smeyer418

Come on folks. Don't start this crap again. Unless you know the ENTIRE STORY and have the FACTS, comments like this are totally irresponsible, damning and wrong.

 

The above statement makes it look like the parents are responsible. Maybe, maybe not. Leave them alone unless you KNOW it is there fault.

I agree. lets see the facts before you blame the parents. a 2 year old here was tragically killed by a falling brick sitting next to her grandma...you can blame the grandma for not knowing the brick would fall?

thanks for the pics. The Royal Gazette is reporting an intended departure of 5 pm but I think that is just a page holder. it also says the ship can't leave until the passengers are on board for two hours but that isn't the rule either. I suspect that we will know shortly if it is ok to travel....and it will leave shortly after noon if its ok...full speed.

http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20150520/NEWS/150529974/reberthed-norwegian-dawn-set-for-5pm-departure&utm_source=newsletter20150520&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_title&utm_campaign=newsletter?utm_source=Royalgazette+Newsletter&utm_campaign=cd0c43eebb-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7deb53b0b5-cd0c43eebb-71068681

has any one either been stopped or seen someone stopped taking food from the buffet?

no longer free style. Its now rule style. I go have breakfast at the buffet. My wife likes breakfast in bed. What I would do in the past is bring her back a plate with eggs bacon and toast. Now I have to order it and be there. I too believe its a money issue.

They have a grill by the pool on most NCL ships and its always has been plates by the pool.

So sad. We took our grand kids on the Gem in January. We drove past the pier this Saturday and saw it at the dock. They wanted to go on it again and we will. I feel so sorry for the parents...

the picture above is with the youngest one with the Gem's Captain at the time.

lol. have lived and ridden the subways for more than 50 years without incident but never used the bathroom there. that's what restaurants, museums and department stores are for. being older and needing to use bathrooms Starbucks and Dunkin donuts are among the better ones....as are drug stores

The actual train station name for Radio city is 47-50 Rockefeller center for the F,B, M or D trains (6th Avenue train lines). Just want to clear that up since it easy to overlook it with 57th and 42nd street train stations (I know I have the 1st time around, since Saks is block over...::o)

The official name of the stop is

47-50th Street-Rockefeller Center (6th Avenue Line).

Radio city is in Rockefeller Center and the Station also says in smaller print Radio City Music Hall.

At rush hour the streets are crowded, street transportation doesn't move well. Its still safer and faster on the subway even during rush hour. If you are confused just ask anyone. real New Yorker's will try to help.

Yes the subway is crowded as are the buses and everything else.

Ask! you will find that people will try to help...

5 million plus ride the subway every day. Its probably safer on the subway than a cab anyway. the subways in Manhattan are heavily traveled safe and efficient.

if you don't want to walk through the crowded streets going up take the E, A or C train to west 4th street and walk down the stairs to the sixth avenue subway either the F B M or D to radio city. going back take the sixth ave train back to west 4th and take the escalator back up to the E train and then the path back.

I'm seeing a queen bed on their web site for $99 plus tax. That's a really good weekday price. You've been in the general area before, so you've experienced the public transit and have looked at hotel prices. Call the hotel to find out how close the bus stop is on River Road. For one day you can survive taking the bus to Port Authority and the E subway down to the World Trade Center.

 

My inlaws used to live at River Road and Blvd East in West New York. When I went there after work in downtown NY, it used to take me about an hour. Not my cup of tea on a regular basis, but certainly OK for one day.

Its on River road next to the Trader Joe's. there is a Ferry from Edgewater that only runs during rush hour.

as you can see the price to the Manhattan Cruise terminal or Manhattan from the three airports(EWR JFK and LGA) are all relatively closely priced. with in few dollars assuming a cab or a car service. So which is best depends on the airline price and schedule. All of the New York airports are subject to delays...they are crowded. JFK and EWR have the longest runways and multiple runways. JFK is closing one runway for the next few months. LGA is the closest to Manhattan with the shortest runways and three runways that intersect. But if it is working well its the most convenient.

LGA cabs cost about $40-45 each way per cab(on the meter) take about 30 minutes with no traffic.

JFK costs about $70 per cab to and from Manhattan and takes about 40 minutes to an hour with the fare being set at $52.50 plus toll and tips.

EWR a cab from the Airport costs about $70 and back about $90 per cab.

Car services have set fees for the three airports and you can see the prices at for example http://www.carmellimo.com/Rates.shtml although there are others where the fares should be about the same. There is also UBER and other e-apps that are sometimes competitively priced and sometimes more.

There are other mass transit ways to get from the airports to Manhattan and then take a cab. see http://www.panynj.gov/airports/and look under mass transit for each airport

the prices can range from $5.50 per person to more(the least expensive is from LGA).

so which airport is best depends on your schedule, the airlines pricing and which method you would prefer.

They have a fleetwide set menu.

not banned. I wouldn't check them. They will need to be xrayed to see if something is hidden in them.

....

ABB (the manufacturer of this Azipod) will pay for the repair. But lost revenue MAY be covered under the corporate insurance policy. .

The ship was built in 2001. I doubt that the warranty is that long. Whether the insurance covers is also another issue. Wear and tear is normally excepted.

Most of these insurance policies have a high deductible(a million or more).

Unless you know what went wrong, I don't know whether is a covered expense.

I purchased 2 Certificates when I was on my last NCL cruise. It seems like I couldnt book anything and it is valid thru Nov 28, 2015. Do they ever extend them? I thought I would use them and I hate to waste them.

they are good for 4 years. they generally won't extend them but you can always ask.

I actual think this is closer to marine park. I know of no hotels there although I am sure there are some. Its actually pretty close to JFK...but I would ask the Marina what hotels they suggest.

http://marinas.com/view/marina/3126_Brooklyn_Yacht_Club_NY_United_States

No, the Cruise Fare Pays the Crew!!!!!:eek::rolleyes:

Traditionally on cruise ships the traditionally tipped(and tipped out) crew was NOT paid through the cruise fare. In any case whether its in the fare or in the tip/service charge its YOU who paid the crew and for everything else for that matter. On NCL its been the DSC that was the vast majority of the tipped crews remuneration(80% or more). The pay for the non-tipped crew was in the fare. What almost all cruise lines do is have a draw against the expected DSC/tips....but it you who still pay it. With the DSC being more of less required its become a base wage as opposed to a draw. Those who get it removed(mostly the cabin crew) as a matter of course will be considered as providing poor service and be treated accordingly(poor assignments non-renewed or canned if there are specific complaints)

I hate tipping threads. There are some people who will remove the DSC because they can. Its their money and they do have the power. It doesn't make it right. Some of the problem is that the suggested amount used to be pretty clear as to whom it was going to. That is no longer true. Its also unclear about what happens when the DSC is removed. The recent pronouncements by NCL doesn't make it clear either. I have the power to exceed the posted speed limit. rarely will that result in a ticket or an accident.

In the past I was a strong proponent on leaving it on except if you had a service issue. I haven't changed my mind yet but I am coming pretty close to and I will say why later.

Whether its in the fare or in a DSC its you who are paying it anyway. The remuneration to the service crew(traditionally tipped or tipped out) is not in the fare now, its mostly in the DSC.

But you do have the power to remove it and tipped the vassals and have them kiss you ring. I don't either want that or do it(although most of the time I leave extra).

We take the grandkids with us 4 in a room. They like room service and going to get pizza and ice cream. their breakfast in the room is cereal and milk(and yes I can get it from the buffet and have it in the room for them). NCL makes getting the pizza for them hard. They don't want a whole pie. Its a waste to order one. they want one or two slices. On hated Carnival pizza is available for pick up at all times.

so if they make me pay for cereal with a service change every day(and not for the extras), the chances are I won't pay almost $8 for room service each time they want milk and cookies...and I may take it off the DSC too...

It won't happen. They could eliminate it and roll it into the cruise fare. But what they won't do is make a service charge mandatory. Won't happen. Don't hold your breath

actually they are mandatory on a few of the cruise lines. Celebrity requires prepayment for anytime dining. They can't however on the NCL America Pride of America as its illegal to do so in Hawaii.

you get an individual invitation(written letter). It states the time, date and place. They run more than one section on most cruises. If its your first cruise you will not get an invitation(unless you are in a haven suite and ask). Why would you want to attend? free food and drinks?

I have seen way to many full tray's of food left in the hall that folks ordered the night before , got woke up Way To early for their hangovers .

 

One sip of coffee one bite out of a muffin . Done . IT's Free any way .

 

Same as the Chocolate buffet .

If I had a nickel ( or a dime ) for every heaping plate I've seen left for junk ,I could take a free cruise . :)

 

They my be cutting cost's , but in the end it's MY cost's too .

 

I say abuse , but , J.M.H.O.

the last NCL trip I was on was February. no chocoholics buffet only extra desserts. you can say the same thing about buffets with people piling on the food. the midnight ones are gone too. I don't miss them but what was special about a cruise is being eroded unless you pay extra, yet they are pushing all you can drink and dining at the specialty restaurants. imo

Apparently you don't understand that after final payment, one does not have a choice. It's not as simple as you state.

 

Their cruise is fully paid for. The company (NCL) is now going to charge them $7.95 for something that was offered for free when they decided to book this cruise vacation. They don't have a choice at this point in time.

 

And who said it will ruin their vacation?

fyi when some cruise lines retroactively imposed an oil surcharge(ncl did not) the Florida attorney general went after them based on Florida consumer protections and an old consent agreement with the cruise lines. that is the place to file a complaint about this.

I have the option to fly into either airport and prices are pretty similar so I'm wondering which airport is less of a hassle to deal with - EWR or JFK?

 

We'd be flying into that area, going into NYC for 1 night, then need to get from the hotel to the Cape Liberty cruise port in Bayonne. Is a car service, the train or a shuttle the best to get from NYC to Cape Liberty?

 

Thanks for the help!

Car service. NY Cabs are not required to take fares to Cape Liberty(they are required to take them to EWR. The train is complicated, a know of no shuttle that does so. Going back to the airport-EWR- from Bayonne is simple.

The remaining question is the suites that aren't Haven.

if you have access to a butler, the Butler is supposed to do your room service unless they are too busy. So they should not be charged the fee IMO...

http://www.ncl.com/faq#service-charge

 

Why is there a service charge?

... Our Crew (as are the crew from other lines) is encouraged to work together as a team. .

They use crews from other lines as part of the team? They mean on other lines not from other lines. Poorly written.

it doesn't include room service either which has now a fee added as well. No tips for room service anymore.