mking8288

Relative wind, northerly at 50 mph or 40 knots as we are still doing 20 knots, about 7 hours to go.

Sit-down leisurely breakfast on sea days are the best, including O'Sheehan's w it's simple choices as food is served hot there, MDR can be slow if you wish to rush out of there w booked Shorex. We tipped $2 USD each way for both of us, which they cheerfully thank us - there's no suggested minimum, as my knees were complaining about too much walking lately so it was good for that short ride in the hot sun. AFAIK, the casino bar stays open quite late and as long as there are players in the gaming area. Oddly enough, even the pool deck shut down quite early on a nightly basis & all the chairs stacked up by 10 pm. If you can plan ahead, given how crowded & ships are sailing lately, I would book ahead now if you can. For port days, we left ours open & just try to show up 10 minutes before they open and always get seated quickly, without much waiting even when / if given a pager to hang around nearby. Maybe, our Sapphire status also sometimes gave us a bit of priority & a better table.

200 nm to go at 8 pm, cruise speed at 20 knots or 10 hours+ to port. Barf bags are placed on stairs when we came out of MDR, oh no ... seas remain calm and waves at 4.9 ft. - scratching heads 🫣🙄😳🤔 Our two 24" bags packed & ready to go by morning, tagged & photographed to aid in tracking ... handed off to room Steward already, took care of cash tipping her in the morning. Sweeping the buffet for fresh fruits to relax & watch the food sections roped off & closed at 9:35 pm as latecomers from MDQ came up for supper, still folks sitting around - using it as a lounge to socialize. Atrium lobby remained too crowded & busy throughout the cruise. Heard far more coughing everywhere in the last few days. 😷😷😷😷 Noticed slightly more masks being worn & used, vast majority aren't & carry on their cruise vacation as usual. About the fate of tomorrow's 5 day Bermuda cruise, thus far, nothing to share or update, sorry ... will continue to try Code Alpha - (not a drill) just called around 9:40 pm over ship's PA system, location - La Cucina, Deck 8 Port ...

MDR Menu on Day 14 on this ship - everything seemed better tonight, we even get an extra treat of cookies. Hmmm 🤔

FYI Memo - We had lunch with a friend of 40+ years & retired colleague of mine, sailing solo and he confirmed that on the Getaway, Platinum & higher Latitudes member have been able to invite each other or have a guest to share their dining vouchers (not the SD package plan) so he has done 6 nights of Specialty Dining on this cruise. An average of 20 to 30 attended the nightly solo events, moved from the solo lounge to the Bliss Lounge, to the Illusionarium.

There are others onboard doing B2B and staying onboard, I will try & see what I can find out ... maybe Mario's secretary might let me know. I looked at Windy App & also Bermuda's island maritime forecast, the 2nd leg of the short cruise returning to NY is the main challenge, similar to the Gem was facing earlier this month & as you probably recall, Getaway was also delayed.

Those that are returning to cruising NCL for the 1st time since the COVID shutdown, do remember to pickup your Latitudes pin, complimentary. Ship pins like our Norwegian Sea's,, discontinued and none ever made for newer ship's like the Joy or Bliss

Earlier's lunch menu ... MDR serving oversized starters or 2 for 1 portions, final Sea Day Specials. Large serving of meatball sliders, entree portion. Boston bluefish was good.

Costs for add-on extra WiFi minutes if one's limited plan were used up & needed a little extra toward the end of a cruise - $75 for 100 minutes and $125 for 250 minutes, used to sell a 30 minutes add-on plan.

Update on our ETA tomorrow for @EllieinNJ and others following, bon voyage & best wishes for sailing 👌 Expected to meet the pilot around 5 am, passed VZ Bridge & past SOL around 6:15 and docking between 7 to 7:30 am. Express Walk-off starting at 8, Priority around 8:30 (all guests to be out of the staterooms by then) and other color tags around 9'ish. Zero count after 10 am.

Well, it was clear last night but apparently, unavoidable during the day, not shown ... 2 full sized baby strollers in the inside passage with the inside staterooms connecting port & starboard side, not primary egress route But ... something to be aware of when sailing the Getaway. Concern was communicated in writing to Dear Mario, the GM with a note in the atrium mailbox. There are no accessible cabins in this entire Fwd section at all 🤔

Latest Ocean Blue menu, note items with upcharge. Ice Bar on Deck 8 Mid.

Bargain sales, used to be $10, now up 50% to $15. CAS players with lots of OBC to spend, I found items in Photo Shop ... besides watches & jewelry items and duty-free buying. Hi, to @fstuff1 where are you cruising to lately 😉

Go with the flow, look beyond the changes and maintain that sense of humor, that's how we are doing to best enjoy this cruise vacation ... while looking at things critically. Our breakfast was good and most of the staff are trying hard while getting stretched.

As expected, the MDR are jammed packed this morning for that last full sea day sit-down breakfast, must be about 75 to 100 waiting for a table in Savor and Taste, holding that pager. Priority restaurant seating really doesn't mean much this morning, everyone gained back that extra hour of sleep - hungry and wants to eat. AND, they are asking folks to share tables too if they show up as solo, 2's and 3's Got our own table of 4 a few minutes ago ... Menu has 2 Daily Features Sliced butter instead of wrapped ones ... supply logistics in provisioning

Good & beautiful Tuesday morning, 69 degree F outside, light wind and 450 nm to NY, cruising at 20.2 knots and small waves at 4.9 ft. in calm seas. Time for another relaxing breakfast at sea.

Ship's satellite WiFi crashed about 2 hours ago (2.4 Ghz band only) ... maybe just overwhelmed when majority of 3,900 pax decided to go online. Anyway, Pixel 7 Pro locked onto 5Ghz band & I could do things again online, speed remained fine too ... others onboard might not be lucky as the iCafe help desk is closed for the evening

Almost forgot, our CAS friends said, if you need a mid-morning bite & coffee, feel free to stop by the casino area, starboard side near the table games in the center atrium ... and cookies (only) after 11 pm - no more wings, finger sandwiches, cheese, etc. for your convenience, of course.

No, they weren't touch and before we lifted our forks or chopsticks. I am not kidding, absolutely serious with my comments. I try to go easy and post with a sense of humor, but it was just pathetic as in WTH. I got more update, fresh off the ship (Getaway) that we are still on, they no longer served edamame beans for whatever reasons - I knew something was missing from all the tables that evening at Teppanyaki. Compare the salad, it's the new healthy, cooking light series returning to NCL from 20 years ago. We ended up going to the buffet shortly afterward for coffee & fruits.

Room Steward just returned our 2nd free load of (Platinum/Sapphire) laundry, washed & dry, folded into the basket and ready to repack most as clean clothes for our next trip - going to be fly & drive at staying in a studio suite, 450 sq. ft. Impossible to do just 1 load over 10+ days for 2 adults, traveling light, with the downsized thin paper bag these days ... we came prepared & also Woolite it. She's getting a new job title next month as "Room Attendant" ... Closets are ideal for using medium packing cubes (also slim & small ones) to keep everything neat, clean & organized - normally we fit them perfectly into 22" spinners & rollerboards, but used 24" ones as it's a longer cruise.

Tomorrow's Day 12 FSD & a little extra, info-mmercial on Spa w specials 😷 Meanwhile, we should be getting priority disembarkation luggage tags by now as Sapphire to use, but ... Besides, we aren't in a hurry to disembark on a weekday morning into the colder weather. Come to think of it, never received a Welcome back/abroad letter about anything either. Oh, did I mention ... cannot find, access or open any of the dining menu at all ... not on the NCL app, not stateroom TV. Go with the flow & not going to allow the annoying micro details to disrupt our days.

Just posting now, comments & replies later ... as some folks are sailing soon on the Getaway & following these, just wanted to get the details & facts out ASAP. Tonight - one 7:30 pm showing of MDQ and repeat again tomorrow, final evening again - one show again ... Impossible to get into Syd Norman's small venue with long lines forming up to 1 hour early, and it's packed full & standing for many inside. Welcome to the new normal. Tonight's MDR menu compiled together & photos ... Soups lately aren't salty or high in sodium, unlike previous cruises. Flan de Coco was very good as always.

Compare to previous NCL cruises, not finding really more than 1 to 2 vacation heros to write & recognize. The friendly, smiling, cheerful & helpful energies that come to symbolize NCL's crews & team spirits, not - not coming together on this ship unlike a year ago & with almost the same senior team. None of them, as we've seen over the last 12 days, in going above & beyond, as the synergy seemed missing. This is a personal opinion of mine & ours alone. Frankie & Larry should pay attention and listen & find a solution, with the recent wave of changes. But, I am afraid ...

Tech geeks - here's a picture of most of our gears, gadgets, smartphone, and iPhone SE on wireless charger. Mophie 10,000 maH power bank is a must, has both USB and USB-C port for dual charging 2 devices. A 10 ft. USB 3.0 extension + a 6 ft. extension to pair up with a 1 meter charging cord allows us to reach the bed & into the balcony easily to use & charge the device. There are no USB ports to use at the bedside reading lamps - NCL didn't upgrade them.

Beautiful & sunny, picture perfect end of January ... winter afternoon sailing back to NY, temp is 83 deg. F, seas 4.9 ft. and head wind from the bow at 23 knots, 480 nm to go at 20.5 knots - should put us at Ambrose around 5 am for the pilot boat & in the Lower Bay around 7, docking before 8 am - don't see any chance of early arrival. Tonight, we turn the clock back by 1 hour at 2 am. g