BlueJai

Hey, I just wanted to thank the contributors for sharing this information. We are doing a TA and I didn't think we had to test and then we learned we did. Thanks for the information provided here I have booked tests while we are in Southampton. Booking did provide some interesting thought processing trying to figure out the time change lol! Hopefully we did it correctly. Thanks again, much appreciated.

Bluejai

I really appreciate your wife writing this! I am so sorry she got sick while doing everything not to. I am so sorry she had to be away from you for the latter part of your cruise. We haven't cruised since 2020 and are scheduled for a TA in September. I am totally willing to take the risks and mitigate them where we can. My husband is a lot more concerned but at this point, it is time to start living. I am happy that NCL provided good communication and care! Your wide has an amazing attitude and I appreciate her advice. Thank you!

10 minutes ago, gmbhardy said:

I don’t know who to blame - the Canadian federal government, the WHO or NCL but someone or all of them need to get their **** together.

I agree! We were given so many mixed messages about getting vaccinations - but the one thing that we all reacted to was The Best Vaccine is the First One you Can Get! For me it was AZ - followed by Pfizer. I didn't plan it that way but that's the way it worked out. I find it incredible that although I am fully vaccinated I can't cruise, but I can say I am not vaccinated and then I can (Not with NCL and with all the testing and stuff but still!).   I am so frustrated.

3 hours ago, tulch said:

General question:  We used to book BC staterooms on the older ships.  When I look online, the only choices I see are BA or BF.  What happened to the other "standard" balcony classifications? 

The took them away last year and now the old BC cabins are BA (more expensive) We too always booked BC cabins as we like being up close to the front - favourite room on the Sun 001! 

I am sorry I didn't get back to reply to this, Once we got onboard I didn't go back online. So our experience. We received the letter not to show up but we had already made arrangements to be picked up from the hotel at 10. So we changed our pick up time to 11:00 and hoped for the best.

We checked out of the hotel around 10:45 and our taxi was already there so we loaded up and headed to the Port. We were expecting the terminal to be closed and people lining up outside but that wasn't the case. We were able to leave our luggage with a porter and head in. We probably arrived at the port around 11:05. We headed inside and filled in our medical forms and there were literally no line ups. We went right up to a port person and completed our check in process and proceeded to grab a seat to wait. My husband sat and I went to get a glass of water and all of the sudden the loud speaker came on and they announced boarding for Platinum plus etc. I hadn't even sat down yet LOL! 

I went to get my carry on and away we went. Our first stop is always the pool deck bar where we order a Ceasar and find a place in the sun. I always take a pic of my husbands watch when we get settled and it was exactly 11:30 that day!

We asked the Port people why NCL had us come so early and they said that they really didn't know why. They had no issues when disembarkation and it would only serve to create long line ups later on, which apparently it did.

Disembarkation: we had Yellow luggage tags and had arranged for transportation from the ship at 10:00 because we had heard it could take hours to get off. We ended up changing that time to 9:00 on disembarkation morning because things were going so fast. We met our driver around 9:15 and were at the hotel on the Gulf side by 10:00 that morning. It was so fast getting off and getting our luggage. The one weird thing was after getting our luggage we expected to go through US Immigration but that didn't happen. We literally walked out of the port after picking up our luggage. This was the first time we haven't had to go through US immigration after leaving a cruise. That was weird!  

Hey, We are sailing on the Sky in a few weeks time with my brother and his wife (who are not cruisers and vowed never to set foot on a ship LOL!) and my 87 year old mom who tells us every 2 years she feels like she has one more cruise left in her!

We wanted to book a cabana on GSC but apparently they are still under construction in that area so we booked one of the Lagoon Villas. We have since learned that the Breakaway will be there on the same day so I can't even imagine how busy GSC will be that day. 

I understand that there is transportation from the docks to the Lagoon area and back again. Can someone verify that it is pretty easy to get to, Mom's mobility isn't great. Also, the write up on line says we have access to an upgraded buffet. Is it very far to walk to get there? And bar service? Do they have bar servers for the villas or is there a bar, and again, how far is the walk?  My brother and his wife are beach people so hopefully they will like it there. 

I see in the pictures, there are only 2 loungers out front of the villa, does anyone know if there are additional chairs or loungers that we would be able to use?

I appreciate any information you can provide, our aim it so make it nice for Mom and make her feel special, and hopefully a nice beach day that isn't too crowded for our family. The pictures that have been posted here look really nice.

Thanks

Jai

Thanks for your response! Did you have a long wait getting on? I am imagining getting to the port and there being a huge line up outside of the terminal.

Can anyone shed any light on why there's so much trouble getting on and off the dawn? Seems like every week there is mention of NCL sending emails to passengers telling them not to come to the port before noon and if they come early they will be turned away. What the heck! 

Thanks for any input. 

Thank you for sharing! We are going on the Brilliance later this month, first time for us and we are really enjoying your pictures information. Definitely following along! I hope you had a great day today. Can't wait for some warm weather.

Thanks again.

16 minutes ago, bob brown said:

You can watch it 'almost' live, here.... https://www.nyharborwebcam.com/

Wow, she looks like she is an anchor. Is she even moving?

Just saw the post about the Medivac, I hope all are ok.

Definitely following along! I hope you have a great trip, can't wait to read about it.

They should just go all in on the primary colors and paint the lifeboats.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Now that's funny!

Just happy that there are others like me waiting to watch her sailaway and wondering what is happening :D:D

All the way forward on Deck 11 is thee Observation Lounge (now called Spinnaker Lounge) which has an outside deck around the front of it.

Definitely one of the best places on the Sun! Also, the Outdoor Cafe on the aft - such a wonderful place to sit and enjoy the aft wake at any time of the day or night. A great place to enjoy breakfast and lunch.

Also, Deck 7 is a great place for exercise in the morning. We take an hour every morning to power walk around the deck to 'walk off' the excesses from the day before!

Thanks Doug and Family for taking us along. It has been a blast to follow you around for the past week. I was happy to see your Mom chime in, she has a lovely family!

Safe travels home all!

So great to see all of you! Wishing you all an amazing vacation and sending your Mom well wishes. Really looking forward to reading about your adventures.

http://thedougout.com

 

:)

Adding this to my favourites! Thank you guys for such great information and entertainment!

Jai

Definitely along for the ride!

Thank you all for such great information. I have emailed with Maya Chan as well as a rental company that can provide rollators which I thing will work out fine to get through the Port. Thank you all so much. My mom is so excited to get on to a floaty!:cool::cool::cool:

Whew! Thank you everyone. Here is where we are now! Mom is open to having a rollator and I have contacted Specialneedsatsea.com and I can get a rollator delivered to the ship for 85.00 for the week! That would allow her to use it at other ports. I called and talked to her today and she is open to that which is great!

So I have put in a request for Maya Chan and if they can take us I will order the rollator and we will make it happen for her. Maya Chan said that we just have to get her through the port, and then I can go to the taxi area and they will bring me back to pick her up.

Now she tells me she wants to float on one of the floaties where they will bring her a drink! Gotta love her :)

Again, thank you all.

We used a collapsible wheelchair at Costa Maya when we took an elderly relative. Handy to have, just in case.

Did you rent that really did you already have one? I had thought about all walker.

Thanks all for your advice! So much appreciated. I do have concerns about the heat as well and wondered about getting her back to the ship. She really wants to go to Maya Chan (and she says this will be her last trip - but she said that at 80, and 82 so who knows! She will turn 86 on our trip. Thanks again!

Hi. I am travelling with my 85 year old mom to Costa Maya. She csn walk but long distances are chalkenging. Can anyone tell me approximately the distance from the ship to the end of the port? We want to go out but am not sure if she can walk to the taxi area. I read there is a shuttle at the pier she can take but then we would need to walk through the port area. Any information would be greathe. Thanks!! :)

In my opinion, yes, the AFT balcony is definitely worth the $$. The balcony is so much larger than the regular and you can put a couple of loungers. So very relaxing.

Enjoying your experiences very much! Thank you for sharing.