GALSews

On 5/11/2024 at 12:37 PM, MzShae said:

The Mexican Coke also comes in glass bottles & is real Coke, with cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. You can find it in most large grocery stores and Walmart, sometimes in the ethnic area.

The Kosher for Passover Coke (the plastic bottles with the yellow caps) also is should be made with sugar, not corn syrup as some groups don't accept corn as okay for Passover,

Our local Costco carries Coke in glass bottles.

8 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

I suppose that it would be a logical assumption that it's sold out. Although, I tried booking one for our upcoming cruise and it didn't tell me it was sold out until I put it in the cart,

 

People also say that if you already booked an excursion for a particular day that you won't see anything offered to you on that day. But that's not necessarily so, as we have an excursion booked and I still see other things coming up for that day.

The software won't show excursions that overlap, but will display those that don't.

6 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

What does one do when rain curtails your whale watching adventure?

 

Wise ones book a hot stone aromatherapy massage using the 25% Latitudes discount on select services while in port. Note that in Juneau there is 7% sales tax added. 

 

When the massage began she asked if I wanted to include dry brushing. I said no thank you. After having been brushed on other cruises, I elected to get myself one and exfoliate at home.

 

 At times it was excruciating, but in a good way. When she was doing the hot stones on my back I was so relaxed I may or may not have drooled a teeny bit. I've found that I do dose off during massages. My husband will no longer do a couples massage with me, as my snoring kept him from enjoying his massage.

 

He has the same axolotl wrinkly skin dad has so my mistake was a fair one. Okay, I had to look up what an axolotl is. It's a paedomorphic salamander which now means I have another word to look up. 

 

Happy Birthday.

1 hour ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

I asked the CruiseNext desk how many free bags of laundry I would be entitled to for this 15-day cruise and was told one bag per stateroom.

Not true, the laundry is per latitudes member. In the list of perks, they clearly list when it is Per Statereoom, e'g. Latitudes Dinner with Bottle of wine.

Laundry benefit.

Dinner benefit: 

We just write on the laundry slip Free, our Latitudes level, and change the name of the person getting the benefit.

On 5/3/2024 at 4:19 PM, umaine89 said:

I am not getting off the ship today. I’ve been to Cozumel a bunch of times and all I can eat and drink are free on the ship. 
 

best part of NCL, you can order more than one drink at once. 
 

Could you please tell me what you are drinking? Thanks,

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

Forgot to mention, hot running water is back this afternoon.

 

Got the hot water & coffee station set-up in the stateroom just in case ... while getting water from the buffet, noticed that multiple "violations" of improperly filling up personal water bottles - yike 😤 

 

 

 

Why can't NCL add these 😯 

 

 

Then they couldn't sell packaged water.

3 hours ago, ticktock01 said:

Thanks for that information.  No, I don't have tickets yet. I will have my alarm clock set for 4am edt, which is 10am Amsterdam time on May 14, exactly 6 weeks before we get to Amsterdam. I want make sure I get tickets. 

If I don't spend 2 hours there I will just get back to the ship earlier. 

If you dock at the port in Amsterdam, then we two septuagenarians were able to walk from the ship to the Ann Frank House in 30 minutes. 

Being picky, the large "turtle" is a tortoise. 😀 

All tortoises fall under the general heading of turtle, but not all turtles are tortoises. 

Could you please tell me when the dinner with the officers is? Our last cruise, first as Sapphire either they didn't have one or we weren't notified of it?  IjJust want to see if it could affect our current schedule assuming that the day is the same in two weeks. Then again, as I told my geometry students, "If you assume, it makes an a** of you and me."

Yes, you were correct, had I been drinking tea when I read your dad story, I'd still be cleaning up my laptop from the spray.

I was trying to figure out how you got the pictures of the Jewel. I knew that you can't bring drones on the ship.

As salt is contraindicated (I like that word) for me, I'll have to make sure the folk at Moderno's know I am coming. Last time I had the "baconless" bacon-wrapped chicken, it was very dry. Assuming (again), perhaps the bacon insulated the chicken and adds moisture, so if they cooked it for the approved time, overcooked. 

As always, enjoying you photos and stories. Thanks.

22 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

 

I'm going to recommend these places for our Jewel saying in a little over 2 weeks. Of course, you will get the attribution. Thanks

13 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

.  Folks, join us at the Hudson for dinner on the Hudson, we are definitely going to be there after 6 PM and not moving, "no way ...

Reminds me of the line we saw in a bar* in Boston across from the Granary Burying Ground, "Here is where you can have a cold Sam Adams, while looking at a cold Sam Adams.

* When I was much younger, I would have said "Bah', but unless I've just talked to people from the Bay State, now I've discovered the letter "r" does apply to ends of words.

Just in case you are unaware. Sam Adams is buried in the Granary.

1 hour ago, kateeov said:

I am so excited to have found this thread. This is my first time reading your reviews, but I'm already in love.

I too am a sarcastic adult daughter traveling with a grumpy old (77y) dad who's easily frustrated, but is still among my best friends. And we also did our first cruise after my mother passed (2021) and we didn't feel right doing our usual road trips. We're absolutely in love with cruising now bc we still get to explore several new places all in one trip, but we don't have to drive lol.
I'll be doing the Jewel starting May 13th so I'll wave from the terminal and tell my travel companions that someone famous is getting off the boat. This trip will be without Dad, but one of the friends I'm going with is bringing her mom, so there will still be boomer technology frustration to deal with lol. I'm already taking notes (can't wait to try that brunch!) and am excited to see what else you share!

This thread is much more active than the May 13th cruise, which my husband and I will also be on. That one is 2 pages. I attribute that to how well Yvonne writes.

1 hour ago, YVRteacher said:

I love that you posted in this thread!

 

Huckleberry truffles are a must! They are at the Alaskan Fudge Company in Juneau. Check out their website for all the flavours!

I'm making a list of places we may need to visit. Thanks,

On 4/22/2024 at 6:04 PM, natefish95 said:

You mentioned trivia earlier…I can foresee a very angry man with how trivia is done on the ship (from my experience). Numerous questions were worded poorly or just wrong. 

Reminds me of sailing roundtrip from Buenos Aires to Antarctica on the Star, some of the Spanish speaking passengers requested that the question be translated to Spanish as they did not recognize one of the words. The questions was "What country is named for the saviour?"  Once translated, the answer became self-evident - El Salvador.

15 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

 Iceland isn't as cold as it might be, that will help lighten our load.  

Well, a little north and west of the nation's capital, it was 29 degrees this morning. My sister who lives outside Boston observed it was warmer there.

Huntingdon1701 recommends a day for Acropolis and museum. I would assume that is the Acropolis Museum. I eould add tge agorra and its museum and the National Museum which houses many ancient artificats, especially the Antikythera Mechanism. (Nova has an interest8ng program on it,)`So if your intent at this time is one and done, I'd suggest two days in Athens. My DIL who spent a fait amount 9f time in Greece would suggest dining 8n the Plaka. BTW, try out the loukamadies, the Greek version of donut holes with honey,

Not really Haven-related, although we will be staying in the Haven on the Joy late December and I didn't want to start another thread. 

NCL really surprised me quite positively. On Friday at 4:17 PM, I sent in the Shareholder Request Form. The automated response came back with the same time stamp - not surprised at that. However, today is Sunday, which means WEEKEND. Well, at 4:50 PM, we received our shareholder benefit. That is just a little over 48 hours and on a weekend. Wow!

Oh, SthrnGary, we'll see how we like the Joy in late November as you have been partial to it. They've added a thermal spa to her, but apparently there is no thallaso (sp?) pool. So, glad we've elected to stay in the Haven. We'll forego the Thermal Spa.

Well. now I've had my little break on cruise critic. Now it is back to cleaning and cooking in preparation for tomorrow's big event. (I'm getting older, in future years I may have to check out a cruise where things can be set up to be Passover-friendly so I don't have to clean and switch stuff out. I'd just have to know if the matzah balls are floaters, not the sinkers.) Years ago, I dumbly scheduled a cruise on Passover. They gave me my own box of matzah which I took to meals with me. Each night I'd go past the crepe maker in the buffet and mope. 

Only 3 weeks and we'll be on the Jewel.

17 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

 

.  Notice - not bring any surge-protection strips or long extension cords.  

Have you set up your own packing method in its own topic al la SthrnGary's Secrets of the Haven? I'm impressed with your approach. I made labeled, denim draw string bags my cords. But I use big fat noise-cancelling headsets which take up space. Plus, and here I envy you, the hearing aid charger/case isn't big, but it is twice the height of what I assume is the Airpods case.. (The hearing aids do bluetooth, but the hearing aid makers app, at least, isn't compatible with the tablet. So now I'm distracted when I should be cleaning and cooking for a mjaor holiday. Ah well, there is always LATER, maybe?

Thanks for the packing suggestions.

As to being notified of changes, I believe if you book directly with NCL they notify you of changes.

If you book with a travel agent, then NCL notifies the travel agent who then should notify you.

When you debark in Rome, I am assuming that is really Civitivecchia. If so, I'd recommend checking out Daytrip to get you from the port to Rome. We used them and made two stops on the way - Ancient Ostia, which is the port outside on Rome and Necropolis de le Banditaccia, an Etruscan mound burial site that you can walk down into. The driver just drove and waited for us. Entrance fees were not included. 

Thanks for documenting your cruise and letting us follow along.

Wishing you uneventful flights. 

We will be in Vancouver in 3 weeks from tomorrow as we'll board the Jewel there on Monday. 

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Oh as if it hasn't happened before. Don't like. Don't read it. Easy peasy. 

 

And hey! Haven luggage must be pristine...cuz, ya know. Haven! 

 

Well, except my bag which is an almost ten year old Coleman duffel bag with half the zipper pulls missing (still haven't taken that paper clip hint from others). Gosh, why does NCL let me in the Haven so often anyways? 

Since you implied you need multiple pulls, let me suggest you go to Etsy where the cost of mutiples will be significantly less than if you buy singles in brick and mortar fabric stores. You can even get then personalized for that true designer look. Heck, you could personalize them to say "Haven" on them.

Always a pleasure to follow your cruises. If I remember correctly, you are getting back to Vancouver from another cruise as we depart on the Jewel to head to Seward.

Wishing you safe travels and thanks again for letting us travel with you.

Have some photos taken while at dinner.