sfaaa

1 hour ago, UNCFanatik said:

Royal pays the Haitian government $12 per guest.

Who is the Haitian government these days? Where does the $12 pp go? Seems like no one is in charge of the country and I doubt $12 goes to the people at all.

2 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

They are going to ride jet skis to where?

Gangsters also want to play and look cool.

4 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

The A-Team

Best of the best. Labadee security is in good hand.

Private security. Blackwater? Wagner? Triple Canopy? Local mall cop? What exactly is it? 

3 hours ago, hard_eight said:

Plenty of info on cruise sites to plan accordingly. Few boats with automatic weapons could take hostages, loot the ship, including the casino. Would be a nightmare. Highly unlikely but, people claiming it can't be done are naïve to how the real world works.

Somalia pirates can definitely pull this off and Haiti is fast becoming lawless Mogadishu of the Caribbean.

1 minute ago, Charles4515 said:

Again I have seen men with heavy automatic weapons by the gate and they are also at the other end by Dragons Head.. 

Perhaps but one or two AK 47 with a single 30 round mag carried by these guards is anything but heavy or scary. Haitian gangs have plenty of AR type rifles to counter plus belt fed MGs and even 50 cal sniper rifles capable to shoot down helicopters and piece through armored trucks used by Haitian police. It's a total mismatch and one-sided fight.

8 hours ago, BND said:

  Labadee is heavily guarded.  

A flimsy chain link fence that can easily be breached. A couple of rent-a-cop type guards armed with light arms and very limited ammo they carry with them. Totally unguarded beaches from the sea. No defense structure and obstacles anywhere to fight from. No hope of reinforcement from Haitian police. How long do you think these guards can hold out before they run away or are overrun?

You can access Princess pricing using a big box TA website.

The 4k Haitian escaped inmates are not in hiding. Don't need to. They have rejoined their gun toting gangster homeboys and are trying to take over the country.

6 hours ago, donaldsc said:

I have not ploughed through the 80+ posts on this topic but considering how crowded the buffet often is I can't see why we should have to give up some of the limited seating to more crew members.

 

DON 

You don't. Most ship crew and entertainers eat late at buffet when the dinner rush is already over.

Unlike Haiti which has a very small and poorly equipped army, Dominion Republic has a fairly well armed and sizable army, navy and air force to protect its territory. Haitian gangs will be in over their heads if they cross into DR to cause trouble.

2 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

There really is not that much infrastructure at Labadee. I can't foresee RCI hanging around and dealing with thugs. Any attempt to shake down RCI and I'm pretty sure they would be out.

That would be smart. Can you imagine the financial, legal and other negative implications to RCCL if some cruise passengers are harmed or kidnapped by these armed gangs at Labadee?  

43 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Whoever is the next government will probably continue an arrangement with RCG. 

Armed gangs are totally drunk with greed and power. What is enough to them today will not be sufficient any more tomorrow. RCCL will find this out soon enough if it thinks everything will be business as usual going forward.

12 minutes ago, kathy49 said:

State of Emergency declared today. Not sure cruise ships will continue to go in there. I think this is a major escalation and some desperate people on the loose.

It is now a full blown insurgency with the aim to overflow the government. These are no longer just hood gangs. The national gang leader (an ex policeman) wants the whole country and the president throne.

6 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

Of course RCG is watching. I would guess that RCG has some kind of arrangement with the local crime bosses. 

Labadee local crime bosses may not have a say much longer. The big national armed gang boss (an ex policeman) is trying to unit all the armed gangs into a single rebel force aiming to overflow the government and take over the entire country. 

9 hours ago, BND said:

I don't think some understand exactly where Labadee is in relation to the really populated areas and how far it i from Port Au Prince.   It's 130 miles.

It's in the same country that has zero police protection and a nonfunctioning government. How long would it take for some heavily armed gangs to travel 130 miles by truck? In less than a day.

On 2/27/2024 at 8:36 AM, Ferry_Watcher said:

Speaking of Travel Agents, I can't tell you how many passengers arriving for a Carnival Alaska cruise last season (mostly from Tennessee) were told by their TA that their Real ID Driver's License (only) was sufficient ID to board the ship.  It was a mess. 

 

 

This probably was OK pre 9/11 but not since.

21 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

This.

 

Are officers more worthy in the eyes of the corporations?

The way it should be. Why do you think officers and managers get a bigger paycheck + perks every month?

1 hour ago, clo said:

how hard and well and amenably they work.

 

Then they will eventually get a promotion and work in management with access to guest  restaurants . Many ship officers and department heads started at the bottom and worked their way up. The merit system always exists.

On 2/29/2024 at 4:17 AM, mitsugirly said:

I know that this show is put on by Vallarta Adventures but Carnival is charging $179.99/pp and VA only charges $125/pp. I assume they would not let you book on your own. But that's a heck of a price jump for Carnival compared to what they actually charge. Isn't there some type of money guarantee that Carnival does if the price is cheaper? How does that work?

The premium price mark up you pay to Carnival is a convenience fee and  guarantee that the ship will wait for your return after the show. I believe you can cancel and rebook if the price drops on Carnival website before sailing.

14 hours ago, clo said:

Why wouldn't all the staff be welcome?

Common practice in hospitality industry, not just cruise ships. Management and admin staff can dine in some restaurants for guests.  Line staff eats in their own luncheon room. 

 I recall back in 2018, cruise director on Divina openly said Alaska was on MSC's radar. 

MSC Mexico & Alaska cruise? Don't hold back. Do tell. 

2 hours ago, Morecruisesplz said:

And you're happy with the decline in food and service?

Increase productivity and reduce op costs are always the right thing to do for for-profit companies.

SMART + club discount = 25% off rack rate.