Steelers0854

when you’re sad that you missed 2 ports and have 3 sea days in a row, but this is the view from your balcony, I could stay here for a while…..

It’s a beautiful morning coming back to NYC, too bad we won’t be able to get off the ship but I can’t wait to see our view once we anchor! 😍

Day 5 Sea Day 1 It was a great lazy start to the morning. We got up and headed to the jogging track to get in a run. Another questionable design decision, what idiot thought it was a good idea to put the jogging track right next to the smoking section? I mean why not put the jogging track in the casino at that point? Kind of makes you laugh. We did enjoy a cool beautiful morning on deck. After a quick gym session we headed to the room to get ready for the day. By the time we got ourselves together it was time for an early lunch. We headed to the buffet and DW grabbed a favorite of hers, Chana masala. She said it was excellent! I grabbed a random assortment of other dishes from the buffet and it was all very good. I think NCL had the best burger at sea. Guys on carnival is close, but the burger itself on NCL is so flavorful it was a real hit. Todays had bacon, pineapple and teriyaki sauce. After lunch we headed down to the area by the Moderno and Cagney restaurants and they have really comfy chairs and it’s really the only place to relax inside. After a while of reading we swung into OSheehans for a snack. DW got the chicken wings, naked, and fries. They weren’t very good, they are either baked or steamed, and not crispy. I got the nachos and they were so so. We headed to the waterfront and relaxed until it was dinner time. We made reservations at Food Republic. Glad we did as when we showed up at 6 it was packed. DW preordered the edamame, chicken pad Thai, and chicken lettuce wraps (for us to share). This is the first specialty restaurant I’ve eaten at at sea where I feel ripped off for the price. The prices for the quantity and quality are comparable or more expensive then on land. There is no value here and the flavor doesn’t make up for it. It could also be what we ordered and we have some more OBC that’s nonrefundable to burn so we may come back and try something else. The pad Thai was a very small portion and was ok in flavor but for $21 that’s embarrassing. The chicken lettuce wraps were VERY small and a total rip off for $13. The edamame was good but that is hard to screw up and you get a good amount for the $8. I got the wonton tacos and they were delicious but they were seriously so small they could have been 1 bite and were $15. The pork Bao’s were also very good and I would say a mediocre value at $14. All in, we are basically at $85, not quite full and it was disappointing. The desserts looked amazing and you get a large portion, those could be worth it. The nachos and fries look and sound good and maybe those would be a better value. The seas have slowly been getting more and more rough. The ship is really moving now and we have hit a literal wall of fog. You can’t see the tip of your nose at the moment. I think we have finally reached the front end of the storm. I imagine it’s only going to get worse. We are scheduled to pickup the pilot at 8am tomorrow and be at anchorage off staten island by 10am. We went to the buffet to grab dessert but DW ran into issues. They wouldn’t serve her the sorbet saying they thought it would contain dairy even though we know it doesn’t. Then they finally said ok but wouldn’t get a clean utensil and got it from the same bin they scoop everything else from. They also tried to tell her that the soft serve yogurt was dairy free, well we know better. The chef brought out the packaging and yea it’s lactose free but still had dairy byproducts in it which is a no go. A pretty frustrating experience tonight.

I posted when we ordered. After DW got hers she said they definitely were not fried she thought they may be steamed. They were not crispy and she said they weren’t very good. So I would say yes it’s possible they are baked. it’s been a couple hours and she is good to go so no issue but again she didn’t have any sauce with hers.

it seems on this ship you ask 3 different people and you get 3 different answers. Apparently the wings themselves are gluten free but there was a debate if the fryer was. DW can do cross contamination, she only gets sick if there is gluten in the food. I’ll let you know in a few hours how true it is. If your husband has celiac or can’t do cross contamination then I would avoid the wings to be safe. They said all the sauces have dairy, which I find odd the sweet chili would, but again there isn’t a lot of clear communication on this ship.

Back from Breakfast?!? Wow must be nice. We are lucky if our cabin is done by 4pm.

Day 4 Saint John, Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick - Maple Sugar Shack & Tasting (10:30 - 21:00) Cont. We got back from our excursion and got to Cagneys about 18:40 with an 18:00 reservation. We explained what happened and they were wonderful and sat us in less than 10 min. DW had preordered the beefsteak tomorrow, wedge salad, filet, mashed potatoes and mushrooms. They made the most delicious balsamic vinaigrette for the salad which was huge. The tomato dish was good and also had a good balsamic drizzle as well. The filet wasn’t great, lacked seasoning and wasn’t nearly as good as Moderno. The mushrooms were amazing, well seasoned and delicious. The mashed potatoes were basically a baked potato mashed up, no oil or any attempt to make them anything different, but they were fine. For dessert she got the same blueberry compote but this time they put what appeared to be crumbled chocolate chip cookies on the top. DW said it was good and it was nice to have something other than a dish of blueberry pie filling. Sorry some of the photos I grabbed late and a couple of bites may have already been taken 😎 For me I got the crab cake, tuna tartare, prime rib (end cut), potatoes Al gratin and the creamed spinach. The crab cake was very good and had more crab in it than I expected. Don’t expect lump meat in this but it had great flavor and a nice sauce. The tuna fell way flat, no flavor, the pickled ginger mixed in the middle of it was an odd choice, I would not get this again. The prime rib was terrible, it was the toughest piece of meat I have ever had. I would definitely not recommend asking for the end cut which is my go to as it’s usually super flavorful and tender. This was the opposite. It was also a HUGE portion, no way anyone could finish that even if they could chew through it. The potatoes came out hot-ish at best. The cheese had already solidified and they desperately needed salt. The creamed spinach was excellent. The best part of the dinner was the 7 layer chocolate cake. Man this thing was next level good. No way I could eat it all but it was fun trying! We decided Cagneys isn’t worth it, Moderno was so much better and that would be our go to in the future. After dinner we walked around. Every venue we went to was jam packed, we could have gone to the comedy show in the main theater but just decided to call it a night. The entertainment venues in this ship are so disappointing. The limited space and uncomfortable seating makes me miss Princess where we have almost never had any issues attending a show or performance and they have comfortable couches and chairs in their lounges. I think the issue is this ship has too many upcharge restaurants that take up all the space.

I’m assuming you’re asking about the sauces? We didn’t ask, DW doesn’t mind eating them without sauce if needed but we will check when we go and report back. I’m assuming there is atleast one of the sauces that’s ok since they said she could eat them.

Day 4 Saint John, Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick - Maple Sugar Shack & Tasting (10:30 - 21:00) We started the day with breakfast in the buffet. It was typical fare but the supervisor up there insisted the muesli had gluten in it and wouldn’t bring any for DW, but it would be very odd if that were true, especially since DW had it and didn’t get sick. No big deal they made her oatmeal instead and a about an pound and a half of bacon. I grabbed some eggs and some of the ham which was delicious! We got off the ship about 11:25 and wandered around town for a bit. We came back for lunch and it was a disappointing selection for DW again. We started off so strong but now everything has butter or gluten in it. She made a taco salad with the French dressing, tortilla chips and a burger she said was good. So we clearly need to start ordering even lunch in the MDR going forward. I just grabbed a few odds and ends, I wasn’t too impressed and we probably should have just gone to OShehans. We did confirm after lunch DW can eat the chicken wings from there so she is stoked for tomorrow’s lunch! We lounged around until 14:45. Our tour for the day was still on just rescheduled. We asked guest service about our 18:00 Cagney reservation and they said just show up when we get back and they will accommodate us due to the schedule change so we will see! We won’t get back to the dock til 18:30 so I’m not hopeful. We boarded the bus and headed out on a narrated drive through the country and across the river via ferry. We got to a wonderful little family run operation and in the pouring rain learned all about how maple sugar was made. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup. Not only do they do the maple syrup production but they also teach canoeing and skiing and snowshoeing during the winter. After the walking tour we got to sample maple syrup in snow. They heat it to over 200 degrees and pour it over crushed ice. You use a popsicle stick to roll it up as it forms in a consistency kind of like taffy. It was delicious! They only sell the maple syrup on site they produce and I felt the price was excellent. After that we got pancakes and sausage with maple syrup. It was again just wonderful. Such friendly knowledgeable people it was a wonderful excursion I would recommend. Not for those with mobility issues, one part does require a walk up a steep rocky hill. Now we are headed back to the ship!

Day 3 Portland, Maine (10:00 - 19:00) Cont. We headed to the Manhattan Dining Room for dinner. This is our favorite MDR, it’s never crowded, the live music is a nice touch and it is much more open and not cramped like Taste or Savor. DW preordered French Onion soup and chicken with a baked potato and broccoli. They also brought her GF bread. Dessert was a miss, it was like they brought a bowl of blueberry pie filling from a can. Now she loves blueberries, but she said it wasn’t very good and a rather odd choice, so that was disappointing. Something went awry here tonight as she got sick a few hours later, so we think maybe the sauce on the chicken had gluten in it? The bread seemed like gluten free bread but there was gluten somewhere. She said everything flavor wise was fine, and the chicken was nicely cooked. I got the chicken lettuce wraps. The Asian spare ribs and the bang bang chicken and shrimp. For Dessert the No sugar added fruit tart sounded good so DW wasn’t eating alone and it was light. The lettuce wraps were great, IMO better than P.F. Chang’s. The ribs were good, they were perfectly cooked and fell off the bone, the sauce could have had a bit more flavor but otherwise a solid dish. The entree was also a solid choice, a slight kick and the chicken and shrimp were both well cooked and not overdone. The fruit tart was also good, nice flaky crust and a creamy custard, a nice way to end the meal. Overall, not the best we have had onboard but not the worst (flavor wise). After dinner we went to the mentalist show at 19:30. It was about 80% full but we had no issue finding a seat 5 min before showtime. This was a great show, very entertaining and lots of audience engagement. Highly recommend. After the show we tried to hit the comedy club but it was packed so we called it a night. On the way back to the room we stopped by Cagneys as we are eating there tomorrow night for dinner so DW could preorder a few items.

That was my understanding as well. Cruise isn’t cut short they will just get us back so we can potentially do things off the ship in NY. Originally the Capt said it would be late Saturday before they thought a pier would open up since we aren’t th only ship impacted. Of course all subject to change.

Just got the bad news we have all been dreading. Due to the hurricane we are skipping Bar Harbor and going directly to St John tomorrow. From there it’s direct back to New York skipping Halifax. We cannot get a pier so we will sit in the inlet until likely Sunday morning. Too bad but completely understandable. Safety First!

I think* you’ll be fine. You’re about a dozen cabins away from us, also it may only be certain nights and it appears it’s just from 9-10. They did it last night but tonight it’s scheduled for Karaoke so we will see. Other than when the live band plays it’s dead quiet in the room. I’ll keep you posted though.

Day 3 Portland, Maine (10:00 - 19:00) We leisurely got up and headed to breakfast in the MDR. DW had preorder the night before and so they had her muesli, bacon, and tofu scramble ready to go for her. The addition of berries to the muesli and even including julienned apples into it was fantastic. I don’t think they know how to do a tofu scramble to substitute for eggs, which is fine we know now for the next order but we appreciate the effort. Thus far we believe NCL has had the best MDR food on a cruise line, especially for her allergies. I was still full from dinner last night so skipped breakfast but the pretzel roll breakfast sandwich looked amazing! After breakfast we headed up to the top deck to get in a run before we arrived in port. We don’t have an excursion today so my only goal is getting a lobster roll. It basically alternated between misting and a steady drizzle most of the day and it was fairly cool, could easily get away with pants and a long sleeved shirt but DW and I were perfectly content in shorts and a t-shirt as well. I did a little research beforehand and found Eventide Oyster Co a short walk from the dock. We got there right at 11am and there were about 10 people in front of us. We had no issue getting a seat. By the time we left at 11:45 the entire place was packed and a line had formed. DW isn’t a seafood eater, by choice, that’s also why she got breakfast this morning but she got the shishito peppers which were delicious and the homemade potato chips. She couldn’t eat the homemade tartar sauce, but I could and it was out of this world. Give give me a cupful of that stuff! I got the Tuna Crudo and it was excellent. Chilled fresh tuna and a salty ginger flavor bomb of a sauce. Perfect start. Of course got the lobster roll. I included the fork in the photo for scale. It’s deceiving because it doesn’t look like much but that little roll was PACKED! Lobster was perfectly cooked and coated in delicious butter. That roll though. Oh my. It doesn’t look like much but it was the softest, butteryiest wonderful compliment to the lobster. It was the best lobster roll I’ve had, full stop. The staff there were amazing as well. Props to Ellis1138 for recommending Mount Desert Island Ice Cream, we walked over but they were unfortunately closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. But there is one in Bar Harbor so it’s on the list for tomorrow! We walked around town for a bit and bought some odds and ends. They have a lot of really cool local shops. But the weather was a real pain so we came back to the ship a little earlier than we would have liked. DW needed a snack to hold over until dinner. The buffet was a real struggle for her today. Most everything had butter in it including the white rice. She was able to grab some chicken and French fries, which was fine as she didn’t want much, but all in all not a great option for today had she not had breakfast. We grabbed coffees and headed down to the waterfront and relaxed and read as the fog came and went.

Here are the Freestyles from yesterday and today. Day 2.pdf Day 3.pdf

they were closed today 😳😔

the ship actually feels quite full to me. Be interested to hear what others say but with the exception of the MDR the ship feels crowded to me. I think a lot of it has to do with layout. The buffet for example isn’t designed well and it increases the feeling of crowding.

Thank you! They have a Portland location so we may hit that now and tomorrow!

Can you tell us the name?

Day 2 Newport, Rhode Island (06:00 - 16:00) cont. Cabin service is a bit disappointing, we left the room just after 7:30 and tucked in after 12:30 and the room still hadn’t been done yet. If you’re only doing the room once a day I feel like this is a miss. Every other line I’ll leave my cabin for like 10 minutes and the cabin ninjas sneak in unnoticed and do a better job cleaning in 15 minutes then I could do in 4 hours. But here it seems like speed is not of the essence. We found out the reason for the delay in leaving yesterday. There is a large group on board (300+) from an Ohio base HVAC company and their affiliates and one of the flights was delayed 4 hours. With so many on that flight they held the ship for them. We found a very comfortable couch on the waterfront in the shade with a beautiful view, cool breeze and couldn’t ask for much more than that. Took a nap and enjoyed the afternoon until we left. The ship really lacks indoor seating. With so many paid restaurant options on board all other space is taken up by basically a casino the size of an entire deck and bars. When I say bars I mean a literal bar, most bars have bar seating only and no associated lounge space with them. Even the main atrium area they have to bring in folding chairs to increase the seating options. Tonight’s dinner was in Moderno. We knew that DW could eat almost every protein and she had a lot of options at the salad bar (I.e. filler bar, IYKYK). Shout out to Kirk for ensuring smooth service. Even though the meats were fine they had a dedicated person bring her meat exclusively, this was done to ensure no cross contact is done by other diners and their tongs. The best meat tonight was the Brazilian Steak, it was so flavorful and had a great crust on the exterior. From the salad bar the hits were the salmon, the green beans and the asparagus. GF bread for DW To finish of course DW got the pineapple and I tried the tres leches cake. The pineapple was delicious with the cinnamon touch which set it off. The cake was good but they only soak the bottom of the cake in milk, had they done the entire thing it would have been a home run. After dinner we preordered for tomorrow night for DW and headed to trivia.

Day 2 Newport, Rhode Island (06:00 - 16:00) Pro Tip: Don’t book a cabin directly above the Pourhouse. I’ve had plenty of cabin locations across the years, below pool decks, above bars and lounges etc. this is by far the worst. They do live music at the pourhouse and the floor vibrates and it’s so loud it’s like you’re at a concert. Thankfully they stopped playing at 10:15 otherwise it would have been horrible. Would love to know what idiot thought putting cabins directly above this venue was a good idea. I should have done more research but our TA selected the cabin. It’s a muggy morning in Newport but it looks like the rain may hold off until after we leave today. Last tender is at 3pm. We grabbed tender ticket 8 last night on our TV in a pretty unintuitive process but we managed to figure it out. They called group 1 at 07:15 but quickly said that anyone can come, apparently everyone is a late riser today lol. We headed down about 7:40 and got on a tender. They made us wait 20 minutes while a slow trickle of passengers filled it up. It was a quick 15 minute ride into the dock. We headed to this really cute cafe called Drift. DW and I spilt a açaí bowl and grabbed coffees. It started off a cool cloudy day with a little mist and slight breeze. The sun quickly started to burn off some of the cloudy and was quickly becoming muggy and warm with the breeze alluding us as the day progressed. Most things open at either 10 or 11. Some shops were open at 9. Plenty of cafes and coffee places open at 8 or earlier. We walked around the quaint little town for a few hours before heading back to the ship to grab lunch. It always surprises me when people are unprepared when returning to the ship. Multiple people complaining about having to show a photo ID. SMH lol. Newport is a great little town, I can see the appeal as it’s very laid back with a lot of cute cafes, shops and local places to eat. I’m pretty sure 80% of the ship was trying to get ashore around 11:30 when we came back. The lines to get off were huge and they were running multiple exit points. At 11:50 they were calling group 18 to meet at the theater for tendering. At noon it was open tendering. The NCL app continues to be my nemesis. They don’t update the freestyle as it’s still showing Day 1, there is no real way in the app to figure out when any of the restaurants etc open. I love that NCL runs their buffet like Princess. Basically one side was always open as the flipped between meal times. So many other lines (I’m looking at you Disney and Carnival) have weird operating hours and it can be difficult to time things especially with excursions. It was another great lunch today. They even have a whole suckling pig! That and the fried yucca were the standouts! DW’s:

Day 1 Embarkation Day (Depart 17:30) cont. DW was already giving me grief as my bag arrived about 90 minutes before hers did. When her bag arrived about 4:30 it was drenched. We have Eddie Bauer bags that are a hard shell bottom and soft shell top. Her clothes were drenched! Of course, this was clearly my fault, if ya know ya know (I kid she mostly took it like a champ 😉). Hopefully a little air dry in the cabin will work it’s magic! At 17:45 people were still boarding the ship. Must have been 20+ people so maybe an airport transfer got hung up. We ended up pushing off at 18:10ish. We had a beautiful sail away past lady liberty and we headed for dinner at 18:45. We walked down to the Manhattan Dining Room and walked right in. They even gave us the table by the aft window and we had a hell of a view. I’m going to start by saying this was one of the best meals we have had at sea. Special shout out to Crispin P, one of the best servers we have had as well. They did an amazing job with DW’s allergies and took such good care of her. A+! DW preordered the salad, French onion soup, beef medallions and the chefs choice dessert. While a bit salty she said the soup was very good. Her favorite was the salad, chalk full of goodies like nuts and bacon. She loved that her steak came with a sauce she could eat and she said the olive oil she got for her potato was very good quality olive oil. For dessert she got the lemon sorbet which she loves sorbet so she was delighted. She said this sorbet was one of the best she has had, almost creamy in its consistency. A home run for dinner! I got the gumbo, shrimp cake and the spare ribs. The gumbo was good but I couldn’t find the sausage in mine. Had plenty of fish though so that was good. That shrimp cake was next level though. The creamy mustard sauce was amazing! Balanced nicely with those cucumbers. The real star was the entree. When I tell you the meat was fall off the bone tender I mean it. You literally picked it up and it came right off the bone. BBQ sauce was on point. Onion rings were a little sad but I’ll let it slide cause the Mac salad and Cole slaw were incredible. The portion size was huge and even included corn which was still pipping hot. If NCL keeps this up we are in for a real treat. After dinner we swung by Moderno to speak with them about the allergy situation since we are dining there tomorrow. All good on that front, tons of stuff for DW there. We decided to call it an early night. We had some rebel-rousers next to us in the hotel last night coming home drunk at 5am and screaming in their room for an hour. Plus it’s an early tender port day with and early departure so we called it quits tonight. Couple of interesting points. There is actually a deck 14 on this ship. I do t think I have ever been on a ship with a deck 13. Found that interesting. Also the apparently only service your rooms once a day on NCL. No big deal but thought Carnival was the only one cutting back there these days.

One parting shot before we get out of cell range. Ended up being a beautiful day!

Dude no kidding! I’ve gotten 5 emails about it and yes the every 30 minute announcements are getting to be annoying. Much like the boy who cried wolf, ya stop paying attention to the announcements after a while when they just say the same thing! lol

Day 1 Embarkation Day (Depart 17:30) We stayed at the Hilton midtown, pretty much our go to hotel when we come to NY. We spoke with the bell desk and they recommended a taxi to the port. Now I made a rookie mistake I think. I didn’t think much about what time boarding actually started. I booked the 9:30-10 arrival window and apparently they don’t even begin boarding til 11. I’m hoping this means will be at the front of the mass of humanity when they begin boarding but I don’t love the idea of sitting around, but is what it is and time will tell how good of a decision this was! couldn't come to NY and not get a bagel! Very easy getting a cab and the trip took about 10 minutes from the hotel. There was construction on 55th and the street was closed at 11th Ave which prompted a detour. We wait in a long line for about 10 minutes to turn into the port area to get dropped off. Total charge $25, more than half of which was time waiting to turn into the drop off area. We got to the terminal right at 9:30. The security line was a little more than half full but they started screening people right at 9:30 and 10 minutes later we were through and waiting to check in. It was a short process since we did the majority of the stuff ahead of time. We got boarding group 12, not sure if that’s good or bad or how long it takes to move through the numbers but we parked ourselves in what could be the hardest but most ergonomically well designed seat ever lol. Interestingly enough even at 10am there were still passengers disembarking. So we filled out our Canadian declaration forms and hung out until we were called. So all in all we were in our seats by 10am after arriving at 9:30, very easy and efficient process. Props to NCL, they had water and pastries for everyone in the boarding area, not just those with status or suites, I thought that was a nice touch. There was also a little cart that sold bagels, sandwiches and drinks, also a nice touch. 10:50 and they announced they had been given clearance to start boarding. So the ADA and special assistance boarding began. Me and my Group 12 brethren got called at 11:11. We were on the ship by 11:16. The dining rooms opened for lunch at 12 and we decided to wait until then to see if there was anything for DW. We struck out there and headed to the buffet. DW found exactly what she wanted and they used bottle Kraft Lite Thousand Island which she can eat (the Lite is egg free). I myself got a sampling of meats and chicken salad. The burger was quite good, even at the buffet it’s one of the best I’ve had at sea. Overall lunch was a win. We spoke with a supervisor at the buffet about dinner tonight and they were wonderful! Walked DW through the menu and took her order. Gave us his card if we had any questions or issues and even brought out the bread they use for sandwiches and the same brand for burgers to make sure DW could eat it (picture below). She was in the clear and had a great option for the rest of the trip. This far off to a great start food wise! Ok let’s talk about what’s not so good. Your room isn’t ready til 3pm. This sucks for a variety of reasons. First, especially when there is inclement dinner, there are very few places to actually sit. So we had to wander around the ship for 45 minutes before we got lucky and found 2 seats to wait it out after lunch. Second, your stuck dragging your stuff around with you til 3. Now they say you can drop carryon luggage off at deck 7, but who knows when it would show up in your room so not really ideal. Every other cruise line we have been on that I can remember opened up no later than 2. Princess the latest is really 1pm and you can drop your stuff off as soon as you board. The service hasn’t been great. I’m putting a pin in this one though and chalking it up to it being overwhelmingly busy because no one can get to their rooms. But we have been sitting in the atrium area and haven’t seen a server in the almost 25 minutes we have been sitting here. Also no one comes to your table in the buffet to get you drinks, you have to get those yourself. Last one, the NCL app is terrible. I used to think Princess had the worst app around but I think NCLs takes the cake. Navigation isn’t intuitive and half the thins in it don’t work. Couldn’t join the wait list for the comedy show today. No access to the menus in the MDR except for breakfast, you can’t see lunch or dinner. You also can’t see menus in advance. But the what’s happening section beats the pants off of Princess, it’s super easy to navigate and see what is going on and to mark something as a favorite. First impressions of the ship are that it’s beautiful and I thought well laid out. Deep rich colors and beautiful accents. Great looking ship. They started calling room availability by deck at around 2:05, starting with the high ones, maybe because that’s where the Haven rooms are? Funny enough they had called seemingly all the decks but ours by 2:20. They must be monitoring my phone and heard me complain about the delay in cabin availability lol. It wasn’t until 2:35 before we were called. We booked a Club Mini Suite with a balcony. This cabin is huge and beautiful. Plenty of space and well laid out. Lots of ports and USB ports near each side of the bed. The bathroom is so big I think it’s bigger than most inside staterooms! I mean it it a mini suite so I expected more space but love the switches for the Do Not Disturb as well as the Make up room lights, great touch.