nybumpkin

If you're from South Jersey it's not an issue - Go Iggles!

I can't stand the candy straws and just end up drinking without a straw.

Welcome to the Vampire State. 😃

Oh, I remember those days and don't miss them one bit. Yeah, definitely Chardonnay if not something stronger.😃 Looking forward to your travels, Megan!

Jimbo, looking forward to your review! JH teased earlier this week with a poll about interest in a NYC-Greenland-Iceland-NYC trip. I'd be aboard in a heartbeat.

They had this system on Norwegian Prima when I sailed this past spring. My answer was to use my Amtrak rewards card.

Nice review! We were on one of Carnival Pride's Norway sailings in June and found that the Seafood Shack buffet line was an Asian line at lunch; Seafood Shack didn't open until 4:30. I was disappointed not to have clam strips for lunch one day, but I didn't want to skip dinner in the MDR since we managed to be assigned a table with an aft view, and that was too good to miss. The Asian food was good, though.

If you're going to Halifax, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is an easy walk from the ship along the waterfront. The Titanic exhibit is excellent - Halifax is the port from which the salvage ships sailed after the sinking. There's also a very good exhibit about the Halifax Explosion of 1917; two ships collided in the harbor and one loaded with explosives blew up, devastating the city and killing more than 1700 people.

We've had cabanas 5, 9 and 10. I prefer 9 or 10, since the beach is less crowded. One problem we had with #5 was people sitting on the steps and coming into the cabana to use the shower; they ignored me when I tried to tell them where the open showers were.

When we sailed B2B in 2019, there was a shuttle that took us to the West Quay Mall. A number of crew members used the shuttle to go shopping while we were in port.

So here is my (straw-less) frozen margarita on my balcony in Norway(!) in June.... I can't stand the candy straws.

They definitely had a rough time - at least we had food and drink, which many of them did not.😮 Looks like we took our Statute of Liberty photos at about the same time - the same two boats are passing in both pictures.

We were aboard with you for the June 23-30 crossing - thanks so much for posting your two-month experience!. I'm sorry we didn't have better weather for the daylight arrival into NYC - the smoke from the wildfires in Canada didn't make for great views. I took a photo of our view of the Statue of Liberty that day, compared with the same view I had in March sailing from NYC to Bermuda:

Now you tell me! 😀

Just off American Constitution. For Newport, we docked in Fall River MA. I've been to Newport several times so it didn't surprise me that we wouldn't dock in Newport in the summer season - it's crowded. (I've been to Newport in February and it's not dead.) They did have bus excursions to the mansions. We did have the clambake that day, in Bristol. It was fun.

Jim, sorry to be posting this so late - but we've been traveling and I've been off CC for 2 weeks.🙂 I hate flying - after 9/11 it took me four years to get back on a plane. But I've come to realize that if I want to see places, I'm going to have to get on a plane to do it. So glad you made lemonade when given lemons on your journey!

We just returned from a New England Experience cruise on American Constitution. Beer and wine was always available for self-serve in the deck 4 lounge near the Back Door Grill, although the beer selection was limited at times - at one point, the selection was O'Doul's (haven't had one of those since I was pregnant, and that was almost 24 years ago) and Bud Lite. (They did restock during the cruise.) Mixed drinks/liquor were available during cocktail hour, at dinner (you could order drinks from the wait staff), and during the evening entertainment beginning at 8:30.

We sailed Constitution's July 22 - August 2 cruise RT Boston and our Bar Harbor day had us docking in Bucksport and taking buses to Bar Harbor. I understand Bar Harbor wanting to limit passenger ships, but if I was a local I'd be more annoyed by the bus traffic than by a small ship like Constitution tendering. (And kudos to our bus driver, Amanda, for negotiating the traffic in Bar Harbor!) I did enjoy this article about Bucksport that turned up in my FB feed earlier this week: https://www.wabi.tv/2023/07/31/authentic-maine-town-sign-beckons-bar-harbor-tourists-bucksport/?fbclid=IwAR2UOahIoHqXUaXGVzpsPCKCzoblb49l5u4JGO83iGhwkXKrmYRMTZbdb2M. It's a cute little town - I wish we had time to look around more than we did.

I have an interesting perspective on this topic. We sailed the June 9 Norway cruise on Carnival Pride out of Dover and followed it with the June 23 TA on QM2 out of Southampton to NYC. We're Platinum on Carnival, Gold on Cunard. In our 28 days on QM2, only once have I experienced a negative reaction to Carnival - and that was a person who was trying to show her "sophistication" to one of the on-board lecturers, who was speaking about maritime and ocean liner history. When she heard that we had 24 (at the time) cruises with Carnival, she exclaimed "And you LIKED it?" (Gee, no - that's why we keep coming back.🙄) The lecturer was similarly unimpressed, and went on to discuss his admiration for Ted and Mickey Arison for keeping sailing - and cruising, in particular - alive. He also noted that if not for Mickey Arison, there likely would be no QM2 and no Cunard.

I have to admit to a certain level of curiosity as to (a) what was done to the azipod in drydock and (b) if relevant after answering (a), what kind of warranty was given on the work done. Could have an impact as to who ultimately is on the hook for this mess. Oh, wait, this lawyer retired last year.🙄

We enjoyed listening to them last month - in fact, we spent most evenings in Red Frog (the exception being their night off when they moved karaoke in - just not our thing.)

John, you can add Navy ships to that list, unless they're doing some type of military maneuver. Son is a graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy and went active duty Navy after graduation, and he's experienced that. I also agree with you about the need for better communication - my experience from the same sailing was that passengers simply didn't know where to go to wait for disembarkation. We waited in the Royal Court Theatre, and there were people there who were told by one person it was the correct place to be and by the next person that they had to leave. Eventually they assigned a staff member to monitor the space and announce luggage tags. I know Cunard tries to do "silent disembarkation," limiting the use of the PA system so as not to disturb the people living in Red Hook. But if they're going to do that, they need to have a better planned method of keeping passengers informed when debarkation doesn't go according to schedule.

You are correct - Roosevelt is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. Son has served on two in this class.

When we first booked a TA on QM2 in 2019, we booked a two-week Westbound sailing with stops in Liverpool, an overnight in Reykjavik, Corner Book Newfoundland, and Halifax. We thought we would fly over early and spend few days touring before joining the ship. It turned out to be cheaper for us to sail the preceding Eastbound crossing in an inside cabin and meant only an extra two days out of the office.

Made a similar visit today - My issue wasn't the amount to cut, but the amount of gray hair left on the floor....😧 We sailed Pride the week after you disembarked. When I finally get my act together, I'll have a Norway review and photos (plus some extra travel). Looking forward to your travels!