mking8288

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

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

Welcome home

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Love those pictures and you know, aside from the long walk on the pier under the hot sun (without a hat & sun protection) - I can see cruising to both/either Amber Cove and/or Taino Bay - both being much closer to Harvest Caye ... and forget GSC as tendering there remains a 50:50 deal. The "free" (tips only) taxi-bike shuttles making it much more accessible friendly ... as a matter of fact, my right knee was acting up again last month, gosh.

Here they are in PDF format, I did not get or keep FSD for Day #8, otherwise nearly the full set. Download & open to browse, others can just skip these pages, used Adobe Scan to prepare & safely uploaded via VPN server Getaway 12 days Caribbean Dailies out of NYC - What's Happening pages (11 of them in 2 parts) only. NCL Getaway FSD What's Happening 1 of 2, 2023.pdf NCL Getaway Freestyle Dailies Jan 2023 part 2 of 2.pdf Footnote: The grass isn't necessary greener and/or better on any other cruise lines. I do many of the grocery & household "provisioning" and retail market prices on food staples are no joke these days. Our next adventure isn't quite around the corner yet, but we just booked and yes, soon. Will try to give those "addicted" to CC onboard reports at least a few days of advance notice to tune in soon. No promises, however 😊 I thank Laszlo (love those videos), Jim and others that cruised the Getaway ahead of ours for setting the pace and giving us the heads up - the current live one is good and I'm sitting back to lurk on the next semi-live, he's ready with his photo gears.

@Jlharvey913 DW would've tossed out those Freestyle Dailies ... yes, got them in a box. I'll scan the "What's Happening" pages only & upload the PDF (easier w/o taking up more CC server space) later on, for you & anyone else as needed.

Standing by for Pete's Getaway adventure next - and the magic number is 3

Doing good managing your limited WiFi minutes onboard 👍 - it can be done, there was a time where I felt that a semi-live report onboard can be done, with discipline & backed with roaming cellular data. Noticed that CBP is clearing the ship today in Miami per Freestyle Dailies, that should make for a quicker & easier disembarkation (oh, no .... 🫣 ) in NY on Sunday - it "should" for those in a hurry. How was tendering yesterday at GSC ? Have a great day in Miami with LM 😊

How are those remaining WiFi minutes holding up ? Miami-bound on cruisemapper at an easy 10 knots - plans in place in the morning ? Had NCL not cancelled the Bermuda stop, getting out might be a little choppy but part of the ride from Dockyard to NY ... looking at forecasts on Windy App - will likely be a roller coaster on water ski. Mother nature always win - besides, not a whole lot happening on the island in the middle of their off-season. Go catch some zzz's & get ready in the morning. With planning & good logistics, NCL should find little excuse to not fully provision and stock up the ship on its Florida stops, including bananas, milk, juice, butter, etc.