navybankerteacher

Some people just hate their cooking.

I doubt there is a predictable difference between the two. I am interested in the notion - folks who want to drive for a cruise rather than take a train or fly should consider your option - two one-way rentals can be a whole lot cheaper than pier parking.

In my case I would renew it at least a couple of months before expiration to insure that I always had a valid one … just in case. We are only talking about two or three dollars’ worth of time here.

Depending upon how many will be riding in your van, and where in the “Hudson Valley” you are from, you might want to consider Amtrak from New York to Boston as an alternative to driving

Interesting difference in perspective: what you, as a New Yorker, referred to as a bodega was referred to by someone from Louisville, KY as a supermarket.

Of course you lost the use of the old one for about 4 months — which seems to be the sort of loss some posters are bothered by.

If you had paid attention to my point (to which you are responding) you would realize that I did not “miss” that point —- which was (and remains) that the lines do not offer drinks packages to help passengers SAVE money, they offer drinks packages to encourage the maximum spending (ie to get as much of the passengers money as possible) by offering attractive choices: different ways to SPEND money on drinks. Yes, you are able to pick the way which gives you the most drink for the dollar - so of course you do that — but do not kid yourself into thinking that they are trying to help you save money - they are trying to get you to spend money.

Is it your habit to spend $65 a day (or anything near that) on drinks? When the cruise line gets “a reliable source of income”, whose pockets do you think that income comes from? With the built in limitations on the drink packages (or bar tenders’ discretion to not over-serve), combined with the fact that the lines’ largely tax-free, very cheap, purchase of inventory, do you really think that a line could conceivably lose money on even the heaviest drinker? I am not saying the line is trying to “trick” passengers into spending more - just that the primary purpose is to encourage increased spending on drinks - because such spending has a huge profit margin - and, at best, the fares paid by the majority of cruises barely covers the costs of carrying and feeding them — so they must be encouraged to spend above and beyond the fare - and selling drinks offers the lines the best profit margin. For a lot of passengers the daily cost of a drinks package comes close to (and sometimes surpasses) the fare paid.

It makes no difference (except, perhaps, to one’s liver) if it’s Wild Turkey, OJ or Perrier — the drinks packages are offered to get the passengers to spend more on liquid intake; so talking about “saving” because of drinks packages is kinda…

Makes sense - making such cc disputes are akin to bouncing checks - no point wasting time with that sort of thief.

While fraudulently disputing legitimate credit-card charges might on occasion be successful (rarely or never on big ticket charges) hardly a way to finance cruises. I would be inclined to discount such claims as being as absurd as those of folks who “always come out ahead in the casino”.

Of course, while it is possible for a heavy drinker to save money by buying a package, does anyone really believe that a cruise line wants its customers to SAVE money? Pretty much everything they do is to encourage on board spending - and the concept of a drinks package is to put more money in the line’s pocket - by encouraging you to spend more on drinks than you would if there were no package.

Correct - of course the word “free” works its magic on the unthinking - as in the case of NCL passengers who like their “free” drinks.

Manhattan blocks on the West side are 1,000 feet long east/west (about five blocks per mile considering the width of the avenues), and 250 feet long north/south.

I am pretty sure Coral Princess will sail from Brooklyn, not Manhattan. If she wants to explore Manhattan, she should plan to spend a night or two before boarding in a Manhattan hotel. If she wants to pick up stuff before sailing, she should do it before boarding - the area around Brooklyn Cruise Terminal offers very little.

I think “PPO” means Preferred Provider Option - hardly unlimited coverage, and almost certainly not covering overseas medical evacuation.

Great point - for a fare difference of not much more than $5 your taxi radius is much longer, so pay more attention to wide variance in hotel room costs rather than trying to save on taxi fare.

In my experience HAL and Cunard both have Catholic priests on board on all sailings.

If you meet any standard definition of “problem drinker” (usually more than four drinks per day for a man or three for a woman) it can be worth it. From posts here it seems like six or seven is the minimum target. I don’t understand wanting to get a buzz on every day on a cruise, but if it important for you to do so, go ahead. Of course if a person regularly drinks that amount year round, he probably can handle that amount and stay what he feels is “sober” (disregarding what he is doing to his liver).

Makes sense - as long as you KNOW you will not need it. A lot of us like the idea of being able to grab spur of the moment opportunities. I have a number of relatives living in UK - which I am virtually certain to visit at least once every other year - often on short notice. I also occasionally book a cruise on short notice - which may require a passport. Keeping a valid passport - with reasonable life left on it - is a must.

The fact is that many towns/cities which are attractive in themselves have little interest in attracting cruise passengers - who rarely contribute to the local economy.

Yes - it’s $19 to Manhattan -depending on your hotel’s location, you might also need a short taxi ride.

If someone is planning serious travel which requires a passport he will not sweat possibly wasting a few $ worth of passport life to insure that he will be able to make the trip.

Unless, of course, Silversea, Regent, Viking, Seaborne, or the like (which offer 2020 and later builds) decide to tap the upscale mid-Atlantic market.

While we all hate waste, that $10 or so penalty for renewing a passport a year early is a small price to pay for comfort (unless one only sails in minimum inside cabins, buys three-day old bread, and dented cans of vegetables vs. fresh or frozen).