Cruiser Formerly Known As Cheapo Dad's Trip Report on Odyssey of the Seas Sailing to A Minus B Plus C Plus H Islands

[MJSailors]

@harryfat1 Interesting review and great photos.

As a native NYC person, I appreciate all the photos of the various sites and neighborhoods. 
NYC is comprised of many neighborhoods linked together. Each neighborhood has its’own features and idiosyncrasies as detailed in your photos.

If you find yourself in Little Italy again, try Ferrara’s. Their pastries and cookies are delicious. IMO- the Napoleons are perfection !

They also serve cappuccinos and espresso.

MJ👩🏻

[harryfat1]

2 hours ago, Badatz2 said:

Haha, the biggest reaction so far from the NYC supplemental report is related to sales tax...

 

Just goes to show that we are reading your posts all the time and are following along.  Keep up the good work.

 

Adding the tax in addition to the posted price or label is what makes shopping a shock in NY and other areas.  You think you are paying one price and end up paying a lot more.  You never get over it

 

 

Thanks for reading along and contributing to the report.  It’s always more interesting to have a conversation with fellow cruisers than just me doing a monologue in listing out my daily events similar to writing a diary.

 

Guess people get more excited when it comes to money and taxes.  Whereas nobody gives a subway rat’s poop for my 9^th picture of ParkWest’s art gallery…😜

[harryfat1]

27 minutes ago, MJSailors said:

@harryfat1 Interesting review and great photos.

As a native NYC person, I appreciate all the photos of the various sites and neighborhoods. 
NYC is comprised of many neighborhoods linked together. Each neighborhood has its’own features and idiosyncrasies as detailed in your photos.

If you find yourself in Little Italy again, try Ferrara’s. Their pastries and cookies are delicious. IMO- the Napoleons are perfection !

They also serve cappuccinos and espresso.

MJ👩🏻

Thanks for the compliment. 

 

As a tourist to a new city, we see things in a slightly different light than locals do.  Things the locals take for granted become interesting photos for tourists.

 

NYC is such an interesting place with unique places to see/photograph, we didn’t even go to many other big-name places like Yankee Stadium/Madison Square Garden/Bronx/Harlem area.

 

Appreciate the tip for Little Italy.  Our tour guide rushed us through the area.  We only stopped for the photo of the sign that says Little Italy.

 

Sad to say, per the web page description, we were supposed to stop at Ferrara’s which you spoke highly of for optional pastries.  But we never did as we wasted time in ParkWest Gallery instead.  Sigh…

 

[harryfat1]

Speaking of dialogue, here’s a question for you International travelers – how do y'all (say it with a Chinese Texas accent) stay connected on Wi-Fi when traveling in Europe? 

 

We will have 4 Verizon phones going to Europe next year.  I rather not pay the daily International fees to VZ phones to access each of the 4 phones.  Don’t think I want to deal with swapping Sim Cards either.

 

For traveling to Japan back in 2019, we rented portable Wi-Fi hotspots and we used those while we were outside of the hotel to access Google Maps and Google Translate.

 

I could do the same for Europe but just checking if there are better options are available nowadays?

 

Thanks in advance for the guidance.

[harryfat1]

Onward with the trip report:

 

A couple more pictures of Chinatown and then it's time to go to the next stop as took the subway for a quick ride uptown to Washington Square Park

 

 

 

 

Besides the nice looking arch to see at the park, we came here for the macrons from one of the bakeries.

 

 

[harryfat1]

They are filming some commercial/advertisement with this young lady running and the arch in the background

 

 

 

A lot of activities at Washington Square.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NYU is nearby so you see young people around even though it’s summer break.  You can see there are “college tours” as hopeful college applicants are walking the area to check out the campus for a potential Fall application/acceptance.

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

On Groupon, they had a promotion for a dozen macarons at some gourmet bakery for less than $20.  There’s a store near the Washing Square so that’s where we headed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So the deal is you get a box of 12 of these for less than $20.  Supposedly the regular price is $36/box.

 

I figured for $20, why not try it?  We got one of each flavor and a couple of duplicates to get up to a dozen.

 

 

Edited July 29 by harryfat1

[harryfat1]

 

After getting the macrons, it was time to go back on the subway and ride back to Midtown.

 

 

But we are not going back to the hotel just yet.  We need to stop by another place to pick up some iced drinks from a deal I saw (as you guessed it) another Groupon discount where we got $20 of store credit in paying only $10.  There is a store a few blocks from the hotel near the subway.

 

Long line of people waiting outside Bryant Park to use the restroom – some people call it the best public restroom in NYC as it’s supposed have to flowers and supposed to be nice so that’s why you see a huge line.

We never made it to the bathrooms.  Anyone can attest to how good the bathrooms are?

 

Do any of you ladies out there have photos of the men's urinals? 🤪

 

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/bryant-park-bathroom

 

 

 

[Coralc]

3 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

Yeah, y'all are different down south.

 

As I need to start talking with a Chinese Southern Accent to be ready for the upcoming Texas cruise...🤪

 

Henry Cho is a comedian, Korean, born in Knoxville, TN. His videos on YouTube are very funny. ☺️

Edited July 29 by Coralc

[Biker19]

37 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

 

I could do the same for Europe but just checking if there are better options are available nowadays?

An eSIM with hot spot capability should work. Most offer duration and data options. 

[harryfat1]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

An eSIM with hot spot capability should work. Most offer duration and data options. 

Ahh, I figured you would be Shell Answer Man (For the younger readers, Google Shell Answer Men to understand the reference).

 

I don't mind admitting that I have no clue about how the eSim process works.  Had to watch a few YouTube videos to get a basic understanding.

 

Any particular company that is reliable/reputable?  I don't want to get to Europe on some cheap shady deal and can't get a good reliable connection once I land and then it's too late to find someone else.

 

Any special features between different carriers that are a must-have when shopping for an eSim?

 

Harry, who has never heard of eSim until today, now has to search the Internet to understand the technology and features...

 

 

[rncruiser]

2 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

Speaking of dialogue, here’s a question for you International travelers – how do y'all (say it with a Chinese Texas accent) stay connected on Wi-Fi when traveling in Europe? 

 

We will have 4 Verizon phones going to Europe next year.  I rather not pay the daily International fees to VZ phones to access each of the 4 phones.  Don’t think I want to deal with swapping Sim Cards either.

 

For traveling to Japan back in 2019, we rented portable Wi-Fi hotspots and we used those while we were outside of the hotel to access Google Maps and Google Translate.

 

I could do the same for Europe but just checking if there are better options are available nowadays?

 

Thanks in advance for the guidance.

We used eSIMs for our London/Paris trip. I’m sorry I don’t recall which company we used but you can do a search of “best eSIMs for Europe” and read reviews of many of the options available. We probably bought one with a much bigger data plan than needed esp since we used WiFi at the hotels. I think we paid $50 each and the plan was good for 15 days. Worked  perfectly, probably better than using Verizon’s plan which slows down after a certain amount of usage each day. 

[rncruiser]

2 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

Ahh, I figured you would be Shell Answer Man (For the younger readers, Google Shell Answer Men to understand the reference).

 

I don't mind admitting that I have no clue about how the eSim process works.  Had to watch a few YouTube videos to get a basic understanding.

 

Any particular company that is reliable/reputable?  I don't want to get to Europe on some cheap shady deal and can't get a good reliable connection once I land and then it's too late to find someone else.

 

Any special features between different carriers that are a must-have when shopping for an eSim?

 

Harry, who has never heard of eSim until today, now has to search the Internet to understand the technology and features...

 

 

Harry, if I was able to figure out how to use it I have no doubt that you will be able to as well. 

[Biker19]

3 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

Any particular company that is reliable/reputable? 

Holafly is fairly well known though they only have an unlimited plan. Airalo is likely a good choice. 

[rncruiser]

7 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Holafly is fairly well known though they only have an unlimited plan. Airalo is likely a good choice. 

I think I used Airalo, though their web site looks totally unfamiliar to me. They must have changed it since last year. The prices are also less than last year so I guess there is probably more competition than there used to be. 

[harryfat1]

19 minutes ago, rncruiser said:

We used eSIMs for our London/Paris trip. I’m sorry I don’t recall which company we used but you can do a search of “best eSIMs for Europe” and read reviews of many of the options available. We probably bought one with a much bigger data plan than needed esp since we used WiFi at the hotels. I think we paid $50 each and the plan was good for 15 days. Worked  perfectly, probably better than using Verizon’s plan which slows down after a certain amount of usage each day. 

 

18 minutes ago, rncruiser said:

Harry, if I was able to figure out how to use it I have no doubt that you will be able to as well. 

 

3 minutes ago, rncruiser said:

I think I used Airalo, though their web site looks totally unfamiliar to me. They must have changed it since last year. The prices are also less than last year so I guess there is probably more competition than there used to be. 

 

Cool.  Good to know that the average cruiser, not just tech-savvy folks like Biker has used it successfully.

 

The older I get, the more I feel like a Grandpa in traveling as technology is ever-changing and I'm still in the stone age...

[harryfat1]

18 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Holafly is fairly well known though they only have an unlimited plan. Airalo is likely a good choice. 

Cool.  Thanks for the names.  I will check out their sites.

[harryfat1]

Back to the trip report as I'm sure most people are not here to read about my questions on eSim...

 

Walking around Bryant Park and past their fancy restroom.  You see the Summit One in front

 

 

We made it to Matto Espresso to grab our drinks.  Just let them scan the phone for the digital coupon and you are good to go. 

 

$20 worth of store credit for anything for less than $10 bought at Groupon.

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

After grabbing the drinks, we went back to the hotel to rest and snack on some of the desserts we bought today.

 

Here's a picture of cheese tarts we bought earlier in Chinatown:

 

 

It was 4:30 in the afternoon.  It was starting to warm up as the storm from the past couple of days was long gone and it was starting to get pretty hot/tiring from walking outside all afternoon.

 

So we just rested in the hotel room with our drinks and snacks.

 

That's the disadvantage of not being on a cruise in that you have to plan on buying your own snacks all over town but the good thing is you have more options than the standard cruise ship food at Cafe Promenade.

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

After 6:30, it was time to go and check out more of NYC sights.  We wanted to see the Grand Central Terminal as it’s a very iconic NYC landmark that has been in many movies.

 

We used the underground tunnel connection near the hotel to walk to Grand Central Station.

 

 

Interesting mosaic artwork

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

We made it to the Grand Central Station.  Lots of people were coming and going at the station as it’s a major hub for many trains as well as tourists like us wanting to see this iconic site.

 

 

 

As you can see from the sign, you can connect to the LIRR train that took us here on day 1.  We got out from one of the side entrances but you can take this route as well.

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

You can buy your train tickets at the windows against the wall and the train schedule is on display above. 

 

Supposedly the clock inside the train station is one minute fast so to give people one extra minute to catch the train at the various tracks in case they are looking at the clock to see when they should board the train. 

 

But nowadays with smartphones and watches, people typically will look “down” to get their time rather than look “up” to get their time.

 

 

 

I know diddly about astronomy but supposedly they made an error on the constellation on the ceiling as it's upset down.  Per the Youtubers, the original drawing came from some professor but the people who painted it misinterpreted it and painted it incorrectly as things look different looking up versus looking down.

 

So now to cover their error, they said the ceiling is made for God looking down...

 

 

Edited July 30 by harryfat1
The software should give you like 60 seconds to go back and edit your own posting without it showing up as "edited" by the Dummy who couldn't get it right the first time...

[dani negreanu]

13 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

How do you request for the captain to make the detour? Do they have an email alias at RCI to make such a request?

 

Actually, it was much simpler than that... Ours was a special sailing, with many "high-ranking" C&As, who combined a TA with the following "foliage" cruise to Canada.

 

Therefore, lots of them were already on Vision for the crossing and had the opportunity to meet the captain and ask for this favor.

 

We had an amazing Meet & Mingle, where I had the opportunity to add faces to many frequent and helpful posters on this forum.

[harryfat1]

15 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Actually, it was much simpler than that... Ours was a special sailing, with many "high-ranking" C&As, who combined a TA with the following "foliage" cruise to Canada.

 

Therefore, lots of them were already on Vision for the crossing and had the opportunity to meet the captain and ask for this favor.

 

We had an amazing Meet & Mingle, where I had the opportunity to add faces to many frequent and helpful posters on this forum.

Ahhh, good to know people in high places. 

 

They stopped the Meet and Mingle activities now, right?  Was that a victim of the Covid and never came back afterwards? I didn't see any Meet and Greet for our sailing on the Odyssey last December.

 

Hopefully whoever will be sailing on the Odyssey this winter will have luck in seeing the Statue on sailing day.

[harryfat1]

Speaking of Odyssey, I saw this news couple of weeks ago of RCI moving one of their Quantum class ships to West Coast in the upcoming season with Ovation of the Seas sailing from San Pedro:

 

https://thepointsguy.com/news/royal-caribbean-los-angeles-cruise-ovation/

 

Nice to have some love for the west coast cruisers even though we will always get the older ships. 

 

I think RCI is doing this to counter the 3 ships Carnival has in the LA region whereas RCI only have the Navigator there pulling double duty in doing the alternate 3/4/7 day cruises. 

This way the west coast people don’t have to fly to East coast just to sail on a Quantum class ship.