doctoranna

If we were to take an Uber or taxi to downtown PV to see the cathedral and the Malecon and maybe a little souvenir shopping, how much walking would be involved? We have a member in our group who can do some walking, but probably not much more than 1/2 mile of uninterrupted walking. Are there places to sit down in the Centro area?

We did this in 2019. It was a lot of fun. We will probably do it again when we go in December. Last time we were there, I got a hole in one on the 11th hole and got a free drink at the bar. The trick is not to hit the ball too hard.

Anything by Ken Follett. I recently finished his Century Trilogy which is set in Europe and the US, spanning the time period from early 20th century through the 1960's. I also like Michener stuff and find that reading a Michener book about an area I am traveling to really gives me a greater understanding ow what I am seeing. I read "Alaska" before going to Alaska, and "Hawaii" before going to Hawaii. For entertaining mysteries, I like Harlan Coben

Sailed through Hurricane Pablo near the Azores on a TA in October 2019. I’m weird though, ‘cause I kinda like high seas.

I have noticed that more women's clothes are available with pockets. I will not buy anything for daily wear that does not have pockets. I have also noticed that more and more prom dresses are being made with pockets. It's about time. That said, anything that ends up in the same pocket as my phone is at risk of getting lost, as the non-slip case on the phone tends to pull whatever is in the pocket out with it when I take the phone out. Like I said, first world problems. Just wanted to alert the lanyard-users, of which there are many, that clipping the card to a lanyard after getting someone at the service desk to punch a hole in it is no longer an option on NCL. Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!

LOL! So many great solutions to my first world problem. I have several lanyards with plastic pouches at home, left over from the job I retired from, so I declined to buy another one. Yes, I am cheap. I will certainly remember to bring one the next time I cruise Norwegian.

I know, this is a tiny tiny issue, but we just got off the Pearl last Friday, and one thing that bummed me out was that they would no longer punch a hole in my cruise card so I could wear it on a lanyard. They said it is because the cards now have an IR chip in them and punching a hole would inactivate it. I didn't feel like paying 10 bucks for a lanyard with a plastic pouch on it in the gift shop, so just ended up carrying the card in my pocket, though had to keep remembering not to put it in the same pocket as my phone, which has a nonslip case that often pulls things out of my pocket. Again, I know, totally a first world problem, but just a heads up for anyone who likes to wear their cruise card around their neck. Bring a plastic pouch to clip on your lanyard. I am liking Princess more now, since they provide a lanyard that allows me to wear my Ocean Medallion around my neck for free.

Agree with ggTexasGal. Just got off the Pearl. Most drinks were 13-15 bucks, including mandatory 20% tip. Have one drink a day and you will save money over the "Free" drink package.

We booked inside cabins on our recent sailing on the Pearl and bid the absolute minimum on a balcony and got it. I think we were notified 2 days before departure.

Yes. It's under "Your account", I think. Only one person in the cabin can check the account in the app if you are linked together, but either occupant can go to the desk and get a printout anytime.

Could be, though she was being very helpful, drawing the route on maps for everyone. Apparently Pier 31 is fairly new, but yeah, you would think the staff at a hotel that does a lot of cruise passenger business would know something like this. She was young, so she might have been hired recently. I'm just glad the traffic lady went out of her way to make sure we got on that bus.

We've had maybe one or two accidental overcharges in the previous 18 cruises we have taken. We've never had THREE in one 7-day cruise. That was totally unexpected, but I'm glad they caught the first one and reversed it themselves, alerting us to watch more closely.

Leaving a note here about transportation to Pier 31 in Quebec City. The main piers (21 and 22) are right in the old city area. Pier 22 was about a block and a half from our hotel (Hotel Le Port Royal), and we could see it if we looked up the street from the hotel, which is why I booked that hotel. Unfortunately, even though the Port Calendar showed our ship at Pier 22 on departure day, it was changed to Pier 31 sometime before we sailed. I found information online that there was a shuttle from the terminal at 21 and 22 to the Pier 31 terminal, and the address of Pier 21-22 terminal was on our boarding pass, so we had planned to just walk there and take a shuttle. At the hotel desk on embarkation day, there were passengers asking for directions to walk to Pier 31, so we asked the woman at the desk if there was a shuttle, and she said there was not, so we took off walking (she told us it was a 15-minute walk). After walking for almost 15 minutes, we were still only halfway there, but as we walked towards a pedestrian path, a woman in a yellow traffic control vest ran after us, shouting that we should come back. She seemed very insistent, so DH went back to see what she wanted, and it turns out that she had spotted the free port shuttle (that actually does exist) approaching her intersection. She flagged it down, and we all got on, (which made our friend with the two knee replacements very happy), It would have been way more than a 15 minute walk. Now the receptionist at the Port Royal may have just meant that there was no shuttle to Pier 31 from her hotel, but there is definitely a free shuttle from the Pier 21-22 terminal to Pier 31.

This looks a little bit different from what we encountered when we disembarked the Norwegian Pearl yesterday. No one seemed to be going off to the right when we exited out the terminal door, so we asked a traffic control person who directed us off to the left to find the Ubers. We walked along the road in front of the terminal towards our left and took the first right turn going up Design Center Pl, just before the parking lot. We walked up a block to Dry Dock Ave, and there was a row of Ubers parked in front of the Dunkin Donuts store there, though I didn't see any drivers, so maybe they were getting breakfast. We ordered a "Wait and save" Lyft (saved us about $1.50) and he was there in less than 5 minutes. If you want to see it clearer, just search for DryDock Ave in a map app (we use Apple Maps). Lyft to the airport was $22 or so, including a 20% tip.

Just got off the Pearl and had a great time, but we were double-charged THREE times for drinks we ordered. We noticed on Wednesday that there was a credit on our account, so looked back to see why and found the duplicate charge from Sunday. Then Wednesday night we were double charged again in a different bar, so had to get that one reversed, and Thursday night, the last night of the cruise, after we were in bed watching TV, found another duplicate charge, so had to go down to the desk at midnight to get it reversed. Since we were already in our jammies, we just put on the bathrobes that NCL provides and went down there. I knew we should not wait til morning when the account would be closed. All the bogus charges were reversed, but it was a major annoyance. Keep track of your bar tab and watch for duplicate charges.

On the Getaway in 2019 (Transatlantic), there was a costume contest, Thriller dance lessons, and carved pumpkins in the buffet.

Just got off the Pearl. Wifi was spotty, especially up in Canada. We did not buy the "Free at Sea" package. Didn't really need wifi but had 30 minutes as part of a promotion at the time we purchased. Had my phone connected to the ship intranet, but it kept losing the connection, so I had to restart the ship wifi every time I wanted to check the schedule or check my account. Note that if you have free wifi minutes, use them before midnight on the last night of the cruise or you lose them.

Large scale entertainment not back yet on the Pearl. A couple of variety shows, couple of vocalists, and a comedian. 2 shows a night, at 7 and 9 as of last week.

Just got off the Pearl in Boston. It underwent renovation last year, so not sure why it is going into dry dock, but it seemed to be in great shape last week.

Just got back. Currently, the lobsters are a flat 10 bucks each on the boat, and you get to pick your own out of the tank. The restaurant (Portland Lobster Company) charged $12.99 to cook it up and serve it with corn on the cob, fries, and Cole slaw. I had a chicken wrap. They also had grilled chicken breast sandwiches, burgers, and hot dogs.

Just returned from a cruise that we boarded in Quebec City. We had positive PCR tests from June 23, so less than 90 days ago, and the staff in the cruise terminal were not going to honor it and wanted us to get the ripoff rapid test on the dock. Fortunately, my husband had a screenshot of the Canada rules on his iPad and asked to speak with a supervisor who came over and confirmed that we were correct. I then saw the supervisor go around to every staff member and presumably update them on the rules they should be aware of, but if you are relying on a recent case of Covid to avoid having to get tested, make sure you have a screenshot from the Canadian government website rules page.

Quick question: Do taxis at YQB accept credit cards?

We did Lucky Catch a few years ago while camping near Portland. It was a great cruise! I learned a lot about lobsters and lobstering. DH bought a fresh lobster off the boat that had been caught that day, and we took it across the dock to a local restaurant that prepared it into a full meal for him for a reasonable cost. He said it was delicious. I don't care for lobster, so I probably just had a burger or a salad.

Note that if you have had Covid (documented by a positive PCR test) in the last 180 days and recovered (last positive test more than 10 days ago and no symptoms now), you would just have to show your positive PCR test result to board the ship.

Note that if you are fully vaccinated, you still need a negative test to board a ship in Canada, UNLESS you have had a POSITIVE PCR test more than 10 days and less than 180 days before boarding, and have no current symptoms of Covid. So, the Covid we picked up in June on our Alaska cruise is saving us from having to get a test for our Canada/NE cruise later this month. Hooray!