mking8288

Nice, wondered what's inside those extra height box cars 😉 Yes, video format looks good this time, on Windows & Android. Thanks for sharing.

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.

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.

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 😁

@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.

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 ?

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 ?

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.

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.

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.

What do ya meant, that thread is just warming up. Better upload some good videos, real great ones, of 20 to 30 ft. waves and large sea swell splashing against the bow and hitting the balconies ... we missed those since the Escape & Joy days. Meanwhile, just learned from NCL yesterday that they've disclosed the new mysterical destination of Bimini, Bahamas next March in lieu of Nassau, just 1 ship at the long cruise pier owned/managed by the Resort World hotel group. Can you imagine doing that extraordinary live report ashore while driving a rented golf cart ?? Another price drop this morning doing a mock booking to reprice but still advertised as Nassau ... and the same on the new NCL App, except, zero shorex listed for Nassau/Bimini (which we don't do anyway - on our own, wing it and go with the flow / follow the wind ) Calling for our private F&F conference this afternoon to discuss what are "we" gonna do about this as final payment or cancel is 10 days out, thankfully. Returning to the regular station programming, still can't wrap my head that far ahead into 2026 ... side bar: our best friend spouse's Alzheimer's conditions progressively worsening even though I'm not a clinician qualified to make an official diagnosis, which I suspected years ago and they are still in denial mode.

A new price drop again this morning when we reprice our balconies again, the TA probably not going to be too thrilled since they need to do one of them, at least it's before final payment ... factor in the extra NAS dining charge with 1 extra SD x 2, costing more $$$ and we'll likely decline it entirely. Still being advertised as going to Nassau and sailing at 8 PM 😤 🙄 😳 The "new" NCL is showing the old itinerary and times as well, 😒 WT_ Meanwhile, the CC roll call following us on 3/15 just got notified that theirs are being changed as well ... posted/shared 2 hours ago - I just received the email from Norwegian that they are changing up our time of deportation and the dates of our ports. We are now leaving at 4PM and going to Great Stirrup Cay first, then Nassau and then Port Canaveral. I wonder what prompted the changes. It's is all still good. True, still good to some but not necessary others. This is fine, perhaps if you do ship excursion but private & tours by local, gotta deal with the vendors directly yourself & see that all are on the same "page" Damn the contract chats, incompetence at its finest at NCL on display, but at least someone has noticed the apparent trembling on social media, not just here on CC.

Been known to run out of buzzers ... and/or crew has to run to another restaurant to borrow/get extra buzzers. NCL discontinued accepting MDR dinner reservations, it's been a while, except for a party of 6 or more.

Liked the new plating scheme at The Local, first time we saw food served using the wired basket ... McD came to mind as in "Wow" that is comfort food but we, too, prefer BK and its fries, if and when we get lazy. Wonder if celery is available upon request only, or, no longer provisioned ? Next, we should see what those juicy burgers are like ... fond memories of the crispy onion rings then, not just in Cagney's,

@Sugar Magnolia Good morning, I'm back. Beautiful sunshine this morning from your spot. Did you happen to step outside your balcony to spot Northern Lights, supposed to be easily visible again ... I know, you have more exciting & interesting priorities. Outside our townhouse apartment at 2 AM to look up into the night sky, camera settings on manual exposure & took a few images, tweaked & used AI editing - nope, streaks of blues & that's it. Susan said, what on earth ... besides, weren't we supposed to be on the Sky TA? Answer - yes but ... didn't you hear the dental office calling earlier, reconfirmed surgical appointment next month (sinus lift) but moved by a few days, more antibiotics while the wisdom tooth job is healing this week. Oh. Truthfully, rather be on a cruise instead, but not so sure about sailing to Bimini, Bahamas instead of Nassau, that's another NCL story 🙄 Seriously, any advice about Alice Town from you or others - got 10 days to decide, LOL. Jim got ahead of the curve plus the captain (thankfully, doing his job & diligence) before me, calling out the forecast, the storm system is moving quickly across and it looked like to sail & sustain, and to give all pax & crew a taste of the North Atlantic, Sky isn't going all out racing toward PD at 20 kts currently (CruiseMapper) Looks for certain, enjoy the day as how can anyone not expect to see a bit of white caps on these crossing (we got really lucky, again on the previous TA) Ooooh, Baby, it's going to rock tonight and might as well, turn that into rock and roll - head for the dance floor again since there is nothing going on in the main theater. Take a nap before showing up at the Bliss Lounge for the late night party ... wait, someone tell the FSD editor, not going to St. John tomorrow 😆 Is there a celery shortage onboard or is this the new sail & sustain to slim down dining experience ?

Can't possibly be worst than the Prima's triplex atrium ... not to mention the extra folding chairs deployed, especially on sea days. And, the Observation Lounge ... Going to leave the observations to Sugar ... BTW, are the MJ troopers out in force again ?

Drink lemonade or ginger ale only, round up some green apples and crackers ... you know the drill. Captain is whipping the poor engineers below deck to push all engines to give everything they got, CM showing she's up to almost 21 kts ... that's all. Forecast along the probably route looked fairly reasonable, not calm seas but no worst than Bermuda and Bahamas or Caribbean routings out/in from NY. It's probably just your imaginatiion, or is that the Pina Colada tricking you.

Perhaps, someone at the corner suite at NCL HQ in Miami finally woke up and all the noises got their attention, and changes with their M.O. happening ... instead of waiting until final payment & cancellation penalty kicks in with the usual boilerplate language of "unforeseen circumstances, optimize to sail & sustain, yada yada. Now, that is NOT that difficult to do - announcing and informing the passengers booked 11 days earlier isn't mission impossible, and, well within what NCL management and operations can do. See below - correspondence signed by K. Byrd, VP at NCL. Email pushed out this afternoon at T minus 131 days, almost at the point where we can start booking specialty dining at 125 days out (Ambassadors at 130 days) ... these came directly from NCL's email i.p. Haven't receive anything indirectly as another booking is via our TA. Moved up the departure time to a more normal afternoon time slot, 4 PM instead of 8 PM (EDT, of course ... ) No longer calling on Nassau but instead, going to Bimini, Bahamas. Of course, GSC is always 50:50 conditional upon successful tendering b/c ... waiting for the dock to be built & finished, no idea if they will be done or when - often becoming another "fun day at sea" after coming to a full stop, prepared to drop anchor & then. Whether "we" like the substituted port with the change, that is a different story, on this "milky" routing ... and don't know if the port taxes/fees/charges are any different between Nassau and Bimini, almost certain any adjustments will be "advantage, NCL" instead of "us" per the "contract" We have the option to cancel or not sail this revised itinerary over the next 10 days, and, that is a win.

I'm sure almost everyone is prepared and knew what to expect ... well, you do and I know too well, survived 30 to 40 ft. waves in strong gale force cross winds on the GEM, the Jewel and on the Joy before, not to mention twice on the Crown nearly 20 years ago. What's for dinner tonight ? Let's rock and yeah, rock it good ... slow dancing looking fine into tomorrow morning, it seemed especially if the bridge is going to push hard to continue east & perhaps slightly north ... the worst will start tomorrow afternoon into Friday and by Saturday, system should be behind the ship and transition to somewhat calmer sea state into Sunday & Monday. Just don't expect smooth sailing of 4 to 5 ft. seas like the westbound Prima TA earlier this year, that was exceptional, we all got lucky on that one except for not being able to sail into Dockyard ... we're all that "close" to St. George's and I even picked up cellular signals again.

Nevermind the guessing, per Marinetraffic and AIS data filed, Sky is heading straight to Ponta D, not visiting another port instead ... 5 full days at sea, to sail & sustain. Hopefully, captain and the bridge can navigate in charting an optimal course/heading with least bit of rock and roll.

Yike, rather be proven wrong & misread, oh well. Was just about to type since it's past all abroad time and ship should be sailing shortly, and yet crickets. We are sure that some are disappointed but it's mama nature making the calls, ships down in the Bahamas are doing evasive moves to get out of Oscar's path ... this is hurricane season. Motto being, hope for the best, dream and plan for the worst. I was thinking of 3 options, looking at Jim's chart and other forecasts, that a) Sky will sail on to St. John and get out of there early, chart a course to best stay away from the worst of the system and continue to PD as planned - she has a top speed of 23 kts and with a good tail wind, doable but rocky; or, b) skip St. John entirely and sail south, straight for PD ... maybe get there a day early for a "bonus" overnight stop, make up for the lost port of call; or, c) come up with an alternate stop, i.e. sail southeast toward Dockyard, Bermuda ... a doable routing, get there as a substituted stop ... berth space open per BDA's port schedule (at least for Friday) and from there, sail onward to PD. Weather-related last minute cancel/divert/change, no OBC or compensation, possibly refunding port taxes/fees & charges with a token, small & symbolic amount as goodwill, non-refundable/spend it onboard or lost it ... Basically, 5 full days at sea ahead. Have you upgraded to unlimited WiFi for the remainder of the cruise, or still have unused minutes and can wait until midnight later to take the plan based on remaining # of days ? I would just go to dinner in the evening and remain occupied, and do the upgrade after midnight, and pay $30 less for the extra day. Looks like the Sky is underway and being escorted by the pilot boat out to get out of the harbor, go have fun and warm up the clubs and lounges, and, rock the floor 😎 😆 😁 😊

That's right, are you going to start adding ... Sugar's "Drink of the Day" photo illustrating, that would be fun, even if they are non-alcohol ones, including Starbucks or even Bubble Teas (found out that Royal has the option to some of their newer ships - Quantum OTS that just completed TP crossing ... something possibly on our future bucket list to do) You don't smoke anything, however, AFAIK 😆 Showing us what you meant in being well off the beaten path this morning. Nice photo & I see foliage colors 👍

#60 Posted January 21, 2023 Good morning 🌞 all. Here's an important written notice from the Captain last night, left on the bed along with FS Daily. Hmmm, what can I say. It's a good thing we are just going to wing it on these scheduled visits to the islands. And, wow, getting back 1 hour to see San Juan, losing an hour at sea 🫢🤔😳🙄 To provide historical context against the more "recent" wave" of itinerary changes. Did not notify guests upon embarkation, but delivered to the staterooms and placed on top of the bed during the evening turndown service (some were left outside the staterooms with the DND "on") - read ours when we came back from dinner in the MDR, already at sea. Heck, gotta try to maintain that sense of humor and "go with the flow" - just wing it and not book anything ahead, not on a "typical" Caribbean cruise itinerary. But for others on those "extraordinary" cruise to far away ports in the distance ocean, 100% empathize with not being happy, upset and not pleased with the changes. Our next NCL cruise booked, sailing out of NY has a scheduled 8 PM (20:00 hours) departure time, prior sailing has 3 full sea days to return from St. Maarten with a 7 AM arrival. These popular shorter cruises used to sail at 3 or 4 PM, or even 5 and 6 PM. Worst than ours, another Escape cruise listed a 10 PM departure out of NY. Waiting & watching to see whether changes will be announced after Nov. 8th with final payment due.

Hahaha, I suppose Bermuda shorts and kilt are considered appropriate evening attires in all restaurants including SD. It would be best for NCL to notify all guests prior to embarkation to pack and then dress accordingly, with the updated attire requirements and expectations. Cunard did a great job with that about their casual and gala/theme nights; whereas, Royal Caribbean didn't inform about the 2 themed/optional "dress up" night - only found out after getting onboard, luckily, I had "dress" shirts & black/navy blue casual slacks always, but no ties or blazer for the look ... our friend didn't have a single dress shirt, just long & short sleeve collared polo, worn to lobster tail night in the MDR. NCL got a lot of use from those oversized dinner plates in Cagney's and LeBistro over the decades, despite a few being retired from wear & tear and occasionally broken ... possibly look better if they downsize those plates to smaller ones, making the whole entree more proportionate. Other cruise lines like Cunard & Royal do not use those stainless steel cups, not to serve up 3 or 4 onion rings with a $9 MSRP, LOL. Ocean Blue and La Cucina did serve up a pretty good beef steak in the past, medium and to my own liking ... Cagney's can be hit-n-miss (best to avoid asking for well done, from our past dining experience)

Valid and good point as you described, what if I come back from ashore, symptoms worsening ... #cough #cough ... hopefully (I can explain & should expect some discretions) the reservation desk can move & reschedule to another date/time slot; and, also free up the unused time for others that are finding the venue fully booked. This was "The Way We Were" on NCL going back 10, maybe 15 years ago when SD had a surcharge of $15 to $20 p/p and without the 15%+ gratitudes added subsequently. This "notice" is one of the fine prints in small fonts at the bottom of the new FSD, easily missed - zoom in, enhanced & enlarge it ... making the 😉 🙄 😬 contract language disclosure a little clearer. NCL's IT Dept, given their level of competencies, can integrate these changes into the new App and its virtual queue functions, and maximize optimal use of dining slots for no-shows & last minute cancellations, and maybe turn into a win-win situation for everyone ... especially ahead with More $$$ At Sea. We have a 8 nights booking and with our Platinum+ party of 6 and balconies, end up with 6 nights of SD (2 nights from Latitudes and 4 nights from MAS) holding quite a # of dining slots ... and, with the older, smaller NCL ships with few SD options ... can turn into a problem with no shows, especially on busy port days & folks coming back "late" to the ship just before sailing. (Okay, play devil's advocate here for a moment)