Eastern Caribbean Cruise - Debarkation Day (02/02/25)

 

Our ship was situated outside New York harbor until roughly 5 am, when the ship started to make port in Brooklyn and end our cruise. The above picture was taken from the ship's port side camera's TV feed.  It's far from the same view when taken from a balcony cabin.

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Neither RQS nor I got enough sleep overnight, and I was awake from 3 am onwards.  Around 7 am, we went to the main dining room for one last time for breakfast.  A lady at the table next to us was on the same cruise I was on for my first MSC cruise, and had similar opinions as I did regarding that cruise. Luckily for us, this cruise was much better all around - the food was better and the entertainment was better.  Yet, service was still hit or miss. Our conversation turned to the day's politics, and people at the table next to her joined in - none of us liked what the Orange Snowflake was doing in DC.

Once breakfast was over, we killed time waiting for our disembarkation group to be called.  Our number was called shortly before 9:30 am, and we proceeded to pick up our luggage and kill time inside the terminal, avoiding having to spend excess time in the cold waiting for a ferry that would take us to Atlantic avenue where we'd summon an Uber.  I noticed that staff was allowing handicapped people to take a shortcut and bypass the snaking line leading to the Customs/Immigration stations on our way out of the building.  So I told RQS to take out her cane, and we saved 15 minutes which we'd spend waiting for the ferry. The ferry came at 10:35, and we were at Atlantic avenue by 11 am, and the Uber got us back to RQS's place by 11:30 am.  However, I would still have to wait before I could go home - my brother couldn't pick me up until 4 pm.  So, I rested a while, and my brother arrived when expected.  

We were at the family homestead 30 minutes later, and we discussed what was needed to bring the house up to snuff for rental.  In addition to absolutely needed repairs, we may end up adding a half bath in the basement to increase the rent we can charge. Then, finally, I loaded my bags into my car and drove home.  With a stop for dinner and some food shopping factored in, it didn't take me long to get home.  Finally, I can sleep in my own bed again!

Eastern Caribbean Cruise - Embarkation Day (01/23/25)

 

Our day started by waking up "early", so that we'd make it to the cruise terminal by 12:30 pm.  This meant that we'd have to cook and eat breakfast, get showered and dressed, and into an Uber by 11:30 am to make it on time.  What didn't help is that we had some minor last minute packing to take care of, and RQS forgot her cane.  (Hopefully, she can buy one while on the cruise, or while we're in port.)

The Uber came on time, and we had a very nice driver, someone who was willing to take a side street to bypass traffic on the BQE.  We arrived at the terminal at 12:45 pm, and were snaking through the terminal for another half hour after that.  Once on the ship, we dumped our bags off in the room, then made it to the buffet to have lunch and kill some time before the muster drill.

As is the case with MSC, one does not watch a muster drill in person.  Instead, one watches a video to know what to do in case of an emergency, dials a number to register having seen the video, then report to the emergency station to show one knows where it is in case of an emergency.

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All too soon, it was time for dinner.  We were seated at a shared table with two nice people.  Yes, I might have run my mouth a little.  But they seemed to have enjoyed our company, and we hope to be seeing them for dinner until the cruise ends.  While dining, we found that the gentlemen across from me was a vegan, and had some trouble getting something he could eat.

After dinner, we made our entertainment reservations for the cruise, and then went up to the cabin for the evening.  We were greeted by our two large suitcases being placed by the door, and started to unpack for the trip.  In short, it was a busy day, but one which prepared us to enjoy our 10-day cruise. 

Bermuda Cruise 2024 #1 - Disembarkation Day (10/06/24)

 

This morning, we returned to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Here's the best view I could get of the ship before we got on the ferry at Red Hook.  But first....

Begrudgingly, RQS and I got up at 5:30 am in order to be out of our cabin by 7:30 am.  So, both of us finished repacking our carry-on bags, got showered and dressed, then headed off to the main dining room for our last breakfast on the ship.  After 7 days, we finally have the knack of getting what we want from the ship, and we'll miss ship life for a while.  Once done with breakfast, it was time to wait for a while, as our disembarkation group was not scheduled to be called until 9:45 am or so.

Having cruised with MSC before, I knew that we could wait in the "handicapped waiting area" across from the main dining room.  RQS and I asked if we could wait there instead of going to the theater and dealing with stairs, and then going back to the other end of the ship to leave it for the last time.  We were told we were welcome to wait in this area, and RQS was able to catch up on her reading for an hour and a half. 

Finally, our boarding group was called and we proceeded into the cruise terminal.  Compared with the task of finding our bags in the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, doing this in Brooklyn was easy, as luggage is scattered over a larger area and is easier to find. Once I located our luggage, it was off to US Customs' stations to be processed, and then we were free to leave the terminal.

Once out of the terminal, we figured that we'd skip the headache of dealing with getting an Uber at the pier. Instead, we'd deal with the headache of cars getting in and out of the cruise terminal area by taking the ferry to the Atlantic Avenue/Brooklyn Bridge park (Pier 6) and getting our Uber outside of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal area.  After waiting 45 minutes for the ferry to come, we took the ferry to its next stop, got off, and summoned an Uber.  The car arrived just 5 minutes later - we likely saved the driver at least 15 minutes (each way) by picking us up a mile away from the pier, saving us $30 as well!

We arrived at RQS's place at 11:30 am, and it was time to call my brother to pick me up.  He arrived at 12:30 pm, and I was on my way home with a stop at my brother's house to have lunch.  Around 3:00 pm, I was on my way home, and got there in a little over an hour.  Once I brought my bags upstairs, it was time to fall out for a couple of hours, as I needed some well earned rest....

Bermuda Cruise 2024 #1 - Embarkation Day (09/29/24)

 

Today was the long anticipated first cruise to Bermuda.  And we had to get up early to make it to the ship, simply because we didn't want to risk traffic jams getting in the way of us reaching the ship in our allotted time frame.   (I had to go to the drug store to pick up some fiber pills, and then pick up breakfast sandwiches to tide us over until we reached the ship.  

The last 2 times I was at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, it took me over an hour from the time I arrived to the time I boarded the ship. Lines formed outside the door of the terminal, and then snaked through the terminal to the security checkpoint, and then to the reception desk where my photograph was taken before boarding the ship.  This time was different.  We arrived at 2 pm instead of noon, and we were on the ship in less than 15 minutes after arrival. (This is much better than the last time I was here!)

We found our cabin without problems, but there was a musty smell in the corridor.  Could the ship have a problem with ventilation and de-humidification?  Who knows?  Once in our cabin, we didn't notice it that much.  Once we had our cruise cards, it was back downstairs to where I could connect my charge card to my onboard account.  After this, we went to our muster station to check in, then to the specialty restaurant reservations desk to schedule our specialty meals - Seafood, Steak, and Mexican.

Later on, it was off to the main dining room for dinner.  Unlike the last time I was on the ship, we had a short line to wait on before being shown to our table.  I chose the French Onion Soup, the Prime Rib, and the Catalan Creme for my meal.  How was it?  I felt the soup was so-so, as I've had much better on Princess and NCL.  The prime rib was 3/4" thick and covered with gravy.  Was it tasty?  Yes.  But I feel that the gravy masked what was good (or bad) about this cut of meat.  Finally dessert came.  The best way to describe Catalan Creme is to think of a Creme Brulee without the scorched sugar coating on top. While at dinner, we met a nice mother/daughter pair from Brooklyn who were taking a cruise together.  RQS and I both enjoyed chatting with this couple, and we figured that they were gaining something from my knowledge of Alaskan and Hawaiian cruises.  Hopefully, we'll meet up with them again on gala night.

After dinner, it was off to the main theater to see a magic show.  But first, the cruise director was prepping the audience with a lot of meaningless things to cheer about.  (Shout if you are from "xxxx!" type stuff.) And then he wasted a lot of time plugging the branded jewelry store on the ship.  The magic show started 20 minutes after we arrived at the theater. Were the magicians good?  Yes, but their show was too short. It was in and out, without satisfaction - like many experiences I've had in the past. :-)

Once back in the cabin, RQS and I noted that both the food and service on this ship was acceptable.  I noted that my criticisms of my last cruise may have been related to the weather we experienced.  But then, I was looking at cruising, assuming a different price point's value for services provided.

By now, I should be back from my cruise.

 

By the time you read this, I should be back from Bermuda.  Last year, I took this ship from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal and had an almost forgettable trip.  But then, I'd have liked to forget it, as it was mostly 7 days of bad weather sailing, with a port diversion geared to place us in safe waters in between two nasty weather systems.  (I'm glad I wasn't on the cruise after this, as the ship ended up cruising to Canada in Med-December, instead of the Bahamas as originally planned.)

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RQS and I planned on taking only one Bermuda cruise this year.  But we ended up scheduling two Bermuda cruises.  This will give me a rare opportunity to compare two ships, two cruise lines, two sets of dining & drink packages, and two equivalent cabins.  It's going to be interesting, as we will find out whether RQS likes the price/value equation on MSC enough to consider another trip on this line.

As I'm writing, I am taking care of last minute packing, laundry, and other little things I need to do before going away.  When I get back, I hope to be able to have some interesting things to say about this cruise and entertain you with my commentary. When I sort things out at RQS's house, I'll bet that I've packed way too much for my own good, and may prune things before we go to the pier. 

Although this trip will be done with me presenting as Mario, we're hoping that the next trip will be done with me presenting as Marian.  It'll be nice to wear some pretty dresses for gala nights....

One week and counting (a short post)

 

One week to go.  The countdown has begun.  By this time next week, I'll be sailing to Bermuda. And you'll be reading this after I've returned from the cruise. (Sorry, I never post in real time anymore.)

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Until today, I didn't give the task of packing for the trip much thought.  But, having to take RQS home along with my large suitcase made this cruise seem a little bit more real to me.  So, I printed out a packing list to make sure that I didn't forget anything.

I plan to keep presenting as Marian until I leave for RQS's place next weekend.  And then, I'll present as Mario for about a week and a half.  On a ship where most people still get dressed up for formal night, I'll be envious of RQS, as she has the freedom to dress in a way that makes her look her best, while I'm stuck wearing clothing which doesn't let me feel my best.

When we go to the cruise terminal, we may have to deal with traffic jams caused by NYC's "Tunnel to Towers" race.  Our arrival time at the terminal is scheduled for 2 pm.  However, we plan to get there early enough to deal with the expected long lines at the terminal.  (Brooklyn's terminal facility is not known for speed, and it handles large passenger volume poorly.)  The last time I cruised out of Brooklyn, it took me over an hour to pass through the gauntlet to reach the ship.  Hopefully, by getting there later than last time, I can avoid the early bird processing jams.

One week and counting.  Hopefully, RQS and I will enjoy this trip....

Doing a test run of mass transit to get to/from a future cruise

 

The weather was nice, and the two of us had nothing better to do.  What better a day to see if we could conveniently make it to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal by bus and subway, and to find out exactly how close the ferry dock is to the cruise terminal. And that's exactly what we did, with a side trip to Chinatown for some duck.

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RQS and I both wanted to find out where the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal was for our own reasons.  For RQS, it was out of mere curiosity, as she'd go there by Uber if we chose an MSC, Princess or Cunard cruise in the future.  For me, it was to make a dry run (in good weather) to find out how to get there using mass transit and avoid spending $280 to park, or $300 (+ Tip) for cab rides from/to Croton, NY. So, we started our journey from central Queens county at 2 pm, and reached downtown Brooklyn a little after 3 pm where we switched buses. From there, we took another bus to the waterfront, walked the 4 blocks to the cruise terminal. to complete our trip in 90 minutes.

Once at the cruise terminal, we found that NYC Ferries had a stop at the cruise terminal (about 1000 feet away from the actual building).. So we bought tickets to take us to their Wall Street transfer point, and had a nice ride along the riverfront. And then, it was off to Chinatown by bus.

We walked the length and breadth of Chinatown to find out that Ping's was still closed. (Their website says that this is temporary, but not to be open on their scheduled reopening date causes me to start wondering....)  So we walked to the Peking Duck House for some expensive, but tasty grub - their signature dish, the Peking Duck. When RQS and I looked at the menu, we realized that this would be more than either of us would normally spend on dinner.  So she helped me out a little.  (THANKS!) And then we had a wonderful meal.  Would we go back?  Yes, in a heartbeat if our budgets allow for it.

Then, it was time to go home for the evening.  At least, this time, we knew how to get home quickly, in spite of the work being done on the subway.

I live in New York, and will only sail out of one of its three regional cruise terminals.

 

The Manhattan Cruise Terminal.  On my own, it's the only cruise terminal in the New York City region that I will choose to cruise from.  But this is for practical reasons.

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I live in NYC's Northern Suburbs.  If I want to take a cab from my town to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, I'd be charged at least $150 before tips.  Travel to the cruise terminals in Bayonne, NJ (a.k.a. Cape Liberty, NJ) or Brooklyn, NY costs even more due to distance, time and tolls.  If I were to drive to any of these terminals, I might be charged a minimum of $30-$40/day to park there.  Since I like to take 7-11 day cruises, I refuse to pay $210-$330/$280-$440 just to park my car.  For that amount of money (and a little more), I could fly to an out of town cruise port and enjoy a cruise from there.  But I digress.

None of the NYC area cruise terminals are easy to reach via mass transit.  Although I have used a NYC bus to take me from Grand Central Terminal to the Hudson River along 42nd street, I prefer to spend $20 for a crosstown cab for this 1.5 mile trip.  Travel to Bayonne and Brooklyn terminals is much more awkward from Manhattan.  To reach the Bayonne terminal, one would need a cab for part of the trip. One could take mass transit to reach Bayonne, (NYC Subway to PATH Trains, then transfer to Hudson Bergen Light Rail to reach Bayonne) and then, one would still need a cab for the last 2-3 miles of the trip.  Reaching the Brooklyn terminal is an easier task.  One could take the NYC subway to a station near the cruise terminal, and then walk about a mile through an industrial area to reach the terminal. I'd simply take the subway to the Long Island Rail Road's Atlantic Terminal (Barclay Center arena) and catch a cab from there.

 

New York City has a robust ferry system which evolved to service real estate development in New Jersey and in some waterfront areas of Brooklyn and Queens. However, none of these routes serve either Bayonne or Brooklyn cruise terminals. Sadly, none of the cruise lines have been willing to cut deals with the ferry operator (or NY Water Taxi) to provide cruise-day service from Manhattan to the Bayonne and Brooklyn cruise terminals. (Even the weekend service to IKEA in Brooklyn could be adapted to service the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal without much problem.)  I feel that this would be a net benefit for all parties concerned, as the cost of ferry service from Manhattan would be much cheaper than the equivalent cab fares or parking charges.  Considering that NY Waterways already provides service to nearby docks, why not provide cruise day service using existing facilities and equipment to the cruise terminals?

So, what does this all mean for me?

I have cruised on 3 lines: NCL, Princess and Holland America.  Of these lines, only 2 make home ports in the New York area.  NCL has gotten most of my cruise business, as they sail out of the Manhattan Cruise Terminal.  Both times I've sailed on Princess from the New York area, someone has had to transport me to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.  Any ship sailing out of Manhattan is easy for me to cruise on.  Ships sailing out of Brooklyn are awkward to get to.  That means I will not likely sail on MSC or Princess that often.  And it means that I will likely never sail Royal Caribbean (RCCL) out of Bayonne. 

Until I see a cheaper and easier way to reach the Brooklyn or Bayonne cruise terminals, I will not bother to cruise from them without a good excuse.  Although I can see RQS and I cruising out of Brooklyn due to its accessibility from her house, I believe we will continue to take our NYC cruises from Manhattan for now.

 

 

 

PS: I recently found that there is a ferry from the Wall Street area that will take me close enough to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.  However, I hate the idea of humping bags through the IRT (New York's "Numbered" Lines) subway stations, then walking a few blocks to the ferry. I will try a dry run long before I take a cruise from Brooklyn.

Sometimes, I miss a former friend.

 

It's been a little over 15 months since my former cruise partner and I severed our friendship.  I will never go into a detailed apology for my actions, as I don't want to give her any ammunition she could use against me.  (She's the type of person who would try to destroy a person out of anger.) Yet, I once sent her an olive branch to suggest that we try to repair things.

The other day, I mentioned something to the ex girlfriend - that I threw out a framed picture I have of the former friend.  I don't want it anymore, and I doubt my ex friend would want it either.  There is a touch of sadness here, as my ex girlfriend doesn't understand why the my ex cruise partner and I couldn't patch up things.  The former cruise partner couldn't stand how I referenced her in my prior blog (she didn't like seeing herself in a sometimes harsh light), and I couldn't stand how she defamed me to at least two (or more) people I know.  There are lines which two friends should never cross, and we crossed them.

You'll note that the face of the person in the center of the picture is obscured by her hair.  I was lucky to have this picture of my former cruise partner in better times. (She wouldn't want her face exposed here.)  Strangely, it was on the same ship on the same itinerary where we had a problems several years later. One thing I know, I will never cruise out of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal again....