Turtles06

I hope folks don’t remain in their stateroom for sail away from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. Yes, the port side would offer great views of Manhattan, but none of New Jersey nor of the Statue of Liberty. And one really should be up on a high deck when the ship sails under the Verrazzano Bridge. Altogether, one of the most magnificent sail aways in the world. 😊

I have disembarked at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal when no one with baggage to be retrieved was allowed to proceed into the baggage claim area (including guests with “priority”) until *all* of the baggage had been taken off the ship and placed in their respective color-coded areas.

I know this would increase the cost, and I know you mentioned having school-aged kids, but *if* there are two adults in the group, what about splitting up and taking two taxis?

We’ve eaten at churrascarias on land and several times at Moderno on different NCL ships. We’ve decided NCL just can’t pull this off, at least on the Jewel-class ships. (Poor quality meat, often cold, etc.) If you want to try a churrascaria for the first time, I wouldn’t do it on a ship. Hopefully you can find a Fogo de Chao or another churrascaria somewhere where you live. If you want meat, especially cooked a certain way, I suggest Cagney’s. Enjoy your cruise.

I’ve been to (and enjoyed!) Cartagena twice, but can’t help with your questions. I’m posting to suggest that you also (if you haven’t done so already) ask your questions in the Princess forum, where you may find folks who’ve taken those Princess excursions. Good luck and enjoy your trip!

Not always. Our first full transit, which was southbound on the Jewel in 2017, did not reach the Bridge of the Americas until after dark.

Well, if cruise lines keep building these mega-behemoths, their private islands may be the only places left for them to visit.

Hmm... two 5,000-guest ships there at the same time? Sounds like great fun. 😁

The ships are virtually identical, so it seems to me the decisive factors come down to itinerary and starting/ending cities.

Excellent! Enjoy!! In early 2023, the Gem did those one-way cruises, but from and back to NY. Lots of folks on the B2B. Wonderful 23 days. I wish the Gem were still in NY.

I would do a B2B from Miami. 😊

Where?

My favorite as well!

Ugh, 5,000-guest ships… No thank you. Such a horrible trend in the cruise industry.

You can't tell how food tastes by how it looks. 🙂 And you can't tell whether the service is any good either. (Which often in Moderno it was not.) You were having trouble fitting Moderno into your schedule; I was merely suggesting you not bother.

I would not waste time nor a FAS or dining package meal on Moderno. We've given it a bunch of tries on the Jewel-class ships and NCL just can't pull off a churrascaria. The meats were invariably cold, tough, poor quality. I realize that food is subjective, and other folks may feel differently. But we've decided we are done with Moderno.

Sadly, it's not just NCL. We had a Norway cruise booked last year with HAL. It was supposed to stop in Stavanger. Many months earlier, the Stavanger *official* port web site showed that our ship, instead of docking in Stavanger (where the docks are right in town), would be docked quite a distance away in the suburbs. No walking into Stavanger; you'd need to take the train or a taxi. The docking location also made it very difficult for folks booked on a very popular private shore excursion to be able to get to it in time. Many of us called HAL to ask about this, talking to numerous levels of HAL reps, including supervisors. We were told there was no change, that the ship would be docking right in Stavanger, and not to believe what we read on social media. Social media? How about THE OFFICIAL PORT WEB SITE, with an actual drawing of which ships would be berthed where. Of course, the port web site was correct, and HAL finally had to fess up to the change.

Do you have a link to what you consider to be the port of Bar Harbor's cruise schedule?

I have a related question about the Bar Harbor port schedule linked in comment 19 above: https://maine.portcall.com/#!?tab=2&port=Bar Harbor Going into September-October 2025, it shows a number of visits by the Breakaway, but none by the Getaway. As best I can tell from NCL's web site, the only Away class ship NCL has sailing to Bar Harbor those months is the Getaway. Indeed, I'm booked on the Getaway departing NY on Sept. 14, 2025, which NCL says will be calling at Bar Harbor on Sept. 17, 2025, but the port schedule shows the Breakaway there on that date. I wonder if NCL made a reservation for the Breakaway -- (possibly prior to the Nov. 2022 referendum) -- and now hopes to swap for the Getaway. In any event, I've booked the Getaway cruise fully expecting that we won't be going to Bar Harbor. (Frankly, I'd love a sea day instead. 🙂)

Thank you. Interestingly, that site shows the Breakaway in Bar Harbor on Oct. 2 and Oct. 9, 2024, but not any later this year.

Yes, it was in November 2022. This recent article is very helpful in explaining how Bar Harbor is implementing the restrictions, given their victory in federal court. I agree with you -- it's likely that cruise lines made reservations hoping or expecting the restrictions to be judicially invalidated. https://www.cruisehive.com/new-details-confirmed-about-port-cruise-ship-limits/125450

Thanks Rick, but the first thing I do before asking folks on social media is to ask my friend Mr. Google. And I came up with that site too, but it shows the Breakaway in Bar Harbor on Oct. 9, 16 and 23 [as well as many huge ships there in 2025]. So that one didn't seem to be correct.

Could you please link to the web site you’re looking at for the Bar Harbor ship schedule? (It looks like there are several out there.) Thanks!

Definitely do that. The conductor will call ahead to Newark to let the Red Caps know you will need assistance.

Glad to hear your great feedback on the Bliss. We are taking the eastbound TA over next January before the dry dock. It is. (Paris is best done on its own, with at least several days.) The whole "Paris from Le Havre" question is discussed frequently in the France Ports of Call forum, here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/462-france-ports/ (And please note for any research/searches you may do that the spelling is Le Havre. 🙂) See the aforementioned France Ports of Call forum. Le Havre is in Normandy, a great jumping off point for tours of the D-Day sites (among other places). Check out Overlord Tours. Fabulous. Yes, and it is. You'll find info in the Portugal Ports of Call forum here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/465-spain-and-portugal-ports/ I think only NCL can reliably tell you that. But also, according to what I've read, sometimes Le Havre is missed because of weather. Can you fly into Paris before your cruise, spend time there, and then take the Eurostar to London (a fun thing in and of itself)? Enjoy the crossing if you book it!