Ask4Jay

Bear in mind that we are guests of the cruise line. And to talk about money while on board would be gauche, so the bill is their farewell gift - at the end of your cruise.

We are Plat plus and have some free dinners coming. However, we are on vacation and we have two weeks on the ship, so we'll wait until we are on board to make our plans. We do prefer spontaneity and decide during the day. So far we have always found a venue and time slot to our liking. Happy relaxed cruising.

We are contemplating a cruise from NYC next Jan/Feb. Mostlikely we'll be shivering on the way to the ship, but once aboard we don't care about the weather outside. There's enough activity on the ship to keep us busy without stepping outside.

No, no. Crêpes just need a thin layer of sugar and (maybe) a little real maple syrup.

That's basically it. We narrow our search down to TA Repos. That narrows it down to 2 or 3 NCL ships in each direction. Our upcoming TA in Oct on the Getaway will be our 13th, every one of them with an aft balcony. Most of the time we book a year in advance. We also have snagged just the right cabin 3 weeks prior to departure.

My DW is a nifty, thrifty and crafty sew and sew. So, upon my retirement years ago, she took the collars off my dress shirts. Now I have only shirts with banded collars. Even if I wanted to get fancy on our cruises and wear a tie, I couldn't. Therefore a nice shirt, a light sweater and a pair of Dockers will do nicely, dress-up night or not. What happened to most of my beautiful ties, you may ask? They have been taken apart and repurposed as Ascots. Look great on DW.

Oh, almost forgot, when is formal night? I dunno.

@outtabux er al

Thanks for the reassuring post. Will try it in Oct on Getaway TA, finally! Booked a year ago.

To DW and me one of the most valuable items is a medium-weight hoodie for cool nights on our AFT balcony. Keeps the neck warm.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

If the preceding suggestionsa don't help you, take a quarter and flip it - one time only.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Here is a lonely voice for La Cucina. That place just cries out for a family affair. Open plan, loong table down the center with lots of space on the sides. Totally non-pretentious but still a very nice premium restaurant. Congrats!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

DW's name is Helen. Her US passport says Helene (we didn't catch the error), so now her plane tickets, etc will have to match her name on the passport. No big deal - unless we slip up.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We love the buffets on NCL - for all three meals. Where else can you get a single slice of crisp bacon, not an entire rasher? For lunch or dinner hang out at the Wok station for spicy, tasty Far Eastern food. And if we could find pickled herring or Kippers, we'd be very happy.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Go see a Urologist for a Urin Test. I did, had similar problems, found out my kidneys work at just 30 % capacity.Had no idea, felt fine.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

You may also consider the Metro or Bolt busses. They start at 30th St Stn, stop at the Cherry Hill Mall and run non -stop up the NJ Tpke to NYC.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

They'll even leave the lights on for you :)

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I have found English Breakfast and Earl Grey in the past, but it is spotty. (Not the Tea :) Better bring your own.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Cruises exclusively. We are in our 80s, I cannot drive any longer, so car trips are out. I spent 30+ years in the airline biz, had many long internat'l weekend trips. Now we enjoy shipboard life.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We are NCL cruisers, usually T/As and we love the buffet, especially their Wok Station. Find a table far away from the food, bring our own cloth place mats and have us a nice dinner. Sane thing for breakfast. Where else can you get just one piece of crisp bacon? Don't want a whole rasher.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Primary choice is the cruise line: NCL. It's familiar and Free Style.

Then we choose the itinerary: T/A, E/B or W/B.

Finally the ship. The selection in very limited, so whichever has a good aft-facing B1 cabin. Shows, etc? We don't go anyhow.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

OK, Miss Princess - NCL is not a luxury line, we have to accommodate ourselves.

To us the Jewel was a BIG ship, having been on the Sun prior to our inaugural in 2005. We do almost exclusively T/As, which are about 2 weeks with mostly mature passenger beyond the tattoo age. Makes for a nice atmosphere. To get away from the constant music, we take a balcony cabin - with the sound (and TV) turned off for the duration. And since we like to eat in the buffet, we bring our own cloth place mats, find a quiet spot far away from the food stations. Ya makes yer own luck :)

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Our flight leaves at 5:30. We'll be among the last off the ship, get to the airport - and wait. Make snide remarks about people, browse a book store, find something to eat, etc.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We cruise for the balcony. Always an aft-facing balcony, most of our cruises are T/As. With the ship traveling almost 24/7 the windstill balcony adds so much enjoyment. Yes,there usually ispublic space to sit - but always with piped-in music. And that, in the words of Winston Churchill, something up with which I will not put :)

So, I'm with SantaFeFan.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I think the whole process is organized chaos. Get'em there fast to minimize the bitching. It's presorted into FWD MID and AFT. Then try to service the cabins furthest away to keep the hallways clear, then the cabins closer in, etc.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We have done 12 T/As so far, 1 on Oceania, 2 on Azamara and 9 on NCL - all in an aft-facing balcony / cabin. Have had only 2 rough (enjoyable) days.

I highly recommend the aft cabins for a T/A. With the ship cruising 24/7 that aft balcony in the lee of the ship is a great place to sit and daydream. Things to do? No prob: we each have an iPhone and iPad mini with Kindle, our favorite music and a good selection of audio books. We don't do shows because we miss too much because of our diminished hearing.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

The Wok Station on some NCL ships is what makes eating in the buffet so enjoyable. Such a great selection of Far Eastern Food: Indian, Thai, Korean. etc. Beats burgers, fries, hot dogs, pizza and pasta any time - for us. If, as suggested, the food should reflect the area the ship is cruising in, what would we eat on our T/As? Non-stop fish and other seafood?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums