Semi-Live Getaway 2.0 Jan 16 - Feb 1, 2023 NY - So. Caribbean ... 12 nights ( is it Live, Semi-Live or Limited ?? )

[mking8288]

Waterfalls at the Viewponis & Sulfer Springs were next stops

 

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, GizmoCat said:

Could I ask if the ship changes port at the last minute, does NCL put on any excursions? 

On our Dec/Jan, 2023 cruise we had a change from Bermuda to Nassau. There were about ten excursions added for Nassau. Not as many as a previous cruise, but some options. 

[cruiseny4life]

3 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Waterfalls at the Viewponis & Sulfer Springs were next stops

 

 

 

That jungle is simply amazing. Such lush landscapes are sublime! I wish I could deal better with the humidity. 

[mking8288]

More pictures - Sulfer Springs 

 

[mking8288]

Giant tree that fell during the 1975 hurricane on top a school bus, empty ... fortunately

 

[brookie848]

32 minutes ago, bedfordmom said:

In 2017 on the Dawn Repo  after Hurricane Maria, our ports were switched several times up to 24 hours for arrival in St Croix was changed to St. Thomas (which we were their first ship) . There were limited excursions and those who had them booked prior had first priority and were sold out before we were able to book something.  Ended up at my favorite St Thomas Jeweler instead  and spent way more money than if we had taken an excursion lol  Our scheduled St. Croix private excursion was immediately refunded.  Not sure how this trip is handling it.  

We weren't on the repo cruise, but we embarked when you disembarked. That was an interesting cruise! No hotels in Puerto Rico -- they were either not up and running or housing relief workers. We ended up flying to Ft. Lauderdale and spending the night there before leaving on a 6:00 flight to San Juan.

 

The cruise had the best vibe we've ever had on a ship. Because a lot of people had canceled, NCL offered really cheap fares to Puerto Ricans. They were so grateful to have a week of air conditioning, electricity, food and everything else they had been rationing for the past few months. There were huge family groups on the ship that dressed up every night and got photos. It was so much fun.

 

But our itinerary changed as well. I know excursions were offered, but I'm not sure how many. We ended up in St. Thomas. We just ended up going downtown and spending money we normally wouldn't spend in town to help the people recover.

 

So if ports change, NCL will try to have some options in place.

[mking8288]

Morne Bruce Garrison scenic mountain overlook @ 2:45 pm. ... returning to the port / ship next

 

Edited January 26, 2023 by mking8288

[vince_g]

Wait a minute. I think there may have been a miscommunication regarding the next cruises being sold out, as it is still on sale with lots of availability in most categories. Now what I see is that both of the Caribbean runs in February are no longer showing up for booking.

 

I am anxiously awaiting my February 26th cruise. Gonna have a great time even if the ship is full.

Edited January 26, 2023 by vince_g
additional comment

[vince_g]

The only cruise in February still available for sale is the February 1st 5 day Bermuda. And once again, who goes to Bermuda in February?  If someone said the next cruise has 4,700 passengers, it's almost certain they meant the next Caribbean sailing.

 

Edited January 26, 2023 by vince_g

[sailorusvi]

28 minutes ago, vince_g said:

The only cruise in February still available for sale is the February 1st 5 day Bermuda. And once again, who goes to Bermuda in February?  If someone said the next cruise has 4,700 passengers, it's almost certain they meant the next Caribbean sailing.

 

 

They most likely meant the Feb 18th -26 cruise as it's President's Day week (most school are off for mid-winter break).   

 

I'm on that ship, even though we are kid free. WHAT WERE WE THINKING?  🤷‍♀️🤪    Oh well, we will have plenty of ziplocks to take snacks from the buffet and free water to consume during the in-person muster station, and a stack of $2 bills in order to tip the staff after the drill.

Edited January 26, 2023 by sailorusvi

[vince_g]

15 minutes ago, sailorusvi said:

 

They most likely meant the Feb 18th -26 cruise as it's President's Day week (most school are off for winter break).   

 

I'm on that ship, even though we are kid free. WHAT WERE WE THINKING?  🤷‍♀️🤪    Oh well, we will have plenty of ziplocks to take snacks from the buffet and free water to consume during the in-person muster station, and a stack of $2 bills in order to tip the staff after the drill.

Yes, perhaps that is the one. No matter how many people on the ship, I shall have a wonderful time.

[mking8288]

5 hours ago, shof515 said:

Marine traffic ship tracking website ... appears the reason for St Lucia cancelation seems due to a berth availability ...cargo ship took the getaway parking spot

Not the reason either. According to our taxi driver-tour guide, simply b/c they rather not have a mega ship packed with 4,000 people tender ashore - logistics, safety, etc.

4 hours ago, GizmoCat said:

Could I ask if the ship changes port at the last minute, does NCL put on any excursions? 

Yes, line at Shorex Desk was 1/8 mile long ... they updated options for Roseau & refunded those for St. Lucia as noted in the letter to all guests.

1 hour ago, vince_g said:

The only cruise ... available for sale is the February 1st 5 day Bermuda. ... who goes to Bermuda in February?  If someone said the next cruise has 4,700 passengers, almost certain they meant the next Caribbean sailing.

You are most likely correct, I am only the "messenger" to warn folks that the upcoming sailings are 110% to 120% double occupancies but within legal capacity based on # of berths & lifeboats.

 

Upgrade bids will be much tougher to win. 

Edited January 26, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Local ambulance was at the pier as we returned, didn't see anything else. Late lunch at OSH, shower & power nap. Going to see Burn The Floor at 7:30 pm & then late dinner. 

 

[mking8288]

Pier Runners Club update - seems like everyone made it, although quite a few - 2 dozens were behind the 5:30 pm cutoff. The last few late ones heard from ship security on the pier. Ropes released & we are pulling away at 5:50 pm, 10 minutes early.

 

All abroad.  Bye, Roseau 👌

 

Edited January 26, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Doing a 180 turn, starboard side to head out to sea ... beautiful scenery 😎

 

[trbarton]

On 1/21/2023 at 2:20 PM, mking8288 said:

Usually, in the MDR - invite will be delivered into our rooms, waiting.  

 

Last year on the GA, we're seated in a quieter corner section of Tropicana MDR. Very interesting 3 hours with the ship's public health officer.

I believe if they are in the same stateroom, should be okay. They're cracking down on others who didn't even have Platinum status & managed to get in there. 

 

Other problem, too many with status these days vs. the small roped off area with room for maybe 120 at most.

What was the charge for the dinning with officers & how did you sign up?

 

Thanks!

 

Tom

[trbarton]

On 1/22/2023 at 12:07 PM, mking8288 said:

 

 

Posting key pages of FSD from 1 to 3, should help a bit. YMMV of course.

 

Burn The Floor - looks like 3 shows in total, 2 tonight, sold out 7:30 and 9:30 pm and later, Jan 26, 1 show only at 7:30 & we booked on the App ourselves. 

 

MDQ - 3 nightly, 1 show per evening at 7:30 pm. 

 

Keep in mind, dinner can be 90 minutes+ to 2 hours lately everywhere except the packed buffet, even if you go at 5 or 5:30 pm, might need to rush out of there and tell the server to hurry ... skip the dessert (no takeouts permitted anymore, for your (in)convenience, of course)

 

IMHO, strictly my personal opinion, just seeing 5 to 10% masking up in crowded places, for those who prefer to self protect and in high risk categories as XBB ...  Washy Washy loosely encouraged - no desire to risk norovirus onboard ourselves.  Plan & be wise, freestyle of course. 

 

 

 

Do you know how long the Welcome Aboard show at 7:30 pm was?

 

Thanks!

 

Tom

[Cruising Lynne]

4 hours ago, bedfordmom said:

In 2017 on the Dawn Repo  after Hurricane Maria, our ports were switched several times up to 24 hours for arrival in St Croix was changed to St. Thomas (which we were their first ship) . There were limited excursions and those who had them booked prior had first priority and were sold out before we were able to book something.  Ended up at my favorite St Thomas Jeweler instead  and spent way more money than if we had taken an excursion lol  Our scheduled St. Croix private excursion was immediately refunded.  Not sure how this trip is handling it.  

We were on this trip as well. Just when I started to get excited about St. Croix for a change from St. Thomas, they changed it back. We were lucky to book the Abi Beach excursion. The beach was rocky, but I had water shoes. It included lunch. Martinique was a last minute port, and they had some ship excursions available. We took a boat to see some sea turtles and go to a small beach before the rains came. 

[trbarton]

I'm new to NCL.  Can I request a share table so that I always have the same wait staff & the same people at my table each night?

 

Tom

[Saxomatic]

14 minutes ago, trbarton said:

I'm new to NCL.  Can I request a share table so that I always have the same wait staff & the same people at my table each night?

 

Tom

 

Get there early and mostly ask about your server and not a specific table ... Serving staff sometimes change section.

 

We were able to to this last september on the joy

[mking8288]

Tonight's Burn The Floor - disorganized, long lines backed up past O'Sheehan's, human traffic jam converging into 2 staff checking in those with show reservations. Not what it used to be ... Didn't start opening the door until 7:20 pm and bar runners still taking orders at 7:45 pm. Lights not yet dimmed 

 

Grade - Failed (just cannot let them get a passing score)

 

 

 

 

Edited January 26, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

BTF was good, just 1 hour long & ended about 8:50 pm, later than expected.  We noticed only 2 musicians playing like being 3, 1 of them moving back & forth to play different instruments.  Somebody with a good memory from 2022 or before COVID, the usual size of the band, wasn't it 3 or 4 ... DW said I am being too critical looking at those tiny details.

 

Tonight's late dinner at Savor was fine, everyone at much faster speed since it was 9 pm & they close at 9:30 but when we finished & left at 10 pm - still about 1/3 full with diners.

 

Walked up to the casino to change $100 into smaller bills, they have plenty of newly printed $1 bills, in numerical sequence.  Much busier tonight than lately but our CAS friends said the slots are extra tight, very bad payouts & he's not going to keep feeding those machines - expensive cartons of water plus tipping the beverage runners.

 

[mking8288]

Tonight's MDR menu w photos - these are like the old "Cooking Lite" menu but even lower calorie counts with the petite serving size or portion. No worries gaining weight if you stick with choices like rainbow trout ... haven't seen salmon as entrees for dinner yet. 

 

Getting late, ship's speed just above 10 knots, waves 4.9 ft. - sailed 70 nm from Dominica and 60 nm remaining to St. John. 

 

[mking8288]

@trbarton If you are Sapphire or higher, you can go to the CruiseNext desk in the atrium to sign up for Dining with Officers and it is free, being in the MDR - wines & sparkling water are complimentary.  Refer to the Latitudes guide section on ...

 

Welcome Abroad Shows are typically 45 minutes ... haven't gone to one in over 15 years, can't tell you more about it ...

[mking8288]

FWIW - reason given was someone at NCL did not want to tender 4,000 passengers ashore at St. Lucia.  This is what I learned, could be urban legend ... and if there will be 4,700 onboard 🫣