navybankerteacher

Good to hear that you are not voluntarily flying to Newark to board a ship with a Caribbean or Bahamas itinerary.

The fact is that there is not all that much difference between the seasons in the Caribbean - of course the peak of the hurricane season is late summer, but it is rare for a particular cruise to be significantly impacted. My reasons for not cruising in the Caribbean have little to do with the season -rather that cruising there now is just too crowded, while being a poor way of experiencing any of the interesting islands.

Ideally on a cruise between two ports - spending a few days on each before/after so you have a real chance to experience the area. Barcelona-Rome, Rome-Athens, Istanbul-Athens would all work. That way a two week trip, centered on a 7 day cruise, would give you a much better taste than a two week cruise.

Certainly #3 - no ports are appealing. # 6 has two distinctly worthwhile ports: San Juan and St. Maarten - but what do you want - interesting ports, good beaches, or good shipboard experience? I’d suggest you identify your interests and then research what each itinerary offers.

Which are all facets of the cruise lines’ efforts to improve their bottom lines by raising obvious prices, sneaking in extra fees, and reducing the cost of what they do provide (read: slash quality). The mass market cruise line have largely destroyed the product they are still pretending to offer.

If you include related travel, my most expensive “cruise” was a few years back - a business class flight to LHR followed by a week in London then a visit with my sister’s family in Herts., then Celebrity TA cruise from Harwich on the east coast with stops in France, Spain, Portugal and Atlantic islands to Miami, where (after dropping large luggage at UPS to ship home) we spent the night in a hotel before taking the Silver Star (bedroom) to New York, changing at Penn Station for Northeast Regional to Stamford followed by taxi home.

Part of the purpose of cruising is to experience things out of your routine world. Failing to eat ashore is denying yourself a significant part. Folks who will waste part of their day for a quick trip back to the ship for lunch just because they “…already paid for it…” are economizing themselves to the nth degree.

XXXIX

There are a number of good hotels in lower Manhattan (near many good places to eat and interesting sights to see) which are within easy walking distance to the pier to the ferry to take you across to right next to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal- while there is little in the way of comparable options in Brooklyn.

Those crusty sailors also fear the Kraaken, along with adhering to certain other seagoing traditions.

But who hired the TA?

I think I’d be inclined to limit cruising to avoid ports which do not protect themselves from the destructive impact of mass market cruise ships — so, yes.

If I were in OP’s situation I might consider a Pacific cruise from Los Angeles - about 1/4 as far from Flagstaff as a Florida port - with good direct Amtrak service - no change of train. Admittedly a much narrower selection of Itineraries, but so much easier and less expensive.

The OP should have known when payments were due. Of course a cruise line might extend the courtesy of reminders - and a competent travel agent (if the booking was through such agent) should be expected to send reminders. It appears that the travel agent might not have been competent —- but who chose the travel agent? A tough lesson to learn, but any competent individual who enters into a contract (such as booking a cruise) should be aware of, and comply with, his obligations. I can understand why OP did not come back: hard to accept embarrassment as well as financial loss.

Agreed - New York is a focal point for all sorts of public transportation (Amtrak, commuter rail, bus, ferry) from all directions. And, once in the city, there are subways, busses, taxis, Ubers, etc. (or walking) to get around.

Virtually any product or service someone buys can be gotten “someplace cheaper”, if you shop around hard enough. Of course, some folks are so afraid of not getting the lowest price that they freeze in place and don’t do anything for fear of not getting the best bargain possible. But are you so opposed to the concept of influencers being compensated that you will never buy any goods if the provider makes use of influencers in their marketing efforts? A lot of food producers, and the grocers who sell them, are already compensating influencers — you might want to think things over before you starve yourself to death.

“Barely distinguishable” is still distinguishable. While virtually all providers of goods and services are continually attempting to better their bottom lines by raising prices and reducing costs, Cunard has not yet plumbed to the depths of NCL and Carnival, for example. And at least some effort is made to create an atmosphere more attractive than that of a high school cafeteria.

Do you REALLY believe that spokespeople for products or services do it without compensation? When an actress speaks highly of a skin care product, or an athlete of a breakfast cereal, don’t you realize that they are being paid - and that the amount they are paid must be cranked into the cost of creating the product, and thus the price you must pay to receive it. An “influencer” is obviously going to be paid, either in cash or free goods/services, for his/her input. It is simply one more cost of production or marketing for which which the consumer has to pay. Knowledge of how things work is important.

Unethical? Is advertising unethical? Is it unethical to pay entertainers on cruises for which you have to pay?

And, even in the commoners’ Britannia restaurant, you will find a quality of food and service at least equal, if not somewhat superior, to that found in the MDR of any mass market line.

I cannot help asking about your “…if I had to go…”: do you think that, at the end of the day, you will have an alternative? But, back on topic: the idea of having what material substance remains being dissolved in sea water strikes me as preferable to hoping that a few square feet of the earth’s surface will remain indefinitely mine.

It is my understanding that quite a few people with access to boats - or even just to ocean beaches - arrange their own disposals of cremains “at sea” - local ordnances to the contrary notwithstanding.

And wasn’t a coin placed in the mouth - to pay the ferryman to get the deceased a crossed the river Styx?

But getting perks on a sailing on that “preferred” line is hardly a sufficient reason for selecting a sailing on a particular line whose cost, itinerary or ambience does not match what else might be available at other lines. It is rare that the value of such perks will exceed a couple of hundred dollars on any sailing - so you should not let it blind you to the real values available when you start planning a particular cruise.

You might want to rethink the parking bit. From Newtown, Amtrak to New York is easy - sure, you would need to get from Penn Station to JFK , but that is pretty easy with AirTrain. You will spend a lot on parking with your plan. Most flights from US to UK are overnight - so you have plenty of time to go direct to JFK without hassle/cost of hotel. But, if you want to go a day early, just plan to spend night in NYC.