mking8288

@Aquarius_traveler129 Tips are just tips, FWIW, they aren't necessary what NCL and their outsourced contractor are doing. The other tactics, watch & read ("stalk") the Dawn's CC roll call ahead of yours sailing Alaska and see/read their chats, see if anyone is sharing about their bids or whether or not, and when theirs became available. Last year and 2022, during the gradual ramp-on exiting Covid-19 where we sailed at 40% occupancies, upgrades were easy & good for those that won ... some were awarded at 20, 30 to 50, 60 days out, shocking ... and, bids were poor to good. Come late 2023 and cruise ships sailing at or near full occupancies, things began to change. Friends that're interested knew about the URL link to check - except, nothing was showing or released, message popped up saying ... to the effects that sorry, nothing available and/or, please check back later. You should check using the link anyway now, and see what it say - repeat that a week later, and so on, and so forth - keep your eyes on the prices & changes, along with inventory. This Spring, even the TA are sold out, i.e Escape is full - next month heading east across the pond ... and, even Haven, Suites, Spa Balconies became sold out fairly early. There is also the new element of "Live Bidding" mainly for the handful of (hidden ??) Haven suites, perhaps from last minute upgrades & cancellation (yeah, right ...) We are on a different TA and ship later next month, just about everyone except for less than a handful of Club Balconies are sold out, full (for the upper sub/categories) balconies & OV are still open - the odds are changing, and the game rules changed ... still changing, to maximize net revenue by/for NCL's bottomline.

Keyword here is this Summer the 15th ... the cruise will sell out, one way or another - maybe, without the possibility of anyone getting those prized balcony upgrade. Will you settled for an Oceanview instead - I would highly recommend making a bid for that, as a back up or else, stay with the Inside you are booked in. Ships are sailing full and/or near capacity this year, especially with winter breaks and school holidays - expect and plan for that this summer. As for NCL's partner sending out notices about upgrade bidding - lately, it seemed to vary widely - case in points, virtually nobody on our next sailing received the alerts, emails or see the option to bid, until about 60 to 65 days in - and the minimum starting bid is crazy, IMHO. $300 x 2 to go from a balcony (of our own choiced selection) to a club balcony GTY assignment. Suites started at $1,000+ and higher as the starting x 2 and Haven, oh my lord - we can do 1 or 2 nice cruises for the incremental upgrade. Regardless, we had fun in the past with bidding - apparently, not anymore - do the math, perhaps you might be better off calling in to ask about a straight upgrade, if prices do drop soon - for the peak summer weeks, doubtful, however (sorry, that's the reality)

Exhibit B here - catching up on the Sun's entertainment via an excellent trip report - looked pretty bad, sad ... short of being, pathetic - look at the 3 photos from Post # 807 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2997088-txteach79s-norwegian-sun-spring-break-shorty-live-31324/?do=findComment&comment=67095579

@kilili The problem could be on either end, this being a weekday & within business hours, faster & easier if you give NCL Tech Support a direct call - they usually answer rather quickly & without a long queue ... have all the info available, probably more than your dad's "credentials" but maybe access to his email account, not just the email address per se, as well as a SMS/text enabled # that's registered or associated with his NCL account. It might just need a simple reset on their end due to excess # of failed log-in or somehow, triggered a locked down of his online account. Good luck & let us know if you have success ... curious minds would like to know. Our Representatives would be happy to help you with the following: Need help with Booking - Can't Find Your Cruise Need help with Booking - Unable to Complete Reservation Need help with Log-In - Invalid Log-In Need help with Log-In - Unable to Retrieve Reservation Need help with Log-In - Unable to Reset Password Logged In - Reservation Not Found Creating an Account - User ID Already Exists Site Freezing Receiving Errors Images/Content Not Loading Phone1.866.625.1160 Hours of Operation Mon-Fri: 9am - 6:00pm ET

Concur ... back in the pre-NCL days, we cruised (1990's) on the old Premier Cruises and even on a CTN, they provided those tablets. Our history with NCL goes back to 1999-2000, and the Norwegian Sea, Dawn and Crown, etc. all provided, as a courtesy, on request, to passengers experiencing motion sickness. Nope, we sail fully prepared and among other items in the EDC bag to travel & go ashore, a mini medical kit including essential meds - as things happen ... 95% of the passengers on a given cruise aren't on CC and/or on the other social media site, and I've seen the DIY dispensing machine empty, sold out ... perhaps not from being lazy & keeping it stocked. I cannot imagine the queue for passengers while sailing thru 30 ft. waves in near/strong gale force conditions - to be cold hearted and informing pax to go medical. Wait, why aren't some of us surprised or shock ... it's the new normal everywhere. Nevermind, I'm sure there are plenty cheerleaders that strongly dispute and disagree, fine with me, and no need to quote & repeat what I wrote and flame me. Moving along. @YVRteacher Happy early Spring break & following along again, we haven't seen this old friend in 6 or 7 years, perhaps 8 since she "left" NYC, once her homeport ... looking forward to reading what's new, changed, different and same old ... same old. MDR menu items that's refreshing, etc. We plan to sail her again, not soon enough, when she's back in the NE port in 2025. We still have precious pictures & videos of the firework show on the BA as we sail home from Nassau, OMG - that was 2014 - how things have ...

Thank you for the explanation and probable cause(s) and the proactive use of tugboats for docking at MCT certainly make sense with the strong undercurrent/tidal changes. As noted, she's currently en route for Bermuda, speed throttled down from 20 kts to 17 kts at this moment, tracking her last night, she was doing 9 to 10 kts even south of Ambrose Channel - 2 other ships, Anthem and MSC Merv were full throttle further south at 20 - 21 kts ... all were closer to the coastlines, perhaps for a better ride from waves & sea states. Then, I figured - perhaps, the USCG/NOAA Speed Restriction Zones rule might already be active - protection against seasonal migration of Right Whales on the move ... ships in the sighting area must observe speed limit of 10 kts. Afterall, Spring is early this year and DC's Cherry Blossom trees are hitting their peak already ... and NYC's cherry trees are following close behind - climate changes, believe it or not, are happening. No (further) news is good news with those now onboard. Bermuda's forecast for tomorrow not looking great with near/gale force wind and waves higher outside the reefs ... fine for the rest of the week. Might as well, just "let it ride"

You win the jackpot 🎇. Here she goes 👍 backing out of Pier 88 Bon Voyage, happy & safe travels to all onboard ☘️ Wow, that's a pretty quick turn "Getaway" on the move ... kudos to the team's rapid turnaround for sure ... All abroad, Bermuda bound ... dinner on the Hudson with the moving skyline.

Sue is on this week's Bermuda 7 days run and knowing her, probably and hopefully, we'll get updated later on. While enjoying a nice, late Sunday brunch out here in Queens - CC friends of ours texted me, saying their friends currently waiting to disembark ... said they felt like the GA is running with just one engine (probably 1 less engine than max) heading back to NY once they're informed by the captain of the delayed disembarkation, while evading the specifics (typical of NCL's corporate communications these days, as some of us recognized ...) *.away class ships have 4 engines and generally can run on 2 or 3 only to a max of 16 kts but the 4th engine is needed to push up full throttle to 20-22 kts. Early this morning, she was at 9.5 to 10 kts off NJ and south of Sandy Hook - not making up for any lost time en route (could also be high/low tides related) The use of 2 or more tugboats to assist in the final docking, also, not a good indicator - suggesting maybe the azipods and steering might be in play. I would be very surprised that they can sail before 8 or 9 PM this evening, with provisions to load and they are probably at rush hour boarding the remaining guests now. When I last checked the ship's live streaming webcam around 4 PM, there were still disembarked pax with luggage across 12th Avenue at the taxi stand ... perhaps, they're finally reached zero counts around that time and began Haven & VIP, priority boarding. BTW, that could've been me writing out thoughts of ours about NCL's NY operations. We aren't sailing the Joy (again) to Bermuda in May this year but got extended family & friends doing the short 7 days loop, getting burnt out doing the same old, same old. MSC's prices on the off-peak rates out of NY is looking good, less than ... much less than what NCL is charging for comparative reasons. Critical reviews of MSC, outside YC, are a mixed bag and more similar than different from NCL - between rocks and hard places - we might just scale back & do less cruises ahead, after next month - just one more this Fall, at ease with the older ships and the basics. We don't care for the bells & whistles, the games shows and the adult rides - sea days are fine and we'll get to see distance places that we couldn't do while still working years ago. Almost 6:30 PM, GA still berthed at Pier 88 ... not sure if Marinetraffic's AIS data are truly updated, but surely don't see she getting there later on Tuesday ... unless they can restore full systems and can push the necessary speed - with roughly 750 nautical miles to cover, an average speed of 16 kts is going to be tough, plus the return from Bermuda has zero allowance for a slow dance. Maybe, someone currently onboard will give us the info - the CC roll call is almost non-existent but apparently, a very active group on the other platform. (And, if CC continue to not address some of the issues others and I previously raised ... the problems with the declines in seeing inactive CC roll call will worsen) The next batch of questions are coming next for the Getaway to NCL - will passengers be issued any kind of token compensation, aside from the pledge of reimbursement for interrupted/delayed travel using NCL Air ... the next group now onboard, how will NCL handle this "unforeseen" situation, as a good will gesture in missing a day ashore. Of course, we all know, things happen & that's another reason to carry good insurance coverage.

Almost 12:30 PM, turning into Pier 88

Friends of CC friend onboard said, earliest disembarkation is 1:30 PM or later ... coming up the Hudson

Made the news already - https://www.cruisehive.com/norwegian-cruise-ship-delayed-due-to-technical-issue/126306 Safe travel for all this morning ... latest on the Getaway, south of Sandy Hook area off NJ shoreline at just under 10 kts, ETA is 12:00 but as late as 14:00 calculated per her speed. Should pickup the pilot boat soon. Engineers and maintenance ... bring them in 😬

Nope, not thru CC - indirectly but let's do that when you get home after Bermuda next week ... Meanwhile, just looked at the CC roll call section for tomorrow - wow, nothing going on with a handful of posts. We have a very active roll call & building momentum, close to 100 thus far for M&G (not running it, someone else is - doing "logistical" support help with the roster, lots of good folks on it) Drop in there next Sunday when you get back - check out the linked sheet ... is last minute travel an option ? Embarking pax were alerted about tomorrow's delay before pax currently onboard were informed by the captain this morning ... NCL communications, what can I say - right, they run the operations. GA still not pushing faster than 16 kts and they now definitely have the tailwind - not strong and ocean current also in the ship's favorite, south to north. Hopefully, steering & azipod isn't going to be an issue docking, thankfully - NY has plenty of tugboats & can get called in to assist the pilot & captain to safely bring her "home".

@Suetravel - not that difficult, spotted the post about the GA's possible mishap & then, making a wild guess about your posted comment - and figured out by looking further into the roll call. We had hoped for possibly booking a last minute GA this winter, but gave up with shrinking inventory & prices, etc. Anyway, as you knew already, going TA next month and if you have about 2 weeks worth of vacation time this Fall (plus 2 or 3 days for homebound return) the mid-sized & older ship that we haven't sailed on ... has great prices, 14 nights. Chat elsewhere on details if you think. Not too happy with NCL's choices & options this winter and next year for the N.E. - looking ahead for 2025, which is something that we don't normally do. Oops, sorry for side chats - just seeing the live post onboard, delayed arrival & times are likely going to be their best ballpark numbers ... yike. Looks like you don't need to rush across the Hudson and pack ... plenty of patience, maybe some snacks.

Ha ... that'll be just as bad or good as one can expect ... think positive, could've been a late winter blizzard or snow storm in mid March. Her speed is down by 1 to just 16 knots ... should be pushing faster if and only if they have all 4 engines ... otherwise, if they only got 3 out of 4 running - ship just about max'd out, speed-wise. Carnival Legend, closer to VA/MD coastline is pushing nicely along at 21 kts so strong headwind and/or ocean current isn't really their obstacles - seas at 1.5 meter with a nice sea breeze. Digging into marinetraffic data, she left Puerto Plata 2 days ago, reported speed of 20.3 kts heading for NY before going out of AIS tracking range ... ETA into NY is showing 10:00 tomorrow (UTC -4:00) Will be a nice sunset sailaway down the Hudson ... now that it's DST.

Ooops ... looking at Windy App, live shipcam & Cruisemapper, etc. to make a semi - uninformed guess, let's see: she's doing about 17 kts. which is fine for fuel savings but not to make up for lost time/distance needed to travel ... No apparent diversion for medevac or other emergencies. She's crossing a weatherfront, transitioning from headwind to tailwind, should be a plus on gaining a bit extra speed to move a little faster. A technical issue typically translate with engine/azipod experiencing an event onboard, perhaps running on max with just 3 out of 4 systems - giving it full speed to push along. Those expecting to disembark in the morning with "tight" airline or ground transfer connections, gotta be in a bit of panic ... errr, crisis mode onboard. Thus, it is more than embarkation delays - not to mention, a fully jammed pack MCT at Pier 88 by late morning - can be sure that some will not get or see the text alert, voice notification or email blast to caution folks to delay their arrival. Weather is good in metro NY area, aside from St. Pattie's Parade in Manhattan (Fifth Ave ... I believe) @Suetravel Happy cruising tomorrow, enjoy & have a great time - perhaps, a semi-live from you ... haha. Ours getting closer ... a matter of weeks away.

Ohhhhh ... yes, that wasn't intentional but rather indirectly, subconsciously perhaps. Why not blame FDR along since Dirty Harry was one of the protege under Frankie's wings during his tenure. I figure, no harm done to try to inject a bit of humor and fun into these "controversial" discussions lately. Lately, those NCL "Inner Circle" online surveys have been very focused & specific, asking for feedbacks, ratings & comments about these and other similar onboard activities, i.e. a long list of Asian menu items, not offered before or now, and what if. Operations team onboard might not fully report and relay back the success, and lack thereof in these "slick" game shows, but if they aren't hitting their net revenue targets ... eventually, finance at HQ will drill down & begin asking for explanations.

Frankly, saw it once onboard the Prima last year and enough ... DW might "bring" her sister and niece to "watch" it next month with zero "buy-in" Isn't this, a friend asked, sort of like the new Bingo in disguise onboard. Well, I dunno what to tell ya ... no wonder they aren't pushing Bingo anymore. Anyone else that cruise in those earlier NCL days, recalled "Gina" from the CD staff that would cheerfully announced it's "Bingo" time with her sweet voice. Me, think, personally, feel free to do whatever, it is freestyle cruising afterall ... something for everyone to do, and not to - rather retreat to our private balcony with a beverage in hand (an ice cold coffee will do, overpriced latte isn't necessary) or alcohol-free beer will do ... or head for the gym to burn some calories off instead. Maybe, better off go straight to the casino and make a donation, with the house edge/odds of winning big ... or, open that Kindle or iPad. To each her/his own, I suppose.

Tell your friend that the burger at CB was quite good, too full to finish it and the toasted bun didn't fall apart. Five Guys burgers chain getting the heat lately with their wacky menu prices ... Shake Shack's prices not really any better either. It's unrealistic to expect Michelin star graded cuisine on a cruise with 2,000 to 3,000+ fellow passengers - trending is what is disturbing, at least to a few of us. Pizza onboard NCL has gotten better over the past decade but without a wooden burning oven like these we had earlier today - these from Frank Pepe Pizzeria, another regional chain - been around since 1925, served up excellent pizza - plain yummy, one of the closet one from our home is like 20 miles away. Fingers crossed that it was one-off provisioning and/or onboard refrigeration / storage issues and not a "new" fleet-wide realignment, to .... and ....

I double checked the calendar - today isn't April 1st - fellow CC not joking around, right 🤭 🙄 🤔 NCL gonna to serve turkey burger in The Local and O'Sheehan's instead of beef ?? We recognize that the grass isn't necessary greener on the othe lawn. My real beef burger last week at Cracker Barrel Country Kitchen/Store was quite good 😁 with steak fries and sweet corn ... what are we cruising for ??

Some do not ... but, see that 10 years old Sony Vaio NB (Win 8 upgraded to Win 10Pro) came also with HDMI port - running Linux Ubuntu LTS these days. Lenovo touchscreen Chromebook - 4 years old, uses HDMI (also via USB output). Dell Optiplex 5290 12" travel NB (2017 on W11 Pro) - has HDMI and mini DisplayPort in addition to VGA output. Sitting under the workshop bench, HP Envy M6 16" laptop, AMD multimedia configured & retired due to touchscreen issues, spare parts repurposed. Lenovo W11 Pro touchscreen laptop (from 2020) with Intel Optaine M.2 SSD, you guess it - HDMI. Shop before you buy, research and plan accordingly ... avoid Best Buy/Walmart/BJ/Costco specials, pre-owned off-lease 2 years old laptops often are real charms (business "class" vs. consumer grade components). For simplicity on a cruise, I wouldn't pack game consoles ... I don't think they get along interactively with any laptop, including ones with HDMI output (2 way or interactive mode, not too sure). If you aren't flying, maybe pack one of the newer micro-monitors, not the 7" or 10" ones - this one on Amazon is 15.6" and very compact, inexpensive - have a look at the specs https://www.amazon.com/HONGO-Portable-Monitors-Computer-External/dp/B0BZ4GXCC7/ref=sxin_15_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.d4fdc453-1595-4f7b-ba6a-eb2ac554591f%3Aamzn1.sym.d4fdc453-1595-4f7b-ba6a-eb2ac554591f&crid=27O5CJ4Y9YS4O&cv_ct_cx=micro%2Bmonitors&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.hN_UfXoi5-qqfioqjiu7YeeH2BtNk76uZILVKmpg9QxkVaO4sXZSEcsjnE2K5e-glJUw-G0_Onpm8gwjWkFATQ.iDPiJee9zjlVwzh1AvaETgjOuuy8xmY7-qwVk8tMvQM&dib_tag=se&keywords=micro%2Bmonitors&pd_rd_i=B0BZ4GXCC7&pd_rd_r=13c706d3-abb2-47cd-a1ee-207d1d3597a2&pd_rd_w=rtEdi&pd_rd_wg=TcB5l&pf_rd_p=d4fdc453-1595-4f7b-ba6a-eb2ac554591f&pf_rd_r=K6XVTFH4HWP9BFZ1QAGB&qid=1710035796&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=micro%2Bmonitors%2Caps%2C94&sr=1-2-364cf978-ce2a-480a-9bb0-bdb96faa0f61-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&th=1 Very affordable or spend a little more for brand names. Easy to add up bubble wraps to protect it as carry-on for embarkation ... Have fun !

TIA and enjoy your cruise ... fellow cruisers on next month's Prima roll call wished to know (should you have time to explore and find out) how is the digital library collection (using the free Libby App) and does it have a good variety for access. How's the MDR dinner reservation and seating working out onboard, is there a longer than usual wait to get seat (next month, we cannot pre-book MDR dinner for parties of 5 or less, only 6 or more can be reserved in advance) and if they are separating passengers with reservation and the rest (walk-ups) If you can, near Guest Services - Deck 7 Mid/Fwd is a TV display, showing the ship's management team, including the Captain, Staff Capt, General Manager, Chef, CruiseNext, Head of Housekeeping and other "department" heads currently onboard. Kindly post that information (take several photos & upload them to post here will work great) - thanks. Any whisper from the CruiseNext team about upcoming promotions and specials, best book onboard now "deals" that's not available routinely as "sales". Ship's navigational channel is slick but were showing very limited information last November when we're onboard, i.e. missing "live" data about air temperature, wind, sea state, ETA arrival to next port (distance to/from traveled between ports - not consistently shown) ... asked & were told NCL is in the process of upgrading the systems. Can you comment on that, thanks. Appreciate efforts in taking out during your cruise vacation to post and answer questions to help others "stranded" at home and/or on land.

Good info on Android TV box ... Prima's Starlink connection is quite stable but not really fast enough to stream HD or 1080p, unless the plan is upgraded to premium plus. I tried watching Youtube videos with our unlimited basic plan and it was "no, can't do" despite tweaking the settings and lowering the resolution to 720p. Doubtful that it is auto-sensing and capable of switching default input from wired network to USB, read like a long HDMI cable plus an universal remote are needed to tweak the Samsung Smart TV. I know when connecting to Cat-6 wiring and HDMI port, nothing happened as it wasn't seeing a signal.

Stand corrected, must've been having that senior moment posting, middle of the day too. Thanks, actually - caught my error but after 20 minutes, as we know, CC won't allow edit anymore - both cabins were booked in OV, upgrade first one with the Diamond perk and then call into WP on the second OV with list of available balconies (none on her list ... but she came up with quite a few choices on the decks I asked, with the deck plan on my screen display) It was (is) a good use of just 30,000 points for a single meta upgrade. The other diamond upgrade - eyeballing mid/late October on the older ship's TA from our homeport, flying back the other way but could possibly do a B2B with 2 days sightseeing the ports in between, still doing the math & looking at flights (we plan & choose ours) etc. - that's still within the 1 year and should be fine. We still have enough points to do WP upgrades, single and a double meta. Have another one that's more than 18 months out, late 2025 (we typically don't book this far out ... now, we can) and tempted to see if we can do the Diamond upgrade for it. We can use 30,000 points again for this Fall's TA instead and the saving is quite substantial. First world problems to deal with, huh 😁 If you cannot use the other one, should be fine - book something ahead ... according to this post, several "trusted" CC posters basically confirmed the 1 year rule or restriction on use it or lose it, does not apply. See link below for that post - https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2996292-diamond-latitude-question/#comment-67059436

FWIW, 2 of our CC friends were on the Sun - westbound TA with first USA stop in NY & continuing to FL, ship then continue to repo ... that was a little more than a year ago, They contacted NCL prior to embarkation as their home is NYC, and asked about disembarking in NY and were advised it is allowed (believed the travel agent they used inquired about it on their behalf, owning the booking) They didn't have to wait until being on the ship as they would otherwise need to make one-way flight arrangement to fly home, left the ship 2 days earlier than the full itinerary. That TA sailing, apparently, was offered as both 15 and 17 days and they booked it without realizing the shorter one, ending in NY. Regardless, they're happy and they actually received (doubled) points for all 17 days, not 15 days - and DSC for their 15 days only ... they're pretty happy & pleasantly surprised. When we're on the eastbound "Epic" TA last April, saw a handful of ship pax disembarking with luggage at 2+ island ports in Spain, before the final end of that itinerary in Barcelona. Apparently, it is permitted in select and specific cruise itinerary depending on the countries. P.S. They email NCL and apparently had it as documented approval, just in case.