mking8288

It's an open secret that I've shared, others ... and I think Dan @graphicguy was able to "replicate" my approach and as always, YMMV. Suffice to say, together "we" 😉 😉 are going to try this out soon on other NCL ships, like the Prima and/or Epic (in about 2 weeks) - certainly others following this thread & sailing on the Escape in the coming weeks AND considering posting theirs semi or live trip report can give it a try. What I stumbled upon was, in addition to knowing that surfing a # of sites while connected to ship's WiFi inTRAnet is that, it can be done ... while DW was using the unlimited basic plan, and I needed or wanted to post something on CC at sea. Ship's WiFi connectivity isn't anywhere close to ideal or good, far from it, and, speaking to the iCafe manager in person about Starlink's rollout was not encouraging by any means. WTH are senior management at NCL HQ doing by dragging their feet ... puts everyone at a no win situation and isn't helping them with extra revenue opportunities. Meanwhile, I read recently that China is launching their first home-built out of their Shanghai shipyard, a mega cruise ship that resembled somewhat like NCL's *Away/Plus class ships ... with immersive 5G satellite coverage. Okay, ranting is over - back to answering the question. Simple, especially when sharing plans with others - best is signed into NCL's inTERnet properly, and then logged into CC's board/forum with username (ID is phasing out soon) and password, check on posts and/or threads that is graphics-based, as you can't see or view the photos while signed out of the paid/metered inTERnet. Then, type on the browser the URL - logoutnow dot com - to stop the clock or meter & sign out, but stay connected to the inTRAnet. Go back into and resume reading & posting on CC, you can actually UPLOAD photos - it's slow at times (but, keep in mind that I personally find the UL speed to be better than DL speed, less outbound data traffic, as it is mostly slow) Enjoy and "profit" from being allowed to use CC site free. Furthermore, you can edit posts as permitted by CC (20 minutes or less after posting) as I try to properly format & insert spaces with photos uploaded, not always easy & sometimes, I'll skip that when on the "move" or go - if you look at the photos "heavy" posts - you'll often see that it's nearly always "edited" unless I simply didn't bother at all, i.e. while having lunch, breakfast or dinner onboard, etc. We somehow managed to do this with our allocated "free" 150 minutes x 2 and Mrs. used a bit playing her online games & social media posts within our closed loop family & friends circle ... otherwise, no way that this semi - nearly always "live" report can be filed with all the graphics content, given how "fast" EMC as the satellite ISP partner has been. The Getaway last year and this January was pretty bad and speed being usual & typical. Part of it, can be attributed to our (end users) hardware, gears & equipment ... like when others say, it's unusable and almost like dial-up or not even close to copper DSL speed - well, using iPhone 8 or old Samsung smartphone would definitely not help at all, I try to use the newer, if not newest that's compatible with 802.11.ac or WiFi 6 specs. In the past, earlier this year, we're able to change or upgrade our FAS internet plans and saved a day or two by doing it after midnight ... apparently, not onboard the Escape anymore. Granted that this was a port intensive itinerary and we knew that we will have great 5G and 4G LTE coverage daily while docked and/or near the shorelines with cellular towers in range - paying that extras to upgrade to unlimited, using NR-OBC wasn't important or priority, just for our convenience. No way that we'll skip the trade-up on a longer cruise with multiple sea days, i.e. TA crossing. Also, make a strategic & calculated decisions, based on my best guestimate that the sailing would likely be modified, skipping & cancelling ports, but that I would risk not being able to post "live" most of the time. Worst case scenario, "buy" extra airtime minutes - darn it, so freaking pricey or expensive for 100 and 250 minutes, and, of course, they didn't offer any last minute disembarkation specials this time for 30 or 60 / 75 minutes, as by Thursday night - we're docked off the VZ bridge and nearly everyone was able to step outside on their balcony or open decks, near the windows to use 5G and 4G cellular services ... at superior & much faster data speed. DW used about only about 500 MB or 1/2 GB worth of data during the past 7 days, I used about 1.5 GB worth of cellular data and the secondary T-Mobile data line used almost 4GB worth of data as we're using the Pixel 4a 5G as MiFi hotspot, allowing multiple devices to tethering at no extra cost. Google Fi's unlimited line provides up to 35 GB worth of global high-speed data free before throttling - except & excluding satellite connections at sea, 200 countries covered otherwise. It's more expensive than using T-Mo's 55Plus line for 2 of us, since the $10 a day mobile data pass as add-on when traveling can add up quickly, and, when our home Fios line was damaged by squirrels in the co-op's basement, Fi was our "lifeline" for days until pest control from co-op management resolved the problem & VZ finally agreed to add extra hardened cable shielding for the inside pathways below our flooring.

Raining Days and Mondays "always get me down" ... (humming) Oh no, cheers and good morning all, the light shower & drizzle outside has turned now into a steady, light rain. Glad that this wasn't yesterday morning - power of positive thinking, DW and I are going to make the best of it and shelter at home. Saturday evening, our onboard self-testing was negative using Abbott's BinaxNow Ag, good and we will repeat that tomorrow just to be sure (have a good stockpile via insurance with validity thru 2024) ... then, we can go visit our 4 weeks old grand-nephew and play as mommy niece doesn't want anyone returning from a recent trip to be around for at least 1 to 2 weeks, apparently many of them are caught the invisible bugs and sharing it, yike. Plan to get our updated annual flu shots next month plus the newly approved booster, since we are - by definition - in the higher risk categories, following our primary doctor's guidance ... no judgement on others, just personal choices. Unlike the GA, BA, Epic or even the Joy ... the Escape doesn't have Shanghai Noodles/Restaurant-Bar, so we decided to have something different yesterday and ate Vietnamese ... nothing like big & hot bowl of (spicy/chilly - optional) Vietnamese beef pho (noodles) with all the classic trimmings, and, surprising, Escape brought back the "Vietnamese Chicken Pho (rice noodles, to be precise)" on the lunch menu ... not quite authentic & without lemongrass, but still nice to have something different for a change. Afterall, it seemed like French Onion Soup is a daily menu item and you really don't see Chicken Noodles Soup (well, for your convenience - with that $9.95 + upcharge, get it from the Room Service ("Swift" app) delivery menu). My non-informed guess is that with the 2 additional, unscheduled sea days, thanks to Hurricane Lee, the executive chef scrambled to feed 4,850 guests (and, crews) onboard with something different daily for lunch and not repeating everything - out of the 14, 15 or 21 rotating menu options, based on what's available in provisioning. Our main meal yesterday, doesn't that look good - reasons that we really don't go crazy with getting more Specialty Dining onboard ... Food Republic onboard has on its fusion menu, Vietnamese beef pho but the soup stock came up short - give them credit for efforts, but they need - should - use a bigger & deeper bowl, provide bean sprouts & lemongrass. Alas, it's difficult to compare apples and oranges, especially when they are sourced from different places but - oddly enough, no serious complaints about food onboard NCL, it's like "comfort food" and most were high on sodium or salty, and dessert items were too sweet (good for the other 3 members of the gang since they are on meds, whereas we kept our A1C level below 6, mine was recently at 5.4 ... medical assistant joked that mine went up, lol from 5.3 increased by 0.1)

Good morning all, again ... home sweet home. Transitioning - quick sweep/clean by housekeeping and laundry, brew a fresh cup of coffee and making a note for provisioning ... gallery will be closed together as we'll likely do take-out on the way back after lunch nearby. A week (and longer, DW now preferred) on a cruise, even if it is CTN, is better than staying home ... beautiful & sunny skies, beautiful early Fall on a Sunday, time to think about an overnight foliage or mid-week, avoiding the weekend crowd. Had a balance (non-refundable) of $14 on the final "invoice" of itemized credits & charges ... darn it, DW said we should've gone to Starbuck to spend it - heck, we aren't really into SB's marketing hype, let it go, just let it go. @The P - Susan brought 2 T-shirts onboard, could've gotten a 3rd one with the remaining credit but spent most of it in duty-free, LOL. @bedfordmom - going to be an interesting one, stay tuned - T minus 64 days, westbound out of Barcelona to NY ... we twice cancelled her but decided, got to check things out in person to decide ourselves with the mixed reviews. And, "The Price is Right" so it's a "Deal" - balcony booked outright, no bids and see no need to upgrade to a mini-suite (not Haven people, steerage "buys" more cruise days & fit our easy-going lifestyle better, and Mrs M doesnt care for a spa balcony but the max upgrade bid price isn't bad ... cheaper than minimum for the club balcony "suite". NCL's partner surely is tossing out a complicated formula. @Sugar Magnolia Prefer Carmel over Lyft in NY, Uber as a backup ... on this trip, Carmel & Lyft's quoted prices are practically identical, about $85 plus toll and tips (it went up since this January) and now Carmel started charging a congestion fee of $2.75 @MsTabbyKats We generally take our luggage across 12th Avenue to the NE corner of 12th Avenue, between W. 48 and W. 49th Street - preferred by most drivers, regardless < address to use: 660 12th Avenue, New York, NY > When we came out, the porter said it's easier for car service & taxi to come into street level of MCT ... and, took our luggage along & put us there. There must be like 2 dozens buses on the lower level, including chartered buses for a large trade group booked on the Escape - didn't see yellow taxis and/or car services, or private pax vehicles coming into the lower level to drop off or pick up. We walked across to W. 50th Street & contacted Carmel to pick up there, and call the driver to update him of our location as to where to meet or find us ... works. Total of 90 minutes, amazing, from the time we stepped out from Manhattan MDR on Deck 7 AFT to exit thru ship security, downstairs to retrieve our luggage, porter services with a fast track out to 12th Avenue ... Carmel pick-up and then drop-off in Queens. Transport (taxi / Uber "dispatchers") working their trade approaching cruisers offering ride - just politely say no & keep walking. Our SIL/BIL had to go to Skyline Bar, Deck 7 AFT by the casino to wait for WC assistance disembarkation, they got home about an hour later than us at 10:30 AM & that was said to be smooth & reasonably fast ... expectations met. BinaxNow C19 test results last night while still onboard were negative, that's reassuring - no desire to catch and/or bring home anything "foreign" and "unwanted". Have a small stockpile of valid test kits, better to use them or lose & waste them. @Red-Sol one of these days, our path should cross onboard ... until then, best regards and thanks. @graphicguy your turn is coming up next & fast, ready to roll - then, hopefully, I can make the next TA a very fun & interesting live/semi-live report. Looks like this week's 7 days NE-Canada Escape cruise should be smooth sailing. Wishing all those cruising this weekend and ahead ... fun, safe, happy & smooth sailing. @JIMESOPUS Bon Voyage ... P.S. It is the United Nations General Assembly week - starting tomorrow, expect extra traffic & security, if driving in - avoid the East Side of Manhattan & allow extra travel time.

A very smooth disembarkation, facial recognition and porter services, booked Carmel on the App. In the minivan by 8:50 & will be home in NE Queens via I-95 Bronx by 9:30 👍 9:11 AM - Queens... home, almost. 9:18 - arrived 🤗

Good disembarkation morning, MDR breakfast ...our ritual before leaving the ship. Folks on the next sailing to NE-Canada, time to get ready to come to Pier 88, should be ready in a matter of hours ... and Bon Voyage 🛳️ 👌 Ship has just been cleared at 7:25 - express self walk-off called now 👍

Tug boat on starboard, apparently strong river currents Almost there ... easy 😉 does it

Last evening onboard the Escape ... Drop off some signed messages about those that went above & beyond earlier, you can also email NCL ... but, it's easier 👴

Almost forgot, pictures from the CC Meet & Greet - Yusif as GM and the team.

Breaking update: We are on the move now at 23:25 and turning to face Lower Manhattan again and underway at 2.5 knots. Up to 10 knots now at 23:40 - Statue of Liberty ahead, port side.

Woohoo - Jim, thanks. Seven Sea Mariner already past Lady Liberty, heading north on the Hudson to dock. Our turn is next & soon, looked like pilot is already onboard as the Pilot Wanderer just left us a short time ago. Bags are on their way down below for pier transfer in the morning 🫢

Tonight's MDR dinner - said goodbye to the dining team, might or might not see some of them at morning breakfast, our 25 years tradition sailing on NCL before disembark.

Nope, and I am for peace ... war is not the answer, history has proven that for ages. Now, if I can crack into their system successfully, maybe fix some of their IT issues notably on weekends, maybe we'll all be better off. But, having an edge in staying in touch is important to me ... surprises, I don't like, not if I can help do something about it. Going to eardrop on marine radio traffic later as the ship begin to move again & sail past Lady Liberty, up the Hudson River & turn to her berth at Pier 88.

Internet & related iCafe - internet update ... the one and only time where there isn't a line, in fact, nobody standing there and/or talking to the iCafe manager this evening - perfect time to chat briefly. STARLINK is rolling out slower than planned originally and it will not come live on the Escape until 2024, no specific dates available to him yet ... for the immediate future, end users (and crew onboard) will remain with and use EMC, existing satellite ISP with WiFi inTERnet access. Servers & equipments running now (i.e. NEC routers) are perfectly capable & fully meet/exceed 802.11.ac standards (WIFi 6) and IPv6 as well as iPv4 specs, etc. Speedtest results (best achieved during this cruise with 4,850 pax onboard) - which pretty much mirrored what I was able to get during the Epic's TA this April and Getaway's Caribbean cruise - Jan 2023, a bit better than the Joy - Sept 2022. The other important alert: NCL apparently does NOT pro-rate the discount anymore with the FAS upgrade, price offered is same pre-cruise or onboard, taking into account the value of the free minutes. The difference is that you can use any OBC, non-refundable ones, when you do the upgrade onboard the ship but NOT pre-cruise as your credit card will be charged. In other words, if you wait (like we used to) to upgrade after midnight on Day 2 or Day 3, to upgrade - the price is the same as Day 1, no further discount or cost savings. This is for the Escape - YMMV if you sail or cruise on a different or another NCL ship. Plan your use accordingly ...

Welcome to NCL ... and thanks, glad to be of some help. BTW - just wanted to mention that in addition to the $100 REFUNDABLE OBC that each stateroom received for this modified cruise itinerary. $30 x 2 or $60 REFUNDABLE OBC were issued also, they are for port fees, taxes & charges - skipped 2 ports. They are in our Onboard Account. Had to chase down our $100 non-refundable NCLH shareholders OBC, they were missing and case number generated onboard to Miami HQ, confirmed & credited today, just in time for disembarkation. Not bad - NCL came thru again, not always easy & I undersand other's frustrations, often aired on CC. Yeah, go with the flow, humor & patience. Dine With Officers didn't happen on this cruise, signed up for it - oh well, since our favorite HD and his assistant, and probably some of the ones we knew from before aren't around, it's okay - next time 🙂

Stay tuned, I will provide a more details post-cruise about this. In general, I find NCL ships with the "older" Sole (a hospitality brand) TV to be easiest as they use HDMI 1 as default input, where as these newer LGTV and Samsung TV are dedicated for hospitality or hotel operations use and data is routed via good old ethernet wiring (Cat 5+ and if they were smart enough to future proof miles of wiring for the next 2 decades, go with at least Cat 6E during construction). Input source for these are "locked" & switching to HDMI render it useless, as it's basically a display monitor that apparently run its own customized Linux OS ... I keep forgetting to bring my universal USB stick with OS to boot it up for fun, LOL. My tech toolkit and gadgets that I usually bring along ... it's a pain, haha at 9 to 10 lbs plus the laptop. The basics that one would need - a Windows laptop or notebook PC (11.6" Sony Viao in my case, optimized for travel) with HDMI output and/or most newer Chromebook with HDMI output, and a 10' HDMI cable (6' might be too short). Wireless/bluetooth mouse and NC wireless earbuds. A short power strip (non-surge suppressed) or power cube (triple taps - by GE) that's space saving, and at least 1 if not 2 220V outlet adapter ... and, a # of USB 3.0 braided extension cables to pair with a # of USB-A and USB-C data/power cables - rated for fast charging, plus Lightning-certified cables. Anker multi-port Dongle that's tested to work with Chromebook and has HDMI output, and also an USB-C to HDMI 4K converter. Anker 10,000 mAH battery bank with dual output for quick boost & charging. Essentially, get into the TV/monitor's Setting, Input Source - override if needed & possible, change the source & connect the alternate HDMI source/cable to "cast" to the mounted TV onboard. GA and BA, Escape (pre-Covid) was a peace of cake, quick-easy-simple ... now, not so much. TV Remote in the room does not have the button/option to make changes ... more specifics on it, post-cruise. Samsung Galaxy S22+ has its own Live TV App, which can cast or stream to a bigger display ... it's a feature that isn't available on the Pixel 7 Pro, thus carrying both or hijacking DW's S22+ to use. iPhone SE 2022 is a dual e/Sim enabled global phone with data plans, emergency use and to pair with AirTags. DW spend time on her iPad so we carry the "Mini" Air as it is lighter & easier. We sometimes bring the Amazon Fire HD 10 since with mSD storage, we can bring a lot of offline contents ... and runs Google Store Apps plus Fire Apps by Amazon. If I haven't lost your attention yet - the importance of having a good VPN plus a backup VPN plan on the road, on the ships - sometimes, to make apps work or function, have to turn them off or disable it. Heading to dinner shortly, all packed up & ready to disembark in the morning ... will come back to catch up on news and weather since most pax are wondering about the news blackout onboard ... TV channels temporary unavailable. Frustrating - especially docked at a port but, seen it happened some 15 years ago on NCL en-route to Mexico from Los Angeles port ... CNN was available free & shown in all staterooms, negative news not good for public relations & marketing the product; and, the rest is history.

Signed up for Wine Tasting, they are on Deck 8 midship, opposite Duty-free ... by the mid atrium with the spiral staircase. On the Breakaway & Getaway - where the Ice Bar would be situated The main lobby or atrium, next to Guest Services ... NCL really should re-design this space properly configuration & with fire & life safety and egress in mind ...just not "Kosher" and would most definitely failed the good old EOC section of a Joint Commission inspection in my old days (have no idea on what SOLAS codes for maritime vessels are in this...) Just my 2 cents in observations, FWIW 🧐

MDR was open for lunch - a somewhat different menu, and Republic was open today. Come to think of these, they are from the dinner menu and not the usual lunch options. Bay scallops were very good 👏

Just dial your steward's extension and ask for one, turnaround day are always busy but s/he will get to it. Buffet has & use mainly milk, you can probably ask for it. MDR, Specialty Restaurants and O'Sheehan's, also Room Service usually provide the Coffee Mate liquid creamer, no refrigeration needed - like the plentiful ones kept restocked by our steward 👍👌👍👌👍

@JIMESOPUS First, wish you a great, safe & pleasant cruise later this week ... be looking for your live report ?? over the other forum. As for the compensation under these adverse conditions, I dunno ... $100 OBC for steerage ($50 p/p for 1st 2 pax - what about solo cruisers ??) might be acceptable. I should note that we received $30 refundable OBC x 2 for port fees/charges/etc. (asked Guest Services about sometime else & got the itemized credit answered) and 10% FCC for the first 2 pax in the booking. But and it is a big "however" what about those booked in Haven and/or paying a premium for full suites, with 3, 4 and 5 pax, maybe 6 in those 2 bedroom DOS ... then, I can see a "problem" BTW, thanks for that YT video - yeah, love using Windy App, you can "pin" it and look ahead at specific coordinates in the ocean with detail forecast. Very useful.

Photos from Deck 6 AFT

More pictures taken on the waterfront on a sunny Saturday morning. Captain just did his daily briefing from the bridge. River currents remain strong plus the tide, expect to sail up the Hudson shortly after midnight.

In the MDR and master suite, usually - she does come into the Study to find the night 🦉 online, 😆 Good chance that we are going on MSC in 2024 with NCL's slim choices out of NY, one of the nieces can book a 2 BR YC Suite plus another balcony, so we'll sneak onboard with them ... to help look after their newest baby, the grand-nephew. Besides, we'll be Diamonds after our next cruise and if they still do status match ...