mjkacmom

4 hours ago, Nitemare said:

An alternative would be to get yourself over to the Rowes Wharf Water Taxi station in Boston.  Buy a ticket for a later water taxi ride to Logan Airport, the ticket price includes luggage storage.  Leave your bags with them and explore Boston to your heart's content.  They are right near Faneuil Hall and the Freedom Trail, etc.

 

Or, most hotels will hold your bags for a nice tip.  $20 for 4 bags should do it.

I’d definitely go this route vs. renting a car, you don’t want or need a car in Boston. Parking isn’t fun.

11 hours ago, jsn55 said:

I don't think the people who run parking lots or garages care much about individual customers.  I cruise out of San Francisco occasionally, and I just book an airport hotel that includes parking for the night before.  Just take a cab up to the port.  The last thing I want is to have issues with parking my truck in SF, I'd much rather have a nice late breakfast at the hotel before boarding. 

I don’t think you are going to find a hotel with included parking in Boston (just paid $75 a week ago).

On 5/1/2024 at 3:57 PM, RocketMan275 said:

The cruise lines do not control the embarkation terminals.  Those personnel work for the port.  

On 5/1/2024 at 3:57 PM, RocketMan275 said:

The cruise lines do not control the embarkation terminals.  Those personnel work for the port.  

Exactly. We cruise out of manhattan, I’m sure the ny/nj port authority chose how they run their business. Sind the vast majority of cruisers have never even heard of CC, it’s not like they are aware what terminals are sticklers for check in times.

2 hours ago, xyzcruiser said:

Did you do a day pass there? One of the problems I have had doing Cabbage Beach is that because I am solo it is hard getting transportation back to the ship. One time I had to pay $50 plus tip, another time took me about an hour before I could get anyone to take me back. That makes it both stressful and expensive, and I might get there and the conditions aren't great for snorkeling that day anyway. What was your experience with transportation? 

We did a day pass at RIU, but it was the same beach as the public one. We actually just walked to the front of the resort and got in a taxi (and we are a family of 7), but I’m guessing anyone could walk up and ask about a shared ride. 

51 minutes ago, lindacat said:

I will be sailing on Carnival Venezia in June of 2024.  I have cruised out of the Manhattan cruise terminal twice before.  The first time, ( pre-pandemic) they did not offer the option to reserve a spot.  When we arrived it was fairly easy to get  to the ship.  We pulled in a porter took our checked luggage and we took an elevator to check in.

 

Last year when we went on the Venezia, we reserved a spot.  The attendants directed us into a different lane.  When we parked we were not in the lot adjacent to the ship like we were last time, and there were no porters to assist with luggage.  I will be traveling with my 83yo mom who will need a wheelchair to get on the ship. 

 

I am not sure if the reserved lot was in a different location  than the non- reserved lot of if just the passage of time changed the logistics of parking in the terminal.

 

I am trying to decide if we should reserve spots again,  but if that is the reason we were not in the adjacent lot, then I will wait and hope for the best on embarkation day.  Does anyone hear know the answer or who I can contact to find out the answer.

I think it’s hit or miss. We’ve sailed out of nyc 4 times, there was never a porter on the parking deck level, we usually arrived close to 9 - 9:30. I think just depends if a porter happened to be there dropping off luggage. This was before reservations.

I regretted not bringing our snorkeling gear to RIU on cabbage beach, the water was so clear (there is a public walkway to the beach).

16 hours ago, time4u2go said:

LOL "safety concerns". Apparently Princess and Carnival and Disney and I'm sure others don't have those same "safety concerns".  I'm guessing they meant "profit concerns".

 

No laundry rooms on ncl.

59 minutes ago, havoc315 said:

I’m driving in to DC next week, dreading it. 
Most of the time, I’m an advocate for train when it comes to DC.  But I have to pick my son up from college and haul all his stuff. 

When I debated driving vs. Amtrak, I realized that my daughter would be coming home for the summer in a couple of weeks, no car, and she sublets her room over the summer so we needed to take back a lot of her stuff. The overnight in Boston was a stop before we headed to Gloucester for a wedding, so we would’ve also had to rent a car. I will book early for her graduation next May. Her Ubers from back bay have always been under $20 (I pay for transportation to and from school, she pays for the day to day in Boston).

2 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

I just ran it in my app and I got $51pp for the July 18th Regional in Coach from NYP to Boston. Is it the return that's priced high?

I got $52 from Newark Penn round trip leaving that date and time frame. My daughter is a student at BU, so has done the trip frequently, train, plane and car. The only time she has done the drive in just under 4 hours each way was when she was flying from our home in NJ to Mexico and realized 12 hours before her flight that she left her passport in Boston, so drove almost 8 hours overnight. Her best friend’s family has a home on cape cod, she’s been there dozens of time, the traffic is always bad. We the most bizarre detour this time adding an extra hour.

45 minutes ago, havoc315 said:

That assumes you have a convenient rail stop. 
For me, it’s a direct 3 hour drive. 
Versus — Uber XL for 4 people to Amtrak station, about 35-40 minutes away. Then a 3 1/2 train ride to south station, (for another $500 or so) followed by another Uber to hotel. Followed by another Uber to the cruise port the next day. 
 

And doing that all in reverse the next day. 
 

So train is much more time consuming and much more expensive than driving.

 

 

I drove to Boston on Thursday, gps said 3:45, took 5 1/2, filled up the tank there and back, our hotel charged $75 for valet parking. I’ve driven, flown, and taken the train, I’m sticking with the train from now on (booking well in advance for the lowest fares). We are 20 minutes from the train station.

4 hours ago, DebJ14 said:

There are some items that are naturally gluten free, so you need to stick to those.  If newly diagnosed then you may not be aware.  Fresh eggs, plain meats (no gravy or sauces), steamed veggies, baked potato, salad (but always be firm about a GF dressing and no croutons) fresh fruit are all naturally gluten free.  I was diagnosed 17 years ago.  Many cruises since and I have been glutened twice on Royal, both times in the MDR and both on first nights.  However, I had my most positive experiences in the main dining room with waiters and head waiters that went out of their way to insure a good GF meal.  Because GF dinners in the MDR are ordered the night before, room service in a suite is probably not an option for dinner.  

 

You didn't say which ship.  Those with Coastal Kitchen may fare better.  On the older ships where suite guests have breakfast in one of the specialty restaurants, we have  fared OK.  We try to make a connection with the waiter the first day, explain our dietary needs and then try  to stick with that waiter for every breakfast, and if having dinner there, requested that person as our waiter so we did not have to go through the whole song and dance all over again.  Worked great on the AOS, but not on the VY.

 

Ships vary and so does their ability to handle gluten free.  Since Covid we had a horrible experience on the Adventure, except for our waitress at breakfast and one dinner in Giovanni's Table. The Windjammer had zero entrees or vegetables marked GF on the Adventure and, only a couple of desserts. 

 

 On the Voyager, the Main Dining room was great, but our dinner at Giovanni's Table was a disaster.  Breakfast at Chops was just ok.  We had multiple waiters in Chops at breakfast and they never remembered from day to day that we were gluten free and were always pushing the pastries.  For lunch in the Windjammer we stuck with salad every day.

 

We do get room service breakfast on the days we have an early excursion.  That has always been fine.  I always get bacon and eggs and coffee.  Hubby usually orders the GF toast.  I am allergic to yeast, so bread, even GF, is out for me.  I never order the scramble eggs from room service in case they give me the powdered eggs, which are often not GF.

 

We always go with scheduled dining in the MDR.  Our last cruise on the Voyager, our waiters had 3 tables of GF and went out of their way.  You need to notify special needs ahead of time so that the ship is notified.  They need to know how many GF people to expect, otherwise that have been known to run out of GF bread and pasta when they are suprised with larger than usual numbers.  special_needs@rccl.com is where you need to send the notification.  They always respond, first with an automated email and then a full explanation of how it is handled.

 

On embarkation day we check with our Maitre"D to make sure it is noted.  The head waiter usually comes over that first dinner for introductions and make sure to remind the waiters.  Also check with the head waiter and chefs in Windjammer and they will give you a tour of the GF options or they will make something separately in the back for you.

 

In the beginning it is really hard to have to be forceful and make your needs known.  Also, the longer you are off gluten the worse the symptoms of being glutened get.  She will have to take responsibility for herself.  My doctor always says, "When in doubt, do without."  

 

Also, research GF alcoholic beverages before you go so you can request a specific Vodka.  Rum and Tequila is always GF.

The vast majority of hard liquor is gf, even whisky. The distillation process removes the gluten.

 We loved our day pass at RIU, we’ve also done Atlantis a couple of times. The pig thing is weird to me, trying to mimic exuma by bringing farm pigs to a beach.

On 4/28/2024 at 10:44 AM, trevorcruise said:

Norwegian's Express Beach Break to Goodman's (sounds very similar to this one) was the single worst excursion I've been on in my 11 cruises. We paid the $69x4 to NCL to be safe with everything going on in the Bahamas.  Two quick soundbites. First, The pre-promised chairs were unavailable when we arrived.  We stood around for 45min with the group waiting for them and finally gave up and used our towels. Second, The tour operator asked me to fill out a survey in return for getting on an earlier bus back to the ship.

The worst part was that the NCL Excursion desk said they were not responsible for the excursion and would not take any accountability. The rest of the cruise was pretty good, but this excursion mess was enough for us to go back to Disney and Royal Caribbean, where we've done most of our cruising.

It’s so easy to do DYI excursions at that port, goodman’s bay is just a local public beach, just take a cab. I’ve sailed on NCL, never saw it listed as an excursion. It would be like booking a private tour to Junkanoo.

Lots of college family weekends in October (my daughter is at BU, family weekend is the same as Head of the Charles, so we don’t go). Just stayed at the Hotel Newbury, very nice, great location but $$$$$.

On 4/28/2024 at 10:10 AM, Ruttrowg said:

Wow did not know about the missing people. Makes sense they dropped the stop,  but they should have done more than a $100 credit don't you think? Lots of good points on that thread above.

Are you new to cruising? They can drop each port for no reason whatsoever and offer nothing. Changing itineraries is pretty common in cruising.

Maybe choose another excursion? They will be legal adults and can legally order alcohol, I don’t think you saying they are only 27 will prevent anything, I’m guessing they will all be ID’d. My two oldest were 19 and 20 on our last cruise, they loved the AI we went to, and would go to bars in port. 

7 hours ago, Coralc said:

It was Comfort Suites, but I don't think that is what they are looking for. 

 

I would just take a cab over, walk around in the allowed areas, gamble a little, and take a cab back. I do not recommend the water taxis. 

There are very few allowed areas besides the casino and marina village. We’ve done Atlantis through CS and through a cruise excursion, prefer to do it on our own. It’s a 15 minute drive, when we did it through the ship we just took a cab back anyway. The excursion (through the ship, CS, or bought directly from Atlantis) includes the water park, beach and Digs access. I think it’s around $200 pp through Atlantis or resort for a day. I don’t think it’s worth it with small children.

2 hours ago, Beachcreature said:

I am generally defensive of NCL and have enjoyed all of our 9 cruises with them.  One department, however, that needs improving is the whole drink package process.  You pre pay tips which is usually a plus for staff but when you order drinks, if you have the drink package with the prepaid tips you shouldn't have to tip again.  Once a server realizes that you are not tipping it seems that they prioritize other passengers that are tipping.  I don't have a solution but NCL needs to look into this or lose some loyal passengers.

As someone who tips for every drink, I’m fine with the situation.

3 minutes ago, marrashadow said:

We experienced a long wait on HAL for embarkation and often these times are based on activity at port. And how organized passengers are with the paperwork needed to board. I watch 6 people stop at counter then began digging through luggage. We had ours in hand and we got the sweetest smile from the woman checking us in. You are waiting at least 20 minutes and even with the signs everywhere you can't get your items ready beforehand? Lines are mostly cruisers fault. Debarking is different as often that is border agent staffing which cruise lines do not control. That being said on any ship, rooms won't be ready until at least 1pm so if you want to be able to access your room once you board opt for times late in afternoon.

 

Bartenders will tend to go towards those who are nice to them or tip them. Take a few minutes when they aren't busy to chat and possibly provide a small tip and you will find your service expedited as a general principal you will find that with most cruise staff kindness counts.

 

 

We’ve been held up at embarking due to a shortage of border agents which held up disembarking.

7 minutes ago, asctony said:

This happens on almost all cruise lines today. Staff have been cut back. People disregard times, too.

Happy Cruising on any Cruise Line!

And the vast majority of cruisers never heard of CC so it’s not like they know check in times aren’t enforced.

I got a lot of recommendations for this boutique hotel from BU parents, and it’s less expensive than many (like under $500 a night) https://www.newburyguesthouse.com. Great location and staff.

Friday at rush hour, the absolute worst rush hour of the week. You will be sitting in traffic for hours. Car rental, tolls, gas - an Uber from jfk would be faster and cheaper. My 5 young adult kids Uber to and from airports here very often by themselves. On occasions when we pick them up, we never park, just pick up at the curb.

16 hours ago, MajSteve said:

Goodbye NCL Rant Three

Things That Went Absolutely Wrong:

The Weather: OK, I am well aware that NCL has no control over the weather.

(I thought the cruisers in the Haven Class did that sort of thing.)

The outdoor areas were closed for 6 out of the 9 Sea Days. Oh, you could sit out there if you enjoyed rain, hail, and 50 mph winds. 

The port stop at Gibraltar was cancelled due to some mysterious engine trouble.

The embarkation at Port Canaveral was a nightmare. 2 hours and 15 minutes in a line, outside just waiting to get into the terminal. Three hours to actually set a foot on the ship and then another hour and a half before the cabins were ready. Pictures attached. No excuse for this NCL; Not even water stations available during the wait. Our supposed "embarkation times" assigned meant nothing.

The gift shop did not contain one item related to our cruise. Only Caribbean items. Who wants to go on a TA cruise and purchase a Virgin Islands T-shirt? Think I am getting snarky? Just wait!

 

To be fair, your issue is with the port, ncl doesn’t own it or staff it. No one is given an embark time, just a check in time. Boarding starts when the ship is disembarked, sometimes things go wrong.

It’s almost always cheaper to break larger parties into smaller groups and take a ride share or cab.

12 hours ago, splash_in_the_water said:

seems to me like if they jacked up prices a little bit that would be something but as much as 2x? I know it's a captive audience, blah blah but they'd probably move a bit more product if prices were closer to what they are on land. I know they gotta make money where they can, but I guess you gotta wonder if the point of the shops is to provide cruisers with a fun shopping experience  or make the most money possible? Yes. But there's a point where there's not a good roi. I think i remember learning this on those graphs in 7th grade, given the right equation.

 

but, like other things it must be working or they wouldn't do what they're doing. Like anything else, speak with your wallet.   Same like Disney world, etc.

I think the shops are run by third party vendors, and yes, the purpose is to make as much of a profit as possible. On land I don’t shop at hotel gift shops looking for bargains.