ciabelle

Deck plans posted on CruiseCritic and elsewhere show only guest accessible areas which is understandable, but it would be nice to get a general idea of what lies in the blank areas when selecting cabins. 

Specifically looking at decks 8 through 13 on Norwegian Epic. 8 is completely void aside from the outside cabins and stairwells and elevators. I wouldn't choose a cabin on that deck anyway since it's directly above the main shopping areas and lounges. However decks 9 -13 have areas with inside cabins plus several large voids in the plans as well.  Are there maps which indicate what these areas are in a broad sense? (Crew quarters, storage, housekeeping stations, the ship's funnel, etc.) as well as a noise rating for each area? Many guides recommend choosing a cabin which is surrounded only by other cabins for the quietest option, but that may not necessarily be the case if your cabin is next to one with a particularly amorous couple, or a family with young children. Obviously there's little to no control over those situations.

58 minutes ago, 138east said:

Do you know the exact address or what exact station you are close to?  What time of year are you doing this?  I can’t give you a precise answer without this info.

Yes, our AirBnB is 2 blocks from the Danforth Ave Station. And yes, I know an Uber to the PATH station will be about $15-20 plus tip, and the ferry is $18 for two of us, so the cost difference is negligible. It'd probably take close to 25 minutes to get from the pier to midtown, and another hour by train to Greenville, where it will take an hour total using the ferry according to Google if we walked from the pier to W 39th St.  Google recommends taking the ferry to Lincoln Harbor, and it'll take a bit longer if we went to Port Imperial instead, it just looks like the transfer from ferry to train is closer/easier at the latter transfer point. 

Edit, it'll be nearly a year from now..  Debarking at the MCT October 2020.

Looking at a couple different options for getting to our AirBnB right off the HBLR in Greenville from the pier after we disembark reasonably comfortably and inexpensively. 

Option One: Taxi/TNC from the pier to the 33rd St PATH Station and transferring to the HBLR in Newport. Fairly straightforward, and will be disembarking on Saturday, so we won't be getting on the train with our bags during rush hour, but may take a bit longer than...

Option Two: Get from pier to 39th St terminal take the ferry to the HBLR at Port Imperial. We could walk, but looks to be the better part of a mile, so would prefer not to do that with luggage. Worried that a cab/TNC driver will be annoyed to be summoned for such a short trip. The NY Waterways Ferry operates a free shuttle bus which goes near the pier, but their website doesn't make it very clear where the closest bus stop is. It looks like there's an MTA bus stop at 12th and 49th, but will the ferry shuttle stop there? We could probably just take the MTA, but then the question is, is there a machine to buy 7-day MetroCards in or very close to the pier?

Open to any other suggestions locals and/or frequent cruisers might have.

 

When using the SDP at La Cucina, is the limit of one entree specific to the menu section titled "entrees" or "secondi" or does in also refer to the sections for pizza and pasta? Menu layouts scoured on here and elsewhere on the net vary quite a bit depending on ship and, presumably, how long ago they were posted. 

If two of us each got an entree such as osso bucco, and a pasta dish, on the SDP would we be charged for extra entrees?  What if we also decided to share a pizza as well?

 

One thing, check if you bank charges a foreign transaction fee. If so, look for a new bank.

 

Most ATMs outside the US do not charge a fee to use them. But, again, shop banks, some will reimburse you any ATM fees.

Curious as to which banks don't charge foreign transaction fees. l have been charged them by Chase, Capital One, and my local Credit Union. On the plus side, the fee is generally about 1-2% of the transaction amount above the actual current exchange rate. So much better than paying 10% at a currency exchange outlet. Haven't experienced ATM fees outside of the US either.

So my cruise buddies and I were discussing this very scenario yesterday.And this is a two part question from a cruising newbie..

We're sailing on the Pearl to Alaska roundtrip from Seattle in September. The last port is Victoria BC. However, the arrival in port is 6pm, and the departure is 11:59pm. If it takes two hours to disembark, and you're supposed to be back onboard two hours prior to sailing, then the total available time in port is less than two hours? Am I correct? What's the point of even trying to get off the ship in this case?

So, to the topic at hand, We're all US citizens, if we were to intentionally permanently disembark in the Canadian port, we could book a hotel and then spend the following day in Victoria to enjoy high tea, Butchart Gardens, etc, before boarding a ferry to Seattle which would return us about 5 blocks from Pier 66 where we'd otherwise have disembarked.

Would we need to clear Canadian Customs beyond any routine screening people visiting the port and returning to the ship would encounter? If we disembarked with only carry-ons (backpacks) leaving our suitcases (packed) onboard, would the suitcases be offloaded for us in Victoria, or would they sail onto for us to claim upon returning to Seattle? Or would we be required to remove all luggage in Victoria?

Obviously, per prior comments in this thread, we would advise the cruise line of our intentions. Any other caveats to be aware of?

So there are four of us (friends) who will be sharing a mini-suite. The two lushes in the group are getting the free UBP promo. the third only drinks soda, and the 4th is happy with regular coffee, iced tea, or tap water (all of which I'm assuming are complimentary)

Ideally, we'd just get a soda package for the 3rd passenger, but of course the rules require everyone in a cabin to buy the package. Wouldn't passengers 1 and 2 be exempt since they already have the complimentary UBP? The NCL website seemed to try applying it to all four of us, which would be totally unreasonable regardless how much soda she drinks.

If we could get away with just buying it for passengers 3 and 4, then it would still be a matter of determining whether it'd be cheaper to by two soda packages or paying for sodas a la carte. The thread talks about cans of soda being $2.95 each, is that the price for soda fountain beverages as well?