Jump to content

Taishartrueblood

Members
  • Posts

    467
  • Joined

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

Taishartrueblood's Achievements

Cool Cruiser

Cool Cruiser (2/15)

  1. We are in a recession (could be a moderate or severe one, we will see) and that tends to drive down prices of luxury goods. We are also in both a demand-pull and supply-push inflationary cycle which means that every dollar you have is worth less (and it an extremely hard cycle to break out of... raising taxes and more spending is exactly the wrong way). So to answer the OP's question.... Maybe πŸ˜› I am betting that the inflationary pressures will vastly outstrip the recessionary (stagflationary) pressures so cruises (and ALL goods) will cost more next year. Honestly, i recommend buying tangible assets, particularly tax-protected assets, as the $100 you have saved and that is in your bank account.... may only be worth $90 next year. Take my advice for exactly what it cost you πŸ˜›
  2. David Sobe is being a jerk, ignore him. You have been polite and honest in your statements, as far as i can tell, and you almost certainly have more expertise than anyone here since you are a large scale mechanical engineer.
  3. Where are you referring to? NCL sails all over the world.
  4. No, this is a docked port. There is a lift. There are beach wheelchairs.
  5. I filled out out but i didnt get a chance to drop it off. I am going to fill it out virtually today πŸ™‚
  6. "Mystical ChaakTun Cenotes & Maya Spiritual Cleanse" in Cozumel (labeled this by NCL) You can do this excursion independently, not through the cruise lines, but it was pretty cheap for a full day excursion. So we have all been to Cozumel a ton of times, but this was the first excursion that was a real taste of culture. The cenotes are always fun to explore but what was amazing was the "Maya Spiritual cleanse" portion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temazcal After we arrived, we all stood around a fire (20 strangers) and they had us individually come up and toss herbs into the fire and say what we are grateful for. The shaman would then fan aromatic smoke over us. That part was interesting and people were more open and vulnerable than i would have expected. We then were led into a Temazcal (think a brick igloo with a fire pit in the middle). The idea is that this symbolic of a woman's womb... the hole at top is the belly button and the entrance in the birth canal. Our guide had warned everyone that this was not for everyone.....when we first entered, it was cool in there which felt nice on a hot morning. We all sat around the outside or on the ground and then the shaman entered..... followed by a glowing hot rock that was tossed in by people outside the temazcal. The rock was the size of 3 cinderblocks and was literally glowing red (had been in a fire all morning). The shaman led us in welcoming the rock (grandfather/fire) and then 12 more glowing how rocks were tossed in (not the safest thing, imo, and the shaman was barefoot! He would move the rocks into the firepit with a pair of deer antlers). At this point it was HOT in the temazcal, we all had sweat pouring off of us... but it gets worse πŸ˜› The shaman then had them cover the hole in the ceiling and poured some water on the glowing rocks to create steam. While it was hot before, the steam was EXTREMELY hot, we probably had 80% of the group choose to leave at this moment. They then covered the doorway and the the shaman would both lead chants and beat on a very loud drum (simulating a mother's heartbeat to a fetus, i suspect, but he didnt explain). After about 10 minutes of this, the ceremony was over and everyone left. This is fairly authentic, this is a ritual that is still done on a regular basis. It is an experience that i expect i will remember for a long, long time... VERY highly recommend it! https://chaaktun.com.mx/
  7. Good morning everyone, we just got back from our June 26-July 03 western Caribbean cruise Costa Maya, Harvest Caye, RoatΓ‘n Bay, Cozumel and it was our first time in Haven. First off, a little background. My dad is 70 years old but not in great shape... he is mobility challenged, nearly blind, and has significant neuropathy in all extremities. We have been cruising together as a family for a decade but we realized that he couldnt get around well enough or know where he was going.... last trip, he stayed in his room unless one of us came and got him. The thought was that the Haven is much smaller, less crowded, and there is a shorter walking distance between his room and the pool/bar/restaurant. We didn't know exactly what the butler would provide (we read up on it but still were not exactly sure) but felt like the personal interaction would be beneficial to him. Food: The Haven restaurant was good but not great. I like all types of foods from the "mundane" like fast food to Michelin star dining so I am not a food snob but i was expecting better. I have been on many cruise lines and the only moderately priced line that I thought had excellent restaurants was Disney (Remy and Palo). The service was excellent, the atmosphere was nice, and they were willing to customize to our preferences. We tried Ocean Blue, Teppanyaki, and Cagney's and we generally found them also good but not great. Pool area: It was a nice place to eat (closer to our rooms so dad didnt have to go as far) but the area was generally empty. I am not complaining as that quiet really did feel like a Haven from the energy on the main deck.. i like the energy but sometimes it was nice to have a break! We didnt see anyone using the lounge chairs in the pools all week, some kids/adults used the hot tubs (insert rant about hot tubs being lukewarm at best πŸ˜› ), and a few kids swam in the deeper pool area. Staff came by on a regular basis to see if there was anything anyone needed. The adult-only sun deck was nice. Bar: I am not a big drinker so i didnt hang out at the bar, just stopped by a few times to get a drink. The drinks were a higher quality than the other bars (more alcohol, correct proportions) and the staff were constantly joking/chatting with the bar flies πŸ˜› Staff: This is where the Haven stood out. All the staff were extremely personable, efficient, and clearly enjoyed what they were doing (even if they, like all cruise staff, work CRAZY hours!). For example, my sister's company was closing a massive contract and she needed to sign the contract (for whatever reason they didnt do digisign <shrug>) and fax it back to the purchasing company. Her lawyers sent her the document, she put it on a thumbdrive, and asked the concierge to print it out. I am not sure if she misspoke or the concierge misunderstood, but she only needed to print the 6 signature pages, not the whole 400 page document! Even so, the concierge printed it all, whole punched it, and put it in a binder for her review.... way above the expectation! Butler: Our butler Jayson deserves his own section, I can provide his last name if people ask (not sure i should post it publicly?). Dad took a fall the first day that dislocated his trapezium bone and he got a bad cold on the later part of the cruise.... He is used to being a power player but with his physical limitations, he has to rely on others to help him and has turned reclusive. The loss of control (i am playing amateur psychiatrist here) makes him both very demanding and something of a jerk to just about everyone. I would help him get dressed and that sort of thing, but Dad didnt want to leave his room. That being said, Jayson was a Godsend! Jayson had spent time caring for his ailing father before his father passed and he and dad really connected. He would help get dad on a wheelchair and take him around the ship (we didnt ask him to do that, we are certainly capable of pushing him in a wheelchair, but i think it is company policy?). He checked on him constantly and would even do things like help him get into the pool (again, this is NOT part of the scope of a butler, this is way more than expected). I don't want to list all the ways that Jayson made the cruise better, but neither Dad or myself would have had a good time without Jayson's assistance. We probably gave him more tip than he gets in 3-4 weeks but he was worth it! Would I do Haven again? No, for me it wasn't worth it. Would we do it again if Dad was coming? Yes, definitely! P.S. Best excursion i have been on in Mexico, "Mystical ChaakTun Cenotes & Maya Spiritual Cleanse" in Cozumel So we have all been to Cozumel a ton of times, but this was the first excursion that was a real taste of culture. The cenotes are always fun to explore but what was amazing was the "Maya Spiritual cleanse" portion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temazcal After we arrived, we all stood around a fire (20 strangers) and they had us individually come up and toss herbs into the fire and say what we are grateful for. The shaman would then fan aromatic smoke over us. That part was interesting and people were more open and vulnerable than i would have expected. We then were led into a Temazcal (think a brick igloo with a fire pit in the middle). The idea is that this symbolic of a woman's womb... the hole at top is the belly button and the entrance in the birth canal. Our guide had warned everyone that this was not for everyone.....when we first entered, it was cool in there which felt nice on a hot morning. We all sat around the outside or on the ground and then the shaman entered..... followed by a glowing hot rock that was tossed in by people outside the temazcal. The rock was the size of 3 cinderblocks and was literally glowing red (had been in a fire all morning). The shaman led us in welcoming the rock (grandfather/fire) and then 12 more glowing how rocks were tossed in (not the safest thing, imo, and the shaman was barefoot! He would move the rocks into the firepit with a pair of deer antlers). At this point it was HOT in the temazcal, we all had sweat pouring off of us... but it gets worse πŸ˜› The shaman then had them cover the hole in the ceiling and poured some water on the glowing rocks to create steam. While it was hot before, the steam was EXTREMELY hot, we probably had 80% of the group choose to leave at this moment. They then covered the doorway and the the shaman would both lead chants and beat on a very loud drum (simulating a mother's heartbeat to a fetus, i suspect, but he didnt explain). After about 10 minutes of this, the ceremony was over and everyone left. This is fairly authentic, this is a ritual that is still done on a regular basis. It is an experience that i expect i will remember for a long, long time... VERY highly recommend it!
  8. Good afternoon, I havent seen anyone ask this yet. Do they have board games (Scrabble in particular) on-board, either in a playing room or in the Haven? We can bring our own but would rather not πŸ™‚
  9. So is there a difference between these? i think that the top is the "Free at Sea" promotion and the bottom is purchased seperately?
Γ—
Γ—
  • Create New...