ellewoods

4 minutes ago, Fogfog said:

On the older ships, it was the way the fish were swimming.

Funny no one told you🤣

I knew about the fish and I assumed since they got rid of them we were on our own 😂😂 seems like partially my fault for not figuring it out! It’s ok though every time I walk in the wrong direction it’s a little more exercise! Because I am eating way more than necessary 🙄

20 hours ago, genealogyfan said:

I just finished a sailing on the Prima last week. Loved the ship. It never seemed crowded. So many different venues to eat, sit and walk around. It was a beautiful ship too. It didn't seem hard to get around. The carpet had "triangles" that faced toward the front of the ship. Ocean Blvd was great to walk around. Lots of different seating areas. Enjoy your cruise, you will love the ship and the crew was great.

Why don’t they tell people about the triangles 😂😂😂 on day 5 of my cruise now and finally I will know which direction I am going. Thanks!!

2 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

@ellewoods  Thanks, hope you are having a wonderful cruise.  Yes, the layout is different for those of us familiar with NCL's "classic" designs, including the Dawn, Jewel/Gem and newer *Away/+ class ships in general.  We also sailed the Norwegian Epic and that ship, too, has a "slightly" different layout/design with the popular configurations for restaurants, casino, atrium lobby - after 2 or 3 days, I know we caught up with our sense of directions, shortcuts and so forth. How's that Ocean Walk in warmer climate - isn't really good for those doing walks or joggers in terms of a full loop around the ship and I think the pool deck is worst when it's open & occupied with the ship sailing near/full.  The cabins themself are beautiful and modern but I know we're a bit disappointed about the overall display & availability on the ship's Navigational Channel - very limited in what's shown to passengers, unlike the "older" NCL ships - spoke to crew onboard and told, it was being upgraded and update in progress, curious if that's happened or not, true or still in question.  Samsung Smart TV is a lot sharper, larger, and live shipcam display - a beauty in clarity & details.  

 

Any idea of the current passenger counts onboard ... I know our TA is pretty much 99.5% full or virtually sold out, except possibly some Insides.  

The ocean walk is pretty much always crowded, definitely not the place to run or walk laps. I do love that there seems to be so many outdoor areas. Interestingly I find that even though the indoor areas are smaller it’s pretty easy to always find a seat. 

I am on the Prima now. First time sailing this ship. A bit confusing to get used to the layout at first, but she is a beautiful ship. Happy to answer any questions anyone might have before your sailing. 

Does anyone know the order of priority. Will Silver Cove or Haven get earlier tickets? 

7 hours ago, mking8288 said:

.... well, there is still the possibility of the Prima arriving earlier than 10 AM on the 27th, but announcing this at such a late date, on short or limited notices when air arrangements have pretty much been finalized and locked for just about everyone, really is B.S.  Those maritime regulations have been in place for a while, not 2024, not 2023 ... it goes way beyond the Covid shutdown and was a topic of discussion here on CC.   We are on the TA and will be eagerly waiting for arrival ... and when we completed OLCI last week, figured something odd is happening - and, one of my theory was, exactly, this ... whale protection zones along the Atlantic coastal waterways.   The Escape was "late" and sailed out of NY at 7 PM this past Sunday, and did arrived later than the usual 6 to 7 AM, closer to around 9 AM'ish (I was tracking the ship on other sites but not really that closely for the exact docking time.)  Oddly enough, MSC and RC's vessels were pretty much cruising the same route and they're going faster at 20 to 21, 22 knots either in front or behind NCL - it doesn't add up the totality of "to sail & sustain, for our (in)convenience" as one of the popular tagline go.  

 

Our eDocs printed was still showing 4 PM sailaway but earliest port arrival/check-in and boarding time has been already changed, adjusted to 12 noon ... nobody, no one could get anything earlier than 12:00 - 12:30 to check-in.  Going to be a zoo at Pier 88 later this month, I can just imagine the crowd & madness.  Emails pushed out this morning around 10 AM'ish and multiple folks began seeing it ...   Another prime example of NCL's corporate communication excellence, and lack thereof.  

 

Sorry that many others & you will have to deal with us, wondering if that notice from NCL itself is sufficient to file the claim and use it as documentation & proof of change ... claims for using airline points, you probably should check with their mileage/support desk to ask.  

 

With our notices, NCL also informing all that airport-ground transfer to the pier on our sailing will not begin until 10 AM on that Saturday ... logical, as they can minimize the buses dropping off hundreds of early bird with the port folks not allowing pax to go inside, as least - weather should be good enough in late April, to wait outside.  

 

Pearl is doing a TA and also leaving from NY later this month, 2 days earlier than ours, and I imagine they are doing the same.  NCL just can't seem to coordinate and align the schedule, and make timely notifications ahead of time, when these are "unforeseen circumstances" ... but, we'll get flamed for not being cheerleaders, regardless (fine by me - that's what the ignore list is used for ... don't respond to them at all) 

 

Well, on a positive note - wish you and all on the repo a great cruise, smooth sailing and calm seas, wonderful ports and enjoy, seeing that the roll call isn't that active - unlike ours following but we had to tug at it to steer it the CC way with poachers lurking from elsewhere.  For the M&G, if you have the list of senior officers on board, might we kindly ask if you can share & post it here (and/or pass it directly to our roll call ... although, I think we have a pretty good idea of who's on her, some will probably go on vacation once in Europe at the end of the TA)

the pier is likely to be crowded either way as I assume no one on either sailing will be parking. This means everyone will be arriving or leaving in to the same location- the drop off/pick up area, rather then dispersing some to the parking lots. 

31 minutes ago, MarkieMarkNYC said:

The OP threw out a little bait and look at the results. You can’t blame them. This is rather entertaining. 

Exactly what I was thinking. They continue to follow the thread and react to different comments. They clearly got the drama they were looking for. Odd source of entertainment but plenty of people took the bait 🤷‍♀️

I always have unlimited internet. I will usually make notes throughout the day in my notes app. Then before I go to sleep at night I will edit it to (hopefully) make sense. Then I will post. 

11 minutes ago, cyntil8ing said:

I know this is an old thread, but I want to throw in a suggestion that if you don't want to carry the planner, at least take a photo before leaving the ship. Not only will you have the all aboard time, but also the local agent's contact info if something goes wrong.

 

We had a ship leave us behind in Nassau, but due to a medical emergency, where my dad was taken from the ship's medical center to the local hospital. I sent my husband in the ambulance with Dad, while I packed up all our stuff and tried to find us lodging, during Christmas week, without luck. The port agent drove us around in a golf cart until we found somewhere with rooms available. He was so kind to us. I wish I remembered his name, but it was all a fog. I got the kids settled then he took me to the hospital. Riding the streets of Nassau in a golf cart is an adventure! We had all our belongings and passports, so that was a huge weight lifted, but I know what a deal it is to have to scramble like that at a moment's notice. Dad was released from the hospital the next day and we flew home the day after that, beating the ship home.

 

 

 

This is a good tip that I read years ago on this board and still do on every cruise. I snap a picture of the port agent info each morning before we depart 

I have also noticed less cruises. We have RCCL booked out of Jersey for February 2025. 

On our last cruise we often turned down desserts in the specialty restaurants because we were full and they would really push us to pick something and then they would call our Butler to pick it up and deliver to our room. 

I will be in the Prima Haven in April. Can’t wait to follow along on your review. 

We live an hour and a half outside NY and last Christmas were on the Gem when it sailed out 2 days late. It’s the risk of sailing from NY this time of year. We missed two ports. We still had an amazing time. We got off in NY the first night and had dinner, we made a quick run to target the next morning.

1 hour ago, vswan said:

Not sure if they will be going in the ocean, but reef safe suncreen is difficult to find where I live. Also found I needed chap stick and body lotion.

chapstick! Every time I have forgotten it I spend so much time trying to find it in port. 

Ducks! 

Opinions will wildly vary. I think it’s pretty standard to either tip at the end or tip some up front and some at the end. Every interaction would likely get awkward. We generally do all tips at the end. 

I think people are being a little harsh on OP here. She didn’t come in here demanding any particular outcome, but simply asked a question. As for the person who disembarked, I feel nothing but empathy for her. Unless you have been extremely seasick, you cannot understand the feeling. To have it be so bad that she was willing to get off of a trip that she presumably planned and looked forward to, early, and fly home, she must have been feeling pretty awful. While the cruise line doesn’t owe her anything I do hope that the OPs friend is able to get some refunds. 

49 minutes ago, eppler said:

Well there are a few thousand people getting off and on in NY Monday morning so they have to do something

I’d imagine that cruise will end up shortened if they can’t get out soon. 

6 hours ago, Candy Apple 12 said:

I’ve never seen a sign for Haven upon returning to the ship, but on future cruises I’ll be sure to ask before getting off. 

On our cruise there was no sign but towards the end of the port day when the lines were at there longest the butlers would hang around outside and you just went up to yours and they would walk you by the line to the check in desk and then head back out. 

I’ve only sailed Haven once so my opinion may be different than others. We actually preferred the Haven perks on Port days. We enjoyed meeting the concierge before the gangways went down to be escorted off the ship without having to queue with everyone else to fight our way off early. 

People act like you plan to bring a professional bubble machine. I highly doubt giving small children a little container of bubbles is going to create pollution 🤦🏼‍♀️ Id rather some rogue bubbles blow my way than the neighbors who chain smoke on their balconies. 
 

The only way it’s going to be slippery is if they dump the whole bottle and somehow knowing their parent posted here asking if they could even bring them I am thinking If that happens said parent would be considerate enough to clean it up. 

If we have anything we don’t want we will ask the cabin attendant if they can use it before we leave so there is no confusion. Books I always drop at the library. On our last cruise we were given two umbrellas by our Genie in port one day, they both broke. We ended up buying replacements and leaving them with him for future guests. I am notorious for leaving hangers. Whoops. 

We did the virtual drill in December on the Gem. We watched the video at check in and then when we were escorted on the ship we were brought directly to our muster station to check in before being taken to lunch. It is much better as you’re right and never heard anything in the regular ones. 

Glad you’re finally aboard the beautiful Gem. Sounds like you’re having a great vacation already. Highly offended that you placed my favorite breakfast foods in the less healthy category. Is that why I gain weight every cruise? 😂

I hope the seas smooth out for you going forward. Can’t wait to follow along. 

21 hours ago, luv2kroooz said:

It clearly is time to revisit value. Truth be told, we really don't even require the services of a stateroom steward or the excessive fees that come with him or her at this point. We are adults and can keep our stateroom tidy for seven or ten days just like we do at our condo rentals when we do land based vacations. We can invest one minute a day to make our beds each morning. We have the app for show schedules. The only thing we may require is a towel refresh mid week and would be pleased to provide a small gratuity for the towel exchange service. Don't call us; we'll call you approach. I like how this sounds. Plus, it is one less room that the overworked crew on NCL has to deal with.

You can make your own bed and tidy your own room?! You definitely do not belong on a cruise ship. 

We sailed the Haven this past month. We often asked our steward to skip the night service anyway. I don’t understand the need for multiple services a day. This seems like a very small thing to be upset about. Anytime we’ve had sofa bed/Pullman beds we have asked for them to remain open at all times in case someone wanted to rest. We’ve sailed in every kind of room from inside staterooms to suites and have never had an issue working around it.