Turtles06

😮😂 Well, I think the good news is that they are dealing with fewer people to refund now. The supervisor told me they have to process the refunds manually, and it will take about one month. We'll see. 🙂

You cannot necessarily tell whether someone is "able-bodied" just by looking at them. For example, they may have severe arthritis in their knees, which makes walking up and down stairs, even one flight, very painful. Or they may have some heart or respiratory condition that you can't see.

You gave one example of one cruise on one Cunard ship where you were able to access your cabin at 12:30 and despite having been told that across all mainstream cruise lines, including NCL, the access time is generally around then but may be later, you have wrongly generalized that one Cunard experience into a conclusion that Cunard is better, NCL stinks.” So please do yourself a favor and stick with Cunard and stay away from the “zoo” that you find NCL to be. You’ll be happier.

Valletta is one of the most spectacular harbors in the world. And what beautiful weather for your visit!

I’m struggling with that math. Perhaps you could clarify. Thanks. (And thanks for the other info.)

This is awful. I hope everyone who was injured makes a full and speedy recovery!

There is now a thread in the NCL forum about the Encore gangway collapse; Twitter posts and photos from someone aboard, as well as a news article. Sounds like a number of guests were not only injured, but also unable to continue on the cruise. Hope everyone makes a full and speedy recovery.

Bermuda has updated the Arrival Card application form to state expressly that people arriving by cruise ship aren't required to complete it.

Solution for you is simple: stick to Cunard, and don't slum it on the "zoo" of NCL. 🙄 I've sailed NCL, Celebrity, HAL, RCI. Staterooms not ready upon boarding at noon, although it's getting more common for the cruise lines to allow you to drop your carry on bags in your cabin upon boarding and then leave (assuming your individual cabin is not yet ready).

So, that's one example. (And 12:30 is not that early.) Your first post said "on other lines," plural. Do you have more examples from other lines? Do you realize the effort it takes to turn a ship around? Do you want your stateroom cleaned thoroughly before it's turned over to you? Fresh linens, towels?

What lines? What boarding times?

Have you ever actually been in one of those NCL tub/shower combos? Very narrow tub, suitable imho mostly for children. Sorry you'll be missing your soak, but those tub/shower combos made it difficult (if not dangerous, on a moving vessel) for a good number of folks to get in/out in order to take a shower, especially people with knee problems, mobility issues, and short people. I won't miss them.

We love the Gem, absolutely one of our favorite ships. Glad you are enjoying her!

Thanks! (And maybe someone will know about the tub/showers. 😂) Thanks for the beautiful photos from Venice!

Disappointing news. Thanks for asking them.

After emailing everyone this morning who is embarking on the NCL Joy this Saturday, Nov. 12, to remind us (yet again) that we need to have a Bermuda TA (which is now incorrect!), NCL has finally changed its web site to state this for Bermuda requirements: "FOR ALL SAILINGS VISITING BERMUDA ON OR BEFORE NOVEMBER 13, 2022" . . . [chart then follows with the TA requirement for those visiting on or before Nov. 13] And then the web page goes on to state: "FOR ALL SAILINGS VISITING BERMUDA ON OR AFTER NOVEMBER 14, 2022 Nothing required" https://www.ncl.com/travel-requirements-by-country Since the Joy's Nov. 12 sailing does not visit Bermuda until Nov. 15, no TA is required. I hope NCL emails everyone on the cruise to tell them this and, most important, that it makes sure the folks at the pier know not to require guests to show the TA. This would eliminate one of the lines before check-in and should help expedite that whole process.

We recently returned from a 3-week land tour in the UK that included four days in the Highlands, with Inverness as our jumping off point. Among other things, we visited the Battlefield of Culloden, which we loved. (It is quite fascinating if you, like we, are at all interested in the history.) We drove the length of Loch Ness, and we saw Urquhart Castle from afar, but did not have time to visit; I'll bet it would have been terrific. And more scenic driving and stops. The Highlands are gorgeous. (I've been there before.) @RNCherylI second the advice to book a full day tour in the Highlands if you are in Invergordon. (And you are certainly correct to have Edinburgh in your must see list of ports.) Enjoy your cruise!

Thank you @Essiesmom and @BillB48 for the interesting screenshots. So, the question remains -- is the cruise terminal actually finished, or are we looking at an incomplete structure in the image above?

Thanks. What I'm happiest about is that the supervisor in Bermuda confirmed that no one will need to show TAs at the pier this Saturday -- we'll be embarking on the NCL Joy. Hopefully, NCL and the workers at the pier will be able to pivot to that this week; it will remove one hurdle for the check-in. 🙂

Yikes!! Definitely a crap shoot when to ask for an FCC after final payment. 😮

All I can say is that the web sites aren't always accurate, but I'm sure that's not much comfort to you. (Cruisetimetables.com doesn't show ANY ships in St. Thomas on April 14, yet the site you quoted above does.) Hopefully you'll get some resolution of your question. We're on B2B full transits of the Panama Canal aboard the Gem in February, going through the Canal on Feb. 5 and Feb. 7. None of the sites shows any ships transiting the Canal on Feb. 7, and on Feb 5 they show three other ships transiting the Canal, but not the Gem. (I'm pretty sure we'll be going through the Canal both days though. 🙂) I hope you have a great cruise!

@DebInAntiguaI strongly second the advice to check your CPAP's power supply. Just about every electrical device that folks might travel with now, or that is internationally marketed, is dual voltage, in which case you would only need an adapter for the foreign outlets, not an actual power converter. Your CPAP power supply may be in two parts and you may have to look at the small writing on the power block to see the range of voltage. There are not that many manufacturers of CPAP machines, and I suspect you are not likely to have one made only for use in the USA/Guatemala. So now that we're all intrigued, I hope you'll come back and tell us about the voltage range of your CPAP machine. 🙂 And your trips sound awesome!

I just used that same US to UK adapter on our land trip last month in the UK. Worked very well! I have the same brand US to European adapter and will be taking it on its first cruise in a week, to use in the European outlet in our cabin (giving us another outlet).

It's been a long time, but I think I learned about the 10th Ave. trick here on CC. 🙂 As for getting stuck heading to the MCT and going nowhere fast, you just prompted this unfortunate memory -- a few years ago, we were staying in a Manhattan hotel near 8th Avenue the night before leaving on a cruise. The next morning, when we got in a cab, I asked the driver not to go over to 12th Avenue, but to head up 8th and then go over on 55th Street. He did that, and (it was a weekday morning) turned right in behind a garbage truck on 55th, which was taking its sweet old time collecting garbage, creating a backup of vehicles practically to the East River. (Okay, I'm exaggerating.) Even when the truck had room to pull over and let cars by, the driver never did so. And while I knew we had plenty of time to get to the terminal, it was beyond exasperating. Especially so because the cab driver was hearing impaired, and could not hear us ask him to turn off 55th at the next intersection, nor, after he failed to do so, to let us out of the cab; he just kept following the garbage truck. And, somehow, our doors were locked too; we were trapped in the cab. Actually, it was a little scary for awhile.

Actually, I've been notified repeatedly in the past couple of months that I could log in using either my email address or my UserID. I tried logging in with my email address, and the log in failed. For fun, I just tried again now. Nope. Message: "incorrect username or password." Love NCL IT. 🙂