ColdCruise

Yes I think the breakfast steaks came out so well because of their thinness. As you said, get a decent sear on a 1/2 inch (or thinner?) steak and it’s cooked to a good MR …and avoids the dryer (ie finishing oven)

Nah - we got a $350 pp upgrade from club balcony to a suite. Living large that cruise, back to steerage next cruise 🤣

So odd,,we had ability to eat breakfast in Cagney and the small breakfast steak (a thin strip) was perfectly MR … every time

Also @kwokpot for some reason I did not make the connection between Cagney’s design elements and Wright’s work - very nice description and analysis, thank you!

@kwokpot so glad to hear Cagney figured out how to cook a ribeye to a proper MR. Mine was curiously DRY, even though the center was pink and I tried to tell the waiter & chef it was more medium. my review of our meal at Cagney can be read for comparison here - the OMG cheesecake was exactly that!

Thanks for the camera info @scubacruiserx2 and for sharing your memories via your photos. i agree, Antarctica is the show .. I am hooked, now to wait for my 2025 visit! this was a good “fix” 🤗 I knew about the water convergence but that photo from space and of your HAL ship in it… wow!

The river is fed by glacier melt so the green color is from the minerals

Thank you, will bear in mind for next port stop there.

@Shocker, which port were you at?

Which port will you be at @terrysko2000?

They were open when we got off the ship and walked over. We bought out tickets and had to return in 30 minutes for our slot. $25 pp the spider monkeys were adorable especially the babies (3-8 weeks old) they peed on us so wear something with that in mind - 😝

Check the “get your guide” app - I saw several, advertised there. or I booked my taxi through booking dot com when I made my hotel reservation.

December- March is good for whale watching in Semana Bay area. It’s on their migration path and from what I’ve read, a place where they calve.

We were there in after thanksgiving (end of Nov 2023) and they were free. Not crowded but we were only ship docked (NCLm Viva)

Thanks for the info @Birdnutty as you say, not a lot of info about this island other than as a destination to go to from the mainland (lots of excursions from Punta Cana resort areas to Catalina) in order to snorkel from a boat. as @Sunseeker11 referenced NCL is canceling its port stops planned for the new port at Cabo Rojo for at least January through end of February (I think there were 8 x 14 day cruises with that port). Ostensibly the reason is to be more energy conscious and improve our experience by switching from one isolated & undeveloped area to another that’s a short boat trip from the embarkation port. Boat as in holds a few people and runs off an outboard type motor. In reality it looks like construction at Cabo Rojo isn’t complete enough for ships to dock in less than a month. Source photos & news. when you were on Catalina Island @Birdnutty did you notice anywhere where small boats could pick up passengers to take back to the mainland or if there was a ferry service? There are some interesting things to do on the mainland. NCL excursions are mostly visits to the ersatz Mediterranean village in combo with other activities. Or snorkeling from a boat - our previous family experience with that type of excursion did not go well, so avoiding that but wouldn’t mind combining a couple hours snorkeling with a small group. since your post is almost a year old, I hope you get notice of our recent posts and can help with more info! happy cruising

Thanks @BirdTravels for the pics & @brookie848 for the info. Was this in the haven area? If so, that would explain why I’m drawing a blank on this restaurant. It look like a relaxing place . BTW, like the “second lunch” term 😉

I don’t think that is true about the prohibition against kids <1years and <=3 sea days. There were what I would call babies ( definitely under 1 years) on the Viva transatlantic… 5 consecutive sea days. At least 2, maybe more (they all look like … babies, ie the same to me). maybe there’s an exception for either cruises from European ports? Or maybe transatlantics are treated more like transportation (eg flight)?

And STARLINK has really make the premium package worthwhile.

The best steaks on Viva (Nov) were (in descending order of deliciousness) 1) Onda fillet 2) Paladar fillet 3) Le Bistro fillet 4) Cagney breakfast steaks just ok - strip steak at Cagney’s not good - ribeye from Cagney’s These last 2 not steakhouses quality We typically order MR, the steaks were pink but dry. I think it’s the finishing oven they use after they almost sear them on the grill. The executive chef came out and explained how they cook them. On the grill then into the oven. My observation - The steaks did not have a good char, therefore the oven dried them out. No where in the discussion did he mention using the salamander I could see from our table. If they had gotten a proper sear in the salamander….

L’occitane in the suites in Viva - liquid soap and body lotion by the sink. also in our spa balcony on Prima last Sep

@mugtechWe were suppose to be on that cruise too. Cancelled just before final pay due pending medical procedure. So glad we cancelled when I heard about the issues, esp missing Martha’s Vineyard (big attraction). Medical thing got pushed out to 2024 … and dang but that 20% FCC would come in handy on one of the more expensive cruises we’re thinking of booking 😉 and you still got a cruise vacation!

We saw a ginormous Mara ray in Galapagos. Unfortunately we were just rib boating back to the boat after time ashore. One of the naturalists spotted something by a large rock so we zipped over to look at it. This manta was coming up out of the water, so gracefully for something that was probably 12ft across. Another amazing sight. You have some cool memories - what type of camera were you using for the underwater shots?

We’ve sailed on MSC, once in the Med and once in the Caribbean. We liked both cruises, drinks package is organized differently but MSC drinks are closer to what you’d pay at a decent but not fancy bar. Excursions at least in Europe were less expensive than NCL. Staff just as good but I think a lot more multilingual. I think their product was a better value option for European cruises than NCL & others that are traditionally appealing to Americans. The European cruise was structured differently on board & we enjoyed the international passenger mix. The Caribbean cruise wasn’t much different than NCL, other than price structures. We’re looking at another MSC for a Northern Europe cruise. Weighing that vs a barge cruise for summer 2025. I would sail MSC over Princess, which is the only other “mainstream U.S.” line we tried. I’ll weigh that against RCL after I complete my Sep & Dec cruises with RCL. I recommend giving them a try.

I don’t remember an outdoor restaurant on Epic @BirdTravels. Can’t believe I missed that - the weather on that TA suited outdoor dining. Where is it and what’s its name? Yes, I’m being too lazy to look it up, plus you know… dialogue 😉

That kind of mirrors our thinking - we had 5 consecutive sea days on Viva. I really enjoyed lounging inside over breakfast a couple times and sitting out on the large balcony at all times of day. One thing great about cruise ship balconies - you can sit outside anytime without being bothered by flies, mosquitos or wasps 🤗 plus the upgrade was only around 350 each from the club balcony. FWIW, we had a cabin crawl and I visited the front corner suite and one of the front middle - both nice and spacious.