mking8288

@graphicguy Customer care, support & after-sales service - I agree - is excellent - I'm on both and hasn't travel without an iPhone (SE 2020 with integrated battery case for multi-day standby & as MiFi hotspot, using Google Fi's data only nano sim - chipset plentiful fast for my needs) Just heard from our friends that boarded the Norwegian Sun a short while ago in Lisbon, Spain on a 16 nights TA, their Air Tags saved them as LH lost both of their (JFK) checked bags in FRT 2 days ago during their 2+ hour layover, fumbled with the courier failing to delivered last night, and had to Uber to the airport spending 3 hours retrieving the bag. As my nephews joked often, things happened and it wasn't Delta this time, United has routed our bags to IAD when it was supposed to go LGA-ORD-YVR & luckily, we flew in early too ... Samsung is pretty good with their warranty & extended sales support, they replaced the OEM battery at no extra charge when another friend's just out-of-warranty Galaxy S22 Mo.Board failed & had to pay $199 + tax, not bad as the entire device received a 12 month full warranty extension afterward. Yeah, these flagship adult toys are getting too pricey & out of hand, timed our trade-in during the early Black Friday sales on Google and Fi Store so it wasn't bad as I won't paid full MSRP for them. Hate the SS bloatware so I'm on pure Android 13 by Google, waiting for "14" to roll out this Fall - 5 years of OS and security upgrade/patches ... if the OEM battery holds up. iOS updates got my head spinning this winter ... Hey, it's 20 Days To Go ... will we be chatting via Starlink on both ends later this month ?? One can dream b/c the folks on Prima reported this week that it's still awful. Just reset my monthly Google Fi data metering, on the Unlimited Plus global package with tethering/hotspot & up to 4 data only sim with no extra charges - saved us from being entirely offline twice in the last 2 months when squirrel(s) chewed our FiOS feeder cable in the basement crawl space and Verizon truck rolled again to restore. @JIMESOPUS - seeing Jim chimed in ... have you look into Google Fi (T-Mobile being their backbone) for travel & "home" base as I think their towers & signal should be as good as VZW up & down the Hudson River and nearby. We could do T-Mo's senior plan for 2 lines for less but not the flexibility & global coverage when traveling abroad. Maybe do a trial & time it when sailing the Star and/or Viva, stay tune as I will probably, hopefully "report" semi-live from Portugal & Spain, et. al. soon enough.

@GWAE @Broons77 and all others onboard the Prima, an early pre-dawn arrival, welcome "home" safely back into Lower NY Bay ... super early. A few more hours before early disembarkation for the express self walk-off while others tried to get a bit of sleep first, now that the sea is much calmer with just 2 meters or 5 to 6 ft. waves. Been tracking her movement off & on all day - when we cruise and head out to sea, mother nature gets the final say but the bridge team earned their paychecks. There's going to be plenty of stories to share, tell and years from now, to look back and laugh about - you've earned sea legs conditioning for sure - I trust that the CD and Captain "briefed" and informed or advised all passengers (and crews) of expected conditions for this sailing, reasoning behind the decision to leave port and sail home early. Disappointment, upset and unhappy - sure, I would but that's mother nature - which we can't directly challenge; and, dance with and around the storms. Extended families and their "gang" of friends boarding just a week from now, and going to debrief & prepare them. Safe travel later in the morning in getting home, etc. etc. and continue to follow to read & listen to stories, feedbacks and reviews. Thanks for the periodic update again while things were rocking and rolling.

OP, since you are sailing out of BCT on a Saturday morning, traffic is going to be "typicall" weekend light inbound from CT, If you are comfortable staying in Stamford, easy/off & on I-95, you are looking at about 1 hour of travel or driving time to Red Hook, Brooklyn. You were referring to 138East / Carol that had a regular & steady presence here over the past decade - she & others put together some of the best tips, advice & guides to Cape Liberty as well as MCT ... I looked at Waze/Google Navigation - recommended route is to stay on I-95 and continue to the Hutch' River Pkwy, across the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge (thus, bypass or avoid going across Yonkers & down upper Manhattan on the Henry Hudson for downtown Manhattan via the FDR, etc.) but rather thru Queens to Brooklyn, either toward the Grand Central Pkwy in the direction of LGA Airport or via I-495, Long Island Expwy (West) toward I-278 West to Brooklyn. EZ-Pass or Toll by Mail is about $6 or $10 if you do not have an account. As you approach downtown Brooklyn - there might be a slight bottleneck with 3 lanes merging into 2, ahead of and near the exit for Red Hook to BCT ... we use this route to get from/to Queens & Brooklyn all the time on weekends, early/mid weekend morning, usually not a problem or at most, a minimal 5 minutes extra time in rubbernecking traffic. You can do a virtual drive on your tablet/iPad or smart/i/Phone using Google Maps to check out this route and see whether you are comfortable doing the drive. It should be quite simply and not any more complicated than the route down the HRP to Cross County Pkwy & Henry Hudson Pkwy to MCT.

Haha, I am switching from my SS Galaxy S22Plus to Pixel 7 Pro, IP68 rated and looking forward to fully using its Magic Eraser & Live Translate (as we'll probably find it handy on our next adventure, soon ... also completed OLCI and eDocs ready.) Compared pictures we took from this January's cruise using 2 G22+ vs. Google Pixel 7 Pro, liking 7 Pro's 3rd tele-lens - but, tossed the Samsung in the backpack as a backup with an eSim enabled, just in case. Net cost to trade up the G22+ 128M storage to S23+ 256M, $60 via Google Fi plus taxes ... should I or wait, very tempting, LOL.

While doing that 21 days NCL online check-in under the Safety tabs, you do have to "watch" it - meaning, let it run to the end of that 90+ seconds video clip on YT ... they do "track" that & won't allow you to proceed & finish up your check-in, holding up your eDocs from being prepared & available. Otherwise, ignore additional prompts to watch it again, etc. etc. NCL's annoyance, will and shall continue

@Broons77 Gale force, diagonally across the ship with (very) rough sea state & waves at 4.8 meters (that's 16 ft.) ... as the Prima continue to plow on her NW heading at 19 - 20 knots, up 1 - 2 from 18 earlier. Norwegian Gem and Pearl both heading in the opposite direction toward Bermuda. Safe to assume that barf bags are out and room service delivery likely kept very busy today ... might not be a bad idea. Just hold onto railings, maybe another 5 to 7 or 8 hours before reaching "calmer" stretch of open waters as ship get closer toward the coastline. Kudo to the bridge team for charting the course/heading to blast thru this weather ... sun is out again here NY. Saved these for you to use as you can surely tell the rest of the stories later on. We have a planned stop at Dockyard later this month ourselves - starting to pack, already online checked in & eDocs ready.

@Broons77 Cruisemapper has the Prima on a direct NW heading toward NY, +1 to 2 knots from 20 knots earlier & now pushing 23 knots (she was going as fast as 24-25 knots coming up to NY from FL) - leaving 3 hours earlier than planned definitely helping to bring the ship another 50 to 60 n.m. closer to NY. Per Windy app, things will get choppy by 10 to 11 in the morning and worst in the mid/late afternoon, depending on the ship's heading, track and location vis-a-vis the wicked weather/storm system moving across into the Atlantic ... severe weather warnings posted, including gale force wind & threats of severe t-storms. Tornados spotted in the South & Midwest, moving across - barf bags should be out in the morning. Satellite WiFi onboard later today will likely be worst as you expected, with everyone going nowhere & outdoor spaces likely securely locked down for safety reasons. It's good to know that most of the stores at Dockyard are open, as their survival depends on cruise ships docking and pax stopping inside to shop, spent & buy. Weather turned out to be good, aside from being a little cooler. Look forward to reading your report later.

What's new at Clocktower Mall ? Are the shops & stores opened ? Updates on ship's internet ? Ready for a choppy ride tomorrow en route back to NY ... enjoy your short visit to Bermuda 😎

Specialty Dining on the Crown (2006 and 2007) had a supplemental surcharge of $10 p/p at Cagney's, LeBistro & La Cucina then, and no additional auto-surcharges, not 20%, not 15%, etc. as it was covered as part of the DSC then. Freestyle Dining came to NY by way of the brand new Norwegian Dawn in 2003, homeport in NY City sailing year-round then - no limits on starter items, soup and/or salad options. Extra sides were complimentary and you can even order an extra entree if hungry. During the busy Fall season, NCL had 3 ships doing round-trips out of NY - Dawn, Jewel and Crown in 2005-6-7 and the Majestry sailed out of Boston then. Jean Ann Ryan Company put on some of the best major onboard production shows for NCL in those days. I am not convinced yet, that NCL is bailing out of the NY market for good, a major gateway in Northeast cruise market easily reached by air travelers from around the world year-round. The absence of one ship this Winter season might be a seasonal one with crews, logistics with ship deployment and other matters. If it remain as is, NCL could well come to regret this decision down the "road" - Royal is just across the Hudson River sailing year-round, MSC and Carnival ... plus Princess could make their moves. NCL bailed out of the Asia - China market in 2018-19 but meanwhile ... in other news, Disney is relocating one of their ships abroad, to Asia. Time ... will ... tell, whether this is a smart move.

NCL's exclusive ferry, Spirit of St. George is running today, just left the East End about 10 minutes en route back to Dockyard, Marinetraffic live AIS showed her at 16+ knots ... should arrive back in about 30 minutes - watch for her at the live stream Bermuda port cam as it pan around the pier - link below : https://www.portbermudawebcam.com/

Shorter 5 days Bermuda milky run ... #cough #cough weather permitting & ports open for marine traffic - seems to be replacing Nassau as the "new" alternate destination. Besides, NCL seemed to be charging higher prices & port fees ... and lately, regardless of which ship sailing from NY, they are fully & often close to maximum lifeboat capacity. In many ways, this beats those 1 p.m. arrival into Port Canaveral, 50/50 odds tendering at GSC and ... the hated "Nassau" port. Appealing to a different & newer market ... plus adding seasonal cruises out of Baltimore, MD (with the smaller/older ships) and holding prices without deeply discounting them last minute.

That noodles soup serving at Shanghai do look "petite" - more of a starter sized soup than as a full size bowl. What works for us, on the Getaway & Breakway, is when we placed our orders - ask for extras or noodles to be doubled (true also when it's available in the buffet) ... they're using bigger soup bowls, and that helped. Looks funny & small when they barely put any noodles in it. Pictures look great for the islands and you have nice weather to go with it. Thank you for taking the time to share & post. Enjoy your day ashore.

Happy cruising at sea to all onboard. Almost 9 pm EDT, have the Prima on a SE heading toward Bermuda at a very leisurely speed of 10 kts. with calm sea, less than 1 meter or waves about 3 ft. with a light breeze - look & sound about right ... ETA for Dockyard on the 30th around 3 am or 00:00 local time (UTC -3) that's early. Might not be a bad idea to order breakfast room service delivery early and then go ashore early.

For those who wish to the Prima on the move - here's the NCL link to the ship's live webcam ... she is currently at MCT / Pier 88 ... HD image showing the arrival area on Level 2 of the cruise terminal, not much activities going on at 10:30 am EDT. - Click refresh on your browser and the most recent "image" should come up, onboard the display streamed live ... Link - https://www.ncl.com/shipcams/primacam/fullsize.jpg Prima slowed further down to 10 knots overnight as she came closer toward NY harbor - according to AIS data on Marinetraffic dot com - she docked at Pier 88 - 03:40 (AM) early this morning.

@Broons77 Get some sleep & safe travel in the morning - Waze & Google Maps are both great navigational tools for driving. Cruisemapper has the Prima now at 16 knots ... "sail and sustain" mode 😆😁😄 Don't see rough seas over the next 2 to 3 days, nothing that mega ships like the Prima cannot easy handle and good to see that she is capable of doing 24 to 25 knots (rated for 22 knots only) under favorable conditions. Windy App installed, you are good to see the latest maritime forecast. Yes, do tell us know how's the Prima's satellite WiFi at sea this week. Once the ship approach St. George & turn toward Dockyard, your Bermuda data signal (4G only) should come to life & become usable ... port side. There is no free WiFi at Dockyard - but, inside Clocktower Mall - there are limited-free WiFi hotspots (unsecured) - sign up with an email address & 30 minutes of usable free WiFi is granted, consider it a backup. There are WiFi passes sold, probably not necessary and not accessible everywhere, not recommended & not "reachable" from onboard the ship.

Been watching her reported cruise speed & movement all day ... throttle dialed back to 20 knots earlier and now slowing to 17 knots - based on her current tracking, doesn't look like she'll be picking up the pilot boat out in the Ambrose Channel before midnight. My guestimate, she'll be docking very early in the pre-dawn hours, maybe 4 or 5 a.m. if the ship continue to slow down ... sea state is calm, less than 1 meter wave with a gentle breeze. Good for tomorrow's sailaway - unless there are scheduled and/or unannounced CG inspections, etc. - should be an easy embarkation. Bon Voyage - just keep your eyes on local BDA marine forecast for Friday but mainly Saturday, use the free Windy App to see the weather systems in motion.

Following this, Prima racing north, crews only reported at 26 knots, woohoo - that's fast re-positioning to NY. Seas quite calm on a strong tail wind.

@spenecer - use your browser, input "speedtest.net" and without having to run its speedtest - the "main" screen should identify & display the server used (i.e. AT&T, Spectrum, Verizon, etc.) like "EMC" being the "default" satellite ISP. You can do this at the ship's iCafe, usually, as they have a # of work stations/terminals (typically, Acer slim desktop) with a basic browser, do the same - and key in "speedtest.net" - upload speed results often failed due to high latency & will probably timed out. But, it should "yield" the information. Cellular data speed at some of the Caribbean islands are pretty fast, they don't necessary have or find 5G being important, given their relatively small population base - 4G LTE being more than satisfactory for daily usage. Have a great cruise and thanks.

Following along ... thank you for taking time to post & share. Look forward to feedback about latest onboard entertainment ... and, if you can, list (partial) of ship's senior officers currently onboard, etc. I know of a group on a given Epic roll call that should be interested in the details. xa 6 Mbps satellite WiFi download speed is pretty good, IMHO - Epic is still using "EMC" as their ISP and not Starlink ? On the Getaway this January, I managed to get 7 Mbps using newer hardware but slower on different devices. Results for non-streaming use, I consider acceptable - streaming HD video is another story.

Glad to read about this advocated outcome in a somewhat positive way. Good work and those other channels get credits for their share of the publicity to shame NCL into executive resolution. Find it troublesome that some rather cheered NCL for the app & systems design to fault the passengers for the add-on, from what I can read as a partial view. And, yes, I looked & browsed at other sensational "sources" for information not "available" here. Remains unseen whether this trap remain not changed or fixed as TA were alerted but these add-ons from, at least the add-on app ... could stll be lurking to ruin others. And, we won't know what happened to those deleted posts and just leave it up to the imaginations and called it editorial prerogative 🤔🙄 Happy cruising !

Affirmative, been reading & following posts over the past 36 hours on this matter without commenting - it is not a mind trick, a number of posts are gone, for whatever reasons.

We're advised recently (Jan 2023) on the Getaway that for a 12 nights cruise, it was (is) still just 1 bag per Platinum or higher member for the duration of the cruise. For 15 nights (maybe, it was 14 nights) - 2 bags per Platinum or higher. YMMV. Still one "carton" or two cartons of Flow Water, regardless ... and, the other "discounts" with the fine prints.

Ditto, also, don't recall Pitaya or Dragon Fruit available or served in the buffet or MDR when ordering fresh fruit plate 😁 ... Toss a few chopped up chunks into a blender, add yogurt drink or other preferred liquid and ice cubes, bless & serve chilled - yummy smoothie !

Going to be following - perhaps, Starlink will be up & running on the Bliss by then. I might have issues on my end as not optimistic about getting a better connection at sea, except and until later in the month roaming.

Okie dokie for Haven guests to be given plastic wrapped food to go b/c ... Plus, others are using not just ziplock bags but also Tupperware containers. Heck, if that's the case, why not just walk out with their plates & bowls, covered or otherwise - perhaps, crew members are instructed to not confront their onboard guests to make corporate's announced decisions worst than what it is ... Junior crew members, perhaps, not wishing to further see more "steerage" guests endangering the practice and traditions of giving cash "recognitions" for going above & beyond. "Enforcements" of the "no takeouts" were reversed several years ago under Frankie's stewardship and there is hope & reasons to believe that this attempt would meet its demise soon, again. Hoarding of extras isn't a solution to waste management - more plates, cups & dishes piling up along the corridors being reported on another recent cruise report.