Turtles06

53 minutes ago, expectthebest said:

Is there other parking close or an overflow lot that is still part of NCL?

The parking at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal is not "part of NCL."  It's the Cruise Terminal parking. 

A very good place for information about parking at the MCT is over in the East Coast Departures forum: 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/317-east-coast-departures/

1 hour ago, schmoopie17 said:

I guess we can anticipate seeing lots of ice...hence the name.

Actually, as you may find in your research, Greenland has more ice, and Iceland has more green. 😊

1 hour ago, schmoopie17 said:

We will have an Iceland stop for two days next year but have no idea what to see or do.

Lots of info over in the Iceland and Greenland ports of call forum. 

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

while getting water from the buffet, noticed that multiple "violations" of improperly filling up personal water bottles - yike 😤 

I've seen it too.  It's disgusting. 

5 hours ago, ontheweb said:

What if the price dropped?

The guests will get the price drop (prior to final payment) 

9 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

"Price protection if the fare goes up"---doesn't everyone who books whether direct or a TA or a TA group booking get this once they put down their deposit?

I was talking about folks who hadn't booked yet/put down a deposit.  Not everyone is booking at the same time.

5 hours ago, N-8 said:

Love to hear the resolution on this.

So as it turns out, this is a group booking (as I noted in an earlier comment) and the deal with NCL is that they have given the group "price protection" on the cabin categories being held by the TA (that is, if the price goes up after the group was created, guests can still book those cabins at the original price).  One part of that deal is that all the FAS offers will be included if guests want them, but they can't decline separate parts of FAS (e.g., the Beverage Package).

Many thanks again to those of you who offered your information and experience.  

1 hour ago, zqvol said:

This is an issue with the specific TA, it’s not an NCL issue. 

Thanks, I think so too. 

14 minutes ago, Twolittleboys said:

Are they booking in the US?

Yes, thanks.  (I appreciate that there are often different rules in Europe. Thanks for flagging that.)

23 minutes ago, rebeccac said:

Our TA can easily pick and choose from the FAS offers, not sure why yours is telling you differently unless they have some sort of group rate going that includes it.  

Thanks, but to be clear, she's not my TA.  My friends need to book thru her because of a group, but it's not a group rate. It's the same pricing that is displayed on NCL's web site, available to anyone. 

It's been my understanding that when booking a cruise with all of the "Free at Sea" offers available, a guest can turn down one or more of them.  (For example, someone who doesn't drink much alcohol may not want to have the beverage package and pay the gratuities on that.)

Is that a correct understanding? It would seem to be correct according to the Terms & Conditions:

https://www.ncl.com/about/terms-and-conditions/promotions

The reason I'm asking is that two friends are being told by a travel agent that booking through her, they can't remove the beverage package.  I'm not sure why booking through a TA would matter.   

Thanks for any help! 

21 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

Enclosing the casino or making it smoke free is a great idea.  It was a bad design because the Away class ships had these "open concept" venues to save space.  Restaurants like La Cucina and the Asian/noodle place was open to the outside with no wall enclosing it from the walkway areas.  NCL put their casinos in these open areas and the smoke would just linger into these restaurants while you were trying to eat.  I remember sitting at the table outside at the noodle bar and my eyes burning from the smoke.

We sailed once on the Breakaway a few years ago. I was astonished by the poor design of the casino, given that smoking was allowed. As you said, the smell of cigarette smoke permeated other public spaces, including food venues. We never tried the noodle place because of that, and we tried to avoid those deck spaces as much as possible. 
 

While a glass enclosure for smokers in the casino would be nice, even better would be Celebrity’s policy of no indoor smoking anywhere. 

Here’s a closeup of the lighthouse in the last two photos of @BillB48’s comment #4 above. On a northbound transit, this will be on the starboard side as you leave the Gatun Locks and approach the Atlantic Bridge. 
 

I have to say, this has been a fascinating discussion.  It made me go back and look through my photos from our four transits, as I’d forgotten about these lighthouses. Thanks everyone!
 

6 hours ago, BillB48 said:

I am sure you noticed the lighthouse in the last picture of my first lighthouse post, there is no Atlantic Bridge.  Think the Bridge was completed sometime in 2018 IIRC, so all of those pictures are sometime before then.

Yes, it’s strange (for me at least) to see the Canal without that Bridge, since our first transit was in January 2017.  The Bridge was just under construction.  (I just checked, it opened in 2019.)

And here’s the black lighthouse on our northbound transit last year on the Gem (with the new Atlantic Bridge in the background) 

4 hours ago, BillB48 said:

Probably the best example of Canal lighthouses.  This one is at Gatun Locks, sadly now a days it is painted black and is no longer an aid to navigation... Port entry light has taken over.

 

Thanks for that info, Bill. I just went back to look through my photos from last year’s southbound transit on the Gem, and here’s one showing the lighthouse, now black:

If it hasn’t happened already (and if covid hasn’t changed this), a bagpiper will be playing down on the pier to welcome you all to Halifax. And they’ll be back at the end of the day to play you off. 
 

Have a great day. I love Halifax. 
 

(Get some BeaverTails about halfway down the waterfront. Yum!) 

2 hours ago, blaurie said:

The lines have been absolutely insane! Sapphire and platinum here in one room, and platinum in another room, all of us were told there was no such thing as priority seating on the Prima. However cruisenext says yes, there is! 

I just checked NCL’s web site for Latitudes benefits. Starting with Sapphire (not Platinum) it says “Priority Restaurant & Entertainment Seating (subject to availability)”

Which can be read as allowing Sapphires and up to be turned away for lack of “availability.”
 

One of those meaningless “benefits.”  
 

I do hope things improve and you have a great cruise! 

5 hours ago, Katsumom said:

I like the Warwick which is a straight shot over to the pier

Your post may be helpful to others in the future, but the OP sailed last September.  🙂 

I was curious about security issues parking off-site, and whether you would have to leave your car keys. A very quick Google search came up with this on the Parkopedia web site link for that hotel parking:

“Mar 11, 2024

We parked there for a 7-day cruise. This is not a self-park lot as described on the Premium Parking website/app. It's a parking with lifts. You have to leave your keys so they can move your car in and out. Unfortunately, they were not staffed properly and very disorganized. We waited more than an hour on the day we dropped the car (only one person working), as well as when we picked up the car (only two people working). The overall experience was very disappointing. A customer had a scratch on his BMW. If you have a big SUV, you have more risk of having damages. The parking slots are very tight. Plan ahead and have some buffer time. The best would be to park directly at the Brooklyn Port Cruise Terminal. Even if it is a bit more expensive, you will save time, and it's less risky. Also, note that getting an UBER or taxi out of the Port is challenging (long lineup, lots of traffic, taxi drivers prefer picking passengers for airport drop off/higher fares/longer rides).”

https://en.parkopedia.ca/parking/lot/liberty_view_brooklyn_hotel_premium_parking_lot_p5605/11232/brooklyn/?arriving=202404281700&leaving=202404281900

14 minutes ago, dickinson said:

Sounds really nice!  I went to your link and found this: 

General admittance tickets to the Abbey can be purchased in advance online but a verger tour can only be booked when you arrive at the Abbey.

When booking your tickets to the Abbey, please try to book your entry slot 30 minutes or so before the tour is due to start.

 

Previously it said that we can contact them 24 hours in advance to see what times the Verger tours are.  Not sure how we can book entry to Abbey 30 minutes before Verger tour if we won't know what times they are til 24 hours in advance!  Catch 22.  Will have to do a little more research on that.

 

I appreciate all your info.  Thanks 🙂

You're most welcome.

The advice on the Abbey's web site about booking your entry to the Abbey 30 minutes or so before a Verger Tour really means don't book your entrance later than that.  You can certainly arrive as early as you want (and walk around the Abbey on your own if you have time).  

Given your plan to see both the Abbey and the Churchill War Rooms the same day (which is a good plan and very do-able as my own experience showed), my suggestion would be to book your entrance to the Abbey as you'd planned it, for 9:30am, and then go immediately to the desk where you can book a Verger Tour, and pick one for the time that suits your schedule. 
 

Enjoy your trip!

2 hours ago, dickinson said:

Thanks but to purchase tickets each requires you to pick a time. Is the gallery a separate entrance?  If not then we would need to enter the Abbey first with the time we pick.  I assume that once inside there is a place to go up to the gallery where they check your ticket for the time you picked?  Trying to visualize how it works.

The Diamond Jubilee Galleries are entered from inside the Abbey (not a separate exterior entrance).  I just went back to look at the timed tickets we had purchased for the Fall of 2018 (I don't know if the timing is different now).  We'd booked a timeslot to enter the Abbey of 9:30am-11:30am, and we booked tickets for the Galleries for an entrance of 10am-10:15am. 

We took a Verger Tour as well (see my comment above).  My recollection (and I could be wrong) is that we entered the Abbey at 9:30, we went immediately to the desk where we could book a Verger Tour and booked one for after our Diamond Jubilee Galleries visit, allowing a decent time for that. 

We had booked tickets for that same afternoon for the Churchill War Rooms at 3pm (I just checked my file), which allowed us to spend an unrushed morning in the Abbey, wander off toward the War Rooms, and, before visiting the War Rooms, have lunch at a pub nearby.

So I think you are pretty much on the right track with your timing, but you may want to book the War Rooms for 3pm rather than 2pm.  So you are not rushing yourself.

The War Rooms are fascinating, you'll probably spend more time there than you think.

Overall, it's a great day in London!   

Edited to add: an even greater day if you add the London Eye.  🙂 

12 hours ago, gnome12 said:

At Westminster Abbey, new (I believe) since 2017,  The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries, for which there is an additional £5 charge. I was there in 2019 and found it fascinating. I think I spent at least 45 minutes up there.

https://www.westminster-abbey.org/visit-us/plan-your-visit/the-queen-s-diamond-jubilee-galleries

I highly recommend this as well. It was very interesting and worth the modest charge just to see the floor of the Abbey from above. 
 

I would also recommend a Verger Tour of the Abbey, if the timing works out for your visit. It was fantastic. 
 

https://www.westminster-abbey.org/visit-us/guided-tours

The Prima and the Statue of Liberty 

Wishing a safe and enjoyable trip to everyone boarding today!

@mking8288 — what time is your sail away? (At least, what time has NCL told you, given the late boarding?) 

@mking8288

Henry, what brand of collapsible water bottles are you using? I couldn’t tell from your photos. (I ask because Wirecutter says some brands don’t collapse enough to be significant space savers in their opinion.)

TIA!