erntrish

Question:

Can we head after breakfast at the hotel to the port, drop our luggage off, then head to the museum and then do the check-in at around 12-1? And does everyone have to be present for the luggage drop off? My thought would be to take a cab to the port, drop our suitcases off, while hubby and toddler take the subway to the museum and power themselves out on the way.

Not everyone needs to be present to simply drop off luggage. Just have the tags stapled to the bags and give to the longshoremen.Not sure how much of the museum you will be able to see between 10 and 12, considering its a subway ride and lengthy walk to get from AMNH on UWS to pier in Chelsea.

on 7/23 BA sailing, no chilled soups in MDRs or specialty restaurants. Can't speak for Haven...I ride steerage.

I am new to NCL and have only been on 3 cruises, the last one being over 10 years ago. My question is, if we stop at a port that I do not want to get off the ship to see, what will remain open on the ship? Will everything be as normal, restaurants and lounges, pool service, etc. be available all day? Or, will it be limited services? Will we still be able to use our UBP and Speciality Dining package during this time? Any help from the cruise experts would help greatly.

The restaurants will all be open during mealtimes. Some bars will be closed, but you will be able to drink, including at the pool. The shops and casino are almost always closed when in port. Pools and hot tubs will be open as per usual. Pretty sure the spa will be open...even with port day specials. In my experience, the pace onboard is a bit slower, you may have to wait a little longer for service, but you will still be well taken care of.

Thanks, but that is not what I am referring to. I am aware of the taxes while in port. It is something to do with not actually being able to use it while in that specific home port. Maybe i am thinking of something else, wish I could remember where I saw it.

Anyway, I can use the UBP as soon as I board in NYC. Correct?

Correct...though as already noted, you will pay NYC sales tax until you are out of territorial waters...less than $1 per drink

Do you know if the flavoured grey goose options are now within UBP limits?

I noticed that, as well. It appears that there is no distinction...which makes sense, as the significant upcharge for flavored goose is ridiculous.

I do not know if they still have the White Party or the Glow Party.

 

White Party - pack some white clothes. But other cruisers that dressed in other colors beside white are still able to participate.

Beside this, there is one night on the cruise where most cruisers dressed up to take a photo with the captain.

 

 

Have fun on your cruise!! :)

They had both on the 7/23-30, though we did not participate, and it certainly wasn't apparent all over the ship.

no formal nights, no semi=formal nights. There was one optional "dress up" night.

Oh NO!!! The Tomahawk Ribeye is gone from Cagney's...... :(

I believe it's offered as a nightly "special" (i.e., not on printed menus)...at least it was on our sailing 7/23-30

is Margaritaville still $15pp?

It was on 7/23-30. Food was delicious, as were the drinks.

The bartenders will make you any drink, assuming they have the ingredients to do so.

True, though in my recent experience last month on Breakaway, certain ingredients were only available at certain bars. For example, my wife like Patron Cafe on the rocks. It was only available in one or two bars onboard..and despite great bar service n every other respect, the staff made no effort to get a bottle in our preferred bar.

HI cruisingmomof5 same question here as someone mentioned. Did they have ROA. I reserved 60 days out now it doesn't show on my itinerary.

They had ROA on my sailing 7/23-30. It was not available to book online for me prior to sailing, but instead as soon as you board.

Was Margaritaville still $15pp?

It was on 7/23-30

Indoor smoking is limited to the casino and a small cigar lounge on deck 8. Outdoor smoking limited to an area outside Maltings lounge on deck 8...which got very smoky!

In most dining rooms, this is fine. On our recent cruise on Breakaway, all but 2 venues was OK to wear shorts. That being said, most men wore khakis, etc.

Chicken fingers? Thanks!

Yup, at least on 7/23 sailing. Served with fries. Real chicken.

So they don't have porters applying tags at the pier?

 

I'm looking at the cruise documents. They're five pages and most of it looks like it's irrelevant. Do they just need the bar code on the front page? I don't understand why I should be printing the itinerary and some application for savings on my next cruise....

I've never cruised NCL before, all my modern cruises have been on RC. That being said, I've never printed cruise docs. Just brought ID as required and labeled bags with tags. I agree there is no value to printing "cruise doc" nonsense. You've already completed the major stuff, including acknowledging conditions of carriage, etc, online.

I can tell you the answer is yes. I booked a cruise sailing 7/23 just last Friday, and have already received 2 upgrade emails.

Thank you! I found your thread yesterday. Very helpful for us.

We're first timers on NCL. We booked the 7/23 sailing just a few days ago. Looking online, it says that reservations for the show are not available. Does that mean it's just not available online, or that it's sold out? I'd be pretty disappointed if I weren't able to see the flagship show...

Hi! We're cruising on 7/23 to Bermuda with our 9yo twin girls. We are RCL fans, and this is our first trip on NCL. (The girls have been on one cruise a few years ago.). Looking forward to it...and monitoring your thread for info...thanks,

We just had a d1 balcony on explorer...deck 6 just aft of the business center...no interference from the lifeboats at all.

Lamb shanks, corvina (fish), lamb soups, soufflés

No one else reported on here being sick from norovirus. ?

We were on this sailing. While we didn't get sick, and neither knew or saw anyone who did, the captain did mention in his noon report on day 3-ish a slight uptick in GI complaints seen in medical and stepped up surveillance and disinfecting activities in response.

There was a little kid that vomited toward the end of dinner at the next table one night...they had a team with a special steam cleaning gadget come, red bagged everything, etc. they were all wearing respirators. They take these things seriously, as they should...but anytime you put 4000+ people in a floating box for a week there will be a certain incidence of GI distress...people just do not consistently wash their hands. And I'm not even going to comment on the señor frogs angle....

What times were the shows and di you need to make reservations or something? Also, do they have washy washy people standing outside the restaurants forcing everyone to sanitize before eating?

Yes on the washy washy...but "force" May be a bit strong.

Show times were usually 715 for Late seating and 9 for early seating. No reservations needed or accepted. The ice shows were assigned based on your muster station, so no tickets needed. If your assigned time was not convenient, you could wait for standby seats at any other performance. Tendering was also first come first served...and we experienced a big of mayhem with that at disco cay when some self important people thought it was fine to cut the line of 200 pax waiting on deck 2 as directed, by taking the elevator to deck one and sliding in. No crew there to direct traffic. But a minor gripe.

Thank You. It was a recurring rumor aboard the ship that Explorer would be heading to Asia. It seems like this would happen directly following her dry dock which I believe is slated for some time in early 2015.

 

Jonathan

I heard that rumor from several sources, as well. There also seemed to be a large number of Chinese service crew...asst waiters, bar servers, etc. I had never seen thus on rci before.