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mking8288

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Everything posted by mking8288

  1. When we're on the Escape a year ago (Sept 2023) the iCafe still has a number of PC / desktop terminals running barebone, stripped down Windows OS that're EOL with Internet Explorer as the browser, 2 of them were "out of order" for whatever reasons. Probably still usable to reach most non-https website to browse, accessing email and/or anything over https securely is likely a no-go. Prima does NOT have any PC or desktop / work station terminals to use, only a HP wireless printer with DIY instructions on how to print for a "nominal" charge. My setup has been to bring a lighter Chromebook with up-to-date OS & bluetooth wireless mouse, instead of "heavier" Dell notebook, and one less charger to pack along.
  2. How was your day in PD ? What's ahead with 3 sea days between the next port of call ? This is the man responsible for having @mking8288 pack a tux. It is all good and settled, 2025 is going to be an interesting year in cruising for us - most likely, spreading our wings again and continue to expand beyond NCL. My F&F circles concluded that the men do NOT have to - positively and absolutely - pack a tux or even dark suit, dress shirt & tie again ... if and when we choose to book and sail Cunard again. Reasons: given the variety of "high end" buffet food served in the Lido Restaurant, we can simply evade the somewhat "strict" dress code in the MDR and dine in Lido instead. Cunard isn't going to replace NCL but suffice to say, NCL is going to represent less than 50% of our planning cruises next year (4 to 5) unless we see positive changes to our liking. We might even do MSC at least once - Merv. conveniently out of Red Hook in Brooklyn as another niece & group of dancing posse are currently onboard w debriefing next week - and see what Latitudes Diamond status match will get us with them. BTW - CruiseCritic website/portal has been experiencing temporary technical error, code 500, all day long, off & on. Possibly related to recent M$ Windows 11 24H2 upgrade - Linux OS/Chromebook seemed to be sandboxed and not adversely affected.
  3. How's your Gelato situation on the Sky, meanwhile, somewhere here in NY, I can have some again, released by the dentist from post-op restrictions ... until the sinus lift procedures next month 🤭 Sky is so close to PD, aside from the weather earlier, if they would whip the engines to work harder ... could've docked there this afternoon or evening ... "could" Better get your legs ready after 5 sea days and to pound the pavement hard early. P.S. in other news, iOS 18.1 is out officially today, file size for my iPSE2022 is 1.5GB download might take a while (overnight) over SL.
  4. @Sugar Magnolia Check your iPhone settings, cellular and roaming data on for GigSky on, Voice & Data - switch to LTE instead of 5G, primary Sim off, airplane mode on and off again to reset. If no signal, leave it on for 15 minutes. Try this in the upper / outside deck. Power off & restart iPhone, look at Cellular Data Network settings within the Carrier Settings for GigSky, try a reset. Lastly, check the GigSky app and see if the plan is active with any message or alert. These were my speedtest results on Liberty OTS over GigSky, faster than Voom also carried on Starlink
  5. One of our nieces having a blast onboard MSC Merv, en route to Florida & Bahamas now - booked an Inside & got upgraded to an unobstructed balcony at no extra charge. Sailaway party while still at Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY received_1073952780603974.mp4 How was dinner earlier and what has been most memorable thus far from the MDR ?
  6. Were / are you able to pickup a 4G LTE signal on your iPhone? I don't think a 3G signal will get you anywhere. If and when you are on the top decks, look around and see if you spot those mini Starlink flat antenna, find it odd that they still have those EMC dome antennas.
  7. Will the party continue tonight with the Production Show "Showdown" dancing to "Even The Nights Are Better" (Air Supply - 1982) is the trivia question of the date ?? Noticed that women outnumbered men in the lounge by a ratio of 3 to 1, if not 4 to 1. Fun stuff, last year on the Epic TA, the Court of Neptune line crossing ceremony was held to induct newbies but don't recall them doing it onboard the Prima ...
  8. Did you look and see any chocolates or mints underneath ? Ducks ? Learned that they are just following housekeeping instructions, there is a cheat sheet for the steward to use & follow, takes an extra 15 seconds per cabin to easily range them daily, to sail and sustain in lieu of the towel animals. Cruise staff got talents and from here on, not just performing during crew's talent show. Going above and beyond, hopefully, directly & monetary recognized, just saying. Any possibility of hash browns making a comeback ? How were the onions ? Going to bet that they are no longer serving them raw or uncooked. Seriously, expect a little sideway motion with wind & sea swell, starboard toward port - ahead is color blue toward PD ... conditions more favorable from PD toward Portugal/Spain.
  9. I knew that our Amazon membership has many under-utilized benefits, like Kindle eBooks, Prime Videos offline, and Music, etc. But to waste them on a cruise, at least, options ... right. Yeah, go with the flow.
  10. Rather to be derailed into making our personal critics of other vloggers on other platforms, whether we agree or disagree, dislike or like A vs. B over C or D ... let's stay on topic on the current state of NCL in 2024. I choose to ignore comments and remarks made here selectively and don't bother to quote or respond to their views, it's easy & simple, really. I have some good news 🙄 to share, LOL ... a) my BIL got 2 CN Deposits back into his Sapphire account this morning, less than 48 hours or 2 days after calling in to cancel a booking with final payment coming up. They voted and decided to not go with Bimini instead of Nassau, and yes - they have mobility issues in their mid/upper 70's ... otherwise in relatively good health. b) as for NCL in 2025 - bargain cruise on sale. If you have a NCL booking next March out of NY on the Escape, prices are dropping, faster than we can keep up in re-pricing them again, and again. Club Balcony Suites for less than the "typical" prices of an Oceanview during "busier" weeks and this is for a 8 nights milky way itineary, round-trip out of NYC. This isn't quite a mysterical cruise to somewhere yet, but with GSC - private island as 1 of the other 2 planned stops, success in tendering is always 50:50 or less since we are all waiting for ribbon cutting of the promised pier construction. News aren't all terrible, while certain itineraries and sailings are booked solid & sailing full, there is plenty of inventory across multiple cabins on a given sailing; and, for those that are strong supporters of NCL being a good, solid & trusty travel partner in upholding contracts. These evolving changes can be a win-win. Be mindful that early March is still officially winter in the Northeast, NYC included and not uncommon to experience delays, winter storms and even a late season blizzard ... subways underground and trains are sometimes the most reliable & more dependable option to get around. Don't forget, buy your CFAR insurance, except of course, it is not available to residents in the State of NY unless you buy a different type of coverage directly & sold only thru NCL. Terrible, maybe not ... Well, another cancellation might be forthcoming soon - before final payment this time, fortunately. The way to play this game, cancel and wait until final payment & penalty kicks in - I predict prices will drop or slide further south, strictly my own biased opinion ... unlikely to see NCL quickly filling up hundreds of berth in the next 2 weeks. Wait, it is the one and only ship sailing in/out of NY this winter, I must be missing something by playing "Let it Ride" instead of "The Price is Right" Don't worry, no need to book anything at 125 days since ... B'day like theatrical entertainment isn't important to the contemporary demographics, whatever that means - probably can just walk in and without making any reservations. More At Sea in 2025 ... Terrible, hmmm.
  11. Is there a pledge to bake your cookies, together, maybe the chef can be a finalist for being your vacation hero on this cruise. Afterall, I see exciting entertainment tonight on the FS listing ... even getting the CD department staff to showcase their talents on stage, are they getting extra incentives & recognition to perform, and coaching support from their mentors, on top of reaching their sales quota 😁 I see white caps. Jim.O was right, they need the speed up a bit and go thru additional engine start sequence. To sail & sustain but not on just 2 engines alone. Seriously, I see blue colors ahead ... just a little bit more. That's what happened getting lost while trying to sing, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
  12. For real 😺 only if they are organic. Nevermind ... On Royal, they are standard with wings in steerage. Good morning. Sea conditions better this morning, it looks 👌 what's the plan, Saturday Night Fever on the dance floor 😆
  13. Looking better ahead, perhaps just a little more rocking over the next 12 to 18 hours, PD looks 👍 for you & others, including crew to visit
  14. Nice, wondered what's inside those extra height box cars 😉 Yes, video format looks good this time, on Windows & Android. Thanks for sharing.
  15. Not stupid ... "smart" NCL policy in linen with More $$ At Sea to them. Having sailed other lines (Carnival's Cunard and Royal Caribbean) - their most recent/current policies are to allow embarking passengers to bring a reasonable & small quantity of beverages, including soda, juices, bottled water, even bottled wine & beer for personal, in-cabin consumption (not cases of 24, 30 or 36 cans of water) per cabin. NCL continued its ban, although at certain known ports, shore-based/port security aren't sometimes strictly enforcing and looking for liquid ... there was a time, where giant 55 gal barrels or drums were placed near security/x-ray checkpoints. Not always true and other cruise lines, do it their way ... flying & going thru airport security is a different story. As for any possible new Latitudes scheme with NCL, don't hold one's breath ... Diamonds here and really, nowadays, mostly treated the same onboard like when we're still Sapphire or mere Platinum in the old days. That 2 "extra" water cans really doesn't mean much and we can't reuse it onboard to refill.
  16. And now Station Zebra can confirm it is, the iOS encoding, viewable on my backup iPhone. Has to do with the newer .heic and H.265 (HEVC) encoding & conversion to make it most compatible with iOS, Android / Linux and Windows OS ... (it's not just photo formats on newer iPhones) ... so we know Sugar has a new'ish iPhone, haha. Nice video, with The Sound of Silence. I could sit out there with an iced coffee, plate of fruits and cookies and chill out. @Travelicious ... Hi to 2 "strangers" since the Prima TA, what's new with 2 of you, adventures being retired. Best regards.
  17. On a scale of 0 to 12, perhaps 7 at the moment looking at the shipcam, not bad at all. Epic going the other way on her TA found similar sea state with blue sky. Still, no can't do with the .mov video ... maybe it's iOS encoded 😁
  18. @Sugar Magnolia just tried - twice (from smartphone & from desktop browser) - to access/download the video from #253 ... same error message as ggTexasGal, could not locate ... Maybe paused by CC mod for review, will try this again.
  19. Sky started slowing down late last night, waves don't look bad at all, swell is up from the 🌬️ wind. Captain playing his deck of card tricks and charted the course, saying, Let It Ride 😁 😎 with the storm moving fast & further north and away from each other. Guessing that Advil-PM giving the party girl extra rest this morning, skipping breakfast ?
  20. Personally, I would've prefer a baked potato, served with a choice of sour cream/butter, a matter of preference. Somehow, those fries just don't fit in that picture. What's important, is, presented and served at the proper temperature to your requested liking. I won't show you foodie picture from our group conference over Shabu Shabu feast (Japanese nabemono hotpot) we just had, subject/topic - upcoming F&F cruises for 2025. What did you get for dessert, my recollection is the 7 layer cake got smaller on our recent Prima TA, more than enough to serve one but maybe not for 2 to share. How are the cookies ?
  21. Is this your idea of a Rorschach test for CC'er ?? OK. Hmmm, due to motion sickness, neighbors ordered room service (minus the food "tray") and didn't finish it all (for whatever reasons) and in the absence of clear guidance (directions from the crew or housekeeping) - choose to leave them just outside their doorway for pickup ... stacked 3 plates neatly up & out of the way (foot traffic) to minimize accidents. And, could've covered it up with the cloth napkin. No cookies for them 😁 Any sightings for towel animals ?? Door decorations permitted (or was that redacted to "protect" their privacy) Wait ... you bailed out of tonight's party at the Bliss Lounge early or is it over already, haha.
  22. Adjust the clock forward 1 hour. Strictly my own opinion that you aren't going to lose any sleep over it. Go with the flow and rock it good, all night long. Forgot to capture on Sky's shipcam late afternoon when more frequent white caps were spotted. Looking at data, plan for a roller coaster ride over next 36 to 48 hours, starting with a shaking breakfast & continuing thru lunch into the evening ... strong wind-driven waves & sea swell. Outside decks and outdoor space in lockdown mode, or at least with caution signs ?? Is the ship really feeling nowhere near full ?? At times, I do "question" the #'s given at the Latitudes sales presentation and even at the lounge presentation by the senior officers. The stewards & dining teams all have the headcounts as it's posted below deck somewhere near I-95 traffic corridor. It's good b/c lines don't exist and you hardly need reservations for anything, etc.
  23. Calmness before the storm - time zone change ahead ? BTW, Starlink speed as expected with upload better than before ... assume you've upgraded to unlimited ship WiFi.
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