IRMO12HD

This was really helpful, especially with the pictures.  Thank you for posting!  Keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to see Antigua in April 2021.

@SNJCruiser, I believe you're referring to Sheridan's?  You're right -- I think you might be able to buy it in Canada, but I'm pretty sure it's not available in the US as a rule.

On 10/15/2020 at 6:17 AM, DandytheCop said:

Sid for my broccoli I mix up some melted butter , rice vinegar, dark brown sugar, hot red pepper flakes and garlic powder.  Took me awhile to get the taste right but my family likes it NOW.  Yes I’m a lurker , never saw your gun cabinet through your door opening.🙄  You must have a lot of faith in you maintenance guys to leave your apartment without a door knob. I’m jealous about your Miami trip.  Hope you have fun. 

@DandytheCop Could you share your recipe?  It sounds delicious!

On 10/14/2020 at 3:40 PM, sid_9169 said:

Just as an experiment, I would like to try and find out who's actually reading this thing lately... If you're one of the "lurkers", please just reply, even if it's just one word, to let me know you're out there... I know all of the "usual suspects", so no need to play unless you want to. I'd just like to try and gauge how many are actually following...

Like many others, I'm a lurker who just recently returned.  I really enjoy this community :-)

On 10/14/2020 at 3:37 PM, sid_9169 said:

Well, I'm happy to report that the steak tonight was awesome!... I was having a rough streak there for awhile, but it looks like I've broken out of it... 

 

For a change this evening, I went with fresh steamed broccoli on the side, rather than the usual cauliflower salad. Yes, that's barbeque sauce on top, I didn't know what else to put on it...

 

 

Try balsamic vinegar and some pepper!

4 hours ago, HowardK said:

Would you recommend Vancouver over Seattle?  I'm on the East Coast as well- so this would be a cross country trip that I might do only once.

I would say it depends on your interests.  I've cruised out of Vancouver, but haven't stayed there (yet), but live on the East side of the Cascades in Washington state, and have family in Seattle.  In my opinion, Seattle is great for exploring locales, wine, and is probably the more cost-effective flight destination.  Of course, you can also land in Seattle, tour a day or two, take the train up to Vancouver, cruise, tour Vancouver/Victoria, and take the ferry back to Seattle (from Victoria).  

Next booked = NCL Encore (Reposition East-West Panama Canal) 4/10/21
Next one I think will sail = I sure hope Encore goes; it should, since it's the Respositioning to set it up for the Alaska season.  Also have a B2B (our first!) for the 5-night Pacific Coastal after it, so we'll be going Miami-LA-Vancouver, for a total of 21 days (hopefully!)
Devastated if doesn't sail = Like many others who have posted, I won't be devastated; just disappointed, and immediately working on scheduling another!

Also have Jewel TA (31 August 21, Copenhagen-Boston via Iceland and Canada), and then Ovation TP (April 22, Sydney-Honolulu) L&S from the May 21 TP

Thanks for the link, @jeremyosborne81.  I didn't realize that cruisedeckplans had the walk throughs!  I did learn (by watching one of the videos of the inside cabins) that the lights above the bed(s) have USB ports as well, and that there's a little shelf above the headboard area of the bed to store small items.

I originally posted this in the Cabin Selection Tips forum, and received one reply -- which was (well-founded) advice to move it to the Norwegian forum, as there's "more traffic there."  True statement!  

I've searched through the different forum topics and discussions, and have found few posts about specific Inside cabins.  We've been in Oceanview, Balcony, and (Junior) Suites (on other cruise lines, but never (until, hopefully, next year) in an Inside.  This will also be our first time on NCL.  I picked 9603 because it's all the way aft, one deck up from the Waterfront, and relatively near stairs/elevators.  I believe it's in the same location on the Encore's sister ships.  I searched through the Cabin reviews, but they all result in a "Page Not Found" error.  At this point, I'd love to hear any reviews on a Breakaway or Breakaway Plus class Inside cabin.  Anyone?

Thanks to all who replied!  This cruise is a replacement for our cancelled April 2020 cruise on the Bliss (on which we had a balcony 😞  ).  Unfortunately, given the increase in prices, I couldn't really justify paying twice the amount I had committed before (yes, I did get a refund), and so decided to go with an Inside Cabin.  I have used the CruiseDeckPlans site, and looked for similar cabins on all decks on all Breakaway Plus class ships. I noticed the configuration, with the mini "desk" and the two twin / ~King bed layouts, but noticed that there was no chair, or even room for one!  I guess my DH will just have to lounge on the bed to watch TV!  Thanks for the tip about requesting a chair from the steward, @don't-use-real-name; if there's room, we might just try that!  And yup, the suitcases are definitely going under the bed(s) -- I noted the dearth of storage space in the closet.

OK, no, this post has nothing to do with navels . . . just some "Stay at Home" humor!  I have searched through the Cabin reviews, the ship reviews, the Cabin post on this forum -- and can find next to nothing on people's experience with Inside Cabins, specifically on Breakaway Plus class ships.  I've used the Deck Plan site (I don't know if I can name it here, so . . .), and have viewed all of the pictures I could find there.    My "burning" questions at this point are:

1.  Is there any kind of seating in an IC cabin?  Maybe just the little stool with the tray table top?  I'm thinking about TV viewing, which my traveling partner (AKA DH) uses to relax before going to sleep.

2.  Is it possible to store suitcases under the bed(s)?  I would think so, but couldn't find any mention of it.

Thanks in advance for any feedback on Inside Cabins!

@GA Dave I'm so sorry for your loss.

I, too, got a refund on the Bliss Panama Canal cruise; I've since rebooked (an inside cabin) on Encore for April 2021 (Miami-LA).  The price was pretty reasonable, and I really want to see the canal!  For me, this is a "destination + ship" cruise -- a place I really want to see, and a cruise line / ship that I have not yet experienced.  As far as the mask/shore excursion restrictions, I'm not personally bothered by it.  I will do what I can to protect my fellow passengers, and myself, against COVID-19 and any other ailments; if that means I'm restricted to NCL shore excursions, that's ok.  I really want to see the Panama Canal; the opportunity to explore the ports is a bonus.

I don't know how long this will last, but on my Cruise Planner today (9/21/2020) at 1:20 pm PST for Anthem OTS Norwegian Fjords 16-24 July 2021:

DBP (it says including gratuity!): $46/day; total for each DBP was $368, so it looks like gratuity was included in the price.

DBP + 1 Device VOOM: $54/day ("Each adult of legal drinking age assigned to the same stateroom must purchase this package. Price shown is per person, per day.).  I couldn't tell if this meant that both had to buy DBP + Voom 1 Device)

VOOM 1 Device: $11.49/day

VOOM 2 Device: $17.99/day

I've searched through the different forum topics and discussions, and have found few posts about specific Inside cabins.  We've been in Oceanview, Balcony, and (Junior) Suites, but never (until, hopefully, next year) in an Inside.  I picked 9603 because it's all the way aft, one deck up from the Waterfront, and relatively near stairs/elevators.  I believe it's in the same location on the Encore's sister ships.  I searched through the Cabin reviews, but they all result in a "Page Not Found" error.  At this point, I'd love to hear any reviews on a Breakaway or Breakaway Plus class Inside cabin.  Anyone?

Thank you so much for your great review (and thank you, Darko, for the great pictures!).  If I may ask, what kind of cabin were you in?  Did you happen to notice if any of the Inside cabins were being used?  

@Pelican Bill So neat to see someone else knows what "tip" stands for (or, more accurately, stood for -- since, as you noted, they're now commonly expected after a service is rendered).

Mine, too.  I'll wait a couple of days to make sure it doesn't post, and then will call.  It was my initial deposit as well, made to a different CC than the one shown in my refund email, so it's possible it's in process.

Here are pictures of my sushi-making efforts aboard Enchantment . . .

I did it on Enchantment OTS; it was a lot of fun -- and a lot to eat!  If you do take the class, don't eat right before; we made three different rolls, and were invited to eat them then and there.  I chose to take my plate back to our stateroom so my husband could sample my handiwork.  Once we returned home, I was inspired (and emboldened) to make more . . . it gave me a lot of confidence.

There is also an online means of requesting shareholder OBC:  https://rclshareholderbenefit.questionpro.com/.  It looks like a survey, but prompts you to enter your cruise info (ship, embarkation date, reservation #) and then allows you to upload a PDF (or other file type) to show your stock ownership.   

Thank you for your creative and positive poem, Belle!  

I'm down 1 lb!  My weight graph still looks like the Rocky Mountains, all jagged peaks and valleys, but the trend is still downward, so I'll definitely take it.  I reminded myself this morning that this is a long-term goal, not something that will take just a few months.  Given that I'm trying to get back to a level of fitness and weight health that I enjoyed thirty+ years ago, I need to rein in my expectations and impatience :-).  

I'm ecstatic that our golf courses will reopen (on a limited basis) next week -- I love playing golf, and always walk, so am looking forward to being able to engage in prolonged exercise once again.  I've gone walking almost every day, for at least 30 minutes each time, so am hopeful that I'll be able to complete 18 holes.  I've been working on stretching a lot -- I still have a few twinges from my ribcage musculature, but they are greatly diminished.

Melmar and Diana, great losses!  PaCruiser, hang in there;  that's so neat that you're partnering with your daughter.  Jan_in_Maine, I've been following one of your city's finest on FB -- Lt. Tim Cotton.  I really enjoy his writing -- are you familiar with it?

Good morning from Eastern WA!  Spring has finally really sprung here -- for me, that means the forsythia are still (barely) in bloom, and the lilacs are out!  I love walking by lilac bushes -- I don't even have to reach over (for one of the highest blooms) and grab a head of flowers to smell -- I can smell them three feet away :-).  

Jan, congratulations on doing so well with your spring cleaning!  I'll have to emulate your practice of breaking it down into manageable chunks.  We were going to work on serious decluttering this spring -- but have postponed, because there's nowhere (or no one) to take the clutter to, and no way of having a yard sale.  Maybe I'll start tagging the things that we want to get rid of . . .

PA Cruise and Diana, great losses!  I have switched to eating plain nonfat Greek yogurt with a dab of honey and frozen fruit -- I let it sit for about 10 minutes to allow the fruit to start thawing, and then stir it up and eat it.  I find I enjoy the tangy taste of the plain yogurt, coupled with the slight sweetness of the honey and the thawing fruit.

I love the ideas for alternative cruise activities; we were supposed to be docking in Cartagena, Colombia today on the Norwegian Bliss; some of my fellow would-be cruisers and I have been posting in our FB group as if we were actually on the ship; it's actually somewhat therapeutic, and I'm learning a lot about the Bliss without ever having been on her.

Technically, I'm down .3 lb from last week, although right now I seem to be on a periodic up/down/up cycle.  I had planned on adhering to my Noom plan while on the 21-night cruise, so although I'm tempted to try out the "Ashore Unlimited Beverage Plan," I probably need to enjoy that virtually as well :-)

Diana in WA

I'm still hoping (because it springs eternal, you know!) that we'll be able to enjoy ours on Allure in November!

@John&LaLa, I noticed your comment in Post #38 about your insurance . . . I've been able to request extension of the policies I've purchased so they can be used for a future trip.  The most recent cancelled cruise (NCL Bliss Panama Canal) was covered under a Travelex policy; they (Travelex) granted me a one-time date extension on the policy.  It will cover a future trip up until April 2021, and if the amount I need to protect is lower, they will (supposedly) issue me a refund on the premium. I don't know if that will help, but maybe . . .