Mrs Peel

I have a friend (that does not use the computer) and is traveling on the Joy on May 12.  She has a balcony room and wants to bid to upgrade.  I am not sure what she wants to upgrade to.  Has anyone had any experience in upgrading from a balcony and the approximate cost?  Thanks for your help.

Four of us booked with Gone Caribe for a 5 hour tour.  Joey, our guide, was wonderful.  We had been to Curacao before but he took us places we had not seen but was also very flexible with what we wanted. He was very knowledgeable about the history of the island and kept us entertained with his stories.  I highly recommend Gone Caribe for anyone looking for a tour in Curacao.

Thank you so much. I did a swim with the dolphins in the Bahamas And we were in the water with them. They lifted us out of the water while we were holding them. I wouldn't be able to do that right now. It was a lot of fun though. I'm having trouble logging into my account so I am glad you contacted me directly.

Has anyone done a dolphin swim in Curacao?  I am interested in doing one when we are there in February. However, I  had shoulder surgery in October and I have a  6 month recovery period.  I am concerned about what you actually do with the dolphin.  If it involves pulling my shoulder at all, I would not be able to do it.

Lots of mixed messages on this.  We have booked the Tundra Wilderness Tour in June.  That goes to mile 43.  Right now the park is only open to  mile 12.5 because of snow.  I spoke with someone at Doyon/Aramark tours which is the tour company that provides the bus tours into the park.  He told me that it is expected that the Tundra Wilderness Tour to mile 43 will be available.  Of course things can change.  Pretty Rock is well past that area. I am hoping for the best.

we booked the Tundra Wilderness Tour but it wasn't easy.  It did not show up in Excursions.  A Primrose Natural History Tour showed up and I was going to book that.  But at the end of the blurb it says you can call Princess to get the Wilderness Tundra Tour.  I called and it was not available.  The woman I spoke to  suggested I call the Wilderness Lodge directly and they were able to book us.  If you want that tour (look under the national Park Service web site to see the tours) try the lodge directly.  I even tried to book with a third party but the two I tried had nothing available the day i was going to be there.

On 3/14/2022 at 11:42 AM, 5waldos said:

It is not the departures but the landing that is the problem. What are the cruiselines doing about onboard testing required by the Canadian governmet? If your cruiseline will be set up to test everyone onboard prior to landing, then all is well. Unless you turn up positive with CoVid. Then things get a bit difficult- you have to go into quarantine for a period of time. Where? Who pays? And if there happens to be a significant number of positive tests- you may not be allowed to land at all. It gets more complicated the more you think about it. 

As of April 1, it will not be a problem.  The Canadian rules changed regarding arriving by cruise ship.

On 3/15/2022 at 11:40 AM, karatemom2 said:

We have rented a car several times in Juneau and plan to do so again on our upcoming cruise in May. The only rental agency in town these last few years has been Juneau Car Rentals, but unfortunately they currently limited to their airport location. But they are offering shuttle service from the dock. We are renting a van on our May cruise - $149 for the day. We enjoy having our own wheels to get outside of town to visit places like Eagle Beach, Treadwell Mine, to name a couple. There’s a lot more to the Juneau area then just the small downtown. A car lets you see it. 

Where are you renting the van from?  We will be there in June.

On 2/11/2021 at 2:53 PM, zdcatc12 said:

I have the Epic booked in September. Booked it a year ago. Thinking since it is in Europe, it may have a better chance of going, but who knows.

We have a cruise on hold for Sept to Europe and are concerned about the Covid testing guidelines.  We need to have a test between 1-3 days prior to entering the US.  Where do we get that test overseas?

My husband and I put a hold on a cruise in Sept out of Copenhagen to the Baltic.  You can not enter Denmark without a negative COVID test within 3 days of entry.  AND you cannot get back into the US without the same thing.  They don't include vaccinations as an opt out.  So how do we get a COVID test when we are on a cruise ship in the Baltic?  I am sure that the airlines and CDC have not caught up with these rules.  We called NCL and they have no information on this.  I think we are going to cancel our hold.Does anyone know anything about this?

we are sailing on the Koningsdam  in Feb.  My husband saw a picture of a pickleball court but there were no kitchen lines. Has anyone played on a HAL ship and what were the courts like? I was thinking of bringing chalk to mark the court.

On 2/27/2019 at 11:13 AM, mjkacmom said:

We always do early walk off, 5 cruises from NYC, 4 times we were home in NJ by 9 am, 1 time didn’t get through customs until 10:45 (shortage of agents which seems to sometimes happen on Sundays). Get a porter after you disembark and go though the short porter customs line.

Good tip.  I am hoping there is either global entry or Mobile Passport so I can get through quickly.

On 2/27/2019 at 12:56 PM, mizLORInj said:

Your chance of making it is far greater than not.     We have cruised out of NYC dozens of times and only once did we get back late, and that was maybe 8am.   It's a rare occurrence from what I've experienced.    I think EWR is easier to get to though vs. LGA. 

😅

On 2/25/2019 at 8:21 PM, njhorseman said:

We recently cruised on the Gem and despite having priority disembarkation we were not through the CBP checkpoint until almost 10:30 am due to delays in unloading luggage and very long lines at the checkpoint. the Gem is a much smaller ship than Escape and in my experience getting off the larger ships like Escape takes even longer.

 

Also there's a huge construction project going on at LGA that can slow you up at the airport.

 

I wouldn't book an 11 am flight out of LGA.

I am carrying my luggage and have both Global Entry and Mobile Passport.  Plane already booked.  I pauid $56 for the flight to Myrtle Beach on Spirit.  I am not too concerned about being out the money.

My friend and I will be on the Escape on March 31.  It is a 7 day cruise.  Does anyone know which night and what time they usually have the Captain's cocktails?  We want to book some specialty restaurants but don't want to do it on the same night.  I spoke with NCL and they said they don't have the schedule for that.  But maybe there is a "usual night" that it is held?

30 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

My wife and I have sailed 4 times on NCL out of NYC. Gem, BA and the Escape. Typically the ship docks between 5:30am-6:00am, we do easy walk off and have been driving home no later than 8:15am

Thanks a million.  I may be able to sleep tonight.  That is what i am used to seeing on other ships.  But there is no accounting for the weather.

1 minute ago, shout19661966 said:

you never know. today ships are being held out of the port because of high winds. enjoy your cruise.

Thanks.  I was reading about the Gem.  Nothing you can do about the weather.  Just have to go with the flow.  Luckily I am retired and don't have to be anyplace at anytime.

2 minutes ago, shout19661966 said:

your itinerary clearly states

• New York, United States
• Arrive: 8:00 am

I would doubt you would arrive in the  middle of the night, and they still wont start letting people off till 7am or so ,that being said 11am out of  lga isnt out of the question but it is cutting it close with all that is going on there with construction. You do arrive on sunday morning so that is better then any other day.

Thanks.  You are assuming I read that!   I actually looked on the website and could not find that info.  We usually cruise Princess and generally get off around 8:00.  But I also seldom go out of NY and am not really familiar with La Guardia.  

If you buy your tickets ahead of time (taking a risk if you don't get there) you can fast pass up to 3 rides up to 60 days ahead.  The lines have become so long at any of the Disney Parks- we were just there in early Feb I would not do it unless you are not going to get back there for along time and just have to see it.  

I will be sailing March 31 on the Escape out of Manhattan.  I have booked a flight home at 11 am out of La Guardia assuming that we would get to NYC sometime in the middle of the night.  Now I hear it may not be until 8:00am and then of course the ship has to clear customs.  Has anyone cruised this route and can you tell me what time you got in and could get off the ship?  I am not going to sweat it.  If I have to , I can take a train to my mother's in Wilmington DE and then fly out of Philly in the next day or two.

7 hours ago, toothy26 said:

Just booked the excursion to the Orlando Eye, Aquarium, and Wax museum. It gets good reviews. I do not cruise until May.

I was just at the Kennedy Space Center with my husband- not on a cruise.  That was a great place to visit.  The cruise is with a girlfriend the end of March.  I live near Myrtle Beach and we have all those things here so I am not sure what we are going to do.  My friend's daughter lives in Orlando so we may just visit with her.

5 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Right outside PC's cruise terminal, plenty of cabs or taxis, shared ride - charged by the person(s) about $7 p/p each way when we did this last Spring, on demand - fill up those taxi/van & they go over to Coca Village or Coca Beach, a quick 10-15 minutes ride.  Drop you off @ Four Points Sheraton Hotel w a huge gift shop & Starbucks inside, across the street from Ron Jon Surf Shop - McDonalds across the street (WiFi) & also a Walgreens for essential. 

 

Plenty of shuttles/taxis going back to the ship/cruise terminal all day long, continuously - NCL/ship's shorex dropping off & picking up at the same spot.

 

Public beach is at the end of a 2 blocks walk, no shower or change facilities, but a place to rinse off sand.  

Thanks so much for that info.

I was wondering the same thing about Coco beach.  Can you get a cab or Uber from the port to the beach?  This way we would be able to stay a bit longer.

Can anyone give me some information as to exactly what the Thermal Suite is?  Is it worth the $200 for the week?

Thanks