On the countdown

10 days to go, everything booked, just hoping for the weather in New York to improve a bit.
Personally I'm not worried about the cold or the snow while we are there, just hope it's not that bad, thatLæs mere
NYC

Just arrived in NYC, great flight no problems at all, except for a very ropey landing..!
Checked in the hotel and sorted a car for the transfer to the ship on Tuesday.
Just on 7th ave at the minLæs mere
NYC

Just arrived in NYC, great flight no problems at all, except for a very ropey landing..!
Checked in the hotel and sorted a car for the transfer to the ship on Tuesday.
Just on 7th ave at the minLæs mere
Harlem, NYC

What a day!
So many New York bucket list items in one day.
Ride the New York subway, see NYC in the snow, visit a genuine New York apartment and go to a Harlem restaurant.
The day started withLæs mere
Just beat the weather

Our car was booked for 10.30am, but just after breakfast about 9am the snow started, so we got the bell boy to call the limo firm and get the car at 9.30, so we could miss the incoming storm.
ItLæs mere
BOGOF

Eight of us booked a table in Giovanni's last night, as we get a bogof deal on the first night of the cruise, so it's $25 for two instead of each.
It was a disaster though, the food wasn't that goodLæs mere
Epidemic !!!

Found out tonight that there are over 500 guests ill with GI problems.
That's quite a big proportion of the total guests on board.
We have been informed that we are not docking at the usual berthLæs mere
Shhhh this is the concierge lounge

Well I did it again, I got told of for being a bit loud.
I know that is unbelievable as I'm the quietest person around.
Ok ok, that's not strictly true I'm probably the noisiest person around, butLæs mere
Virus alert !!!!

Well three days out of New York and the Norovirus has hit the ship.
I'm not really sure exactly how many people are affected by the virus, but it is definitely well over 200, With Sheila,Eva andLæs mere
Docked in Old San Juan

After all the speculation about where we will dock, and my thinking we where in a different part of town, we are docked in the usual place, it just looked different last night when it was dark.
TheLæs mere
Cruise Cancelled !!

Well this is a first for me, the CDC have cancelled the rest of the cruise, and we are now not going to St Maarten, we are heading straight back to Bayonne, New Jersey, for sanitizing.
There will beLæs mere
Free at last

Sheila was finally let out of her quarantine in the cabin, woo hoo!
We had docked in the usual berth in Old San Juan, so as Maz, Jim & the girls had gone to a shopping mall for some retail therapy, weLæs mere
Compensation sorted

The compensation for the cancelled part of the cruise had been sorted.
We are getting 50% off this first cruise, which includes a $400 refund they gave us yesterday, and then a further 50% off aLæs mere
Still waiting

None of the consecutive cruisers have yet got any proper information on what we're supposed to do for transfers, immigration or luggage etc.
The right hand doesn't know what the left is doing, theLæs mere
New York, a walk in the park

Finally in the hotel, and it's as nice as we thought.
On Friday morning after breakfast Sheila and the others went back to the hotel.
I had a walk up to Central Park for another tick off my bucketLæs mere
Always a silver lining

The two nights in the hotel were, good, after a typical RCCL start, with no proper information about how we were to finance our meals etc.
Eventually we were told to keep all receipts and submit themLæs mere
It's all Mr Englands fault

God I feel rough this morning.
It's all the fault of the concierge barman, by the name of Clive England.
We met him about 4 years ago on the independence and he's from Jamaica and is one of the bestLæs mere
Bayonne New Jersey

Back on the ship for the second cruise.
We had a brilliant surprise today.
Out of the blue we received an invitation to dine with the Captain.
Apparently the guests in the royal suite had to refuseLæs mere
Superbowl shocker!

Not that I follow American football, but the build up to the Super Bowl final in New Jersey was amazing, especially for the two unexpected days we spent in New York.
Times Square and a chunk ofLæs mere
Samana, Dominican republic

Samana, in the Dominican Republic.
We tendered in which I always enjoy, but I'm afraid there's not much of interest there, just the usual trinket stalls along the sea front and a couple of run-downLæs mere
Weather warning for NYC

Well we're three days away from the end of the cruise and the weather reports from New York are very bad.
There are thousands of flights being cancelled and there are more storms expected for theLæs mere
Another meal!

This cruise is full of firsts.
Yesterday when Sheila and I got back to the cabin, there was an invitation to dinner this time with the hotel director.
That's one step down from the Captain.
BeforeLæs mere
Better weather expected

The weather forecast is looking a little better for Sunday, the expected storm looks like it's going to pass further north, and most of it should miss New York.
So with a bit of luck there should beLæs mere
Manchester airport

On landing we had to go to flight connections for the boarding cards for our rearranged internal flight to Manchester.
Our transit through customs and immigration was OK, up until I set the alarm ofLæs mere
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Then the snow storm that was supposed to pass to the north of us didn't and it hit NYC hard.
we got to the airport ok, and on to the plane ok, but It came down so fast and with the freezingLæs mere