njhorseman

Unless the ship were to arrive very late there's no reason to worry about making an 11 am train. I know you've taken the train home from Penn Station in NYC after a cruise. What time were you comfortable with in NY? It shouldn't be any different in Boston.

Correct...you clear immigration in your first US port. Unless you're unlucky enough to be chosen for a random customs check in Boston you'll just walk off with no further formalities.

It runs whenever there's an NCL ship in port, weather permitting.

To the contrary, IMO Isla Verde is probably the best overall stretch of beach in metropolitan San Juan. Certainly much better than Condado, where the beach is mostly very narrow and there can be significant undertow. Of the hotels offering day passes available through the vendor cited above by @PORT ROYAL I've stayed at the Royal Sonesta (under a different hotel brand name), the Fairmont El San Juan, and the Courtyard by Marriott Isla Verde Beach Resort and they are all on excellent stretches of beach. The Royal Sonesta and El San Juan are located adjacent to each other and the Courtyard is about a half mile further and across the street from the airport.

There are "Walk" buttons that pedestrians can push to initiate a traffic signal change that would stop traffic on 12th Ave. That can result in traffic backing up . It's also there to discourage people from crossing against the light. Again, the main reason for having the footbridge there is for visitors to the Intrepid Museum. The footbridge goes to the museum reception building.

Taxi fare can vary widely based on route taken and traffic, but I'd estimate at least $75 plus tip. Princess probably offers transfers, perhaps you should ask on the Princess board.

The footbridge is two blocks south at 46th St and is there to ease crossing 12th Ave. for those visiting the Intrepid Museum. You're only going to have a police presence to control traffic at the 48th St crosswalk on days when a ship is in port, while the Intrepid is open virtually every day of the year and by having the footbridge there isn't the continual disruption of traffic on 12th Ave. by pedestrians crossing.

If your ship is docked at Pan American Pier, which most...probably almost all... ships homeporting in San Juan are you have to take a taxi or Uber into OSJ to get to either. A taxi should be a flat rate regardless of where in OSJ you're headed to. The difference in distance is less than a half mile and maybe 5 minutes of time. Barrachina says it accepts luggage from 9 am on and at that time there won't be crowds because the restaurant itself isn't open.

You can store your bags at no cost (a gratuity should be offered to the attendant) at Restaurant Barrachina.

IMO, yes...Uber or taxi from Penn Station...actually Moynihan Train Hall...to Pier 11 and then the ferry to Red Hook would be my choice.

Ships have been docking there for more than a year but at last report there still is work to be done at the port, particularly paving roadways. If you look a bit down the board there are a couple of threads with relatively recent information, and this one has some good pictures:

https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2024/02/16/red-hook-residents-back-bill-requiring-ships-to-use-shore-power/

I don't attribute most of the compensation to how 'tight" the contract might or might not be. It's not uncommon for cruise lines to offer some minor compensation as a matter of customer goodwill, not legal necessity when something goes a bit sideways. Other businesses do likewise.

The gates are only open when a ship is in port. They will be open tomorrow

I suggest you read the thread carefully They're not just thinking they are enjoying an Antarctica cruise, they were enjoying an Antarctica cruise. The ship spent seven days cruising the Antarctic peninsula, and per the OP on most days did landings: "We had 7 expedition days on our cruise. A typical day was a landing in the morning and a zodiac cruise in the afternoon. There were a couple of days where we deviated from this and just did a zodiac cruise and then another activity like whale watching from the ship but most days we did both." The thread you cited was about an expedition cruise on a 250 passenger Seabourn ship, not a sail by itinerary on a 2,000 passenger NCL ship.

I am well aware of the regulations governing the size of ships that can make Antarctic landings. In fact if you read my first post on this subject it says "a ship that size can't do actual Antarctic landings". What you are failing to understand is that the passengers on the ship did see "it in person" because the revised sail by itinerary included an island that is part of "it", Antarctica. What they didn't see is a small piece of the Antarctic mainland.

Never landed there and my one sail by cruise had its itinerary changed by weather. Having spoken to my sister, who has done both, and having seen her pictures it's pretty clear to me that the two aren't even remotely comparable. The cruise did a sail by of an island that is part of Antarctica, so even though it wasn't part of the mainland IMO it still falls within the boundaries of what they were defining as an "Antarctic" cruise.

I'm glad you know that everyone on the cruise was aware of that. If you read these boards enough it's almost frightening to learn what people don't know about their cruises that may seem obvious to you or me.

You're right...NCLH made a gigantic $.20 per share in Q2 then hit $.71 in Q3. Because of Carnival's fiscal year their Q3 earnings of $.79 (diluted) are through August 31 so there's not a full three month difference in the timelines.

IMO Antarctica shouldn't be used in the title of a sail by cruise to begin with so its use in the original itinerary was every bit as bad. That title should be reserved for cruises that have actual Antarctic landings. Now there won't be any misunderstanding regardless of where the sail by actually goes.

A couple of months ago someone on an upcoming Oceania cruise was told by sources at Oceania that their ship would be transiting the new locks. I told them what @BillB48 has told you...although not nearly as eloquently as he has. ☺️ Needless to say the ship used the original locks. People at cruise line corporate offices are generally clueless about this topic...and for that matter many other things. Try asking about the Passenger Vessel Services Act. You'll almost certainly get misinformation, not to mention that most seem to think the name of the law is the Jones Act.

It was never an 'Antarctica" cruise as a ship that size can't do actual Antarctic landings. It was a "sail by" scenic cruise and a sail by of an island that is still considered to be part of Antarctica but closer to South America was substituted for the original itinerary sail by location. Sorry, but the whole story is an exaggeration and misstatement of the itinerary change.

No, it's "can't" simply because they have lagged the other major cruise line holding companies in returning to profitability. When you see NCLH issuing senior secured notes in 2023 totaling over $1 billion with interest rates of 8.125%, 8.375% and 9.75% that allowed them to kick debt with due dates that were coming up shortly down the road several years you know that it's "can't', not "chose not to". Interest rates that high are not exactly a sign of lender confidence in NCLH's finances. NCLH's 3rd Q 2023 results show signs of them turning the profitability corner, and I'll be interested in seeing what the full year results show when the full year results are published in their 2023 !0K, which should be out shortly..

There's a 99% probability that your cruise will dock in Brooklyn. You can find out from the official port schedule at nycruise.com. Regardless, either airport would be fine, but if your cruise is docking in Brooklyn assuming airfares are comparable I would pick LGA as it's closer and there are no tolls involved. If docking in Manhattan it's pretty much a toss up in terms of distance but LGA would still be a bit better as you wouldn't have to pay the tolls if taking an Uber or taxi. From what I've read I believe it's likely Princess will offer transfers to both.

I believe you're right. From what I've read the price of a cruise booked in the UK is typically higher than the same cruise if booked in the US. Apparently it's not uncommon for UK citizens to book cruises through North American agents in order to save money. The explanation for the higher price is that passengers on cruises booked in the UK have additional rights that are not provided to US-booked passengers and the cruise lines factor the additional costs associated with those additional rights into their pricing structure.