Snowrose

Agreeing. The return does trip sounds awful. My husband can see the pier from his office windows and we live outside the city in Connecticut. The winds were the highest I have ever seen. Glad, we did that trip in December and missed the drama!

The winds were the highest you've ever seen? Even higher than Hurricane Sandy?

We were on the Jewel and left 15 minutes before they closed the port. We then sailed between Sandy and the coastline. That night, we had 40 ft waves and 100+ mph winds. It wasn't fun but it was livable, if you didn't give in to panic. We ate in the restaurant but went to bed early as we knew it would be futile to try to move around the ship too much.

One of the smartest things we did - a mid level, mid-ship room. If you're going out at a time when things could be stormy, I'd never understand why someone would have a room strongly fore or aft, or on the upper levels where you'll feel more ship motion.

My first thought is I bet some of the passengers with balconies didn't realize you can seal the balcony door pretty much air tight by turning the handle up. But if you leave the handle down it may close but it's not sealed.

DH and I have been through worse, 40 ft seas on the Jewel during Hurricane Sandy. And yes, I did almost roll out of bed. That said, I also know that the screamers and yellers told stories that in no way matched what we experienced. We were still able to have dinners in the restaurants, you could still walk the ship, glass breakage was minimal. Some elevators stopped running (it's a safety mechanism). And yes of course people were throwing up.

But for all the hysteria on the TV and here on the boards what we went through in Sandy was nowhere near what those people were making it out to be. Add into that that DH and I were on the BA just 2 weeks earlier and were amazed at how incredibly stable it was in 15 to 20 ft seas (no rolling at all), and I really question some of what is being said here.

You'll find lots of answers today, as people begin boarding BA. If there's next to no signs of broken glass and such, you can be sure the stories are mostly just stories, as there's no way the crew would be able to repair damage on that scale when they were letting passengers board starting last night.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience in the thermal spa. We were on the BA the week before you and only saw the thermal spa busy on the last sea day, when it was too cold to do things outdoors. That night we got the last 2 available chairs before going into the pool and then the saunas. No one moved the items we left on the chairs. (I'm guessing some people are now acting as though they're poolside with chair hogging.)

The convention center is across the street from the Marriott and the port is behind the convention center. You can definitely walk there, though how long the walk is depends on how they set up any ropes or gangways.

Just don't believe anything from anyone who says they were at Coco Cay (wrong cruise line).

Maybe they are waiting for a ice breaker to clear some ice from the river?. The US guard posted this video of them clearing the Hudson River:

What a difference from a few weeks ago. We were on BA the week before Christmas and there was no ice on the Hudson.

Curious if any of our forum members are on board on way back North to NY off Carolinas tonight? Have to think it has to be pretty ‘sporty’ out there tonight.

 

Might be a little chilly for the ropes??

Some woman phoned in a complaint to Fox in San Diego, saying the waves were 15 to 16 feet yesterday and she'd never seen anything like it. Geez! Fifteen feet is NORMAL ocean swell. When DH and I were on the Jewel during Hurricane Sandy the first night we had some 40 ft waves. Now that you can complain about.

The hot tubs are at Spice H2O on Deck 15 aft.

Nice video!

I was on a mid ship balcony 2 weeks ago and the only difference I saw was a bigger shower, everything else looked the same.

If it's like the difference on some of the other ships there's about an extra foot of length in the living area, which they use for a slightly longer couch.

To the right of the thread titles is a listing of ship name threads (if you're on a computer). Go to the Breakaway list and on the 2nd page you will find mking's Almost Live review Part Two from Halloween. On the last pages of the review he includes the Dailies. That's the most recent ones I've seen.

If you can't find the thread the way I suggest try searching for mking and Breakaway. HTH

I believe the mini suite has a full bath and shower, the balcony has a shower. The mini suit has about one extra foot of space that is used up with a slightly longer couch. And the mini suite tends to come with a curtain you can put between the couch and the bed, for some privacy.

Personally, after trying the mini suite once when we brought my stepdaughter with us, we've stuck to the balconies. The small difference wasn't worth the price to us, especially when it's just the two of us.

Thank you!

It's rice porridge. Not sure why Chinese restaurants often use the term "congee" though.

I can't say I've ever seen congee at the buffet, being a rice porridge. The other poster did speak of an oatmeal gruel though, and if it has oatmeal it's muesli. (No, not the dry boxed cereal you see in stores.)

The muesli is delicious, IMO. I get it every morning when we're cruising.

Do vendors take credit cards? Is it safe to pay with credit cards? Or if cash, US dollars or Bahamian?

I had to google congee since I'd never heard of it.

"Rice porridge" or "gruel". Yes, I've seen gruel in the buffet -- watery oatmeal to me. :D

You might be speaking of the Muesli, which is made from oatmeal, yogurt and fruit. It's delicious, btw. :) But it's not made of rice.

Thank you :) I'm Canadian, so I'm used to the cold. Just curious about an average time to be wearing shorts and flip flops ;p

My DH is Canadian. Last time we sailed he was in shorts and sandals before sunset on the 1st sea day. :D

Ten days until we hit the road! :hearteyes:

I've never seen a report of it changing to cover charge on any ship other than Breakaway, where it was being tested. It has been a la carte pricing on Escape and Getaway.

The question from the post you answered was originally addressing Breakaway, whereas the original post was about Escape. I'm on Breakaway next week and from what I've seen Breakaway DOES have a cover charge. Also, someone just off one of the other ships this week is now reporting another Margaritaville now has a cover charge, this time at $16.95. Unfortunately, I don't remember which ship it was.

Ah, I see others are now chiming in that Escape is the second ship with the cover charge at Margaritaville.

Use the hand sanitizer and don't touch my eyes while out in public, wash my hands as soon as we get back to our room. If someone is coughing a lot, get away fast.

16 days until we head out the door, 17 til we sail :D

We've always seen embarkation as part of the cruising experience and usually arrive around 10-10:30. You meet lots of interesting people in those lines and the wait never seems as long as what the clock shows.

NCL has pretty bad food in the main dining room. Sign up for the dining package.

Not from our experience. We're comfortable with "fine dining" and have been quite happy with our MDR experiences on NCL.

The Vibe The Vibe The vibe...Spend the money and you will not regret it. Best money spent on any ship that has it..

Go up there one day open a 10ft umbrella next to the King size beds and have the bartender make you a pitcher of your favorite beverage and relax.

How much does a pitcher of a drink cost?