navybankerteacher

Whales are pretty rare in the Caribbean.

Many female cabin stewards on NCL - it seemed they were largely from Eastern Europe, rather than Indonesia or the Philippines as on HAL.

I recall being on a TA - on a HAL ship - I think she was scheduled for dry dock a couple of weeks after arriving at Fort Lauderdale. There were a number of unavailable items - specifically no more tomato juice in MDR or Lido - but you could still buy a Bloody Mary in the bars — other items as well — and our cabin steward mentioned he was leaving the ship upon arrival, and would probably not be replaced, leaving his assistant with a presumably heavy load for a fortnight.

I cannot think of any ship I have sailed which did not have outdoor seating very close to their primary buffet. Having the buffet itself outside is unnecessary.

Jeans are not a good idea - thin and tightly woven, they are no good in cold weather. Consider thermal underwear and wool or even corduroy trousers.

It is highly likely that they will run out of things - they will be trying to minimize stocking of perishables, and they will probably not bring staff on board for a couple of months before dry-docking.

Transportation from LGA to Manhattan is usually a whole lot easier/cheaper than from EWR; since the recent rebuild LGA is an attractive, well laid out facility which is generally much easier to navigate. No drama, just fact.

Did you really sail both HAL and Oceania on the same year and not notice any differences in the included meal food quality?

Good to hear from a grown-up.

March might not be that cold - in any case the best way to experience the sail away is on deck, port side as you slide past Manhattan, then starboard as you pass the statue, then on as high a deck as you can reach as you go under the Verrazano Bridge — you will miss a lot just trying to see it from your cabin. LaGuardia is the closest airport and, since its recent total rebuild, a delight to navigate — of course lower fares might be possible with - Newark is a third place choice. Hopefully you won’t have too many Spring Break yahoos on your sailing. My last NCL sailing was on Gem - around Presidents’ Day break and the ship was swarming with high school kids.

If they are coming from EWR, the shortest route would be via Lincoln Tunnel, but I would prefer the GW Bridge - as easy (though a bit further) to get to as the tunnel but much easier, once you get to Manhattan, to get to the Cruise Terminal.

Back on topic: the way to understand OP's question is to see it realistically: the less like Viking it is, the less expensive it is likely to be. Do you really expect a bargain line to compete quality-wise (on the basis of price) with a premium line?

Agreed - a lot of sand can make a good beach, while a lot of people just makes a crowd.

For your vote to be counted in a presidential election, you need a residence address in the state whose electoral vote you will influence - aside from the fact that your vote for local and Congressional offices must be counted in that state.

If you stopped to really think about the idea, you might find it a little less attractive. Have you no friends or family with whom to maintain contact, have you no interests in your home area which are important to you, would you really want to live in a cruise ship stateroom - with your activity limited to the ship? Yes, a cruise is great --and a long cruise on a great itinerary could be wonderful ---- but if you would like to trade your life for one on an endless cruise, all I can say is that I am very sorry for you.

I am unexcited by pools (especially small shipboard pools - heavily populated by many beer drinkers) which lack sand.

People cruise to enjoy themselves. Someone coming in to a strange city does, of course, have the option of finding out about city bus routes, subways, etc. - and, yes, those nuggets of local knowledge can save a traveler a few dollars. But it is almost invariably going to eat up a fair amount of time, involve hauling luggage on and off busses and or subways, and spending time waiting for connections. For most cruise passengers suggesting that they take a taxi or an Uber is, in fact, the most helpful advice. Right - it does not inform them about local mass transit - but unless someone wants to know about local mass transit, telling him what you genuinely believe to be the BEST way to get around is what someone should do - regardless of how well he/she knows bus routes, etc. So, if someone believes (often with very good reason) that the BEST way to get between two points in an unknown city is by taxi or Uber, then he owes it to the asker to so inform him.

There are some pretty great beaches in many locations - and very few cruise ship pools are that thrilling. And even though I might have paid for a shipboard lunch, I find experiencing the ambience and food of a different place to sometimes be worth the cost.

If you “always tip” then, of course, you always tip. But an employee of a barber has a different relationship with a person who is getting a haircut than has the barber himself.

The properness of a gratuity is not an absolute. An employee of someone you hire is utterly different from an individual in business for himself who you hire. If the guide is self-employed, the fee he quotes is all his - and should reasonably be seen as fully adequate. If you hire a firm, the guide they assign might reasonably be seen as deserving of a gratuity reflective of the effort he devoted to making your experience better than the bare minimum.

Try to think! That 13 year old fills a bunk as completely as a 50 year old would - while probably eating a whole lot more. And, more to the point, that 13 year old would not contribute very much to on-board spending (such as alcoholic drinks) which is a MAJOR revenue source for the cruise line. The only reason lines do not charge DOUBLE for kids is because accommodating them makes it possible for revenue producing passengers (the parents of those teen agers) to cruise at all.

Agreed - but when properly prepared it tastes better than those little white pills that I take for blood pressure and cholesterol.

He was obviously an inexperienced wannabe "big man".

Every time someone talks about NCL I feel it is important to point out that if you want enjoyable meals, you need to consider one of their "premium restaurants", A major reason for their low fares is the minimal food quality and service provided in their included restaurants. If you are satisfied with basic nutrition, OK -- but if you want anything really enjoyable you should eat in (and pay for) their alternative dining options - making other lines reasonable options.

Actually, cooked rhubarb (with plenty of sugar), when paired with frozen strawberries, is worth a try. Plus, it is reputed to help control blood pressure and high cholesterol.