the more ports the better

FYI, the two USB ports consist of one A and one C.

The set up is on both sides of the bed in PH

No clue on cost but Starlink is significantly less expensive for NCLH than their current system. He said O ships will be done first followed by R ships but did not give a time frame. Starlink deployment is simple, basically installing antennas, very little infrastructure. Remember, after Russia took out Ukraine’s communications infrastructure, Musk had the entirety of Ukraine up and running on Starlink in 3 days. I am on Nautica in May, he said probably not. I am back on Riveria in October and he said it should easily be done by then.

No prob Orv, glad they helped. Sharing info on CC has helped me immensely. Happy to contribute. There is a grab bar on the wall. Plus the door handle and a place to hold onto the racks on the back wall. Polo was excellent last night as was the MDR the night before. Service is still being sorted out, Some confusion bringing food out but nothing problematic. We are in Costa Maya today. It’s sad that the port owner tries to keep all the cruisers in the faux Mexican village port. The nearby authentic village is so quaint and old school Mexico. The port is packed and the village is empty. Very sad for the local merchants and cruisers alike as Mahahaul is much prettier than the port, great food, beaches, cerveza……. Jacques tonight. If anyone has questions or is looking for a specific picture, just let me know. And read my internet post on another thread….Starlink is on the way!

I am currently on Riveria. I had a meeting with the internet dept today. I asked if NCLH was in fact testing Starlink on Breakaway. He said the test is completed, contracts are signed, Breakaway install was completed yesterday and they are installing on Getaway starting today. They are installing Starlink fleet wide, starting with NCL, followed by Regent, then Oceania. Every ship will have Starlink by the end of the year. I asked him if it was ok if I post the news on CC and he said yes, please! Great News!!!! And for all the people who don’t like internet on vacation, don’t buy it……..and don’t worry about fellow passengers who rely on it.

There are two racks on the back wall of the shower each about 16 inches by 5 inches. Plenty of space for all bath products. Also there is a foot bar for shaving. Very convenient. I blew off the evening activities, Captains Party etc and had a massage. Usually O massages are very good to excellent. This one was mediocre if I’m being generous. 1.5 hours, $418.00 with included gratuity, $832.00 for the two of us. I knew prices increased but that price is just insulting, double the St Regis where nothing is mediocre. Usually I get a few massages while sailing knowing it is overpriced but, hey, I’m on vacation. I do the same at hotels. This is the last time on O though as I feel kind of like an idiot for paying that price. One last thing, internet is still terrible. I had a difficult time logging on to my payroll processing company to run payroll. Took 20 min just to logon. Other times it is ok, 4.5mbps down, which is horrible, but can at least be functional if we are patient. Now, off to Polo……

Wow, sleeping with it is making me crazy! Hopefully, it gets better. I was stacking up pillows to prop my torso as I had an unplanned procedure 11 days prior to sailing and the Dr insisted that I sleep upright. My stateroom attendant offered to get the two wedges. I bought one at home didn’t even consider that they would have them on the ship. Just ask, and I’m sure they will get one for you.

The table and chairs in the corner is larger than it looks in the pictures. Big enough for a meal, maybe not thanksgiving dinner but two plates, bowls, salad plates and drinks, no problem. Balcony furniture is very comfortable. Table outside is large enough to have lunch too.

Attached are pics of new PH. We really love the changes. The rooms are very light and bright. The closet has new lighting and light colors too, very nice. The bathrooms are fabulous with great lighting, in the past, I have asked for higher watt bulbs in the bathroom it was so dark. USB plugs both A and C are on both sides of the bed and under the TV. US and EU outlets in all those places plus at the desk. The entire ship looks great. We really have no complaints, do kind of miss a little bit of blue as we are at sea but the green is growing on me.

Thanks Robjame, We are boarding tomorrow. Is Riveria at her typical J dock??? Someone posted that the Wonder of the Seas was across from her blocking her view but the RC docks are at the other end of the port. I can’t carry anything to the dock so we’ll pull up and drop our bags and assuming we will be at J. I had an unplanned biopsy/surgery a week ago Fri, the disgusting drains came out three days ago so I’m good to go tomorrow!!! Yay! The sailing is going to be really low key but a great place to let someone else cook and clean, plus we kind of booked it just to see how we like the refurb. Look forward to meeting everyone.

We kind of gave up on online check in. It typically takes a lot longer to populate and format everything online than it takes to just do it all on arrival. As long as you don’t arrive at the pier until after the rush, 2:30ish or so, it usually takes less than 10 minutes to arrive, check in and board the ship. Even if you check in online, you still have to complete 5 of the 10 minutes at the pier anyway. In FL, we drive to the port and can time it easily. I understand that doesn’t work for everyone. Outside of the U.S. we are typically wanting to see as much of the embarkation city as we can so we almost always board late in the day anyway. Bottom line, we always just check in at the pier.

We’ll be on Riveria Tuesday in a PH. We’ll post pictures. Really excited to see the new rooms.

Hi Jan, here is my food bible in Rome. The Roman Guys restaurant picks, the link is for the Termini/Monti area. https://theromanguy.com/italy-travel-blog/rome/places-to-eat-in-monti-rome/ If you can get over to Via Urbana, there are numerous great restaurants. It’s a 5-10 min walk from your hotel or a short Uber. Roman Guy also has a fantastic food tour for something different. If you go left out of your hotel and around the Finance Ministry, La Pentolaccia is also excellent. Reasonably priced with great food. It was recommended when staying at St Regis. And right behind it, one street over is Il Come for Gelato. So many options, but every restaurant that Roman Guy has recommended has been very good.

Paul, FYI, a good friend of mine is a United Captain. She received a Pilot request to base at MCO. She said it won’t be a hub but United is picking up several gates and expanding their MCO operations. Should help all of us United flyers out of MCO.

Taxis are hit and miss for cards but mostly only cash. We had to get cash at the front desk of the hotel upon check in to pay the taxi from the airport. Getting cash at the airport is a good idea!

Jan, just another suggestion. If you don’t want to go into Rome pre cruise, the archeological sites near the airport are really worth a visit and much more interesting than anything we’ve seen in Civitavecchia. The Hilton at the airport is really convenient too. It’s attached to FCO, just drag your luggage across the raised walkway. There is plenty of transport from the hotel to the port. Also, Ostia Antica is at most a 10 min Uber from the Hilton. Excellent archeological site. There is a fantastic Rick Steves Audio Europe walk of the ruins. After the ruins, you can take the train from the Ostia Antica stop into town and the beach in Ostia. It’s only a stop or two. We didn’t eat there but we saw numerous restaurants and beach clubs. Good luck with planning and enjoy Vista!!!

Hi, We were just there. No one that I saw took euros, all XPF. Most places took credit/debit cards. Local markets took only cash XPF. There were ATM’s on all islands that we stopped at. Near the port in Papeete, there is a Bank of Tahiti, also an ATM at the market. Most, not all, guides took cards but appreciate cash. Also, we stayed precruise at the Hilton and there is an ATM in the mall across the street, it is connected to the hotel by a pedestrian bridge. Enjoy!

LHT, I agree, I would be sorely disappointed if I travelled to NZ and port times were cut short. The Caribbean, no big deal. Keep in mind that with the pandemic financial hit, ESG scores may be causing O to be between a rock and a hard place choosing between customer satisfaction and keeping their financial institutions happy. Both banks and funds, are pushing ESG scores. BlackRock, Fidelity and State Street as well as others are refusing funding if their ESG scores are not what they deem acceptable. They are also purchasing large interests and seating board members who will enforce their agendas. If Blackrock and Vanguard want O to have a smaller carbon footprint, O has no choice but to comply regardless of how it will impact their customers.

I am CEO of my company and my husband is COO. We make 10 times what our employees make and we pay our employees very well, most have PhD’s and the job market is competitive. Our employees don’t have to work 365 days per year 12 hours per day or more and assume 100% of the risk, clear out their savings accounts, sign personal guarantees, and mortgage their houses when the business is getting its legs and times are tight. My husband has also been CEO of two public companies, one small and one multi billion, he didn’t get there by not bringing an enormous amount of value into both those companies. A great executive team makes a company succeed and is invaluable. A poor executive team makes a company go bankrupt. Also, tips show up on the books and are accounted for like any other income.

Flatbush, how do I get one of those deke ding things on my membership??? Sounds fantastic! 🙂 Best auto correct I’ve seen in a while

Our philosophy is that tips are a targeted form of donation where we choose who gets the funds which we decide to donate as opposed to an institution doing the deciding for us. In addition our funds do not go to layers of charity administrators who sometimes draw ridiculous salaries or political causes where funds go into the unaccounted for abyss. The staff on O are typically supporting their families and many times extended families while being separated from spouses and children for long periods of time. They work hard and we like rewarding hard work so we are the stereotypical American overtippers. One year we sailed the week before the Christmas sailing. Our stateroom attendant was away from her kids at Christmas and it was clear that she was a little down as a result. She said she wished that she would have brought some Christmas decorations. We brought decorations back from port for her as it was obviously an expense she could not afford. It really seemed to lift her spirits and make the holidays a bit more bearable. We tip cabin stewards and butlers at the beginning of the cruise with the caveat that we know they are doing their best. No worry that they will not receive a tip at the end of the sailing if they have a bad day or week. We tip bartenders, waiters, drivers and guides….. at the time of service pretty much always. I’m sure many here donate time and money to various charities which is great and I can see where increases in gratuities could be frustrating but any increase in gratuities is ok with us.

We prefer light and bright so we always book Port to be on the south side of the ship but our TA’s have been westbound. Gaining an hour every few days makes for a relaxing sailing too.

We did the reverse from Barcelona in November. Once we went through the Straits of Gibraltar, the ship beelined south and after a day or so it was pool weather the entire way across. I imagine it will be tropical until the last few days for you. The Canaries and Funchal are usually in the low 70’s in March.

Hey Pinot, Did you, by chance, hear any more about when the 2025 Itineraries will go on sail. I have been trying to make the Longyearbyen, Iceland, Greenland sailing work but always have my industry’s big conference in the middle of the sailing. I’ll be semi retired in 2025 so should finally be able to skip the conference and sail. It’s pretty popular so I’d like to book early.

Fly Toronto to New York. Flights go hourly at least so you have a lot of control. UA AA and Delta all fly nonstop to BCN. All flights are in the evening and land in the morning. Give yourself the entire afternoon in New York in case there is an issue in Toronto. You can always get some work done, go shopping, get a massage, have a nice lunch….. anything to kill some time. At least you know once you take off from New York, you don’t have to worry about missing connections in Europe. Plus all the legacy carriers offer extra legroom for not a huge amount of money.