dcipjr

On 9/30/2022 at 4:05 AM, EllieinNJ said:

Now just waiting for them to stop this foolish $40 Bermuda authorization. 

I love Bermuda, but the $40 TA is a cash-grab, pure and simple. 

I'm looking at it as an increase in the port tax, which hopefully is temporary. I would imagine it's gone by some time in 2023, but I believe it's planned revenue for the government through the end of this year, so I wouldn't expect to see it dispensed with in 2022.

We'll all be thinking of you, @graphicguy...hope it simply leads to a clean bill of health!

Since cannabis is illegal at a federal level in the USA, it's illegal to cross state lines with it, even if it's legal in both states or if you have a medical card. 

Bring some from NY to NJ? It's legal in both places, right? Drug-smuggling felony if you're caught.

Bring some from the US to Canada? Again, very illegal—crossing international borders is even worse.

Does this make sense? Absolutely not. Cannabis is useful for legitimate medical purposes, and so far, legal recreational hasn't meant the end of the world places that it's been legalized.

The federal laws are outdated. Marijuana is still a Schedule 1 drug in the US, which is defined as "drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse". Is that really the case? Evidence would strongly point to no, but the laws haven't caught up.

Given that most people in the US are now in favor of legalization—or at the very least, medical legalization—hopefully the fed law will change to at least decriminalize, deschedule, or legalize. 

Politicians have proven themselves to not give a rat's behind about what people think, but I still tend to think there will be some legislative action at some point, because there's money to be made. A lot of money is flowing into the burgeoning cannabis industry, and it's legitimate money, unlike the old black market days. Laws tend to follow the money, so I'd imagine U.S. law will change on a federal level sometime in the near future.

Either way, it doesn't affect cruises. Trafficking marijuana across an international border is still illegal via international maritime law. And even if it wasn't, do you think NCL would want to competition with the drinks package?

I'd love a gummy on a cruise, but it ain't happening for the foreseeable future, and I'm not willing to go to prison for one either. 

On 9/30/2022 at 8:31 AM, cruiseny4life said:

Please tell me you're not still waiting. I knew as soon as NCL said that, it'd be a ripe day in the land down under before we got that $40 back. Oh well...it'll go to support Bermuda, so I'm happy about that!

Still waiting. Did you get a refund?

On 9/28/2022 at 4:21 PM, JGmf said:

 

I was on that cruise.  NCL provided the $40/pp credit to cruisers.   Whether Bermuda reimbursed NCL, I have no idea.  The description on our itemized invoice didn't provide any clues.  I'm guessing not, though, as I can't see a gov't bureaucracy giving back money due to weather as it would, um, open the flood gates for other non-cruise applicants to seek the same refund.

I was on the September 3rd sailing that missed Bermuda. I haven’t gotten any refund thus far. I checked my final invoice and it wasn’t on there.

NCL said that it would be refunded, but I figure if they have to go through the Bermudian government, that it may take a while. I’m not holding my breath.

Wasn’t the Garden Café called the Market Café on the older ships? It changes names every so often.  

If NCL didn’t change the names, people would be complaining here that they’re bored of eating at the same venues on every ship. 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

On 9/24/2022 at 3:29 PM, mking8288 said:

Okay, if prices drop even further - maybe I'll just hit the "Enter" key.  

Come with us, Henry!

@graphicguy, @mking8288, and @JamieLogical on the same sailing—the CC boards would implode.

22 minutes ago, tbtma said:

We didn't want to get there with nothing available so we are looking to make a reservation....close.

We've never had an issue getting parking at the pier, even in the height of the pre-COVID summer season. If Pier 88 is full, they'll have you park over at Pier 90. 

We usually arrive around 11 AM at the pier, and have always had our pick of spots. And you truly cannot beat the convenience when it comes to disembarkation day. 

It's pricey, but worth it.

14 hours ago, style9ine said:

Also, the ship will probably take whatever course is necessary to avoid rough waters, if there will be any....as the path is the forecast to veer east.

 

...and no, Bermuda won't give you back your $40.

Well—maybe, maybe not.

We missed Bermuda on our Getaway cruise (almost the same itinerary as OP), and NCL mentioned that they'd be working with Bermuda to refund us the TA cost, and to keep an eye on our email for more details.

We've been back a little over a week and haven't heard anything yet, but I have to imagine the Bermuda government moves pretty slowly in these matters. 

4 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

NCL usually has a sign up at guest services on Embarkation Day stating that no upgrades are available.  But, this cruise is the last of the season to Canada.  As such, these are the kinds of cruises that have always offered some move up availability.

I was on the Getaway a couple weeks ago, and we were running at about 1200 guests (out of 4400). Someone we made friends with onboard told us that she upgraded from an inside to an aft balcony while onboard for $300—she just went to Guest Services and asked.

I am used to seeing the sign out on embarkation day, too! We're happy with the balcony that got assigned to us, so we'll probably stick right where we are.

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

If anyone has experience, do they release cabins (thinking specifically Haven) of those who had to cancel sometime close to the sail date?

I don't have personal experience, but one of my Amex travel agents told me that they do. 

The Haven for our sailing is showing as sold-out, which is interesting. NCL must be prioritizing trying to fill the Haven on cruises with light bookings. Makes sense that they want to have the highest revenue cabins filled.

It's curious that the sailing showed as sold out and then came back. There looks to be plenty of inventory available.

I was assigned a Balcony guarantee when I booked a few days ago, but received my stateroom number today.

55 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Maybe I'm missing something...it's been known to happen! 

 

Isn't the Florida/Bahamas run sailing out of NYC? Based on @Sailing12Away's post it appears so. Also, @dcipjr weren't you and I just on the same cruise out of NYC to Bahamas/Florida/almost Bermuda, but Hurricane Earl stopped that? Maybe I'm thinking of the wrong screenname? Or, are you looking for a similar to what we did itinerary, being only the Bahamas and stops in Florida? 

We most certainly were! I was referring more to the pre-COVID summer cruise lineup out of NYC.

NCL is still doing occasional Florida / Bahamas runs from NYC (after all, we were on one!), but in the "before times", it was offered weekly throughout the summer months.

The Saturday departure from NYC would go to Port Canaveral, Nassau, and GSC, while the Sunday departure would be going to Bermuda, pretty much from May through August.

NYC essentially had two ships homeported there for the entire season. NCL isn't back to that service level quite yet—or maybe they've settled on homeporting a single ship for Bermuda runs, with occasional Bahamas / Florida runs from other ships (like we had on the Getaway).

19 hours ago, shof515 said:

Back in the day before the pandemic, they was two ships sailing during the summer months. One ship did the Bermuda runs and the other ship did the Florida-Bahamas

As life returns to normal, I wonder if they'll bring back the Florida - Bahamas itinerary out of NYC.

I don't particularly want to go on that itinerary, but because it's nice to have more than one option.

On 9/15/2022 at 12:48 PM, kitkat343 said:

Hi if anyone is sailing now or soon with kids can you please ask the kids club staff if they know anything about whether or not the kids clubs will include 4 year olds soon?

We were on the Getaway last week, and I asked the Splash Academy about planned reopening for 3-4 year olds. The staff member I talked to said she has no idea when the younger, 3-4 age group will be included.

She did say that over the last few weeks, they’ve started accepting kids that turn 5 during the cruise, so it’s probably only a matter of time. But they don’t know exactly when.

7 hours ago, reeinaz said:

Were you on the Bermuda cruise that didn’t go to Bermuda? I was also. I’m on this one too.

I was! We just got off that cruise and promptly booked the Canada / NE cruise.

My daughter starts kindergarten next year, so the realization that we’ll be bound by school schedules is setting in. So we’re trying to cruise off-peak as much as we can until then, and take advantage of the great deals to be had.

9 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

We were on the cruise before this one with 1,238 passengers. Several people are reporting they have COVID and at least two individuals we know did get the COVID. My husband and I are fine. I've tested every day since getting off as I've had a scratchy throat and cough, but I guess it's just a very mild cold as all tests come back negative.

We were on that cruise as well…we all wound up getting sore throats the day of disembarkation, and my wife and daughter had coughing and sneezing, but we all tested negative for COVID and our symptoms have all abated by now. So we didn’t get it! 🥳

We all had it in May after a Bermuda cruise, so I’m guessing antibodies are still going strong — or we just got lucky.

It’s funny: for the Bermuda cruise, I took so many precautions, like masking in crowded spaces and avoiding elevators, etc., and I still got it. For this one, we took no precautions (once onboard) and didn’t get it. 
 

We’re on the October 30th Breakaway cruise too, and plan to get our boosters two weeks before. Not that we’re counting on that preventing us from getting it, but might as well have our immune systems primed.

12 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

On Day 2, we enjoyed a much needed day to relax and had a wonderful breakfast in the Haven. The almond croissants are delicious but we do like and missed those little round hashbrowns known on NCL ships.

I was wondering about the hash browns! We got ones that seemed to be homemade, and was curious whether they changed the recipe again. Guess it’s just the supply chain having fun with us again.

Enjoy your cruise and thanks for the review! We also were in a Haven 2BR and had a lovely time. 
 

Sounds like the Labor Day Lull is ending after your cruise. We only had around 1200 onboard and it was terrific.

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

Hmmm....

 

$209 to get a Vibe Pass

$300 for a Thermal Spa pass

$1,100 (poor bid) to upgrade to a Haven Courtyard Suite

We were in the Haven on the Getaway on our most recent cruise (Bahamas & FL, Bermuda rudely canceled by Hurricane Earl). It was absolutely lovely as always...but for this one I think we'll sit out the bidding game.

We're looking for the cheapest cruise possible this time around, and I think we've found it! Maybe we'll upgrade to a club balcony if the prices drop further, but to be honest I don't think they can go much lower.

 @mking8288 is back in action! That's what I like to see! 

We are doing Canada and New England on the Breakaway at the end of October...just booked it today.

Have a great cruise.

OK, we're in! I just booked—it's a sweetheart of a deal on an itinerary that we haven't done before.

We'll probably do OnPoint as well, since their prices are a bit better than eMed, and we've got extra tests left over. Don't forget, you can apply for reimbursement through your insurance provider if you need additional tests. Proctored tests (for us) were only covered up to $15 per test.

7 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

We could make this an all CC cruise!!!!!

Yes! And the M&G would actually consist of people from CruiseCritic instead of That Other Site. 🤣

We are eyeing this cruise as well...we just got back from a glorious 9 days on the Getaway, but I still have an excess of vacation time left over, and the price is so, so right.

Just off the Getaway (9/3 to 9/12)...it was a marvelous cruise, even with the cancellation of Bermuda and redirect to Nassau / Miami due to Hurricane Earl.

Our sailing only had 1200 (!) passengers, so there were no lines for anything. It was wonderful.

Some thoughts based on the reading of this thread:

- I totally noticed the fumes on the last sea day. The wind was strong and was blowing the smoke forward along the port side of the ship.

- I can also verify the close proximity of the basketball court to the smokestack. I was walking around exploring the ship, looking for the lost mini-golf course (RIP). The smoke was very noticeable at the basketball court; it seemed like it would be unpleasant to play out there. Also it was hot up there.

- The ship aired three NFL games (1 PM, 4:25 PM, and 8 PM) in bars and on channel 27 in staterooms. The Eagles game wasn't carried so I didn't really watch.

- The ship is lovely and still looks great, though there were some broken things in our stateroom (mostly drawers that wouldn't stay closed or wouldn't open easily). Let me be clear that these were very minor complaints for ordinary wear-and-tear items.

- Service was absolutely excellent. The crew was super attentive because there weren't many guests onboard, and mentioned they enjoyed the bit of a break (the previous cruise was full). 

- Food was great.

- We had upgraded to the Haven and it was a lovely experience, as always. 

- We totally have sore throats and sniffles today, but still have tested negative thus far. We were fine on the cruise, but you have to imagine there's some spread onboard. I saw very little mask usage onboard among guests or crew (us included...we have all had COVID already and opted to just enjoy the vacation and not worry about it).

We had a wonderful, wonderful time and cannot wait to go again.

NCL pricing has been weird recently, which I’m chalking up to the pandemic.

Yeah, sure, FDR said his infamous bit about milking every last dime out of people onboard, but he said that years ago, and the prices didn’t go all crazy until after the pandemic restart.

Example: NYC-Bermuda cruises over the summer, which in the past have usually been around $799 per person for an inside or $1299 for a balcony) were sky-high this year. Every sailing, without fail! At one point, a balcony cabin was around $1999!

So we opted for a 9-day cruise in September, initially booked at $999/pp, and wound up in a 2BR H6 for $2059/pp total.

$60/pp more than they were charging for 7 days in a balcony in August gets you 9 days in a 2 bedroom suite in the Haven in September, mere weeks later.

I’m thinking that a lot of this has to do with capacity controls and recovering revenue post-pandemic. I’m curious to see what the Bermuda runs look like next year, since that’s one of our go-to summer vacations.

In the meantime, yeah—there are deals to be found for sure. You just have to be very flexible about when you go.

Right now, the pricing is crazy. It’s either crazy expensive or crazy cheap, with very little in-between.

Sheesh. If NCL had raised port charges by $40 per person, you likely wouldn't have even have noticed it, and would have kept paying it in perpetuity. It's more likely this way that the TA charge will eventually get dropped.

Bermuda has one hospital on the island. I'm glad that they're letting us come at all, and happy to comply with their regulations. Sure, I don't love the hassle of testing or paying the TA fee, but I do love Bermuda and feel it's worth it.

If you don't feel it's worth it, you could always, oh...I dunno....take a cruise that doesn't stop there?

1 minute ago, njhorseman said:

The article does mention it. Read the paragraph that starts with ">Similarly". The requirement is still in place. 

Similarly, unvaccinated cruise passengers require a Covid test no more than two days before departing the port. Depending on the time it takes to travel to Bermuda, they may need to test again before disembarking in Bermuda. This is familiar territory for the cruise lines as Bermuda already requires additional testing for vaccinated travellers when the journey to Bermuda is longer than four days.

I tend to agree with you, but this info isn't on the official government page, and one could read "already requires additional testing for vaccinated travellers" as requiring now, but not necessarily requiring later.

I am assuming nothing is changing for vaccinated travelers, but what a confusing mess this is.