mking8288

Thanks and hello, were you at that brief M&G ? Upon checking the FS Daily, you are correct - that was Day 11, after Funchal en route to Cadiz, which the ship was unable to dock due to wind & weather ... yes, the Guest Talent Show in the Tent. Insofar as dinner show, none available ... given the nearly full sailing and long lines for evening dinner almost everywhere, probably could've generated a bit of extra revenue for NCL. Now that I look closer at all 15 days worth of FSD, Canvas by U was in there for 1 session early on, 2 comedies there, and many days with Bamboozled - Tabletop Escape Experience (reservations required) ... a matter of priorities by choice. For the dozen or so younger ones, there must've been lots of personalized attention and pampering with Guppies and Splash Academy being open daily - the place was empty as our secret angled balcony was on nearby, next to the elevators & stairs - very little traffic in/out of there ... and never a line or wait to drop off or pickup. Staff assigned there must've felt like being on vacation, unlike their fellow team members in the dining rooms, houskeeping & elsewhere. The casino was kind of sleepy too, everytime we walk past the area - and, apparently not many smokers "donating" there, LOL.

Aida (part of Carnival brand) cruise ships went live with their conversion & adoption of Starlink fleetwide ... began with 3 ships and apparently, the rest of the ships are done ... can't recall where I read it earlier this week or find the link. Crew members said to be happy as well to be connected. https://crew-center.com/aida-cruises-equip-entire-fleet-starlink-broadband-october-2023 NCL just - IMHO - dragging their feet with the ongoing test BS - can't seem to make it a win-win situation, apparently 😳 🙄 😤

There wasn't much (if any) going on inside the "Tent" as recent as late April / May when we're on her TA ... with numerous sea days en route to Barcelona, pretty sad - hardly mentioned in the Freestyle Dailies. Apparently, same trending with the equivalent venue on the Breakaway and Getaway - few cruisers willing to settle for a mediocore 3 course meal with the upcharge & 20% with a live circus-like performance (paid for & watch it once on the BA then, enough) Very few live and/or semi-live Epic cruise reports lately here on CC ... or, did we missed reading about it 🤔

Just to add, typically for GEM's Oceanviews & Balconies - there is a single 220V EU outlet (round 2-pins) ... it's semi-hidden on the back wall panel (near the mini-refrigerator) for Insides & Oceanviews ... or by the HDTV display in Balcony cabins, as the coffee/hot water 1-cup maker runs on 220V only. If you cannot find it, ask your friendly room "attendant" to show you. Only a # of the OV cabins (OX or obstructed) received USB upgrade/addition at the bedside USB lamp, the porthole & large picture window OV did not get the upgrade during her most recent dry dock ... it's apparently considered not a worthwhile ROI, per the HD then and not a simple R&R/plug-n-use conversion. We carry at least one 10 ft. and one 6 ft. USB 3.0 braided extension cord to extend the standard USB 3 ft. cable, whether it's USB-A or newest USB-C ... plus a few small bulldog clips (handy for various reasons) to make it safer to run along the wallboard to reach the bed(s) or sofabed, depending on the specific cabin configuration, since they vary slightly with different NCL fleet ships. Having a high quality 10,000+ mAH standalone battery bank (Xiaomi shown, reliable & dependable, on Amazon) with 2/plus output has made life easier for a booster charge on the go, out & about on the ship on a full sea day and ashore when gadgets begin to run low ... and not have to worry about using a reliable & dependable charging source. Anker multi-port USB charger is the other "must" ... Refer to picture below from the GEM ... one US outlet on each wall (2nd one can be seen, in the reflected mirror on the opposite wall) The 220V hair dryer is connected underneath to an outlet, but I do not recommend "playing" with it. This is a short 3 outlet power tap ...

Alocha. Visitors are advised to stay away and not go to Maui until such time ... sorry, POA cruisers with plans ahead, expect changes. Southwest leading efforts to assist in evac & recovery, $19 airfares & $1 for pets to relocate to Oahu, per latest news posted - https://beatofhawaii.com/hawaii-flights-16-19-due-to-maui-fire/ Travel related news & resources also here - https://beatofhawaii.com/ Here's hoping that NCL will make timely announcements soon as in ASAP. We have friends planning to be out in Honolulu later this month ... travel & trip insurance will probably kick in for them.

Cellular services are down in many parts of Maui - news relayed via Oahu - latest photos https://www.khon2.com/maui-news/photos-intensifying-brush-fires-wreak-havoc-on-maui/ There are active evacuations ongoing as SAR continues, some island residents displaced are being evacuated to Oahu. Lahaina, historical town lost many businesses to the fire and thus far 36 lives lost, sadly. https://www.khon2.com/top-stories/ Suffice to say, assume and expect major disruptions, changes and access closed or restricted. Mahalo.

Can't dictate and mandate what others do, IMHO, a matter of taking personal responsibilities to safeguard yourself and personal well-beings, alert & aware of surroundings and adopt self-protection measures as necessary & appropriate. Check with one's PCP (personal/family doctor) about advice on getting an extra (new or otherwise) booster if in the high-risk category. Norovirus are going around and the annual flu season is just around the corner ... it is what it is. Still have a decent quantity of C19 rapid test kits in our "strategic" stockpile thru this winter & they travel with us. https://abc7ny.com/new-covid-variant-eg5-omicron-cdc/13619914/ Happy, safe and healthy travel. Cheers 😎

Tried O'Sheehan's / The Locals instead, the only place that we recalled seeing lids for the paper cups, for your convenience & still free. Otherwise, Starbuck or the atrium coffee bar ... $$

This is a fairly new Epic inside stateroom video tour # 11306 (not ours) - scroll to about 2:20 and you will see the mini refrigerator (absorption design - designed to keep contents 25 to 30 degrees below ambient/room temperature) Just be sure to check your Rx's temperature & storage requirements and consult your dispensing pharmacy - rather not generalize as there are 20+ brands of insulin in the US alone, and under certain conditions - can be kept at room temperature but per FDA guidelines, refrigeration is recommended. If you have other medication storage requirements, contact NCL's Access Desk ahead for help & advice and to have notes amended to your reservations (i.e. bringing single-use syringes) Sharps container are kept on an upper shelf inside the vanity mirror by the sink, which is inside the main living space by the small sink, the light switch is under the cabinet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP5gr_M7Nqg On the backwall inside the refrigerator is a rotary temperature adjustment dial, set to the coldest ... as it should help bring it down to 25-30 degree F below ambient / room temperature of about 40 to 45 degrees F, within acceptable range for most insulin products.

If the CD was fun enough, maybe go on stage and perform to a smaller audience 😁😁😁 like some of the crew talent shows then 😆

Overseas flying home, do check airline rules on carryon bag's weight limits, some restrict your 22" to max of 10 kg or 22 lbs total. Ever try lifting the 35 lbs cabin bag into those overhead bins, not easy nor safe if flight run into turbulence and things started falling. Pack smartly & travel light.

@Mommapadraig Weren't you a little bit surprised at the crowd size in the MDR and those lines, LOL. Has to be one of the smoothest extended sailing in our books going across the pond. Could've swear that they're running a private mahjong tournament daily, dawn to dust, in the card room & across in LeBistro (until they shut it down for dinner services) Got the name of the TA, apparently their HQ isn't far from us (NYC with a 212 area code but not in NY County) ... on TripAdvisors & highly rated, claimed to be among the largest tour operator and wholesale TA in North America, booking 400,000 room nights. Going to respect & honor CC guidelines to not mention name here. Did a quick lookup, not showing anything specific to this Dec's Epic TA and other NCL ones around that timeframe. With current DoubleUp promo, valid for any category of cabins thru end of month, prices for Viva & Prima crossings later this year looks good as is - flexible, maybe take a chance to wait & see, never knows.

Sir/Alexa/Google/Bing/Bard it online ... also refer to as the Line Crossing Ceremony, ancient rite of passage for seafarers associated with the King. Baptism for first timer and it's going to be on a sea day, outside - upper deck, weather permitting, will be listed in the FSD, LOL.

Don't forget, check the Freestyle Daily onboard for meeting King Neptune, the right of passage during the crossing.

Looks like Joy sailings this December (out of Miami) currently does NOT offer the no-frills Free At Sea cabin choices, the next best option would be to go with the FAS and un-check the Open Bar option ... Specialty Dining has that "modest" 20% upcharge for gratitudes. Overall, it is priced higher to account for the extra freebies. Or, wait and see if - after final payment is reached, whether the SailAway category options will come back, as they sometimes do, at least for Insides & often Oceanviews. Prices for balconies aren't that much higher, except for X'Mas and New Year sailings. I also believe that if we book via one of the TA using one of our bank credit cards, free DSC are added along with a modest OBC from them (not from NCL).

LOL, on re-loading again our iPad mini (used mainly by DW) and my Fire HD tablets (64 plus and extra 128 GB mSD card) with Kindle ebooks, music & videos in case we get bored or run out of things to do on these long cruises, TA and otherwise. BTW, nice prices on the Viva's planned TA crossing on a southerly route, along with the Prima on the northern path ... plenty of sea days on both to relax. Expect to see more solo cruisers onboard ... our recent Epic TA was at 95% occupancy with very, very few children & teens but a substantial number of oversea cruisers, apparently booked last minute package deals via a TA (which we found out post-cruise).

Not a new itinerary, NCL has done this in recent years ... thousands cruised to/from BDA out of NY since then. It's a quick and fast run to get there and back - always a chance of running into weather fronts / coastal Noreaster (still, within hurricane seasonally) Looks like you are doing this in early November so weather should be fine & reasonably warm, no guarantees whatsoever - at mother nature's mercy. We've done a # of early/Fall cruises there, including 2 Halloween ones - seas can be calm & flat but also rode thru nearly gale-force storms with 30' plus waves. Temps in the mid/60's to high of mid 70's on average, here is BDA's official weather portal & you can retrieve historical data from prior years to look at the details - http://www.weather.bm/climate.asp Dinner on your Escape's private balcony ?? really, good luck since the standard baloncies are mightly petite (translation - tiny and ultra small) but doable, the tiny table on your micro "porch" does fit 2 wine glasses or tall cups just fine. Better yet, probably okay to sit out on the waterfront if you plan for early dinner at Cagney's or La Cucina, Ocean Blue, etc. while making her way out thru the narrow coral reef channel toward St. George's before turning east & north for NY ... might be a bit too early with 3 pm Atlantic Time sailaway. Enjoy your cruise & cheers.

Welcome to CC from a fellow New Yorker 😎 you are the 2nd CC'er posting this week about just booking or recently "discovered" this TA. Weather permitting, you will get to see 2 (beautiful) ports after leaving Catagena, Spain on Day 2 - then, 4 sea days later - Ponta Delgada, one of the many lovely islands in the Azores (Portugal) - then, 3 sea days later - Bermuda (Dockyard) before that final stretch to NY. Oh, you won't be bored - you and others doing this will be welcomed and earned the right of passage at the Crossing Party by King Neptune ... (just ask Bard or Google, Siri, Alexa about it to find out more) CC Roll Call -

Newport, RI is a TENDER only port - ship(s) calling there will stop & anchor in the harbor, for that last leg - a 10 minutes ride (actual time once underway) to the town's pier (and, it is beautiful, been there via cruises but done a # of road trips - waterfront is nice, shops & stores across the street and just a few blocks away) It's NOT fun for the *Away/Plus ships sailing at/near full double occupancies to tender, using ship's lifeboats ... these are large lifeboats but (still) can tender between 150 to 250 (max permitted capacity is higher) plus boarding and getting off is slow & time consuming. It is not our "usual" GSC private island double decker tender - and, if it is windy and sea state is just slightly not glass smooth - have fun riding and hold on tight, take your seasick or motion sickness meds earlier. Hold on with both hands on the railings while making that quick transfer down the 2 or 3 steps on the ramp as the boat's vertical (up & down) movement can make it very challenging to safely go across. Been there & done that. Plan accordingly and enjoy the boat ride from the mother ship - you will want to invoke your priority tendering if not booked on a NCL shorex. Have fun going ashore & coming back ... or, stay onboard & relax, enjoy the late summer on the sun decks, etc. Cheers 😎

Thank you for the Escape report from last week ... was there a Meet & Greet and if you attended, would you happen to have the placard with the names/titles of the senior team, HD/GM, heads of housekeeping, guest services, F&B, etc. Any idea if some of them are going on vacation & rotations, perhaps new assignments on another NCL ship soon ... ship is going to reposition later next month & spend time in NY until the (late) Fall. We got the Escape on our radar ahead and starting to see if we can "home" in, always nice to get a heads up of who's who since the ones we are looking at, along with other sailings, got logistically challenges in pulling off a successful M&G gathering, the only full sea day is on the last (sea) day & inbound to come home ... port intensive itinerary with 2 tender stops. Again, TIA.

Real crabmeat are expensive (it's always like that) so that's to be expected nowadays, no matter where we go and order them, especially buffets and AYCE places, unless specifically indicated. OMG, that tray of powdered eggs served in the cafe / cafeteria 😳 ... and, I for one, always caution that opinions on food are personal, and subjective and subject to our own preferences & biases. But, who can find that tray of eggs ... well, some can and will and, to each her/his own. Thank you for your time and sharing with another come along live cruise adventure ... continue to follow & lurk here. Great pictures as always, they are unique, different and special in many ways, not the usual ones that we've seen often ... why do I think of our IKEA store, haha.

@Eggs2Go don't worry about quoting ... just wanted to offer whatever we knew from before, to try to be helpful. We actually like our stop at Amber Cove, walking around the port area after getting off the ship ... there is a local beach nearby, looked pretty crowded (mainly locals there, during our January stop) If you click our Semi/Live Getaway report, there's a # of photos & descriptive details of what was there, etc. that should be useful, FWIW. Taxi fares to various destination nearby were zoned and posted, published & regulated by authorities - and, they're a bit on the "pricey" side - although, NCL's shorex aren't exactly bargains either, LOL. @FlynGall - hopefully, you'll find some of the chats here helpful. NCL isn't known for top-notched communications excellence and very often, stay vague and only announced "last minute changes due to unforeseen situations or circumstances, etc." that a port change, cancellation or alternate stop / port has been made "regrettably" to "sail & sustain" for one's (in)convenience 🙄 😳 😤 But, it is what it is. Plan ahead and make your best call as to what's likely to expect, but do not get upset or be surprised if something else happened while en route and at sea - it's not terrible in itself if you booked NCL shorex, but some of us do plan & book private, local or independent tours on our own - and it's sometimes a mad scramble to contact the vendor & make changes, obtain refunds or able to notify them to cancel and make substituted arrangements for a new pickup & meeting location ... and, to make matters worst, if arrival & sailing time are changed. Of course, on top of it all - one cannot get mad at mother nature & maritime disruptions. Go with the flow, pack humors, have patience, and reasons often for us to just "wing" it when & once we get there. It does sound like TB is ready and good for mega NCL ships to safely dock there, but if AC is listed - well, plan for it. There is no practical reason for the pool & other facilities to be closed to NCL pax arriving on a ship and docking there. Afterall, the shops & stores are open, vendors are selling their crafts, and the locals will do all that can to roll out the welcome mats - and, cheerfully take our mightly U.S. dollars ... and credit cards, etc. Happy planning, cruising and safe travel. Cheers 😎

We're on the Getaway this January (2023) and like at least several other sailings before & ours, DR was one of the scheduled port stop AND instead of docking at TB, sailed straight to Amber Cove ... this is especially true for mega ships within NCL's fleet as the harbor channel at TB was (is ??) shallow with work in progress to make it safer then. Amber Cove can take 2 ships and when not used by Carnival vessels visiting, is open & available to other cruiselines ... it is a nice facility, duty-free shopping with prices lowered than USVI at the time. Taxis are available to POI including TB via highway route (not exactly walkable on the basis of distance alone, Google it to see for yourself), AND, they are relatively "expensive" vs. other typical Caribbean ports. We didn't use the pool while there but others on our sailing did - there are (unsecured) WiFi hotspot(s) in the shops area, clearly marked & off-duty NCL crew members were there as well to get "connnected" to F&F overseas. Cellular (roaming) signals are solid & strong in coverage, 4G LTE only. It is a fairly long walk from the ship's berth to the "port" area, and more walking to leave & exit out to ground transportation, "free" golf cart styled shuttle are available for those who rather ride - with the hot sun & tropical climate/weather - but a nominal cash tip is welcomed & appreciated, never declined. Bring sun protection and bottled water for hydration

@dwr777 - typically, you can check on bidding availabilities within 90+ days, sometimes more than 100 days out, of embarkation for your specific cruise. It used be less than 90 days, I think at the 80 days countdown mark before the bidding option to upgrade - with the rules & disclosure fineprints, etc. etc. Good luck !

According to one of our extended family's relative - head of housekeeping for a major hotel chain, bring a 3 oz. bottle of vinegar onboard, dilute that 50%, and run it thru the 1 cup coffee-maker ... allow the mix to cool in between deep rinsing, repeat - then, run thru 3 to 4 cycles of tap water. It should get rid of lingering coffee taste/flavor in subsequent hot water brewing. But, I'm told that the water doesn't quite reach the ideal temperature for proper tea service. What do I know, I'm a coffee drinker. Yes for Bubble tea with milk, however 😁