fraidknot

Since this is work-related, can't you get them to reimburse you for your phone charges? If so...I wouldn't worry about the cost!

Haha I guess everyone loves a good tax deduction; in this case "they" is me. Thanks for all the feedback folks. I am feeling more confident this will work out.

Ok, sort of unrelated to my original question but thought I'd put what i found out here anyway. I just had a chat with Sprint my cell phone carrier and shipboard calls are not included, but Sprint Global Roaming is included in my plan (and most plans). So $0.20/min for most non-us countries and free data. Puerto Rico and the USVI however are treated as the US, so no charges.

It seems like a combo of ship to shore and cell phones on land will make this all work okay.

Will you be using the wi-fi too? I don't think too many people use the phone and that special is fairly new so probably not going to be a lot of replies. The normal rate is $4.99/minute IIRC.

ah, thanks, good point. After all, i have been cruising for decades now and never once used it!

Yes, i will be using wifi (and based on previous cruise wifi experience, im doubtful i could pull off a VOIP call). If a cell connection is cleaner/better, i might just have to plan for my Sprint bill to skyrocket. :(

Oh, I guess I assume it works on port too, right?

So I am sailing on the Gem in 2 weeks, and unfortunately, I can't escape working while on the trip. I will need to do a phone call each day we have that bonus package which allows free unlimited calls from our stateroom phone to shore, so that's great... but: What kind of quality might I expect for these calls? Dropped calls? Noise on the line? Etc? Anyone with experience using while at sea or while in port?

And of course, I'd love to not have this problem, but this is what pays the bills that puts us on the ship.. 20 minutes of work a day seems worth it.

Thanks for any feedback!

John

Your balcony tradition may NOT be in jeopardy depending on what your breakfast requirements are. NCL still offers a FREE limited continental breakfast on it's room service menu. Coffee, tea, juice, toast, muffins,cold cereal and a few other things I can't remember at the moment. We order coffee and juice every morning then sit out on our balcony enjoying the views until we are ready to haul ourselves out to our real breakfast in the DR or buffet! Leaving on the Gem on the 18th and am counting the minutes!:cool:

Thanks for the clarification!

My wife and I will be on the Gem in the 28th and it has been a long while since we last traveled with NCL so this post and Eleteace's blog post are so extreamly helpful! Thanks all!

One thing that must have changed... room service isn't free anymore? Dang! Our balcony breakfast tradition may be in jeopardy.

Wow, I've been slammed at work for a bit and the holidays so I didn't check back here for a while. Thank you all for such fantastic insight and ideas.

To answer some questions... were arriving on a Friday mid day, going to Avon CT (west of Hartford), and the ship leaves the port Saturday afternoon. I know there will be a bit of driving and maybe more effort than some might want, but seeing our old friends new baby will make it worth it. I wonder if I could bring my iPass from IL for tolls? As a Chicagoan, traffic is an expectation everywhere and an opportunity to show off our superior skills :D

Still working on plans but got getting very excited for this trip!

This Thread is pretty old, but it contains exactly the info i was looking for. We're taking the Gem in January 2017 but are flying into LGA the day before, renting a car and driving out to visit a friend in Connecticut for the night, then coming back in the next day to board the cruise at the NY Manhattan Port. So, maybe some of you will be able to guide me a bit as I have only been in NYC a few times.

Our plan is to rent car at Airport, drop car at enterprise at corner of 48th & 11th... 1 block from pier 88. Then walk the 1 block (yes, it will be cold, but we're from Chicago ;) ), cross the street go into the pier right there as someone said the Fences on the ground level will be open on a sailing day. Enterprise has a $50 surcharge (drop fee) for dropping the car at this local office and not back at the airport. The alternative i guess would be... cost of renting and returning the car at the airport is $50 less but then need a cab (plus my time) would end up to be about the same.

I guess I am just asking for confirmation... does the plan to rent the car and drop it off by the pier and walk sound like the best option?

Also, do they still allow folks to drop luggage at the pier and then walk away to go to the intrepid for a couple hours then come back?

Anyway, I just also want to thank the posters here for all the great info they provided since way back. This Thread is golden and to the point, which is what i would expect from New Yorker's. :)

Birth control.

 

We have 3 cruise souvenirs at our house ages 19, 17 an 17

:eek::D - ROTFLOL

We've found that on most ships, there is almost always something creaking or clanking as the ship moves. One cabin we had, there was something inside the wall right by my husband's head that was swinging like a pendulum and hitting the wall. It was very annoying. So now we carry ear plugs with us whenever we travel. We don't always need them, but they're there if we need them.

 

Cheryl

I dont think I could sleep with earplugs in, but i wish i could. Last year on the dawn there was a lot of loud noise coming from the balcony doorjam in average seas, was enought to drive me crazy! Good idea, Maybe i need a white noise generator?