dmwnc1959

10 minutes ago, Distinctive-Destinations said:

I don’t know the answers to your first and third questions, but today’s Jade Freestyle Daily shows the hours of operation as 6am to 10pm.

I'm an early riser so that will be an excellent way to start the day with some breakfast at O'Sheehan's. 👍

If I buy the Starbucks ☕ package can I use it on embarkation day and immediately upon boarding? Will the Java Café & Bar be open?

Does anyone have a recent daily schedule from Norwegian Jade on the atrium coffee bar 🕰️ hours of operation? 

And the last day of the package will be a turn-around day for me, what's the latest on that day I can use it before it 'expires'? 😫
 

356 days and counting. 😁

🎉

From Norwegian Encore's Bridge cam this morning...

27 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Ever since I started cruising (2022 - I know, oh such a long time), Norwegian has offered cookie trays like this one. 

Maybe now it's a way to sort of force passengers hands, with reports of cookies disappearing everywhere, that if they really want them they have to actually buy them. 
 

It's a shame Norwegian Jade doesn't have some kind of international café where you can purchase sweets and treats. My last cruise has a patisserie loaded with macarons and tons of other cakes and sweets. 
 

I'm still wondering if the mass disappearance of cookies has anything to do with the fact that they are available on the website to order? 

2 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

NCL's Frequently Asked Questions says......

 

"Unsealed food items will not be allowed onboard."

 

I don't know how strict the cookie police are.

They will be sealed, still in the store bag with receipt. I wonder if the Ghirardelli store has fancy cookies? 

7 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

Only if you bring enough cookies for everybody who wants one.

I was seriously contemplating buying the Starbucks drink package. Thought it would be nice to take down a couple of soft baked cookies to enjoy with a specialty coffee. I've been tracking down stores close by to where the ship docks, and there ate plenty of opportunities to run out and grab some supplies. Including cookies. 

So, a quick question about NCL's policy regarding bringing food on board in US ports. 
 

On the repositioning cruise, when we stop in LA or San Francisco or Astoria and I go out into town and buy a couple of boxes of soft baked cookies, can I bring them back on board with me? 

On 3/18/2024 at 4:26 PM, CobbIsCruiser said:

We asked an officer, and he said all NCL ships were going to stop having cookies at the 3:00 pm snack.

Any April updates on the cookie situation? 
 

😁

2 minutes ago, hallux said:

I did it from the other side, my port stop was Panama City after the transit.

That's another reason why I was so keen on the Coral Princess itinerary. She stopped in Fuerte Amador the day prior to her full-transit arriving at 7am, which gave plenty of time to do the small boat tour/transit and still have some time to see Panama City. 
 

As an update on the Norwegian Encore transit. According to Marine Traffic once clear from the last of the Cocoli Locks she remained there alongside the lock pier-head for just over two hours. When the tides were just right she finally passed under the Bridge of the Americas approximately 9pm local time and arriving at Fuerte Amador just before 1030pm.

What's crazy is that while she was still tied up at the lock pier-head, I took a bunch of screenshots. When advancing back-and-forth through these, you can actually see the ship rise and fall with the tide. Never visualized it quite like that, and seeing basically a time-lapse of this was fascinating. 
 

6 minutes ago, hallux said:

I did an excursion that went in the old locks in a much smaller boat...

That I am going to do as well. Our port stop prior to the transit is Colón, and as soon as that tour opens I'm going to book it. 

40 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Not always.  Our first full transit, which was southbound on the Jewel in 2017, did not reach the Bridge of the Americas until after dark. 

 

That's my next goal, to do northbound hopefully to hit this area just before sunrise. The approach to the industrialized Gamboa area lit up and passing under the bridge that early in the morning would be fairly impressive. 

5 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

Pretty cool picture! Love all of that clean, neatly folded laundry! 🥰

1 hour ago, ppcox said:

Our transit Miami to LA on the Encore is our favourite cruise of all we have taken (15) A perfect mix of interesting ports and scenery combined with a fantastic ship. We had Vibe passes and the view as we passed through the locks was epic. Slightly off topic but yes we had a holding pattern in the lake too. 

My very first time will be April 2025. Not sure I could do the Panama Canal fifteen times. 😉
 

And of all the full transits I've looked into none of the ships were larger than 60-90k tons. I'd most definitely prefer the smaller ships for this, just to hit the historic locks and see them (and the old lock gates) from the promenade deck at eye level while we are wedged into a 110-year old lock chamber. But that's probably just the beginner and me talking. 😁

Well, she is definitely underway now. It'll be interesting to see what time she comes out the other side of the last locks. 
 

3 minutes ago, hallux said:

@dmwnc1959 I'll be honest - the pics I got exiting the lock in the dark are kinda cool.

Oh, I'm sure they are! Earlier this week the small cruise ship Island Sky did a full nigh-time transit heading northbound. And I've seen some of the small National Geographic ships do that as well. And the NG ships will anchor off of Barro Colorado Island overnight. I think going through the Culebra Cut in the dark would be totally crazy with all of the buoys and range markers blinking on and off all the time. 

Just now, hallux said:

Which is exactly what happened to my cruise.  I have pictures and a short video clip from The Waterfront as we sailed out of the last lock between 7:15 and 7:30 PM.  It was dark because it was Jan 31.  I was eating dinner as we were descending in the locks.

Maybe that's an advantage of doing a full transit on one of the smaller NCL ships over the mega-ship, since it's more of a full 'daylight transit' even in January. Basically from just after sunrise to exiting well before sunset. 

13 minutes ago, hallux said:

My Bliss transit earlier this year did something similar.  Something about timing of ship transits, it ended up making us 'late' for exiting the canal and we had to tie up at the exit of the last lock on the Pacific side to wait for low tide to pass under the bridge.

I've seen that coming in from the Pacific side, after exiting the Cocoli Locks heading into the canal, they did the same before proceeding towards Centennial Bridge. 

5 minutes ago, zqvol said:

Nothing unusual here, simply traffic control.

3 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

It also stopped for a couple hours two years ago. The captain said it had to do with the tides to fit under the bridge. 

This also explains why last November she was coming in from the Pacific side at 2 o'clock in the morning. 
 

12 minutes ago, Kodiak99 said:

While on the encore last April we sat in the lake for a while before proceeding. I don’t think it’s unusual.

At the rate she's going now, they won't exit the Cocoli Locks until dark. There comes a point in time when the directional traffic through the narrows at Culebra Cut becomes on way. She may bring up the tail end of that window heading southbound. But as of right now she's still sitting there. 
 

After going through the new locks for the Panama Canal, Norwegian Encore took up position in the southwest side of Gatun Lake and basically just came to full stop two hours ago. Right now she is basically station keeping in one position. 
 

She is doing a full transit in route from Cartagena to Fuerte Amador. 
 

Is there any reason that she would still be stopped in Gatun Lake for so long? She really should be at this point well into Culebra Cut. Don't think I've ever seen this on a cruise ship doing a full transit.