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Highly unlikely I will cruise again.  For a start, I've been darn near everywhere on earth I want to go, and few of those places are calling me to return.  "Been there, done that, got the tee shirt" sort of thing.

Secondly, during the years that i DID cruise extensively, the experience deteriorated in an unbroken linear line from each one to the next.  Only one cruise, early on, was Carnival, and I had only good things to say about that trip, years ago.  The CEO of the line I used most, was replaced by a bean counter whose idea of "customer service" was directly opposite the gentleman he replaced, and while the line probably showed increased profit, the experience got steadily less enjoyable.

I am glad to have done what I did, when I did it, and been and seen all that I have done, but unless and until this current disease is CONQUERED, sharing space with thousands of strangers has NO appeal whatever.

5 hours ago, msufan288 said:

Looking at these pics, I'm pretty sure they will have to repair this at a shipyard.

 

 

 

 

This is a tough one! Far from being a "bubble baby" and expecting Da Gummint to keep me totally safe from anything on earth including words that might hurt my feelings, I am sure that had I been on that cruise I would have signed up to go.

I was not specifically aware of the fact that it is impossible for trained volcanologists to predict an eruption. My "feelings" would have been that any 'danger' was more "Disney" than 'Real" and just part of the fun. I would have thought that a reputable cruise line like Royal Carib would never subject their passengers to real known danger, and that the folks running the tours there every day would not be putting their own lives in danger if they felt it was unsafe.

I will be curious to see how the legal end plays out (if it doesn't take a dozen or more years).  And I cannot begin to imagine the feelings of the guy who took the now undoubtedly viral video 20 minutes after he was there.

54 minutes ago, bretts173 said:

 

You are kidding me, people make choices, people could be hurt or killed in any number of tours that cruise companies operate. Why do we always have to blame someone else for our choices.

54 minutes ago, bretts173 said:

OK I'll bite.  Name a couple such.  I've done over 50 cruise excursions and never come close to one such

Thanks to all.  It was certainly a strange sight to see, with ll the empty balconies and railings.   First  time I ever saw such.

Just watched Oasis of the Seas sail out of Ft Lauderdale (afternoon, Saturday Nov 23, 2019.

From the web camera, it appeared to have no passengers, only crew.  Destination shown is nearby Miami.

Is there a back story to this?

Anybody want to share how much it COSTS, or is this against board rules or something?

\

Thank you very much.

How much are they each, per person, in US dollars?

Yes, you need Visas. Yes, you can walk around on your own or use private tours. You absolutely do not need to use the overpriced ship excursions.

How much ARE the ship excursions? Seems to be a big secret. Please tell, per person in US dollars.

How much money is the ship run shore excursion?

Per person in US dollars, please.

If there might be ONE thing on which everyone posting here would agree (how likely is that, I hear you ask) it is this: The biggest single complaint that I have heard expressed over and over was the same. There was NO effective communication from the top..

That is inexcusable. It is decent, common sense, caring reflexive behavior, or it certainly ought to be. Have candor and basic honesty become so fragile that the worry about possible litigation has destroyed them?

I would not be surprised if some substantive changes in procedure concerning accurate and timely messages for passengers flow from this incident. I would hope that they do. Basic, honest, timely information provided to people who are upset to varying degrees can have NO downside. (Or at least one would HOPE that worry over possible litigation has not again tipped the scales on this behavior as well.

It is this same lack of decency and common sense in being honest with patrons which was also a large part of the disgusting disgraceful weekend at the flagship airport of America. It is, to repeat myself, INESXCUSABLE that passengers can get more and better information from twitter than they can for those responsible for taking care of them.

Anybody else notice the little boat tied up just to the west of K?

302 feet long, crew of 35.

May turn out to be the new 'normal' till St Maarten, St Thomas, San Juan and several other smaller ports are back in operation. They have to go 'somewhere'!

Cruise ships have already visited. The Southernmost Point webcam shows some visitors, but nothing like the long lines of folks who lined up there for photos pre-storm.

Barcelona to where?

It is a very popular cruise port, but do some reading about recent events there involving tourism. Several people I know have had their money stolen in that city, in highly crowded, popular tourist areas.

Frustrating????? Frustrating is not having a home and/or business because your island was devastated by a Cat 4 hurricane... or 2 Cat 4 hurricanes.:')

 

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OFF your high horse and back to a dictionary (remember those??) Frustrating is EXACTLY what is, as opposed to devastating.

We too are flying in on the 7th and staying at the Sheraton in Old San Juan.

My source tells me that the cruise, flights, and hotels will be up and running days before we arrive.

 

Given the current state of things there, yours is an impressive 'source' indeed!

Golly, I hate to break a perfect string of 28 people going regardless of anything.

But the two storms completely destroyed all but one of the six ports of call I was scheduled for.

Not just a little, but a lot. Those which remain open are likely going to be mobbed by die-hards tendering into places they have possibly been multiple times before.

And I just don't see how dropping my tourist collars on Grand Cayman is going to do much of anything to help Dominica.

I DO feel terribly for residents of the devastated islands, most of which I have visited and have fond memories of.

Frankly I feel some sympathy for the cruise lines too, with all their printed brochures and web pages full of goods they can't deliver.

As of noon today, the Coast Guard has put Port of Miami and Port Everglades under Condition X-ray. They anticipate Condition Yankee at 8 am tomorrow morning. https://res.cloudinary.com/simplevie...7439564a3c.pdf. Here's an explanation of the different conditions: https://res.cloudinary.com/simplevie...439fb56b59.pdf

Interesting link and thanks for posting it.

I always have to smile when I read a govt pronouncement that begins with "clarify".. I guess that includes most of 'em, huh.

Post number two nailed it!

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Hey Jack. Have been an enormous fan of yours ever since your memorable visit to Montevideo. Stumbled on this thread totally by accident, but was SO excited I had to email the link for it to my own Sailor Jill whilst she was at work. I suspect she will be as happy and surprised to read this as I was.

Will need to do a little research to see what all else I may have missed since my visits to this site became few and far between.

All the best to you both!

And the one that, because they were from St. George, they must be LDS...do people really think that way?

Poker players think that way. They would not say "must be" but would say odds are good that.....

Hopefully, both affected lines will assist passengers who miss the ship in FLL to get to their next port of call. Certainly no fault of their own for being late.

Looks like only 2 departures scheduled today...Princess and Holland. If this had been on a day with six or seven departures, thousands might have missed their cruises.

I am wondering whether the two departures will delay long enough for some disrupted passengers to find their way to the boat via alternate means. I would hope so.