PelicanBill

Because when tendering....  "I'm on a boat!"

What the H E double toothpicks!

Cozumel I get.

I know Hobby is their base but Houston is so large and each airport is on the opposite side of the city so Hobby is a PITA for people north of Houston.

Syracuse? Really?

Cruise lines often pad the time to set expectations for passengers and allow for the variable time for customs & immigration to clear the ship to begin.  Almost every cruise I have been on docked an hour before the stated time, and began disembarkation as soon as 10 minutes after the stated time and not later than a half hour after.  What was more variable was the procedure for getting through customs & immigration. I have breezed off the ship and I have stood in line over an hour. Taking your luggage with you is good and improves your time, and being ready to move the moment your category or group is called!

Commenting to follow, especially for the Getaway which I am on in November. 

This is a lot of pages of discussion before you have even started!

it's a fantastic plan.

On 4/22/2024 at 7:06 PM, jgbrown said:

I would be interested in any tips for either crawl, since I am planning one on my next cruise.

Here's what I remember from past bar crawls.

* Plan a list ahead and publish it, so latecomers can catch up to you.

* Plan a starting location with good meeting space, like Maltings or equivalent on your ship

* If a large group, it could take some time at each bar to get a drink for everyone.

* You could hit a bar that isn't open, or that is too busy because of an event (This happened in the Atrium to us) so if your target is to visit 5, have a 6th on the list "in case we have to move on"

* It can be fun to do a theme drink or shot for those who are up to it. Like a lemon drop to kick it off or end it (although I heard they are limiting shots to simple only now)

There is ALWAYS heavy traffic on the beltways around Houston from 5am to 10pm weekdays.

If at all possible have a second person monitor google maps with traffic on to choose your route.

Take a look at google maps on that time and day of the week a few times and create a driving route to see what to expect.

Reports are questioning the timing of the mayday now and whether the bridge was really closed  before the ship hit - maybe one side closed - because 7 vehicles drive up and off and the pothole crew on the bridge got no warning.

I agree the anchor drag could be found to have made this worse. 

Imagine of one of the cruise ships had been in port - trapped for weeks. This is a lot of steel and debris to remove.

Due to the span size, and the old design, this will take years to replace. They will need new piers and a suspension design. I bet similar to the Cuomo bridge as the main span of each is 1200'. I bet the design of that bridge could be adapted quickly... but consider how long it took to put that bridge up even without the side parts of the bridge.

Due to sketchy weather in the Bahamas, Meraviglia annouced a change from Nassau tomorrow to Miami.  And today as they approached Ocean Cay they turned around and waived off for what looks like a sea day.

Legend returns to port for disembarkation at 10am!  

So a 1pm time is actually quite close to the start.

Check out and hang out in the Lobby, or breakfast area.  Drive around if you are driving.  You might meet fellow cruisers and socialize to pass the time.

I saw a report dated Sep. 28 that they hoped repairs would allow ships to return in 1 week. So I guess we should look to see if any call next week.

There is debate over whether the pier extensions will be usable. This is what allows longer ships like Mardi Gras to dock.  They could be limited to smaller ships, but I did not find anything to suggest what length is okay without extensions. I am on Legend scheduled there in a month.

Hotel has generally good reviews on Google. I have a reservation there for the 10/30 Legend sailing.

When we cruise from Manhattan, We stay in NJ closer to Hackensack and The Washington Bridge. It's an easy drive to cross the bridge and exit right on the other side to the Westside highway. Just after it gets to ground level and turns in to 12th avenue you are at the cruise port and you minimize your Manhattan traffic issues.

Do track traffic through, as once in a while the bridge traffic comes to a halt and then you need to take an alternate route by Tunnel.

In addition, if your car carrying the scooter is classified by a Manhattan parking garage as "oversize" as many Minivans and SUVs are, your parking charge is inflated a lot. 

Park at the port. My wife is disabled and that has always been the easy way to go.

Sounds like they need IT repairs on their user management server. Not sure how they can offer day by day purchases while not allowing packages.

If there were a "satellite issue" service would be unavailable entirely.

Does it dock at 10am, or does it dock at 9am, get clearance and set up, and start disembarkation at 10am?

On 8/11/2022 at 2:47 AM, ahl said:

We'll be on Carnival Legend this Sunday. Our previous sailing from Baltimore was on Carnival Pride in March 2010. On that cruise, we sailed at 5:00 p.m. Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor (the Star-Spangled Banner Fort) appears shortly after sailing. You have a nice view of it. There are interesting ships in Baltimore Harbor, like USNS Comfort. We sailed under the Francis Scott Key Bridge at 5:50 p.m. and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at 7:00 p.m. The Calvert Cliffs would be interesting to see, but it might be after dark by then. We saw them in the morning on the return.

Good info thanks.  Francis Scott Key bridge is right after leaving port, as you said, and then comes the US 50 double span bridge at about 6pm. I am guessing you meant 7 AM for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel as it is 160 miles from port! I am hoping to see it if I get up early.

While @alyssamma is correct, the reality is most phone users do not have wifi calling turned on. So SMS Text messaging will not work in that case.

If you need to send SMS Text you must enable wifi calling on your phone before you leave on your cruise, and verify it works. You cannot turn it on once you leave your home service area. Sometimes you need help from your carrier to get it working. Test it by going into airplane mode, enabling Wifi and connecting, then see if you can make a phone call and send SMS text message.  

If you use Facebook messenger, or you all have Apple products and user imessage, or you use Whatsapp, etc. you can just rely on Wifi and don't need to enable Wifi Calling.

Also, be aware:  SMS Texting is notorious for delivery issues, especially when relayed through WiFi calling. If you don't get a reply in an expected timeframe, send it again.

I have an upcoming cruise and when I try to schedule tests at CVS it gives me a quiz and tells me my insurance won't cover it and I must pay $139.

And CVS won't provide it from my local pharmacies, they offer that I can travel 4 hours to some clinic.

What are you all finding on testing and paying for it?

EDIT: Looks like Onpoint is the cheapest way to get a valid proctored test using any FDA approved home test.

My brother just completed a cruise on Carnival Magic. 3 days after returning he tested positive.

He had to pay $320 for proctored tests for his family of 4, because he was in NYC during the window a test had to be taken, and his insurance only pays for testing at specific locations not available there.

2 hours ago, Frank12 said:

A few days before your cruise.

Confused. Vaccine attestation is in my online account along with all my information for my booking. I filled mine out months ago for my November cruise and it has showed done ever since.

Were any of your ports a different time zone than EDT, and did the ship's time change to match the port, or were you warned about the difference in local time?

There are 3 hotels in the block just east of the entrance to pier 88. An easy walk with luggage!

Ink48

Comfort Inn

Holiday Inn Express

When the airlines moves your flight that much, they will rebook you later when you tell them that earlier time is not possible.  Be clear when you call it is because the airline changed the time.

My last cruise on NCL Breakaway that left and returned to NYC had clearance on board the ship. They had facial recognition set up in the dining room and lines snaked around the ship. After identify was confirmed, they collected our customs form right there and from there it was off the ship, collect luggage if you set it out, and on to the street.  

I agree with the above, about 9am off the ship, then allow 30-60 minutes to airport - you never know when you will hit a traffic jam and it happens often on a weekday. Checking in 1 hour prior for a flight is the minimum to get through luggage drop and security.  So you have 0-30 minutes of safety margin here. Noon or later is a safer choice.  Since you will have had an early breakfast, why not plan to grab lunch at the airport while waiting for the flight!

I don't tip an extra $1 per drink every time. But at a couple of regular bars I will tip $1 cash with each order of 1 or 2 drinks.  It gets me remembered, and favored. More fun to sit at the bar when they entertain. My drinks have long pours and leftovers get pushed my way.  And I feel good as these people are trying to support families from far away for  months at a time.