mking8288

Pull out more photos from DW's SS Galaxy - just to illustrate ... and, that's the Grilled Fisherman's Platter - a la carte priced now at $45 + 20%, of course, few pay "full" price & dine with the package, except, some do ... We are going to use these to compare, later this month onboard - stay tuned for it.

@evanskl4 One thing I forget to "Evan" & you should know this - please check, review & confirm your newest NCL confirmation with the Amenities, seeing that both of you are Latitudes members already - if you upgraded to the SP, you are getting at least triple points (2 points with the current promo and 1 extra point for the suite, that's per night) For the November cruise, I'm not 100% certain but since it is more than 6 months out, should be another extra point as in "quad points per night" or 4 points times X number of nights (i.e. 4 x 7 = 28 points, nice one) Other friends of ours that we met thru CC several years ago just recently booked something similar, they got the triple points promo & used 2 CruiseNext certs (holiday/new year specials, since expired) that they didn't know were extended for a year - able to use 3 deposits to book an AFT balcony for a very nice price ... they are currently on Royal's AOS somewhere but it was still good & they are excited. Check & decode those Latitude codes. Enjoy that extra space & perhaps we'll hear from you after your return from Bermuda ... Ron was the GM both in May & Sept - has a great team under him, no matter what category you are booked, they try to please - within confines of what they can do. With the extra money spent and saved over Haven, you can do a lot to pamper that cruise week to enjoy the extra space. It's about the same size as the Marriott suites that we often stay in and everyone is going to have her/his personal space ... even with one housekeeping service daily ahead. Regards & best wishes ahead for happy cruising ... until our next Semi-Live, somewhere ... soon.

Hmmm, is that the regular line, one booked on NCL shorex (priorities) or free for all ?? Curious minds like to know what time was the ship cleared by local officials and pax started down the gangway onto the pier, assumed facial recognition used to speed the exodus.

Nice pictures, great job updating. Now, cellular 4G and 5G where supported. Enjoy San Juan. Not bad, just minutes behind, gangway ready & cleared to go ashore yet 😎

Disappointed as I'm sure, at least they are issuing non-refundable OBC for the short cruise. Brace for choppy seas, waves & strong (near gale force) wind, and a choppy ride, especially on the way back in, that's in the maritime forecast. Make the best out of it. Cheers !!

Tracking the Getaway on marinetraffic - looks like she's about 65 to 70 km or just under 40 nm from San Juan at 2 p.m local time, she's running 21 knots but still calculated to be a bit behind scheduled 4 pm arrival ?? Knowing that satellite WiFi is slow & sluggish, no need to comment until later on - as our scheduled time on the next sailing has already been cut by 1 hour, leaving at 9:30 pm 😧 Meanwhile, feedbacks from the MDR everyday Lunch menu at sea, and the evening Dinner menus "downstairs" as to changes ... are they doing daily Chef's Specials. Again, no rush from any of the "contributors" riding on Laszlo's Live Report. Enjoy San Juan & Cheers !!!

Bidding typically opens up (used to) at 90 days, lately ... some reported it's a little further out and sometimes, you'll need to use the "upgrade" option on the NCL App to check for it. Haven bids are mad crazy high these days and now with the extra "live bidding" option sometimes tossed in, I'll save that $6,000 and book another cruise instead. Thanksgiving cruises almost certain to be sold out this Fall, so the odds of a steal on bidding, if offered at all - probably odds aren't favorable. We had the option to bid for all the Haven suite last May, ship sailed around 60% capacity (or less ??) only and bid prices were too bad, things began changing with our Sept Joy cruise to Canada/NE - 2 of us just book a balcony. The only thing missing is really a good size balcony (and, it is "slightly" bigger than those on the BA and GA or Escape) ... if you got it with a good price with the current promotion (Triple Up ?? that ran briefly) just count the days & enjoy, it is super spacious by NCL standard, cleverly designed and tons of closet space. Bring some decorations from home & you can really bring it alive. With the money saved over Haven, you can get flower basket, chocolate & goodies from "catering" and live it up. Ideal for up to 5 although it can sleep 6 - the 2nd. or smaller bedroom has enough space to fit a rollaway bed, and with that - leave the LR sofabed in place for sitting (although, not sure if the steward or "room attendant" can and will be able to do it ... just a thought for you. Glad that the Semi-Live continued to help.

It brews, IMHO, a weak 5 to 6 oz. cup of joe ... like mine strong & need to use 2 pods together. Sometimes, it's semi-hiding in the back corner of the closet's top shelf, along with 2 cups, minus the set-up.

@cruiseny4life It's a good thing I finished my morning cup of Joe already or else ... that's among the first change DW noticed a few days after a cruise. I "regret" to share a secret with you, there is no cure for missing the rolling seas and the remedy is to just move and do the next cruise, sooner the better - think you are set to go again soon. I was going to edit my last post here, that @JIMESOPUS is probably using NCL Air with either 1 or maybe 2 day deviation, leave the GA next Friday & use the $50 shorex credit to do the direct airport transfer, relax & fly to NOLA (that hang around in NYC, which he can do easily year-round) being that it's winter (already it's rather nice & warm here, wearing shorts inside our townhouse) - as that take the stress of flying these days ... and perhaps, go check out Bourbon Street before boarding on the 22nd. How's that for "detective" work in guessing his scheme 😉 And, GA's WiFi remains unreliable and inconsistent - apparently.

@uneamie NCL's iCafe will happily sell 30, 60 and 100 minutes of extra airtime as add-on to you, especially toward the latter part of any cruise, promotion calling it their disembarkation special. It was priced something like $1 /min for the smallest plan, 75 cents /min for the larger 60 or 100 minutes - don't quote me on the exact amount they are charging these days ... probably someone else will have the current / latest costs. After Feb. 1st. - I will know the $$ amount after getting back from the GA. And, you can use any available non-refundable OBC to pay for it. For voice & text, WiFi calling - it's plentiful if you run low - of course, on sea days and toward the end of the cruise, satellite WiFi internet is the worst onboard b/c about 1/3 to 1/2 of the ship are making plans, reconfirming limo pickup, getting flights online check-in & seat assignments, saying hi to their pet-sitting services, etc. - expect it to be even slower & sluggish ... at least until NCL decide to switch & roll out Starlink (now used on the Breakaway only)

Gooood morning, beautiful pictures uploaded and looks like a nearly perfect trip southbound on the Atlantic with calm seas. Continued to follow along 😃 @Joesantos CD is Alvin Olivia, info also in the Freestyle Daily. We first met him as ACD on the Breakaway in 2014 and earned his CD promotion later, he's friendly & outgoing and fun. Perhaps Tiara was just relieving and Alvin just came back from vacation as the regular 😎

@cruiseny4life He (Jim) as OP, is currently on the GA, sailing with Laszlo & others and ran the Roll Call, M&G ... but not doing a Live Report, just posting as needed. He is then hopping over to the BA that sail on 1/22 out of NOLA, not going back home up the Hudson ... staying somewhere between 1/20 after disembarking GA before embarking the BA. I think, that is his plan - just starting his real Live Report focused on the BA 2 weeks early, LOL. Keep us CC "addicts" busy following the trails, read & post, and comments, etc.

Oh mine, here we go again. A couple of ziplock bags, that often works wonders - sweets called for tupperware with covers. It's not as if folks are taking food items against government regulations to go ashore for health & safety reasons. NCL tried and did this several years ago (i.e. no takeout & nothing permitted to be taken out from O'Sheehan's and Garden Cafe, etc. with the crew police watching ... ) and there was plenty of uproar with the differential enforcement and/or lack thereof. Guess what, didn't take long for corporate to backpaddled on the unpopular move. One of the updated, fine print sentence stated no takeout and sharing allowed in specialty dining. Funny thing, last September - server in Cagney's not only wrapped our layered cake to go but escorted us out to the AFT elevator, ready to "help" us bring it up to our room. The way I see it, Sail and Sustain perhaps could result in less "incentive" to tip really extras on top of the DSC as higher "fees" being passed back to us. For we, the customers, the battle could be a tie but the crew members could - might - possibly be the loser - especially if they are "prohibited" to do it. Sad. Vacation Heros - pretty difficult for the ordinary crews to earn them in 2023, unless they are fortunate to have Haven assignments. Just my two cents and IMHO, feel free to disagree, for your convenience. On the other hand, I am going to start pre-writing those Dear GM comment notes as feedback to management, I am sure it will fit right into Sail & Sustain.

Ours were sent about 32 days prior to sailing, on Dec 19 and 1st Case No assigned - knowing it was the holidays plus announced corporate back office workforce reduction ... Waited, and sent a 2nd email, as followup and reference the 1st. case # - auto replied with a 2nd and NEW case no. - previously, that usually resulted in getting the revised/updated Amenity Summary with the OBC posted. Nothing happened until 2023, after the New Year. Apparently, someone must be WFH because, OBC was posted on Jan 2nd, 2023 - email received with the new Amenity Summary and also loaded on MyNCL account within 24 hours (probably when server refreshed & updated overnight) - still well outside the "15 days" for submission cutoff. Since OP submitted their on Dec. 20th and there is an email trail for it, it should be processed & credit posted ... they are probably seriously backlogged while coping with Sail & Sustain ... or, is that a subtle way of saying (feel free to fill in your "thoughts") Good luck ! It should come thru & please let us know once it did.

FWIW - just check the Encore's live shipcam - she is docked this morning at Amber Cove, next to the Carnival Celebration - which matched one of the posted AC port schedule https://www.cruisingearth.com/ship-webcams/norwegian-cruise-line/norwegian-encore/ No other NCL mega ships listed/shown on that schedule for AC this month, hmmm ... 😮 Of course, mid-sized ships can dock at Taino Bay. Maybe, Taino Bay's work is done and bigger ships from NCL can go there & safely use the pier, which is right next to downtown.

With 22 cabins assigned and the hospitality industry *** average cleaning time of 20 to 25 minutes (high end & suites, 30 minutes+ easily) Do the math yourself, it will take your friendly & efficient room "attendant" to take anywhere from 7.5 hours to 9 plus hours, starting with cabin #1 - without taking a lunch or other break at all, to get thru cabin #22. For earlybirds on a sea day, waiting for housekeeping, you will likely be leaving for dinner by then ... yeah, that's your evening turn-down and daily service all-in-one. Balcony and the ones with extra beds, we all know - takes a few minutes more each vs. the studios and inside cabins. Me think, those blue beach towels will be a DIY up at the pool deck, less work for everyone else unless you need & use it ... /s Marketing materials, just jam them outside the room - there's a place to hold them, or go digital, sail & sustain. 😆

Just a comment - Getaway's satellite WiFi has been reported by multiple CC'er posting onboard recently that connectivity isn't great, coverage is spotty. My understanding is that she's sailing further east out in the North Atlantic toward San Juan due to jet streams & weather, and high-orbit coverage via satellite isn't the best in that region ... it is NOT Starlink (currently in use/pilot testing on the Breakaway). Probably, when they can, with a better & faster connection - you will / should see those photos coming live - it's not a matter of what, but when - this sailing's itinerary is different compared to last week's Live Report. We're on the Getaway last March and the benchmarked #'s were not good at all - my guess is that, it isn't much better with the ship sailing at 98% occupancy vs. 50% last year. Laszlo and/or Jimesopus (and others) onboard can check & compare the WiFi "status" this week. Just as eager to see what's changed, different, new and enhanced ... These were unlimited (non-streaming) WiFi speed - not a chance that streaming is going to work even if stepped up to premium streaming, IMHO over the shared narrow bandwidth.

Here's my take to help put some insights into the questions & inject into the discussions, FWIW - Look for this bold email message header from NCL - this one was awarded 43 days from sailing date - You've Been Awarded An Upgrade Advantage! If your bid(s) status said "pending" - it is just that, pending and nothing more. Only time and this will change again in a matter of hours, usually, if you are clicking the refresh key every 2 hours - is , one of the bid changed to "processing" and that's likely being accepted, that you've won or been "awarded" a new stateroom for that winning bid - credit card is being charged. Once that is completed successfully, the new stateroom # will be shown in your Reservation and an email should be on its way. Status then changed for all other non-winning bids to "expired" and the bid that "won" is then "upgraded" and consider completed. As far as timeline, I can vouch that 3 of the recent winning bids were "upgraded" further out from the embarkation date, at 3 to 4 weeks and 5 to 6 weeks, moving from lower categories to balconies - 2 different ships and 3 different reservations. Timing seemed to vary but happening much sooner than expected ... ships sailing out of NYC are almost at full double occupancies lately - with Haven & Spa Balcony sold out weeks earlier. Insides & Studios (where available at all) remaining in limited #'s days before and not deeply discounted.

Being Latitudes Sapphire and perhaps, even Diamonds, supposed to be given Priority Dining Reservations - but, truthfully, have yet to experience that in real - whether it's standing in line in the crowded area by the host/ess kiosk or desk outside any of the MDR ... or when calling the internal extension on the ship. The concierge helpline and/or services pre-cruise to help with booking, another mythical virtual benefits that only exist in prints and a joke. We try that once last year & used the given number that came with one of the welcome email pre-cruise, and submitted our preference or request, and was acknowledged ... that was it, boiler plate reply that our request has been forwarded to the ship's dining reservation desk (as it was fairly close to our sailing date) and to contact them once onboard to confirm the detailed choice, etc.. Needless to say, they had no record of our request, preference and out of the 3 reservations "forwarded" - only 1 was showing in the system and the time was entirely wrong, not 5:30 or 6 p.m. but rather 8:30 p.m. (to their credit, they got the "date" choice itself correctly, hahahha !!! ) Forgetaboutit - it's a joke and embarrassment against NCL's infamous reputation, to put it bluntly. Delete that "perk" from the description of benefits as the offer is deceptive at best. With the cruise coming up later this month, IMHO, it is useless to even bother trying to get them involved and book ... just wait until you are onboard on Day 1, up to 75% of the MDR reservations and (to a lesser percentage) are held until sailing time, only the smaller fractions are released ahead ... that, by itself, almost against the spirit & principles of "freestyle cruising" Ooops, I (kinda, really) meant to say, it's now "Sail & Sustain" the new corporate tagline, for your (who's) convenience. Corporate communications from NCL/H has never been their strength and it is consistently inconsistent and unreliable. Hey, it give us reasons to lurk here on CC and beat the still horse until it regains a pulse, LOL /s

Love it and thank you for sharing, the time and having us virtually along - tomorrow is 10 on our countdown. Packing warm/tropical weather clothing for a mid January winter cruise is nice and no blizzard in weather forecast next week. Your are going to love the JOY with the main Observation Lounge and the Haven Fwd Observation Lounge, shouldn't be as packed full as the Getaway last week in March. Since you like comfort food from Shanghai Noodles, you gotta to sample some of the Asian fusion items from Food Republic ... and sent the butler for it, better yet - go there & enjoy, it was never crowded & you are literally sitting under the bridge. Warning, portions are HUGE. Just read that BA is currently on Starlink and that's promising & hopefully, that NCL can come to its smarter sense & adopt, deploy superior satellite WiFi fleetwide. Sounded like disembarkation was smooth, quick & easy and you had an easy ride up the Thruway to get home ... did they use facial recognition or old fashion face-to-face with CPB inspection inside the terminal. Cruising can be truly addictive 😆 😎 😉

Good morning and thanks for the update, glad to know that the Haven experience is good & great whereas satellite WiFi isn't so smooth. I'm sure one of you will get the #'s on how full the ship is for this sailing & headcounts, etc. later on. Regardless, we've come to expect slower services in general in the large Tropicana Room, but even on the first evening and that's not good, coupled with staffing "adjustments" - can't imagine what the last 3 sea days will be like, as nearly everyone discovered it by then and do the "let's go try out the MDR" because they are done with the buffet mindset. Following along and have a great day ahead, how' the "ride" thus far and weather for later today.

Old-timers, I found & retrieved an old, very old Cagney's Menu from my NAS server drives, from 2009 & was digitized years later for storage. Almost certain, this was either the Star doing Mexico or Alaska or Pride of America in Hawaii ... Selections, choices & options are impressive, especially compared to the last few years ... even worst nowadays. Memories !

Typically, a good & efficient houskeeper can clean the average "hotel" room in about 20 minutes, maybe 25 to 30 minutes if more work is needed (families with infants, children or teens, piles of extra disposables, food plates & cups, etc.) Good luck if one of "your" stateroom is #20 or 21 on her/his list of assigned cabins to be cleaned - especially you like to return to a clean room for an afternoon power nap after a nice lunch, or just to relax & read a book, or catch the ocean breeze on the balcony. Because, it is going take, easily, 7 to 8 hours, when your friendly & busy steward begin her/his workday at 8 or 8:30 a.m. starting with preparing the carts, supplies & prep work - to get to you (20 cabins x 25 minutes = 500 minutes ... about 8 1/2 hours later, even if s/he doesn't take a 30 minutes meal break to rest. We've seen plenty of sloppy housekeeping work at 4 and 5 stars land hotel struggling with their post-Covid recovery mode, cutting corners and not wiping down certain surfaces - and maybe only when the guests checkout after a multi-day stay.

Hmmm, about 1 hour + minimum after the first tender boat get ashore, completed provisioning unloading & transfer to land facility and get thing ready ... they "can" have meal service & things ready after 10:30 or 11 a.m. if the first tender reached the island at 9 a.m. Whether that's that you and I consider breakfast, brunch or lunch is an open question. Short answer, in other words, no. Maybe, except, for brown bag "to go" specials upon special request via the access desk or the Haven butlers for pickup 😄 ?? And, with crew members being re-assigned and re-trained for other new duties, kind of doubtful on mission impossible.

There she goes - sailing on time, backed and turned, heading down the Hudson now 😎 air temp 39 deg F and that's mild for January in NY - Bon Voyage Take good care of her, the crew and happy sailing. Some of us need to get on that "home away from home" next Friday 😉