jaapie

15 hours ago, beauty1492 said:

I checked multiply web sites for ship ports. All said the same thing.  only ship and at Pan American pier.

I will b on lookout for shuttles. Was $15 each way or round trip?

Thanks everyone 

Round trip

On an NCL cruise we docked at the Pan American terminal for a day stop. There were shuttles from the port to old town, $15 each. 

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

At the meeting with the officers, I did ask the officer who was in charge of the stewards about their workload. He tried to say that they really did not have more cabins than pre-Covid.

 

He later noticed me at the latitudes meeting and thanked me for the question.

On the Breakaway a few months ago, our steward told us that when cabins were serviced twice a day he had 12 cabins to service, now with once a day he has 18 cabins.

5 hours ago, hallux said:

There are ship-to-ship differences as well.  I experienced no perceived drop in food quality on my cruise recently, compared to the last 2 years.  Others on recent cruises on other ships have had bad food experiences.  So, yes, it IS subjective and variable from ship to ship.  I was on the Bliss.  I actually thought the burgers (in the buffet and at The Local) this year were an upgrade compared to last year on the Escape...

Not just variable from ship to ship but from cruise to cruise. I did two transatlantics on the Jade in the same year, the food on the Spring crossing was great, on the Fall crossing six months later the food was dreadful.

18 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

If you are near a big city then large photography should also have decent binoculars .

 

Expect to spend more than $100. Not sure worth spending more than $300.

Get waterproof.

 

As said before, only really necessary for Alaska or maybe Galapagos or similar.

Are binoculars worth buying for a cruise to Greenland/Iceland?

We once had 8582 on the Jade and I wouldn't do one of those in that section again. It was one picture window, with the bed in front of the window, but looked directly onto a lifeboat. It let in light which was good but the only way to see out of the window was to stand on the bed and then see a tiny sliver of the ocean above the lifeboat.

A month ago did Quebec to Boston on a different cruise line. The highlight was Quebec city. Spent two days there prior to the cruise and would have liked more time there. Next favorite port was Bar Harbor as we visited Acadia National Park. 

We once had cabin 8060 on the Jade. Having light in the cabin was a plus but the only way to get a glimpse of the ocean was to stand on the bed.

We have sailed 7 different cruise lines for about 40 cruises. In recent years most of our cruises have been on Celebrity, also quite a few NCL. Thirteen years ago (when we were in our late 50s) we sailed once on HAL but decided we were too young for HAL. Now that we are in our 70s, three weeks ago we went on HAL again and enjoyed it much more than when we were younger. The food was definitely better on HAL than the two Celebrity cruises we took earlier this year. So depending on your age you may or may not prefer HAL.

We did the three hour HAL tour to Peggy's Cove three weeks ago. I thought it was worth doing. It takes an hour to get there, you have an hour at Peggy's Cove to walk on the rocks and round the town, then an hour back on the bus.

Last week on the Zuiderdam we each got a refundable credit of $25 and change as an adjustment to port fees/taxes. We did not miss any ports.

On the Reflection in February this year a woman on her own in about her mid 30s sitting at the martini bar was visibly extremely drunk. She then peed on herself and it was dripping down the chair. The bar tenders called security and she was put in a wheelchair and taken away.

Would love it if cruise ships stopped at Hueneme - my son works at NAS Point Magu so I could visit with him.

I wonder if we get the shuttle bus from terminal 22. My hotel is only a third of a mile from terminal 22 so that would be very convenient 

54 minutes ago, Dobby36 said:

If you are asking me, I think we plan to just walk from our hotel (pending how we feel and the weather) as it is only half a mile or so, and we are capable of that with one luggage piece each. 

Walk to pier 30 or walk to pier 22? It is my understanding (but I could be wrong) that walking to pier 30 is not permitted because it is thru an industrial area.

On 8/14/2023 at 5:59 PM, rafinmd said:

I have inquired about specifics on the alleged Pier 30 shuttle but have not yet gotten a response.

I am interested in hearing HAL's response to your inquiry because I am also on the September 2 cruise.

Construction has been underway at IAH for the past couple of years for a new terminal, the projected end of construction is a year away. The construction involves lane closures in the airport area. The airport authority advises adding an hour to your travel time. In my experience over the past couple of years an hour is excessive but add at least 20 minutes to your time driving in the airport complex.

Stayed there for a night in February, basic accommodation but adequate for a night. Used the free hotel shuttle from FLL to the hotel. There's nothing of interest in the immediate vicinity but a sports bar and grill across the street from the hotel served reasonable food and drinks.

11 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

While we won't be abandoning Celebrity we are interested in seeing what other lines like Ponant, Seabourn and Silver Seas have to offer and see if there is a fit.   Also some of the itineraries offered by the smaller premium lines are of great interest --- especially South Africa.

If you visit South Africa, instead of flying from Johannesburg to Cape Town, for a wonderful experience be sure to take the Blue Train from Pretoria to Cape Town (Pretoria is not far from Johannesburg's international airport). Then when in Cape Town stay at the Mount Nelson Hotel.

12 minutes ago, kreyem7 said:

I'm new to CC and apologize in advance for this topic or the wrong forum. I'm sure it has often been mentioned—first-time cruising on NCL. We have the basic beverage package and it looks like we have to upgrade to the premium package for bottled water. How else is water offered other than water in a glass for dining? Is the line for Starbucks long? Thanks for your input.

When we have the classic package, we just ask for soda water at any bar, and it is served with ice and a slice of lemon if desired. Just the same as Cokes or Sprite with the classic bev pkg. 

My suggestion is to go and see the cattle drive at 11:30am tomorrow morning at the Fort Worth stockyards.

Fort Worth Herd Twice Daily Cattle Drive | Fort Worth Stockyards

46 minutes ago, Cruise Suzy said:

Yes

Thank you Cruise Suzy. It has been 12 years since my last HAL cruise so I couldn't remember.

Can OBC be used for the daily service charge of $16 each per day?

1 hour ago, Belgian fry said:

Just off Equinox. The beef tournedos in the MDR was extremely good. The classic steak, less so. I believe that’s all there was.

I had the beef tournedos on the Reflection last week. I agree it was very good but it was the size of a postage stamp. If I'd known in advance how small it was I would have ordered something to go with it.

My father is one of 10 children (my grandmother had 10 children in 10 years!). My dad told me that when he was growing up SOS at mealtimes meant "Stretch or Starve". As an adult he was in the air force for a few years so maybe his growing up experiences at mealtimes served him well when he was in the military!