sammee

3 minutes ago, MommaBear55 said:

Two of the passengers were just on Today Show and they basically said NCL abandoned them, they took no responsibility for missing the ship. They've flown through 7 countries over the last 48 hours to get to Gambia where the ship is, but now they aren't sure they'll board the ship today due to lack of trust. Sadly, the interviewers were playing into this and making NCL look like they were at fault.

Wow, unbelievable. Just saw this too. They created their own situation but yet they insist on finger pointing and blaming NCL.

36 minutes ago, 1BDNANA said:

This situation is scary similar to Baltimore but that one happened due to a freak storm pushing a barge into the bridge and more pedestrian traffic was on the bridge when it collapsed. It is also one of the bridges that cruise ships barely scrape under when pulling out of port.

 

First thing I thought of too. I lived down there around that time, I think I moved down right after it happened. The only saving for them was, it was 2 side by side bridges. They were able to convert a one-way bridge into 2-way traffic.

11 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

I don't think they can just move up a drydock on a whim like that.

MSC isn't every Sunday. I left on a 9 dayer at end of January, on a Friday. They don't have a constant 7 day schedule. Here's the link to the sailing schedule for Brooklyn port. Princess, Cundard and another one also leave there.  https://nycruise.com/brooklyn-terminal/schedule-bct/

1 hour ago, surfone said:

Wow,  was looking over to the bridge and watching the Legend leave Sunday while visiting our son and family (they live federal hill area) can see from their rooftop,   he said a few neighbors heard a big thunder type sound when it collapsed.  So much debris and will be a big undertaking for repairs, etc.,  a big economic impact, too with so many imports and exports of products. I am sure it will be a priority and as quickly as possible to repair.  I'm thinking Cape Liberty or NY to return for the cruise ships unless they decide to fly people home from one of the FL ports.  Norfolk is under construction.  Thankful it was not at a busy time but so tragic for those impacted.

That would be my guess too, they used this port with hurricane changes  some years back. At least to get everybody back home or back to Baltimore for car pickups.

On 2/18/2024 at 8:06 PM, Jamman54 said:

It's possible. Same for the cabanas. We are going to HMC on the Vista in April,  and there are still over 10 of the regular cabanas remaining. They have been available for almost a year. They used to sell out quickly. $700 is just too much for most people,  including us. 😎

Same here with the Sunshine end of April. Over 10 available. It used to be with this timelime and earlier, they were sold out. Only thing you could do was hightail it up to the excursions desk when you boarded and hope for the best. My husband wants a cabana, but I'm having a hard time with this 700 ticket.

2 hours ago, pamelanj said:

Oh no, we used a legit car service that we have used for years. It was more money than paying to park but the stress free ride was worth it to us.  

I don't blame you, I have one guy I used for local parties and gatherings, but he retired.I used to be a dispatcher back in the 90s. We had it going on than, but not like we do now. Technology made it easier.

18 minutes ago, kelleherdl said:

18 minutes ago, kelleherdl said:

Did your sister-in-law also have a passport, but sailed with license and birth certificate? There is no way that a driver license/birth certificate combination should have worked in the passport facial recognition line. The facial recognition system used for immigration uses the global passport biometric database. Normally, all returning birth certificate passengers must have their documents personally inspected by a CPB Officer. It is possible that a valid passport holder, NOT expired, will be recognized; even though they boarded with license and birth certificate. Lucky happenstance here I think.

No passport at all, not even her expired. It worked. The luggage guys said they work but not 100% yet, whatever that means. We were prepared for her to go to that line.. It took 2 tries before the green light went on for the recognition. The docs were only inspected day one. I thought the same as you. So, that must mean they've been working on it.

Just seeing this post now. I was on the 1/26 cruise. I had a passport, sister in law did the license & birth certificate. It was fine and when we left the ship, the following week, facial recognition worked for the birth certificate too. So we blew right through there. That made one of the workers happy who was helping us with the luggage. He said it was a 50/50 chance when leaving with it, lol.

Gotta laugh at some of the complaints. You just have to wonder if they read what they typed.

On 2/8/2024 at 10:16 AM, pamelanj said:

We decided to get car service because when I priced out parking it was quite expensive anyway. We live about 1.5 hrs from Brooklyn.

I sailed the Jan 26- Feb 4 cruise. I'm also Jersey Shore area. We ended up getting a family member to take us. We are in Manchester Twp. The prices of legit uber/taxi/shuttles were not a money saver for us. There were a lot of cheap car services, but they aren't legit. People are using their private cars, making up business cards and fb businesslike pages to advertise, some trying to say they are x-uber drivers to show experience.
My sister in law wanted me to go with one. As soon as I looked it up, I knew. Problem with that is, if they get pulled over, you aren't going to make your trip. If they get in an accident, insurance can say no payment. Modern day gypsy cabs, lol. It's your choice, but I figured I should say something since there's so many of them in our area.

20 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

The tech is amazing now.  Most of the photos I posted were taken between ISO 4000 and 12800(!)  This, plus built in stabilization on the camera body or lens, allowed me to handhold at a shutter speed high enough to minimize shake.

My husband has an slr. My picture taking skills are not so hot. Using a cell phone now and hbope for the best. You've done a great job on your photos.

1 hour ago, Rob-Bob said:

I switched up and booked the CCL Venezia out of Manhattan on 4/5/24.  We booked parking there for 10 days at the lot at the port.  They say $45 per day but they only charged us $315 (plus $9.95 fee) for the entire 10 day stay.  

 

I thought maybe they were doing the same thing in Brooklyn.

 

We got a ridiculously cheap price on this sailing so we switched it up from the Mereviglia on MSC.  If they were stopping at the private island we would have went MSC way.  The Venezia looks like a very nice ship.  Inside room all in for $1,300 for 2 people.  First time back on Carnival in 10+ years.

I'm not sure what they are doing, but take it while you can. They were both were the same as of this past November. I had a cruise booked on Venezia and was pricing out my options, but I ended up having to cancel Venezia. I'll definitelyl keep that in mind if I book her again. I had a casino comped for Meraviglia for my 1/26 cruise. I was considering driving even with the higher price, but I wasn't sure if I could get us back home due to an eye issue that I get treatments for.

Got home my cruise just on time to play catch up and read your review. As always fantastic so far. How long did it take you to get from Kingsland to Fort Lauderdale? We've considered doing this run, but haven't as of yet. I love how you take pics of the signs going in. Our GPS is not always on point.

28 minutes ago, Rob-Bob said:

Actually it looks like if you stay for longer than 7 days you get the 7 day rate.  $315 max.

 

You can make reservations and pay $315. That is better but still not cheap.

They got rid of that last year. If you look on the webpage and go to the May 4 sailing, it's 8 days and $360. I priced my 9 day cruise at 405 last week, so got a family member to drive us. And if you book in advance there's a $12 processing fee.

16 minutes ago, Cruzinforpeace*** said:

Just came from the buffet and at 2:30pm can’t even hear yourself think.  I think it’s a combination of poor acoustical planning (no carpets and lots of metal) and a lot of European and Asian visitors who tend to sound like they’re yelling when they speak.  I’m Greek so I know from experience.  My son has a shirt that says “I’m not yelling at you, I’m just Greek!”  I don’t think this buffet is any more chaotic than other ships.  It’s the volume of noise that makes it seem chaotic.  We always get a seat and haven’t had any long waits in the lines.  The buffet food so far this cruise is excellent, better than Celebrity.

I think you may be on to something with acoustics. I just got off this ship. Buffet sounded like a high school cafeteria, dining rooms not much better. I had some guy behind our table with a laugh that overcame everything. He was the only one I could hear, I guess he was trying to compete with the noise. I couldn't hear my table mate. She couldn't hear me. Our cruise was only 2300 from what others were saying compared to the week before.

2 minutes ago, nferr said:

 I just got off the Maraviglia this morning. I had twice a day twice a day turndown service for the entire cruise.  

Same here, just got off this morning too.

Omg, I thought about you and the mussels. They had them today, no fights but huge piles. Jokes on them. Half of the shells were empty.

Also they roped off a line for those sales with an enter and exit today.

I love the ship, service and crew. But the BS from some of these passengers makes me wish I had yacht club.

I'll be following this thread. This is the ship that sold me on MSC back in 2022 out of PC.

Welcome home, I boarded this morning. It was a breeze getting on and room was ready before noon. We are not doing self assist next week. Getting off is definitely an uphill battle. Hopefully we don't have to deal with the hunger games.

They usually say 2 billing cycles. Last time I was waiting on excursion refund, I called after 30 days and they pushed it through, had it in a week.

1 hour ago, MsTabbyKats said:

Venizia has a cover on the LIdo pool.  We stayed on board for the "private island day"....had the place to ourselves.  It was beautiful, sunny and warm.  I told DH...this is just like YC....peace and quiet.

Enjoy your trip!

My situation is alittle different from yours, as I'll be on HMC, but that sounds like heaven for Nassau or Freeport stops.

17 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

Truthfully, YC in Jan out of NY wouldn't be good.  Our #1 thing is the "breakfast/lunch" by the pool...and it would have been too cold...so even if we could have upgraded our free cruise offer to YC...it wouldn't have worked.  Anyway, when you "try other things", you appreciate YC even more.

That's good thinking. Probably prefer the indoor pool too for the same reasons. My husband is staying home for this one but I'm taking my sister in law. It will be her first time. She's usually on Royal.

I was supposed to sail Venezia for the Thanksgiving cruise. I was undecided, just like you.Than we were minus one car in the house and had to regroup to cover the cost I ended up canceling and moving it to my booked Charleston cruise. I received a free non yc balcony offer. I sail tomorrow. Oughtta be fun, YC definitely spoils you and my free cabin was not eligible to bid on yc upgrade. But it's still a cruise. Maybe next time I'll get a YC.

I'll be on her Friday, my 2nd time on her. I sailed last May and had a great time. It's gonna be different with the weather, but still a cruise.

Yes on chrome, tried logging out and in, refresh, restart browser, all the good stuff. I think it finally stopped, crossing fingers.