Cruising Lynne

I hope that whatever they do, they update the website to reflect any changes. Sometimes they aren't very good about that.

Thanks Radio for posting all the awesome pictures. We were on Joy last September and really enjoyed it. I watched you back away from the pier yesterday on the Port New York webcam. So exciting and I wished I was there. Have a great trip!

Leaving from Manhattan, I believe the Statue of Liberty is on the starboard side. If you go to an upper deck you can also watch as you go under the Verrazano Bridge.

I hope they don't remove them. Some day I may be lucky enough to enjoy them. I would love to have my own private whirlpool. I enjoy a nice bath, and do not like the trend of hotels going to just showers and not the tub/shower combo. Having a tub option on the cruise ship is nice for people who want to soak their sore muscles or bathe children.

Glamping could work for me.

We can always drive to Bar Harbor from Massachusetts, but I enjoyed the two times I stopped there on cruises. Once on a Boston to Bermuda cruise, and once on a Canada/New England cruise. Hubby wants to camp up at Acadia, but I tell him my idea of roughing is when we get an inside cabin instead of a balcony!

The Icon class ships really bother me. I am sure they are fun to be on, but I feel that they give cruising in general a bad image. They dump too many passengers into a port all at once. It is ships like these that help lead to all these restrictions and bans. They also cause damage to port areas and lead to more dredging and need larger piers built to accommodate them.

Id love a fourth day in Bermuda. Unfortunately, they have to get out of there to make room for the next ship to come in. Maybe NCL hopes that Bar Harbor will change the restriction by 2025. I think they should raise the number of passengers allowed and just ban the really big ships. Less than 1000 passengers is ridiculous. Many of the businesses in Bar Harbor would agree.

LOL We often (not always) tip the bartender extra, and do not get preferential treatment. I have seen it though. I wonder how much those people tip? It absolutely should be first come first served at the bars. I think it is the heavy drinkers who get recognized. You know, the people that park at one of the bars all day. We are too busy for that. I often get drinks from one of the drink servers so I do not have to deal with the crowds at the bars. Tipping them extra does help ensure that they return promptly to see if I need another drink. I do not like to worry about having cash for tips every time I leave the room, but will tip if I have some bills on me .Again, not always, and not the amounts that some people claim to tip.

We are getting off the day you embark. We usually do Boston to Bermuda that week, but are making the leap from NCL to try something new. We are in Massachusetts, and school does not get out here until June 12th. This is a little early due to the lack of snow days this year. The Seniors get out earlier. This should help keep the number of families with young children down. You may have an increase in college age kids. A ship as big as Meraviglia should have some quiet spots to get away from the crowds. We shall see. I have wanted to go on Meraviglia ever since it was new. The ceiling in the Promenade and the Swarovkski Crystal stair cases seemed like something I would like to see. I recognize you and Jamie from the Cruise Critic boards, but not on board ships. Happy sailing!!

Yes, I misunderstood. Not doing your room at all is not right at all. I would not have appreciated that either.

If you are leaving from New York, starboard side is better. You will be able to see the Statue of Liberty from your balcony when you sail away from New York. In Bermuda the ships are one in front of the other, not side by side. So another ship in port does not block which ever view you end up with. Check out the Port of Bermuda webcam. Getaway is there right now. So jealous!!

I like milk in my coffee, so I grab some from the breakfast buffet to keep in the room fridge. I think you could get half and half at the buffet also. My husband just uses the provided coffee mate liquid or whatever brand they may have. It was never the powder creamer.

Sounds like you had a great family vacation over all. Thank you for posting your review, and including the pre and post cruise info. FYI on NCL they no longer make up rooms twice a day. You can contact the steward or leave him a note to get more towels. Nice job earning a club balcony comp. Now you get to have fun again!

What a tease!! I thought the hockey puck hash browns were back. Can't wait for my next NCL cruise to see what kind of hash browns I can find. I had some round (or triangular?) hash browns on our Holland America cruise in November, but they did not taste as good as the ones NCL used to have. They tasted like the oil needed to be changed. The hunt for good cruise ship hash browns continues...

It is still a pretty good deal. Just think how much a land based trip for that many days would be. Hotel prices are ridiculous, and when you add in food, drinks, and entertainment definitely costs more than the cruise. Plus on the cruise you will have that nice ocean view balcony!

This is a good idea. I will get a card next time I renew my passport. This will give me more peace of mind to have the card when I get off the ship in ports. I don't bring my passport ashore because I don't want to be worried about it getting lost or stolen.

I always tell my husband to never turn away the drink servers by the pool or in the lounges. Even if you do not think you are ready for a drink, get something and this way they know that you will be wanting more drink service. If you say no to them, they will not come around as quickly. They will approach people they know are drinking (and tipping) first and more often. Even if you do not have cash on you to tip them, they will come back if you do not turn them away the first time. If you tip, they will come back more quickly!

I agree. These items mean the shower definitely was not cleaned. It is different and worse than a sock under the bed or something in the back of a drawer. I can't believe some would think that it is okay to have an uncleaned bathroom.

Great to hear that Jade is an exceptional ship. Glad you had a good time and had a fun surprise for your friends. We are going on her in the fall, and I am really excited about it. Will definitely eat at Jasmine's at least once. Hubby will definitely have some wings and carrot cake at O' Sheehan's. Thank you for posting your review, and I hope Mrs. Shmoopie's mobility issues improve.

Hi Jamie. I can't believe it has been four years since things shut down. I also remember how upset you were when the initial re-start cruises on NCL were cancelled on us all at the last minute. On the bright side, it got you to branch out and try other lines. When the shutdown occurred I was ten days away from a bucket list trip on NCL Star to the ABC islands which was cancelled. I had been looking forward to this trip which also included several days pre-cruise in Florida. We have been on several cruises since the re-start on NCL and finally did the ABC islands on Holland America Rotterdam in November 2023. We enjoyed the trip, but I still prefer the entertainment on NCL. In May we are trying MSC Meraviglia, and late summer we will try Princess. These were all casino offers. I was most excited to get the card in the mail for my "Free" NCL cruise. So far they are still my favorite. I have also cruised with Royal Caribbean and once on Celebrity a long time ago. I like that the NCL casino offer does not require you to pay all your money up front, and I use a cruise next deposit for the deposit. We usually upgrade our cabin and I like that on NCL the money isn't due until final payment time. On HAL and Princess we had to make full payment at the time of booking. There were a lot of older people on HAL, but it was still fun, I had the reality check that at 59 and 69 years of age my husband and I are older cruisers, but I felt young on HAL compared to others. I enjoy the mix of ages on NCL ships and really want to try the next new Prima class ship when it comes out. The NCL Aqua. I will end up paying up for that since I do not think the new ship will be included in the casino offer. My voucher has not come in the mail yet, and I do not think I will have a lot of choices since I have not been to the casino much over the winter. We are lucky to be fairly healthy and able to enjoy our cruise adventures. Happy Cruising to all !!

It will be our first time out of Brooklyn. We will check out the directions using Google navigation and Waze and then decide which one to use. I may also print out a map of the area around the cruise port just in case the navigation gets stupid. LOL Once in a while Waze is a little flaky. We have only previously done NY cruises out of Pier 88 in Manhattan so this will be a bit different. I admit directions are not my area of expertise, so I am not very helpful. We take I-84 from Massachusetts into Connecticut and some of the Parkways into New York. My husband has always been the driver and I do not remember all the route numbers.

Thank you so much for your info and photos. I feel better about leaving my car there. I have not been on Cruise Critic much lately and appreciate that it is still a good place to come for information. I am getting excited about the trip and really looking forward to going to Ocean Cay. I have wanted to sail on Meraviglia ever since it was launched, and am happy that we can do it without having to fly.

Hi everyone. My husband and I are going on our first MSC cruise in May and are planning on parking at the terminal. We have cruised out of Manhattan several times and have always felt like the car was pretty safe there on top of the terminal building. Does the lot in Brooklyn feel safe? We are driving in from Massachusetts, and plan on arriving between 9:30 and 10:00. I am also wondering if the lot ever gets full and turns people away?

I may be the only one, but I hope they never move the Rumors show to the main theater. Fleetwood Mac was great, but I don't care about seeing a cover band perform a whole album. People complain about getting in line early to get a seat. I go to the theater 30 minutes early to get a good seat for the shows there if it is something I am really interested in. I have never seen a show in Syd's because in my opinion the show is not going to be worth waiting in line to see. That said, I do think a better venue would be the area that was used for the Supper Club on the Away ships. It holds more people, but still feels intimate. Of course, this type of venue does not exist on the Prima class ships. Future builds need a Supper Club or Spinnaker type of space.