Cruiser Formerly Known As Cheapo Dad's Trip Report on Odyssey of the Seas Sailing to A Minus B Plus C Plus H Islands

[harryfat1]

It must be a port day as there’s nobody by the elevator at 3:30 with many people still off the ship as we are docked until 8 PM with all boarding at 7:30.

 

 

People at the pool area

 

 

Looking at the Curaaco “cruise terminal” – well, technically it’s a cruise terminal but no real physical building.  Just some tents and kiosks.

 

 

 

 

Zooming in to see the HAL ship from earlier

 

 

[harryfat1]

Everyone’s favorite photography trick is where you pretend to touch the big object behind you.  The classic one is the leaning Tower of Pisa in many pictures – yeah, I’ve been there.

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

As I mentioned previously, you must make a reservation for the NorthStar after you board the ship.  Depending on your luck, you may or may not be getting the complimentary session.  Only port days are free.  Sea days cost extra.

 

At around 15 minutes before your appointment, you need to check in at the podium to let them know you are here.  Then they will ask you to stick around the area for the next 10 minutes.

 

So we just hung around the area and took a couple more photos of the area

 

 

 

[rncruiser]

44 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

No, Not likely. I don’t have a forum to post the info on.  Not like I can start a new thread “Cheapo Dad’s land saga to NYC” here at the RCI boards.

 

I guess I can drop in a few pictures on @dani negreanu mega thread as I saw @bobmaclibertyhad posted some pictures of his trip to NYC with pictures of the US Intrepid last month when he uploaded some mooring line pictures.

 

Here’s my draft itinerary version 1.  There will be many changes as I firm up my plans next few months but here is what we hope to see in NYC as it's heavy on the "tourist things to do":

 

Day 1 – Arrive in NYC

Day 2 -  “Free” Walking tour of the Financial District in the morning

              9/11 Memorial Museum/One World Observatory

              Oculus

              Staten Island Ferry

Day 3  - High Line/The Vessel at Hudson Yard

              USS Intrepid or some sort of museum if weather is too hot

Day 4 – Statue of Liberty

             Time Square

              Rise NY

Day 5 – “Free” Brooklyn Bridge Walking Tour in the morning

              DUMBO (this should be part of the walking tour)

              Brooklyn Bridge Park

              Subway back to Manhatten

              Either K-Town or a Broadway Musical

Day 6 – “Free” Walking Tour of Central Park in the morning

              Guggenheim Museum 

Day 7 – NY Public Library

             Grand Central Station

             Rockefeller Center

             Top of the Rock Observatory

Day 8 – Homeward Bound

 

This schedule assumes we will get the multi-event NYC Explorer pass to save a few dollars on the various admission fees as well as a 7-day NY Subway.

 

Still need to shove in a few other items like Chinatown in there somewhere.  Part of it will be dependent on the weather.  If it’s miserably hot, we will opt for more indoor activities.

 

Will have more time to plan things out once I am done with this trip report by next month.

Just a couple of comments on your NYC itinerary as a native New Yorker. 
There is no need to purchase a 7 day subway card. Just tap your credit or debit card or your phone if you have your payment card on it. As long as you use the same card or your phone each time, once you hit 12 rides in any 7 day period,the rest of the rides will be free. You will have paid the same amount for the 12 rides as if you bought a 7 day card, but without the risk of buying the card and then not using it at least 12 times. 
As to your choice of museums, I went to the Guggenheim last year for the first time in decades and was sorry disappointed. Of course it will depend on what exhibits are there at the time. 
 

Instead I would recommend MOMA, Museum of Modern Art. I went there recently and enjoyed the varied exhibits much more. Sorry I don’t have any photos to post. 

Edited February 15 by rncruiser

[juanrod]

If you like Italian food, have to go by little Italy, we enjoyed walking around food and of course the cannoli 

[rncruiser]

37 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

 

Oh, wait, what am I saying?  With the cost-cutting on the RCI food budget, nobody gains weight anymore from cruises. 

I wish…

[harryfat1]

2 hours ago, rncruiser said:

Just a couple of comments on your NYC itinerary as a native New Yorker. 
There is no need to purchase a 7 day subway card. Just tap your credit or debit card or your phone if you have your payment card on it. As long as you use the same card or your phone each time, once you hit 12 rides in any 7 day period,the rest of the rides will be free. You will have paid the same amount for the 12 rides as if you bought a 7 day card, but without the risk of buying the card and then not using it at least 12 times. 
As to your choice of museums, I went to the Guggenheim last year for the first time in decades and was sorry disappointed. Of course it will depend on what exhibits are there at the time. 
 

Instead I would recommend MOMA, Museum of Modern Art. I went there recently and enjoyed the varied exhibits much more. Sorry I don’t have any photos to post. 

Thanks for the subway tip and MOMA suggestion.

 

The reason we want to see the Guggenheim is not for the exhibits but more for the architecture as I am a fan of buildings/structures as evidenced by my cruise ship and building pictures of Curacao.  I want to see the inside of the Guggenheim to see and appreciate the structure.

 

I’m not an art person.  Couldn’t tell the difference between any painting or any artist.  My favorite artwork is the picture of the dogs playing poker so that tells you the depth of my art knowledge or lack thereof.  The closest thing I have to actual art appreciation is Escher's artwork.

 

Let me show a few Internet pictures of the buildings we hope to visit for folks who are not familiar with what interests us.

 

Guggenhiem museum structure:

 

 

Oculus Center

 

 

The Vessel (It has the Escher feel to it but I believe they don't allow people to go inside anymore due to the high number of suicides with people jumping off the top)

 

 

Here's Grand Central Terminal.  More classic structure.  Seen in many movies

 

 

NYC Public Library

 

[harryfat1]

2 hours ago, juanrod said:

If you like Italian food, have to go by little Italy, we enjoyed walking around food and of course the cannoli 

Yeah, I believe Little Italy is next to Chinatown in Manhattan so we will take a stroll to see that.  I have seen YouTube videos that showed the cannolis so will try to buy some.

[harryfat1]

OK, enough NYC talk for the night.  People are not reading this for NYC...

 

+++++++++++

Shortly before 4 PM, they gathered up the 4 PM appointment folks and walked us up the staircase to the NorthStar entrance level. 

 

 

There’s always an operator inside every ride. 

 

 

 

A different perspective of the German AIDA ship in front of us

 

Edited February 15 by harryfat1

[harryfat1]

Ahhhh, yes, this was the picture I was hoping to see.  You always see these colorful buildings on every Curacao postcard but they took the picture from a ground point of view.  Only the NorthStar can give you this higher perspective.

 

 

This was the MAIN reason why I wanted the NorthStar time slot at Curaaco in the afternoon so I could see the city from above.  The 3 other ports (Port Everglades/Aruba/Labadee) are OK, but not what I wanted to be compared to Curacao.

 

Some people prefer the side-to-side view from the NorthStar but for me, all you see is the ocean on sea days.  I’m not a sea day person.  I much rather have pictures of different perspectives of a city.  It’s a personal preference thing.

 

Slightly zoomed in

 

 

[harryfat1]

 

 

Zoomed into the HAL ship

 

 

Supposedly this is the tallest bridge in the Caribbean

 

[harryfat1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

OK,  This being the poor person’s ride, it’s over in 15 minutes

 

 

 

It was a unique experience to see the ship/island from high above as the Caribbean doesn't have Empire State buildings for you to gain a high perspective of the city.  NorthStar gives you that.

 

I rate it as a not to be missed.  I'm not a Sea person and wouldn't pay for the extended experience as it doesn't do much for me but I would recommend it for any port days, especially when the ship is sailing in the NYC area in the winter or Europe in the summer, you can get great perspectives.

 

For those that have sailed out of NJ on the Anthem, do you sail by the Statue of Liberty on the way out to the Sea?  If so, time your Northstar to sail away to get a special picture 

 

 

[perfect match]

5 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

No, Not likely. I don’t have a forum to post the info on.  Not like I can start a new thread “Cheapo Dad’s land saga to NYC” here at the RCI boards.

 

I guess I can drop in a few pictures on @dani negreanu mega thread as I saw @bobmaclibertyhad posted some pictures of his trip to NYC with pictures of the US Intrepid last month when he uploaded some mooring line pictures.

 

Here’s my draft itinerary version 1.  There will be many changes as I firm up my plans next few months but here is what we hope to see in NYC as it's heavy on the "tourist things to do":

 

Day 1 – Arrive in NYC

Day 2 -  “Free” Walking tour of the Financial District in the morning

              9/11 Memorial Museum/One World Observatory

              Oculus

              Staten Island Ferry

Day 3  - High Line/The Vessel at Hudson Yard

              USS Intrepid or some sort of museum if weather is too hot

Day 4 – Statue of Liberty

             Time Square

              Rise NY

Day 5 – “Free” Brooklyn Bridge Walking Tour in the morning

              DUMBO (this should be part of the walking tour)

              Brooklyn Bridge Park

              Subway back to Manhatten

              Either K-Town or a Broadway Musical

Day 6 – “Free” Walking Tour of Central Park in the morning

              Guggenheim Museum 

Day 7 – NY Public Library

             Grand Central Station

             Rockefeller Center

             Top of the Rock Observatory

Day 8 – Homeward Bound

 

This schedule assumes we will get the multi-event NYC Explorer pass to save a few dollars on the various admission fees as well as a 7-day NY Subway.

 

Still need to shove in a few other items like Chinatown in there somewhere.  Part of it will be dependent on the weather.  If it’s miserably hot, we will opt for more indoor activities.

 

Will have more time to plan things out once I am done with this trip report by next month.

 

It has been almost 20 years since we moved from CT to FL, but DH is a NY C boy. I’m going to show him your list and see if he has any suggestions. He was always my personal tour guide to the city so he’ll probably have some good ideas. My one suggestion is to have a slice of NY pizza. 🍕 I miss that so much! I don’t know the best spots in Manhattan but DH should have some suggestions. 
 

I know a lot has changed since we were last in NY. For example, we used to buy our subway 🚇 tokens in advance for our next trip into NYC when we were going on the train 🚆 from CT into the city. That way we could get right off the train and go directly to the subway. They haven’t used tokens in years! 😂
 

Loved your Curaçao pictures, alll of them!

Edited February 15 by perfect match

[cft8]

I enjoy sea days and looking at the ocean and I’d still rather do the North Star in port. We did Bermuda on the Anthem and went on the North Star in the morning before we got off the ship. Then on Ovation in Alaska we had a long stop in Juneau so we did it in the evening before dinner. It’s such a neat perspective on the ship and the port. 

[birdlord]

On 1/29/2024 at 10:21 PM, harryfat1 said:

This picture was taken the next morning from the other side but you can see why we walked right past it on day 1.  There were no signs that said “THIS WAY TO 270” from deck 6.  If we didn’t open it from the other side coming from 270, I wouldn’t think of opening these doors if I were on deck 6 as they looked like service doors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wonder if you can access this door from Deck 7 (or other decks for that matter) as well.  I can't tell by looking at the deck plan (the illustration I looked at anyway).  I will be on deck 7 and was already excited about just walking down a couple flights to 270.

[GimmeOcean]

9 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

For those that have sailed out of NJ on the Anthem, do you sail by the Statue of Liberty on the way out to the Sea?  If so, time your Northstar to sail away to get a special picture 

Not  normally.  Going by the Anthem group on FB, they do sometimes do Statue of Liberty pass-bys, at the Captain’s discretion but it’s not typical because it’s further into the harbor than the cruise port. I don’t think you could do the North Star then anyway, since it has to be down for the ship to go under the Verrazzano-Narrows bridge. North Star can be used while docked, but it was raining on our embarkation day so no good views. (2nd pic is debarkation day so no North Star then either.)

 

 

[dani negreanu]

On 2/12/2024 at 8:27 AM, harryfat1 said:

Last part of the dim sum meal from yesterday

 

 

 

The shrimp filled dumplings on the lower right side are my favorites...

 

 

I guess I can drop in a few pictures on @dani negreanu mega thread as I saw @bobmaclibertyhad posted some pictures of his trip to NYC with pictures of the US Intrepid last month when he uploaded some mooring line pictures.

 

Harry, you're more than welcomed to "drop a few pic" on "my" thread. And I like your NYC itinerary, with the 9/11 Memorial at the foremost. We were there lastly in Sept. 2017 and the "vessel" was not "operational" then.

 

BTW, DH is a huge fan of Escher, and, while visiting our DS2 in Holland, we went to Escher's museum in Den Hague. Amazing.

 

[BIBPhotography]

On 2/12/2024 at 9:44 PM, harryfat1 said:

Familiar pose as previous artwork. The sign on the left explains this ChiChi sculpture and the corporate sponsorship during the tough Covid times.

 

 

 

I like to think my claim to fame here on CC is my usage of the “Baby Got Back” song in trip reports.

 

At least my buddy @BIBPhotography only remembers me for this 🤪

 

13 Million views can't be wrong:

 

 

 

 

You know I like big boats

And I cannot lie...

 

Thanks for the shout out!

[luvtoride]

15 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

Onward with the trip report:

 

+++++++++++

Elevator ride.  There’s a weight and people limit for the elevator to safely operate.  If everyone gains weight on the cruise, by the end of the cruise, would the people limit decrease by one with everyone feeling heavier? 

 

 

Oh, wait, what am I saying?  With the cost-cutting on the RCI food budget, nobody gains weight anymore from cruises. 

 

Silly me as I was thinking of the old cruising days…🤪

 

 

And if the wanna be Elton is on the elevator with his piano, I'm sure that will decrease the allowed number and weight of passengers.  I hear that Norwegian Air has started to weigh passengers and their carryon bags (on a "voluntary and anonymous" basis) on flights to achieve better weight distribution and estimates.  Is that next for RCI on ship elevators?!  LOL 🤣

[harryfat1]

18 hours ago, perfect match said:

 

It has been almost 20 years since we moved from CT to FL, but DH is a NY C boy. I’m going to show him your list and see if he has any suggestions. He was always my personal tour guide to the city so he’ll probably have some good ideas. My one suggestion is to have a slice of NY pizza. 🍕 I miss that so much! I don’t know the best spots in Manhattan but DH should have some suggestions. 
 

I know a lot has changed since we were last in NY. For example, we used to buy our subway 🚇 tokens in advance for our next trip into NYC when we were going on the train 🚆 from CT into the city. That way we could get right off the train and go directly to the subway. They haven’t used tokens in years! 😂
 

Loved your Curaçao pictures, alll of them!

Appreciate the help from you and your hubby.  This is still a very rough schedule as we only decided to go to NYC last month so besides doing this trip report, I have been trying to research what’s available in NYC in-between trip report uploads.

 

Many things will change as we get closer to the date in the summer.  So far I only book a 100% cancellable hotel in Midtown Manhattan. 

 

I grouped my days into one or two regions within NYC, so we don’t have to go cross town in the middle of the day.  Just take the subway to one or two places daily and just hang out there.

 

We won’t see as much using this strategy but one lesson I learned from Curacao walking is that you get very hot and tired after a few hours out in the heat.  Can’t be too aggressive in wanting to see everything.  Sometimes in life, less is more.

 

As for Curacao pictures, we are not done yet.  There’s more to come.

[harryfat1]

12 hours ago, cft8 said:

I enjoy sea days and looking at the ocean and I’d still rather do the North Star in port. We did Bermuda on the Anthem and went on the North Star in the morning before we got off the ship. Then on Ovation in Alaska we had a long stop in Juneau so we did it in the evening before dinner. It’s such a neat perspective on the ship and the port. 

Yeah, if you like these perspectives, take a look at some of the tilt-shift phone apps that you can adjust your photos to trick your eyes so they look like miniatures.

 

I don’t have the patience to do post-shoot lab work in playing hours with my pictures on Photoshop to make them “perfect”.  Too lazy to do that as I have thousands of pictures from every cruise.  I would be spending 9 months playing around with various pictures from every cruise trying to get the perfect postcard shot. 

 

I have never been a perfectionist.  Good enough is good enough.  CC doesn’t pay me enough to make me want to doctor up my pictures.

 

Having said that, if you are lazy, downloading a photo editing app to modify a few pictures periodically can be a fun thing.

 

I just modified the 3 Curaaco pictures uploaded last night on the phone app.  Took less than 15 seconds per picture.  Took longer to find the picture than to add special effects to them.

 

 

 

 

I normally do this with every trip report as it can be a quick fun thing to do.

 

Here are a few extras from previous vacations

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

11 hours ago, birdlord said:

I wonder if you can access this door from Deck 7 (or other decks for that matter) as well.  I can't tell by looking at the deck plan (the illustration I looked at anyway).  I will be on deck 7 and was already excited about just walking down a couple flights to 270.

There’s no special shortcut from deck 7 to deck 6 or 5 via the back entrance. If you look at the deck plan for 7, there’s no special opening like you see for 6

 

 

The entire deck 7 at the back is blocked off.  I think that’s where the aerialist needs to get to so they can “drop down” from above to deck 6 and 5 during the show.  They can’t just appear out of thin air so deck 7 Aft space is enclosed so they can use that space.

 

If you are on 7, the best way to get to 270 is via the 2 flights of stairs down to 5 and walk down the path as the “secret entrance” on deck 6 won’t do you much good going to the cafe.

 

One time savings you might get is if you are coming from 270 after an event/show and there’s a large crowd and you are already on deck 6 at the top of the theater, instead of going down to deck 5 via the staircase, use the “secret door” on deck 6 and get to the Aft staircase and go up one deck to your cabin from there.

 

Deck 5 can get very congested as there’s only one way in and out of 270 on the starboard side.  The port side is blocked off as it has the kitchen so after any big event, there’s a lot of people trying to get out via the narrow passage way. 

 

If you walk out via the secret door on deck 6, there should be very little traffic.

 

[harryfat1]

10 hours ago, GimmeOcean said:

Not  normally.  Going by the Anthem group on FB, they do sometimes do Statue of Liberty pass-bys, at the Captain’s discretion but it’s not typical because it’s further into the harbor than the cruise port. I don’t think you could do the North Star then anyway, since it has to be down for the ship to go under the Verrazzano-Narrows bridge. North Star can be used while docked, but it was raining on our embarkation day so no good views. (2nd pic is debarkation day so no North Star then either.)

 

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Too bad on the small chance of the statue of Liberty view as it would have been cool to be at eye level or above the statue.

 

Cool picture of the Manhattan skyline at night. Your average NYC tourist can’t get this shot.  I guess if you have a good zoom camera/cell phone, you can zoom in on the statue from the ship during the daytime.

 

Maybe on a later trip back to NYC, we will go in December to see the holiday lights and then take a cruise out of NJ on the Anthem to Florida and back.  That would be a magical holiday experience to spend a few days in NYC pre-cruise.

 

Interesting that we are connecting my future NYC trip to this trip report.  

[harryfat1]

10 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

The shrimp filled dumplings on the lower right side are my favorites...

 

 

I guess I can drop in a few pictures on @dani negreanu mega thread as I saw @bobmaclibertyhad posted some pictures of his trip to NYC with pictures of the US Intrepid last month when he uploaded some mooring line pictures.

 

Harry, you're more than welcomed to "drop a few pic" on "my" thread. And I like your NYC itinerary, with the 9/11 Memorial at the foremost. We were there lastly in Sept. 2017 and the "vessel" was not "operational" then.

 

BTW, DH is a huge fan of Escher, and, while visiting our DS2 in Holland, we went to Escher's museum in Den Hague. Amazing.

 

Dani,

 

Thanks for the invite.  I will upload my trip pictures in the summer after we get back.

I’m always fascinated by different object shapes and the “to infinity and beyond” pictures.  That’s why I like the Mooring line pictures as it could be an eternity for a slug to climb that rope.

 

It would be cool to see the Escher Museum.