njhorseman

2 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

Not sure where you read that about dry bread.

It's the old " I'm going to focus on one negative review and ignore 30,000 good ones". 🙄

In almost 39,000 Google reviews  Katz's has a rating of 4.5 out of 5.

I don't pay a whole lot of attention to reviews but I do pay attention to my personal experience...and I've been eating Katz's food for over 70 years. I don't live in the city any more and I don't even get into the city very often, but a couple of times a year I get a shipment of Katz's food delivered to my home and I'm never disappointed...other than being disappointed that they haven't found a way to ship some authentic NY City attitude in the box with the pastrami, corned beef and pickles.

I actually find their bread to be the weakest component of their sandwiches, not because it's dry but because it's too thinly sliced to stand up under the weight of a good portion of Katz's pastrami...and also I'm in the apparent minority of pastrami aficionados who prefers seeded rye to the unseeded bread used by Katz's.

14 minutes ago, zqvol said:

Is the 6 months a Celebrity requirement? It’s not for an NCL closed loop cruise.  

10 minutes ago, Noworkforme23 said:

 

We are sailing on Celebrity for the first time and it says on travel document requirements in passport area to make sure your passport does not expire 6 months after your cruise ends. 
 

You can also check the travel.state.gov site as well. I think it is best if yours expires within 6 months, just renew it to have peace of mind before you sail. 

Don't confuse recommendations with requirements. 

@Noworkforme23...what's your itinerary? If you're a US citizen on a closed loop cruise originating in a US port you don't even need a passport, much less need one with 6 months remaining validity. Of course if you're not on a closed loop US-based itinerary the requirements will be different.

When you check Celebrity's FAQs you'll find this:

https://www.celebritycruises.com/faqs/prepare#prepare-my-documentation

Can I cruise with a birth certificate as my identification? What if I don’t have a passport?

Everyone will need to present an accepted form of identification to board the ship. We strongly recommend that all guests present a passport as their form of ID on boarding day.

U.S Citizens

Technically, yes – U.S. citizens can present a state-certified birth certificate and government-issued photo ID to sail on most cruises departing from the U.S.  But a passport is the more efficient, secure option.

Should you decide to present your birth certificate on boarding day, please keep these guidelines in mind:

Most, but not all, sailings from the U.S. will accept a birth certificate. Learn if your sailing does at our Travel Documents Hub.

48 minutes ago, Cruising to Retirement said:

Is there another option to get to St. George?  I assume by bus or Taxi... Any idea on suggestions- Thanks.  

Ferry to Hamilton followed by bus or taxi to St. George. Taxi would be about $45 plus tip Mon-Sat for 1-4 passengers, 50% more on Sunday

Taxi from Dockyard to St. George (Expensive: about $85 to $90 plus tip one way Mon. -Sat. for 1-4 passengers. 50% more on Sunday)

Bus to Hamilton followed by bus to St. George...takes up to two hours

3 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

Yes, coming from Ohio so NJ is not necessarily out of our way. And we need a hotel anyway, too long of a drive for same day. 

 Don't overlook the suggestion made by @lx200gps. It's a good alternative to the traditional type of park and cruise package.

3 hours ago, Woofa said:

For those less savvy or knowledgeable I don't doubt this makes for a rude awakening when the cruise is over and they realize they paid double or triple the original low fare.

And for those of us who are more savvy and knowledgeable and don't want to spend money on inclusively-priced items we don't use, a la carte pricing is far superior to the current trend of automatic inclusions that have their cost built into  the fare.

38 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

I would just park at the port that way you can get hit the road when you get back. Yes, it expensive, but since the only hotels that would offer a park and cruise for Manhattan are in NJ, I also include the commute time in my cost analysis. Especially if going direct means you wouldn't go into NJ in the first place. For me, going to NJ would be out of my way.

Since the OP's handle starts with "Buckeye" perhaps they're from Ohio, which means that they would be passing through NJ and therefore not going out of their way.

1 hour ago, chipperberg said:

Hi all.  We are driving in from Western NY on Saturday for a Sunday departure out of Brooklyn on MSC in February.  We are planning to park at the port as we want to be on the road as quickly as possible for our drive home as we have to work bright and early Monday morning. 

Looking for recommendations for hotels within an hour drive to the Brooklyn Cruise terminal (red hook area I believe?).  We are looking for a place to sleep, that is all. So really just a clean hotel in a safe area that we can grab a bite to eat for dinner.  Also looking to stay around $200 or less. I may be living in a dream world, but I have faith in my fellow cruise critic cruisers.  Thanks in advance!

Try looking on Staten Island at the Hampton Inn and Suites or the Hilton Garden Inn, which are adjacent to each other. Their prices before taxes may be within your budget, but no doubt will be over $200 after adding taxes.

A bit further from your cruise terminal but still within an hour's drive, are a cluster of hotels including a Hampton Inn, Courtyard by Marriott and Embassy Suites on International Blvd in Elizabeth NJ, near EWR and adjacent to the Mills at Jersey Gardens outlet mall. Not as "suburban" a location as the hotels on Staten Island, but perfectly OK for a night's stay.

1 hour ago, Buckeye10640 said:

We are cruising in August and are driving instead of flying this time. Looking for recommendations for a one night stay pre-cruise (clean, safe) with free or low cost 7 day parking and transportation to/from Manhatten cruise terminal. At the moment we have reservations at Hampton Inn Ridgefield Park NJ but I am reading very mixed reviews. Any recommendations for hotels, or personal experience with this hotel?  TIA

Check trinityreservations.com. Sometimes they'll have a couple of hotels with packages for the Manhattan cruise terminal. The hotels will also be in NJ, usually near EWR. You won't find anything in NYC itself.

5 hours ago, Thought2go said:

This is what I understood also and why I booked as I did. Then I’m seeing that they have an expanded menu for CV cabins.

Hoping it’s the GDR menu option and not another limited menu. Especially for breakfast.

The 2017 expansion of the room service menu for concierge veranda cabins was to allow ordering from the GDR menu during lunch and dinner...there was never a mention of breakfast. 

I can guarantee that the attendant's palm was greased during the handshake.

While I haven't done this on cruise ships I do it all the time at resorts if I want to be sure of getting chairs in the (shady) spot where I want them. A $20 bill makes the pool attendant your friend. 

I'm surprised that anyone is shocked that this goes on.

16 minutes ago, Woodrowst said:

Our financial perk comes from our TA in the form of a rebate that is applied back to our credit card about a month after we return.  I like this approach as we simply get money back and do not have to worry about what we can and cannot spend on the ship.  I suppose they do it this way to get around the discount prohibition (which I was not aware of).

If you get OBC from your travel agent you don't have to worry about how or where to spend it on board because Oceania would refund any balance to you at the end of the cruise.

IIRC (I used to own a travel agency)...the prohibition against discounting was contractual, not the result of any law or regulation.

1 hour ago, mitchtech said:

Hi.

Are these water bottles now included in the drink package?

No...not with the standard Free at Sea package.

2 hours ago, ORV said:

Although things have changed over the years I'm thinking that's a fairly new perk for that level to try to make it more attractive. 

The upgrade to concierge veranda amenities to include room service from the GDR menu as well as three free bags of laundry was made in late 2017:

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/media/2017/OCEANIA+CRUISES+UNVEILS+ENHANCED+CONCIERGE+LEVEL+AMENITIES+New+Amenities+Include+Free+Laundry+Service+and++In-Stateroom+Lunch+and+Dinner+Service+from+The+Grand+Dining+Room/

I can't find a cruise on the Volendam that calls on NY City in 2024. I see one that's in NY on October 7, 2025, which is a Tuesday...and there normally aren't Tuesday matinees.

Edit: OK...I found one that per cruisetimetables.com departs Montreal and is in NY on October 16 2024.For some reason it's not on the official port schedule. That's a Wednesday so there will be matinees.

11 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

Maybe I’m mistaken. We don’t often use room service and there’s no longer a printed menu only the one on the TV. I could have missed the GDR room service. The only thing I would say is that the Oceania website is so out of date that room service May have altered but the website not updated. 
I’m sure somebody will come along with the definitive answer!

IIRC from my experience on Marina a few years ago there was nothing that overtly stated you could order from the GDR...you just had to know you could.

14 minutes ago, Laurab23 said:

Which  bus stop is easier to get to, Hamilton or St George. I hear St George you have to walk up a hill to get to it from the ferry.

In both Hamilton and St. George you have to walk up a hill to get to the bus stop. The public ferry terminal in St. George is closer to the bus stop on York St., but the NCL ferry terminal in St. George is about the same distance to the York St. bus stop as the distance between the Hamilton Ferry Terminal and the Hamilton Bus Terminal...about 0.3 miles.

18 minutes ago, Harters said:

Thanks EJL. Interesting. The without air is the better comparison as this is a UK - UK cruise, so no airfare included for we Britons.

 

So, the $6249, plus $18 per day gratuities, gives a total of $6465 for American customers. Some $300 cheaper than the price available to Britons, with gratuities, at $6767. 

There are other considerations.  For example in the UK you have certain legal protections that we do not have in the USA. There's an implicit cost for them that's built into the fare.

Also marketing considerations come into play. Perhaps other competing cruise lines with a strong US customer base don't have comparably strong following in the UK, or have higher prices in the UK.

4 minutes ago, elmsliebev said:

presumably only those outside the soft drinks and drinks with meals covered by Simply More or is it those as well? And coffee?

Gratuities are only charged for  beverages that are not included in the simply more, or not otherwise included in the fare.

Soft drinks and coffee were included in the base fare long before the introduction of Simply More so there already was no gratuity charged for them.

1 hour ago, sitraveler said:

Sorry.  Simply more does not include gratuities.  The included gratuities apply to the beverages only. 

I think you overlooked the words "if you booked outside the USA". As noted in some immediately previous posts,  The fare for UK customers now reflects included gratuities...not just gratuities for the beverages. 

6 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

I would bet that there is a price differential that has gratuities included with the cruise-rather than a line item.  I don't see "O" giving something away - it has to be included in the cost or some other trade off one would think.  But thank you for the information.

Obviously. Nothing is free. You pay one way or the other. 

Wine and beer included with dinner? It's built into your base fare. 

Shore excursion credit? It's built into your base fare.

Gratuities included? You paid them in your base fare.

7 hours ago, Vallesan said:

Not on Marina at the moment. Just disembarked last Saturday.

Odd. Oceania's website still lists it as a concierge verandah perk. 

2 hours ago, graphicguy said:

 

Such cool, innovative cars! 

First new car I owned was a 1969 Saab 96. Now that was an odd duck with a column-mounted stick and "freewheel" drive train...but at least they had upgraded the engine from the old Saab two banger to a more normal 4 cycle automobile engine.

Great advertising slogan too: "Made by trolls in Trollhattan" .

1 hour ago, living at the beach said:

Departing in just 3 days from Boston on the Gem going to Bermuda. Does anyone know which main dining room will be open? Much better alternative to dealing with the buffet with fool on luggage 

Every Gem cruise I've been on the Grand Pacific has been open on embarkation day...but that's no guarantee.

6 hours ago, doghog said:

Returning from an Alaskan cruise on 20 September 2024 on the Celebrity Edge. Are there porters as you disembark to schlep your luggage thru customs? Are there taxis waiting to take you to the Vancouver airport? 

 

Our Passports expire 25 Jan 2025. Will our Passports still be valid for our 13 thru 20 September Alaskan cruise? The cruise leaves from Seattle and returns to Vancouver? 

If you're a US citizen your passports are fine. However please check your cruise line's rules because some impose a six month requirement for all passengers on all itineraries regardless.