Mlake09

On 7/17/2022 at 4:06 AM, bluesea777 said:

No, not 2000 but approx 1700.

 

 

I asked someone earlier today and they told

me about 1300 only! I agree the ship feels empty!
 

We were disappointed about Greenland but understand the cruise line can make any changes they want, and since it was for safety reasons, we were fine with it! We also loved the Norway ports! The long days allowed us to fit a lot in, and it was super easy to

explore and plan on our own. 

On 7/9/2022 at 9:26 AM, pdmlynek said:

Thank you for letting us know.

 

It is surprising that it was very cold.  Iceland is relatively mild and warm year round given how far north it is. In summer the temperature in Reykjavik hardly goes below 10 C, and in winter in barely reaches -10 C.  

 

Just how cold was it when you visit?

We are here now and it was cold, windy, and wet today! We are  from New England, but even though the temp was between 11-13 C, it felt much colder. We are wearing rain pants and coats over down coats, with a hat. I am a little worried about how cold the ship decks will be, given that we are staying in the south right now and aren’t on the water yet!

7 minutes ago, jjjct said:

How did you obtain the OBC for missed activities?

 

Just go to the latitudes desk and ask for it! It wasn’t a lot- I think $75 for the room, but it’s something!

One last question- did you find it easy to get to the port from downtown? We’re going in a few days early and will need to make our way over independently. 
 

It was not available when we sailed in April (and that was our first Platinum cruise), but we got a small amount of OBC to make up

for the missed activities. We are sailing next week and I’ll check again and let you know. I was also excited about the behind the scenes shop tour- been waiting for that for years!

2 hours ago, graphicguy said:

If memory serves, NCL NEVER REQUIRED wearing a mask sine the restart.  The current policy has been in effect for at least 18 months.  They were the first cruise line at start up to require COVID testing and vaccines for all guests from the get go.  They recently revised that to allow children who couldn’t be vaccinated to sail.

 

But, masking was always optional.

This is incorrect…we cruised in October to Bermuda- masking was optional but recommended. We then cruised a few months later at Christmas, and masking was required. When we cruised in February and April, it was optional as well.

Thank you for the update! We are on the Star next week and I’ve been following the weather and see lots of 40’s and 50’s. How was the wind on the sea days? We are bringing down coats and hats/scarves, etc, but just wondering if you (or others) were able to be on the decks comfortably. 
 

Thanks again!

On 6/26/2022 at 6:35 PM, massfamilyof4 said:

Hi! We just booked an Oceanview Window on the Dawn, 11 day cruise. I have not sailed without a balcony in years but had a hard time paying an $2440 for a balcony. Am I out of touch or is this the average price difference between the two categories?  Do you think we have a shot at seeing a price drop on the balcony staterooms? Thanks for your thoughts!

We are going to Iceland soon and the balcony rooms were originally listed at $6,000 PER PERSON!!! Needless to say we booked an inside for just about $2,000 each. Fingers crossed we get an upgrade! After final payment balcony rooms dropped to $4,000.

On 6/26/2022 at 5:51 PM, oracer said:

I am as not aware of this rule. If one of our people in our group had Covid in the end of May and our cruise is in August, they have to get a DR notice?  How does NCL know about the positive result?

You do not need to do this. This thread is

for people who tested positive in the last 90 days and are providing a positive pcr result as well as a doctor’s note that they recovered so that they can be exempt from the negative test required to board the ship.

Unfortunately, I got covid (along with the whole family) on our April cruise, but never confirmed my home test with a pcr, so this does not apply to me. The antigen home test will not be accepted for this purpose.

On 6/9/2022 at 4:21 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

NCL's website indicates that, for Platinum tier, "Laundry Service (per member) - 1 free bag."  DW and I are both Platinum and received one bag from our room attendant stamped "Latitudes" on our recent cruise.  I asked him if it was one per person, and he said no (but asked that we let him know if we were informed otherwise.)  Have any of you who are a couple with Platinum status received two free bags?  Thanks.

We just turned platinum in April, and we were on an 10 day cruise, and we each got 2 free bags! So handy! 

7 hours ago, Karaboudjan said:

 

Isn't the standard procedure to confirm a positive antigen test with a PCR?  I would think that a doctor would want a PCR result before certifying that someone in fact had COVID.

I got Covid on our end-of-April cruise (along with half the ship!), but my doctor told me I didn’t need the PCR to confirm it. We’re traveling again in July (within the 90 day window) and now I wish I had the Pcr because NCL told me the doctor’s note is not enough.

You can click “select a different stateroom” (it’s listed under the suggested room in smaller letter), and then it will bring you to a page that allows you to select aft, mod, forward, and the deck. I’ve been tracking availability for my July cruise and usually just keep an eye on booked balconies on 8-11 to keep an idea of upgrade potential, etc.

Good luck!

1 hour ago, NCBeachBride said:

I was hoping to find a walkable beach for just relaxing and snorkeling as well.

We did walk out on our own, but after doing so, I’m not sure that if we went back again, we wouldn’t just set up an independent tour or book with NCL directly. The beaches we walked by had a lot of trash and weren’t set up for visitors. I had been looking to go over to Sousa Beach with Marisol Tours, but since it was Easter, we weren’t able to book with them. If we return on another cruise, we will likely do that.

If you want to walk around and explore the area, we felt mostly fine in our group. However, sidewalks with not always available. We walked to the ink street and umbrella street, and over to the fort on the opposite side of the ship.

I hope that helps!

22 hours ago, rjm11 said:

I think the frustrating part for the OP here is that they did all the right things, tested NEGATIVE and were still quarantined. Prior to covid did they quarantine all people who went to the medical center with a cough? I don't think they did- and I would think this should have been handled similarly.

I understand why they may still ask for the quarantine if they tested with a rapid test only- when we got off the Gem last month, I tested positive when we got home on the rapid, but everyone else was negative, the next day, everyone still negative On the home tests, but went for PCR to be safe since we had been together the entire trip. Even with the negative home tests, they were all still positive. Luckily, my sister in law and nephew wore masks on Monday at school, otherwise they could have ended up exposing many others. 
 

Moral of the story is that covid sucks!

On 5/8/2022 at 10:35 AM, hallux said:

Boston to Bermuda?  The Bermuda travel authorisation (yes, I used their spelling) requires a negative PCR test, right?  That's going to be unlikely at less than 2 weeks from positive test.  Is it possible?  Yes, but quite unlikely.  Some patients can test positive on PCR tests for 2-3 months.

We all tested positive after getting off the Gem at the end of April (packed cruise for school vacation). The following week, I went for a PCR so I’d have that on file because we are cruising internationally this summer. Imagine my surprise when I tested negative on the PCR! I had already had a few negative home tests but assumed I’d be positive on the PCR for at least a week or two after I was sick (we did get fairly sick, unfortunately). It’s just hard to know what might happen. 

6 hours ago, Bellapug said:

Does NCL do anything special—Fancy dress party, fireworks, etc.?  We will be on the Breakaway. 

We were on this last year and they had a party on the pool deck. They also blasted the horn for a full minute at midnight. It was a neat way to spend New Years Eve but if we ever did it again, we’d skip the pool/side party. Lots of kids.

18 hours ago, wordsjustfly said:

We are thinking about dipping our feet back in the cruising waters after too long of a hiatus.

 

How’s it been out there?

 

Covid cases low I hope?

We cruised three weeks ago on the Gem out of NYC. We all tested positive when we got home (mother in law had cold symptoms on the last day). From the face place group, I know at least 90 others on the ship did as well. All of us are boosted, and my in laws are double boosted.  We had avoided it up until now and four of us are still experiencing lingering symptoms. 

This was our fourth cruise since the restart, and by far the most lax in covid protocols. Every cruise prior tested at the pier, which I think made a big difference (on our December and February cruises, I heard over 100 people tested positive at pier even after testing negative on the 72 hour test). Masking was also not required on this trip.

The Gem in April was over capacity- with 1,000 kids- because it was spring break! My understanding from Captains Q and A is that there are no longer capacity limits, but they also aren’t having the high demand all the time either. We cruised in October with very few

people, and again for New Years with a much higher number of pax. 

Just got off the Gem yesterday and am only commenting to say that the OJ in the MDR for breakfast was from concentrate. I always enjoy the fresh squeeze and have gotten spoiled with that! Also, a friend stayed in the penthouse and said that at Cageny’s breakfast, fresh squeezed was offered but for a $4 up charge.

5 hours ago, vacation44 said:

Agreed.

 

Thank you chengkp75.

Ditto- your posts are always super informative! 
 

Does this have any impact on future port stops at Taino Bay? We’re supposed to be there in a few weeks….

Does anyone know how much a taxi would cost from Taino Bay to Sousa Beach?

Does anyone know if the CVS partnership with NCL is still a thing? That allegedly offered free testing at the pier on the day we disembark? I googled it (https://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/covid-19-testing/cruise-line-voluntary-testing) but don’t see anything recent to see if this is still an option. I hope so, because it’s free and guaranteed.

We’ve sailed 3 times since October but we were tested at the pier each time for free thru NCL/Eurofins. 
 

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

I'm pretty amazed that a Captain would admit to that in public.  The scrubber system sprays water into the exhaust to precipitate out the toxic emissions (sulfur and nitrous oxides).  The exhaust gas then passes through a demister, that removes all the water mist from the exhaust gas.  If wet exhaust is coming from the stack, this means the demister is damaged and not working properly.  And, since the water contains the emission particles that are desired to be removed from the exhaust, this means the scrubber is not performing as required, and the ship is not meeting environmental regulations.  The ship should, when a scrubber breaks down, switch to another engine, or have compliant fuel (lower sulfur content) and not operate the scrubber.  This is bad, and could lead to significant fines, as this is one of the problems Carnival was cited for in their probation violations.

Shortly after he shared the information, the Cruise Director then chimed in to say that because of COVID, we all didn’t remember what it’s like to be outdoors, and on a cruise and weren’t used to the smells, and were probably not used to exhaust when we started driving our cars again too! I think he also said we didn’t remember what it was like to be outdoors, but I was shaking my head at that point- he just have known that it was not good PR to admit to the problem!

We were on Getaway at the end of February and there was a definite problem

with the exhaust, especially in the aft. We had to move rooms in the middle of the night because we were unable to sleep and opening the door, and balcony slider, did not help. Spice H20 and the ropes course were also significantly impacted. During the captains Q and A we learned that the changes

made to the smoke stacks, apparently adding water to the exhaust, was causing the problem. The water was making the exhaust heavier, causing it to fall back down toward the ship instead of going up and away. The captain said they were planning to fix it but that didn’t help on our cruise. It was a significant problem and we’ve contacted NCL about it already.

Thank you! I appreciate any feedback. It would be nice to walk but we understand we may need to take a cab, too.