KenPlat

Hmmm… sharing for those that might be interested. https://usebounce.com/city/new-york I have not used this service and am not endorsing. Found this on another MSC Forum where others found it to be successful. About $8 per bag apparently.

Below is what the tour description says. Indeed... there are quite a few drive-by's... but it says some time at the 9/11 Memorial. If one could 'exit' the excursion after say the Memorial visit... to remain in the downtown area.. might be worthwhile to get the 'lay of the land' via the tour itself.... and at least at chance to do something in the Manhattan area (i.e. a lunch or meal) before leaving for a later 7:30pm-ish flight. i.e. attempting a "Day Trip". My 'shot in the dark' with this post is if maybe someone else has taken this tour (or similar) and can briefly share their experience. Perhaps, this ship sponsored excursion gives an earlier/guaranteed departure (i.e. 9am or so)... that could save some time competing for a taxi/Uber/ferry at the cruise port itself. Otherwise, it is difficult to book with Viator (or similar) on disembark day as those don't seem to meet anywhere near the Brooklyn port. It's difficult to determine the time and when to book with one of the external travel companies. Plus... need to work out some way with a hotel (??? or somewhere ???) to temporarily store luggage for a few hours.

Has anyone taken one of the MSC post-cruise/disembark excursions to New York city? (i.e. off of the Meraviglia ship/Brooklyn Cruise Port) These trips are of the 4-5 hour variety advertised with a drop off at LGA or JFK. Seems to be a good way to productively spend time if you have a later flight and don't want to drag luggage around or sit/wait at the airport. Also wondering... is it 'allowable' to exit the excursion in Manhattan.. i.e. before the transit to the airport. They have my luggage.. so I couldn't just 'ditch' the tour bus. Sometimes these tours have insurance/accountability/other requirements that they have to take you to described destination.

@luckybecky Thank you for the detailed review! 🙂 Particularly, enjoyed the port and food reviews. Sounds like overall you (and Paul) had a great time. You even took the time - another thread - *during* your cruise to answer a few questions of mine. Indeed... so much appreciated!! I am even more excited for my upcoming - similar journey on the NCL Encore in April - very much in part to you.

@luckybecky Thank you (again!) for taking the time to answer ALL the questions on this thread. 🙂 I'm sure you are not only helping us directly... but plenty of other readers. Wishing you the best on the remainder of your vacation!

At the risk of monopolizing the "question pool"... <grin>... I got one more! Could you share information about the "laundry bag" days? I gather on most 7 day itineraries... there is one day where NCL has a discounted 'fill the bag' for a special price. Wondering if there is still just ONE of these opportunities on the 15 day itinerary... or if they offer a second laundry deal day? Also... if you know the day # of the cruise in which they offer that would be helpful. <Can you tell I'm trying to figure out how much to pack and when to leverage the laundry bargain day.> Appreciate you taking the time out of your valuable vacation time. No rush. I promise to stop asking Q's.

How about the Observation Lounge forward view? (Mind you I don't know... I am just hoping the sister Encore ship has decent views in that area.) I imagine... you are probably speaking with the desire to be "in the open air" for such an event like the Panama Canal transit.

@LuckyBecky Thank you for both of your responses. 🙂 Informative and helpful! The tip on the aviary at the Cartagena port is valuable. Will want to visit that (hopefully!) on the way back from an excursion. I still need to pick one... and am now leaning towards the "Let's Take a Selfie" as it seems I might get stop I'm looking for at the Castle. It's harder to find excursion specific feedback... and your input there helps me to better read through NCL's wording on the tours. It's also exciting to know that there is a narrative as the ship goes through the 50 miles of the Panama Canal. I'm the type of person that wants to also have an idea of "what" I am looking at. Hoping that you continue to enjoy your cruise on The Bliss!

Can you share (briefly) your experiences on the Bliss transfer through the Panama Canal? A little curious on if the ship opened the bow during the transit. Maybe also if they had any 'educational' style presenters/speakers describing the areas as the shipped passed through.

What was your excursion experience in Cartegena? (I know that takes you a couple days back.) I'm on a similar itinerary on the Encore in April and looking for feedback on what may be fun to visit. It seems like San Felipe Castle would be an interesting spot. If applicable, did you get the opportunity to go "in" or was it just an "outside" photo stop? And a quick tag-a-long question... did you find the shopping experience worthwhile? I've heard that there can be a lot of pushy folks in those area looking for tourist dollars via 'rapping' and 'photo traps'.

Thanks Stelkp for replying. 😀

Curious... from an "Entertainment" perspective... What (if anything) did the cruise line have as an alternative for the "Kinky Boots" main show? (i.e. Its been published that this show was removed due to production costs.) Did they have another show? Or maybe "Choir of Man" was moved to the main stage?