Sharkb8

We had two SA cruises which had a port that made us leave our passports on the ship for inspection (5 years back). I can't remember which Countries required this, does anyone remember? I've got several people (posting elsewhere) who tell me that it never happened, and because the cruise lines use facial recognition that they don't have to hold passports. My explanation was that it was the host country's requirement and it may have changed, but "don't tell me it never happened".

Thanks much.

On 12/12/2023 at 1:42 PM, chengkp75 said:

The ISPS (International Ship and Port Security) code allows for the screening, including hand screening, of a percentage of all luggage brought to a ship, depending on how the port's and ship's Security Plans set these percentages for the various MARSEC (Maritime Security) levels.  Further, under the cruise line's ticket contract, you grant the cruise line the right to search your cabin or luggage at any time, with or without your knowledge or approval.

The 'with our without knowledge or approval' wasn't really the question. We've had bags vandalized at port before and have been lucky that they've not popped open, and the lock was fully secure .. as secure as we could assume, lol.

On 12/12/2023 at 9:17 AM, Brighton Line said:

More than likely you didn't lock it completely and it fell off.

 

Normally your bag is not opened by port personnel that scan the bag but it is put aside and you are called down to open it in front of security crew members. Some cruisers say you are called to the "Naughty Room".

 

That said, TSA master keys have been known to be duplicated this isn't some high-tech secret lock with "Do Not Duplicate" imprinted on it that only an official government employee has access to open. They aren't launch keys,  Master Keys have been copied.

 

Or you can apply pressure to the closed lock push the button or pull the lock, turn the dial to hear a click, repeat for the other dials and you will get the right number and open the lock.

Yes, I know about the "Naughty Room", and the lock was firmly secure when we dropped it off. Thanks for the insight.

We drove to Baltimore for our recent cruise and noted that one of our locks had been removed. Fortunately, it seemed that all was in place, but it did cause me to wonder if the Port baggage crew had TSA lock access? In the bad old days someone would leave a card (and lock, lol) and we didn't have anything that would have shown up on X-Ray as suspicious. Thanks for any insight.

17 minutes ago, flamingos said:

Just out of curiosity, why? Seven doubled is 14.  🙂

Well, unless they've changed their point structure, we also get 7 points for the land portion. So Seven doubled is 14 plus 7 non-doubled is 21. I'm positive that we got land points back in the 'old' days. We did our own land tour the last time, so only got cruise points.

We just got back from a 7-day cruise with a 7 day pre-cruise tour. Only received 14 points, so I asked for a review and correction. If the tour doesn't warrant double points (and I'm pretty sure that it doesn't), at the minimum we should get 21 points.

I'd say go with any positive reviews on Yelp. EXCEPT .. I think we've eaten at Glacier Brewhouse on two separate visits and the food, atmosphere, and beer were all excellent. 

We've been twice before, but a bit later in the month (July 19). This time we'll be sailing on July 8. Layers, as most have advised, are key. If your feet tend to get chilly, I'd advise a couple pairs of lightweight wool socks as well as mittens. I usually take a shawl for late evenings around the ship. Hot news .. Anchorage had record high temps in the 80's the last week or so, so even I am conflicted, lol. And .. it might be early for spawning, but we went on a bear watch last time and didn't see one bear .. they feed in the early morning and then nap a LOT, I guess. But whales were excellent.

We did a Royal Cruisetour for our first trip and decided to book our own land for our second trip. We used Alaskatravel . com for our land tour. They will book all your hotels and train travel for you (highly customizable) and they don't mark up their prices.

We flew into Fairbanks and stayed at one of the hotels that RCI uses, then did an arctic circle plane ride with an excursion to the place where they view the Northern Lights in the winter (I forget the name). After that, we gradually moved down to Seward using the train. Keep in mind that the train is for early risers, so you will also arrive to your next hotel early. Normally not an issue except at the Denali Princess where, apparently, everyone is moved out of their room early so that they end up camped in the lobby. And .. if you arrive early, you end up camped in the same lobby. Disney would put them to shame.

I would recommend spending a night inside Denali at one of their lodges or cabins. The trip in is a day trip (early off the train, hop on a bus to interior Denali) and the drivers are encouraged to stop if someone sees a bear, etc. Coming out is a little bit shorter, but it means that you spend that night in a local hotel (no train that late). Good luck and have fun! Visit the Alaska forum here too.

Hi there. I'm new to this Forum. My question isn't cruise related (but I'm sure I'll have some questions more on topic soon)!! ''

 

We are planning an Alaska cruise this summer and we also want to do a week long train trip of the area. There are so many companies offering these trips. I was wondering if anyone here has done one of these 7-day train trips and which company do you recommend? We would like to definitely visit Denali National Park. Thanks in advance for your help. :)

Why would you assume that "those who paid more" were the ones they were opposing? That has nothing to do with tier, which is probably what the original thread addressed. Irony? Really? 5% can afford? more irony

I always find it ironic when people act surprised or put out that those who paid more than them get special privileges, when they're on a cruise that only about 5% of the world's population can afford.

 

You want equity for all? Careful.

I don't remember shoeshine. It might have happened but I have no idea why it would have been important. I don't remember ever getting a welcome back gift prior to Diamond. Enforcement of shorts/sandals/tshirts .. whatever. Those seem to be important, for some reason. And plastic glasses, really?

You made no references to food, waiters, stewards or room service. Are you a robot?

Sailed on the Majesty in 2007 and then just got back from Rhapsody yesterday. Prior to that did Vision in 2005. I noticed in '07 a slight change but a big change last week.

 

Gone are the shoe shines

Gone is the Platinum departure lounge with continental breakfast. We did however have coffee but plastic glasses. Fortunately I kept my mug from earlier in the morning.

Gone is enforcement of no shorts sandals or tshirts for dinner in the main dining room.

Gone is the welcome back gift unless you are Diamond or higher I believe. Platinum gets nothing.

 

When did all this go away?

Personally I agree with doing the land portion first, then cruise to relax. However, there is a payoff for going earlier in the season vs. later, when prices are also higher. You should have received basic itinerary information when you booked. The only exact items you may not have are hotels and excursions. And those may not be in place yet, especially for a new season.

It is a southbound itinerary. i already have paid for the before and after hotels and air/ Plus My husbands' idea is to do the land first so that you can relax on the cruise.. thank you for the info I have seen this and was disappointed we were unable to go further in Denali.

Looks like you may have the same cruise director ...

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Thank you for the review, we were on a South America cruise and will be back on Western Med in October.

I thought (our) Windjammer issues were because NO ONE would move once they ate. With inclement weather, all activities were inside (exercise, etc.) rather than pool deck, so that meant that no one was taking advantage of the exterior areas to eat. We didn't have dinner issues, in fact we loved the experience (even the other Diamonds lol).

So, the cluster continued at dinner. 10 people were assigned to a table that sat 6. I didn't volunteer to sit On dh's lap so someone had to move. At first, the Maitre de said (and I quote) "that is not possible". Then he carefully checked all our cards and low and behold.... It was possible. We moved. No big deal. Stuff happens. The "diamond" party of 16 that ended up at 3 tables on 2 different floors weren't so pleasant about the experience.

 

It must sound like I'm complaining, but honestly I'm not at all unhappy. This ship has some organizational issues thus far, but everyone has been pleasant and dinner wAs SUPERB! I had Caesar salad, horseradish crusted salmon, and carrot cake. Oh So Good!!

 

Rocky start usually means an incredible cruise (I just made that up, but I'm sticking with it) :)

 

 

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Valpo is gorgeous for all the reasons you mentioned,especially the local art and crafts scene. We have boarded twice there and yeah, it's not used much, but it's not a poor terminal. We had long lines but no issues boarding. It's a marine port, so you have to shuttle from the main entrance. It's clean, no locals begging with trinkets.

Valpo's trying. They're working to make a good cruise terminal, but with only maybe a dozen stops a year, it's hard to justify a full-on port to the populace, and the current space is something of a compromise between "port terminal" and "function hall", and a lot of the staffing doesn't get the practice that Miami gets.

 

And, I think, some of the reviews of the South American cruises were tempered by other kinds of misapprehensions about things. It's NOT a particularly dirty city, it's just ... well, Valparaiso elevates graffiti to an art form. There's a lot of it. The citizens that live there are PROUD of it, for the most part. It's color, and a lot of it is pretty intricately wrought. Also, the cool part of town is not down in the flat bit near the water. It's back up on the hills above the actual port (Not the VTP building), and there's some STEEP climbs to get up there.

 

Finally, at least on the end of March sailing, there were a LOT of Americans that had simply not understood that they needed to get visas for Brazil and THAT ended up souring their experience in general.

Wow, you are awesome! I hope the rest of the cruisers appreciate your efforts.

We've had several of the crystalline bottle waters since being onboard and several had a very strange smell to them. One of them yesterday was so bad it actually made some people gag!! This was a brand new unopened bottle and it's obviously been tainted some how.

 

I took it down to CS yesterday evening and was given the usual management spill by the food and beverages manager. Why do these people feel that they can spin you the company line and you will just accept it. Do thy think we are stupid?

 

Anyhow. Imagine my surprise that today EVERY venue on board is giving out Evian bottled water.

 

When asking staff they say they've run out of the other stuff.... Coincidence? I don't think so.

 

 

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Of course. That would be the default assumption.

And you assume the op knew the family asked for privacy and would not be releasing updates.

Are you going to quit soon? Because now you're down to one-word answers and multiple replies to the same post.

Yep

Ours last week was a young lady from Portland. Completely charming, which works when my husband is spending our money on a good cause.

Does RCL export customer support outside the United States? I've had problems the past couple of days understanding what they are telling me....am I the only one experiencing this?

Excellent!! We got around The Horn five years ago (no stones, no passport) and didn't make it around in March, but loved Capt. Dimas, so that almost made up for it. I am one that tends to tuck away a stone or a shell. And I have two RCI t-shirts, which they apparently no longer print for the occasion!

At Sea – “Around the Horn” - Southern Atlantic

Day 38

 

We did a two hour leisurely sail around (including a stop at the Chile base to drop in our paper work).

 

 

 

 

We got a treat that night. When they dropped staff off at he Chile Base, that also dropped off two suitcases of passports. A few staff sat and stamped more then 3000 passports (they took the staff passports as well). That is pretty exciting. And the real treat was that other staff members went and picked up the same number of beach stones. We each got one. I love to pick up a rock at places I go, so Antarctic was torture that you cannot take or leave anything. A rock from here was very exciting.

 

I was a little bit conflicted about them taking so many rocks......but i guess very few ships get there. And Captain Dimas was so happy to finally get Around the Horn. Turns out it was the two trips before us (and the one after) that didn't make it.

 

After our loop around we went to pick up the rescue boat - and our passports. That was a lot more difficult then planned and we spun around for about half an hour trying to get them out of the wind enough to get them back onto the ship.

 

And of course we got our certificates. A great day!

 

 

Then headed off to Ushuaia. Which is good as I love Ushuaia.

Very generous, thank you! I will send an email once you are at home and able to send a high-res easily. He's working on a panorama of Iguazu, so I will send you a copy!

Hi Jean,

 

That would be lovely to give him a print. Help yourself. What a lovely compliment!

If the quality you get from here is not high enough send me an email and I'll send you a copy.

 

rainaburke dot oz at gmail dot com.

 

Cheers

Raina, Hubby and I have been following your journey and loving it! We were on Rhapsody around the Horn last month and ended in Buenos Aires. I could have spent hours at Recoleta Cemetery. We thought that your view of the cemetery from your hotel room was amazing. Do you sell your images? I would love to be able to present him with a high-res copy of that picture and can promise that we aren't interested in publishing it.

I think you will love Rhapsody. The Chef's table was outstanding and suprisingly intimate.

Jean

Day 28 Buenos Aires

 

Disembarkation was very civilised and really well done.

 

Bags didn't have to be out until out by 6.00 am!

We then collected passports, and a thumb drive with photos, contact lists etc.

 

Breakfast and good byes and of course a quick trip up to the 'Owners Suite' for a look. Pretty impressive. It had a big deck above the bridge, and was similar (a bit smaller and no grand piano to a Royal Suite). Definitely not worth the money (in my thinking) as deck access was so good everywhere and more so then on a normal cruise you are not in your room very much.

 

 

Buenos Aires is a working port so onto shuttle buses to the front for luggage collection. Immigration must have been done on the ship as there was nothing. Then we got onto buses (supplied by Poseidon for free) by 9.30 and were taken to various places – International airport, domestic airport and a few hotel locations.

 

I dropped my gear and went to La Recolenta Cemetery. This was built by the Monks in the early 1800’s. It was on the outskirts of town – but is now a tourist hot spot in the middle of town. It contains the graves of people like Eva Peron, many Presidents, Nobel prize winners and a grand daughter of Napoleon.

 

 

It is nothing like I expected. Not like any cemetery I have ever seen. Inside the magnificent, huge red brick wall (which was worth visiting on it's own) – was a crowded built up area. It’s 14 acres and has 4691 vaults.

 

I was expecting a fancy cemetery like you see in the movies. Green grass with lovely headstones and a few fancy crypts.

Note about my research - I like to research what is in an area, how to get there, etc. But I don't like to know too much about the place. I want to be amazed when I get there not go "Oh yer, I saw that on the internet". I don't mind seeing a few photos before hand like on blogs etc but don't spend hours pouring over facts and photos.

 

So my first view out a hotel window was gobsmacking!

 

 

All like super fancy sheds with elaborate stone work and statues.

 

 

 

But also very creepy. You could peek into them…and there were coffins just inside the dusty and cracked glass doors. And staircase leading down to the other levels full of dead relatives. Some of them had ten or more coffins on shelves. Others were a bit like little glass houses with a plinth with a coffin on in. Then a red velvet chair to sit on by the coffin….in the Argentinian heat………with a dead relative. I don’t think body bags were that good at keeping the smell in.

 

 

And so many tiny coffins.

 

 

Some of the family must have died out as the vaults are in really bad shape with pieces crumbling, doors falling off and glass breaking. These plots are resold and a fancy new crypt is built.

lol, that's hilarious! I like her .. boyfriend, not so much!

I saw her boyfriend at the roulette table one night and my family members spoke to her and her boyfriend for about 20 mins. the other day, they said she was very friendly to them and posed for pictures with them.

N/a

Keep this in mind when reading recent reviews: Rhapsody's South American itinerary was brief. Meaning ... when it hit Valparaiso, it was every two weeks .. twice? So boarding issues, etc. should have been anticipated. Not poor, just learning .. so what?

The buffet food was average and repetitive, but I thought that dinners were very good. As in, not blanded down for 'Mericans. I applauded the creative effort.

Yes, excursions were not cheap because RCI doesn't have regular contracts with the companies. The excursions we took were very good. So find your own, no one was preventing that. And yes, find a cheap beach in February. It's all good.

Weather took out quite a few of our ports, one of which was saved by busing us. If you knew ANYTHING about this itinerary (and we did it 5 years prior), you would know better than to complain, that's the area, weather, experience.

We've cruised her twice and wouldn't hesitate to cruise her again. I've discovered some people will never find anything good to say no matter how good things are (yes I've known people like that and just don't understand it). We love the smaller ships!