goldmom

21 minutes ago, slidemaster5 said:

 

Well on this trip we were in Haven and being tracked since we were always given window and usually had someone come over to ask how things were. Perhaps we were lucky. We have no status with NCL so it wasn't because of that.

 

Glad it worked for you.  That's also a problem as there is no consistency.  I guess a lot depends on the staff onboard.  We just never seem to have much luck.  I've even asked the Concierge if he could request a window table for us but didn't have much success with that.  My DH always joked that he felt like we were always put at the "Kiddie table".  Lol!  Sometimes you just have to laugh about this stuff.

1 hour ago, ggTexasGal said:

Perhaps the other Diamonds were more actively assertive than we were.

But, I believe it was much more likely that since we were not in a suite, nor mini-suite, and don't live near Boston (so, unlikely to be cruising the Gem again anytime soon) we were not on their special guests list. 🤣

Being in a suite doesn't even help with the table assignment.  We are Diamond, sail in the Haven and make our reservations 130 days out.  Even with that we always seem to be given the worst table in the restaurant.  I usually don't say anything, but one time we were practically in the kitchen and I finally asked to speak to the Manager who did finally move us, but by then we just couldn't enjoy the meal.  Definitely a pet peeve of mine that Diamond Latitudes are not given any priority.  I mean there's already a reservation, how hard is it to just hold one of the better tables.  And we usually eat early when it's not very crowded.

5 hours ago, grouchomarx said:

I totally agree and they cause me to not hydrate as well as I should because of the difficulty of opening and the bad taste. I just don’t want to drink from them.  I might bring one of those rubber grip things to help with opening them.

A thick rubber band also usually works and takes up less room.

Had these recently on the Joy.  I agree, they are heavy and quite hard to open but I like the idea that they are reusable.  They also didn't have the funny taste that I sometimes got from the paper cartons.

I agree, Adrian was one of our best Concierges.  We were with him on his first trip as Concierge on the Gem.  The other amazing one was Alex Forbes.  I don't know how they remembered everyone and seemed to be everywhere.  I haven't had any Concierges lately that even come close.  So, I'm hoping that Lyster will be on our Prima cruise!

If you feel up to it, then go on the cruise.  That's what I did.  My husband passed away a few months before his annual birthday cruise.  I thought about cancelling, but my daughter said she'd go with me (the name change was very easy to do).  We had a nice, though at times bittersweet, cruise and told a lot of "Dad" stories and toasted him on his birthday.  Looking back I'm glad we decided to go on the cruise.

So sorry for your loss and wishing you the best whatever you decide to do.

Just off the Joy on Sunday.  I can also confirm that there was no extra fee for additional lobster tails.  I ordered the surf and turf and the waiter asked me how many lobster tails I wanted.  I only asked for 1 additional, but it seemed as if I could have easily ordered more.

Maybe buy a small container just for cruises so you can have the original package.

I guess you could then reuse the small container.

Now prepare yourself for the myriad of e-mails asking you to watch the safety video.  We got at least 5 and one was after we had boarded the ship and checked in to our muster station!

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

 

 

Who were the concierges on board?

The head Concierge was Efrem (sp?).  There seemed to be at least 3-4 others but I didn't interact with them a lot.  They were all really nice, but weren't really helpful with the few things I asked.  I tried to change a dining reservation that I had made before boarding and they said they would e-mail the restaurant and didn't know when they'd hear back.  We checked just before going to dinner and they said they didn't hear back so we told them we'd just keep the reservation.  The next night we went to the Haven restaurant and the hostess asked us if we were dining in Le Bistro.  Apparently they made the reservation but never told us.  But they were great with taking us on and off the ship and always said hello.

Glad you wouldn't be disappointed in the hot tub.  Also, I forget his name, but the Haven bartender was also terrific.

Just off the Joy on Sunday.  I'm happy to confirm that the fee for an extra lobster tail in the Haven has been removed.  The hot tubs on the Haven sundeck barely worked all week.  Basically you get a bathtub with a slight stream of water.  No bubbles.  The hot tub in the courtyard worked great, but was pretty much kid soup all week.  I don't know if the tubs in Vibe worked any better than the Haven ones as they are the same configuration, be interesting to find that out.

Graphicguy- I'm sure you'll have a great cruise.  Despite a few blips we had a wonderful time and Bermuda was beautiful.

Thank you again for your very detailed report!

1 hour ago, Mike A said:

In 2017 during Fleet Week, I was on the Gem. We went out of Pier 90 and returned the following week to Pier 88. In 2022 during fleet week on the Joy we departed from and returned to Pier 88. Both times we parked at Pier 90. I did not know until we arrived at the pier as the Fleet Week website was of no assistance. Good Luck and enjoy your cruise. 

Thanks!  Appreciate the information.  Guess I'll just have to wing it.

Thank you for the replies!  Sounds like it shouldn't be an issue other than a little extra traffic (or misplacing the car!).  Probably going to be harder for those trying to board the ship.

I read on someone's post that Fleet Week will be happening as we return to NYC on the Joy on Sunday, May 26th.  Does anyone know how this will effect our docking?  It sounds as if the ships will be docked at MCT and there are only so many berths.  I would hope our spot is reserved but who knows!

I'm also parking at the pier so the hope is that we will be using the same berth which would make it much easier to access the parking area.

Just something new to stress over!  LOL!

I guess it can't be as bad as when we got back and the Westside Highway was closed off for a bike race.  That was fun.

Very much enjoying your report.  I know you usually do a pretty extensive tour of the ship in your reviews, which is much appreciated.

I was wondering if there is still a mini golf onboard.  I see it on the deck plans, but no one ever seems to mention it.

Thanks!

Thank you so much for doing this.  We are also getting on when you get off and hopefully this will add to the cruise excitement and anticipation until it's our turn.

Really looking forward to following along with you and appreciate your wealth of information.

We did the train ride into Berlin many years ago.  We felt at the time that it would probably be the only time we would see Berlin and felt it was worth it.  The train ride is long but it wasn't awful.  The scenery is nice and we probably slept on the way back.

That said, I wouldn't plan to do the train to Berlin unless it's part of a ships tour.  There is too much of a chance of delays and the timing is pretty tight.

My suggestion would be to see if the tour is offered onboard and book it if it is, if not offered then just tour the areas around the port as others have suggested.

10 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Yes, I have several devices - selectively - connected directly to our stateroom's USB-C and USB-A ports, also use them to recharge our portable battery pack.

 

UK already helped answered & explain, I concur 100% from experience & knowledge.  It's something that I don't do at airport public charging stations - and - the reason for carrying the battery bank to boost & recharge.  Ship's outlets aren't exactly "public" unless it's hacked by ship security or housekeeping with access to tap into the wirings ... there are many other ways of gaining access if and when it's being carried out.  Evil apps sneaked into Play Stores and those continued to be a problem. 

 

There are countermeasures available but ... nay, I am not worried or going to be paranoid about.  It's the banking and corporate database breaches that can inflict more damaged ... enough said. 

 

Thanks for following along, again and to allow us to share the journey.  Regards 😎

Thank you so much for the response.  It was very helpful to me.

Have a great cruise.  I will continue to follow along and enjoy your travels!

Thank you for your response and all the information.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise.  I'm really enjoying following your reports.

I hope you don't mind a techie question as you are tech savvy and I'm not.  I noticed in one of your photos that it looked as if you had a charger plugged directly into a USB port.

I've been reading articles lately that say to not plug your devices directly into public USB ports as hackers can get your info, which has now, of course, made me paranoid!  Do you feel that the ports in the ship cabins are safe to use for your devices?

I appreciate any guidance you have.  Thanks.

I would also suggest calling CAS.  Maybe they will let you take over the reservation.  Possibly they may charge you an additional amount to cover the cost of the discount they gave the family member.  If that's the case, it might be worth the additional cost rather than lose everything.

I'm assuming that you don't have trip insurance.

May I ask a silly question?  Why did you rent a car if you're only in the port city overnight?  Did you just rent it for one day or are you using it to drive to the port and park it there?

It seems it would be easier to just arrange a shuttle or taxi to the hotel and port.

Just curious.

2 hours ago, bluefish17 said:

Just off the Prima and we had to call to have the hot tub filled and then drained.

That is not good news.  Hopefully they will be able to follow Viva's lead and get them up and working.  Thanks for the info.

8 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

We had them on the Encore this past February and I struggled getting the hang of opening them without the contents going all over the place.   

Hah.  I agree.  When they first put them out I kept asking where the creamers were.  Took me awhile to realize what they were as we were used to the little cups.