We Went on Two NCL Cruises in 2022 & This is What We Learned

In late May 2022, we went on our first cruise ever. To Alaska! Later, in August of 2022, we went on our second cruise ever to Mexico & the Bahamas. Now that we’ve been on two whole cruises, and are basically experts (:p), we thought we’d share a bit of what we learned. In today’s blog, we’re going to give you tips on sailing with Norwegian Cruise Lines and maybe just cruising in general.

Our first cruise was May 28th-June 4th and we sailed on the Norwegian Bliss. The Bliss is a huge ship (one of NCL’s biggest). It has three main dining rooms (included for all guests), 10+ specialty dining restaurants, a race track, laser tag, large waterslide, casino, many shops, a theatre, night club, an assortment of bars and lounges and more. They have activities almost all day. Whether you want to lounge by the pool or on the deck, participate in family games in the Atrium or drop coins in the slot machine, there is sure to be something for everyone. Our ship stopped at 5 ports along the way: Sitka, Juneau, Icy Strait Point, & Ketchikan, Alaska as well as Victoria, British Columbia.

Our second cruise was August 16th-21st sailing on the Norwegian Sky. The Sky was smaller than the Bliss (with only 11 floors as opposed to 17), with two main dining rooms, an indoor and outdoor buffet, several specialty dining restaurants, a pool deck, basketball court, casino, theatre and more. This time our ship stopped at three ports, Key West, FL, Cozumel, Mexico and Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas.

And just as an FYI as to why we went on two cruises in the same year when we’d never been on one… credits. We initially booked our Alaskan cruise in 2020, which of course was cancelled. Instead of getting a refund, we chose to get credits (of 120%). We rescheduled for 2021 but were cancelled again. After all of the rescheduling and credits, we were able to book our second cruise for essentially free.

On with the tips!

Make sure you have all of your documentation in order. When we traveled, all passengers over the age of 12 were required to be fully vaccinated and had to show proof of vaccination. All passengers were also required to present a negative COVID test prior to boarding. As of September 2022, the vaccine requirements have been dropped. However, make sure to check NCL’s website for the most up-to-date information on COVID related requirements as they are subject to change.

If your cruise goes out of the country like both of ours did, you are required to have a valid passport. If you are going to Canada, you must fill out arrival information on ArriveCAN. You must present all of this documentation, along with your NCL boarding pass, before you will be allowed aboard the ship. Once again, check NCL’s website for the most up-to-date information.

Spend some time getting your bearings. If you are new to cruising, or even if you’re not, spending some time exploring the ship is a good idea. Each ship is slightly different so figuring out where everything is (at least in a general sense) is a good idea. There are directories near the elevators to let you know what is on each floor, but not everything is listed. We had previously seen a tip to “look for the fish” because they swim towards the front of the boat, so that can help you navigate. We never saw any fish on either boat.

You will use your keycard for everything. Not only is your keycard your room key, it is also how you make all purchases on the ship. You won’t use credit cards aboard the ship. Instead, you’ll connect a credit card to your NCL account and, in turn, it charges through your keycard. Your card also shows your dining and drink plan and acts as your ID aboard the ship. They will attach your photo to the card, so you won’t be able to use someone else’s card without them present. You also must have your keycard to disembark and re-embark at each port.

As far as cash goes, it is a good idea to take a little for tipping. Some tips are already included (for waiters & bartenders for example), but others are not (butlers, concierge, activity coordinators, etc.). And even if tips are included, if someone goes above and beyond, it can be nice to show your appreciation. Especially for your room stewards. There is not an option to leave tips on your keycard, so that is why we suggest cash.

The adult beverage packages might not be worth the extra money. For those of you 21 and older (these cruises abide by US drinking laws) who enjoy wine and spirits, you have the opportunity to upgrade your drink package to either the adult premium beverage package or premium plus package. The premium package, which includes all beer, wine and spirits under $15, is currently priced at $99 per guest per day plus 20% gratuity. This comes out to about $600 for a 5 day cruise. Doing a bit of math, that is approximately 40 drinks (or 8 drinks per day) to break even. The premium plus package (which also includes bottled water, Starbucks coffee and top shelf alcohol options) is $128 per person per day.

Also important to note, if one person in your cabin has this package, everyone (over 21) is required to have this package. To prevent sharing, all adults in the same cabin are required to have the same drink package, even if some of those individuals do not drink alcohol. One advantage of the package is that you don’t have to worry about how much you are spending. You pay the flat rate for the entire trip. But, deciding if the package is worth it will depend on how much you plan to drink. On port days, it may be more difficult to get your money’s worth out of the drink package. Also note that while in port, you have to pay taxes on all alcoholic beverages.

If you participate in NCL’s “Free at Sea” deal, the premium beverage package is included. You will, however, still have to pay the gratuity.

Overall, we wouldn’t necessarily consider the drink package upgrades to be worth it (unless you have Free at Sea). We did have the premium package on both cruises (thanks to cruise credits and Free at Sea deals) but, if we’d had to pay for it out of pocket, we probably wouldn’t have.

Don’t waste your specialty dining tickets. Most packages come with at least one specialty dining ticket. Make sure you take advantage of that. The ticket includes one appetizer, one entrée and one dessert per person. We ate at Cagney’s Steakhouse and La Bistro on the first cruise and both were very good. We also ate at the American Diner (it was good, but not as good as the other two). On the second cruise, we ate at La Cucina, which we thought was also pretty good, though Cagney’s and La Bistro were better. Make sure to get reservations ahead of time, especially for Cagney’s, to ensure you get a table. Stay tuned for an upcoming blog on all things food related.

If you’re prone to motion sickness, don’t forget your medicine. We experienced a couple of rough sea days on our Alaska trip and were happy to have Dramamine and our sea bands. Waters are calmer once you get closer to Alaska, but the open sea can be shaky. We could feel the boat rocking the first two nights onboard and one night later in the week. The cruise to the Caribbean was smoother, but there were still a few days we could feel the boat rocking. They do have an infirmary onboard, but preventing it before it starts is always best. No one wants to be nauseous on vacation.

Don’t expect the ship to have everything you might need. We were a bit surprised at the lack of hygiene and over the counter medicines that were available in the general store. (We went in search of antiacids and couldn’t find any.) The section of the store with these items was very small, so make sure to pack items you will definitely need. The store did have shelves of alcohol and a whole wall of cigarettes if you’re in the market for those things. (We were not.) Don’t expect to find a ton of souvenirs on the ship either. The general store has a few things but not many. They did have more items out in a kiosk on the last day of the Alaska cruise, but plan on purchasing most souvenirs off of the ship.

The Wi-Fi is not great. Even if you have the unlimited plan, don’t expect the Wi-Fi to be good. It likely won’t be. Also note that everyone in your cabin must have the same Wi-Fi plan. We had 250 minutes the first cruise and 75 minutes on the second to share between the two of us and they ticked away before we knew it. We were also only able to connect one device at a time, so we had to take turns. Even when we were connected, it was spotty. Videos and streaming would not work at all. Consider this before deciding whether or not to upgrade your Wi-Fi. We chose to spend most of our time offline, only logging in to keep our Duolingo streaks going. It can actually be nice to disconnect, believe it or not. You are able to access the NCL app (to view the daily events and your account balance) without using your Wi-Fi plan.

Turn your phone on airplane mode when you’re at sea. Cell reception is virtually non-existent when the ship is at sea. But leaving your data turned on can result in roaming charges on your phone bill. Make sure to keep your phone on airplane mode unless you’re in port. You can add cruise data to your phone plan (price varies per carrier), but Courtney had it on hers and her phone barely ever worked. Your carrier may also automatically add a plan to your phone if they notice you are at sea. Also remember that if your cruise goes outside of the US, Canada and Mexico, you will want to have an international data plan on your phone to avoid extra charges (unless you keep your phone’s data turned off). Consider taking walkie talkies if you’re traveling with friends or family. These work great to keep up with everyone. No cell signal required.

Check out the Freestyle Daily. Each day, there is a new list of onboard entertainment and activities. They left a copy of the Freestyle Daily in our rooms each day, but you can also pick up a copy from guest services or access it via the NCL mobile app. This will let you know what is happening all around the ship, from games to shows to parties, make sure you don’t miss out. We spent quite a bit of time watching (and sometimes playing) games and trivia. We also attended several shows (Jersey Boys and Six on the Bliss, Rock You Tonight and a singing competition show on the Sky) along with a magic show, juggling act, comedy show and several themed dance parties. We salsa danced, we listened to live music and played Battle of the Sexes. Good times.

Excursions can be fun, but can also take up most or all of your port time. Since we had a lot of credits to use on our Alaskan cruise, we decided to book an excursion at every port. Most of them were very enjoyable, but left us with little time to do anything else. In Juneau, for example, we went from the ship to the excursion straight back to the ship. If you want to do any shopping or general sightseeing, you may want to limit your excursions. We will have a post upcoming on all of the excursions we took and what we thought of them.

NCL does not always dock where the other cruise ships do. We learned fairly quickly on the Alaskan cruise that the ship never really docked that close to downtown. The only ports where we were in walking distance of activities and shops was in Icy Strait Point (it was a 15 minute walk or gondola ride) and Victoria, BC (it was more like a 20 minute walk plus water taxi or shuttle ride). In Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan, we were nowhere near the downtown areas. They had shuttles at each port to take you there, but most excursions left from the area the ship docked. (Technically we could have met our tour downtown in Ketchikan, but that is another story.) Basically, don’t always count on hopping off the ship and being right in the center of things. Incorporate time to take shuttles and don’t miss the last shuttles back to the ship.

The ship will leave without you. If you choose to do your own thing, or book an excursion through a third party, make sure to keep track of time. If you are not back on the ship by the designated time, you will be left behind. There are too many passengers for NCL crew to be out looking for a few. You will also be responsible for getting yourself to the next port and will not be reimbursed for any expenses you incur.

Overall we enjoyed our first time cruising. Though we can’t say this has become our preferred method of travel, it was nice to experience it. Stay tuned for upcoming blogs on both cruises, including our thoughts on food, excursions and the Haven suite.