Turtles06

Thank you!

The thread title says it all. I'd appreciate knowing what options there will be for lunch on embarkation day, besides the Lido Market (which we try to avoid on such days). Thanks in advance for the information!

We've only sailed HAL once, before the pandemic, and disembarked using the regular "hand the checked bags over" the night before route. (Always my preference.) On our upcoming cruise aboard the Rotterdam, a very recent change in our flight schedule will make it preferable for us to walk-off the ship with all of our own luggage. I assume HAL allows this "self-assist" disembarkation, but could someone please confirm that? Also, any tips for how early to get in line, etc. (We'll be disembarking in Amsterdam if that helps.) Thanks for any info!

You are correct that NCL (Richard Ambrose) got in early and recognized a great show when he saw it in Edinburgh. The timeline of the deal doesn't seem to be public, but it seems clear NCL was talking to the creators pretty early on. While SIX did open in the West End in January 2019, and the announcement that it would be on NCL ships was not made until August 6, 2019, it's very likely the deal was in the works before that. And I agree with you that it's possible the rights might be expiring, or the renewal of the rights is just too high a price for NCL, now that SIX is a mega-hit.

Yes, true, the Ladies in Waiting. I still don't think costumes drove the decision here. 🙂

I rather doubt the decision was driven by the cost of costumes, beautiful as they are in SIX, There are only six performers. BTW, Welcome to Cruise Critic.

My wife and I fell in love with SIX when we saw it on the Breakaway in Oct. 2021. We enjoyed it so much we went back the next night (which was easy to do since the ship was only at 38% occupancy!). We've since seen a touring production in the U.S, and, the best of all, we saw it in the West End last fall, which was a very special experience. While we were on the Breakaway, I looked up the ticket prices on Broadway. They were insanely high at the time, and by my calculations, the four tickets we had on the ship, in great seats, in the very comfortable and beautiful ship's theatre, pretty much made the cruise free. 😂

Another option in Elizabeth in the same International Blvd complex as the Hampton Inn is the Embassy Suites. We've stayed there pre-cruise a couple of times. On the plus side, it's not a typical Embassy Suites in that the rooms don't open onto an atrium, they are more typical hotel rooms with windows facing the outside (some with nice views of Manhattan in the distance and/or Newark Airport, which is practically next door). Never heard plane noise in the rooms. There was a shuttle to the cruise terminal, for a fee. (You should confirm with the hotel that it is currently running, though I have no reason to believe it's not.) Outside dining options in that complex are limited and include an IHOP, as well as the absolutely worst Ruby Tuesdays you will ever encounter. There's also the Mall. (I'm not a huge fan, but it's there.)

Here's a map from this winter of the fenced in "keep the guests safe and happy" Taino Bay playground. We were docked much further from the entrance to this area (shown at the top right). It's definitely walkable, but can be very sunny and hot. There were free little open car shuttles (holding about 3 guests) that quickly took people from the ship to the entrance and back. (Tip the drivers! 🙂 ) They do not make it easy for you to get to the street exit if you have booked a guide (as we had) or intend to walk into town on your own, or pick up a guide or taxi at the exit.

And you've just reminded me of one of my fun memories from this January on the Gem, when we were docked at Taino Bay (Jan. 31) while the Dawn was at Amber Cove. @Ken the cruiser was aboard the Dawn, and we wound up "talking" to each other via Cruise Critic, as I could see the Dawn leaving Amber Cove. Some pics and info re Taino Bay for those who may be interested:

You are correct about 2 ships max, and also that priority is given to Carnival corp brands (Carnival, HAL, Princess). So if you see two of those ships scheduled there on the same date, it's unlikely NCL will be docking there, except for some last minute change.

Do you mean cruisetimetables.com? If so, they make no distinction between the Puerto Plata docking options; you can't tell from that third party web site where a ship will dock for Puerto Plata. Best to keep checking the official Amber Cove port calendar (link below), and just hang tight. (And iirc, there have been times when an NCL ship was showing on the Amber Cove calendar, but it docked at Taino Bay.) BTW, the current Amber Cove port calendar does not show the Getaway or any other NCL ship there at any time from June 25 through the end of June, or in July. https://www.ambercove.com/Port-Schedule.aspx

In Whitby, we ate at Hadley's Fish & Chips. We were on a tour (a fabulous tour with Grand Circle Travel), so we didn't get to pick the place. Still, we enjoyed it very much. Sorry the chips at Jafs were not up to snuff! We are supposed to be in Alesund next month. Since it will be our second visit, we're doing a private tour outside of town, but I hope to have some time afterwards to check out Jafs again. Maybe the chips will be better! 🙂

What I mostly meant was that I wish NCL were doing more of the long winter Canal cruises (in Jan. and Feb.) from USA coast to coast, not what they've started doing now with Panama City as an arrival and disembarkation port, 11 or 12 day cruises to or from NY. In terms of what you might be missing -- there's no single itinerary, but one port we very much enjoyed was Puntarenas, Costa Rica. We also enjoyed the Mexican ports of Huatulco and Mazatlan.

Our 20-day cruise was NY to San Fran, and our 16-day cruise was Miami to LA. We also did B2B full transits of the Canal this winter on the Gem, NY to Fuerte Amador and Fuerte Amador back to NY. So we've been to a number of the ports on your itinerary. It would be helpful for you to research them in the Ports of Call forums here on CC, but I will offer the following thoughts as well: Cartagena: get a small group from your Roll Call and book a private tour with Dora De Zubiria. She's fabulous; there's a good reason she's highly recommended here on CC. (Her web site is linked below.) When you get back to the cruise terminal, take some time before you head back to the ship to go through the really neat free aviary. Awesome. http://www.cartagenatour.com/ Fuerte Amador/Panama City: you'll have transited the new locks, and you may want to take advantage of the opportunity to see the historic locks up close and personal at the Miraflores Visitors Center. And of course there are opportunities for touring Panama City. There's also the Biomuseo. Puerto Quetzal: I highly recommend visiting Antigua, but doing so only with NCL transportation (they usually have an "Antigua on your Own" tour, as well as some guided tours) because of the distance. You'll have several hours in Antigua, plenty of time to walk around and see this historic city and have lunch. We've been there twice. No need for a guide, it's a small historic area, you'll have a map, you won't get lost. 🙂 Puerto Vallarta: a DIY port if you want it to be, but do the research and decide what would interest you the most. Cabo: April is the end of the humpback whale migration season that starts in mid-December. Do some research to see if you will be there well enough before the end of the season to make a whale watching tour (on a small boat) worthwhile. It's an amazing experience. LA and San Fran -- big cities of course, lots to see! I hope this was helpful.

Just an fyi for when you are looking things up or doing any research: it’s Southampton. Enjoy your trip!

I didn't realize until this thread that you followed after me on that great itinerary. Sounds like you enjoyed it as much as we did! (We've now visited Antigua de Guatemala twice, and really loved both visits.) I wish NCL would bring back that itinerary!

We had a fabulous 20-day Panama Canal cruise on the Gem from NY to San Francisco in January 2020. This turned out to be our last cruise before the pandemic; as we sailed up the West Coast, we began reading news reports of a deadly virus in China... I did not do a full blown report for the 2020 cruise, but I did a full review with photos of our 16-night Panama Canal cruise on the Jewel in 2017 from Miami to LA, with many of the same "traditional" ports you are likely to encounter on a full transit. The link is here if you are interested: I wish NCL were doing more Canal cruises like those two we did, rather than the one-ways from NY to Panama City and back, which are mostly Caribbean cruises. If you have the time for a 3-week cruise, I say go for it. And I strongly second the recommendation to read "The Path Between the Seas" -- you will appreciate the Canal even more. You were responding to @YVRteacher, who I believe was on the 2020 cruise that left San Fran when we got off. This was right before the pandemics; ships were not sailing half-empty.

I highly recommend Overlord Tours (mentioned above) for Normandy. (It’s been some years since we toured with them, but they continue to be highly recommended here.). If it’s too early to book with them now, you can e-mail them and ask when bookings will open for your dates. And I’d definitely want to take a private shorex in Normandy rather than a ship’s tour. Good luck with your planning!

Welcome home, get a good rest!! Catch up here when you feel like it. And huge thanks again for sharing your amazing trip with us and your beautiful photos!

And that's because the balconies of the Deck 10 aft-facing Penthouse suites are larger than on Decks 8 and 9. NCL saw that Deck 10 booked up faster, and found a way to monetize this. (Similar changes in categories, with price differences, in the forward-facing Penthouse Suites on Decks 9 and 10 on the Jewel-class ships.)

HAL says you can upgrade on board:

My wife and I will be on the Rotterdam next month. We have the HIA promo, and thus the "surf" internet package. A few threads that I've recently read on here were confusing as to whether or not we can each be connected to the internet at the same time (using one device per person), so I would appreciate clarification on that. HAL's description is this: "The base Surf Wi-Fi package included with Have It All includes access for one device for each of Guest 1 and 2 on a booking." (Emphasis mine.) To me, this means that both my wife and I can be connected to the internet at the same time, each of us only on one device each. Is that the case? (Some threads said this was a per-cabin thing, and that only one single device in the cabin could be connected to the internet at a time, which is not what HAL's language says.) Will we each have different log-ons to connect to the internet? My second question is about upgrading to the "premium" package. Is it correct that we can do this on board, and that it will be some amount of dollars per day beyond the value HAL has assigned to the "surf" package that we already have? Would we both have to upgrade, or may only one person upgrade? Thanks for the help on this!

No problem getting a taxi there pre-pandemic. Can't speak to right now. You might want to write your destination down for the driver. And have a few polite Spanish phrases ready. 🙂

I’m the opposite. I never look for the tags to take them off. I love finding them months, sometimes years later. It always make me smile when that happens. I guess I’ve been lucky that they haven’t cause itching in strange places. 😊