numberguy

Thank you everyone.  I didn't make myself clear--we DO realize that it is summer in the southern hemisphere.  I was asking for one of our traveling companions, who is from Canada.

I believe he was wondering about temperatures because the further north you go in the northern hemisphere, it's cooler, and I wasn't sure about how far south and close to the Antarctic, such that it would be cooler.  But I do appreciate all your responses.

--Michael

Everyone,

We're wondering what the air temperatures would be like on the seas around Australia and New Zealand during the period of Dec 23-Jan 6?  We're on the Spirit for a holiday cruise in about a month, and we want to pack appropriately, but not overpack with winter clothing.  I know layers are good, of course, as ships can be cold.  But what might temps be like for shore excursions and deck walks.  Any experiences would help.  Thanks.

--Michael

Everyone,

I am almost sure of this answer, but just want to be double-sure.  My Driver's License expires in February 2024.  I'm taking a cruise over the Christmas/New Year's period 2023/24.  The cruise is in Australia and New Zealand, so I'll have my passport.  I don't have to worry about the expiration date approaching for my DL, do I?  I can't think of any reason (I don't plan to rent a car in either country), but want all the the ducks lined up...

--Michael

Hello everyone!

I'm planning a family cruise.  Total of 10 family members, 4 of whom don't have passports.  They've gone on one or two Caribbean cruises before with just a driver's license and state-issued birth certificate.  If we take a cruise round-trip out of New Orleans that goes to Mexico, Belize, and Honduras, can my non-passport-holding family members still sail with just the license/certificate combination?

I will definitely encourage them to get a passport, but they may not want to.  So I want to know about the license/certificate combo.

Thanks everyone!

--Michael

We're currently on the Star, and there was an organized M&G on this cruise, but there were no officers present.  We're Sapphire and didn't inquire about the BTS tour because we've already gone on two before now (but I suspect it didn't happen).

--Michael

On 2/21/2022 at 8:59 PM, pno4te said:

I was looking at these yesterday and wondered if they might be the way to go.  We could use 2 at our Rome hotel, 2 in port in Florence the day before we disembark (unless you have a reason for thinking that wouldn't work?), and two in out hotel at the airport the day before we head back to the US.

pno4te,

The only caution I would advise for this is if one of the tests gets spoiled (you drop the swab on the floor while doing the test, for example), you have no spare tests.  Not trying to be a Debbie Downer about this (because I LOVE the Emed tests), but just wanted to point that out.

As an aside, we were so happy we took the Emed tests on our cruise from Athens to Rome in November/December 2021.  We disembarked on Sunday, December 5 and flew home on December 6.  However, December 6 was the day the one-day testing requirement to fly back to the US kicked in (vs. the three-day requirement).  While our test on the Getaway would have covered us for getting home, with the shortened testing requirement starting on Dec. 6, it wouldn't cover us any longer.  Was so happy we had our Emed tests.

--Michael

--Michael

On 8/27/2021 at 11:49 PM, Shellbelle28 said:

I'm another Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle organizer. I like to design invitations to drop at my fellow cruiser's cabin doors. 

I've done this before, but as I've cruised more, fewer people are willing to give out their cabin numbers to allow me to do that.  And I completely understand, but it's a little disappointing that I can't drop reminders for the M&G at their doors...

--Michael

22 hours ago, elf426 said:

Did you at all find it odd that the majority of their mojitos were not uh...mojitos? Sticking a sprig of mint in a cocktail does not a mojito make. Conversely, I asked for an Aperol Spritz in the Haven lounge one night, which didn't have all of the ingredients and ended up with some sort of grapefruit concoction. Can't screw up a glass of bubbly. 

I'm really not enough of a drinker to realize what and what is not a mojito.  But I did like the Jalapeno Mojito they had...

--Michael

20 hours ago, elf426 said:

Oh, and CD "Travelling Jeff" - take it down a notch and please never bing! again.

 We were on the November/December cruise to Greece/Italy two cruises before yours, and Travelling Jeff was the Assistant CD then.  I think he might have gotten the "bing!" from his predecessor, who ended every announcement with "woo-hoo!" as a signature sign-off.  Even the other staff were teasing him about the "woo-hoo!"

20 hours ago, elf426 said:

I never once saw a wine list or bar menu in the Haven

You had to ask for one if you wanted to see it, or you could have scanned a QR code (if you could find it) on your phone.  We also learned there are certain things they can't make at every bar, but they'll go to other bars to get them.  The LGBT group met in the mojito bar each night at 7, but there were several Europeans in the group who wanted Aperol spritzes, so the waiter would go to the Mixx bar to get them.

20 hours ago, elf426 said:

Overhead announcements: necessary evil or effective mode of communication? In this case, chaotic evil. I get that the captain needs to come on and do his blah blah nautical miles blah blah but between his briefings then Jeff jumping on the mic twice a day it was overkill.

We met with the CD briefly during the LGBT gathering one night and he said that the CD getting on the mic immediately after the captain and somewhat repeating what the Captain had said is a requirement that NCL corporate mandated.  The Captain had a very deep Greek accent, so it was difficult to understand everything he said, so I sort of appreciated it, but I can understand where you're coming from.

--Michael

3 minutes ago, milolii said:

Also, I forget but do you just sign in and then wait for the proctor to get online with you, or do you sign up for an appointment? 

With the tests from EMed, you just sign on and wait for the proctor.  I never waited more than five minutes, if that long.  But times might go up with increased testing.

--Michael

2 minutes ago, SplashOfWater said:

You can also order a six-pack directly from eMed. 

 

https://www.emed.com/products/covid-at-home-testkit-six-pack

This is what we did before our November/December cruise to Greece and Italy.  We used them to get into Ireland (change planes) and Italy.  Later when we flew to Greece to get on the ship, a test wasn't required.  Then we tested the night before we got on the plane to come home form Italy (the very first day that the one-day restrictions kicked in), and that got us into England (change planes) and the US.

Then I used them to following weekend to test after I became sick, and I tested positive.  That allowed me to quarantine while I waited to get a lab test.  All recovered now!

--Michael

17 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

 

 

The husband has very strong opinions on the proper way to assemble a taco. And a baked potato. And a hot dog. So if you ever see a 6’5” dude at a cruise ship buffet weaving back and forth between stations and mumbling about the correct order for layering condiments, it’s probably him. 

Bwa-hahahahahahah!

I'm loving your review style...

--Michael

3 hours ago, pcakes122 said:

Get well soon, Michael! 

Thank you!

Hey there!

We're Chad and Mike from Chicago, IL, USA.  We have about a dozen cruises under our belts.  The general roll call, as well as the group for this cruise on the book of faces is very anemic in terms of people chatting, but I hope we can have some discussions before traveling!  We're traveling with another couple from north of Toronto, ON, Canada.  Let's see what fun discussions we can have!

--Michael

I was on the Getaway on the Nov 24 sailing around Greece and Italy.  Masks were required and we didn't have a problem with them.  We each forgot once and got to the elevator and had to go back to our room (long walk!) to get it.

When we ordered drinks, we were often seated in the O'Sheehan's bar, overlooking the atrium.  There were only 1350 passengers, so there wasn't a problem with crowding at this location.  We would keep our masks on throughout the ordering process (to protect the staff) and didn't take them off until the drinks were delivered and the server had left.  At that point we left them off the entire time we were seated.

Same held for seating in restaurants--we'd keep the masks on until our order was completed, then took them off and left them off until the end of the meal.  Maybe not the most strict of guidelines, but we thought we were obeying the letter of the law.

I did see one staff member remind a person walking that his mask wasn't covering his nose, and he immediately pulled it up.

--Michael

PS it was rather too cold to sit outside at the bars in Spice H2O or other locations.  Occasionally, we sat outside near the Sunset Bar and had a drink, but even then, it became too chilly to stay for more than one drink.

@sunshine4me2,

I was on the Nov 24 Getaway cruise out of Athens that ended up being a Greek Island/Italy cruise.

We tested before we left with the proctored self-test (BINAX Now) in order to have a negative result to get into Ireland (changed planes) and to get into Italy (we stopped for a few days in Rome before going one to Athens).  We were tested at the pier for the cruise.

Then we were tested once during the cruise.  I think it might have been approximately halfway through, and it was a port day, but I can't remember which one (Crete?).  It was the same type of testing done at the pier by Eurofins staff.

Then we were tested two days before disembarking (Naples).  Same type of test by Eurofins staff.  It was done by floor in Bliss Lounge, and was rather quick.  We only had about 1350 passengers, so that wasn't a problem.

Because we were staying for one night in Rome after the cruise, this caused us to be subject to the change in testing for re-entry into the US (had to test one day before we left Italy) and I had other BINAX Now proctored tests with me, so we tested in Rome (we had planned to do this anyway, since taking the test two days before the end of the cruise and staying a night in Rome was going to push our 3-day testing window to the limit).

Interestingly enough, I still had two tests left (I bought a six-pack).  We flew back on Monday, and I went to Indianapolis to visit some friends the following Thursday afternoon.  I started feeling poorly that day and it continued into the weekend, so when I got home Sunday, I tested and was positive.  My hubby tested and was negative.  So I'm now answering this from my home office, quarantined.

Hubby blames the person sitting behind me on the flight home, because she was coughing continuously during the flight.  We really don't know where I got it, but so it goes.  Rather mild symptoms, starting like a bad cold/flu, and as of today, I just have a little post-nasal drip.  I'm fully vaccinated and boosted.

--Michael

I got off the Getaway earlier this month.  We're Platinum and had a four-meal dining package, so we had six nights to use in specialty restaurants.  We went to

Cagney's--it was fine

La Cucina--it was better than it has been in the past, much better

Le Bistro--they've made it even better than before!  (Although the Ile Flottant dessert was disappointing)

Moderno--the salad bar was wonderful as usual, but it was being served to you by staff, so one might feel a little self-conscious getting everything you want.  The meat was fine, except the chicken (even wrapped in bacon) was awfully dry.

Ocean Blue--this was my first time here, but it was really disappointing.  The tuna and avodaco appetizer was great, but I got the grilled seafood plate.  It wasn't anything exciting and the grilled calimari was rather rubbery and not good at all.  Overall this was my biggest disappointment, because I was hoping for great food.  I might go back, but I'll definitely order something else.

And then we went back to Le Bistro and tried other dishes.  It didn't disappoint in anyway.

I would rank them

Le Bistro

La Cucina

Cagney's

Moderno

Ocean Blue

--Michael

We'll be in Santorini for Thanksgiving, and plan to have a seafood platter for lunch.  We did this in 2019 and it was excellent and it was also fun to tell all our relatives we had octopus for Thanksgiving (and to see the looks on their Iowa and Virginia faces)!

🐙🐙🐙

--Michael

43 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Not sure that's true.  We were on the Oct. 24 Breakaway sailing (and are Platinum+ in case anyone thinks that matters, which I don't think it does), and did not get tags in the mail.  OTOH, we booked two weeks out, so perhaps that was too late for them.  In any event, our luggage, with the tags printed off on our printer, made it safely on board. 😉

I think that's your answer--we received our tags long before three weeks out, because the enclosed letter discussed the new check-in procedures.  As you booked two weeks out, you had to do the items related to Health and Safety when you booked.  There was no need to tell you about the procedures, and they may not have been able to get them to you in time.

--Michael

2 hours ago, Homosassa said:

Is it lox (salt cured, no smoking)  or nova (lower salt brine and then lightly smoked)?

 

Much of what people refer to as lox is actually nova. The taste of a true belly lox will bowl you over by the saltiness of the flavor.

It's probably nova.

Terms & Conditions

1 hour ago, kylenyc said:

I know I'm not the only one on CC who makes a bee line for the Lox (brined smoked salmon) with onions and capers. That's my go to breakfast with some cantaloupe and honeydew. If memory serves it seems they hide on the last buffet station in the very back. Now if NCL would only serve onion or everything bagels and creme cheese it would heaven.

 

 

 

 

Oh no, you're not the only one, but I think they do serve cream cheese.  I usually only eat lox on cruise ships, and can never remember what order to put the toppings on.  I think it's

cream cheese

then capers (those suckers will roll all over the place if you don't)

the tomatoes and onions (oh, yeah, I add tomatoes, too)

then the lox

You can have the cantaloupe and honeydew (or muskmelon as my in laws in Iowa call it).  They're pretty much the only two fruits I can't stomach.

--Michael

Never mind, just found out that you can't.

We got ours a while ago for our Nov 24 sailing, and there was an accompanying letter talking about the new check-in procedures, so I was thinking they were using the check-in letter was a vehicle for the luggage tags.

I've booked everything related to our cruise, except the excursions, and we'll be doing that later this week.  I'm trying to use all our FCC on this cruise, hence an NCL excursion in every port.  However, I think we'll have about $100-200 FCC left, and the only thing I can think to use it on is OBC, because I don't think you can use it to purchase things onboard the cruise (if I can, someone please let me know, and that will nullify the question below).  There's one port (a last-minute substitution port) that doesn't have any excursions yet and we're 15 days out, so I'm thinking we might have to buy an excursion on the ship, but I'd like to use FCC to do that.

So, simple question--can one use FCC to buy OBC?

(I know we can use the FCC to purchase another cruise, but I don't know if we'll be able to select one before December 31 when the FCC expires.)

--Michael