mking8288

Oh mine, Escape is practically home, already sailed under & past the VZ Bridge before midnight, approaching Statue of Liberty soon in the Upper New York Bay, what's the hurry this week ??? That meant for our CAS friends, slots & table games was shut down much earlier than usual 😳 It could be due to tides and river currents on the Hudson so they rushed back in, or perhaps for an onboard medical emergency not urgent enough for medevac. Wasn't following her closely earlier with her speed & position along the planned route track. Good news being that, disembarkation in the morning will be early and one-time, likey ahead of the planned schedule. Just realized, as of this hour - it is T minus 7 Days for this cruise ahead ... going to be a fun semi-live'ish report next week, not to mention that it's likely going to be a sort of live chats at times 😊 😁 😉 seeing who has already seen or read " the early "heads up" as I usually wait until the day before or morning of ... to post about it. Apparently, strange happenings with those bidding for upgrades so I'm going to embargo the details until later on, sorry about that, as I rather not release anything yet, with bids still outstanding and the possibility of really last-minute & onboard upgrade.

Congrats for reaching the top tier ...

Conditions will improve & better tomorrow, but further away from Bermuda, still going to be a rough ride to rush home as best as conditions permit. Excerpt from Bermuda's official weather service - maritime conditions: Tonight - Winds north-northeasterly 25 to 35 knots gusts to 45 knots, easing 20 to 30 knots during the night then tending northerly 20 to 25 knots towards dawn... Patchy rain and isolated showers with fair to poor visibility. Peaking swells with possible rip currents... Seas inside the reef 3 to 6 ft... Outside the reef 14 to 18 ft, decreasing... Sunset: 7:42 pm.

Safety first, there's no way that ships currently anchored there are going to set sail before 9 am tomorrow, better yet to probably wait until midday 😕 based on forecasts & dynamic models, the storm will remain over the islands beyond sunrise with the back of tail end of the storm ... seas going to be rough & very choppy. Advice to those crossing the Atlantic ahead to/from Bermuda, start those motion sickness remedies 🫣

Started tracking the Escape within the last 2 weeks, she sailed from Halifax yesterday ... smooth & calm away from the island. This morning, the North Atlantic is nice and flat, just one more turnaround tomorrow and then, it's ours to embark next Sunday 😎

TGIF. Gosh, single digit countdown - already slipped past T minus 10. Has been a busy summer for us but time to get ready - knowing that a handful or two "CC'ers" knew that this cruise is just around the corner. Neither DW nor myself had begun packing for our upcoming 7 days cruise to New England & Canada "Escape", last sailed her in 2019, but on the Dawn in 2019 and Joy in 2022 - revisiting some of the popular New England & Canada ports. Weather forecast ahead looks reasonably good, pack accordingly & always going to have a weatherproof jacket & layering with something warm, not really expecting to see early foliage ... mother nature can surprise us and of course, it's hurricane season but at the moment, nothing serious on alerts, let the free "Windy" App be part of the toolbox to track maritime changes. Found these old, really old NCL luggage tags a while ago among the pile of FS Dailies from 20+ years ago ... use them inside checked bags as extra ID's. We will be in one of the 3 cabins, our brother-in-law & sister-in-law in their 70's coming back, counting on us being around as needed - SIL since recovering from surgery & rehab with compound upper thigh bone fractures from an accidental fall ... Access Desk contacted months ago to request wheelchair assistance for embarkation & disembarkation ... bringing along her rollator-walker plus a cane to get around the ship a bit easier. She's not planning to go ashore at 2 of the tendered ports due to logistics and other limitations -stay onboard to enjoy the ship while some of us head down to the gangway (Newport, RI and Bar Harbor, ME) We typically only do some planning and often just "wing" it - let's see how well things go. Since we are all either Sapphire or Platinum, specialty dining booked around the 125 days mark, earlier than many others, successfully - true also for the one & only main theater production show ... comedy isn't our cup of tea, going to take a pass on those. Ditto for game shows like Deal or No Deals and I don't consider a paid $$$ Behind The Scene Tour truly onboard entertainment as classified. This is a port intensive itinerary with 6 stops, and Day 7 on the return from Halifax, NS to NY is the one & only sea day. KN95's and KF94's again, hopefully not warranted or needed. Have a decent supply of PPE in reserve and probably will be packing, bringing & likely using them in crowded places, just in case, strictly as a matter of personal choice and in line with guidance, per one of my RN nephew, working in a busy ER here in N.Y.C. Next Sunday morning, we will either find ourselves stopping here first and/or sitting next to our SIL/BIL boarding earlier than fellow Sapphire/Diamond & Platinum tier pax in the roped off area, as SIL will use wheelchair assistance - thru Door C here ... assuming things haven't changed lately. Roll Call is somewhat lackluster & not impressed (yours truly not organized nor really involved ... details just updated/posted within the past week, will attend and perhaps, say hello again to the good old Escape team & leadership onboard. Posted a request on this week's Escape roll call to see if someone going to the M&G can upload the list of senior officers, HD, etc. waiting to read about it ... This Sunday's sailing apparently have a loosely organized roll call & no M&G, not expecting any useful, helpful or practical info before we embark next Sunday ... I do have & know of someone from a previous M&G, so maybe - some insider's alerts & heads up (thanks in advance, Bonnie ...) Otherwise, best efforts on my / our part to report & update - subject to the given & usual limitations of satellite WiFi at sea, as always. Unlimited WiFi upgrade on Day 2, most likely, agian. Cellular (5G and 4G LTE) coverage is expected to be good to excellent as long as we are within range of the port's land signals and/or docked, and, data roaming in Canada isn't going to slow us down in any significant ways. Well, no news while we are at sea - can be assumed to be "good" news or nothing worthwhile to post urgently - or, else, the CC community will get the gossips and non-verified "rumors" here first. Since NCL does not wish to have guests board the vessels with 2 meters/70 cm portables (ham radios/walkie talkies, etc.) - will continue to respect those rules ... scanner apps that I have should suffice. Live TV news & weather coverage onboard NCL ships are poor to fair at best, not counting on it for any breaking news alert - on our own, so not going to be "off the air" with the smartphone & iPhone (to track those cute AirTags "hidden" inside checked luggage) shut off & locked in the mini-safe. MCT / Pier 88-90 has free WiFi for public use, unsecured of course but usable & reasonably fast - cell signals inside, poor to bad or horrible. Unlike others, we have neither dogs (not permitted as we live in a co-op townhouse style garden apartment community) nor cats to worry about, watering of our houseplants will be taken care of with a simple watering set-up. Will be a trial run for using a travel vest to carry about 10 lbs. worth of digital gadgets, essentials & meds, for embarkation & disembarkation ... sticking to our notion of packing smartly & traveling light, one checked 22" or 24" spinner or rollerboard plus a carry-on (10 kg or 22 lbs) backpack only - avoiding the personal bag if we can. Leaning toward using a Lenovo Chromebook again vs. the slightly heavier Sony Vaio notebook PC, keeping the cables & adapters, etc. to a minimum as our cabin has USB charging outlets, good for the portable power/battery bank. After this, another TA on the horizon later this year 😁 😊 🙂 Here's a preview of some of the evolving set-up, gadgets & items that are coming along: * Specialty dining, booked & confirmed @ 125 days out as Sapphire, success ! * Onboard entertainment, booked & confirmed @ 25 days out, success ! (others as Platinum, 21 days out) * Online Check-In done & completed @ 21 days out - eDocs ready & available @ 20 days out ! * eDocs & eLuggage tags printed @ T minus 9 days out ! * iPhone SE 2022 paired up with AirTags to discretely track our checked luggage, will board her early with just a backpack each. The sailing we are on is practically full, sold-out already except for Insides & some Studio cabins (likely from upgrade bids) since last week, apparently ... will share some of the "direct" observations & findings from what "we" knew about the "Upgrade Advantage" bidding - expecting the ship to be at or near capacity, but not many children or teens (most should be in schools & classrooms by then) Costs and prices for local / ground transportation here in the city have been rising, surging might be a better term - last time we parked above MCT at Pier 88/90 was probably 20 years ago, out of convenience then at $20 a day. It is now $45 a day, all inclusive but a relative bargain ... considering that whether it is by Uber or Lyft, Carmel (our "preferred" car service) or using a neighborhood FHV service, a sedan ride with tips will be about $80 to $90 each way or $110 to $120 for a minivan (4 adults plus luggage) Leaning toward just do the short 25 to 30 minutes drive ourselves and do the rooftop parking, and split the costs with BIL/SIL. It should also be "news worthy" for the East Coast / NY Destination Forum. Reference and background - finally got around to refresh & located those broken or missing links to previous review on the Escape and the NE/Canada ports that we visited in recent years - they are working & accessible, just follow the hyperlink - click to read - might have to "expand signature" to find the ones of interest.

Two of our nieces just made their cutoff to book 2 adjacent balconies (one being angled) on the Getaway, sailing a little 90+ days and combined it with the 15% coupon. Had to call in to speak with PCC to get it processed b/c with the courtesy 12 hours hold, couldn't combined nor use 2 certs ... easily handled by PCC - nice savings. Reservations linked & special requests made - not sure if these promo will be extended for the holiday weekend or renewed thru end of month, etc. Prices looked good, dropped a bit as "expected" - was past final payment/deadline to cancel without penalty. Oceanview sailaway prices are the same as Balcony sailaway 😳

@Flossygirl Greetings from up "north" again ... those lovely koalas. Those darn useless CC "Search" options came up empty, nothing, zero results despite all efforts - thanks to Bard & Google, was able to locate & restored hyperlinks to previously broken links to the semi-live reviews earlier, which are often helpful. Here is that full review or trip report, enjoy reading & going thru the pix again. Post #28 - has pictures of our cabin ... compared to a regular oceanview, it was big ... perhaps I shouldn't use the word "huge" to describe it. Plenty of space within for 2 persons to appreciate, and there is an electrical outside inside, near the entry door to recharge an electric scooter/wheelchair onboard, as permitted. Others were kept elsewhere & stored by the steward nearby. I should also note that for emergency & safety reasons, in case a crew member has to access the cabin when the red "help" button is activated, the cabin door cannot be doubled lock from the inside ... that was our understanding, please check & ask the Access Desk or steward about it. Be sure to use the "Do Not Disturb" button appropriately if you desire privacy while inside your cabin. Answer - OV on starboard side, I'm 99% sure it was #5706, which is exactly a mirror one of #5708 next door, with 2 more on the port side. Accessible Family Oceanviews are even bigger, they sleep up to 5 from what I saw - #5738 and 5740, and, also #5138 and #5140 - those were "huge" for sure.

@Flossygirl Just realized ... hello to "down under" - "yes" to the Q, not same cabin # but very close & nearby, starboard side - should be virtually identical (from what I've checked - has the same tub/shower combo ... which is very similar to our Joy's 2 BR Family Inside w virtual balcony last May as far as the (main) bathroom goes). It will be very spacious for 2 of us in that cabin, and helpful to have 3 (three) 110v outlet plus 1 (one) 220v wall outlet - along with 2 bedside USB charging port (and, I don't worry about someone "hacking" it or attempting to install malware or hack into our devices)

Dan - it's getting closer, isn't it. Nice upgrade from DL, congrats ... Here's an article that's Starlink related as FYI - interesting details. Cruiselines are mostly adopting their technology & deploying or partnering with additional servers is a plus, except for this line ... dragging its feet for whatever reasons & excuses. IMHO, not a win-win situation and most of us geeks recognized that it is "not" a nearly perfect or ideal solution, but anything is better than the current package from EMC or whatever their ISP partner is called. https://www.notebookcheck.net/Starlink-satellite-Internet-speeds-set-to-increase-with-data-center-deal-as-Costco-Japan-starts-selling-discounted-terminals.743835.0.html Will probably get a chance to speak to one of iCafe manager onboard another NCL ship "shortly" to (try to) find out what they know about the fleet's deferred conversion and upgrade to Starlink system/servers ...

Family Oceanviews on the Escape & Getaway (also, 95% sure for the Breakaway & Joy as their configurations to sleep 5 are nearly identical) are bigger than the typical Oceanviews with picture window, I believe the Sun's Family OV aren't as big in comparison, but like the Sun's "regular" OV, there is a small sofa/loveseat size in the cabin (others can confirm or clarify this) Escape's "O5" or Family OV that sleep up to 5, much bigger than 160 sq.ft. to as much as 239 sq.ft. - bathroom has double sink and most have a bathtub/shower combo (high step-in height, however) Has 2 HDTV monitors, extra closet & storage, shelf space and a much longer dresser/desk surface ... USB charging ports integrated into the bedside USB lamps during ship's recent drydock as an upgrade, not necessary all and for other cabin categories. Search in YT under "NCL Escape. One of my favorite cabin. FAMILY SIZE Ocean VIEW ..." uploaded about 3 years ago. YT video link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP1tc9hs-88 We also stayed in an accessible OV on the Escape about 5 years ago ... Deck 5 Mid/Fwd - and that was huge, unbelievable in size but it only sleeps 2. Stay tuned, will have an updated Family OV cabin photos, details & other comments next month ... as part of a (probably, abbreviated Trip Report or Pictorial Review)

I am 99% sure that OP can do the upgrade on Day 2, both the basic unlimited upgrade or the premium upgrade ("streaming" but mostly unblocked VPN access with certain TCP/UDP ports open) - minus the trade-in amount, which varied depending on whether it's 150 or 300 minutes, etc. Up until now, the premium option is priced $10 higher per day or $40 per day ... if and when Starlink is "eventually" chosen for actual fleet deployment, who knows. These are screenshot of upgrade costs - based on a 7 nights and a 9 nights, less the trade-in amount allowed - similar offered upgrade for 11 nights ... Latitudes discount cannot be applied or combined ... however. When in doubt, check the options on MyNCL App onboard and speak to the iCafe manager.

@MIsharona That's a very, very open-ended question asked. We spend 15 nights on her not too long ago and did a full live pictorial review, yes to Q1. As with each and every ship, other ships, there are always good things about her, very good things, average, hard & soft products that "meet" standards, and as one can expect, below and did not align with one's expectations and/or promises. Overall speaking, IMHO only, personally speaking - 3 of us that sailed would consider ours good ... considering prices paid, onboard experience and shore trips taken (mostly independently, that we planned) - and - it did not fail. Good to Q2. Ours was an eastbound TA and weather was nearly perfect, we missed one port (Cadiz) en route due to maritime weather - blame that on mother nature - ended up with a daytime passage thru the Gibraltor instead of a late night one after leaving the planned stop. Without an observation lounge, La Cucina was available in addition to the forward facing Garden Cafe for wonderful indoor viewing ... and, not many knew, it's one of the few NCL ships with a bridge viewing room (like the GEM) that's open on sea days.

Interesting, will check that out in a few short weeks from now - although, we've got multiple nights of specialty dining already booked, LOL. The questions is what about the sides and the choice of steak sauce 😁 😄 😉 Included or not offered or for additional upcharge, curious minds like to know. This was most definitely not offered on our Epic TA this April. How was the Cagney's fillet, if someone ordered it ... understood that food opinions are personal & subjective in nature.

FWIW, we had a recent NCL cruise with 20:00 scheduled departure on embarkation day that was additionally delayed. Our 5G cellular signal were faster, stronger & better by most benchmarks 😁 especially on our balcony & inside the cabin. We had coverage until about 22:30 - long after dinner, skipped the welcome show and ready to call it a night, as it was a rather long day. By the time DW was ready to sleep, practically midnight & did the upgrade shortly there after midnight, saved $30 by not doing the unlimited (basic only, not premium) upgrade - that nearly always come out of our non-refundable OBC. There's no "discount" or savings by waiting until onboard, aside from being able to use those NR-OBC, and, also to ascertain and evaluate how "good" the ship's satellite WiFi access is (it's mostly usable & functional ... will not surpass our true hi-speed Fios, obviously. The other consideration, to "extract" the best & optimal speeds onboard and while traveling, is to see whether - as end users - we are using the newer hardware, if not newest tech with our laptop, chromebook, iPhone or smartphone ... WiFi 5 at least, WiFi 6 preferred as the 5Ghz band is less congested, but has to be closer to the nearest signal (hotspot and/or cellular signal tower(s) - 5G isn't everywhere as many places that we visit while on a cruise are still using 4G LTE as the main backbone.

@Travel Muse FWIW, just transferred 4 CN Deposits within the past week, emailed into cruisenext@ncl dot com with the info, certificate # (from/to with Latitudes numbers, email addresses & phone #'s just in case) Auto-replied with Case No. assigned, and by the early afternoon of the next business day, received confirmations that the transfer has been completed, with emails to the "giving" and "receiving" parties involved. They're immediately posted/loaded into the MyNCL account and available for booking, reservation and/or payment, etc. That was 2 pairs of CND out of 2 accounts and into 2 different accounts ... auto-replied email did mentioned to allow 3 to 5 business days as they do sometimes experience high volume, and to be patient. Apparently, not the case lately with transfers. Good luck.

We are fine with this ... Bermuda government wanted $45 last year to obtain a single use entry authorization b/c of COVID plus testing requirement, and one of the last entity to drop that for all travelers, that fee must be paid regardless of age. When we travel to Canada, there was zero fee for the pre-authorization prior to doing border crossing. This one is good for multiple entries with the validity period at $7 USD, free for some. US entries & the costs for other nationals ... don't ask 🙄 😳

@Ambizzle - Joy out of NYC earlier next month, I see ... Accessible or WC Assistance will board earlier or just ahead of Latitudes, being seated next to Door 3 - across from the designated (and, nowadays - small) Platinum seating area that's roped off. Everyone will board from the upper level, including check-in ... as you enter the terminal (Pier 88) look for a help desk to your left and/or ask one of the shore-based agents where the acessible desk is, etc. - they are usually helpful, together ... you can probably skip the long lines and get to do fast track, to the left thru security & then check-in. Typically, expect boarding for Haven just before 11 am and WC assistance following that ... should get you onboard up those steep ramps in about 10 or 15 minutes - check any heavier bags with the porter, stationed outside the arrival area by the curbside. Older SIL of ours cruising together next month also using WC assistance next month out of NY, but will be later than your cruise - otherwise, will have more details to share. Happy & safe travel and cruising, and, Cheers !

This was 11 years ago, a group of about 15 that attended the CC Meet & Greet on the Gem were privately invited to do just the bridge tour on a sea day, met outside & escorted in ... photo ops, free & complimentary ... not part of the complimentary BTS tour as given then. Subsequently, bridge tour was discontinued and excuse given was for security reasons 😎 perhaps, they're afraid that passengers on these tour would hijack the bridge from within - although security was present, guarding from a distance. By the time we did the Breakaway's BTS tour for Platinum, it was most definitely excluded and watered down to 90 minutes with the 3 stops only, and with a fairly large group of 30 plus signed up, split into 2 smaller group, each with 2 uniformed guard escorting while the CruiseNext team member (Alvin O. was Asst CD then, since promoted when we saw him again in 2016 and more recently on another ship - he's among the best that really enjoy his work & has a great slide show presentation doing cruise ship operations in the atrium lobby) The most recent one we did was on the Epic, which we rated as the worst of the worst, CN staff ran thru the whole 3 "stops" like a high speed train wreck in about 45 minutes, stated absolutely zero still photography allowed anywhere & anytime during "his" tour, as those are his "rules" - what a j e r k 😤 - stalled the group for 10 minutes down holding at I-95 while provisioning was moving crates & boxes around, doing absolutely nothing but stand & watch. Obviously, security isn't a safety factor anymore as they are taking money first and cheerfully give the paid tour with stops in the engine control room AND the bridge, or else, I struggled to see how they can stretch the 1 hour tour to 3 hours, unless they slow walk everyone these days, offer wine & cheers, and permit photos (which, evidently, had been taken freely & liberally as of late, posted here on CC) for the convenience of all. At $129 to $149 p/p for the paid tour, no way but that's just me. Interesting enough, laundry operations on the newly & larger ships are more automated and AI / robotic assisted than the older & "smaller" ships, despite the larger quantities and sheer volume of pieces to be washed, dry, folded and sorted - that ship operations require fewer crew members working around the clock to run that department. Will see what's changed since we last the Escape 5 or 6 years ago, as we are going to be onboard soon again ... the Prima tour should be interesting as the design is likely different belong the pax decks, re-booked after cancelling her twice. BTW, what's new with you lately 😉 sailing the Viva across this November, MSC ?? and/or busy at work. Regards.

@NothingBeatsBaseball - Had to do a deep search for it ... this was passed along back in 2016 and finally found the thread/post with the photo with a bit of help from Bard by Google ... as CC's search function is virtually useless. I think this is the Pearl setup that you are looking for and from what I've seen over the decades, with a # of cabin crawls - the best setup. It works on the Dawn (saw it personally) and should work in similar ships like the Gem ... the inverted U shape setup yield a bit of "sitting" room in the middle of that ultra cozy, small Inside but at least, won't be on top of each other, aside from the person that ended up with the upper bunk. There are a # of other possible setup ... show this to your Room Steward/Attendant and s/he should be able to "put" things together. Be "nice" to her/him in going above & beyond.

Understood, a lot has changed since 2020 ... prices gone up to reflect rising costs, supply logistics & labor issues ... and management / stockholder's greed 😳 We can spend days, weeks & months over the CC Floataway Lounge to debate & chat, ditto for Flyertalk Forum ... I'm surprised that you found or came up with a flight routing on TP from London (LHR ??) back to Maine, or perhaps you are close enough to Boston as I see some options, not great, based on a random date - with 4 different fare options in Economy: Discount, Basic, Classic and Comfort ... If you can manage to fly & travel solo (22 lbs max, content and luggage combined ... think RyanAir) - that's your best deal, the extra cost by adding & prepaying ahead for a checked 50 lb bag is about $71 USD (converted from Euros) ... no choice in seat selection and no changes allowed. Basic fare is higher by another $71, allowing for change & seat selection in advance. For an extra $45, you get to check a 2nd bag plus refund if you choose to cancel in accordance with fine prints. These prices are typical for transcon flights, intra-Europe and shorter flights have different pricing (lower) as displayed at TP. I believe Star Alliance (i.e. United) flyers with status are entitled to exemption(s) as set forth. @bluesea777 Should've clarify that for TAP, that $100 USD fee is when flyers flagged by the gate dragons "guarding" access to the jet bridge during boarding, and forced to check their bags - paying ahead during online check-in and even already at the airport's ticket / bag drop, it is "less". On domestic routes, we lean toward B6 or JetBlue these days and their luggage fees are more "reasonable" than TP, competitive with the 3 big surviving legacy US carriers. TP actually realigned their bag allowance earlier this year, up from 44 lbs or 20 kg to 50 lbs or 23 kg) Meal & beverage services included for all 4 fares - on TAP flights, there's a full meal service plus a light (cold) snack service pre-arrival, pretty "rare" these days for a typical 6 to 7 hour flight, wine is complimentary onboard. It's not great but not bad either. Services onboard were good and even basic economy seats do recline, A330-300 NEO with 2-3-2 configuration preferred over the A320/1 LR-NEO although both are flown across the pond. Airlines, like cruise lines are doing their nickels & dimes - no worst than hotels with their resort fees & parking charges, and upcharging for "additional" premium services.

We've flown mostly overseas these days, pre- and post-pandemic and as noted, lots of changes with airlines of the world. Flying coach ("Y" class) or economy meant, typically, dealing with 3 to 5 sub-category of fare codes, options, restrictions and "extra" perks or "privileges" that used to be taken for granted, as given ... for our (in)convenience - like freestyle cruising, opt-out and opt-in for additional fee(s) or costs. It is what it is - you'll find the same or similar flying domestic and within the Americas, whether it's Delta, American and the once preferred/favorite airline of ours since the 1970's - United, remember the old tagline of the "Friendly Skies" ... not so much these days. I can briefly elaborate TAP-Portugal, as we've flown them & will be using them again soon, one-way outbound travel. I'm pretty sure that with Economy "Discount", you are allowed one carry-on luggage (22 x 14 x 9) plus a small personal bag (very small - 16" x 12" x 6") at 2 kg or 4.4 lbs - without being paying extra fees. Carry-on is limited to 10 kg or 22 lbs, and they are known to enforce & use a scale at the boarding gate overseas ... not just the "hated" sizer that most of us ran into. The "Classic" fare allows 1 checked bags up to 23 kg. or 50 lbs ... whereas the "Extra" or Comfort Plus (E Plus in other airlines) allows 2 checked bags along with other enhanced perks like priority check-in & preferred seating in the main cabin (forward section) with better legroom (33" to 34" - depending on the aircraft configuration being flown). For flights from/to the Americas, the checked bag fee is around $100 USD per piece (excess weight & oversized ones will be more/higher) However, if you add them up and shop/compare with British Air, Lufthansa, Delta or American, etc. - you are likely to find TAP to still come out ahead and less ... but, likely need to connect via their Lisbon, Portugal "hub" instead of flying non-stop. Caution - do not risk getting stopped at the gate & end up checking the bag for a fee as the baggage fee will be higher. Use a travel vest or equivalent, and, "wear" some of your heavier items, gears, etc. when boarding ... my vest can easily handle 10 lbs. worth of gadgets & personal items needed. Not a fan of flying thru LIS but it is what it is - most aircrafts are parked at a remote gate outside on the tarmac, requiring a shuttle bus to/from the terminal, and, climbing those stairs to board and/or deplane - with luggage. Apparently, it is one of the reasons (excuses) for TP to limit "all" flyers to not attempt to board with those 35 or 40 lbs "carry-on" as it's not fun to lift and haul them around.

@graphicguy and @cruiseny4life we used Spain Day Tour in May, recommended by many on CC & TripAdvisors - fellow roll call members already booked them & we joined them for the semi-private tour ... private tours are customized based on your preference & POI of interest for your specific date, taking into account local/regional holidays, external issues like labor & transport, etc. For smaller semi-private tour of no more than 6 to 8, typically a large Benz hi-top van is used, leather seating & fully air conditioned, plenty of storage for luggage in the rear ... and for the larger semi-private tour, mini bus with seating for up to 20 - 25 pax, but typically no more than 12 to 15, lots of room to move around (did the half day BCN city tour with only 8 or 9 of us, apparently 2 or 3 paid for but cancelled, unable to go for whatever reasons - still dispatch the mini-bus with driver & guide) That was, the day after we disembarked in BCN off the Epic, they picked us all up from our hotels & then hop from scenie stops, one after another, stopping & sometimes letting everyone off to take photos, stretch legs and look around - group's admission tickets were advance purchased for us to skip the lines ... we got a great snapshot of the beautiful city in 5 hours, then - dropping us / rest of group separately at our preferred location (4 of them had timed tickets to go inside the famous church in the afternoon - taxis afterward for them reimbursed back to their hotel, up to 15 Euro) We asked to be dropped off near La Rambla near Catalunya ... for a bit of shopping, photos & then did a nice Tapas lunch (yummy good & inexpensive) near the University while walking back to our hotel, an easy 10 - 15 minutes. Be sure to pack comfortable walking shoes, especially if you are going to do Montseratt monastery with the Black Virgin Mary on the hilltop, reached by funicular cable car. Our was a 5 hour tour or half day, the full day tour has the additional stop or visit to a winery with complimentary samples, light lunch included as I recall. The trip was well worth it - we could've used more time to see it more, can easily spend 3/4 of a day there, cafeteria / food court on site. It's possible to do this yourself, plan ahead & coordinate the train/transfers needed - scenic cable ride from a lower train station up to the monastery is an option, and, return at your own leisure ... just be sure to reserved timed admission ticket, required for part of the vast complexes. Although, by mid November ... should be off and/or shoulder season, less crowded. Check & compare options and prices, email them & they are very good and responsive, might take a few days for a detailed response as this is the busiest time of the year. As a matter of fact, we are probably going to book at least 1 tour with them ahead, will be in BCN for several days before embarking again ... leave the driving & securing any admission tickets for them to handle. They will basically pick up and drop off nearly anywhere reasonably within the city, including the airport and cruise terminal, securely storing the luggage. On our end, multiple countdowns going on, 2 of them already dancing (similar to you) double digits ... just booked the one & only Onboard Entertainment available next month. A related note, careful if transiting thru EU airports like Lisbon, depending on flight routing, as the gate dragons are known to be sometimes rather strict with carry-ons, limiting to 10 kg or 22 lbs combined max plus a small personal bag at 4 lbs. Leaving the full sized eBags MotherLode convertible backpack/carry-on & sticking with the convertible "junior" as that'll help keep the bag to under 22 lbs ... vs. a smaller rollberboard or spinner. Flying out & ticketed in Comfort (economy) Plus for the 6:40 flight as I can use the "extra" legroom to stretch, plus the more generous luggage allowance & probably won't get stopped for our carry-ons with priority / early boarding. P.S. Tour prices have gone up since the beginning of the year, just checked BDT ... theirs are higher, but not bad & still less than what shorex will likely cost - if offered & that's "ride-sharing" on a full size coach with 40 to 50 "comrades" from the ship.

When we embarked on the Epic in April, she was repositioned from San Juan, sailed for NY with crew only and arrived around 7 am as usual. Scheduled departure was 8:30 pm (but, I seemed to recall all abroad time was 5:30 pm - although they continue to load provisions and load luggage, etc. well beyond 6 pm) Earliest available check-in time was 9:30 - 10 am (we selected 10 - 10:30) There was either scheduled or unannounced safety or public health inspection that delayed things, just slightly ... Haven & priority/VIP and acces sible embarkation began later than usual time of 10:45 to 11:15 but wasn't bad. We're in the Latitudes lounge that packed with Diamonds & Sapphire ... and began our boarding around 12 noon ... with a line for sit-down lunch in the MDR, so went over to O'Sheehan's - as we always avoid the packed buffet, too many folks with oversized not-really carry-on bags in the elevators. As far as NYC goes, NCL typically do not TRY to delay boarding for embarkation ... unless the ship is LATE arriving into NY and they need extra time to reach zero counts and after processing B2B pax among those on the ship. Happy sailing, our eyes on the latest "happenings' with the Escape ... September is around the corner for us 😉 😉

It's been a joy to follow and read your Escape Haven report - and see that Kivanc is still GM (formerly HD titled) onboard, he runs a tight ship and has a great team then, look forward to meeting him & perhaps the rest of his team from the older days ... soon. Thanks you and much obliged. Was the ship sailing at / above capacity this week - Haven and spa cabins for our upcoming one already sold out, apparently no further "chance" for bidders to upgrade (unless, no-shows or last minute cancellations, etc.) Have a great disembarkation, safe travel and getting home, etc. Cheers 👍