njhorseman

The ship's beam is 118 feet, too wide for the original locks, so it will use the new locks. FYI, you're not permitted to use travel agent/agency names on Cruise Critic so your post could get deleted if a moderator notices .

Some airlines won't accept luggage for a flight until a few hours before scheduled departure time. You should check with your airline to see what restrictions they may have.

Yes, except for access to the Haven Courtyard a non-Haven suite on the Jewel class receives the same benefits as a Haven suite on the Jewel class ships. We have never felt that the minor upgrade in amenities was worth what is usually a substantial increase in price to go from a non-Haven suite to a Haven suite on those ships.

We've cruised in penthouse suites on Jewel class ships numerous times. For accuracy's sake a penthouse suite on a Jewel class ship is not "Haven", it's a non-Haven suite, and that's exactly why you don't get Haven access. Haven suites can be identified by a category code starting with the letter H. Penthouse suites on a Jewel class are identified with a category code starting with the letter S. Suite dining at breakfast and lunch on the Jewel class ships, not just Haven dining, is in either Moderno or Cagney's...which room is used can vary from ship to ship and cruise to cruise, and sometimes one meal has been in Moderno and the other in Cagney's. You also have to remember that the ships built after the Jewel class... from Epic onward...have a separate Haven restaurant, and that restaurant also serves dinner. There's no separate dining room for dinner for Haven (or suite) passengers on the Jewel class ships.

Yes, it's too late in the season for the beach. There's no tram to Horseshoe Bay... you can go by bus, taxi or minibus, but I wouldn't bother in November. How long will you be in Bermuda? One day.? If so, what hours are you in port? What do you enjoy doing? Where will you be docked? If you like history a visit to the National Museum of Bermuda is appropriate. If you're docked at the Royal Naval Dockyard it's located right there. There are also shops and restaurants in the Dockyard. Other possible places to visit include the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo, as well as Crystal and Fantasy caves, or the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, but with knowing where you're docked, how long you're in port and your personal tastes it's impossible to make a recommendation.

Hobby's Deli...but I think they're only open for lunch.

Yes. You can walk through the mall's parking lot.

Currently 222 cruise ship calls are expected. https://bernews.com/2022/10/live-video-minister-scott-press-conference-6/ https://www.royalgazette.com/tourism/news/article/20221015/cruise-ship-visits-could-hit-record-next-year-minister/

Bermuda eliminated testing requirements for everyone, including the unvaccinated, effective with October 25 arrivals. https://www.gov.bm/cruise-travel-authorisation All Cruise travellers arriving October 25 2022 onwards will no longer require a pre-travel test, arrival test or a day 4 test. Unvaccinated non-resident travellers will still be required to upload valid proof of travel health insurance to enter Bermuda.

FYI Razza's dining room is open Tuesday through Saturday by reservation only on the RESY app, although you can also get takeout. They only have takeout on Sunday. Reservations open 7 days before at 12 noon. $25 per person cancellation fee for cancellation made within 8 hours of rservation time.

There are separate port of call boards for Panama, Belize, Costa Rica and Roatan, the latter three being sub boards under the Caribbean heading, and those boards are where you should ask questions about Panama City, Belize City, Puerto Limon and Roatan Island, respectively. All four of those ports are in Central America, not South America.

Go to cruisetimetables.com and click on the "Cruises From" tab, then click on "Cape Town" under the South Africa heading. The site isn't 100% accurate but it should give you an idea of what may be available in early March. You can then go to a listed cruise line's website.

You need to post this on your cruise's Roll Call thread. That's where tour sharing arrangements are made.

Yes, exactly...we have choices. No one is holding a gun to anyone's head forcing them to eat at Moderno or any restaurant they don't like.

I've been cruising for over 35 years. I've probably cruised on about a dozen different cruise lines and I have Diamond status on NCL, so I fully understand that nothing is "free"...although two of my specialty dinners on every cruise actually are free because of Latitudes status. Since I want to select my stateroom I won't book the "Sail Away" cabin, and no such option exists for suite/haven cabins. If I were to decline the specialty dining all I would save is the modest gratuity charge. We do decline the beverage package because the gratuity charge is more than we would spend on soft drinks and alcohol. Since you're a Haven passenger on the larger/newer ships you have access at no additional charge or gratuity to the best overall dining on the ship...the Haven restaurant. You can decline the specialty dining package and save the gratuity charge. Or just stick to the specialty restaurants you like the best. Again...don't eat in the restaurants you don't like. You know the saying "Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Since you dislike Moderno so much just don't eat there. Pretty simple solution. Since you're not flying to the port why aren't you also complaining about NCL's ongoing "free airfare for the second guest" promo. You're paying for that even though you're not using it (same here) and you get absolutely nothing for it.

I doubt you would find a place to store the scooter anywhere, not just in Bermuda.

I've never paid a penny other than the specialty dining plan gratuity charge to eat in an NCL specialty restaurant . I would not spend that much money for what I know to be just another restaurant on a mass market cruise line. It's a matter of realistic expectations and knowledge of the product. I suspect the overwhelming majority of those dining in the specialty restaurants are doing what we are...not paying anything additional for the meal. Very simply we look at the specialties as just another MDR with different choices of food, nothing more. Hopefully you've learned a lesson and won't make the same mistake in the future. Frankly I don't think the meat quality in Cagney's is any better and the preparation is uneven at best. You a make a snide remark about "supermarket quality" but the steaks I make at home that I buy at the supermarket are better than the steaks in Cagney's. The meat in Teppanyaki is drowned in so much salt and other seasoning that the few times I've eaten there (I don't go there any longer) I had no idea of what I was eating. I've eaten in a number of rodizio-style restaurants on land and just like Moderno I've found their salad bars to be better than the meat itself. I've not found all the meat in Moderno to be cooked to medium well or well done so perhaps you just hit it on on a bad day. By the way, my comparisons to quality land-based restaurants are not irrelevant. Quality land based restaurants are stand-alone operations with individual owners and executive chefs that do the food buying and create the menus and recipes. NCL specialty restaurants are under the same management as the ship's MDRs and buffet, the buying is done by the corporate office and the menus and recipes come from the corporate office. While the specialty restaurants seat fewer people than the MDRs it's really just another dining room with different decor . You know the saying about "putting lipstick on a pig"?

The higher end suites include an in suite bar set up with 6 bottles and a fruit basket that is replenished daily. The penthouse suites don't receive either of those amenities. It appears that you're booked on the Vista. This page has the amenities for the various suite and stateroom categories: https://www.oceaniacruises.com/ships/vista/suites-and-staterooms

NCL is a mass market cruise line. Are you expecting a restaurant on a mass market cruise ship with several thousand passengers to feed to have the same quality of ingredients and preparation as a Michelin-starred restaurant or even your local fine dining spot that serves a few dozen people a night? Or even as good a super premium or luxury cruise line? By the way, my local supermarket carries high quality USDA choice meat and even prime beef, so to me "supermarket quality" meat is actually pretty darn good.

Although they are separate companies, JetBlue and AA actually have a formal business alliance in the Northeast and are not competitors in that market. It's very common for airlines to have codeshare alliances in order to provide their passengers with an easy seamless way to book destinations that they don't serve directly as well as earn frequent flier miles while flying on the partner airline. That type of alliance doesn't exist in the cruise industry. Airlines are in the transportation business, so those partnerships make sense for them. Cruise lines are in the vacation business so those partnerships aren't as beneficial to them. https://news.aa.com/news/news-details/2021/JetBlue-and-American-Airlines-Partnership-Makes-it-Easier-Than-Ever-for-Customers-to-Return-to-Travel-with-Largest-Schedule-More-Benefits-and-a-Seamless-Travel-Experience-NET-ALP-07/default.aspx

"A big undertaking" is an understatement. They're a few miles apart and Shirly Heights is at the top of a hill while Nelson's Dockyard is at sea level so you have a substantial uphill climb in addition to the length of the walk.

We still have Puerto Limon on our January and February cruises on the Gem. If NCL'S reason for canceling Costa Rica on your cruise is concern about crime, the last port they should be adding is Acapulco, which is about as crime-ridden a port as I've ever been to.

IIRC the cartons are almost entirely biodegradable so they would eventually decompose in a landfill, unlike plastic, which will be there forever. We take the empty cartons back to the ship and deposit them in the designated waste bin that's located at the gangway.

Unfortunately, your plan won't work. It's an almost half mile somewhat uphill walk from the ferry terminal to the bus terminal. Buses won't take the mobility scooter. You might consider taking a taxi from the Hamilton ferry terminal to BAMZ.

Welcome to Cruise Critic . You want to join your cruise's Roll Call, which you can join your fellow passengers in private tour arrangements.