UKstages

there are transatlantic cruises out of new york several times a year on various ships, but you'd, of course, have to fly home.

i haven't been on the breakaway in two or three years, but it's a good ship, i enjoyed it. my biggest concern was the smoking in the casino and the way the smell drifted to nearby areas, including the chinese restaurant. that's common on all ships with a smoking casino. reviews in general are not as good as they used to be. there may be a number of reasons for that. first, they can reflect an overall decline in the services provided by all cruise lines... many, including me, believe that cutbacks have led to reduced services, fewer staff members and, some believe, lower quality F&B product in some venues. ships are sailing full now and that's a big surprise, especially to newer cruisers who may have had their first cruise right after the covid restart when ships were sailing at as little as 40% capacity. and some of the most recent reviews most likely reflect cruises taken during spring break when ships can be sailing at more than 100% with 35% to 30% of guests under the age of 21, many under the age of 18. that adds to the (probably accurate) perception of crowds and chaos. but, again, the breakaway is a good ship and you'll probably have a great time. realistically, however, if you're sailing in march next year, depending on the date, you, too, could find yourself on a very crowded spring break cruise.

i had the same error message last night, too. "you don't have permission..." something was going on, as is often the case with NCL's website. no problems this morning.

depends. there are certainly supposed to be tasty treats throughout the day in the casino. most casinos have a little tiny buffet area, at which pastries are available from early morning though mid-afternoon, followed by finger sandwiches and, late in the evening, hors d'oeuvres, followed by desserts, including cookies. its supposed to be discreet and meant for players, but anybody can, theoretically, take part. they had all this on the prima last may/june (located in the VIP room), they had it on the joy last october, but they never once put a spread out on the getaway this past january/february. the buffet area remained empty the entire journey. i guess they tossed their cookies (along with everything else.)

on the top right of the website, there is a pull down menu for "my account." click on that and a display will open with your name and account number. right below that it should state your casino loyalty level.

that hasn't been my experience. only once have i stayed within the inner sanctum, all other times, i've been on a deck far removed from the haven proper. and i've never had a problem dropping bags.

you're actually quoting ira gershwin. george was the music man. ira was the wordsmith.

the haven folks are really good about having rooms ready as early as possible, but also super accommodating of a passenger dropping a bag off before the room is ready.

i have honestly never seen this. almost every bag is on wheels. almost every carryon fits on top of the main bag or attaches to the handles via a strap or a flap through which the handles fit. most people know their own limitations and know not to do self assist if they think they can't handle their own bags. i have never seen anyone struggling nor have i seen one member of a party carrying more than his or her fair share. the only consistent problem i have seen with self assist is that they often reprogram the elevators NOT to stop on the deck from which passengers are disembarking, typically deck 7 on many ships. so, many people have to carry their bags down steps in order to reach the deck from which they're disembarking. i have never seen anybody die getting off the ship, although i've seen a few that i would have like to have murdered for cutting in line. then again, i lead a rather sheltered life; i have never met anybody named earl, either.

you can bring on only carry-on sized luggage. whatever you bring on has to be able to pass through the x-ray machines at the port.

it's not really that hard! the only thing more frequent than the $250 sale is NCL's free second guest sale. seriously. some folks in that other thread about cruise first $500 availability talk about how it's hard to catch the $500 credits. and it's really not. off the top of my head, i seem to remember thanksgiving, and then christmas and then president's day and valentines' day. it comes and goes, for sure, but it would be rare for it to disappear for more than three weeks or so. and it's not always brought back in conjunction with a holiday.

or you could just buy a $250 cruise first credit with a $500 value and not have to worry about a double up promo or fall down an OBC rabbit hole or be subjected to CN strong arm tactics. that's the thing... everybody raves about the double up promo as it was the be all and end all of savvy cruise shoppers. many do not realize there is such a thing as a $500 cruise first credit, routinely sold by NCL at half the stated value.

the coast guard does not clear the ship for boarding, although the coast guard may conduct periodic inspections of ships. (passengers may be on board during these inspections.) in addition to satisfying whatever needs or requests customs and immigration (and agriculture) may have, the cruise line must meet a "zero count" (all departing passengers accounted for and off the ship) before commencing boarding for the next cruise.

i can't speak to the issue of stolen gnomes or woodland animals, but when it comes to jockeys, there may be a different factor at play here. a recent episode of "curb your enthusiasm" dealt with this very topic... whether or not a jockey is a suitable lawn ornament.

i'm no lawyer, nor do i play one on TV, but i'm pretty sure if a law is enacted preventing you from delivering a promised good or service, you can't be sued for failure to deliver that good or service.

nor have i since the inception of the self-assist concept. the only bad advice i have see around here is from people that think that their advice - what works for them - will also work for everybody else.

how long before you are off the ship? depends on the infraction. usually, they will give you a warning first. let's say you smoked on your balcony. you'll get a warning letter stating that if the behavior continues, the ship reserves the right to remove you and your party at the next port, at your expense. you'll also forfeit the money you paid for the rest of the cruise. for more serious infractions, they could lock you up until you get to the next port. if you do something really bad on embarkation day, they could wait just beyond the port for the coast guard to escort you off the ship. or, in extreme cases, they could turn the ship around and return to the port, just as your dad threatened to do when you were a kid. ("don't make me turn this car around!") so, how long before you are off the ship? it really depends on a variety of factors.

i kinda knew. in december and january of 2019 and 2020, i did two trips to the philiipines. everybody was wearing masks. (normally, the only place you saw masks at that time was at the tokyo airport. their employees have been wearing them for decades.) cab drivers, shop clerks, supermarket cashiers... all wearing masks. and, indeed, in january of that year, when i returned home, i came down with a really debilitating case of the "flu." it was almost assuredly covid. that's right... i was patient zero!

i'm surprised to see so many references to door damage in this thread. it might happen, but it's mostly about the time it takes to remove paper remnants and tape residue. and even then, removing tape from a door or threshold doesn't take any longer than cleaning up after a particularly messy guest who trashed a room. i'm not sure doors are being damaged per se. a legitimate reason a cruise line might ban door decorations, including magnets, is fire prevention. and that's exactly what NCL did several years ago.

everybody had a short term approach. if you look at the letter from jamie quoted in the first post, NCL anticipated sailing again by april 12, 2020. same thing on broadway. the expected closure was two or three weeks.

you lead a charmed life. or a fanciful one, full of tall tales and caviar dreams. as someone who dwells in the reality-based community, i'm here to tell you that buffet attendants on cruise ships do not routinely approach diners as they are seated and take drink orders. it simply doesn't happen. will it happen every now and again? sure, particularly if you look like you might have mobility issues. will they bring you a drink if you request one? most likely, yes. can you "train" them to take a drink order by tipping them once having established the practice? absolutely! do they, as a matter of course, approach diners to take drink orders? they do not. it's not their job.

transfer it to the airport for you? no. if you are not walking off the ship with your own luggage (highly recommended), you can place your bags in the hallway outside your door on the last night of the cruise. they will be collected and, in most cases, delivered to the terminal awaiting your collection upon disembarkation. if you have an NCL transfer to the airport, well, yes, i guess it can be said that NCL will take your bags to the airport, but you'll need to get them from the terminal to the bus. porters are usually available.

you must have a lean and sober look about you.

there is no direct link - none whatsoever - between the twenty million dollars required for this project and port fees. the EDC (economic development corporation) is not a city agency and is in fact a non-profit entity. the EDC is a mission-driven liaison, more or less, between other city agencies. it is funded with capital dollars and their budget (over a billion dollars this year) is awarded before most projects are even decided upon. that being said, i can certainly see higher fees down the road in conjunction with improvements to the MCT itself and the addition of shore power, and i imagine cruise lines would think that is a fair exchange for improved facilities. the $1 levy per passenger per cruise that passengers will most likely pay, although the fee could be absorbed by the cruise lines, will be set aside for a community fund, and will not go to any cruise-related infrastructure project.

cruise first does not allow for "double up" promos. that's cruise next. if you've bought wisely, however, your cruise first credit already has a value of $500. yes, you can bank cruise first credits and use them for close-in bookings, provided the sail date is a minimum of 120 days from the day you purchased the credit.