mking8288

Oh, we missed the old classics like Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals on stage at the Stardust Theater, old days when Jean Ann Ryan Productions ran them - then, to cut costs ... NCL Productions came around & took over, and wasn't too popular initially but "Fountains" was fun & entertaining then with the CD on stage in a leading role ... and some of the crew talent shows weren't bad. Maybe, Frankie & Harry Company is going to re-train among the more talented crew members to become the next wave of onboard entertainers ... keeping in line with Sail & Sustain by digitizing those stage sets with 3D virtual ones. /s Just not going to walk into a semi packed theater to watch a movie while some folks are heard coughing & sneezing, etc. etc. Could do that safely from the privacy & relative safety of one's suite and stateroom, studios to balconies, it really doesn't matter - and Room Service specials at 50% off ... a winner ?? Gotta have a sense of humor these days.

It's easier for some than others. I have a dual monitor setup with my desktop PC - one in usual landscape mode, widescreen format and the other swing 90 degree (sideway) or portrait mode (as if you are looking at a full letter size page, word processing mode) - you then do a PrintScreen command (PC & Chromebook) - paste into a graphics app, edit, trim & save as a graphics file (most commonly, as *.JPG format) Once that's ready, it's easy to "insert" into email and sent or submit, no attachements and/or you can still include the SH statement and request form together as well. Done & wait for the acknowledgement. Let's just hope that NCLH isn't going to temporary suspend this valuable giveaway benefits, despite its "enhanced" restrictive use onboard.

Beautiful and stunning pictures & photography !! Thank you for sharing. Freestyle Dailies are tremendously helpful, giving us heads up in what to expect and adjusting plans.

If you enjoy surfing, watch it up high on Spinnaker Lounge, Deck 13 Fwd ... We're in an OV, Deck 4 Fwd a week after Sandy in 2012 on the Gem, blasted our way thru a NorEaster - 30 to 40 ft. waves & strong gale diagonal across the bow for 15 hours leaving NY, unforgettable giant submarine porthole view of raging sea. Tomorrow, not looking pretty heading in but ... trust the bridge & ship captain. Should be able to plot & cut a path thru, probably quite rocky for a few hours and stay indoors, outside decks closed for safety 🛟 Recently, it was reported that another cruiseline's ship captain (think it was Carnival) ordered stewards to lock down & secured all the balcony doors while sailing thru the Golf of Mexico ahead of forecast ... that's pretty rare.

OP - rest assured, you can easily walk across 12th Avenue at W. 48th Street (it's a wide avenue, traffic-signal controlled with a pedestrian safety island in the middle for folks that are slower to get across) to access Pier 88 and Pier 90 via street level, choice of giant elevator and/or escalators when ship(s) is there, as it is a secured area & mainly locked when cruise ship isn't expected. Here are some pix of what it looked like, done for our upcoming roll call's purposes - post #187 has the street views that you are looking for.

Over at Carnival, one of the ships embarking an hour earlier (today) than scheduled, probably due to revised/updated weather forecast.

If you are on a 2 device package, you are only limited to using any 2 devices at the same time - you can register as MANY devices as you carry & wish. i.e. On an upgraded 1 device plan, it's usually my primary Android, my backup iPhone and another Android dual-sim, plus either the laptop or Chromebook, and iPad mini. You will see the newest device signing in with a pop-up alert that another device is connected, and continuing with disconnect the other device in order to go "live" ... (thus, signing your account out of the other device that "was" logged in)

Bermuda's public fast ferry runs year-round, it is on their WINTER schedule and services are limited, and especially on weekends & island holidays, always check ahead. NCL's fast ferry to St. George's ("Spirit of ") that docked across from NCL ship whenever it's there, run on its own special schedule that align with ship's sailing time. The last ferry for the day usually returns at 5 pm (or 1 pm if the ship sail at 3 p.m. with all abroad by 2:30 p.m.) "Current" schedule always posted on the deck & when in doubt, ask the ferry crew. Our friends were there in Bermuda last month for a scheduled 5 days cruise out of NY and took advantage of the free NCL ferry, show your Guest Key Card to board. Just be advised that some shops are closed for the winter season while others are open with winter schedule in place. Check & sync your watch and smartphone's clock, the Pier Runner's Club membership is free but very expensive if the ship sail without you & disembark your belongings and luggage on the pier with the port agent.

Pull out more photos from DW's SS Galaxy - just to illustrate ... and, that's the Grilled Fisherman's Platter - a la carte priced now at $45 + 20%, of course, few pay "full" price & dine with the package, except, some do ... We are going to use these to compare, later this month onboard - stay tuned for it.

@evanskl4 One thing I forget to "Evan" & you should know this - please check, review & confirm your newest NCL confirmation with the Amenities, seeing that both of you are Latitudes members already - if you upgraded to the SP, you are getting at least triple points (2 points with the current promo and 1 extra point for the suite, that's per night) For the November cruise, I'm not 100% certain but since it is more than 6 months out, should be another extra point as in "quad points per night" or 4 points times X number of nights (i.e. 4 x 7 = 28 points, nice one) Other friends of ours that we met thru CC several years ago just recently booked something similar, they got the triple points promo & used 2 CruiseNext certs (holiday/new year specials, since expired) that they didn't know were extended for a year - able to use 3 deposits to book an AFT balcony for a very nice price ... they are currently on Royal's AOS somewhere but it was still good & they are excited. Check & decode those Latitude codes. Enjoy that extra space & perhaps we'll hear from you after your return from Bermuda ... Ron was the GM both in May & Sept - has a great team under him, no matter what category you are booked, they try to please - within confines of what they can do. With the extra money spent and saved over Haven, you can do a lot to pamper that cruise week to enjoy the extra space. It's about the same size as the Marriott suites that we often stay in and everyone is going to have her/his personal space ... even with one housekeeping service daily ahead. Regards & best wishes ahead for happy cruising ... until our next Semi-Live, somewhere ... soon.

Hmmm, is that the regular line, one booked on NCL shorex (priorities) or free for all ?? Curious minds like to know what time was the ship cleared by local officials and pax started down the gangway onto the pier, assumed facial recognition used to speed the exodus.

Nice pictures, great job updating. Now, cellular 4G and 5G where supported. Enjoy San Juan. Not bad, just minutes behind, gangway ready & cleared to go ashore yet 😎

Disappointed as I'm sure, at least they are issuing non-refundable OBC for the short cruise. Brace for choppy seas, waves & strong (near gale force) wind, and a choppy ride, especially on the way back in, that's in the maritime forecast. Make the best out of it. Cheers !!

Tracking the Getaway on marinetraffic - looks like she's about 65 to 70 km or just under 40 nm from San Juan at 2 p.m local time, she's running 21 knots but still calculated to be a bit behind scheduled 4 pm arrival ?? Knowing that satellite WiFi is slow & sluggish, no need to comment until later on - as our scheduled time on the next sailing has already been cut by 1 hour, leaving at 9:30 pm 😧 Meanwhile, feedbacks from the MDR everyday Lunch menu at sea, and the evening Dinner menus "downstairs" as to changes ... are they doing daily Chef's Specials. Again, no rush from any of the "contributors" riding on Laszlo's Live Report. Enjoy San Juan & Cheers !!!

Bidding typically opens up (used to) at 90 days, lately ... some reported it's a little further out and sometimes, you'll need to use the "upgrade" option on the NCL App to check for it. Haven bids are mad crazy high these days and now with the extra "live bidding" option sometimes tossed in, I'll save that $6,000 and book another cruise instead. Thanksgiving cruises almost certain to be sold out this Fall, so the odds of a steal on bidding, if offered at all - probably odds aren't favorable. We had the option to bid for all the Haven suite last May, ship sailed around 60% capacity (or less ??) only and bid prices were too bad, things began changing with our Sept Joy cruise to Canada/NE - 2 of us just book a balcony. The only thing missing is really a good size balcony (and, it is "slightly" bigger than those on the BA and GA or Escape) ... if you got it with a good price with the current promotion (Triple Up ?? that ran briefly) just count the days & enjoy, it is super spacious by NCL standard, cleverly designed and tons of closet space. Bring some decorations from home & you can really bring it alive. With the money saved over Haven, you can get flower basket, chocolate & goodies from "catering" and live it up. Ideal for up to 5 although it can sleep 6 - the 2nd. or smaller bedroom has enough space to fit a rollaway bed, and with that - leave the LR sofabed in place for sitting (although, not sure if the steward or "room attendant" can and will be able to do it ... just a thought for you. Glad that the Semi-Live continued to help.

It brews, IMHO, a weak 5 to 6 oz. cup of joe ... like mine strong & need to use 2 pods together. Sometimes, it's semi-hiding in the back corner of the closet's top shelf, along with 2 cups, minus the set-up.

@cruiseny4life It's a good thing I finished my morning cup of Joe already or else ... that's among the first change DW noticed a few days after a cruise. I "regret" to share a secret with you, there is no cure for missing the rolling seas and the remedy is to just move and do the next cruise, sooner the better - think you are set to go again soon. I was going to edit my last post here, that @JIMESOPUS is probably using NCL Air with either 1 or maybe 2 day deviation, leave the GA next Friday & use the $50 shorex credit to do the direct airport transfer, relax & fly to NOLA (that hang around in NYC, which he can do easily year-round) being that it's winter (already it's rather nice & warm here, wearing shorts inside our townhouse) - as that take the stress of flying these days ... and perhaps, go check out Bourbon Street before boarding on the 22nd. How's that for "detective" work in guessing his scheme 😉 And, GA's WiFi remains unreliable and inconsistent - apparently.

@uneamie NCL's iCafe will happily sell 30, 60 and 100 minutes of extra airtime as add-on to you, especially toward the latter part of any cruise, promotion calling it their disembarkation special. It was priced something like $1 /min for the smallest plan, 75 cents /min for the larger 60 or 100 minutes - don't quote me on the exact amount they are charging these days ... probably someone else will have the current / latest costs. After Feb. 1st. - I will know the $$ amount after getting back from the GA. And, you can use any available non-refundable OBC to pay for it. For voice & text, WiFi calling - it's plentiful if you run low - of course, on sea days and toward the end of the cruise, satellite WiFi internet is the worst onboard b/c about 1/3 to 1/2 of the ship are making plans, reconfirming limo pickup, getting flights online check-in & seat assignments, saying hi to their pet-sitting services, etc. - expect it to be even slower & sluggish ... at least until NCL decide to switch & roll out Starlink (now used on the Breakaway only)

Gooood morning, beautiful pictures uploaded and looks like a nearly perfect trip southbound on the Atlantic with calm seas. Continued to follow along 😃 @Joesantos CD is Alvin Olivia, info also in the Freestyle Daily. We first met him as ACD on the Breakaway in 2014 and earned his CD promotion later, he's friendly & outgoing and fun. Perhaps Tiara was just relieving and Alvin just came back from vacation as the regular 😎

@cruiseny4life He (Jim) as OP, is currently on the GA, sailing with Laszlo & others and ran the Roll Call, M&G ... but not doing a Live Report, just posting as needed. He is then hopping over to the BA that sail on 1/22 out of NOLA, not going back home up the Hudson ... staying somewhere between 1/20 after disembarking GA before embarking the BA. I think, that is his plan - just starting his real Live Report focused on the BA 2 weeks early, LOL. Keep us CC "addicts" busy following the trails, read & post, and comments, etc.

Oh mine, here we go again. A couple of ziplock bags, that often works wonders - sweets called for tupperware with covers. It's not as if folks are taking food items against government regulations to go ashore for health & safety reasons. NCL tried and did this several years ago (i.e. no takeout & nothing permitted to be taken out from O'Sheehan's and Garden Cafe, etc. with the crew police watching ... ) and there was plenty of uproar with the differential enforcement and/or lack thereof. Guess what, didn't take long for corporate to backpaddled on the unpopular move. One of the updated, fine print sentence stated no takeout and sharing allowed in specialty dining. Funny thing, last September - server in Cagney's not only wrapped our layered cake to go but escorted us out to the AFT elevator, ready to "help" us bring it up to our room. The way I see it, Sail and Sustain perhaps could result in less "incentive" to tip really extras on top of the DSC as higher "fees" being passed back to us. For we, the customers, the battle could be a tie but the crew members could - might - possibly be the loser - especially if they are "prohibited" to do it. Sad. Vacation Heros - pretty difficult for the ordinary crews to earn them in 2023, unless they are fortunate to have Haven assignments. Just my two cents and IMHO, feel free to disagree, for your convenience. On the other hand, I am going to start pre-writing those Dear GM comment notes as feedback to management, I am sure it will fit right into Sail & Sustain.

Ours were sent about 32 days prior to sailing, on Dec 19 and 1st Case No assigned - knowing it was the holidays plus announced corporate back office workforce reduction ... Waited, and sent a 2nd email, as followup and reference the 1st. case # - auto replied with a 2nd and NEW case no. - previously, that usually resulted in getting the revised/updated Amenity Summary with the OBC posted. Nothing happened until 2023, after the New Year. Apparently, someone must be WFH because, OBC was posted on Jan 2nd, 2023 - email received with the new Amenity Summary and also loaded on MyNCL account within 24 hours (probably when server refreshed & updated overnight) - still well outside the "15 days" for submission cutoff. Since OP submitted their on Dec. 20th and there is an email trail for it, it should be processed & credit posted ... they are probably seriously backlogged while coping with Sail & Sustain ... or, is that a subtle way of saying (feel free to fill in your "thoughts") Good luck ! It should come thru & please let us know once it did.

FWIW - just check the Encore's live shipcam - she is docked this morning at Amber Cove, next to the Carnival Celebration - which matched one of the posted AC port schedule https://www.cruisingearth.com/ship-webcams/norwegian-cruise-line/norwegian-encore/ No other NCL mega ships listed/shown on that schedule for AC this month, hmmm ... 😮 Of course, mid-sized ships can dock at Taino Bay. Maybe, Taino Bay's work is done and bigger ships from NCL can go there & safely use the pier, which is right next to downtown.

With 22 cabins assigned and the hospitality industry *** average cleaning time of 20 to 25 minutes (high end & suites, 30 minutes+ easily) Do the math yourself, it will take your friendly & efficient room "attendant" to take anywhere from 7.5 hours to 9 plus hours, starting with cabin #1 - without taking a lunch or other break at all, to get thru cabin #22. For earlybirds on a sea day, waiting for housekeeping, you will likely be leaving for dinner by then ... yeah, that's your evening turn-down and daily service all-in-one. Balcony and the ones with extra beds, we all know - takes a few minutes more each vs. the studios and inside cabins. Me think, those blue beach towels will be a DIY up at the pool deck, less work for everyone else unless you need & use it ... /s Marketing materials, just jam them outside the room - there's a place to hold them, or go digital, sail & sustain. 😆

Just a comment - Getaway's satellite WiFi has been reported by multiple CC'er posting onboard recently that connectivity isn't great, coverage is spotty. My understanding is that she's sailing further east out in the North Atlantic toward San Juan due to jet streams & weather, and high-orbit coverage via satellite isn't the best in that region ... it is NOT Starlink (currently in use/pilot testing on the Breakaway). Probably, when they can, with a better & faster connection - you will / should see those photos coming live - it's not a matter of what, but when - this sailing's itinerary is different compared to last week's Live Report. We're on the Getaway last March and the benchmarked #'s were not good at all - my guess is that, it isn't much better with the ship sailing at 98% occupancy vs. 50% last year. Laszlo and/or Jimesopus (and others) onboard can check & compare the WiFi "status" this week. Just as eager to see what's changed, different, new and enhanced ... These were unlimited (non-streaming) WiFi speed - not a chance that streaming is going to work even if stepped up to premium streaming, IMHO over the shared narrow bandwidth.