mking8288

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 👍

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 -