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I've only attended two. 

On the Gem our small group could see the staff and their demonstration.  It was right next to the lifeboats.   It started on time, didn't take long. Only one person who complained that we were cutting into their drinking time  'cause heaven knows there wouldn't be enough for that over the course of the week.   :/

The next one was on the Escape, and our station was in the Atrium.  I could not believe how crowded it was, how rude people were, how late it started beyond the supposed start time. I am short and couldn't see a darn thing.  In an emergency, that would have been the last place I would want to be.   And then there's the cluster to use the elevators after - which we avoided.

Smaller, staggered groups has to be the future. 

So we just booked something for June 2021 and I created my usual spreadsheet where we plan things like dinners, shows, excursions.   My husband warned me not to peak too soon.    It's like he forgot who he married. :/

Our agent took care of this for us - and in her email subject line was  "OK, Norwegian doesn't make this easy..."

That might be quite the understatement!  She explained in detail how she got to the final number for our new booking and quite honestly it was much better than when I tried to figure it out myself!

(and this is why I'm glad to use a TA)

Thank you for this thread!

I'm in upstate NY - Rochester/Monroe County.  Our medical facilities are holding on, for now.  The health systems are really playing well together.  We have an excellent county exec and also public health director who are communicating very clearly and concisely what's happening here. Finding our governor's reports helpful too.

The grocery stores are open, and many are hosting special hours for seniors.  One originally stated "for the elderly" - as a 62 year old, I'm glad they amended their wording to "60+".  If I go, my hope would be to get "carded." 

We try to support some of the local businesses -- restaurants, a chocolatier - all of who are doing great jobs of curbside pick-up.  All transactions done online, no exchange of cash or credit cards.  And in case you wondered, dog poop bags are handy when you don't want to pick something up.

I have worked at home for 4+ years so no changes here, but I am missing going to the Y, other social activities, etc.  My husband recently started working at home too so we had to switch internet providers to boost our bandwidth.  He works for a company that supplies scientific supplies/equipment, so still busy.  (He is customer support.)   My job is related to medical technology software, and we are about to launch a new telehealth application. I also have a part time job at a local publication, so pushing out on social media what businesses are still open and promoting local businesses. 

Waiting for NCL to cancel our May cruise to Canada. The US Comfort is sitting in one of the berths NCL uses now.

Biggest winner of this time: My Duck Toller.  I've been taking her on much longer walks, exploring different neighborhoods, parks, and both her humans are home. Finding that people are very good about keeping the distance between us, thankfully. Here she is sitting at the Frederick Douglass statue, near where he lived here.

Well, that was wordy.

Hope you all continue to stay healthy.

53 minutes ago, BillDz said:

Photo from my roof of USNS Comfort arriving at Manhattan Cruise Terminal

 

 

Wow!  You sure are close to the terminal.  I watched this online - as I often watch cruises head out/in. 

11 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Among those fallen and infected, please keep in mind that a good # of them are health care workers, doctors & nurses, first responders, etc.  Please keep them in your thoughts & prayers and I know, we all do.   And, most important, live smartly & stay healthy.  

Henry - Been thinking of you - hope you and your family are doing OK.   Were you able to finish your downsizing to a new home?

My county (Monroe) is fairly hard hit, but NOTHING like your area.  

wow, they sure make this convoluted, don't they?!

We are booked for a late May cruise to Canada/NE which we know won't happen.  I looked at the rates for our same category and they are $900 more/pp, though with their sale it's "only" $400ish more!  And, we could still book excursions in Canada if desired, or upgrade our room.

I can't imagine living in such a vacuum that I would book a cruise to a country whose ports are closed out of a city with such a high rate of infection.  

Maybe at the end of February when I booked this I should have had better sense that the virus would spread so far.

I am sure our cruise out of NYC on 5.23 will not happen. Certainly not as booked to Canada.  Waiting for NCL to cancel it which would be to our financial advantage.

Meanwhile, today I received a reminder about the opportunity to upgrade....  To a cruise to Canada before they lift their ban in July. 

I get that the emails are probably auto-scheduled ages ago, but it's not that hard to un-schedule those mailings, either.

I'm being patient to see what they offer as a substitute itinerary, or if cruising is even a possibility by then.   But this ticked me off.

So our May cruise is not cancelled - but the itinerary cannot be kept as Canada won't allow the ship to dock.  How soon is it reasonable to expect that NCL would communicate to us about itinerary changes or cancellations?

I am sure our travel agent will be in touch but I know she has had about the worst week ever in her career dealing with cancellations of all kinds, not just cruises.  Our situation is not as pressing.

For all of us who are disappointed in our cancellations, etc, the impact on the crew - and their families - can be devastating, even if only a short term hiatus.  

Even our modest trip has a trickle down impact - the AirBnB we were staying in the night before departure, our dog sitter, ....

When your cruise set out, they expected to stop at those other places - it was the weather that prevented it.  But with our 2 stops in Canada, we KNOW we can't go there, so that is a different story.

Ah well, we planned it less than 90 days from sailing, unlike our other cruises where we waited for many months.

I mean, yeah, a foreign port - they could send us to Bermuda or Bahamas instead of Halifax, etc.....but I doubt that would happen.

I don't know.  I'll try to sort it out later.  Now I want to have a little cry and a shot of whiskey. 😞

We were to be on the Pearl on 5/23.   Dang.

I guess we'll get the refund since it's not our option to cancel.

13 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

 

The issue sits squarely On the shoulders to these idiots who for some reason believe common decorum does not apply to them.  I find they’re jackasses sober and that intensifies when they’re drunk.

 

Don’t blame the cruise lines.  Don’t blame the drinks.  Blame these idiots for being....well...idiots.

 

 

Exactly right!

The theme of Choir of Man - very loosely -- is that it's a group of guys who find companionship and camaraderie with each other, the way some do with sports teams.  And the singing was absolutely perfect.  Tightest harmonies you can imagine...spot on.

Your kids probably know some of the music - covers of Katy Perry, Sia, and Adele for example.

I bought the CD and play it often.  To be honest, I like the cast we saw on the Escape in June even better than those on the CD. (that cast left soon after that)

Meds.

Plenty to read (and internet to download more)

Yarn and knitting needles.

My portable keyboard to use with a tablet.

I'd hope that in the event of a quarantine they'd provide free internet for everyone. 

1 hour ago, Landl cruiser said:

 

Not trying to start an argument or anything, but if you are spending thousands of dollars to go on the cruise, why are you concerned about 50 cents on a drink.  just curious.

Not concerned.  Curious, as my original post said.

Wasn't expecting that on our first cruise and it wasn't much at all.  Always good to know which charges are real and which might not be.

Hi all,

I remember that on sailings out of NYC there are taxes on the drinks until we're a certain distance out. Understood, not a problem, wasn't a surprise.

Just curious though - we are going to be on a Canada/NE cruise, with 2 stops in Maine and 1 in Rhode Island.  Will we have our drinks taxed throughout those last 3 days, too? I suspect that we never leave US waters once we get to Bar Harbor.  

We're booked on the Pearl for this May.  On these boards, there seems to be FAR less info about the Pearl than many other ships.  We've sailed on the Gem, so I'm figuring the differences are minimal.   I'm curious to hear how people respond to your post!

7 hours ago, mking8288 said:

 

Actually, still got the Pearl on my short list, just not sure about repeating C/NE again - will see, don't be surprised if we book a last minute & pop up in the Roll Call.  Our house - downsizing, zero maintenance afterward - under contract to close later next month, packing & moving & not exactly in a cruise mode now.  

 

 

Well, we got a guarantee obstructed ocean view at a great rate.  You might need to get away from all your moving endeavors!  

Hi Henry,

I found your listing from last year and made a ton of notes specific to the ports, etc.  Very helpful! I remember reading it last year.

Observation: The process with the border inspection (#63) I don't think our enhanced licenses mean much anymore; of course we have passports, too.  Part of the reason we liked the enhanced licenses was because we are about an hour away from the crossing on our end of the state, and was very convenient for trips to the Falls or Toronto.

I see many lobster rolls in my future.................

Wow! @Turtles06  Best review ever! Will be going over this in more detail to make notes. @TollerBoy (my husband) perked up at your review's nickname - "The Lobster Roll Cruise."