aaerobear

One thing you have to understand about the Northwest case is the guy was known all over the system as a scammer and always trying to get something he was NOT entitled to, whether it was jumping ahead of others on the upgrade list or other demands. These things can and have resulted in several people having their status removed although they have always been able to keep their miles.

Of course Northwest is now part of Delta and no longer has the same frequent flyer program. The Delta program is much stricter, this guy would have been booted a lot sooner. I flew for Northwest for 40 years and was born and raised in St. Paul. The people in Minnesota are pretty touchy folks and complain a lot so now that they don't have Northwest to kick around anymore, they have moved on.

Glad it is all working out for you and Mike, glad you are liking the new Royal.

Remember to tell Bob "It is all about the luggage tags" he will tell you what that means.

Hope you all have a blast from here on in.

Ed (and Jeff)

Pia,

Just caught up with you Live from, sounds like you are having fun, when do Bob and Meridith get aboard?

Ed

Just thought I would see what the locals are doing this year and early next year (2014) We still have the grand here homeported and soon will be replaced by the Star for spring 2014 to late summer season 2015.

We have sailed on most of the major lines, our preferences ( in order ) are Sebourne, Cunard, Princess, Celebrity, HAL, RCCL, Carnival. The rest have no interest for us, but just because we have sailed on a few and were just not impressed, others have their opinion and we respect that.

We have attained the top tiers on several of the ines we sail and have to say that Princess, by far, has the best "perks" for their top tier (elite) passengers.

( 250-500 free internet minutes, free unlimited laundry, in cabin bar setup, vip lounge every evening {sadly no free drinks} and a Captains most traveled luncheon). I do like the Elite cocktail party on X as well.

Ed

Look forward to it.

Hi all,

Jeff and Ed from San Francisco also on this cruise, sounds like a lot of "family" to meet and greet. See you all on board.

Ed

A couple of points...

1. If you arrived at 11:00 am, you were late. The Future Cruise Consultant comes down from the ship at 10:50, checks off the names and takes the group to the ship right at 11:00, so if you are arriving at 11, chances are you will just be starting the check-in process and miss the group boarding. They can't really hold up the group for late comers anymore as it causes ill will with those who are on time.

2. If you are doing the BVE and have traveling guests with you, be sure they are there at the same time as you and have ALL of their documents ready. If the traveling passengers have a passport use the darn thing. Why on earth would you leave it home and use a different means of identification because you think using your passport is an inconvenience.

Remember, if something happens to you in Canada, you can NOT fly home, you would have to arrange different transportation.

It also gets a very deep cleaning and rust removal and painting. The crew works harder than on a cruise. They also have to feed the contractors and crew onboard, while cleaning. There will also be several reupholstery people onboard repairing furniture that needs redoing.

They also take a detailed inventory of everything on the ship.

some picky passengers, not all. I could care less about seeing the water line.

We just finished 6 cruises in 2012 and have only 2 booked in 2013 (so far)

First one is 2/13 Golden Princess LA-Hawaii-LA (14 days)

Second is 4/18 Ocean Princess Singapore-Rome (30 days)

Ed/Jeff

One thing i can say for sure......the scanners really don't give a rats aXX about bottles in checked luggage, so unless there is a ships rep watching them, there is no problem.

ONT-CA,

It really does happen. I promise you. Looks are deceiving and baggage is changed from the original cages to others that are specially tagged for different parts of the ship. This change comes after the original cages are brought to the scanner area. The same as your checked luggage on an airline, after going down the bagbelt it is scanned and then loaded into a cart for the right flight (hopefully is gets to the right plane)

For cruise ships the bags are loaded on carts destined for FWD, MID, AFT sections of the ship.

All checked bags are sent through a very large x-ray scanner. I work at the San Francisco terminal and can assure you it is done and is a federal mandate.

Generally it is done by TSA or contract workers and NOT anyone from the cruise lines themselves. At port calls, the individual scanning can be either/or. Sometimes you get scanned by the port and sometimes it is on the ship itself. If it is by the port, then your chances are better to bring liquor back with you as there are no ship's personnel present during the scanning. If it is done on the ship, it is a crap shoot.

OK, I work in San Francisco at the pier. Here is the procedure we use.

1. when you arrive at the terminal there are reps curbside with radios, they will call for a wheelchair pusher. Generally they are there in 5-7 minutes.

2. the pusher will take you to the "special assistance" check-in area where you will be checked in.

3. the pusher will then take you to a waiting area very close to the check in area where you will wait for a ships crewmember to push you for the rest of the way, generally all the way to your stateroom.

Disembakation:

1. Both ships personnel and shoreside wheelchair pushers will be ON BOARD the ship. when your color is called they will push you to the baggage area and help find you luggage. If you need a porter they will get one for you, then push you to the buses or curbside for pick-up.

NOTE. You will not be able to stay in the chair and wait for your pickup as there are many people needing this service and only a limited number of wheelchairs, so, if you are having someone pick you up be sure to have them in the area close to the time your color is called.

Monica,

I tried to add our names and cabin on the regular roll call and it did not seem to go through.

We are Jeff and Ed from San Francisco and are in 1646 Aqua BLU dining.

Looking forward to meeting everyone.

Ed/Jeff

Ed and Jeff 1646 Aqua

getting closer

for the roll call

Ed and Jeff 1646

Bob and Jim 1634

Interesting, we have friends who booked though AquaFest and so we looked at the cruise. The fare we got through our TA was several hundred less than the AF fare and was in a higher category of Aqua Class than what they got, plus the OB credit was more.

Just have to shop around

bdjam,

You are correct, and if the information is all completed, that is what they use for the preliminary manifest. If that information has not been completed and they show up after the cutoff, they will not be boarded. I believe the amended/final manifest is resent just after the shoreside computers are shut down. The last thing the ships personnel do before leaving the shoreside check-in area is to radio the names and cabin numbers of those keycards still not picked up to the First Purser.

Teacher,

You are assuming that people actually READ the boarding pass. It has been proven time and time again that most people do not really read it.

The best example is the very first paragraph. I can't tell you how many times passengers show up and are "shocked" that they can't board because they have packed their passport in their luggage. The typical response from them is, "well I will show them after I get my luggage"....... Sorry, it is now or never. Your luggage has to be found and your passport has to be retrieved BEFORE you are checked in and board the ship.

So, please read ALL of the information on the boarding pass.

Hotel checkout is 11am - and I'm not going to tootle around downtown with my luggage...just going to take a cab to the pier and see what happens...

I think staggered boarding is a total mistake and would suggest that everyone write to Buckelew and tell him what you think, if he gets mega mail, maybe, something will change.

BUT, I do not think anyone has to tootle around Seattle or any other city with their luggage. There is not a hotel on earth that does not have a bellman or concierge that will check your bags until you are ready to leave. Check out, give them your bags and go for a coffee or late breakfast or some last minute shopping, then take a cab when your time is close.

We are flying Delta JFK to Rome on the 27th of November, staying in Rome for the 28th 29th and 30th.

I have just completed five of Mark Abrahmson's books. They all are set in San Francisco (mainly the Castro) and are fun, funny, quick reads. I like that because i can read for a short time, head to the bar, read a short time, head to the spa, read a short time, take a nap........well you know, the things you do on a cruise ship.

I also like Ellen hart, Greg Herran, Lev Raphael, Anthony Bidulka, Joe Keenan, Rick Kopp and Mark Richard Zubro.

it is a great idea for those riding in the main cabin of an aircraft. The only problem i can see is other passengers trying to stake out your extra seat after they board (for a number of reasons)

The Flight attendant should be made aware asap so these types of problems do not even get started.