jla418

It changed TODAY!   I received an e-mail at 2:15p today from NCL with the update.  Check for email from NCL or contact your travel agent.  
 

As is typical of my life, I board Pearl for Canada on 9/30!  When I completed ArriveCan this morning it clearly stated that testing was not required, but I'm not sure if NCL has caught up with this directive.  So as of now, I guess I'll get the cheap 19.00 proctored test and use a free test kit from USPS....

She's underway again.  I believe she departed around 8:30pm Saturday night the 24th.  Cruisemapper indicates she's bound for Halifax with a scheduled arrival of September 27th at 10a.  

We got a fantastic view of Radiance of the Seas in drydock on May 6, 2016 as we passed thru the area on Amtrak's Coast Starlight, Southbound train 11!

I did the beer tasting on the Jewel PC from LA to Houston Sept/Oct 2014. Kumar does a good job with it and makes it fun. Yea, the beers were pretty uninspiring, but it was Kumar and the other people participating in the event that made it fun. Some beer trivia with prizes like Stella Chalices. We had a beer from Italy, one from China, Red stripe, Pilsner Urquell, and one of the Alaskans. At the end of the event, we all got a full bottle of one of the Alaskan beers as well. It was the standard $15 plus gratuity. The tap unit in Maltings were broken. They have to have someone from shore come to service it, so the only drafts were in O'Sheehan's. I think they had Stella, Heineken, Newcastle Brown Ale, and Amstel light on tap.

Lazaro did an excellent job for us on the Jewel from LA to Houston a couple of weeks ago....We were in an aft penthouse on deck 10...

 

 

Yup that was him. Great guy. Didn't hurt that he had the best drinks on the ship :-)

 

Amen to that....He also made a damn good "Mean Mary" at O'Sheehan's in the mornings....

 

we really liked the bartender at the whiskey bar too but i can't remember his name. he would always remember our names when we walked by and remembered the drinks we liked too.

 

Would that have been Kumar? He was great on our 16 night Panama Canal to Houston!

BTW, attached is a pic of the Princess Ship at the Bayport Terminal in January of this year. Also port information can be found at http://www.portofhouston.com/cruise-information

We are returning the car to 123 W BAY AREA BLVD WEBSTER, TX 77598, which is located 11 miles from the port. When I called to make the reservation, the lady told me that it should be about $20 to go from that location to the port. I searched for other car rentals near the port, but enterprise was the closest location.

 

What penthouse suite are you in for your December cruise? We are in 10166. Looking forward to the large balcony.

10166 is a GREAT suite....I just did the Los Angeles-Houston 16 day trip with that as my home.

Also, there is a Best Western Plus Seabrook Suites hotel that is very close to the port. The hotel has a shuttle to the port, and the shuttle will also take you to Kemah & the boardwalk, and basically anywhere within 5 miles of the hotel (there is a Kroger within that radius). Have you looked into just taking a shuttle or car service to a hotel in the port area that may have a free shuttle service? I'm not sure if there are other hotels that would offer a shuttle service or not. The Best Western's web site is http://www.bwseabrooksuites.com Since I live here in the Houston area, I haven't stayed at the Best Western, but did see it on the way home from the port.

Great info.

 

There seems to be a lack dining options in that area. Would you book close to the airport and have better dining options or closer to the pier and just deal with the minimal options available?

Kemah, and the Kemah Boardwalk (http://www.kemahboardwalk.com) are about 4 miles south of the Best Western Plus. The hotel's website says they have a free shuttle to Kemah Boardwalk (and anywhere else within 5 miles - http://www.bwseabrooksuites.com). It also says there is a shuttle to the cruise port. So I guess it just depends, the dining options around the airports are not all that great either in my opinion, nor is there much to walk to around the airport hotels. The Kemah area is nice and a fun diversion. We take visitors there frequently.

The terminal is definitely NOT in Baytown....It is in Pasadena. It's called the Bayport Cruise Terminal. The address is 4700 Cruise Rd, Pasadena, TX 77586. The Best Western Plus Seabrook Suites is very close. It is at 5755 Bayport Blvd, Seabrook, TX 77586. The web site for the port is http://www.portofhouston.com/cruise-information

Finally underway.....I wonder what the hold up was.....It's 6:40p....

Does anyone know anything about the "Ocean Princess"? I sailed on her 08/15/1992 to 08/22/1992. The ship went to Europe and Scandanavia. I don't think she was associated with the "Princess" line, but don't know for sure.

Check out this wikipedia link for the Louis Sapphire...She was Ocean Princess in the time frame you mention. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Sapphire

I just found pictures of "Dreamward". My husband sailed on her sometime in the late 80s or early 90s, and judging by some other pictures, she must have been sailing in the Bahamas.

 

Here's my question, in the photos there is the Celebrity/Chandris "X on the smokestack. Was she owned by Chandris before NCL?

 

Just curious :)

Hey Water Baby, is the red part of this logo the possible "X" you are seeing in the picture? It is a very early Logo for NCL. Up close it isn't really an "X", but even on some of the old ship cards, the logo on the stack appears to be an "X" when it is really this.

Here is a link to the press release from Star Cruises about the SuperStar Gemini - formerly Norwegian Dream...

http://www.starcruises.com/en/home/media/press-releases/2012/star-cruises-to-introduce-superstar-gemini-after-a-us$50m-renovation-with-a-series-of-inaugural-cruises-across-asia%E2%80%99s-hottest-cruise-ports.aspx

Per Seatrade Insider news, she's undergoing a $50m upgrade to become SuperStar Gemini for Star Cruises. They plan to operate her out of Penang, Shanghai, and Sanya. Star Cruises SuperStar Aquarius is her sister, the former Norwegian Wind.

Hi, I just booked a cruise in Nov. 2010 on the Dream. Does anyone know of a board specifically for that sailing? I couldn't find one.

Thanks.

Sue

Hey Sue,

This thread is for the Norwegian Dream, which is no longer in service. Are you perhaps sailing on the Carnival Dream from Port Canaveral?

Not sure when this picture was taken, but it the one of the shipyards in Syros. You can see the Norwegian Dream amid the crowd....

http://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/static.panoramio.com/photos/original/32278042.jpg

My first cruise was also on the SS Emerald Seas. It was my senior trip in 1983. We took an all night bus ride to Miami, and then the cruise stopped in Nassau and Freeport. It was a blast! I was in a quad cabin down in the bottom of the ship. My older sister was one of our chaperones lol...Boy it was a long ride back home on the bus though! Scary Pics Attached.......

I think the ship has now been scrapped :(

Hi TarheelBelle,

The Emerald Seas was my first cruise, back in 1983. We had a great time on that trip! Back then, the name of the line was Eastern Cruise Lines, I guess a forerunner of Admiral! It's kind of scary to think, but I still have the ticket receipt and the brochures from the trip!