mking8288

La Cucina tonight for dinner, using our Platinum vouchers for 3 cabins, 6 of us. This is where we are (still) limited to 1-1-1 plus dessert 😳🙄🧐 but, not going to give the server a hard time ... they insisted that I had reservations only for 2. Errors on their part when we changed from Moderno to here. Mistakes are human, computer data keyed in improperly & I wasn't given a new slip on Sunday. An imperfect world and universe. It's a busy early evening but not as if they are at 100% max seating. Otherwise, a good meal - beef tenderloin, medium - perfect, as was the salmon. Lamb shank was tender but presentation wasn't, again - subjective & personal.

Oh no, sorry folks to break the news, latest from NHC ... Tropical Depression #15 has been formed & could be a problem for those cruising - Bermuda bound - next week and - Nigel will be the name, appeared to the clear of the East Coast. Like we said, this is the peak weeks for hurricane during the season - always have insurance & coverage, accept the risks and have options, ride with the wave and go with the flow, sail with wind - pack patience and maintain that sense of humor. Tune to the NHC for the latest updates & forecast. Ready for La Cucina next - after a big power breakfast & light lunch, catching up with cybernews and emails, etc. etc. in the afternoon - with a nice nap. The Seven Seas Mariner has the tug boat Discovery Coast help maintaining her position, just ahead of us at anchorage (looked it up on Marinetraffic) - we can see them on ship's live webcam. Schuylkill is the name of the tug boat keeping the Escape at anchorage, port side.

LOL, ours is a TA and B2B ... (NCL or another line) unless you are not on the roll call (yet) - don't think we will be sailing on the same "new"er ship, as that would be fun. Got another CC on ours and "Jim"esopus is on the other & their ship will be sailing first on the southerly route. Going to continue to travel with the lighter Chromebook as the HDMI output is usable, and I figured out the "override" options for the newer LGTV currently used on the Escape. Sea days are great and with the choice to cast offline video content of choice, that is backup entertainment on the go - with the smartphone, tablet and/or iPad/iPhone.

As passengers onboard, AFAIK, we have not been advised otherwise that the ship is docking at Pier 88 overnight (early Saturday morning as someone commented on an earlier post) ... perhaps, it's a choice and option for some. The rest of us, do not have plans to disembark earlier ... despite home being a quick 30 minutes from Pier 88 via taxi, car service, Uber/Lyft, private pick-up or park at the cruise terminal's rooftop lot, etc. This cruise vacation is 100% paid for, getting a bit of OBC issued plus the 10% FCC to be used for each of us ... got no pets (dogs or cats) to worried about and our houseplants doing just fine - home security cameras reporting all systems being normal. Nope, we are going to stay on the ship until Sunday - unless there is additional "incentives" for us to go early, then - DW & I will reconsider 😄 😄 We will make a quick stop at the Latitudes Desk to ask for our priority luggage tags & see if they have anything new or different to tell us. Not a word thus far from the ship's captain or CD, etc.

Not to worry, checking the countdown clock for our next cruise with a land stay prior, just about 2 months out ... This "short" 7 days cruise was going to be warm-up for the Fall (and, perhaps Winter) - get our annual medicals done, dental work and then - start packing 😁 DW said, it's a shame she'll have to resume cleaning our co-op apartment, laundry & other odds & ends. I have to worry about provisioning, cooking and taking out the garbage, etc. When you are on a cruise, it's someone else's "problems" for the duration.

Arrrrrh, this is the part we hate ... but, details with instructions 🫣 This Sunday's embarking pax eager to see us disembark soon.

Not sure if other stewards are doing this. He also kept us well supplied with coffee pods, creamer & sugar, extra clean towers & facial tissues. Most definitely going above & beyond, will fill out a vacation hero card to recognize his efforts, in addition to a little extra appreciation, directly. That's lunch, simple & will hold us until La Cucina tonight at 5:30 PM ... 😋

Today's pillow presentation from our room steward ... Compiled the last 3 days together, subtle and creative, using what's there & not extra towels or sheets, etc.

Fort Wadsworth on S.I. with the historic Battery Weed that guard the NY harbor ... Northern end of Hyland Blvd to the right in the photo, terminating at water's edge ... no signs of PistolPete

Thanks, going to do our best to make it a win-win situation, no matter what ... as they say, when it rain, step out & dance. Update, answer is no regular TV channels as typically offered via NCL ... no BBC, no CNBC, no MSNBC, no FoxNews, and no Weather Channel, etc. Or even the free movies channel. Blackout ... probably a licensing restrictions ?? Bummer - going to hookup the HDMI converter & stream via Amazon's Fire HD tablet, or at least try to ... (annoyed, but it is what it is - not going to get upset over it)

For your convenience, of course, here was this morning's special, Pretzel hot sandwich w eggs, ham & cheese was good, passed 👌 MDR wasn't busy until late and breakfast

@Pav that would be a good choice for some that rather disembark a day early, a solo cruiser is from the Boston area and said yesterday that he wouldn't mind going & change his Amtrak ticket. Otherwise, we are treating this as a floating harbor hotel. @goldmom no regular TV channel, just the usual NCL and info channel, etc. We have Samsung TV Live app on the smartphone & can stream, if we want to ... T-Mobile has great 5G LTE coverage😆 and lots of GB data to use. Tethering now with MiFi on the smartphone 👍

Jim, 😆 hahaha Let me try Uber Eat but I am sure NYPD marine will enforce a safety perimeter around all the vessels docked here along with USCG. Could this be PistolPete ?? 20X digital zoom

Agreed. And, you can order room service for a nominal fee, the selections are actually quite good, order as much as you wish. Everyone discovered the MDR for breakfast, hostess asking couples whether they wish to share a table. Buffet upstairs is busy & full, prime spots taken ... ditto with the Waterfront on Deck 8.

Views on the Waterfront, Deck 8 starboard side. Seemed like this is our anchor for the next 2 days until we can proceed to Pier 88 in the morning hours of Sunday. Belt Parkway off to the right, not far from the medical center where I used to work for, with a Level 1 Trauma Center. We are safely sheltered against Lee but the berth at Pier 88 isn't available to us.

Hi, Bonnie & how's Sol 🤗 Just passing under the VZ Bridge now. We are anchoring inside the harbor, somewhere off Staten Island's north shore ... not international water. Casino & shops will be closed for the next 2 days. Best regards 😎

Good morning, a little after 8 AM EDT, NYC and Lower Bay in the distance, less than 30 nm ... wind is up, wave at 15 ft. with rough mounting sea state. Doing just 6 knots and spotted the VZ Bridge ahead, starboard side with my binoculars ... quite a number of small ships in the area when usually none are seen. Probably waiting for the pilot boat and our turn to proceed.

Uploaded photos - over ship's inTRAnet, not using our limited airtime FAS minutes - from tonight's MDR at Taste - including menu; and, they are most definitely rotating the menus or switching to a fixed menu.

Running down our combined 300 free FAS airtime WiFi minutes (ours are down to around 30 minutes, unused) - just ran another speedtest this evening, expecting it to be very slow as everyone is on the ship & maybe trying to use up their airtime minutes vs. letting it go to waste. Sure enough, not even getting 1 Mbps speed on download but pull almost 3 Mbps upload from my Lenovo Chromebook. By sunrise, we should by fully live using cellular signals from land towers ... charging full all the devices & battery pack, after breakfast - might go stake out a good spot outside on the Waterfront, as long as it isn't windy. Was able to catch up on details & forecast for Lee on ship's Weather Channel, with extensive coverage. @JIMESOPUS - good idea, is PistolG around ... haven't seen him around on CC lately posting as he does excellent photo; and, with 8 cruise ships ?? near his backyard - prime opportunity to capture something historic. Anyway, signed up for Dine With Officers and not a word about it, perhaps they aren't hosting anyone on this sailing - oh well - as there's supposed to a large # of Diamonds, Sapphire & Platinum onboard ... not sure if there "Ambassadors" onboard this week. Over the next 2 days, will make a stop at the iCafe desk when the manager is around (shouldn't be as busy as there is a long line there each & everytime I walked past ...) to see if I can get an update on Starlink's timetable for official fleet deployment. The last few patches of photos were successfully uploaded to CC while logged into CC, over ship's WiFi inTRAnet only - not using any of the free airtime minutes (so logged back in to do serious or necessary "edits") ... something that @graphicguy Dan is interested, as I've done this on the Joy, Getaway and the Epic ... just as "proof" that it is possible, and doing it again & again. Next batch of uploaded photos is from tonight's MDR dinner at Taste, seated at our, unofficially "reserved" window table #11 ... breakfast, lunch & dinner.

Random pictures around the ship, the overloaded atrium lobby, with dozens of folding chairs set out for extra seating - whether it's for The Prize is Right, Deal or No Deal, Demos or CruiseNext presentations. Card Room is small & hidden away and in use, the space outside Le Bistro also used by folks to play board games. Supper Club was used for the Latitudes reception and other private events - maybe NCL should consider moving some of the atrium events into the venue. Kids & Splash Academy on Deck 5 is one of area that's been quiet all week long, with a small number of pre-schoolers on the sailing.

Food pictures from today's MDR lunch as addendum to the menu posted, pretty yummy - passed ☺️

@JIMESOPUS Counting our lucky stars this evening ... we evaded Hurricane Fiona last September sailing the Joy to NE-Canada in mid September and looked like we are pulling another against Lee, thanks to the navigational skills of NCL's ship captains in charge of these vessels. Disappointed, like many, of 2 cancelled ports & itinerary change, missed our favorite stop at Restaurant 66, Bar Harbor with lobster, seafood & lobster rolls. As for being last in the race toward NY for safe harbor, I can understand NCL's decision to sail slow - the Caribbean Princess left Saint John hours earlier than us - ride continued to be smooth & pleasant since we left port, no complaints from us. Hope our TA this Fall with a Bermuda stop scheduled will be just as nice. Shops onboard are running low on sales merchandise already and will be closed after 11 PM tonight. But, those with unlimited beverage, Starbuck & soda packages, etc. will be charged sales tax once we get into NY - not going to be popular & a surprise to some. Doubtful that it will make a dent for NYC and NYS sales tax collections as extra revenue. MDR wasn't busy at all, perhaps folks are rushing to specialty dining to spend down those extra OBC, both refundable & non-refundable ones ... heard that all the available slots are full for the remaining evenings. It will feel odd to be back at home, inside NY Harbor but still unpacked and ready to or able to disembark ... good thing is that we will gain full use of 5G cellular data via T-Mobile (Google Fi) and AT&T while anchored off Staten Island, but we might get assigned to a less desirable spot, given the ship size & tonnage - maybe not. Good reminder to flip on the Scanner App on the smartphone to monitor VHF marine radio traffic, should be interesting to tune in & listen to.

Outside on Deck 8's Waterfront, starboard side, just before 7 PM. Low clouds cover & foggy, moderate sea swell and 8 ft. wave heights. Lee is hundreds of miles in the distance on a northerly heading as we sail west & further away from the approaching hurricane. Just another cruise during the Atlantic season of storms.

Sea is calm again and sea swell reduced, sunset can almost be seen to the north - starboard side.