mking8288

Enjoy these photos

Thanks. GM was asked about the sailing time. Leaving at 8:10 pm for a scheduled 7:30 pm departure isn't late, they were monitoring river current & also need to slot the time for the pilot boat. We are probably going to push the engine room to go as fast & safely as possible to be on time for Bermuda, seas should be better ahead later. 6 to 9 ft. wave is fine.

Let's say, apparently usable speed with this free access to CruiseCritic site, pix uploaded very slowly on the Pixel 4a. Going to convert our 300 or 600 minutes to unlimited later, but going to check out things with the iPad mini 5 first and head to the CC Meet & Greet shortly, 11 am at Cagney's. Sitting near the AFT elevators on Deck 7 ... comfortable leather chairs but on the low side, foam paddings can be firmer. Ships 5-6-7 public deck space has its unique layout and is different, getting used to it ... more comments & thoughts about it later. Plus how we are managing 3 to a angled large family balcony.

Posting over "free" a WiFi onboard, not using minutes on this account.

Good morning, we did get 6 of them, a bit smaller but DW and sister ate them before I take that picture late night. It was fine. Seas a bit choppy, about 460+ nm to Dockyard, breakfast at Taste now. More post later

Thanks ... mark the GPS coordinates, still on my LTE cellular home signal at 11:25 pm EDT, skipping the need to upgrade to unlimited WiFi for at least Day 1 for sure. That saved, non-refundable OBC available for use will paid for some of that water cartons, etc. Posting this on my backup Google Pixel 4a 5G on Mint (Band 12, eSim) & Google Fi Wireless - signal should fade anytime soon 😞

Moving the clock ahead or + 1 hour (less sleep) still has a usable LTE signal. Will be back online later ... or in the morning. Requested ice, done. Coffee maker in the morning. Flow waters delivered ...

Time-lapsed photos @ 8:25 pm ... we are on the move, backing out now. Looks like we will rock & roll for a few hours overnight, not unexpected, but should be fine getting to Bermuda. Let this TA get underway 🎊

A picture is worth a thousand words. Ropes still tied up at the pier, yet to be released.

All abroad, it's about 7:35 pm. Dinner on the Hudson at Taste MDR done, a view of the West Side Hwy & skyline ... on our balcony, should be under way. Our dinner was pretty good, took about 90 minutes for 5 course selections, petite servings but just right for us. There is 2 lines, one for those with reservations, at separate host/ess stations, just not always easy to figure out if the line is long. The rotating dinner menus - tonight's Chicken Piccata was good. These menu items pretty much unchanged from that used on the Getaway this January.

Lines on Day 1 at Guest Services, Shorex, Restaurant Reservation Desk, and CruiseNext, where we signed up for Dine With Officers and the complimentary BTS tour, skipping the wine tasting. Paid BTS tour available too, stops at the Bridge and Engine Control Room, for a fee, of course. Safety isn't a problem with paid tour, huh, just for your wallet & convenience.

Rooms are just about ready, a sneak peek of our slightly larger than average balcony on Deck 13 Fwd/Mid near the stairs & elevators. Doubled the size of those on the BA and Getaway, or Escape. Trailers lined up to load provisioning onto the ship, and still lots of luggage to be taken onboard. Plus, a bonus view of Pier 88's rather full parking lot and the Intrepid Museum.

Oops. 😆 LOL. Those darn AI auto-correct & predictive spelling, good catch & fixed in time. Changed just in time. P.S desktop view of Epic's shipcam is quite sharp on our monitor, looking across the street from the pier and can see pax outside with luggage.

O'Sheehan's lunch - pretty fast & prompt services today, freshly brewed pot of coffee for us - strong 👍

Organized chaotic start to early, special needs, priority & Latitudes boarding started around 11:45, we got on around noon & stop by the Bliss Lounge, our Muster Station A to swipe our key cards for the virtual, mandatory safety drills. Crew rotation in progress, boarding from the lower gangway. Otherwise, all passengers board using a single midship ramp - gangway. Rooms aren't ready yet & won't be for a while, there are luggage holding area for those with larger carry-ons. We decided to do lunch at nearby O'Sheehan's. The new chicken wings were okay, soggy & just not the same. But, it is comfort food and good & friendly service,

All checked in, probably "just" 1,000 people inside the terminal ready to board. 11 am and the small Platinum seating area is almost full. Still coming off the ship & not yet at zero count. Doesn't look like early or priority boarding will start anytime soon. MCT free WIFi SSiD -

We are early, too early @ 9:58 am. Porters have our checked bags - security aren't open for check-in. Snacks, anyone - vending, pre-security, prices at $1.50 or $1.75 each, not bad for a quick sugar boost.

No pets to worry but got our system up for the indoor, house plants - self watering while we are away. Using one of our local car service here, crossing now to the Bronx for a longer but quicker ride over to Pier 88, going to be there early, as like 10 am or less than 30 minutes, curbside to curbside. Some sort of road closure on east side of Manhattan, taking this toll route ($7 extra).

Express self walk-off / disembarkation just underway within the last 30 minutes, going to take a while to reach zero count before we can early/board accordingly, Haven ... special needs, VIP, Platinums & higher, etc. Let's see whether there will be any "priority check-in" - not boarding 😉 🤔 Car services will be coming to pickup for our short trip to Pier 88.

Welcome to the Big Apple. Plenty of time to enjoy a light breakfast before you catch the next JFK AirTrain to connect to the subway to Pier 88 in Manhattan. See you and the rest onboard soon, no hurry as looks like they barely started early disembarkation for the "express" Epic self walk-off. Henry / mking8288

Safety pins until you get out needles & thread, ask at the front desk / guest services after boarding.

Rise & shine ... it's a bit foggy & misty this morning. Epic is about to dock, all abroad for 7:30 pm sunset sailaway - bags are packed. All 3 area airports with flights on time, arrivals & departures.

It's 10 pm - do you / we know where our ship is at ... Just checked, they got all engines running full speed ahead at 21 knots, still way offshore from Maryland/Delaware, yet to cross into NJ on that final stretch into NY Lower Bay - typically, that's another 6 to 8+ hours before docking at MCT / Pier 88 It also depends on harbor traffic, going to tune to Marine radio traffics on my scanner app, to hear if there's anything out of the ordinary. Hopefully, she can dock around 7 a.m. and not much later than 8 a.m. and USCG or local officials aren't going to do a scheduled or unannounced inspection to slow everyone down before embarkation, scheduled for 12 noon. Our plan is to be there by 10:30 am and get thru security to check-in. Being Sapphires do not mean much, I'm afraid - lately (on our last 2, 3 cruises out of NYC) too many Platinums & Sapphires embarkation, lounge/roped off waiting area filled up quickly and ... once they started announcing, half of those in the terminal begin rushing for Door C out for the 2 gangways. For those not familiar with the Epic TA itinerary & scheduled ports - see below - there is always a possibility of the ship skipping a port or two, due to weather, safety or other emergencies. If and when we know, rest assured CC "addicts" hanging out here will be among the first to read about it & know. We will (should) be on Deck 13 Fwd/Mid starboard side - as picture here, as I am doubtful we can get a good close-up exterior picture before we set sail from NY.

Amy - you (and, all others on CC) are most welcomed. Addressing the tech aspects of being on a cruise is both challenging and fun, always exploring what's better, different and practical - while packing light, those toys ... gadgets can get quite heavy, temptation is to bring most of them - NOT. I am leaving my Sony Viao NB PC behind and going to make this TA trip work with a lighter Chromebook, counting on Google One & cloud storage for access and to bail me out if needed ... with redundant storage on Samsung's and MS cloud server, actually some on AWS (that's Amazon for those not tech inclined) This is my newer Lenovo CB, 4/64GB internal with USB 3.0 and HDMI - paired up with Anker 7-in-1 USB-C Hub, thus extra ports for everything else ... add in a 128 GB mSD card and another 128 GB USB flash drive - that's good for 7 to 10 hours online use before needing a quick charge. Xiaomi 10,000 usb battery bank on standby, off-the-grid to recharge 2 smartphone, iPad mini 5 and noise-cancel wireless earbuds. Google Pixel 7 Pro - without carrier or "all" the extra OEM bloatware loaded) is now my primary, going to make use of its 10x & higher digital zoom, takes better picture (IMHO) than the Samsung Galaxy S22+ that DW and I have. S22+ function as a remote desktop, USB-C to HDMI output for 1080p if we wish to stream video or live content. Zoom - checked & covered. Paired with the Pixel 7 Pro, I can browse/reply & do work on the Chromebook with its larger touchscreen, Voice, Messages & WhatsApp - over default VPN included. That's as good as many remote WFH setup, if not better & nicer - happily retired here, however but staying afloat with the latest AI stuff too. Just playing this week with Google Home's newest, not Nest cams but a different established & supported brand of sec video cams, streaming 3+ cams live depending on the quality of the cyber connection ... not expected to work over satellite at sea. We will find out in a day or so. Making a difference for the TA, well - we got more options & choices onboard - much rather catch 2 or 3 good shows in the main theater, if and but ... Hopefully, won't fall asleep next week - watching Burn The Floor for the 3rd time within the past year, no Priscilla and not expecting anything other than movies, maybe just comedies or solo / duet singers on the big stage. Got our chosen contents downloaded, plus the iPad & iPhone combo since not all the extended families are on Androids, got to have iOS - besides, can't "ignore" free iMessages at sea, right. Below - Pixel 7P accessing the mSD memory card via the USB-C Dongle, play video & output via HDMI to a bigger screen, and listen privately with earbuds ... sitting on the balcony with a tall cup of chilled lattee or iced coffee, and snacks. That's happiness at seas - and, maybe, might even go for room services with a delivery charge, etc. Set-up allows reading off my SSD standalone drives, retired from older laptops & re-purposes for offline backup. In terms of our voice, text/messaging, WiFi and VoIP calling, “unlimited” 5G, 4G LTE data access, we are well covered while traveling abroad … with additional “plan B” and plan C backup on the go for emergencies, if needed. Onboard the Epic, subject to limitations of NCL's ISP/satellite provider - still EMC. Was hoping that Starlink's rollout would reach the Epic, not likely from what I've seen or read - oh, well - might be just semi-live only until we reach the ports along the route. Google Fi Wireless coverage, including 5G and 4G LTE data access in over 200+ countries, unlimited voice & free texting/SMS – up to 50GB data monthly, hotspot & tethering … that’s our backbone once in range & connected to land cellular signals or towers. Whenever you see us docking somewhere - we should be able to stay "live" unless there are unusual or exceptional reasons for us to not connect to a land tower. Frequently traveling & cruising, Fi’s data option is a must to consider. I think I've covered a good range of background & related subjects, before we close the doors behind us and head to Pier 88 to get checked in. Epic is the "oldest" mega ship in the fleet, launched in 2010 and we are sailing her "prepared" on what to expect, and not to - let's see how things go after we get onboard.

Make sense for her, moderately jet-lagged flying over, to get an extra hour or two of sleep than to hustle or run to meet up & deal with the AirTrain & subway, etc. penny wise but pound. On a domestic short hop, it's different & much easier. If you can reach her via email, assuming she can get WiFi - advise/suggest that she book the trip on Carmel (or Dial 7) for a flat rate/fixed price quote - taxi from the hotel directly to Pier 88 will be metered, unlike doing the trip from JFK terminal ... Again, a hassle to do hotel shuttle back to JFK and hail a taxi - reasons being that the main highway (Rt. 678 Van Wyck Expwy nearby has major weekend construction for roadway widening, probably shutting down 1 of 3 travel lanes - going to be gridlocked, hate to watch the $$ fare meter running & not going nowhere ... can freak out oversea visitors) When the Sun reached NY this Tuesday on her TA, all 1,700 pax (and crew ??) had to disembark and do CBP face-to-face, fortunately, was smooth & quick - we're caught once coming back from Canada when the system nearly froze. Hellish for those waiting to board, another time with noro - boarding didn't begin until 12:30 pm & that was super late for NY's routines.