Toofarfromthesea

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/onboard-experiences/dining/club-orange

12 hours ago, taxmantoo said:

Enjoying a bottle of wine has nothing to do with its price.  As a certified sommelier, I can enjoy a $9 bottle as well as a $30 bottle, as well as a $100 bottle.  I get enjoyment out of all of them for what they are.  But allow me to let you in on a secret, the $100 bottle will be a much better wine every time. 🙂

 

It's not better to me if I enjoy the $9 bottle just as much.  

14 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

@bundtkate I'm with you on the wine thing. My only thought is "does it taste good to ME", that should be the only criteria.

I always say that I am blessed with a dull palate.  I can enjoy a $9 bottle of Chianti as much as a $30 bottle.

3 hours ago, teacherman said:

My wife and I were on the Koningsdam 10 night cruise out of San Diego on November 25.  We enjoyed the cruise.  We thought it was some of the best food we had ever had on a cruise and all of the entertainment was very good, except the magician, who talked more than performing "magic".  The only negatives were our room, which some nights made a lot of rattling and squeeking noises as the ship vibrated from the wave actions,(we kept using pieces of paper as "shim-wedges" and finally stopped it from disturbing our sleep) and THE BOARDING PROCESS.  It was ridiculous, and I will elaborate on it over on the west coast board.

Great!  Your report makes me look even more forward to my upcoming 1/13/24 Hawaii cruise on Kdam.

8 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

On almost any ship, on any itinerary, one is likely to experience a far wider variety of meals than he/she would at home.

 

 

You make a good point.  I think if someone tracked their actual meals for 2 months at home they would be hard pressed to find a cruise ship or cruise line that wasn't significantly more diverse in their offerings.

3 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

 when we add all the costs together & have to remind HAL about Mariner  & AARP OBC credits it can get sticky ,at times   . We understand that buying at 11.86 is a low cost . It is just my personal stock training & watch this economy deteriorate  that I dpn't hold many stocks except those that are paying big dividends that would soften a down turn  ,like VZ ,Verizon ,T  --ATT  & some pipeline companies . The last thing people would give us is their cell phones .Cash flows are very good with VZ & T  . On VZ when we bought shares it was paying over 9 % , Hard to miss with a dividend at that level with a company & a strong balance sheet 

You completely miss my point.  I don't regard my 100 shares of CCL as an investment, I regard it as an OBC generator.  Frankly I wouldn't waste the time or energy to monitor it closely or daytrade something that cost less than one third of the cost of a cruise that generates OBC. In fact, it is the only single stock I own.  Everything is in EFTs, Monet markets CDs and cash.  Within another year and a half my CCL will have generated enough OBC to guarantee me a profit even if the price goes to zero, and that is the only reason I own it.  For people who can afford to cruise the 1,185 I paid for my stock is a pretty negligible amount.

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

Adding this high flying market is going to get hit & imo hiy hard ;as ot seems almost improbable that the US will miss a recession in 2024 . Hold carnival stock for any length  of time can be a ache to ones portfolio .Besides in a recession booking will tend to dry up .That is one people can count on 

I bought, and will hold, 100 shares at 11.85 per share.  It could go to 0 and there would not be much of an ache to my portfolio, particularly considering that I've already gotten 500 in OBC on 2 cruises with more to come.

6 hours ago, RuthC said:

Then there are those who don't complain they can't do something, who still do not need a cell phone. 
Are computers obsolete? 

As something you can carry around with you and with which you can accomplish lots of useful things, yes.

On 12/1/2023 at 2:42 PM, RuthC said:

Some of us simply don't have the need for one. In my case it would be 'transitioning' from my land line to a smart phone, and give up the convenience of my answering machine in the process. All to spend more per month for the service. 
No thanks. 

It is ironic for people to say they have no need for a cell phone and then complain about not being able to do certain things because they don't have one.

2 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Cruise line stock remains volatile. There is money to be made trading in either direction.

 

 

I think you missed my point.  My ownership of 100 shares of CCL has nothing to do with making money by trading.

5 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

We agree .so if I have a problem I will just cancel . seems to me others could do the same .I only would buy the 100 shares as I needed them for the benefit . No need or want to but any cruise line stock .There are far far better investments with gar greater returns for those dollars . candidly I am becoming more & more skeptical of cruise lines who keep cutting back on things & then even making it harder to do business on top of the cut backs  ,However ,they can easily raise those cruise dares , Yes there are other vacations . Each of these moves imo is like another nail . Newbies may not know how it was & accept the status quo but ,we have seen too many changes & this one really fries my angst

Oh, I dunno.  I bought 100 shares at 11.85 a few weeks ago to get 250 each in OBC on 2 upcoming 15 day cruises, and besides the OBC I have just under $400 in unrealized appreciation as it's gone up from 11.85 to 15.76.  So 500 in OBC plus almost a 400 gain. I didn't buy it with the idea that it was a good investment but I bought it knowing that as long as it it didn't go below 6.85 I'd end up ahead of the game

Maybe it isn't newbys not knowing how it was but oldbys clinging to the past that is the issue.  Throwing up your hands and saying you are going to cancel, whether it be the purchase of stock, or booking the cruise, seems like a sub-optimal strategy, to me.

6 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Crystal Why can't we just Fax all the info to HAL's FAX number?  Imo that seems simple enough

Cliff

This is like asking why can't they use 1990s technology in the 2020s.  Most people find it far easier to email or use an app than faxing.  

3 hours ago, Don Kehote said:

I'm in ATL on my way down to FLL. I decided I'd fire up the Navigator app and look for any new info. 

 

What I found was a loading screen that wouldn't quit spinning.  So I figured, why not, and Uninstaller it to re-install. Except, now i can't.  "This app won't work for your device."  Just like THAT. 

 

So. Cant download, sure can't install.  I am in a pretty foul mood right now.  I am already looking forward to telling staff OVER and OVER again that no, I cant give them feedback through the app, because they broke it.  

 

Whatever.  I'm just annoyed. 

 

 

I'd also try restarting your phone.  On occasion I get the endless spinning on an app and after a phone restart it goes away.  Can't hurt to try.

I'd like to see them add a teppanyaki restaurant.  Or maybe a Brazillian steakhouse.

10 minutes ago, shadow 123 said:

I still can't do anything on the website. I have to log out if I want to look for a cruise. If I'm logged in it just tells me it's unavailable.

@mcrcruiser jinxed it.

On 11/30/2023 at 8:29 AM, Torquer said:

I know what you are asking about now and have seen it myself a couple times and wondered about it.  I'm not sure why someone would pay $20 more for what sounds like the same thing (except the sides are different), without a clearer explanation on the Menu about what is better on the $20 upcharge steak.

 

Here is a snippet from Rogerjett that shows an example:

You could ask the waiter what the difference is.

On 11/30/2023 at 10:18 AM, KC from California said:

Can you purchase the "unlimited" laundry package on embarkation day so we can use it right away? Who do we purchase the package from?

FWIW, you can buy it ahead of time, albeit not with OBC.  I alreadyy have it for an upcoming 1/13/24 cruise.

I'm old enough to remember when eating out was something special, rather than the routine norm it has become.  And I think familiarity breeds contempt.

17 hours ago, mom says said:

So, conversations are now to be discouraged in public areas? Because,  if one person talking on a phone is disturbing, then multiple people talking to other people must be many more times as disturbing.  I would say that in most public areas onboard ship, it is the loudness of any  conversations that can be problematic,  and not the conversation itself.

My personal observation is that people tend to talk louder when on their phone.  And that it's even worse when they have it on speaker.

7 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Wouldn't it be easier to do this with a travel agent who has contacts with the cruise line? Wouldn't that be better than being told you cannot and then hoping they will actually transfer you to to a resolutions specialist?

What???  And not be in control of your booking?

10 hours ago, whirldcruzrs said:

I haven’t but it sounds very exciting. 

The point, of course, is that if someone watched them cook the eggs they would see that they were cooked in a nonstick skillet which is the near universal way eggs are cooked, in both the commercial and home setting.  So his hope that they wouldn't use nonstick pans on a cruise ship indicates a lack of familiarity with the real world.

6 minutes ago, Hobar said:

I would hope they do not use nonstick pans as they are bad for the environment and bad for humans.  Just Google and you will see.  

Have you ever watched them cook eggs?

Eggs are almost always cooked in nonstick pans.  And spray is bad for nonstick pans.  So they may be reluctant to use spray.

Spray on nonstick pan

I'd like to thank those who actually work in the cruise industry who come here and give us the straight poop.  It is very appreciated and you are very valued here.

It's probably not an issue with Viking, but many cruise lines are in a precarious financial state.  And a lot of us are old enough to remember when there were a spate of airline bankruptcies and people who paid with a credit card giot the charge removed, while people who paid by check went into the pool of unsecured creditors and had to wait a long time for their pennies on the dollar refunds.