GA Dave

Wife and I boarding our next cruise.

Personally, we tipped extra for exceptional service in cash, handed directly to the server/bartender.  That way we knew it was going to the person who provided the exceptional service.

So, would the corkage fee for a 5-liter box be $100??  (5000ml/750ml) X $15/750ml???

43 minutes ago, blcruising said:

Black Falcon in Boston is a gem compared to the NYC Terminals. Terrible and not equipped for the large ships. I think NYC might have the absolute worst port facilities (no heat, no WIFI, limited seats), but it is NYC and they get away with it. The same could be said for the Port Authority Bus Terminal and many NYC airports - total rat holes. Looks like they hasn't been updated for decades. It's a shame because it is the first impression many overseas travelers have of the US. Compared to airports, terminals in Europe and Asia, the US is very very far behind.

Absolutely agree with this.  I was born and raised in NY (Long Island), and now that I have lived all over the country, the transportation facilities in NYC are definitely at the bottom of almost every list.  They are all old, decaying, smelly, obsolete relics that need to be torn down and rebuilt.  Our little, 15-gate airport here in Savannah is a wonderful place compared to LGA, JFK and EWR.  The Port of Miami makes the Port of NY look like a third-world country.

SAV picture

I am surprised that everyone is so panicked about the norovirus when the flu is becoming so rampant.  We have hospitals in our area that are refusing to allow anyone with flu symptoms into their facilities.  The CDC stated that they missed on the H3N2 component of the flu shot this year and the shot will only be about 40% effective.  Since the flu lasts so much longer and has a much higher mortality rate than norovirus, I think I would be more concerned with catching that.  This will not be a good season to travel in close quarters anywhere in the northern hemisphere.

39 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Must have just caught it at pier just docked when I did daily check of cams at near top of hour.

 

In other news, Joy making National News for second week of illness.   NCL comment ...rare occurrence ....

Not surprising at all about the illnesses.  We have hospitals in our area that are refusing to allow anyone with flu symptoms into their facilities.  The CDC stated that they missed on the H3N2 component of the flu shot this year and it will only be about 40% effective.  This will not be a good season to travel in close quarters anywhere in the northern hemisphere.

1 hour ago, MLA said:

So I'm curious: is there anything to do at terminal 10? On the Bliss in Jan.  No excursions looked interesting so hoped to walk around port.

Not within walking distance.  Best bet is to grab a taxi/Uber/Lyft and head to either Cocoa Beach or the Cocoa area on the mainland.

23 hours ago, Pookie092403 said:

Are you allowed to bring medical marijuana on a cruise if you have a medical card/prescription for it! It’s in a vape pen. Asking for a friend!

Just like my teacher used to say when someone had some candy or something, "only if you bring enough for everyone on the ship".  🤣

Also be aware that the CDC has mentioned that the flu shot distributed in the US this year may be off.  This could drop its effectiveness to as low as 40% this year.

Flu Vaccine Selections May Be Off The Mark

We had a very enjoyable lunch at our pool cabana on Harvest Caye.  The service was excellent and the food was better than the food at the other ports we had visited.

So, here are some entree-only prices for you to contemplate:

Seared Sea Scallops - $34.00

8 oz. Filet Mignon - $46.00

16 oz. Boneless Rib Eye - $59.00

12 oz. NY Strip - $48.00

20 oz. Bone In Pork Chop - $30.00

Sounds outrageous, right?  Well, these are from a restaurant in the historic district of Savannah, where all the tourists stay.  And this is about the average for downtown Savannah.

Anywhere that is popular with tourists is going to be outrageous.  Want more proof?  Check out the restaurants at Disney Springs within WDW.  Cannot get a decent sit down dinner for anything less than $50 pp.

I remember them doing an awesome grill party on the Norwegian Sea back in 2002.  It was up on the pool deck and they had outdoor food almost every day for breakfast and lunch.  They also had a midnight buffet in the casino!

This will become like Fast Passes at WDW.  People will be sitting in their PJs at their computers at 5:00 in the morning, waiting to start clicking.  And, if it is like WDW, the ability to do so will be dictated by what "class" you are booked in, etc.  People staying at luxury resorts at WDW can book before the economy resorts, and offsite guests get whatever scraps are left at 30 days out.

42 minutes ago, dominicr said:

With all this al a carte pricing with ncl how does the UDP work then?   With Royal you can eat at as many places you want in a night.....not that I would or have but I know people who have.   Does ncl cap you out with a value per day or value per meal?  

Also remember that each time you go to a restaurant, they will scan your card and it will remove one meal.  So, if you have a three-meal SDP, and you go to both Ocean Blue and Moderno on the same day, you will "spend" two meals off your package.  However, I do not believe there would be any problem with doing Moderno, O'Sheehan's and the buffet all on the same night! 

There she is on approach.

Encore coming into Miami.  Time to watch the Port of Miami webcam!

3 minutes ago, Single Cruiser said:

I’m pushing all my pics up,to my Flickr account single_cruiser

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/single_cruiser/albums/72157678857380448

 

 

Thanks for doing this! 

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Yes. No problem. The island and beach are cash. If you are going to buy drinks from a beach cart, bring cash. 

Is this a recent change?  During our stop at HC, we bought drinks and lunch from the server for our pool cabana, and I paid the entire bill with a debit card.  I left the tip in cash.

On 11/11/2019 at 1:56 PM, johnlcruise said:

We where also on the 19 days as well as the 9 day Baltic cruise. 

What a difference between the two cruise's. 

Things went down hill in Southampton when we change Captains and a lot of crew member's that where being transfer to the New Encore. The new crew members that came on where off the smaller ships and not used to working on a bigger ship like the Getaway. Also there where a lot of new crew members just starting a New Contract and just finished training for their job. 

And speaking of the New Captain we got. He sure loved to talk and talk.

 

None of this is surprising to me.  I have read several reviews from recent one-way cruises where everyone complained about lack of staff, staff not being properly trained, and terrible entertainment.  This is most likely due to the high cost of transporting people to the origination port, or back from the destination port, depending on where their "home base" is.  There was a Joy cruise that seemed to share these same issues.

I also noted from Doug's posts about the Encore inaugural that all of the superstar talent from NCL was assigned to that ship.  I had a colleague recently cruise on the Star in Europe and he stated that most of the staff seemed to not know what they were doing and it impacted his whole NCL experience.  I think the lack of good help will only get worse as the lines add more ships across the industry.

I hear RAN has some really nice ships cruising that area.  Price might be a bit high though.  🤣

On our first cruise back in 2001, my wife and I sailed on the Norwegian Sea.  Seven day cruise out of NYC to Nassau and GSC.  There was no such thing as a drink package back then.  Our bar tab for the week was $750, plus I gave out a very large wad of singles as tips.  If I look at the purchase price now, it would be $99 X 7 X 2 = $1,386.  Using an online inflation calculator, the $750 we spent in 2001 comes out to $1,087.96 in 2019.  So, don't buy the package.  Just pay per drink and see where you come out!

Beautiful day for her first full day in NYC.

17 hours ago, Single Cruiser said:

Sorry haven’t posted in a while since the bombshell dropped.  The mood has genuinely soured with lots now demanding to just leave tomorrow night.   Speciality bookings onboard have been cancelled beyond 7PM and the belief is services onboard will stop.   So effectively tonight is our last night of entertainment.

 

They are suggesting that it will take at least 4hrs starting 7PM and only after that do around 11PM-Midnight boarding restarted if zero count (oh and still expect to be off the ship by 9AM Monday!).

 

heres the leaflet me eventually got.

 

 

apparently no help for disabled passengers or porters if people decide to leave.  At least two families I know have now booked hotels in NY for the night and will just go straight there at 7PM.

 

after a week at sea with all inclusive I don’t really fancy going to a bar and pay NYC prices.   I’m going to try and leave it late as possible (I’m group 5 so probably won’t be called until 9-9:30) .

Personally, I would be more pissed off at the CBP than anyone.  What is this crap that they cannot be open on a federal holiday?  Are they closing all the international airports across the country??  All the border crossings from Canada and Mexico??  Of course not!  Than why are they closing their services at the Port of NY?  Are no cruises going into any other US Ports on Monday??

Someone in the federal government needs to answer some questions.

2 hours ago, TheDougOut said:

Today is Conni’s Oktoberfest!  An event that many of us have been looking forward to.  It may be interesting... as it’s being held in the DBH at 2 PM, and there’s a chance of a rather large turnout.  Then at 11 PM, we’re having the high-stakes ($100) Heidi slot pull, capped at 75 participants. 

 

There’s also another round of LCR this morning, and a Veteran’s Dinner this evening in Savor restaurant.

 

When I opened the balcony for this morning’s photo, I was greeted by WARM air.  Who knew?!? 

 

We’re off for another Haven breakfast...

Enjoy that warm weather!  NYC will be a bit cooler when you get there.

2 hours ago, disneyochem said:

Choices again on how one wants to spend their money.  I for one am a person who would love this option on an iPhone instead of being ‘nickeled and dimed’ by all the Apple products and services.  Of course, I am an Apple user and stockholder....

My issue is that they are saying that this will be the only choice.  I take very good care of my phone and am able to buy it outright and make it last for 5-6 years.  Being forced to subscribe to a monthly fee and paying for things I do not have any interest in, like Apple Arcade or Apple News+, is not a good thing to me.