bedfordmom

Did it day 5 and 8 of a 12 day cruise actually put 1 pr. jeans first followed by 9 total all rolled sox and underwear about six shirts   and workout gear and a couple of shorts.  Once got it back next day. The second one was done in a day

Spectacular review and pictures. Wish I got to meet you on the cruise.

10 minutes ago, LoungerOnBalcony55 said:

I'm always as courteous and respectful as possible with the room stewards, but I'd have told them to get the heck out of my room and deal with the bunk for the next when my cruise was over. That's absurd. 

Agree but we were so shocked we did not know what to say. 

On 3/7/2023 at 4:08 PM, hawkeyetlse said:

It sounds like lots of people are asking to get early cabin service, so if you don't say anything, your cabin will probably get pushed to 3-6pm. And if too many people ask for morning service, the attendant has to guess which ones will cause him/her the most grief and actually do their cabins early, and hope for the best with everyone else.

 

I wouldn't like to be in their position, but I guess increased communication and flexibility (on both the steward's and the guests' part) can go a long way towards making this all work. I'd rather have my cabin done before 3pm every day, but if I'm told it needs to be later, I can plan around it without too much inconvenience.

 

We asked but said too many people wanted early. So we got stuck with late . One day we had to wait while he prepared the bunk for the incoming cruise. Not fair. And forget about towel animas. We are platinum so it’s not our first rodeo.

On 3/6/2023 at 1:06 PM, OrangeCatRamblers said:

In every hotel I've stayed in lately, there's been a cart of "help yourself" towels in the hall, and one even had a large trash bin in the hall to empty your own trash. 

 

Wouldn't it make sense to have these on board now with the service cuts, as well as a help-yourself ice machine on every deck? 

 

How are people getting ice at night with these changes? 

Ice what is that. No one got ice even once a day

On 3/4/2023 at 4:42 PM, Mlake09 said:

I was also on last week, but one difference is last week Getaway was still doing twice a day cleanings, and this week is the first sailing that has swapped over to once a day cleaning. All of the room stewards are now responsible for more rooms, and service will take place all day up till dinner time.

Yes so that means some people end up with cleaning at supper time. The poor stewards are exhausted and overworked 

Not going well on the Feb 26 Getaway. I originally thought no big deal but didn’t realize that the stewards have double the rooms than before. That means that you may get your morning service at 5pm.Imagine coming back to your cabin after a long day and wanting to take a shower. No dry towels and the room steward is trying to get in the room. When asked why do late he said everyone requested early. 

Is anyone having trouble getting their room cleaned before 5 pm? That is the most frustrating part of the once a day cleaning. Yesterday was staff muster do they were super late. 

Boarding plat now

Actually going to St Martin and St Kitts. I rushed to change my Palm Court Garden reservation to another day plus read up on trip advisor as I haven’t been to St Martin in a while. I

i went to book America Cup on their website maunjng the cruise company may have them. Will be going to Shoreex immediately upon boarding to get that excursion if available

Looking forward to seeing everyone on board but need to make the 3 hour drive first so leaving soon

I will be on the same cruise without internet but look forward to your review.

On one of my Repos on the Dawn from Boston was a Furrie group. Most guests on the roll call  were upset and a couple cancelled. The Furries ended up being a light hearted fun group that just happened to like dressing up in these large furry costumes. Why they want to dress up like that in the Carribean is beyond me.

I know Royal Caribbean had their deck plans in their app

If I have any hint that a port will be cancelled (like the Dominican Republic) I will book with NCL as its easier to get a refund.  I have only been booking refundable private excursions (or no deposit) as Norwegian has been so erradic on the Getaway ports.   On my last royal caribean cruise  their prices are actually 10% cheaper if you book prior (also none of the nonsence of the inflated shorex prices to account for the $50 shore credit

I did the tour through RCL back in early November. The reason why I went with the ship was that if the port was cancelled I would be automatically refunded. Royal's prices were either the same or less than Iguana Mama (though they provide lunch and drinks which we were not interested in). I would advice to get the earlier tour as it looked like there was a back up behind us. Also Norwegian charges $25 more than Royal Caribean but that is a wash with their $50 credit unless you have more than two people booking. The falls were alot of fun and highly recommend going no matter which tour you chose.

Years ago (2017)  I took a private excursion from serenity tours for 45PP to go to Pidgeon Beach. The driver stayed with us, brought us chairs, drinks etc. A perfect day we just needed four people at the time to make it work which we did. 

Years ago went on the waitlist for the San Juan rain forest and got accepted. One for one! 

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

 

Hi, Sharon ... how was disembarkation for you and getting home 👴 😁 at nearby Hell's Kitchen, stay warm & toasty today, we are "sheltering at home" not going out anywhere today.  Susan missed those 80 degree days down in the Carib's already - yours truly looking at something toward in early Spring, now that we got our email addresses, easier way to stay better in touch. 

 

We had to walk thru the casino multiple times throughout, the smoke was still annoying with our masks on.  When we ate in SN, we tried to get seated further away and it wasn't too bad.  Oh, don't we missed last year's Getaway & Joy with far fewer passengers, the better days then.  This time, we had far more children & teens than expected but otherwise, generally a much older mix of folks, far more accessible passengers ... perhaps, for some, it's either sail now or not ever again ... with some of the CruiseNext (re)extended expiration dates coming up soon/this year. 

 

NCL managed to sell out nearly all the ships cruising out of NY this winter, even the current "almost Cruise To Nowhere, Bermuda to Bahamas high sea express "Cannonball Run"  - just looked at the GA's live shipcam, much choppier sea state & waves, more typical for this time of the year in the Atlantic as they move further north out of the Caribbean waters ~ 8 to 10 ft. and cloudy ... as least, they "escaped" the coldest day of this winter (thus far).   

 

Start packing soon for the Prima next on your cruise radar ... 

 

Just to let you know, as I just read (click for CC link) someone else on our GA cruise came home "positive" which wasn't a surprise.  Susan & I just wrapped up, our post-cruise 48-72 hours rapid tested negative & mine early this morning also - used up 4 boxes of "free" test kits instead of letting it sit, expired & wasted.  Haven't been out except for her pre-scheduled routine mamo/ultrasound exams, 99% conclusive that we didn't catch or bring home anything from this cruise - that we can terminate our self-imposed "isolation" & see friends & relatives with much higher health risk factors than us tomorrow and next week.  Woohoo !!! 

 

P.S.  @RadioPeri - hi, we didn't get much chance to chat & mingle at the Meet & Greet but the turnout was pretty good as I expected, just that nothing else was planned.  

Hi thank  you for an amazing journey it gets me excited for my upcoming Getaway cruise. Btw you mentioned in an earlier post that you tested positive for two weeks following one of your cruises. As a healthcare professional I am tested  twice a week. If we self test positive with no symptoms we stay out of work 5 days and if symptomatic 10 days.  We do not self test for one month as we get false positives and can’t get lab testing for 3 months so isolating until your self test is negative is not  necessary it’s more important to isolate if you have symptoms and not keep testing. Also on my first cruise since Covid DH got Covid. I kept testing  negative w weird cold sxs until I did a ‘deep dive’ into my nose and then tested positive 

Remember leaving several  hundred for a 14 day cruise to the butler who went up and beyond.  The conceriage got $20 for basically nothing  and then nothing for the following year.   She spent her entire time smoozing the suite breakfast for tips. She would not help with changing one dinner reservation or getting us on the wait list for an excursion so I did it myself.   She basically got what she deserved.  

1 hour ago, MsTabbyKats said:

Yes, a CTN...but a discount on a future cruise and OBC.  

 

Imho...February for Bermuda is far from ideal this time of year.  It's not warm there unless you're a penguin and the seas are rough.  I learned this when I did an early May cruise to Bermuda.  Never again.  For me, Bermuda is strictly "a summer thing".

 

Enjoy your trip!

I was in Bermuda in late April for April school vacation on the Dawn years ago and we froze

3 hours ago, phillygwm said:

I've done the Canada/NE run 4 times now (NY is a convenient port for me.)  BH is a big loss, though only one of my itineraries included it.  Portland can be interesting, depending on what you do there.  I just checked the NCL website to refresh my memory on excursions and it's no longer listed, though it's still listed on the itineraries.  Hmmmmm...

 

Saint John is not one of my faves.  Last time, we did the Hop On Hop Off, which IMHO is your best bet.  The Reversing Rapids is underwhelming:  you go in the morning and see a river flowing one way then go back in the afternoon and see it going the other.  We stopped at the Moosehead Tasting Room, which had some interesting brews.  City Market is also nice for a short stop.  The trolley stops at all of those, and maybe 10 other places.

The one time I went to St John I loved it because we went on a speedboat tour of the falls. It was exhilarating but thought it was dangerous. The following year that business went under so not surprising 

2 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

I guess you live somewhere more remote? My little northeast town charges 50 cents an hour for parking, a larger town 3 miles away charges $2 an hour for parking (non tourist areas). I love paid parking, more likely to get a spot.

Actually I live outside of Boston  and rarely have to pay in the suburbs. I don’t mind paying to park close but the entire town was metered!

Yes both Bat Harbour and Portland has passed regulations to limit cruise passengers. Bar Harbor limits it to about one ship  Portland somewhat more. I find this extremely short sighted  and foolish for two tourist communities to not want tourists! Apparently Bar Harbour only wants tourists they can make money off like drivers. I was at Arcadia last year to hike and  drove  through town and they wanted 2 $: per hour to park just to stop briefly for coffee I was so irritated did  not stop and saved my shopping for another coastal town that didn’t charge for parking and for coffee at McDonalds on my way out of town. 

Do you know the name of the beach that the excursions went to today? I am hoping to take a taxi there when we cruise there on the 2/26 Getaway.  I prefer using local resources for non ship excursions as I want all my money to go to those vendors