These Freestyle Dailies were shared by a cruiser in a Facebook group after the Norwegian Encore Alaska sailing that departed Seattle on Sunday, July 5, 2026. Complete sailing materials like these help future cruisers see how the week was structured beyond the itinerary alone, including port instructions, dining hours, entertainment, onboard activities, venue schedules, and…
For our upcoming Norwegian Encore Alaska cruise from Seattle, August 2–9, 2026, we booked Delta for the flight to Seattle and Southwest for the flight home. Our effective new out-of-pocket airfare for the two of us was essentially $0. That does not mean the flights were free. We used 37,100 airline points, $465.80 in credits…
Updated July 22, 2026: We’ve refreshed this article for inKind’s current Cash Back model, added the complete math from our Ballast Point visit in San Diego, and clarified when we use an offer, a linked credit card, or an existing inKind balance. Dining out is one of the easiest places for everyday spending to quietly…
Updated July 22, 2026: We’ve refreshed this article with a real example from our son and daughter-in-law’s trip home from London. A canceled British Airways flight created a very tight separate-ticket connection at JFK, so we used points from another airline program to secure a cancelable backup. Their original connection was then delayed by 95…
Updated July 22, 2026: We’ve refreshed this article with newer examples from our own wallet, a clearer way to value card credits, and a more practical system for deciding whether an annual fee still fits. Annual fees are not automatically bad. The problem is that they can become automatic. A credit card may be easy…
Updated July 21, 2026: We refreshed this article with our exact seven-night Norwegian Encore pricing, a clearer comparison with buying two Wi-Fi packages separately, and more detail about how we plan to use the specialty dining benefit. We finally decided to try Free at Sea Plus on Norwegian Cruise Line. Sort of. For our seven-night…
Updated July 21, 2026: We’ve refreshed this article with more of the story behind our cruise duck tradition and what we’re planning for our upcoming Norwegian Encore Alaska sailing. When we started cruising, we had no idea that hiding and finding rubber ducks was a thing. Like a lot of cruise traditions, we first noticed…
For a long time, one reason we resisted cruising was that cruise fares can be harder to offset with points than flights and hotels. Once we caught the cruise bug, though, we became a little obsessed with finding ways to lower the overall cost so we could cruise more often. For our upcoming Norwegian Encore…
Updated July 20, 2026: We’ve refreshed this article with a clearer way to separate true savings, planned upgrades, and spending created by a reward. We also added our Hotel del Coronado, Hotel Valley Ho, and former Saks credit examples—including why letting a benefit expire can sometimes be the better financial choice. Sometimes a deal really…
Updated July 19, 2026: We’ve refreshed this article with a clearer way to separate the booking price from the full trip cost, current guidance on service charges and package add-ons, and a real planning example from our upcoming Norwegian Encore Alaska cruise. A cruise can be one of the easier vacations to budget because lodging,…
