TheGinBoy

6 hours ago, jelayne said:

Captain Costas will be leaving.  Have not heard or asked about Giuseppe. 

Just spoke with Giuseppe, he's leaving on May 17th - but can't say who'll be replacing him.

Really enjoyed your reviews/blog on your extended cruise (not jealous AT ALL).

We're joining Edge in Seattle this May.

Any idea who the Captain and Cruise Director will be? I've heard they're both leaving when the ship repositions to the West Coast of America.

Yeah, Millennium-Class ships have only two gas-turbine electric generators - so less to fallback on than most ships which will have four or more engines.

She also has a diesel-electric generator for use in port when using the big gas-turbine generators make less economical sense. 

We're boarding next Sunday (17th).

We were told we'd need both our pre-departure test (upto 3 days before) AND the pier test.

Been told that by multiple NCL agents.

Heh, don't worry - thank you for trying 🙂

Just tried it for our 17/04 cruise and we're only given 5:30pm or 9:30pm - so I think things are being set up weirdly. I'll check each day.

Unfortunately, for whatever reason NCL aren't opening advance reservations for European cruises.

Everything has to be booked onboard.

I would imagine so, as long as it's 14 days or more before your arrival. 

Hi guys,

Just thought I'd update you on something I've been chasing for a few days now.

On the 1st April this year the some of the Italian Government's emergency COVID-19 laws expired, and have not been re-instated. This means the country's legal requirement that cruisers can only leave cruise ships if they're disembarking or via an official Shore Excursion has now ended.

Some of the cruise lines were quick to update their guidance, but others like NCL and Royal have been dragging their heels (trying to sell excursions I'd imagine). 

I've spoken to a few NCL reps, and had the query escalated, as we're sailing the Mediterranean next week on Epic with 27 friends and family. Today I got confirmation from Sarah in Shore Excursions that: "guests can now go ashore independently - as long as they abide by all local regulations and requirements".

Note: On those local regulations, Italy requires FPP2/N95 grade masks to be worn in all indoor spaces. Standard paper and cloth masks are not accepted. So stock up before you arrive.

Shore Excursions already purchased can be refunded at any point up until 48 hours before the day said excursion takes place.

Tom 🙂 

UPDATE!!

Just spoke to Sarah at in the Shore Excursions department at NCL UK and she confirmed that "guests can now go ashore independently - as long as they abide by all local regulations and requirements".

Thanks @DCGuy64 we're super excited too! 

Just hoping we all stay COVID negative until then. I've not left the house since March!

@Mommapadraig- I don't suppose you're able to take a shot of the cigar lounge menu? My FIL is very excited about the humidor!

Thank you for sharing @JandC_Cruising. Really appreciate it.

Sounds like you had an amazing time.

I can't wait to hide from my family in the thermal suite 😉 

We're getting tested by a company called DAM Health - they've centres all over UK.

The centre we're getting tested at is actually in Kings Cross, just by the train station so might work for you?

As a bit of an energy buff I think the most exciting steps for cruise ship power will be transparent photovoltaic (solar) panels/film.

They've been in the works for a few years now, and whilst they exist they're currently much less efficient (the amount of solar energy converted to DC) than your standard solar panel.

But once they're at an acceptable level of efficiency, and assuming they're robust enough for a life at sea, there's no reason every glass window, door, roof, atrium, canopy etc couldn't be covered in a transparent photovoltaic coating. Think about how much glass there is on a cruise ship.

As mentioned earlier there's no way this would be able to power the vessels movement, but it would be able to contribute significantly towards hotel operations. 

1 hour ago, JF2828 said:

Not taking any chances! Waited too long to get messed up on a technicality. 

Right there with you, see you onboard!

I'll certainly update everyone on the 17th. 

It also says at the top of that page:

Universal testing & Pre-Embarkation Protocols

I spoke to NCL on the phone about our 17th April Epic sailing from Barcelona, and they said we needed to do both. The test at home and the test in port.

Sounds awesome, thank you!

Maybe we'll see you onboard 🙂

That's very kind of you @Mommapadraig. Does that mean you'll be on our 17th April sailing from Barcelona?

All all the specialty venues open given the low passenger count? 

Anything else you think we should know? 🙂

14 minutes ago, TrumpyNor said:

 

That is very unlikely,  as the FFP2 masks are very expensive compared to regular face masks. In Europe they cost up to €3.00 per mask if the FFP2 type...

Here in the UK, on Amazon, you can get 10x FPP2 masks for £7 (€8.30) - so I imagine NCL can get a decent bulk deal. If they wanted to that is. 

Thank you, @ontheweb! 

I hope NCL will distribute N95/FPP2 (two classifications for the same grade of mask) masks onboard, we'll take plenty - but I know people will forget them.

Not the captain sadly, but it'll be wonderful regardless.

Also worth noting that some countries, like Italy, require FPP2/N95 masks - not cloth or simple paper masks.