Turtles06

We've stayed at that Embassy Suites a couple of times. It's nicer than the typical Embassy Suites because the rooms have exterior windows, they don't face onto an atrium/hallway. And, as you've learned, the hotel has a shuttle to the port. (We've always driven, so we've never used the shuttle.) Decent IHOP (or at least it was, pre-pandemic). Has that Ruby Tuesday actually re-opened? It was far and away one of the worst restaurants we've ever been to, and we even gave it a second try on a later trip -- same experience. Simply dreadful service and food.

Indeed! 😊 While you’re waiting, here are a couple of photos from the mirror image suite, 10500, on the Gem.

Yes, non-leading actors in musicals often have be able to perform several roles (or “tracks” as they say in the industry). Very interesting about the accents. On land in the U.S. and Canada, the Queens speak and sing in North American accents (which I find jarring for this show, though it’s still great). That was not the case several years ago on the Breakaway; the Queens had various U.K. accents. (And back then, I think the actors were not Americans.) When we saw SIX in London, of course the accents were U.K. As much fun as this show is, it was even more fun in London. (And SO much less expensive than theatre in the U.S.)

It's a fabulous show. My wife and I fell in love with it on the Breakaway several years ago, and went back the next night to see it again. We've seen it twice more since then on land, including in London, which was very special. We'd gladly see it again, and plan to. If you don't leave the show smiling, happy, and maybe even dancing your way out of the theatre, well, I can't help you. 🙂 (And btw, we are Medicare age.)

You're welcome. They open the bow around 6am, maybe earlier. It's usually very crowded for the first lockages, less so later in the day.

We did that a year ago on the Gem. NY to Panama City, and then the return. 23 days. Transited the Canal twice within three days. It was fabulous! Enjoy your cruises!

For the sake of your neighbors, I hope you mean listening to a little music on headphones and having a silent disco.

@PiSquared-- you are considering two extremely different ships. The Connie, as noted above, is one of Celebrity's older ships. (No "bells and whistles" like waterslides.) I've sailed on two of her sisters, and they are a very comfortable size. The Connie is going into drydock this spring, so hopefully there will be a refurb, but the information on this that I've found so far seems to conflict as to how extensive that will be. The NCL Joy is more of an amusement park at sea (which is sounds like you might enjoy), a totally different type of ship. And it carries more guests. It does have more dining choices though. We've sailed both NCL and Celebrity many times, and we enjoy both lines. Celebrity is, as you said, a bit more "sedate." But we do like NCL's "freestyle dining," where you just walk up to the MDRs whenever ou want to eat (you may have to wait a bit if it's a very popular time). (Celebrity has tried to copy this with anytime ("select") dining, but unlike NCL's ships, Celebrity's ships were not purpose built for this. NCL has more dining venues.) And NCL is more "laid back" in terms of attire, whereas Celebrity has "evening chic" nights. I think only and your spouse can decide what is most important to you -- the itinerary, or the ship and cruise line -- and what cruise line you feel would be the best fit for you. Enjoy whatever you choose!

JB, I agree with you about the size of the Connie (and her sister M-class ships), but to what recent re-furb you are referring? The Summit and the Millie were "revolutionized" just before the pandemic, but the pandemic put that on hold for the Connie and the Infinity. I'm reading that the Connie *will* be going into dry dock this spring after her Eastbound TA. Unclear as to whether the full "revolution" will happen, and my research brings up conflicting information about how extensive a refurb will take place, but it seems clear something will be happening.

Very walkable and a good DIY port unless you are leaving town. (And if you don't feel like the long uphill walk to the Botanical Gardens and the Citadel -- both well worth seeing -- just take a cab.) I also highly recommend the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. It's fascinating, historical, and emotional, and we wound up spending far more time there than we'd expected, it was that great.

This is the Canada/New England forum. You want to post over in the Canada/Alaska/Pacific Coastal forum, here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/23-canada-alaskapacific-coastal/ Enjoy your cruise!

Those tub/shower combos in the Jewel-class mini-suites and also in some of the actual suites (the Penthouses) are horrible. As you said (and as can been seen in the photo in comment 7 above), the tub wall is extremely high. It is quite difficult for short people and folks with mobility issues to get in and out, even just to take a shower. (And that's not even when the ship is moving.) The tub itself is very narrow; I think it might work well for a small child, but not really for most adults. And good luck getting up and out of it.

You can’t know when you call whether it’s too soon. You wisely decided to pass on the $20 price drop, and you acted when you thought it worth it to do so. Don’t beat yourself up. It’s entirely possible you may have lost out had you not acted when you did.

I think you will love it! Just be REALLY careful opening and closing the sea door. Be sure your fingers are nowhere near the door frame. And never open the door to your cabin when the door to the balcony is open. (It's a mistake you would only make once. 🙂)

I'm pretty sure we docked sometime during the night. My earliest photo that day was taken at 6:30am, and we were already docked. We had just transited the Canal the day before, so we'd just been hanging out nearby 🙂 We had a private tour scheduled, and had no problem getting to the Convention Center fairly early. (Our guide, however, was MIA for a very long time, claiming he'd been held up by a police checkpoint.) Hopefully, by the time of your trip, the new cruise terminal at Fuerte Amador will be up and running.

There was no meeting of B2B guests. On the final day of the first cruise, we were given our sea pass cards for the second cruise as well as “NCL Still on Vacation — in transit” stickers to put on our shirts when returning to the ship so that we would not have to go through check in (at the Convention Center, which was being used as a temporary cruise terminal). On the turnaround day, we got off the ship whenever we wanted, went wherever we wanted, and returned whenever we wanted. (All aboard was listed as 11:30pm in the Freestyle Daily, but I suspect arriving guests had to check in much earlier.) This wasn’t the U.S., where the ship has to have a zero count before anyone can re-board. The only (truly minor) glitch was when we returned to the Convention Center with our “in transit” stickers on, and the untrained Panamanian staff were insisting we had to go through the whole check in process. We finally found someone who understood that we did not, and sent us off to a shuttle bus to the ship. I don’t know exactly when we pulled away from the dock. The latest photo I have of us docked was taken at 10:20pm. We turned in soon after, since we were getting up so early the next morning for the northbound transit. My pleasure, you are very welcome.

Check out the British Isles and France Port of Call forums https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/ https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/462-france-ports/

Welcome to Cruise Critic! I'm pretty sure that NCL did not provide any shuttles in Cartagena when we were there in 2017 and 2020. There are plenty of taxis. But if this is your first visit to Cartagena, I would highly recommend a private tour with the wonderful Dora de Zubiria. (You'll see many posts about her here in this forum.) Get a small group together on your Roll Call! http://www.cartagenatour.com/

Yes. The Jade's sun deck on Deck 14 forward and the Spinnaker Lounge (Deck 13, forward) are open to everyone (not only in the Canal but at all times). That's one of the things I like about the Jewel-class ships -- they have forward-facing outdoor and indoor spaces open to all. So many new builds (not just on NCL) are "unconnected" to the water, and/or have restricted areas like these to suite guests. Also, during the transit of the Canal, the bow area on Deck 8 (normally off limits to guests) will be open to everyone (see my photo in comment 3 above).

I’ve only stayed in non-Haven suites on the Jewel class ships (both forward and aft-facing penthouses). I’ve seen the Haven area, and it didn’t grab me. (Obviously, I can’t opine on what it’s actually like to stay in Haven suites on those ships.) But if you can book one of the forward-facing non-Haven penthouses for a Panama Canal cruise (especially on Deck 10, the two middle suites), you’ll have the same awesome views as the Captain. 😊

In fact, Newark is actually in New Jersey. 😊

Or Santa Marta, Colombia. (We’ve had a port call there.)

To clarify— a 6 hour flight from Montana to NY (or NJ) is a 6 hour flight; it will arrive 6 hours after takeoff. But the actual local time in NY (or NJ) will be 2 hours later because of the different time zone. (Unless I’m completely mistaken, Montana is in the Mountain Time Zone, which is 2 hours behind the Eastern Time Zone, not 3.)

Just to add to this: when you get to the Amtrak station, ask for the Red Caps. They'll take your luggage, sit you down to wait, and then escort you to the train when ready. They will bring your luggage onto the train and put it onto a rack in your car. When you are on the train, let the conductor know that you'll need Red Cap assistance at your destination station. They will call ahead and arrange this. Sometimes in NY, you'll get off the train and find that the Red Caps are so busy they will have to come back and get you. Just wait on the platform for them. (You'll need to have taken your luggage off the train.) In NY, we've had Red Caps take our luggage up to the street and put it and us right into a cab.

I think it would definitely help to avoid the buffet. But you still have to be aware of other "touch points" -- handrails on stairs, elevator buttons, public restrooms, bar counters, you name it. Wash your hands often, and do your best not to touch your face.