above sea level cruiser

On 3/14/2020 at 7:40 PM, Billy Baltic said:

Totally agree. Very difficult financial circumstances for the industry but I think RC are turning a short term (9-12 month) problem into a medium/long term disincentive. 

 

And yes, I have a vested interest. We’re hoping to be on Explorer in September but we booked that based on amplification taking place. Don’t know if we’ll still go. 

9-12 month problem? Problem? Really?

My thought would be that in these unprecedented times, there is NO certainty. Not now nor in the near future. This is a pandemic that some take seriously and isolate, practise social distancing etc. and unfortunately, others that do not. Then there are the unknowns, those who are asymptomatic and feel great about being out and about and those that show symptoms, haven't been tested, are still out and about and just don't care

4 hours ago, SarahD112 said:

So maybe his surprise was just in the fact that he didn’t think anyone would be getting off ship during the 30 day sailing suspension. 

Chris sounded like he was enjoying himself and I think he feels safer on the ship than going home to the UK. That was my take anyway.

12 minutes ago, fletch1027 said:

 

I'm from ATL as well - how about RCI swaps out Johnny Rockets for Waffle House? That would be awesome!!

I never ever realized how big the American market is for fast food and restaurants. A chicken company throws a $20M party chartering a couple of cruise ships. Absolutely crazy crazy expensive.

23 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Miami has plenty hotel rooms, it makes zero sense (Financially or otherwise)  to use a cruise ship simply for lodging 

Just stating what I heard. Symphony  did an empty day cruise on Saturday and is still in Miami today. Perhaps it's a Chick-Fil-A cruise too?

On 2/3/2020 at 3:07 PM, Milwaukee Eight said:

Superbowl?

There is another thread that says an NCL ship and the Symphony were used as hotels for the Super Bowl. Somewhere on this thread it says that it's doing the chick-fil-a charter along with the Oasis. Who knows?

1 minute ago, Packlawyer17 said:

I just got of the oasis on Sunday. The crew was super excited about the charter as they were getting a bit of downtime.

3 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

This is true. Charters are required to produce x amount of alcohol and casino revenue. They paid for it one way or the other. 

Must cost chick-fil-a a fortune to do this.

1 hour ago, acpalmer said:

 

Chick-Fil-A is a very socially conservative company.  I imagine that alcohol doesn't align with their moral values.

I can't imagine how much it cost them to take Oasis out of service for a week. No casino, no liquor sales. Must have cost a fortune. Chick-Fil-A is not that big here in Canada, must be a big company in the US.

2 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

A few years ago they chartered Allure after we were on it. This must have 5 years ago, as Chicago was still on board. No alcohol was served and Chicago was not preformed for their short charter. 

Why no alcohol served?

Also seems odd for Symphony of the seas to be in Miami on a Monday. Doesn't she usually do Saturday to Saturday cruises out of Miami? Another charter?

3 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

 

Wait a moment. Isn't that what they said about the 747 MAX?

You are embarrassing yourself with this sort of reply

7 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

 

Exactly my point. No one on this site knows the diagnosis. So, everyone is making guesses. That's why I suggested that we should hold our horses, don't alarm the passengers, and wait for the official announcements.

The only facts we know is that the Captain abandoned the departure on the 14th. So, the vessel's capacity must be materially impaired.

 

HAL cancelled that cruise. Immediately, booked the NA into Freeport wetdock.

 

To me, it suggests that HAL already had a diagnosis from the pod OEM. That Freeport would be the place to confirm the solution and effect the repairs.
 

On last Tuesday afternoon, HAL was able to announce that the 21^st departure would proceed. Means that they'd opened up the azipod, and proceeded with repairs. The NA being tied up in Freeport till Friday.

 

The uncertainty is what degree of effectiveness was restored to the azipod.

 

Yes, the NA has clearance to depart with one pod. But, it is not optimal. That's why a quick fix (if possible) is preferable.

 

In time, the truth will come out. As I said, the pod party is over. The last person should please turn out the lights.

 

 

 

"opened up the azipod and proceeded with repairs".  Where do you get your information?

1 hour ago, pe4all said:

Would love to hear what Chengkp75 has to say about the damage and possible repairs.  He is extremely knowledgeable in this area.

He will likely say: no structural damage. Good to go. The facade surround of the dinning room has been blown out, but can be replaced. I think (being that it is above deck 5), that most of the damage would be to aluminum components and not mild steel. Harder to repair if aluminum but doable without an extended docking period IMHO.

4 hours ago, Crew News said:

 

I can only speak for the Nieuw Statendam when I say that wire hangers are gone.  My Behind the Scenes tour of the Laundry found not a single wire hanger in the entire laundry.

 

A major issue with only wooden hangers from the laundry is the accumulated wooden hangers now fill one of my closets.

So you are saying, you are a "hanger on"? lol

4 hours ago, fraxinus7 said:

The only change is our arrival back on the 28th is an hour delayed.

Which could be for a number of reasons. One hour is nothing in the grand scheme of things, especially if your itinerary remained the same. The one hour delay might be caused by increased activity in the port, slight changes to freighter/tanker departures/arrivals etc. If your itinerary is the same and your time in ports is not shortened, then they most likely feel confident that they can run at their required speed.

18 hours ago, Biker19 said:

A personal concierge who can arrange everything for you. 

Thanks!

I've heard the term "Genie" for a while now, but have no clue. What is a "Genie"?

Twenty years ago, we all got envelopes addressed to the various individuals slated by the cruise line, for a tip. Into these envelopes went the suggested amount in cash. We would then distribute said envelopes on the last night of the cruise. I was always surprised by how empty the dinning room was on the last evening. It was eerily quiet in there. More empty tables than full. Then came auto gratuities. Business in the dinning room picked up on the last night, not ten to twenty minute wait busy like it had been all cruise, but almost full capacity. But the line at the customer service counter was huge! Then it dawned on me - people were lining up to remove their tips. 

4 minutes ago, RockHoundTX said:

If I understand correctly, lets use the example of normally there would be $100 in a pool that goes to 10 people (so $10 each). Let's say on the next cruise there is only $90 in that pool since someone did not pay automatic gratuities. It is assumed that the cabin steward/waiter/what-ever of the person removed the automatic gratuities was paid by hand. Thus, the $90 is spread across 9 people (each still getting $10) and the one person is skipped. If that one person that was skipped was given a $20, then he is happy. However if he was given $0, then he somehow has to prove he was given $0 so that the pool is re-allocated (now everyone gets $9).

 

That all being said, my personal belief based on my observations is that there is a list of people that have paid gratuities as of the last day of the cruise. If a person is on that list, then the cabin steward keeps the tip. If the person is not on the list, then the cabin steward is forced to turn in the money and it goes into the shared pool. 

 

Hmmm. Never ever thought it worked like that. So cash is not always king if the auto gratuities are removed. Interesting. I would hate to have to be part of that system. Poor cabin stewards that get a tip, knowing it is not for them if you pull the auto tips. So if the auto tips are paid and we tip anyone, do THEY get to keep it?

On 11/11/2019 at 11:37 AM, Host Clarea said:

 

The crewmember does not necessarily have to turn in cash tips in order to have them pooled.  They can be "assessed" tips by the company to accomplish the same effect.  In other words, the company assumes the crewmember was paid their standard tips and deducts that from their paycheck.

What does that mean? Please explain in great detail as this post is very confusing. Can you put it in layman's terms.

8 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I doubt that she will spend 4 days docked with the fees that the ports charge.  Most likely just a spot to drop off and pick up supplies then she will coast around offshore completing any outstanding work then maybe a one or 2 night shakedown cruise with staff from Miami. 

This is what someone has said on a different thread: "I'm leaving Mariner on the 18th, staying in a hotel for 1 night in Miami, and then joining the ship in Fort Lauderdale on the 19th."

41 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

15 days to do a TA?  I wonder if they are doing a short sailing for staff when they arrive since they obviously don’t need 15 days

Oasis is apparently headed for Ft Lauderdale. Scheduled to arrive there on the 19th of November. So, 10 days from now, which I believe is what a normal TA crossing length would be.

5 hours ago, dogs4fun said:

We travel in Europe every year and have never been the victims of pickpockets. We usually DIY and utilize public transportation almost exclusively.

I wear a silk passport wallet, worn crossbody, inside my shirt. Other family members wear money belts (worn inside clothing) or use passport wallets. I carry only one credit card and any currency we might need for only that day. We are aware of our surroundings but it never impacts our enjoyment of the wonderful sights to see, food to sample, concerts to attend & the like. I do carry a small purse (also worn crossbody) that holds my daily essentials, i.e., tissues, comb, chapstick, aspirin, etc.  If a pickpocket were to score a hit on my purse they would be sorely disappointed with their 'take'.

Barcelona, Naples, Rome & Rio are cities that are notorious for pickpockets and the thieves employ various scams to relieve tourists of their valuables (but petty thievery can, and does, happen anywhere) - if you wear a money belt or passport wallet under your clothing, you should have no problems.

It's so sad that you have to do all this to protect yourself. Maybe if these cities treated theft as a real crime, it might go along way towards curbing the behaviour. 

3 hours ago, sidari said:

Opera will be leaving tonight at 10pm Venice time and heading to Bari.

That was a very long investigation. I wonder what the findings were?

28 minutes ago, sidari said:

Supposed to leave on Friday.

Any idea why the extensive delay? Seems to me if it was deemed fit to sail more than a week ago, something is amiss?