Panhandle Couple

Check out Panama canal videos on U-tube. There is one from the PBS show "The American Experience" which is very good, and has many photos and comments about the railroad importance during the construction. It is also a very good overall program on the building of the canal.

If you haven't looked, there are many excursion discussions on the PC page here on CC. Also look at Trip Advisor for Panama City, Panama. Many more reviews there, along with the other ports. Most are similar, or really the same as the NCL offerings. Our friends liked the excursion, minus the boring narration. But it might all depend on if you are a railroad fan, if you want to see more of the canal (and get more history) or see the city.

Also, a poster going by Eganfire had a Semi-live of the same cruise.

See my review from Dec 2023 for another viewpoint. Since this will be your first NCL cruise, just a few things to point out. NCL typically does not hand out individual water. Experienced NCL'ers will bring their own metal container to carry water around. You can fill it at the self fill station in the buffet, or simply ask for a glass of ice water at any bar, and place it in the container. Some will even fill the container for you if they are not crowded. The reasons for this vary, but think of how much room 10 pallets of water take up for a long cruise. The same amount of stackable cups is probably 1/4 of a pallet, which they use for bar drinks anyhow. NCL doesn't want to have to store and recycle all that plastic when they get into port. We have also found when on Princess, that 1/2 to almost empty water bottles seem to gather in public areas. People can simply be slobs at times. NCL earlier this year changed American Grill from a pay option to a free option. {lots of applause}. I have never eaten there, but will on my next cruise now that it is free. The OP missed that The Local/O'Sheehans is also a free venue, open 24 hrs. Small menu of mainly munchies, but a good quick breakfast option. Having 3 MDR with the same menu is std on NCL large ships. Again, don't know why the OP complained about that. For specialty restaurants, on a long cruise like PC, I would add at least 1 extra dining pkg (which is 2 meals) from the web site vs purchasing on board. Cheaper that way, and you can break up the meals through the cruise between specialty and MDR. I would also add the Vibe Beach Club. (Again available on the web site, but book at least 4 months before the cruise or they will sell out.) The extra space and attention made the trip, especially on sea days. No need for Spice H2O or main pool deck unless you want to go there to hear the band. Deck 15 near Observation Lounge is a great location. Early morning quick access to the OL gets you easy continental snacks, coffee and soda, or mimosa to start your day. Our only complaint was that the nighttime pool parties were a little loud, but didn't keep us from sleeping. Search for "New to NCL" or NCL first timer" post to get lots of other info that gets repeated every month or so.

Looking for things to do there, and came across the Hippy Market. Does anyone have any experiences there? Good, bad, whatever? Looks like 20 km from the port, so maybe 25 Euros for a cab ride to and from? We will be in Ibiza all day, so this could be just 1 of 2 or 3 things we may decide to do. TIA

The kids pool on the aft deck? Seems like a wasted space, not big enough and too far away from main pool, so parents have to make a decision on which one to sit at, with very limited seating adult seating.

I just noticed that Viva is now sailing in the Mediterranean, so work should be finished.

Have they finished the conversion of the speedway bar to Entourage club? Just curious.

Realize the upper deck is being changed. The speedway bar is being converted into an Entourage lounge for the teen crowd. Work is set to happen on the TA coming soon. Exact access and doors are probably not on the current plan.

Will anyone admit to being on a cruise like this?

Guess I got confused that with Harvest Caye, which we visited on our 2 BA cruises.

We sailed Breakaway in Jan 2023, and Dec 2023 (Xmas cruise). I would select Le Bistro over Ocean Blue. But, we live on the FL coast, and have a selection of fresh seafood when we go out. We don't have french restaurants. You can only get escargot at Le Bistro. I actually enjoy the pork chop there, and desserts are great. Glow party will be advertised in the daily and on info channel on the room TV. Always on Spice H2O deck at night, weather permitting. GSC is not a tender port, it has a traditional dock, although fairly long. You should be able to get reservations to BTF on embarkation day, just use the large screens near forward and aft elevators. Realize this does NOT save you a specific seat, just allows you to enter earlier than 10 minutes (stand by time) before showtime. If you want prime seats, simply make the reservation and get there 30+ minutes before show time. Waiting for a drink is up to you. Atrium bar at night will be crowded due to events in atrium. Pool bars on sea days in nice weather will be crowded. Other bars may or may not be crowded due to time of day and location. During sail away, most will be crowded due to people waiting for rooms to be opened.

And at some point, some people argue just to argue. Revenue is UP, just not as much as some "experts" projected. The experts use simple formulas, since they have no real insight into future revenue like the company does. So an expected 3.1% increase is a miss IF the increase is only 2.8%. The 2.8% is still an Increase. NCL projects that future 2024 revenue will still increase. Do you have ANY justification to say that it will go down? Costs have many subcomponents. Fuel alone can drive them up or down. Same with food. NCL hedges their fuel costs with future contracts. It is all explained in their reports. Personnel and things like depreciation are much more predictable. Looking at the reports closer, NCL did 4 things: They reduced long term debt (as planned) by $400 M, retiring their highest interest loan. They increased cash on hand by about $100 M, preparing for 2nd qtr debt payment due in May. They increased future bookings and cash deposits. They maintained a fill rate of over 105%, even with a traditional slow month of February. None of these points to company that is in trouble. As stated earlier, Wednesday was the IPO for Viking cruises, and fund managers (and general public) like to speculate on new stocks. To do this they sell other stocks, like NCL on the same day. Lets see where each are a week from now.

You missed the whole point of including the quote.

The next BSO is on the market, Viking cruise Lines went public (IPO) today with a limited offering. It went up over 10% as everyone loves bright shiny objects. Attribute some of NCL's decline to mega-fund managers "diversifying" their holdings to include the BSO. Always sounds good on paper for their own quarterly reports. In reality, this should have been a ho-hum report. Some of the analysis I have read is hilarious, One "expert" stated that NCL's 105.7% of available berths is due to: Like airlines, cruise companies routinely overbook, anticipating that some customers will cancel. I guess this person has never been on a spring break cruise.

I have done some quick math, and for a ship of 4,000 people, if they all show up at the same time, the line is roughly 2 miles long. No cruise terminal is designed for that, cattle switchbacks or not.

I agree. Our only scenic views (from the aft topside decks) were leaving Kona in the afternoon, along with a friendly young whale trailing us for a ways. POA has a weird ventilation system, even for the restaurants. As it was not an original NCL design, I have to wonder who designed a system where exhaust vents seem to be randomly placed, vs centralized.

Laughable decline. The revenue "miss" was $40 million, which is 2% of the actual revenue. Dropping 10-12% for a 2% miss is overreacting. Time to scoop up some stock if you want some OBC. The primary thing to look at for NCL is the debt schedule. Are they paying off their debt or refinancing it? Are they adding new debt just for operations? (vs new ships) My quick glance: They are paying off their debt IAW their 2023 end of year statement. They have not refinanced any of it (moving it to out years at higher rates) which was done in the past. Remaining 2024 debt is achievable based on current revenue levels. 2nd qtr will pay off a high rate short term "survival" debt. 4th qtr will do the same. 3rd qtr has very low debt payments required, allowing them to paydown some of the 2028 and 2029 debt, if they desire. NCL goal is to focus on debt repayment, not necessarily maximize earnings per qtr.

You will also have to show your passport on 1st flight check in, since your final destination is outside the US. Also for each remaining flight as they will end up in a different country.

I've been to the UK 5 times, and dealt with business folks there for 5-6 years at one point. Never heard of Guinness Day. Most pubs (outside of London touristy ones) have a tie in with a semi-local brewer for their draft beer. Most won't have Guinness on tap, but in a bottle, the same as Heineken or other mass market beers. Going to a pub and NOT having a sample of the local draft selection would be an insult to the pub owner. (IMHO)

From each port, there are 2-4 different tours you can take. The guide simply says to keep driving, and as you approach major intersections, it will tell you which attraction is in what direction. If the vehicle already has a built in map screen, then simply turn it on and the guide calls out the road name or number. It generally doesn't use distances, but will say "just ahead" or "turn left once past the large red building" if road signs are small or sometimes non-existent. It will describe a side alternative with brief info on why you should go that route or town to visit, and also pull over scenic view locations. If you don't, it will simply say, "OK, on to XXX destination". It gives you time to make a decision for each suggestion. Also, outside of some stretches on the big island, (and Oahu interstate) most highways are 45 mph or less. This gives the guide time to describe things you are seeing, Hawaiian history, or other side routes. The app highlights each tour on its map on your phone. It does not cover every road on each island. You can also skip each narration if you find it boring. You will learn a lot about Hawaiian history, especially 1700-1900. You will figure this all out in the first 20 minutes or less of using it. There might be some u-tube videos showing this, but we never searched for them. If I'm remembering correctly, it will give you a time estimate for the route chosen once you start that route. You can stop when you want to, and it will start up again once moving.

I can verify that it also worked thru Apple car play in a Jeep.

Only missing passengers, potentially kidnapped or murdered. I guess their families feedback might be a little negative on Tortola.

It took me 5 minutes to find this, which just MIGHT have an explanation. https://bvinews.com/two-tourists-missing-in-the-bvi/ Summary: Two men missing from the NCL Sky stop on 19 April. No contact from them since they got off. If NCL thinks there is not enough action to protect their passengers, they will skip the port until the locals make some changes, or add security. The removed tourist spending should energize the location, or maybe not. If you review this web site, you will also see stories about increased illegal immigration, and increasing theft in businesses. I wonder if all this is connected?

Also, if you get a waiter early that you like, you can ask them their schedule for the next few days (they typically rotate around MDR locations) and go to their next MDR rotation, and ask to be seated at one of their tables. We have done this a few times.