Semi-Live Getaway: Feb 26 - Mar 10, 2023 NY - So. Caribbean ... 12 nights

[PistolPete13]

Greetings everyone!  

 

I'm going to do my best to record my upcoming long cruise on the Getaway leaving this Sunday for the southern Carribean. My last cruise was a short 5-day Bermuda run on the then new Prima.  I've included a link to that semi-live review in my next port.  I just finished re-reading it right now and it seems like a stranger had written it. I will do my best to get that snarky Pete back out of his shell.

I did not book this trip unitl mid-Janaury.  For a person that lives by planning things down to the last details at work, I'm the complete opposite with it comes to my personal adventures.  This itinerary won out over a very similar cruise on the Gem because the Gem had a stop in Bermuda which I have now been to twice and wasn't keen on going to in the winter.

Everything got off on the wrong foot when trying to book.  My initial plan was to get on the Feb. 6th cruise but the website would not allow me to complete the final payment step. It just showed a generic error and my credit card was never charged.  After a quick call to NCL, it turned out that all interior staterooms were sold out and only club balcony suites were left.  Mmm, quite a price difference and not needed for a solo traveler!

I quickly booked the 2/26 sailing and thought I was all set.

 

Skip to my next post of you don't want to read my rant on how the NCL website then went completely off the rails for me.

 

Later that day, I completed booking some of my excursions and was happy my credit card wasn't locked out for potential theft with all the hits it took in one day.  I also booked my Free at Sea specialty dining reservation times.

The next day I tried to get back to the website to book the rest of my dining reservations and wasn't able to login!  I've had an NCL account since 2018 and I've always used a userID that was NOT my email address for my account.  After a LONG weekend where tech support was not available, I finally got someone on the phone first thing Monday morning and was told that all user ID's have been changed to use email addresses now.  What?  After some work by the tech rep, my account was restored and my reservation was still there.

At this point I left well enough alone for the rest of the day to let the system "settle down" after all the changes.  A few days later I logged back in to complete my dinner reservations and excursions.  This time around the web site would not allow me to complete checking out my dinner reservations but it allowed me to complete my excursions!  Unbelieveable.  More calls to the tech line and they were no help.  Meanwhile I had this nagging feeling that my booking was haunted or cursed and could completely disappear any minute.

I ended up using the online chat to provide the poor rep with a repetitive list of my dining reservations.  It's a 12 night trip and took a while.

Now I'm completely paranoid and would login multiple times a day to my account to make sure nothing has changed.

 

Well, a week later, sure enough I started seeing balance due notices for my fully paid trip already.  Insane!  Apparently I was not the only person seeing these bogus charges.  This went on for another week and a half before it corrected itself.

20 days out from the cruise, I went into the site to complete my online check-in.  Normally after doing this, the eDocs are generated within 24 hrs.  Five days later, nothing!  Somehow I was able to dig around the website by going through the process of repeating my check in and finding an eDocs button buried 3 levels deep in one of the screens.   Hitting that link allowed me to get my eDocs which I went over with a fine tooth comb for any issues.

Around this same time, a book and paid for excusion in Puerta Plata, DR disappeared from my trip summary but was still showing on the eDocs.  Humm.  ShoreEx assured me that my excursion was still in their system.

And the last update before boarding on Sunday, I received an email on Tuesday that my DR excursion was in fact, cancelled due to "capacity issues".  Too late to book anything else via the website and honestly I'm not about to rock the boat (figuratively) and make another change to my reservation.

I've printed out 3 hard copies of everything and I'm ready for anything on embarkation day Sunday after this ordeal.  I won't believe my trip will be happening until I can update this thread while sitting in O'Sheehans for lunch!

[PistolPete13]

For those that don't know me, here is my last semi-live from the Prima 5 months ago:
 

 

[PistolPete13]

If here is anyone else one this cruise, please feel free to jump in this thread and post your experiences!

Now I've spent the last few weeks reading about all the changes people have seen with NCL since the beginning of 2023.  I'm going into this with an open mind and will do my best to convey what is different now compared to my recent Prima cruise and my last long 14-day trip on the Bliss just before Covid hit.

Edited February 23, 2023 by PistolPete13

[PistolPete13]

For this trip I've loaded up with as many active excursions as I could including an intro to diving course in the US Virgin Island and a helicopter tour of the volcano in Montserrate.  I was hoping for the hiking/horseback/kayak trip in Puerta Plata but it looks like I'll be stuck walking around the dock on that day now!

I'll also be testing out some new camera equipment during this trip.  It's a bit bulkier than my last setup and I've used gaffers tape to cover all the logos and make it look as beat up as possible to fly under the radar.  Expect to be slammed with a large number of photos of this cruise!

[brookie848]

Looking forward to reading this one! I'll likely be late actually reading about your cruise. We sail Sunday on the Epic. We do have Unlimited WiFi, but that's mainly for my brother to stay in touch with people back home. I don't know how much I'll actually spend online.

 

But are we maybe both in St. Lucia on Friday?

[Malamel]

Excited to follow along!  I’ll be on the Getaway for 10 days next month! 😀

[cruiseny4life]

Ooooooo bring those photos! The snark is nice, but your photographs....😲

[bedfordmom]

I will be on the same cruise without internet but look forward to your review.

[mking8288]

Standing by for Pete's Getaway adventure next - and the magic number is  3 

[Sand and Seas]

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Ooooooo bring those photos! The snark is nice, but your photographs....😲

YES!!!  Love Pete's style and those awesome photos😎

[Red-Sol]

Go Pete Go! Anxiously following and Appreciating! 🙂

[jx2mom]

I enjoy your reviews and photos.  Looking forward to this one!

[PistolPete13]

Thanks all!

No pressure right??  LOL  

[PistolPete13]

Welp, did the baton handoff of all outstanding work issues that need to be tracked the next two weeks with my collegues today.  Everyone is very jealous because it's rare for anyone to take a solid 10 days off for a vacation in my place.

Bags are sorta packed (suitcase wide open with clothing thrown on top).  I'm sticking with my strategy that has worked for my last three cruises.  Roller bag, duffel bag on top (this is my swim and snorkel equipment bag), and a backpack with the camera gear.

No porters needed and everything gets hand carried on the subway.

Hoping the Getaway got restocked with provisions in Miami yesterday and will get topped off on Sunday in NY so that nothing will run low during this trip!

[mking8288]

Sounds good at 48+ hours out, get your NCL App updated/checked, eDocs loaded.  

 

("Pressure")  Nay, we'll track the Getaway on marinetraffic and cruisemapper ... and will guess and try to figure out possible reasons for "radio silence" is whether you are conserving or ran low/out of those WiFi minutes from FAS onboard, or whether there's problem with your VZW cellular signals in San Juan or USVI, etc. 

 

Ship's gift shop was pretty bare and not much on the shelves.  They "hide" a few small items in the duty-free shop on the Joy, behind/near the checkout counter (if I recall correctly - might want to check it out personally & photo-document it).  CVS and Walgreens are just 5 minutes across the main road outside the pier in San Juan, if the ship ran low on certain items - buy it there and maybe get NCL to reimburse you or issue OBC ... just kidding.  Make use of the contact info & direct extensions of the senior officers, you should meet most of them at the M&G onboard.  

 

Seriously, Bon Voyage ! 

 

 

Edited February 24, 2023 by mking8288

[GeriatricNurse]

On 2/22/2023 at 7:29 PM, PistolPete13 said:

If here is anyone else one this cruise, please feel free to jump in this thread and post your experiences!

Now I've spent the last few weeks reading about all the changes people have seen with NCL since the beginning of 2023.  I'm going into this with an open mind and will do my best to convey what is different now compared to my recent Prima cruise and my last long 14-day trip on the Bliss just before Covid hit.

I am with you on this same cruise & hopefully will have the opportunity to meet you onboard!

[Barb Nahoumi]

On 2/22/2023 at 7:25 PM, PistolPete13 said:

Greetings everyone!  

 

I'm going to do my best to record my upcoming long cruise on the Getaway leaving this Sunday for the southern Carribean. My last cruise was a short 5-day Bermuda run on the then new Prima.  I've included a link to that semi-live review in my next port.  I just finished re-reading it right now and it seems like a stranger had written it. I will do my best to get that snarky Pete back out of his shell.

I did not book this trip unitl mid-Janaury.  For a person that lives by planning things down to the last details at work, I'm the complete opposite with it comes to my personal adventures.  This itinerary won out over a very similar cruise on the Gem because the Gem had a stop in Bermuda which I have now been to twice and wasn't keen on going to in the winter.

Everything got off on the wrong foot when trying to book.  My initial plan was to get on the Feb. 6th cruise but the website would not allow me to complete the final payment step. It just showed a generic error and my credit card was never charged.  After a quick call to NCL, it turned out that all interior staterooms were sold out and only club balcony suites were left.  Mmm, quite a price difference and not needed for a solo traveler!

I quickly booked the 2/26 sailing and thought I was all set.

 

Skip to my next post of you don't want to read my rant on how the NCL website then went completely off the rails for me.

 

Later that day, I completed booking some of my excursions and was happy my credit card wasn't locked out for potential theft with all the hits it took in one day.  I also booked my Free at Sea specialty dining reservation times.

The next day I tried to get back to the website to book the rest of my dining reservations and wasn't able to login!  I've had an NCL account since 2018 and I've always used a userID that was NOT my email address for my account.  After a LONG weekend where tech support was not available, I finally got someone on the phone first thing Monday morning and was told that all user ID's have been changed to use email addresses now.  What?  After some work by the tech rep, my account was restored and my reservation was still there.

At this point I left well enough alone for the rest of the day to let the system "settle down" after all the changes.  A few days later I logged back in to complete my dinner reservations and excursions.  This time around the web site would not allow me to complete checking out my dinner reservations but it allowed me to complete my excursions!  Unbelieveable.  More calls to the tech line and they were no help.  Meanwhile I had this nagging feeling that my booking was haunted or cursed and could completely disappear any minute.

I ended up using the online chat to provide the poor rep with a repetitive list of my dining reservations.  It's a 12 night trip and took a while.

Now I'm completely paranoid and would login multiple times a day to my account to make sure nothing has changed.

 

Well, a week later, sure enough I started seeing balance due notices for my fully paid trip already.  Insane!  Apparently I was not the only person seeing these bogus charges.  This went on for another week and a half before it corrected itself.

20 days out from the cruise, I went into the site to complete my online check-in.  Normally after doing this, the eDocs are generated within 24 hrs.  Five days later, nothing!  Somehow I was able to dig around the website by going through the process of repeating my check in and finding an eDocs button buried 3 levels deep in one of the screens.   Hitting that link allowed me to get my eDocs which I went over with a fine tooth comb for any issues.

Around this same time, a book and paid for excusion in Puerta Plata, DR disappeared from my trip summary but was still showing on the eDocs.  Humm.  ShoreEx assured me that my excursion was still in their system.

And the last update before boarding on Sunday, I received an email on Tuesday that my DR excursion was in fact, cancelled due to "capacity issues".  Too late to book anything else via the website and honestly I'm not about to rock the boat (figuratively) and make another change to my reservation.

I've printed out 3 hard copies of everything and I'm ready for anything on embarkation day Sunday after this ordeal.  I won't believe my trip will be happening until I can update this thread while sitting in O'Sheehans for lunch!

I think that the Breakaway was originally scheduled to call in Bermuda today, because I noticed it listed on the February Bermuda Cruise Ship Schedule.  Perhaps it was canceled.  

 

I wouldn't mind a February call in Bermuda, because it doesn't get very cold, and the usual summer crowds would not be there.

[Sugar Magnolia]

@PistolPete13 looking forward to your Staten Island ferry review.

 

[PistolPete13]

2 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

@PistolPete13 looking forward to your Staten Island ferry review.

 

Haha, not this cruise. 

Sunday Morning is too quiet for public transit especially dragging luggage.  I'll be splurging for an express bus that will get me up to 48th St. and 6th Ave. for my long trek west to Pier 88.

[Sugar Magnolia]

2 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

Haha, not this cruise. 

Sunday Morning is too quiet for public transit especially dragging luggage.  I'll be splurging for an express bus that will get me up to 48th St. and 6th Ave. for my long trek west to Pier 88.

 

Well that is disappointing...

The M50 bus on 49th Street is an option should you decide not to drag your equipment across Manhattan.

 

[mking8288]

1 hour ago, Barb Nahoumi said:

I think that the Breakaway was originally scheduled to call in Bermuda today, because I noticed it listed on the February Bermuda Cruise Ship Schedule ...

 

Windy app - cx probably for safety reasons, today's maritime numbers not pretty

 

[PistolPete13]

6 hours ago, GeriatricNurse said:

I am with you on this same cruise & hopefully will have the opportunity to meet you onboard!

Definitely say hi if you recognize me! 

Ignore my subway scowl face, it's my normal "leave me alone" look gained after a lifetime of public transit commuting in NYC.  I should lose that look by the time we reach our first port 3 days in...

[PistolPete13]

1 hour ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

Well that is disappointing...

The M50 bus on 49th Street is an option should you decide not to drag your equipment across Manhattan.

 

 

Thanks for the reminder about the bus!  I'm a lifelong subway rider and a bus (aside from the express) never even entered my mind.  This will allow me to save my energy for the embarkation process.

[Sugar Magnolia]

2 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

 

Thanks for the reminder about the bus!  I'm a lifelong subway rider and a bus (aside from the express) never even entered my mind.  This will allow me to save my energy for the embarkation process.

 

Yes, it is in all of our interest to keep you fresh and energetic to feed our insatiable hunger for your photos and snark.

 

[bluesea777]

2 hours ago, Barb Nahoumi said:

I think that the Breakaway was originally scheduled to call in Bermuda today, because I noticed it listed on the February Bermuda Cruise Ship Schedule.  Perhaps it was canceled.  

 

I wouldn't mind a February call in Bermuda, because it doesn't get very cold, and the usual summer crowds would not be there.

 

It's the Getaway that was supposed to call in here today, but no. She went to Miami yesterday, and today it's the first of 2 sea days heading back to New York.