DuckTollerFans

2 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Activities?  Do you mean like Cabin Crawls?  I've done gift exchanges in the past, but it was a mixed bag.  Some participated, some didn't.  That meant not everyone who gave a gift, got a gift in return.  Some like Slot Pulls, but again, it seems to be a mixed bag.  

 

I think if you have anyone who wants to participate in doing something like a Cabin Crawl, I'd recommend starting early to see who is willing to participate and draw up a route of the cabins and do it immediately after the Meet and Greet, otherwise even the participants tend to drop out.

Nope -- meant just at the Meet & Greet.  Gift exchange would be as you said -- not all who gave a gift gets one.  At the last one, I don't recall any staff showing up except the event person.  Other trips I've seen a fair number of staff, which I think sets a great welcome and message to the crowd.

Someone else is organizing all the other stuff like slot pulls, cabin crawl. Alleluia. 

6 hours ago, graphicguy said:

It was my pleasure to set up the M&G.  NCL loves hosting us, too.  They were great to work with.

I'm organizing the M&G on our April sailing.  Did you do anything specific or just let folks mingle?  From previous ones, it seems folks are 50/50 about which they prefer -- activities or mingle.

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

Just about anything you need to know will be on your cabin TV.

I don't remember seeing this on my last cruise March '22/Gem.   Did I miss it completely or is it new or not on all ships?

Hoping it's on the Getaway for our April trip.

8 minutes ago, seemoreroyals said:

 

The paper dailies are handy to have.  If they want to save money they need to get rid of all of the filler that is stuffed inside the dailies. In our case after brief look at the filler, it goes immediately in the trash.  

I agree.  I like the paper dailies too - in part, because I just like turning off my phone for everything but photos.  Maybe reducing them to one page with only the schedule, weather, port info.  A lot of the material stays the same each day, such as restaurant hours, etc.

But egad, those fillers are a complete waste and ridiculously repetitive!  And if nothing else, it would be good to have a spot to recycle them.

1 hour ago, bkrickles1 said:

Did you choose late or early time slot? 

We're late. 

Same.  We just don’t want to have to get out and about as early as 7 am! 

On 2/2/2024 at 2:24 PM, bkrickles1 said:

Hendos has loungers and umbrellas right in front of the bar and right next to the Soggy Dollar. It's right by the water and so beautiful! 

Hey! We'll be doing this excursion too. Good info re: Hendos as a good option to Soggy Dollar. 

I may obsessively look at this video on these gray days.

What a great post!  THANK YOU

4 minutes ago, Fogfog said:

Right

What I am wondering is that the Daily mentions the largest library "at sea" and using libby-- see right hand column --left page of his Daily pic post #236. We sail Prima on a TA later in spring and just curious about this feature

Oh wow - I didn't see that. Very cool.   I am **guessing** if you already have the app, it would be like adding a new library to your account and then having access.  I hope they add that to other ships, too.

21 minutes ago, Fogfog said:

@mking8288

@graphicguy

Do you know if we already use libby on ipad or cell -- can we access the digital on the NCL prima?

I see it on the Daily? 

TYIA

As long as you've downloaded the content ahead to your Libby, your content should be available.  I use mine all the time when I'm camping and it's fine as long as I've downloaded it already.

(And Libby is just the best!)

Our last cruise was 3/3022 and we had to watch the muster video online and check in at the muster station just to prove we knew where it was once onboard.  I actually learned something on the video unlike previous live muster drills.

Before COVID, the muster drills in person could be a hot mess, depending on the ship and the size of the venue.  Atrium on the Escape was absolutely terrible, Gem on an outside deck was fine.

I'm not sure what procedure they're doing now - what's the current plan?

How did I miss this on the Escape?  We did a really nice wine tasting/lunch in the Supper Club (~$25).

It doesn't appear the Getaway has a similar venue to the Cellar or am I missing it?

10 minutes ago, bkrickles1 said:

I saw it somewhere and I'll have to look for it. 

I'd be disappointed if we didn't stop at Taino. 

Me too.  But, if it goes to Amber Cove I'm sure we can all go in together for some taxis, etc.  It looks like a 15 minute or so drive.

On 1/3/2024 at 11:53 AM, bkrickles1 said:

I'm sailing Getaway in April and expect that our DR stop will be at Taino Bay. 

My daughters sailing on Escape stopped at Taino too in May. 

Hi ship-mate -- I tried finding a schedule, and the one for Amber Cove shows our Getaway going there -- BUT -- the site didn't look all that up to date.

Thanks for all that great information.  We'll definitely put this in the mix as we plan our cruise!!

On 12/27/2023 at 7:47 PM, spirit rev said:

We always have redcap service when we boarded in Albany. Yes, advise the conductor that you would like redcap service when arriving in  NYP. This is our experience over years of travelling Amtrak from Albany to NYC  

We've considered driving from Rochester and taking Amtrak into NY.  How is the long term parking at Albany? I've been to that station though I didn't have a car with me.   (It was a MUCH better station than SDY where I used to travel to often!)

I have no issue with people leaving a show; it's when they don't wait until a musical number is finished and use the applause time to leave BETWEEN numbers.  That's a simple consideration to both the performers and the other folks who ARE enjoying the show.

No song is so long that someone can't wait 3-4 minutes. 

On 11/11/2023 at 3:52 PM, GTJ said:

There are three terminals in New Jersey that have regular ferry service to Pier 79 in midtown Manhattan. Pier 79 is at West 39th Street; the Manhattan Cruise Terminal encompasses pier 88 and pier 90, located at West 48th Street and West 50th Street, respectively, about one-half mile from pier 79.

 

The three terminals in New Jersey are (1) Port Imperial, in Weehawken; (2) Lincoln Harbor, in Weehwken; and (3) 14th Street, in Hoboken. Ferries operate at least every 20 minutes, and travel time across the river is 8 to 12 minutes. Regular one-way fare is $9.50, $8.75 for seniors There are two hotels adjacent to Port Imperial (Residence Inn and Envue), one hotel adjacent to Lincoln Harbor (Sheraton), and no hotels adjacent to 14th Street.

 

Transportation between Newark airport and these New Jersey terminals and hotels is primarily by private transportation, though public transportation is practicable but not convenient (broadly: local bus route 62 to Newark Pennsylvania Station, then PATH subway to Exchange Place or Hoboken, then light rail train to Lincoln Harbor or Port Imperial).

Do you happen to know if those parking garages allow long term parking, as in for a 10 day cruise? We did take the Weehawken ferry once, but for sight seeing trip into NY, not for our cruise.  (Side note: There was an interesting plaque or two about the "Miracle on the Hudson" )

24 minutes ago, TenForward said:

Luggage tags, non-surge protector power strip, seasick wristlets, Tide stain stick, bug spray, sunscreen, sticky notes and pen for notes to steward, highlighter for Dailies, if it's a female maybe a wallet on sting - great for off board activities. Oh and ear plugs. I've only ever needed once but they were a life (sleep) saver!

Great list!

Maybe a small notebook -- I write down what we've done each day, even what we had for dinner.

Sunscreen -- I get something stronger than what I use at home. (which is about nothing...)

Luggage locks.

Chapstick

I'm just a couple weeks back from a road trip through Quebec.  We only stayed in QC about 24 hours - our first visit there, and 2.5 days in Montreal - where we've been a couple of times before. 

I would return to Quebec city in a heartbeat and stay longer. Such a lovely city and we barely touched on the things we wanted to do.

Montreal is a wonderful city but it is a large metro area vs how compact QC is.  We did take one of the Hop On/Off Grey line tours - able to use the pass for 2 days so we used that as our primary way to get around -- that and walking.  It worked out well.

And just now I see you stayed in Quebec. Hope you fell in love with the city like we did!

6 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

Don't use the "M!!A" word in your posts here or they will get flagged and delayed. That word is just a word they made up basically.

Ah, that must be why my original post had to be reviewed/moderated.  I talked about this briefly with my travel agent recently and she had to interpret what it meant - apparently other lines use a different term.   You'd think there would be a FAQ about the terms. 

We're in OB now; looks like the majority of the balcony cabins are BB so we should be good. (Getaway)

Before I try to use points to upgrade from an Oceanview to a Balcony, is there anywhere I can find a clear explanation about the categories, and the use of the word meta in describing categories?  I'd like to have a better understanding before I go through the process?

And is it fair to assume any perks I have from Free at Sea automatically are included with the upgrade?

The only cruises we had cancelled in the past were because of COVID which was a completely different situation than this.  What kind of credit etc do they typically provide? Discount etc?

In 2019, we did a wine tasting dinner in the supper club and there was some cheesy musical to go along with it.  The wines were excellent and the food was some of the best we had!  The quality of the entertainers was superb, it was a little skit kind of thing they did to educate about wine tasting. 

One of my favorite on-board experiences and meals.

2FA = 2 factor authentication.   Making double sure you're you -- for example, like using a password and it then sending a code via text.

After all the herding/lines of embarking at the terminal, you deserve a nice sit down lunch with waiters bringing you your food and a cocktail.