Crazy planning mom

Well, I was on it in 2017 also and didn't experience the poor service the Shrike did. We were very happy with our room steward. It does sound challenging now. The thing is that most days we were off the boat at lunch time as we were exploring Hawaii. Is the Cadillac Diner open?

Are there specific hotels in Athens that are used for quarantine? Just trying to plan ahead in case we catch covid before or after our NCL cruise.

If we test positive, what are the quarantine hotels in Athens? Did NCL provide transportation to the hotel or did you take your own cab? Just trying to be prepared for all scenarios.

So, if day 6 is when the coughing starts to spike, when do you think people are being infected and where? Embarkation? The buffet? Have a bucket list cruise booked for later this year and I would like to at least enjoy some or all of the ports before testing positive.

Ok, so if you have assigned dining , you may be able to select which dining room, you want to eat at it ? I know they each have certain specials, but is one dining room better than the rest? I am referring to the regular dining rooms on apex not luminae or blu as we are in regular balcony staterooms.

Thanks for your review. I like sailing both lines. My last cruise was on Royal. Sailing on Jade, a sister to the Pearl, this Fall out of Athens. I know the ship doesn't have bells and whistles but this is a bucket list itinerary. One thing I like about NCL is that they have renovated their cabins on their older ships whereas Royal often just updates the public spaces ala amplification.

Personally, I feel safer this way. I spend way too much time on these boards and fb. Anecdotely, it seems like Jade has had less cases than other ships and I am guessing that's from the mask requirements.

Thanks Sailing12Away.

Is it 72 hours or 3 days? Our cruise departs Athens on a Sunday and we leave NY on Thursday. If we test Thursday morning in NY that would be a little over 72 hours

Do you think MSC will take over Norwegian or Norwegian sells regent and/or Oceania?

Thanks BermudaBound.

Do you think NCL will still be sailing this Fall?

Hope your friend feels better and you stay negative. Did you notice other people coughing or sick? Was the ship crowded? Did anyone wear a mask?

I haven't sailed since the pandemic yet. However, pre-pandemic, I preferred MDR over Windjammer, since you don't have to hunt seats down and save them. I also loved the tutti salad bar. Another option is the solarium cafe. Even though selection is smaller, I enjoyed the less hectic atmosphere.

For us, we did a combination. We were glad we took the Haleakala at Sunset excursion. It was one of the highlights of our cruise. We did rent a car one day in Kauai and one day in Maui. In Kauai, we downloaded the gypsy app and used it to go to Waimea Canyon. It was like our own personal tour guide for five bucks. Cars do sell out so reserve in advance. We rented through Discount Hawaii Car Rental website which we learned about through the Hawaii Cruise Port Message Board.

Beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Hope you and your mam feel better soon.

I agree with you that mask wearing and social distancing has worked. It has kept me safe. I plan to do what I can on my cruise. It sounds like you did, too but nothing is 100 percent and there were others in your group who werent as careful.

Think I will just see Ephesus and go straight back to the ship.

Thank you for that information regarding the PCR testing and protocols. Happy about the dropping of the test. Still plan to mask.

Condolences on your husband's passing. It sounds like you took prudent steps.

Thank you so much Murph!

Is there a limit to the length of the layover? For example, could they book us a flight from JFK to Athens with a 8 hour overnight layover somewhere in Europe?