Jill B
The roaming Aussie
Day 67: Well, here we are in New York, Manhatten cruise terminal. On one side we have the Intrepid sea, air and space museum; on the other side Norwegian Escape cruise ship, which is HUGE! New York turned on the heat for us, around 100 degrees
We had a tour booked, New York by land and sea, which was delayed because it took a looooong time to get through immigration, and Norwegian Escape was first in line.
We waited in the (hot) arrivals hall for over an hour as the queue moved at a snail's pace. There were no chairs, and a few people had to sit on the floor as they were feeling faint. Not all the counters were manned, and the passport checking, finger printing, face photographing etc. was a lengthy process. This was the worst entry process we experienced on the whole trip.
Eventually we were out of there, and found the last bus for our tour waiting. As it had been sitting all that time with the engine running, the airconditioning was leaking water over all the seats. Oh well, load up and off we go. Drove to Pier 17 (I think) beside the Brooklyn Bridge and boarded a tour boat to see the sights, including the Statue of Liberty. It was good, except the l commentary was a bit lame.
Once off the boat we walked back to find our bus, which wasn't there; it showed up eventually, and rushed us through the city past landmarks which were hard to see because the windows weren't very big, the streets weren't very wide and the buildings are very tall. Our tour guide was an odd woman, whose attempts at humour mostly failed. The tour ended about an hour short because of the initial delay, so it was a bit disappointing.
Back "home" for a quick bite, then off for a walk, hopefully to find the Empire State Building. Walking, walking, walking, traffic, horns honking, petrol fumes, legs getting tired, where is this building? We gave up and went back to the ship.
Day 68: New York. Still hot.
Rick wanted to see the Intrepid Museum next door, I wanted to see Central Park..............................Rick won. So we waited in line, paid our $ and entered. It was very interesting, being on an aircraft carrier. We had to wait in lines to look at some exhibits, others cost more to see. I gave up when Rick wanted to go into the submarine, because we had been standing for a long time and my back and legs were hurting, and there was another long line of people waiting to go in. I found some shade and waited, and waited................................. I never saw him come out, I looked for him in the souvenir shop and cafe; no sight of him. So I went "home" and there he is at the Leper Colony with a cold drink. grrrrrrrrrr.
New York gave us great send-off as we sailed away; a thunderstorm! After we passed below The Narrows bridge visibility reduced and the foghorn started.
Day 69: at sea.
Seems there was some excitement overnight. Around 1am the wind picked up from starboard and the ship rocked a lot. Water leaked inside in several places, and crew were fixing things all day. Rick and I slept through the fun! We heard that parts of New York flooded from the storm.
Next port, Charleston SC.
New York, coming into our berth, will we fit?
City views.
Intrepid Museum.
We had a tour booked, New York by land and sea, which was delayed because it took a looooong time to get through immigration, and Norwegian Escape was first in line.
We waited in the (hot) arrivals hall for over an hour as the queue moved at a snail's pace. There were no chairs, and a few people had to sit on the floor as they were feeling faint. Not all the counters were manned, and the passport checking, finger printing, face photographing etc. was a lengthy process. This was the worst entry process we experienced on the whole trip.
Eventually we were out of there, and found the last bus for our tour waiting. As it had been sitting all that time with the engine running, the airconditioning was leaking water over all the seats. Oh well, load up and off we go. Drove to Pier 17 (I think) beside the Brooklyn Bridge and boarded a tour boat to see the sights, including the Statue of Liberty. It was good, except the l commentary was a bit lame.
Once off the boat we walked back to find our bus, which wasn't there; it showed up eventually, and rushed us through the city past landmarks which were hard to see because the windows weren't very big, the streets weren't very wide and the buildings are very tall. Our tour guide was an odd woman, whose attempts at humour mostly failed. The tour ended about an hour short because of the initial delay, so it was a bit disappointing.
Back "home" for a quick bite, then off for a walk, hopefully to find the Empire State Building. Walking, walking, walking, traffic, horns honking, petrol fumes, legs getting tired, where is this building? We gave up and went back to the ship.
Day 68: New York. Still hot.
Rick wanted to see the Intrepid Museum next door, I wanted to see Central Park..............................Rick won. So we waited in line, paid our $ and entered. It was very interesting, being on an aircraft carrier. We had to wait in lines to look at some exhibits, others cost more to see. I gave up when Rick wanted to go into the submarine, because we had been standing for a long time and my back and legs were hurting, and there was another long line of people waiting to go in. I found some shade and waited, and waited................................. I never saw him come out, I looked for him in the souvenir shop and cafe; no sight of him. So I went "home" and there he is at the Leper Colony with a cold drink. grrrrrrrrrr.
New York gave us great send-off as we sailed away; a thunderstorm! After we passed below The Narrows bridge visibility reduced and the foghorn started.
Day 69: at sea.
Seems there was some excitement overnight. Around 1am the wind picked up from starboard and the ship rocked a lot. Water leaked inside in several places, and crew were fixing things all day. Rick and I slept through the fun! We heard that parts of New York flooded from the storm.
Next port, Charleston SC.
New York, coming into our berth, will we fit?
City views.
Intrepid Museum.