on your beverage so that it is no longer cheaper to bring your own with you.
"Hard" liquor is simply confiscated. If it is an unsealed bottle of hard liquor it is poured out.
Yes you can prepare a drink for yourself in the room or buy one at the bar and bring it with you to the dining room. They have no way of knowing nor do they care. Rum runners worked well for many cruisers because they are essentially a clear plastic bladder. Google Rum Runner container. They X-ray ALL baggage and they look for bottle shapes.
Your cabin will have a bottle of white wine in it, compliments of Donna @ ABC's of Travel PLUS each cabin will have a $50 On Board Credit (OBC) for you to spend as you wish.
Bringing Booze Onboard
Bringing wine or Champagne onboard:Allowed, but you have to pay a corkage fee for wine that is brought onboard and served or consumed in any restaurant, public room / area or cabin. Fees are $15 fro 750 ml bottles, $20 for 1000ml and $30 for 1500ml. Boxed wine is not allowed.
Bringing liquor onboard at embarkation: Not allowed - items are secured until debarkation day.
Purchasing liquor in port: Retained until the end of the cruise.:
Complimentary drinks typically are available at the Captain’s cocktail party, the Lattitudes (past passengers) cocktail party and the art auctions
================================================
From the cruise critic board here are the experiences of some of the passengers that brought their own to the party.================================================
1. I had a suitcase "busted" on the Sun out of Miami. It was held and I had to go pick it up after opening it for the crew. It had a 6 pack of bottled water. The suitcase with the two 12 packs of Yuengling sailed right into our cabin as did the suitcase with the wine. Go figure.
2. It is a hit or miss thing with NCL. As for policy, you can not bring any liquor on board from ports or upon embarkation except wine. Yes they do check and yes, you will be called to the luggage area to identify your luggage and the alcohol if you are caught. There are many ways to smuggle it on board. I am really not sure it is worth it anymore.
3. I was on the Dawn a few weeks ago and had a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of vodka in my suitcase. It was held, and when I went to claim it I was asked if I had anything. I said - "Yes, one bottle" and I reached in and grabbed one of them then zipped the suitcase shut and took it off the table. They said nothing nor asked to through the suitcase themselves.
4. We chose to smuggle alcohol. This was in our checked luggage. We brought on the cruise ship package of filled rum runners and a box of wine. We had 5 checked bags between our two rooms so each suitcase had some contraband in it. Nothing was found. Thank goodness because the wine was so horrible that if I had to go to the naughty room of shame for that crap I would have had to throw myself overboard.
5. No cruise line has the policy of bringing your own liquor on board and if you are caught they all will confiscate it. As was suggested order a bar set-up and you will be happy. The bar set-up # is 1-866-625-1159. Or you can fax them your order with your reservation and confirmation #'s. The fax # is 305-436-4147. How cool is that!?!? The delivered bottles are of course more pricey than what you buy at home.
6. We were on the Star. We had a medium bottle of Vodka and 2 big litres of TGIF Mudslides which are premixed drinks. The bag with the vodka made it to the room. But the two bags witht he mudslides were held up by the ship. We had a notice to go to library between 5 and 7 to open our bags. Each person was taken in and asked to pick out their bag or bags. My wife and I got the two bags and a young fellow with rubber gloves on asked us to open the first bag. I told him we had a bottle of mudslides and would pay the corking fee. I took the bottle out and gave it to him. He asked what it was and I told him it was a mixed drink with very little alcohol in it. He took the bottle over to an older fellow who studied the label and came back to us with it. He handed it to me and said it was ok. I said there was another bottle in the other bag and he waved at us and said it was ok to go.
You pay a corkage fee anytime the cruise line finds you carrying on (or in checked luggage) any bottle of wine. Corkage is just a term for a tax on your beverage so that it is no longer cheaper to bring your own with you.
"Hard" liquor is simply confiscated. If it is an unsealed bottle of hard liquor it is poured out.
Yes you can prepare a drink for yourself in the room or buy one at the bar and bring it with you to the dining room. They have no way of knowing nor do they care. Rum runners worked well for many cruisers because they are essentially a clear plastic bladder. Google Rum Runner container. They X-ray ALL baggage and they look for bottle shapes.
Your cabin will have a bottle of white wine in it, compliments of Donna @ ABC's of Travel PLUS each cabin will have a $50 On Board Credit (OBC) for you to spend as you wish.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
23 DAYS TO GO !!!
Dean has a place on his desk where he is starting to get all his paperwork together in one place, so on D day (departure day) he can put it all into his carry on and head to the Amtrack Station. Great idea !
Try on those clothes you are wanting to take along... will they fit? Do they match the galoshas'? Have you been looking at the bridge cam? Scroll down the page about 5 inches and you will see the link. I did and here is the shot for Wednesday the 17th at 6:20 pm PDST. As you can clearly see the STAR is headed pretty close to the edge of the earth !!!
I booked my reservation for the parking lot in Seattle today. If you are driving up, you can pull up in front of the Pier 66 structure and you will see places to park while unloading your passengers and luggage. If you are using the parking building across the highway, they will have both a shuttle as well as helpers to take you and your luggage to the Pier also. A tip for them is in order - figure $1 a bag.
If you want to make sure your luggage tag for NCL stays with or on your bag, cover both sides with clear plastic packaging tape, punch a hole and affix it to your luggage with a plastic zip strip. Zip strips work well on the airlines to "lock" your baggage. If you get your stuff back with the zip strips cut off you will know TSA opened your bags.
Keep checking back here - I will update until about the 17th or so.
Try on those clothes you are wanting to take along... will they fit? Do they match the galoshas'? Have you been looking at the bridge cam? Scroll down the page about 5 inches and you will see the link. I did and here is the shot for Wednesday the 17th at 6:20 pm PDST. As you can clearly see the STAR is headed pretty close to the edge of the earth !!!
If you want to make sure your luggage tag for NCL stays with or on your bag, cover both sides with clear plastic packaging tape, punch a hole and affix it to your luggage with a plastic zip strip. Zip strips work well on the airlines to "lock" your baggage. If you get your stuff back with the zip strips cut off you will know TSA opened your bags.
Keep checking back here - I will update until about the 17th or so.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Meet & Greet + Upgrades
It's Official : Our Meet & Greet will be Sunday September 11 @ 11:30 am in the Le Bistro Restaurant. Each of you are invited to have some finger food, glass of wine and meet the ship's staff. There will be about 40 attending and you can compare notes and ideas about the ports and maybe buddy up on an excursion if you choose.
You can see a bit of the restaurant from the "LETS EAT" page, but this will give you a chance to see the whole space and decide if you want to do a dinner there.
Speaking of dinner - - - when you board, you may find some of the staff Welcome Team just inside the ship with 2 for one offers for the specialty restaurants. These are often a very good deal and you might want to think about if you would take advantage of this kind of an offer if you are extended the opportunity.
Also speaking of Opportunities: It is not un-common for the cruise line to phone you a few days before the cruise and ask you if you would like to upgrade your cabin. Usually this offer is for a single step up at a much reduced price. It does not happen on every cruise and may not on this one. However, if you were to get such a call, you generally have to have decided to take it or not within a hour or less. So it is worthwhile to think / discuss if you were to receive an upgrade call - would you spend another $500-600 for a better cabin...? I have been seeing on the Cruise Critic Boards NCL offering upgrades with an increasing frequency being reported by members - more so than in the past. So maybe you will have a better than 50 - 50 chance of receiving a call.
You can see a bit of the restaurant from the "LETS EAT" page, but this will give you a chance to see the whole space and decide if you want to do a dinner there.
Speaking of dinner - - - when you board, you may find some of the staff Welcome Team just inside the ship with 2 for one offers for the specialty restaurants. These are often a very good deal and you might want to think about if you would take advantage of this kind of an offer if you are extended the opportunity.
Also speaking of Opportunities: It is not un-common for the cruise line to phone you a few days before the cruise and ask you if you would like to upgrade your cabin. Usually this offer is for a single step up at a much reduced price. It does not happen on every cruise and may not on this one. However, if you were to get such a call, you generally have to have decided to take it or not within a hour or less. So it is worthwhile to think / discuss if you were to receive an upgrade call - would you spend another $500-600 for a better cabin...? I have been seeing on the Cruise Critic Boards NCL offering upgrades with an increasing frequency being reported by members - more so than in the past. So maybe you will have a better than 50 - 50 chance of receiving a call.
Monday, August 8, 2011
33 More Days !!
Have you been checking the bridge camera on the Star? I have almost once a day or so, and I have seen lots of clouds and sometimes rain on the bridge window that the camera points through. Our weather in Portland has been on the weird side this summer also, so maybe the West Coast is just going to have a lot of clouds and rain.
Today when I checked I saw this:
This is 7:04 pm on Monday sailing up the Inland Passage, and look - not a cloud in the sky !!!
I am hoping this is a omen for our voyage that the weather is going to be improving as we go into late summer !
Also, I wanted to note today that one of the tours that I was discussing further down on this page, - a small boat that goes up to Sawyer Glacier for a close up experience, is not going to be offered the rest of the season. NCL has already taken it off the listings for Juneau. I spoke with them yesterday and they said because the glaciers are calving (the face falls off the glacier) more frequently, the small boat cannot handle the increasing amount of ice in the bay so they are not going to make any more trips this year.
PLEASE CHECK THE "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO" page and see if I have your excursions listed correctly. I am aware some of you have changed your plans... am I still showing your old plans? Have you given me any excursions that I don't have listed?
Today when I checked I saw this:
I am hoping this is a omen for our voyage that the weather is going to be improving as we go into late summer !
Also, I wanted to note today that one of the tours that I was discussing further down on this page, - a small boat that goes up to Sawyer Glacier for a close up experience, is not going to be offered the rest of the season. NCL has already taken it off the listings for Juneau. I spoke with them yesterday and they said because the glaciers are calving (the face falls off the glacier) more frequently, the small boat cannot handle the increasing amount of ice in the bay so they are not going to make any more trips this year.
PLEASE CHECK THE "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO" page and see if I have your excursions listed correctly. I am aware some of you have changed your plans... am I still showing your old plans? Have you given me any excursions that I don't have listed?
Saturday, August 6, 2011
From Sue
My husband and I did the Inside passage 31 yrs ago on Princess Lines. Will be interesting to see the changes that have occurred since 1979 during the port visits.
Back then the narrow gauge went from Skagway to Whitehorse. We were stuck on the train for 4 hours due to a rock slide and missed the moose stew lunch midway up. By the time we arrived in Skagway we had also missed the "Frantic Follies" performance. We did catch their show 2 yrs ago on a road trip to Fairbanks - Fantastic! The initials of the White Pass & Yukon Railway - WP&YK - are referred to as "Wait Patiently & You'll Ride" . How true!
In regard to Skagway, we had also read the book "Klondike" before the trip. The characters during the Gold Rush , like Soapy Smith, seemed to come alive. Would recommend reading the book
Back then the narrow gauge went from Skagway to Whitehorse. We were stuck on the train for 4 hours due to a rock slide and missed the moose stew lunch midway up. By the time we arrived in Skagway we had also missed the "Frantic Follies" performance. We did catch their show 2 yrs ago on a road trip to Fairbanks - Fantastic! The initials of the White Pass & Yukon Railway - WP&YK - are referred to as "Wait Patiently & You'll Ride" . How true!
In regard to Skagway, we had also read the book "Klondike" before the trip. The characters during the Gold Rush , like Soapy Smith, seemed to come alive. Would recommend reading the book
Friday, August 5, 2011
Your Cabin & Smoking on the Star
I have been checking the cruise boards almost everyday for info coming back from Alaska cruisers. One topic has caught my attention and I want to mention it now, because on embarkation day, things are going pretty fast and you might need to know this ahead of time.
I think for most of you, Donna at ABC's ordered NON smoking staterooms. You will see that on your paperwork from NCL. However, that being said, NCL seems to have a policy of allowing smoking in the staterooms of cigarettes - but not pipes or cigars. I think this is a nod to the European clientele which still smokes - more so than in the US.
So there is a chance you might open the door to your stateroom and smell left over smoke, which I personally find very offensive. The good news from this is you should immediately go to the Purser's Desk in the Atrium (you will find this in the center of the ship) and ask for a deep cleaning of your room. This takes awhile and may include removal and replacement of your draperies / window coverings. You may have to ask for a change of bedding as well as new pillows if the smell is strong.
The point I want to make clear is that you DO NOT have to condemn yourself to 7 days of smelling smoke in your room. Oh - the cleaning is of course free to you, and has to meet your nose test and approval.
I think for most of you, Donna at ABC's ordered NON smoking staterooms. You will see that on your paperwork from NCL. However, that being said, NCL seems to have a policy of allowing smoking in the staterooms of cigarettes - but not pipes or cigars. I think this is a nod to the European clientele which still smokes - more so than in the US.
So there is a chance you might open the door to your stateroom and smell left over smoke, which I personally find very offensive. The good news from this is you should immediately go to the Purser's Desk in the Atrium (you will find this in the center of the ship) and ask for a deep cleaning of your room. This takes awhile and may include removal and replacement of your draperies / window coverings. You may have to ask for a change of bedding as well as new pillows if the smell is strong.
The point I want to make clear is that you DO NOT have to condemn yourself to 7 days of smelling smoke in your room. Oh - the cleaning is of course free to you, and has to meet your nose test and approval.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
37 Days and Counting
Had a email question about how FreeStyle Dining works - so if one person has a question that usually means someone else is wondering also.
Essentially FreeStyle is like being at home and deciding to go out for dinner (or lunch or breakfast). You decide where you want to go and then go whenever you decide. Now on a ship with 2000 passengers, if everyone decides to eat dinner at say at 5:15 pm it is the same as arriving at your hometown restaurant without a reservation. There will be a line. You could try the other main dining room (there are 2 of them) or you could wait in line. Or, you could reserve a table for X people at X time, and come back at that time.
If you were at home, you might call your friends and say "lets meet at the Aqua Restaurant at 6:30 pm." When you meet your party at the entrance to the restaurant, they will seat you as a group. To make sure they will have a table ready, call the dining room (phone list in your room) and make a reservation.
If you don't call your freinds you will be seated at whatever table becomes available, and you will have new faces at your table to meet and greet.
Evie and I have done both and sometimes the new faces become new friends. Other times the new faces don't "click" and are quickly forgotten at the stage show after dinner!
Essentially FreeStyle is like being at home and deciding to go out for dinner (or lunch or breakfast). You decide where you want to go and then go whenever you decide. Now on a ship with 2000 passengers, if everyone decides to eat dinner at say at 5:15 pm it is the same as arriving at your hometown restaurant without a reservation. There will be a line. You could try the other main dining room (there are 2 of them) or you could wait in line. Or, you could reserve a table for X people at X time, and come back at that time.
If you were at home, you might call your friends and say "lets meet at the Aqua Restaurant at 6:30 pm." When you meet your party at the entrance to the restaurant, they will seat you as a group. To make sure they will have a table ready, call the dining room (phone list in your room) and make a reservation.
If you don't call your freinds you will be seated at whatever table becomes available, and you will have new faces at your table to meet and greet.
Evie and I have done both and sometimes the new faces become new friends. Other times the new faces don't "click" and are quickly forgotten at the stage show after dinner!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Life Aboard
Thought I would mention a couple of things today that would be helpful to our NEW cruisers, and a reminder to our old hands.
As you can imagine, if you own a ship that gets about 1 INCH to the gallon of diesel fuel, you have to have lots of sources of income besides just the basic fare price. ALL CRUISE lines therefore have other ways to make money. We have a page of the specialty restaurants with the cover charges, so you already know about that.
They have several "stores" on board where you can buy everything from razor blades to the most expensive jewelery and perfume. As this is the next to the last Alaska cruise, you might find some bargain things related to Alaska that they would rather discount than send back to Florida for next year. The best bargains will be after we leave Prince Rupert on our last night at sea.
Photographers will want you to pose at every port in front of a sign, as well as circulate through the dining rooms to take pictures. On formal night they will have a number of locations set up to take formal photos. All these are displayed in the area reserved for them and you can buy them or pull them from the rack and put them in the recycle containers located there.
Of course the Casino will make some money as well as the Spa. They may also have the drink special of the day which if you ask for a PLAIN GLASS, you won't have to pay for the plastic souvenir glass it would otherwise come in. There are other things you may be asked to purchase during the cruise. It is always acceptable to just nod your head no, and say "no thanks."
Before we leave Seattle, we will have a life boat drill. This is required by the US Coast Guard. You will be directed to your "muster station" so you will know where to go in case the STAR sinks. The cabins ARE CHECKED to see that EVERYBODY shows up at their station. Your muster station is shown on a card attached to the inside of your cabin door. People in wheelchairs and anyone who is claustrophobic will be ushered to a separate area adjacent to the outside deck area where they would have normally been placed. Otherwise you line up, usually 5 rows deep on the outside deck, listen to the instructions, wait till the ship sounds its horn and then you are free to go to your cabin. This will be about 4:30pm on Saturday.
As you can imagine, if you own a ship that gets about 1 INCH to the gallon of diesel fuel, you have to have lots of sources of income besides just the basic fare price. ALL CRUISE lines therefore have other ways to make money. We have a page of the specialty restaurants with the cover charges, so you already know about that.
They have several "stores" on board where you can buy everything from razor blades to the most expensive jewelery and perfume. As this is the next to the last Alaska cruise, you might find some bargain things related to Alaska that they would rather discount than send back to Florida for next year. The best bargains will be after we leave Prince Rupert on our last night at sea.
Photographers will want you to pose at every port in front of a sign, as well as circulate through the dining rooms to take pictures. On formal night they will have a number of locations set up to take formal photos. All these are displayed in the area reserved for them and you can buy them or pull them from the rack and put them in the recycle containers located there.
Of course the Casino will make some money as well as the Spa. They may also have the drink special of the day which if you ask for a PLAIN GLASS, you won't have to pay for the plastic souvenir glass it would otherwise come in. There are other things you may be asked to purchase during the cruise. It is always acceptable to just nod your head no, and say "no thanks."
Before we leave Seattle, we will have a life boat drill. This is required by the US Coast Guard. You will be directed to your "muster station" so you will know where to go in case the STAR sinks. The cabins ARE CHECKED to see that EVERYBODY shows up at their station. Your muster station is shown on a card attached to the inside of your cabin door. People in wheelchairs and anyone who is claustrophobic will be ushered to a separate area adjacent to the outside deck area where they would have normally been placed. Otherwise you line up, usually 5 rows deep on the outside deck, listen to the instructions, wait till the ship sounds its horn and then you are free to go to your cabin. This will be about 4:30pm on Saturday.
Monday, July 25, 2011
46 DAYS TO GO !
I added some more feedback from Star cruisers to the blog today. At the bottom of the page "BEEN THERE - DID THIS" in the section about the SHIP, (last section on the bottom of the page) I combined some feedback by topic. So you will see 12, 12a and so on reflecting that several reviewers are offering comments about that topic. A number of the ship's restaurants are now highlighted in that section with comments from cruisers about what they experienced.
One of the shore excursions that is getting RAVE reviews in Juneau is the catamaran boat trip to the Sawyer Glacier. You'll find all the review info under the yellow highlighted "Tracy Arm......" on the "BEEN THERE - DID THIS" page, in the Juneau section. If you would really like to get within a few hundred yards of a glacier face, this is THE trip for that! The tour is on the Juneau page, in the bottom section of that page where the NCL tours are located.
If you have completed your registration process on the NCL website, you might check back there to see if your E-Docs are ready to print. These you need to print yourself. Your passenger "packet" which is mailed to you does not have the information that your E-Docs contain. If you booked NCL shore excursions they will appear on your E-Docs. Check that out. I have a booking for an excursion I never made, so I have to call and cancel that. When you get to the dock in Seattle you need the E-Docs, your passenger packet, passport and credit card with you.
"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO" is being updated everytime I get an email from you about your plans for shore excursions. It's surprising to see how many excursions there are with few duplications among our group!
Keep checking back :)
One of the shore excursions that is getting RAVE reviews in Juneau is the catamaran boat trip to the Sawyer Glacier. You'll find all the review info under the yellow highlighted "Tracy Arm......" on the "BEEN THERE - DID THIS" page, in the Juneau section. If you would really like to get within a few hundred yards of a glacier face, this is THE trip for that! The tour is on the Juneau page, in the bottom section of that page where the NCL tours are located.
If you have completed your registration process on the NCL website, you might check back there to see if your E-Docs are ready to print. These you need to print yourself. Your passenger "packet" which is mailed to you does not have the information that your E-Docs contain. If you booked NCL shore excursions they will appear on your E-Docs. Check that out. I have a booking for an excursion I never made, so I have to call and cancel that. When you get to the dock in Seattle you need the E-Docs, your passenger packet, passport and credit card with you.
"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO" is being updated everytime I get an email from you about your plans for shore excursions. It's surprising to see how many excursions there are with few duplications among our group!
Keep checking back :)
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Still Tinkering 'round
My earlier efforts put some of the comments of our fellow travellers in with the tour descriptions on the port pages. I realized recently that additional comments were going to really clutter up the tours, so today I cleaned all the Port pages of reviews / comments of others who have taken these same excursions, and pulled them all over to the "BEEN THERE - DID THIS" page. The are arranged on that page by the Port. As more people return from their cruises we will see more infomation coming to that page.
I added some pictures to the "LETS EAT" page last night.
We had a post on "WHAT TO BRING" that was getting buried here on the home page. So I took that off and made a page for that by itself. On the Cruise Critic site, we had a seven page discussion going about things that other cruisers had found helpful to bring along. There were about 24 really good suggestions to add to the page, so take a look at that page. If you think we missed something that would be useful, drop me an email and we will add it to the list for everyone.
If you have your registration completed, you probably received some email from NCL today. As we get in closer to sailing time, you will see more from them. Your sailing documents will be mailed to you in another couple of weeks. These include among other things all your acknowledgment paperwork and lugage tags for you bags. If you are flying, don't put the ship tags on until you claim your bags at SEA-TAC. These are color coded for your deck and help the stewards get your stuff to your room after it is Xrayed.
I added some pictures to the "LETS EAT" page last night.
We had a post on "WHAT TO BRING" that was getting buried here on the home page. So I took that off and made a page for that by itself. On the Cruise Critic site, we had a seven page discussion going about things that other cruisers had found helpful to bring along. There were about 24 really good suggestions to add to the page, so take a look at that page. If you think we missed something that would be useful, drop me an email and we will add it to the list for everyone.
If you have your registration completed, you probably received some email from NCL today. As we get in closer to sailing time, you will see more from them. Your sailing documents will be mailed to you in another couple of weeks. These include among other things all your acknowledgment paperwork and lugage tags for you bags. If you are flying, don't put the ship tags on until you claim your bags at SEA-TAC. These are color coded for your deck and help the stewards get your stuff to your room after it is Xrayed.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
NEW PAGE !
Hi Cruisers -
Yea - we are in the single digit count - down to our cruise!
Yea - we are in the single digit count - down to our cruise!
- The blog has a new page called "LETS EAT" Besides being pampered by your attentive room steward, cruising is a good opportunity to try out some different cuisine. The new page gives you the list of all the restaurant and eating spots that are included in your cruise fare. Below that is the list of all the Specialty places, and I did get all the menu's for all of them.
- If you haven't responded to me about the Meet & Greet that will take place on the ship, please email me. We need a good head count for the food and refreshments being planned.
- Check the "WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO" page for the latest updates on what shore excursions our group is planning / booking. Lots to see and do in all the ports - the challenge is how long we are there and the cost. If you haven't shared yet, email me with your info so I can add it in. So far you all have made a wide range of choices - so there will be lots to talk about in sharing our experiences!
- The "WHO IS GOING" page is complete.
- I checked today with the local Verizon store, and they assured me that you will have cell service in all the Alaska ports, and for most plans - NO roaming charges. This will be handy to stay in touch while in port between you and whoever, rather than rely on walkie-talkies. If you use another provider - not Verizon - check to see they have free coverage.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
EXCURSIONS
Several of you have picked your excursions. By the way - the White Pass Railroad one is NOT sold out, it was a computer glitch and it is still open for booking on the NCL offering (see previous post). You might like to know if anyone in our group is going to be on your excursion with you. Perhaps you can save them a seat, or share some time during the excursion. To make that possible, if you would like to share the excursions you have chosen, send me an email. You need to be sure to give me your departure time as some excursions run multiple times during the day.
I also updated the port pages with information about what other cruise ships will be in port when the Star with you on board arrives. They will have different arrival and departure times. All our ports will be gangway to pier - no tendering by small boat to a wharf.
When you get on board you will get a photo ID which you have to either swipe in a machine to get on and off the ship, or it will have a bar code that will be read with a scanner. The purpose of this is to keep the ship's computer updated with where you are. If you got off, when you got off, and when you got back on. The ship uses this information at sailing time to insure that all guests are back on board. If you are not back at sailing time, one of two things can happen. If you are on a NCL excursion, the ship may wait for you to get back before sailing. Or they may arrange for you to meet the ship at the next port (very rare). You still have to use diligence about returning before sailing time - but the ship will not leave without making an effort to locate you. Tour operators that contract with NCL and other cruise lines have to meet performance standards, and part of that is to make sure passengers are not delayed beyond sailing time.
The Who is Going? page has been updated again today
I also updated the port pages with information about what other cruise ships will be in port when the Star with you on board arrives. They will have different arrival and departure times. All our ports will be gangway to pier - no tendering by small boat to a wharf.
When you get on board you will get a photo ID which you have to either swipe in a machine to get on and off the ship, or it will have a bar code that will be read with a scanner. The purpose of this is to keep the ship's computer updated with where you are. If you got off, when you got off, and when you got back on. The ship uses this information at sailing time to insure that all guests are back on board. If you are not back at sailing time, one of two things can happen. If you are on a NCL excursion, the ship may wait for you to get back before sailing. Or they may arrange for you to meet the ship at the next port (very rare). You still have to use diligence about returning before sailing time - but the ship will not leave without making an effort to locate you. Tour operators that contract with NCL and other cruise lines have to meet performance standards, and part of that is to make sure passengers are not delayed beyond sailing time.
The Who is Going? page has been updated again today
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
More Updates
Added some more folks to the "Who is going page" and put the port times on the pages that were missing that.
Remember when you are looking at the pages on the blog, to scroll down to the absolute bottom before you leave the page. I have heard from some of you that you aren't seeing some things that are there, and that is because you are not going all the way down the page. Some of the pages are really long. Also, you might find that the port pages are loading slower, that is because of all the graphics that accompany the NCL shore excursions. So wait for the page to fully load and be sure to scroll down !
I have an inquiry in regarding the White Pass Railroad excursion in Skagway. The NCL web page to book the tour is acting like it is sold out. If it is I will be getting information on how to get on a wait list if you are interested. That information will appear here on the home page, so keep checking in to get the latest!
10 weeks from now you will be sailing from Seattle !!!
Remember when you are looking at the pages on the blog, to scroll down to the absolute bottom before you leave the page. I have heard from some of you that you aren't seeing some things that are there, and that is because you are not going all the way down the page. Some of the pages are really long. Also, you might find that the port pages are loading slower, that is because of all the graphics that accompany the NCL shore excursions. So wait for the page to fully load and be sure to scroll down !
I have an inquiry in regarding the White Pass Railroad excursion in Skagway. The NCL web page to book the tour is acting like it is sold out. If it is I will be getting information on how to get on a wait list if you are interested. That information will appear here on the home page, so keep checking in to get the latest!
10 weeks from now you will be sailing from Seattle !!!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Page UPdates
Added another entry to the Who is Going? page. I am hoping to get that completed shortly. It is interesting to me how we are all linked together in some way or another. I hope you will find the page interesting.
The Been There did This page got updated today with sample menu's for some of the on-board ship restaurants. You don't want to read these menu's if you are hungry! The menu's and the various dining rooms are explained at the bottom of the page. I would not say that these will be the exact menu's you will see, but they are going to be pretty close. The Room Service menu should be completely correct.
Keep checking back here - more stuff to come !
The Been There did This page got updated today with sample menu's for some of the on-board ship restaurants. You don't want to read these menu's if you are hungry! The menu's and the various dining rooms are explained at the bottom of the page. I would not say that these will be the exact menu's you will see, but they are going to be pretty close. The Room Service menu should be completely correct.
Keep checking back here - more stuff to come !
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Bridge Camera
Not a lot to see, but you might take a peek from time to time to see what it looks like from the bridge of the Star.
http://www.ncl.com/shipcams/starcam/fullsize.jpg
Added the parking garage cost to the "Get me to Seattle" page - see the yellow highlight there.
http://www.ncl.com/shipcams/starcam/fullsize.jpg
Added the parking garage cost to the "Get me to Seattle" page - see the yellow highlight there.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
ALL NCL Shore Excursions on the blog !
8pm Wednesday evening, and I have loaded the last of the shore excursions to Skagway and Ketchikan. Now you have more things to choose from than ever before! When choosing just be mindful of the amount of time you have in each port. It is tempting to do several things, but each of these has a expected amount of time it takes to do, so being able to do 2 things in a day might be pretty much the limit.
I'll be working on a couple of more things for the blog as we go along. You might want to check in at the Been There - did this page for updates from cruisers coming back from this cruise and what their experiences have been. I will be updating that a lot in the next few weeks. Lots of good tips can come from learning what works and what didn't. Some of them might save you either money or time.
Also be looking for a new page - all about YOU! You can hum the tune "getting to know you..." and read a few lines about each of you that will be on board. You might find you have a lot in common with someone else in the group.
Finaly, keep checking back here ! Sorry to sound like a broken record on that point, but if you don't stop in to visit you just might miss the thing that was really important to you!
I'll be working on a couple of more things for the blog as we go along. You might want to check in at the Been There - did this page for updates from cruisers coming back from this cruise and what their experiences have been. I will be updating that a lot in the next few weeks. Lots of good tips can come from learning what works and what didn't. Some of them might save you either money or time.
Also be looking for a new page - all about YOU! You can hum the tune "getting to know you..." and read a few lines about each of you that will be on board. You might find you have a lot in common with someone else in the group.
Finaly, keep checking back here ! Sorry to sound like a broken record on that point, but if you don't stop in to visit you just might miss the thing that was really important to you!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Important Thing # 1
So it is time to start the next phase of getting on the ship. That's called REGISTERING. While our agent Donna has done all the front end work, you still have to register. When you get to the check in counter in Seattle on Sept 10, they will have everything they need from you except to swipe your credit card number and show you on board! So here's what you need to do:
go to http://www.ncl.com/
In the top right corner you will see "Register". If you have salied NCL before, you can "log in" if you have your user name and password. For most of you "Register" is the place to click. You are going to need a couple of things to fill out the forms. First you need your RESERVATION number. That's on the paperwork you received from Donna. Next you need you PASSPORT number, and expiration date. After that it is who to notify if you get into trouble and need bail money (Alaska jails are terrible!). After you complete all that you can book at shore tours that you have chosen from these blog pages. The titles for the tours on my pages are exactly the same you will see on the list that is presented to you. Also, if you want to choose your tours later, you can come back to the home page of NCL and book your tours later.
If you have any problems or questions you know my email address :)
go to http://www.ncl.com/
In the top right corner you will see "Register". If you have salied NCL before, you can "log in" if you have your user name and password. For most of you "Register" is the place to click. You are going to need a couple of things to fill out the forms. First you need your RESERVATION number. That's on the paperwork you received from Donna. Next you need you PASSPORT number, and expiration date. After that it is who to notify if you get into trouble and need bail money (Alaska jails are terrible!). After you complete all that you can book at shore tours that you have chosen from these blog pages. The titles for the tours on my pages are exactly the same you will see on the list that is presented to you. Also, if you want to choose your tours later, you can come back to the home page of NCL and book your tours later.
If you have any problems or questions you know my email address :)
Important Thing # 2
I completed my on-line booking today (more about that later), and despite the fact that one page on the NCL website gave me 3 shore excursions for each port,
.......... when I completed the booking activity, and looked at reserving an excursion, I found a huge list of excursions for each port.
So, on one page of the NCL website you have the limited choices that I have shown for the past several weeks, and when you complete your booking - hello ! there is a entirely new list !
So I will re-work my pages to include those things from NCL. . Just another example of web MANIA !
The Prince Rupert page and the Juneau page are now reworked. Tomorrow for the other two.. phew !!! 35 new things to see and do with NCL in Juneau, and 4 new ones for Prince Rupert..
.......... when I completed the booking activity, and looked at reserving an excursion, I found a huge list of excursions for each port.
So, on one page of the NCL website you have the limited choices that I have shown for the past several weeks, and when you complete your booking - hello ! there is a entirely new list !
So I will re-work my pages to include those things from NCL. . Just another example of web MANIA !
The Prince Rupert page and the Juneau page are now reworked. Tomorrow for the other two.. phew !!! 35 new things to see and do with NCL in Juneau, and 4 new ones for Prince Rupert..
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