Getaway NY's Winter 2023-24 mostly 10 Days - ports & food pix, who's who onboard, misc. etc. "Not semi or live report"

[mking8288]

3 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

No, not flying to Bermuda. Instead, I prefer to play cruise ship to Bermuda roulette. Round and round the island she goes...whether she ports...no one knows.

LOL, I know of others booking on the GA this winter, are you doing the 7 days or 5 days ... temp's in the 60's and 70's is surely nice with the forecast this January here in the metro NY area.  NCL doesn't have the smaller Crown, Majesty or Sea anymore - they would slip right into St. George and Hamilton to dock, after getting tossed, flipped & turned going & coming from NY.   On the lookout for last minute deals here, haha. 

 

Flying good old UA friendly skies, just saw this ... not good - as least FAA gave the go-ahead for all airlines to begin inspecting the birds, each plane needed 4 to 8 hours for completion.  

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/united-airlines-bolts-boeing-737-max_n_659c6debe4b0f9f6621dee67

 

Twenty ... urrh, thirty years ago, one simply couldn't possibly imagine flying cross country on a B737, let alone to more distance places like HNL or across the pond to Europe over water, until regulators gave ETOP approvals.  They're designed then for short to medium haul flights ... just the size of these newer bathrooms is enough to leave one shaking heads. It is what it is, I suppose.  

 

Regardless, happy & safe travel ... still flying tomorrow, on a different aircraft and not, hush. 

[UKstages]

2 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Flying good old UA friendly skies...

 

very frequent UA flyer here and i stopped flying all versions of the 737 MAX after the last debacle related to the MAX. yes, this is a different version, but i won't get on them any longer.

 

related to the topic at hand, i'm on an upcoming 10-day getaway itinerary that includes bermuda and I have no reasonable expectation that we'll be stopping there.

[Sugar Magnolia]

2 hours ago, mking8288 said:

LOL, I know of others booking on the GA this winter, are you doing the 7 days or 5 days ... 

 

Flying good old UA friendly skies, just saw this ... not good - as least FAA gave the go-ahead for all airlines to begin inspecting the birds, each plane needed 4 to 8 hours for completion.  

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/united-airlines-bolts-boeing-737-max_n_659c6debe4b0f9f6621dee67

 

 

Was only kidding about sailing to Bermuda. After last February's 5-day cruise to nowhere on the Getaway, I shall no longer sail to Bermuda in the winter.

 

I was scheduled to fly UA next Tuesday on a 737 Max 9 but decided to be proactive and rescheduled to another flight to FLL on the same day. Interestingly enough, UA offered me a $40 credit to reschedule to any flight to FLL on the same day. I did not complain.

 

[dexddd]

Ok, so we had the semi live niece cruise.  To one up, SIL just got off BA, well, maybe not a one up.  No semi live, just news after done.  Her friend booked and did details.  Mid ship balcony in good location.  Not sure if any packages included for free, cough cough.  Was not asked nor did provide consulting services.

 

Third hand account from first time cruiser, one and done.  Liked Belize.  Turn off was a charge for everything around each corner.

[SugarStar00]

Can you tell me which room number was this? 

[dexddd]

22 hours ago, SugarStar00 said:

Can you tell me which room number was this? 

I'm sure MKing will get back to you promptly.  It is mid day Sunday so he is probably having lunch out and will be posting said pictures of lunch in NYC.  He might also be watering plants or watching harbor cams.

[mking8288]

@SugarStar00  ... nieces booked #12780, starboard Fwd, priced as a regular balcony but it's one of the handful, semi-secret angled balcony, sleeps 4 with the convertible sofa (plus the upper pullman that drop down from the recessed ceiling vault space) near the closet (easier to open up fully for access) and the bed (split into 2 singles) near the balcony.  Had booked the 2nd balcony next door #12778 - not connecting that sleep 3 - both cabins were by the forward staircase & elevators, no issues with noise or foot traffic.  For other reasons, they "lost" the cabin next door but NCL agent was able to get them one 3 or 4 doors forward ... check the cabins for availability first before reserving or speaking to a NCL agent.  Deck 11 would've been fine, lower with center of gravity in case of extremely rough sea state and waves and toward mid-ship.  

 

@dexddd  Pretty quiet today, GA anchored at St. Maarten today ... no news is, often, good news.  No ships in NY harbor today, not at MCT, Red Hook or Cape Liberty that I know of.   Playing around with gadgets, just finishing updating a BIL's 10 years old MS Surface Pro 3 tablet, now running latest Windows 11 Pro instead of Win 8 - with TPM 2.0 workaround install ... getting treated to Uber Eat-like delivery, haha.  

 

Manhattan Cruise Terminal (Pier 88, 90 and the seldom used 92 as overflow) now has advanced parking reservations, discounted for  longer stay beyond 7 days ... a 10 days cruise is "only" $315 for the duration, taxes & surcharges all inclusive, paid on arrival upon a brief vehicle safety/security check ... not bad when the daily rate is $45 for a 24 hour day.  But, with NCL cutting back the winter schedule, the parking operator isn't seeing the revenue going up with 1 ship instead of 2 - surcharges from congestion commute/parking scheduled to go into effect by this May isn't helping either, IMHO.  

 

 

[bkrickles1]

4 hours ago, mking8288 said:

@SugarStar00  ... nieces booked #12780, starboard Fwd, priced as a regular balcony but it's one of the handful, semi-secret angled balcony, sleeps 4 with the convertible sofa (plus the upper pullman that drop down from the recessed ceiling vault space) near the closet (easier to open up fully for access) and the bed (split into 2 singles) near the balcony.  Had booked the 2nd balcony next door #12778 - not connecting that sleep 3 - both cabins were by the forward staircase & elevators, no issues with noise or foot traffic.  For other reasons, they "lost" the cabin next door but NCL agent was able to get them one 3 or 4 doors forward ... check the cabins for availability first before reserving or speaking to a NCL agent.  Deck 11 would've been fine, lower with center of gravity in case of extremely rough sea state and waves and toward mid-ship.  

 

@dexdddnhattan Cruise Terminal (Pier 88, 90 and the seldom used 92 as overflow) now has advanced parking reservations, discounted for  longer stay beyond 7 days ... a 10 days cruise is "only" $315 for the duration, taxes & surcharges all inclusive, paid on arrival upon a brief vehicle safety/security check ... not bad when the daily rate is $45 for a 24 hour day.  But, with NCL cutting back the winter schedule, the parking operator isn't seeing the revenue going up with 1 ship instead of 2 - surcharges from congestion commute/parking scheduled to go into effect by this May isn't helping either, IMHO.  

 

 

Actually, the parking at MCT for 10 days is 315 plus a fee of $9+.

I purchased parking a few weeks ago and that was what it came to, $324.

I ended up canceling and rebooking as someone on the other website posted a coupon code that made it $292 total. 

[NYcruzzer]

17 minutes ago, bkrickles1 said:

Actually, the parking at MCT for 10 days is 315 plus a fee of $9+.

I purchased parking a few weeks ago and that was what it came to, $324.

I ended up canceling and rebooking as someone on the other website posted a coupon code that made it $292 total. 

Is the $315.00 fee only available if you pre-book online ? Or will same discount apply if we pay at the pier same as as the cruise ? Is it against the rules to post the discount code here as well ?

[bkrickles1]

3 minutes ago, NYcruzzer said:

Is the $315.00 fee only available if you pre-book online ? Or will same discount apply if we pay at the pier same as as the cruise ? Is it against the rules to post the discount code here as well ?

I believe it's more at the pier. 

Code is CCAI

I don't know if it still works but it did last week. 

I'm sailing Getaway April 19th. 

[NYcruzzer]

1 hour ago, bkrickles1 said:

I believe it's more at the pier. 

Code is CCAI

I don't know if it still works but it did last week. 

I'm sailing Getaway April 19th. 

Discount code worked like a charm..Thank you

[mking8288]

Regarding NCL ships docking at Pier 88 and the option to drive & do roof-top parking, the discount is back ... it was available years ago (going back to about 6, 7 or 8 years ago - then, it was discontinued, parking was $35 a day then w/o the discount coupon/code, which was shared & posted here on CC, mainly over at the East Coast destination forum)  It's back as I finally had time to take a closer look - seemed like the current parking operator for NYCT is capping the max parking charge at $315, which is equivalent of 7 days of secured parking (gate is locked) with taxes/fees included, no surcharges for SUV, van & pickup and even campers as long as it's no higher than 8' tall (96") even if overwidth & over-length, as loosely defined by most private parking operations in the metro NY area.  

 

For NCL (and other ship sailings using the cruise piers) - the discount varies & best for 12 days, 14 and even 15 days, but still a sizable percent off 10 days, or even 8 or 9 days and it can be reserved ahead.  It didn't disclose upfront the extra $9 surcharge ... maybe it's being collected to offset their card payment processing costs, as cash is not accepted, credit/debit cards only (for past several years.)   Last time we parked there while sailing NCL, $30 a day or $210 for 7 nights.  The current discount rated, most definitely, make them very ... highly competitive to what other nearby private parking lots charged, plus surcharges for SUV, vans & pickup, etc. - even when they are discounted - this is super convenient, with jumbo elevators up/down to the embarkation & disembarkation/street level directly below.   Parking link - info is here - https://nycruise.com/manhattan-terminal/parking/

 

BTW, this is another quick, shortcut to see what NCL (and, also Carnival) ship is scheduled to dock there in Manhattan (but only doing round-trips returning to MCT ... one-way / repo not listed and option is not offered, obviously ... LOL) 

[SugarStar00]

17 hours ago, bkrickles1 said:

Actually, the parking at MCT for 10 days is 315 plus a fee of $9+.

I purchased parking a few weeks ago and that was what it came to, $324.

I ended up canceling and rebooking as someone on the other website posted a coupon code that made it $292 total. 

We are coming in from CT thinking about just taking an uber the whole way vs train then uber. i'm so afraid to drive into the city

 

@mking8288 Thanks for the info I have one of those mid/aft on port side 11th floor. exicited! I was hoping for the room configuration to be cough first then bed by the balcony like the one you showed but looks like mine is opposite. oh well small problems 

 

Edited January 22 by SugarStar00

[mking8288]

@SugarStar00 Got it, whatever works best for you - isn't Uber kind of $$$ but then, let the driver worried about traffic, driving & you can just buckle up in the backseat, relax & enjoy the ride into the city.  Although, for a weekend/Sunday morning drive, traffic is typically light - coming from I-94 or the Merritt/Hutch R.P. - across Westchester to Cross County Pkwy and down the Henry Hudson, toll-by-mail/EZ-Pass anyway without stopping, south thru Riverdale/Bronx into upper Manhattan, good old West Side Hwy straight to Pier 88/90 for rooftop parking.  Can't see Uber being much less ... first world problems, haha.   

 

Good, you found - booked one of the unofficial angle balcony at regular pricing, enjoy ... bed next to the closet/bath is a pain, if it's just 2 of you ... another tip: slide/move the 2 mini, narrow night table around - move the bed/mattress frame by 12 inches toward the balcony - you'll have a little extra space to stand & do the un/packing in front of the sliding door for the hanging closet/open shelves.  If it's too heavy DIY, ask steward to do that if/when s/he has a chance.  We use packing cubes all the time, keep things clean, neat & organize & easy/quick to find.