mnocket

25 minutes ago, ldubs said:

I've always wondered why the cruise line website would not show all available cabins for the desired occupancy level.  

The only reason that comes to mind is they don't want to publish the occupancy level.  

Thanks for the feedback everyone.  I'm swayed by your arguments, and will try to find a longer connection.  

1 minute ago, JM0115 said:

I’d be nervous with 1 hr but as long as you are going to the cruise embarkation city at least 1 day if not 2-3 days early it probably would be ok to have only the 1 hr connection time.

Yeah, I always travel in a day or two early.  Since I'll be leaving DEN in January, I'm going 2-days early (I'm always surprised at how easily DIA is disrupted by light snow).  Nothing I can do about a snowstorm, but absent that, I'd hate to miss my connection because it was too tight.  Unfortunately, as things stand now, the alternatives are either hugely more expensive or result in a 6+ hr connection.

In my case, not really domestic travel, but a domestic connection leading to an international flight.  Specifically, departing Denver and traveling to Buenos Aires with a connection in either Dallas or Miami. The connection times are about 1hr15m.  Since fixing a missed connection on this itinerary isn't easy, I'm worried this connection is too tight. Thoughts on this specific case and connection times in general?

1 hour ago, Torquer said:

What will come up is search results containing ANY of those words.  You want results that contain ALL those words, so you want to use AND connectives.  You can type in the AND between your search words, but right below the new search box Cruise Critic has done it for you, and you can just click on: specialty AND restaurant AND reservations

THANK YOU!  I hadn't noticed this. 👍

On 5/14/2024 at 5:43 PM, Toofarfromthesea said:

"I want it so it should be free" is not the compelling argument you think it is.

Try convincing Gen Z of that😁

28 minutes ago, clo said:

And I've gotten ONE in probably five years!

Me neither, but now that I have made the "Save For Later" mistake, I'll probably start getting them☹️

2 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

Never got any calls from O, and we did 4 cruises with them and 3 more booked.

 

But if this is how people decide to select a cruise line, then yes, better to sail on a less "desperate" line (although the ships are full most of the time, so I don't think they really have a reason to be desperate).

People are different.  Some dislike spam calls from companies, and apparently some are OK with it.  

25 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I have experienced the same and found the triggering factor is that if you select Save for Later, I get a phone call.

Bingo!  I hadn't thought of that, but yes, I Saved a cruise.  Won't make that mistake again.

1 minute ago, Harters said:

How odd. I often look at O's itineraries and never get a call. I wonder how they know it's you looking at the website and what your phone number is?  Are you a previous O customer and are somehow logging on to your account, rather than simply browsing their website? Or maybe "announcing your presence" in some other way? 

I'm not a previous O customer, but I am registered on their website.  I don't believe I gave them my phone number, but these days everything is cross-referenced online and companies sign up with data services that can connect the dots to track you down.

I've been researching itineraries on the Oceania website.  The next day I get an unsolicited call from an O sales rep.  Same thing the next day.  Really?  If I want to talk to an O sales rep, I'll call an O sales rep.  They come across as desperate. It's essentially phone spam. Not a sign of luxury. Maybe O should consider reassigning these reps to the customer service lines where they can improve responsiveness to customers who really need help?

Most people who are now sailing in the Yacht Club didn't start out sailing in the Yacht Club.  They likely spent many years earning the ability to afford such options.  Instead of resenting them, people would be well advised to emulate them.  Just saying. 

I enjoy watching well narrated and informative videos.  There are a ton of people on YT trying to become successful "influencers" who can actually make a living posting videos.  Most do a very poor job.  Those who are able to produce high quality videos (yes, things like sound quality matter) and informative content can draw sizeable audiences. As for content... I'm usually interested in watching videos to get an idea of the experience, and to get some idea as to whether or not I'd be interested in doing it myself in the future. For example, is the cruise ship one that I'd like to try, or are the places visited somewhere I'd like to visit.  One pet peeve of mine is that so many people post pictures and/or videos taken off-hours when the venues are empty. That gives me no idea of what the actual experience is like. Is it crowded? How do people dress?  Is it loud? etc. etc.  Another peeve of mine is when videos come across more like advertisements for the cruise line.  Instead of giving a feel for the actual experience. When that happens, it seems like the creator is actually trying to please the cruise line - in hopes of getting freebies I guess. Overall, it seems to me that those who are successful content creators approach it as a job and put a lot of effort into their content and its quality.  As a hobbyist, you're unlikely to join the ranks of the top creators. I've no idea what your goals are.  Are you trying to attract more viewers? If so, why?

In my experience, "largest ever" rarely turns out to be a good thing.

I guess the question is... Is a policy that isn't enforced really a policy?

3 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Can’t imagine “how it feels” because we only DIY air for O cruises. 

A lot of infrequent travelers don’t understand that purchasing a “bulk ticket” on an O Air contracted carrier flight requires contacting O for changes. 
Not a problem…. until it’s a problem.

I generally agree, except I have occasionally booked through cruise lines when they offered one-way international business class for much less than I could book myself.  Those days seem to be a thing of the past lately🙁  Still, I'd expect cruise line travel departments be available 24/7.  Is this a common problem with O?

Different, but I much prefer it to Virgin's lingo.

20 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Since it was the weekend my travel agent was closed, but I left a message.

This is the reason I am hesitant to use a TA for airline reservations.  I'm not willing to give up control to a TA who may not be reachable when I need them most. 

On 5/11/2024 at 6:12 PM, OC Cruisers said:

Are there tables for two in the dining room (husband is pretty deaf so conversing is hard for him)

If he wears hearing aids, he may want to look into getting an accessory (names vary by manufacturer) that is a clip-on microphone that you would wear.  It really helps with hearing what your partner is saying - especially in environments with background noise.  He may want to ask his audiologist about this. Mine is a Phonak hearing aid. They have a device called a PartnerMic.  They want hundreds for them, but I found they are available on Ebay for $25-$50.

45 minutes ago, uktog said:

I think this thread should be read by all cruise line decision makers because they need to understand a guest (not travel agent) perspective of what matters to them when choosing a cruise.

So true.  It seems that customer facing IT is low man on the totem pole at most cruise lines.  It's hard to imagine that IT management could be so inept, therefore I'm led to believe that it must simply be a matter of underfunding and a complete lack of attention from corporate management.  Quality doesn't just happen - it's the result of diligent oversight.  I'm of the belief that corporate management isn't aware of how bad their customer facing IT systems are, and even worse, they don't really care.  Their focus seems to be exclusively on the shipboard experience.

For me it's not a cruise - it's a high-end adult only all-inclusive in Cancun.

19 hours ago, Waltershipman said:

Having sailed on both Explora Journeys and recently on Oceania Vista I am able to report that at least on our cruises there was a different passenger demographic. On EJ there were generally older passengers me included in 70s however very active. On O there were a significant larger number of older  passegers some with mobility issues which is not a judgement nor problem just true. One of our table mates on O was a 90 year old man who still worked was very active and an absolute gem. Age is relative.  I prefer nice kind folks of any age.

Am I getting this right?  The passengers on O tend to be older and more suffer mobility issues? Are the O demographics similar to Holland America?

I've also been interested in trying EJ.  My problem has been their itineraries.  They tend to be short and not particularly interesting.  I'm hoping as they add ships, the itineraries improve.  That said, I'm a bit concerned that they seem to be suffering from low occupancy.  

1 hour ago, pilot said:

Have never seen this before.  For the last several years at Port Everglades, I have dropped my wife and luggage at the pier and then I return rental car at airport. 
 

She has never been questioned on why I am not with her at check in. 

I suspect this is one of those situations where the practice differs from the policy.  I was also surprised to see the policy as I've never experienced a problem with people checking in separately.

I read recently about a fast food restaurant that was toying with the idea of using AI to implement demand pricing - i.e. automatically raising prices when demand is high.  Maybe Celebrity is trying the same thing?