dockman

I was once trying to negotiate with a bear who was chewing my leg off but then the skeeters all smelled blood and showed up in force scaring even the bear off...seemed good news until they picked me up and carried me off.

How many ports can handle or even want a ship that size to pull in for a day? Maybe we will soon see the return of the "cruise to nowhere" as it seems the trend in most ports is to restrict how many passengers a day is too many. And frankly i do not blame some of the port cities for wanting to keep some semblance of sanity as to how many people can they handle in the port city without totally disrupting peoples lives. Venice, Dubrovnik, and many other ports are making that abundantly clear and that list is likely to grow. I have zero desire to sail on a ship that size. I would rather go to a land based theme park/mall. And I hate theme parks and malls. Not my cup of tea. But hey I hope a lot of people go on them and leave more room for me on Holland and smaller ships.

Included would be more accurate than FREE. Seabourn is a wonderful pretty much all included cruise but the price reflects the inclusions.

Yes i get a free mini bar /booze at least on Princess. Yes get some cokes/small wine bottle etc on Holland but not free and i remove it all. As i recall my best perk on Holland for 4 star is free laundry and maybe a discount on paid dining.

May i ask approx how much total you spent on average per cruise not including gratuties as HOB seems to mean high onboard spender? I am not pretty so for sure won't qualify in that regard.

Well sadly some cruise exec that comes up with this obviously thinks it is a good system to reward new cruisers and take loyal cruisers for granted.. As elite/4 star I get free laundry and a mini bar set up...this after a ton of cruises and cruise days and having spend thousands of $$ over the years....and not to mention how many friends I have convinced to try a cruise and recommended HAL or Princess. A free upgrade offer or especially a free cruise offer would be a wonderful perk but i won't hold my breath. Meantime don't go on many cruises and get free offers and upgrades. Not my idea of a way to treat your most loyal customers but of course I do not think they care.

I have convinced several friends to go for their first ever cruise on both HAL and Princess. First time cruising friends got upgraded nicely and even though we booked and paid same rate I got nada. I guess the wisdom is that they already have me as a loyal customer and maybe by upgrading a first timer they will become loyal customers. Not exactly a great way to reward your loyal customers but it's their company and I guess they can do whatever they want even if it does rub me and many others the wrong way. I did warn my friends not to expect upgrades on their next cruise.

So you go on one cruise, no casino and no shops and get offered free cruise? While there are thousands of us that have been on a dozen or more and never a whiff of an offer....good for you. Must be nice to get that kind of offer. I will sit by my computer and wait for my free cruise offer to arrive in my mailbox.....i suspect it will be a very very long wait.

Generally not going to be free but i know that is a way to get offered a cruise...but i see some say they get offers with no casino play and that is the list i would like to know how you get your name on.

Well I hope you are correct but my gut feeling is airport screening is a more intense type...bottom line i don't want to be on a plane or a ship that has some idiots who manage to sneak a gun onboard.

Must be nice to sail with HAL and get an offer for a free cruise?? Did OP spend a massive amount of $$ or play a ton in the casino? If so maybe i can understand. I have been on 20 HAL cruises and never ever got any offer for free anything. How do i get on the give me a free cruise list??

Biggest surprise to me years ago when i first saw at least part of the great barrier reef is that it is not right along the shore but "out to sea"....for some reason i thought it would be much closer to shore and maybe it is in some areas. As for seeing much of anything from a cruise ship deck I think, but not 100% sure, that is not likely at all. I did a dive boat tour for several days and even from that small draft boat that could sit right on top of the reef yes you could look straight down in some spots but no way could a cruise ship get that close without danger. But if you jumped in the water with a mask you could in some places see all the way to the bottom to include lots of reef sharks just lying around relaxing as well as zillions of all kinds of fish doing their thing.

ok just checked and the st lucia report is dated feb 4 so obviously not the same idiot who tried to board today...so there are multiple idiots...i guess so far we have all been lucky that there has been no onboard shootings (that i am aware of) but i would feel a bit better if maybe cruise security spends more time looking for guns and the like and less time worrying about an extra bottle of wine.

So maintenance got it fixed but captain never acknowledged it or offered any info at all? Can that be correct? If so shame on that captain and his exec staff.

21 days last summer in alaska on crown...i experienced no problems at all. Had a wonderful cruise, food was good, ship was fine....entertainment not my cup of tea but others seemed to like it as theatre was packed most every show as were the bars with music... The back deck area pool is a perfect place to sit and watch the Alaska Scenery.

i am sure you will be just fine...and while many spend their days glued to their cellphones maybe you will be out on deck looking at the scenery or chatting with interesting people while your cell phone sits in your room. Good for you.

Point is everybody is different and some people for whatever reason don't want or don't have smart phones and nothing wrong with asking how to navigate a cruise without one on a cruise forum.

I have a phone and am just fine with it's features and advantages but do not criticize those who choose otherwise...but as you say "whatever".

It means that not everyone is the same. Believe it or not there are still people who do not have or want a TV. Does that mean if you have a TV you are better? Just maybe not having a TV means those people spend their time doing much more interesting things than sitting on a couch staring at a screen. I have a phone and I like a lot of what it brings....BUT i go out of my way not to turn into some kind of zombie that can't help but to check it every thirty seconds while ignoring people talking with me those who are walking down the street bumping into people as they check what is happening on tik tok. The problem is not the phones but the addiction to the phone.

Yes corrrect: BUT there are also advantages to NOT being tethered to a phone and getting adicted to them like millions upon millions of people who can't go one minute without looking at them. I sometimes feel sorry for kids who are so addicted to them that they miss being a kid , riding bikes, playing ball and other games, etc because they cannot stop fooling with the phone....and yes I am one of the addicted. Maybe some do grasp it and still don't want it?

Thanks good to hear that...

Small town and beach area...i went to a place at far right of beach towards end (facing ocean from beach)...lot of choices but of course gets crowded quickly when ship docks so maybe try to get off early and grab a spot. Nice beach area with umbrellas and F and B service.

Have you noticed any problem with exhaust/smoke on the back deck pool? A friend said that the smoke blew down around that back pool? Maybe just his cruise but i am booked on sapphire for alaska and i always spend a lot of time on that back pool deck on other princess ships. thanks for any info if i should be concerned...

I was all set to book the world cruise on crystal but for some reason it turns out i did not win either mega millions or powerball...must have been a mistake so i will try again this week...but maybe hold off on booking world cruise just in case.

True that. If $ were no object i would prefer to return to crystal that i was lucky to experience a dozen or so times once upon a time...the old harmony and symphony were wonderful 900 pax ships that were just about perfect in every way. But it appears that my choice is now several cruises a year on holland or princess or maybe one on crystal...i do have a ticket for the mega millions lotto and as soon as i win it I will be back on crystal for sure.