mking8288

One strategy that we are adopted and going to deploy more, book "last" minute (hence, inside final payment/cancellation deadline - watch for coded words or phrases "unforeseen changes" on a # of related roll calls & similar port and itinerary schedules with the cruiseline - before we book as a non-refundable. This doesn't work for many with vacations and holidays, school breaks for families with children & teens, etc. that are often "locked" into a specific cruise calendar or time period. And, some of us know about those "tricky" moves with port fees & misc charges being converted, sometimes, to non-refundable OBC while at sea. Without naming ports involved, some of us have a pretty good idea of the most "probable" port stops to be smacked with cancellations. As for the NCL cheerleaders that frequently surf here, I make good use of the ignore button, they are free to comment and question, and the best response - silence, don't even acknowledge them and don't "quote" the post at all. Works for me.

NCL's free BTS tours - many years ago (long before Covid shutdown) were up to 2 hours, 90 minutes more typical but some were shorten to about 75 minutes or less with 3 stops, as others said. Paid NCL BTS tours for all passengers were $79 or $80 and last up to 3 hours, with 2 additional stops.

Fun technical question to answer later on, just made notes - don't "waste" those precious satellite WiFi minutes - going assume that EMC is still the ISP and not Starlink with the reports lately of "poor" speed. How fast is the GA cruising and sailing during this segment ... en route to the first port, 19 knots, 20 knots, etc. and how's the wind / direction ? From the bow (headwind) across/diagonal and tail (stern) that often help boost the ship's "true" speed ? If you show up for the CC Meet & Greet and someone there asked, senior officer will say how many guests are onboard (also do it at the CruiseNext/Latitudes welcome back "presentation" & sales pitch) or just find Olivia, the CD and ask, actually - the servers know too b/c those are key numbers written below deck for a given cruise ... and we seen the posterboard "status" while doing the free BTS tours.

We're on Getaway's Deck 12 FWD last month and Deck 10 AFT last March, port side both times and did not find the ship's WiFi signals & coverage to be bad itself - inTRAnet speed based on the Cisco server/hardware and NEC hotspot/routers were fine, scanned the visible AND hidden SSiD signals, they overlapped and had coverage on multiple channels with the signal. But, congestions still happen and the bottleneck is further upstream with the dynamically cached data. "Our" hardware configuration and chipsets also made a difference, i.e. whether it's routed over WiFi 5 or WiFi 6, 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz band, or newer 6 Ghz band. We had 2 Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus and they're not pulling or getting the optimal speed whereas the Google Pixel 7 Pro was doing nicely, and even the backup iPhone SE 2020 configured for WiFi use, managed to get a decent signal - adjusted for being in Airplane Mode, Data Saver and other settings. Starlink has inked the deal, just a matter of waiting for the "simple and easy" install & conversion - fingers crossed on the next NCL cruise we are booked on ... As for the ships missing ports or late in arrivals - Getaway's top speed is rated at 21.5 knots Lately, it has been reported that she's doing 19.5 to 20;5 knots - and it's not rocket sciene to see that the ship will be delayed for its scheduled arrival with a distant port. Find it difficult to "buy" the excuse that it was sailing against strong headwind for 2 to 3 days straight, IMHO - and ship was not, cause I check those nav channel numbers often. When we're onboard, it wasn't difficult to calculate and come up with an updated arrival time to the next port when we' looking at instrumented data on the displays as shown on Ch.11, the navigational channel and computing the likely arrival time using the n.m. distance to the next port. @Dorhead1230 - You & others made it back ... any surprises at all from the 8 days ??

Spring is just around the corner, how about Amtrak across Ame-rica and/or Via Rail (Canada) with a bedroom, free WiFi onboard for a change - entirely different scenery. Meals will not be the same, not even close but it might help you appreciate future cruises, regardless of which lines.

Thanks and welcome home from your 8 days onboard the Getaway. I'm pleased to read & know that as reported above - "Did not see any mobility scooters, etc. around the halls, just a bunch of kids on vacation" Thus, between GM super "Mario" and head of housekeeping, that the serious fire/life safety issues of egress being blocked has been addressed, as that's absolutely unacceptable and a serious violation with a background as retired Article 28 (ambulatory healthcare) facility administrator ... and just common sense to see that in the hallways & corridors. Inside Pier 88, there are large signage showing Priority Access check-in, next to Platinum and also Casino At Sea for embarking passengers ... that has been consistently "blamed" on shore-based contractors hired by cruise terminal operations and not directly managed by NCL. I pointed out these issues less than a year ago onboard when it was brought to the attention of the GM and guest services on the Joy ... NCL at Miami were said to be aware of and working on changes, apparently not so. It is a paid upgrade services and I would've "tell" them it is unacceptable and ... Otherwise, pretty much of what to expect these days and with a full ship. Gunning the ship should've taken her beyond 19.1 knots but I read it was due to headwind ... otherwise, she is capable of doing 21-22 knots under ideal conditions and I know, we saw speed no faster than 21 knots on our recent 12 days. NCL Escape and Breakaway in the similar class reach those speed often with other sailings. Her recent speed are partially resulting in the ship running late getting to the ports.

Perhaps, evils at NCL keep switching around these ports of calls and arrival time on multiple sailings lately, just to toss monkey wrenches against folks using private or independent shore excursions - making it more "likely" that NCL newbie passengers will stick with booking "their" ship-based tours instead. It's a pain when you are onboard at sea and do not have good WiFi and/or cellular services (at all) to try to cancel, change, rebook and look up options for another island on short notice. Hence, best to just go with the flow. There are plenty of taxi/tours available at every island stops, competitively priced and easily booked on the spot - and, the mightly U.S. Dollars speak loudly. @EllieinNJ - Ellie, I concur with your comment about being "inclusive" with other CC'ers wishing to post or add to the post - common sense that as long as it is friendly, helpful and informative, practical and not "challenging" - I welcome that myself while doing the Semi-Live and didn't mind at all. There's so much going onboard the mega ships that it's nearly impossible to cover events bow to stern. The MDR is always our prime choice for embarkation lunch and the last stop on the morning of disembarkation, for a full sit-down breakfast. O'Sheehan's can be mad crazy. Pete - enjoy lunch, don't rush as got a feeling that staterooms won't be ready for a little while longer.

@PistolPete13 St. Kitts cancelled due to unforeseen ??? reasons (again) hmmm - St. Maarten is a fine port to see instead. This move adds to the unconfirmed rumor/folk story that our taxi driver/guide in Dominica told or explained that NCL simply did not want to launch their small tender boats on the ship to take passengers ashore & back - it is unfortunate if this is the reason, but we will never know for sure - not from the ship captain and/or the senior officers. Go with the flow seems to be best motto these days when cruising ... Amber Cove, as you followed previously when we're there - is pretty nice, should you wish to do any duty-free shopping (prices are as good as St. Thomas, if not lower) The pool within the Cove, as others said, is very nice and right around the entrance back to the ship & duty-free shop, is an area marked clearly as having free (unsecured, of course) WiFi, saw good # of off-duty crew there chatting away & online. That should be good for your posts later. Boarding generally starts around 11 am, and once you connect to ship's WiFi (airplane mode & cellular OFF) - you can quickly check Specialty Restaurant & book your preferred time & date. Have a wonderful time !

Welcome home

Good early morning 🌄 and she's here early already. Bon Voyage

We've asked recently onboard the Getaway's 12 nights cruise of whether each Platinum member will get 1 extra bag of free laundry done instead of just 1 bag (typical of a 7 or 8 nights / shorter cruise - NOT the $29 Laundry Special that's offered to everyone mid-cruise) Answer was no - 2 free bags if the cruise is 14 nights (which was our vague recollection from our Escape 14 nights in 2019) - with the shrinken paper bag (now, one must lined it to avoid breakage, unless you get the fancy one or get a clean pillow case to use as an "insert") - 2 Sapphire or Platinum, etc. can do up to 4 bags of free laundry. We have another long one coming up and will be packing & traveling light, each with a 24" rollerboard or spinner and a small carry-on that's weight restricted due to airline requirements (hello, ScottVest or equivalent for the heavier gadgets & chargers, etc.) It will help to space out the wash & dry every 3 to 4 days onboard ... and to have clean, fresh & extra ones to use, mix-n-match.

Teppanyaki used to serve a small plate of salted Edamame beans, nice to nibble on before they bring out the miso soup and salad - we missed having them, Last time on the Joy, the individual serving size was probably worth about 25 cents or 50 cents at most based on retail price, less when they bulk ordered from wholesale distributors. If most folks didn't noticed another subtle change, NCL isn't going to bring them back, if at all.

@ChiefMateJRKNothing confusing to not understand, but I'll explain a little further & illustrate. We boarded as recently as last month in NYC. Have you cruised the Getaway lately out of Pier 88? There're several hundreds Platinum and higher sailing on the GA - inexperienced shore-based "agents" were either ignoring established protocols and/or ran out of cards with lower Group numbers - and bluntly directly anyone and everyone that finished check-in to go find a place to sit & wait anywhere, and just wait. We've seen Latitudes Platinum members given #15 - we've given #6 last month, of course, we dealt with it immediately - Sapphire status doesn't, guarantee anything in being able to board earlier than others - odds were better but when you are faced with indifferent hourly employees hired by the port operator in NY to run the check-in operations. Take a look at how crowded that section of the boarding area inside Pier 88 was - set aside for all Platinum & higher status. It was worst in 2022 due to additional Covid-19 screening & document checks, since "improved" but still poorly managed. It wasn't as bad as recent Joy boarding or embarkation in the greater LAX area. If you have a positive embarkation experience very recently out of NYC, love to read about your story. The problem is mostly attributed to "Intercruises" Shoreside & Port Services and they are not accountable to NCL directly. BTW, it was the worst with the Norwegian Joy when she was in NYC (in 2022)

Pier 88 has a single designated, roped off lounge area, marked as Latitudes Rewards Priority Seating Area, the shore-based contractors do not separate those with Platinum, Sapphire or Diamond status ... never did, it is next to Boarding Door C, opposite the area reserved for Special Needs - in the middle of the cruise terminal. It has seating for about 125 to 150 passengers only with 4 long rows of plastic chairs plus another shorter row of seating for 10 to 15 additional passengers. It filled up quickly on most sailings these days, unless you get to the terminal very early and get thru security & check-in fast, and can make your way over quickly to get in. It has been standing room only and once capacity is exceeded, you are directed to seat anywhere else - and board with your given group number. We're there before 10 a.m. last month (Jan. 2023) and got thru security & check-in within 20 minutes, and barely made it - otherwise, the early group # available was #6. In years past (pre-Covid) - Platinums and higher were given group #1 thru 3. Casino at Sea guests typically board about the same time. The Priority Access Check In, as a paid option at NCL, regardless of one's Latitudes status, for those willing to pay extra, has a separate line in NYC cruise terminal - and, they are processed differently these days. Priority check-in, however, does NOT necessary means priority boarding and that is typically for Haven - escorted in small groups on arrival, once the ship reached count zero & cleared to early board. But, Haven pax now has a long walk, to the rear or far end of the terminal as that is now the dedicated check-in & lounge area, and, very often, walk in reverse for about 1/2 the length of the ship if they are taken to the Fwd gangway. Sometimes, Haven pax also used the AFT gangway to board the ship.

WiFi satellite internet will be the slowest today, lol - everyone onboard. Guaranteed 😆😆😆😆😆 Enjoy the last sea day 👌

Once in a while, you might run into a server that insisted that extras will be billed and itemized, and, at the end that dinner as we just tell him/her to do whatever, charge the onboard account & skip the nonsense - too busy to bother run back & forth, just sign with a quick card swipe and go. YMMV. NCL's specialty dining policies, consistently inconsistent and nearly different each time we are onboard, sometimes just months apart in between cruises. Few times that we had a nominal surcharge for sides, etc. - it's offset typically by those non-refundable OBC anyway.

Oh dear, look at those faces ... got a feeling everyone standing there could use a cold beverage, whether it's a beer, soda, bottled water, glass of wine, or a Pina Colada. It's a port operations issue that NCL will cite and failure way "beyond their control"

LATDBLX is for 2 extra points per night. Thus, if you have an Inside, OV or Balcony - it's good for 3 points per night. Suites and Havens - it's good for 4 points per night.

@Dorhead1230 Not a surprise aa I looked at our 11 nights out of 12 Dailies and wasn't there either. Hence, won't ask where's the beef anymore ... We had it on the Joy but wasn't good, lots of untrimmed fats, not exactly appetizing. We ate in specialty several nights and didn't bother looking everywhere for it. My doctor is happier hearing that we are eating more fish ... just not talipia in the MDR (IHoP has it on the everyday menu, lol) Maybe they will dish out, tonight, bigger portions of starter & main course in the MDR when serving for everyone, as they did so ... on ours. Go with the flow & humor go a long way these days. Getting windy & going to be chilly tomorrow - that's mother nature & it is still winter. 7 or 8 days just seemed to fly by quickly, doesn't it.

@bluesea777 Yes, I do - it's an extra 2 clicks, look at both waves, wind and swell. Bermuda - I like the local maritime forecast (BWS portal) details, conditions inside the coral reef (that narrow ship channel thru St. George, loop around the north shores before reaching Dockyard & back up when departing) and outside / that's the North Atlantic ... Truly missed the small Norwegian Crown as we docked first in SG and down next morning in Hamilton, right on Front Street with Habour Festival, oh the old days. We have a call on Dockyard coming up this year ... going to be an interesting one, we shall see then 😉

Windy app - cx probably for safety reasons, today's maritime numbers not pretty

Mouth-watering, getting hungry looking at those food pictures from Cagney's - isn't it great to re-live those memories post-cruise without shopping, preparing, cooking and cleaning up; just order and eat. Enjoying your two sea days ... something about snow in metro NY area, don't worry - city is going to get 0.1 inch per latest weather forecast, a bit windy and expect seas to be a bit choppy. Here's a "test" for you - can you access and read CruiseCritic contents, i.e. this post and other recent posts, without being "connected" - or just being to ship's WiFi inTRAnet (as if you are just checking your onboard account charges) This could be helpful to Pete ready to embark for the next 12 days cruising the Getaway. *** And, only if you can remain "connected" on CC, a secondary test - can you post something simple (and, not upload any pictures ... just text only) to this post. A question as I forgotten to check and/or look around - anyone including you had seen prime rib on the MDR menu, O'Sheehan's and/or even in the buffet b/c I don't recall, I am pretty sure in the Garden Cafe a/k/a - they served different cut of beef, chicken & pork loin (which was actually edible good)

Sounds good at 48+ hours out, get your NCL App updated/checked, eDocs loaded. ("Pressure") Nay, we'll track the Getaway on marinetraffic and cruisemapper ... and will guess and try to figure out possible reasons for "radio silence" is whether you are conserving or ran low/out of those WiFi minutes from FAS onboard, or whether there's problem with your VZW cellular signals in San Juan or USVI, etc. Ship's gift shop was pretty bare and not much on the shelves. They "hide" a few small items in the duty-free shop on the Joy, behind/near the checkout counter (if I recall correctly - might want to check it out personally & photo-document it). CVS and Walgreens are just 5 minutes across the main road outside the pier in San Juan, if the ship ran low on certain items - buy it there and maybe get NCL to reimburse you or issue OBC ... just kidding. Make use of the contact info & direct extensions of the senior officers, you should meet most of them at the M&G onboard. Seriously, Bon Voyage !

Think for a moment, if NCL has been trying hard to recruit AND retain employees, best of the best - raising the DSC and add-on fees, etc. regardless of how & what it is called, without a doubt, NCL's bank accounts and cash flows should be fatter and better ... and, some of the extras bonuses - minus the required administrative fees & indirect costs, paying off the mega loans for the new ship builts, etc. and refinancing their debt loads - should somehow, trickle down to the rank & files, down to deck 0 or the engine rooms. We haven't really seen a whole lot of happy faces and smiling crews on the decks lately ... and, they are mostly tasked with doing more with less. You would think, that some of them, should at least feel they are dealt a fair hand with the playing cards, maybe even extra pays for their payroll disbursements. Time, time will tell whether the tide is rising for a balanced customer experience onboard. Stories of the ships running out of the basics are not good reflections of smooth sailings - we aren't talking about computer chips and precious metals. Now, am I unrealistic to expect apple juice to be available for breakfast. How about a banana ? My rant for the month.

@Dorhead1230 It sounded like someone onboard the GA possibly triggered a boo-boo in not better alerting and informing all the pax of the CBP protocols and procedures, timing, etc. If I wasn't skimming and reading quickly thru the Dailies, probably would've missed the details - not uncommon for even seasoned cruisers on these milky routes to ignore the details & toss them into the round file, especially on top of all the extra promo flyers. On our 2019 Canada/NE cruise, we're cleared CBP in Bar Harbor on the return as the first port and the disembarkation in NY was supposed to be an easy walk thru the park, express off in the morning ... nope, confusing and madly delayed. Hopefully, this won't happen on Sunday morning with this sailing. Our CAS friends wasn't happy with the casino's payout percentage either, he felt the machines were too tight, and not being "fair" and reasonable - and gave up after Day 3 or 4 as he decided to discontinue his generous daily contributions ... gave it one more try on the return with 2 full sea days and spend more time on their balcony instead. Good luck & let us know if you can beat the odds - he told us he didn't see any hand pays either on the days he played.