mking8288

Continuation of the Freestyle Daily - Day 2, 3, and 4 (PDF format for easier/faster download for those interested, or else, skip ove) Freestyle Dailies Joy - Day 2.pdf Freestyle Dailies Joy - Day 3.pdf Freestyle Dailies Joy - Day 4.pdf

We're in Saint John this Tuesday for a day and at the nearby City Market, indoor merchants cheerfully accept USD in lieu of CAD with the exchange rate of 100 USD to 120 CAD. Depending on where & how you exchange to/from - it's closer to 100 USD to 132-134 CAD, i.e. there are bank ATM's nearby (shopping center) We previous exchanged ours (been a while) at 100 to 130. Local small businesses & merchants prefer CAD but since they are happy to see cruise ship passengers returning in numbers, they gladly take USD at or near the above rate of 100 to 120. CC transactions typically cost them 3% in fees on average +/- plus other associated expenses, nothing is free. If you are an AAA (auto club) member, I believe currency exchange services are available - call ahead & check to find out ... we could've walk to one that happened to be near us, don't even need to drive over. Banks do it selectively, ask & check. Never did see any official currency exchange places near the ports ... just don't do it at the airport CE as they give the worst deal for the convenience.

Yeah, just 1 CBP officer & he was Asian ... we went down the middle (porter following / alongside with us) where there was almost no wait ~ 8:35 to 8:40 DW and I went thru those funky cameras (they don't auto zoom, tilt & adjust ... silly tech) quickly & without errors. The uniformed guy stopped Mrs. M and took 2 quick glances at the passports, then smile & welcome us back home - it was simple. Perhaps, it was just a random thing & not our profile(s) - only had 2 carry-on bags (oversized, unzipped) plus a smaller rollerboard & a cabin-size backpack with us ... didn't even ask any questions. Now that you mentioned it, hmmm ... I was thinking, are you going to stay on again or decided to take a rest with Fiona approaching Thanks all for following and if the pictures & short stories helped bring a smile or two, then I know the effort was totally worth it. We think of & missed other CC friends (i.e. @jaja from NJ) whom we've met and unable to cruise or not yet, for whatever reasons - life changing events aside from Covid. Stay tune for our next "semi-live" ... most probably, take the So.Carib route this winter on a longer itinerary & hit some new/different ports - not to exclude catching a last minute rock bottom deal & just pack and go, and blend in quietly. I did mention a brief listing last night around 6'ish - per Capt Svedung, an expected & sudden strong wind gust from chopping thru the cold front caused it, not from the outer bands of Fiona still way, way far out & approaching Bermuda then ... as we're in the North Atlantic SE of Cape Cod. We listed or tilted, maybe 10 to 15 degrees, no worst than 20 degrees as things would begin to slide & go flying ... quickly corrected from the bridge, with 2 updates from the bridge to calm "nerves" It's going to be very interesting - tracking & "monitoring" today's 10 days run to C-NE to see what & where the Joy is diverting to. Capt Svedung is an experienced old hand at NCL and he's excellent at the controls - the other captain is leaving the ship today for vacation, and with new crews that came onboard last Friday - it can be a wild one. Overall, we did hear metals grinding last night (behind the walls, the bathroom door (latex glove inserted into the door "lock" silence it) and inside the closet with the wooden hangers (bath towels used to cushion, clipped & drapped over as padding to cut down the noise) - not really new to all these, just surprised that it's happening to a fairly "new" ship. It helped DW got another restful night ... didn't get awaken to nudge me to "fix" things or to dial 00 Oh yeah, pretty much status quo at Pier 88 - seemed like they are changing & adjusting the check-in process, sequence & how different "privilege" passenger groupings are processed & handled. All-in-all, much improved over the Joy's early May embarkation steps (maybe, it was the Bermuda curse ... LOL) Allright, your turn in a few weeks and will be following along - your live report among the few that I always look forward to. Word of caution - (food) portion sizes are average to big, to sometimes ... jumbo, be careful or you will be bringing home extra pounds. Since we are all retirees now, why not - LOL. Still, DW and I ate more fish onboard for the week vs. being home ... discovered crispy hash browns that's been MIA and I'm happy with my smoked salmon "fix" for a little while.

A final look at Pier 88, almost all colors called by 8:25, we just went thru the MDR to the AFT gangway, the closest one to exit for the terminal's lower level. Got our 2 bags, flag a porter & quick got thru facial recognition again. CBP officer took a quick look at our passports & welcome us home ... We're across 12th Ave by 8:45 to order our ride, Carmel - Uber & went w Lyft, a bit more pricey than usual w U.N. Assembly in town, but heading home in a Toyota sedan now ... should be at our doorsteps before 10 am.

Taking a few final morning balcony photos from our Deck 15 Portside balcony as the bright sun rises from behind the high rise buildings 😎

Enjoying our breakfast in Savor & watching the herd rushing off , as the ship has been cleared for self-assist express walk-off at 7:15 am. Pier 90's rooftop parking also used & looks 2/3 full. Plenty of hash browns in the MDR 😆

G🤓🤓d morning and we are home again now, on the Hudson River waiting to turn into MCT Pier 88 ~ 06:00 EDT Rise-n-shine, time to get ready & enjoy breakfast before disembarking ... not in a hurry to leave, but surely those on the next sailing disagree & they want us off 😁 Sun is coming up ☺️

A little choppy in the past hour, not bad & it's no worst than the typical ride home from Nassau or Bermuda. Time to get a few hours of sleep, maybe catch Lady Liberty from our balcony as we turn toward Pier 88. I'll comment a bit more post-cruise about more technical stuff of interest to a few here on CC

Since we did a little shopping, our carry-on rollerboards expanded, packed full & after attaching gold priority tags, took photos of them & place them outside our doors for steward to pick-up ... also took care of cash tipping a little extra for excellent services. We are now south of Rhode Island Sound, approaching Montauk, NY "The Island" at 20.6 knots on a 280 deg heading for NY, windy but not gale or strong gale force ... staff are aware of Fiona, the approaching hurricane - it's a first for some of the newest crew members that just started last week & joined NCL as among the newest. Empty metal clips among the wooden hangers in the closet making noises as the ship gently rolling along, improvised using towels to silent most of them 😁 BTW, ship's satellite WiFi Internet has been exceptionally slow for the last 30 hours ever since we sailed Halifax, all onboard & trying to go online ...

Upstairs in the buffet, it's AYCE seafood night. We dined in Savor instead - also plenty of seafood items to choose from, and a wonderful evening seated next to the windows, watching the waves eased to 8.5 ft.

We are on Deck 15 AFT (152**) portside but not all the way at the stern. There's been little to zero vibrations until today going at 3/4 to full speed and crossing the cold weather front, don't consider seas to be choppy at all, max wave heights at 11.5 ft is nothing; otherwise mostly 5 ft. or less. The rise up to PEI this weekend could be a different story entirely, pack Bonine or equivalent - just in case. Being below the Spa & Galaxy Pavilion, we didn't think the virtual race car would made that much noise during the afternoon hours when in action - it's not screaming loud but ... Evenings & mornings, no problem at all.

Nope, nothing changed this week except it was written out on the FS Dailies. We took ours including QR codes along with passports as ID and ship cards, just in case. Only seen port security at the checkpoints in both Canada ports, no signs of CBSA officers anywhere near the gangways Didn't go chase after Fall colors but from what we heard, too early this year ... maybe in upper Vermont or the Adirondacks but near coastal places this week.

We are currently doing about 21 knots and crossing the cold front, ship tilted slightly Portside - briefly - with unexpected strong wind gusts. Captain came on the PA to reassure all pax and instruct folks to stay indoors, closing access to the outdoors. Earlier, we spent time in the forward lounge, where it was harder to find good windows seating with charging & outlet access. Time to go enjoy the last dinner onboard this cruise. Feeling a little shaking & vibration here on Deck 15 AFT - hold on to handrails.

Per Captain Svedung with the 10 am report from the bridge, things ahead are fine & expecting to meet the pilot boat at 4 am, and should be at the pier by 6 am. Thus, an early disembarking for those wishing to rush off is possible per schedule. Currently doing 18 knots and SE of Cape Cod. Yes, that line about "all" Latitudes must go to immigration for inspection is confusing ... what if we aren't in a hurry and wanted to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and don't want to use priority disembarkation, and our tags are priority "gold" ... will ask & find out. This is new to us 😳 Small boat Portside here - deep sea fishing 🤔 Heaters on & working while sunbathers are out on the pool deck - also saw & confirm overhead heaters on the Waterfront for various dining venues & bars. Now, starting to see small white caps among the waves.

Both of us Sapphires onboard this week on the Joy, no special or upgraded toiletry items ... Plenty of Platinum & higher onboard this week, such upgrade would quickly deplete "remaining" inventory. DW prefer to use her own products anyway. OP, did you get robes and slippers ?

Cruising at 18 knots this morning l, sunny skies and 62 deg F, large waves with seas at 11.5 ft. and hardly feel the ship's movement. Both MDR are quite busy for breakfast this morning.

Samsung HDTV monitor uses an Ethernet plug for its interactive programming signal feed and I am afraid it's not possible or practical to try to enable HDMI as a source. Good news in that the bedside lamp has an USB port to use, if desired and not concerned about ... (firewall to protect your powered device 😇 ) Bonus tech geek's too - bring a 10 ft. USB (2.0 +) extension and a simple 220v to 110v adapter plug.

Photos from Deck 15, including one of the AFT crew only access area - never heard any noises coming from there & into our room. The balconies just forward of ours are by the elevators, they are far away enough to not be noisy. There are at least 3 to 4 balcony, club & suite/Haven suites with decorations hanging on the door ... apparently not disallowed 🫣 The forward section by the Fwd elevators, port side had a grouping of Haven suites and there is a door that separate the corridor by the Observation Lounge - there are also SC "suites" in this area with 2 "SP" suites via starboard side only.

Lifeboat/Deck 7 and the Waterfront - Deck 8 AFT ... quiet

Late night onboard the Joy - bars & lounges are alive & busy, ditto for to he casino, nobody out on the waterfront at 10 pm ... a bit chilly at 62 deg F and light wind. Sea state with large waves, wave height gone from 8 ft. to 11.5 ft. now, ship speed at 18 knots on a 229 deg heading.

Bad news, we had divers underway doing maintenance, inspections and looking after the ship's propulsion system - will be leaving late. No cause for alarm. Good news, divers are out of the water & reported all is good, full propulsion assured and once cleared, will be underway any moment now - as updated by the Captain a few minutes ago and midway thru our dinner service. And we are underway at 9:05 pm ADT or 21:05 and turning around to head out the harbour channel. Tonight, we also set the clock back by 1 hour to EST and regain the lost hour from earlier this week.

Dinner in the Manhattan MDR tonight, no reservations needed nor line, just a 2 minutes wait & we got seated by the window, starboard side.

Checking the "Windy" app, it seemed we might run into a brief period of rough sea state and larger waves, nothing to truly about. We've been on a few fun & bumpy ride thru storms with this captain and he is very good charting the best course headings to sail the ship thru and in command of it all. We got a little extra treat today, thanks to the G.M.

Citidal hilltop, down the hill to below & catching a taxi back to Cruise Terminal ... Caution: those gangways are long and steep. Late tours are staging outside in the parking area and getting to leave at 4 pm 🫣 All abroad is 7:30 pm and we sail at 8 pm to NY. Elements booked for 7 pm with a late dinner afterward.

Halifax Citidal pix - group 2