jsn55

I so agree with you about the awful inadequate descriptions of anything by a cruiseline. Would it kill them to state about how much time is spent 'on your own', how many 'shopping experiences' you might endure, how long it takes to 'get there' and many other details of a shore excursion? I've always found that cruiseline-booked hotels for pre and post stays are horrendously expensive. We used one once that was included in the cruise and it was really awful. Perhaps if the cruiseline bothered to describe both hotels and shore excursions completely it would be easier to compare/book. And they'd generate more revenue.

Pretty sure that the cruise port is at least half an hour from the Ibis Vieux Port, maybe 45 minutes. People on my roll call are gathering up to share shuttles from our Ibis hotel at MRS. I'm happy to hear that you've never missed a boarding deadline. Bu to me, missing a cruise would be an unmitigated disaster after all that excitement and planning, so I'm there at least a day early.

You mean you're there and can't enjoy the port??? Sounds like a real mess to me; if the ship offers a port, one would assume that you will actually visit that port, no?

Needs to be waterproof ... might be a tall order. Think that I'd put all my stuff in a ziplock and secure it in the fanny pack of my choice.

So true! NCL's Epic holds more than 4K pax and we tender at Cannes France in October. I cannot imagine how long it will take to actually set foot on the tender pier. We booked a ship's excursion so we have a decent chance of getting on one of the first tenders. I've never been on a ship this large, and am looking forward to observing how Epic handles all those people! Part of my enjoyment of a cruise is observing all the logistics and marvelling at how well (or not) the crew handles everything.

You might check the roll call for your cruise ... often lots more pax will be seeking the same solution.

I get up early and watch us come into port from the balcony. When the ship is tied up, I consider that we have arrived. The timing of any planned activity rides on many factors, always best to err on the side of caution or run the risk of ruined plans. One indicator is comparing the time the ship 'arrives' and the start time of the first ship's shore excursion; people who plan this stuff are usually fairly accurate.

I agree ... look at all those silly hotel guarantees that never actually 'worked'. InterContinental was famous for never honoring their room-price guarantees.

Travel advisors (as they prefer to be called now) have some professional organizations. One is ASTA and I believe it's the largest. I do not know why TAs don't band together and do some advertising. "Nobody" knows how to find a good agent. You are smart to want to 'get to know an agent' and there's no reason you can't do that through emails and a couple of phone conversations. My cruise expert is in South Carolina. I got lucky and worked with her on an online travel forum for a few years, and now she's a friend. Be aware that agents are not paid commissions from airlines any more, so some charge a fee for certain tasks. I believe some hotels and car rentals might still pay commissions, and of course cruises are quite lucrative. Have you considered using a local TA via email and phone? You could go in once in person, then handle it all online after that, I would think. Seems to me that a local TA would have to be good in order to run an agency and make a living in a smaller town. The bottom-line issue with using a TA is personal compatibility ... I wouldn't be happy with someone who is not as meticulous and detail-oriented as I am. So it's kind of an investigative process.

Yup, our first and last Princess cruise was in December. For months, trying to use medallion was beyond frustrating. During the cruise, several very obvious things: the buffet was a logistical disaster, our dining reservations kept getting changed, and the server in leBistro didn't know what Chardonnay was. Final straw was no water for most of a day, no announcement or acknowledgement, much less apology.. There are many, many choices out there. I prefer to spend my money with a cruiseline that actually is interested in me.

I agree with most of the above. I compare a ship's SE to a hotel room mini-bar. The product is the same or very similar. You're paying for convenience. The convenience of booking the SE in your account, boarding the bus as close to the ship as possible (no train, bus, walk connection), and little worry about the tour going or not going. Lack of the scam potential is important, at least to me. Morning SEs are handy for getting off the ship as early as possible, especially if tendering.

Gary Leff just wrote about how important it is to visit Maui and spend money as a tourist right now. The Hawaiians need the jobs that tourism brings, now more than ever. I'm thinking of the wonderful people who took me whale-watching out of a port about 30 minutes south of Lahaina last December. They need our dollars to stay afloat, and to help their family and friends. I don't think there's anything odd in wanting to see what's what with first person eyes.

You just have to keep checking and verifying everything that's important to you, over and over ... dining reservations, shore excursions, entertainment... it's all subject to change without your input ... or just disappear.

Not much can be done about the IT department at Princess. It's been going on for years. But you don't need the medallions ahead of time. You really don't need much ahead of time. I did my time on the gerbil treadmill for months trying to get along with the system for a cruise last December because I didn't know about the scope of the problem with medallion. I showed up to board with the usual docs and had no issues ... except that the SF Port guy who checked us in wrote down the wrong cabin number and it took forever to get the correct medallions ... but not Princess' fault.

YUP, that's exactly what I'm saying. I could fret about it, but I choose to consider prepaid gratuities and miscellaneous fees part of the cost of the cruise. I tip as I always did for good service. Usually $1 per drink, $2 per RS breakfast, $5-10 per MDR meal paid on the last night to whomever is serving us. Cabin steward gets a total of $150-200 depending on the length of the cruise. Please understand that bad service gets nothing. For me, it's a policy based on my personal feelings ... I want the crew members making my cruise so special to know how much I appreciate their efforts. With airfare and pre/post hotels, I'm spending tens of thousands of dollars. The tips add up to a very small percentage, and I believe that they make a real difference in the lives of the crew.

So I'd guess that your answer to the OP is yes. I'm so glad there are luxury cruislines that cater to people who don't want to rub elbows with Walmartians.

Culture shock for sure. Charges for RS are now the norm for us folks on 'mass-market' cruiselines, I think I'm paying $10 on NCL in October for breakfast no matter what time I order it. The pricier accommodations may be fee-free for RS. Makes business sense, the enormous amount of food wasted by pax needed to be curtailed. And Royal wants to be able to allocate the crew members to other duties at 9am. If there's a charge for RS after 9am, you can bet that the demand will almost disappear. The limit on drinks is quite amusing and in your case I can see that it would be annoying. Unless you're actually sitting at the bar, it could be a long walk back and forth. Somehow I'll bet that you'll figure out which places you like to be and how close the nearest bar is and it won't be as big a deal as it sounds. If you're out at the pool, say, order your first drink, hand over a nice tip and tell the server to keep coming back around with another one. It's been our experience that generous tips make for very good service no matter where you are on the ship.

THANK YOU! These kinds of details are so important for us beancounters to know beforehand. We're on NCL Epic in October, and this gives me an overview of the situation.

Since the bed will take up so much room, probably better to fold and unfold it yourself. If you have a late sleeper, you'll not be able to take your coffee out on the balcony to greet the morning.

I too agree. The mental image of trying to use the lav on an airplane, trying to remove the overall, not let it touch the filthy floor ... who needs it?

Seems like a small ship would suit you best, especially for Alaska.

You might also want to have a look at "whats in port" dot com. Seems to be a huge amount of detailed information about nearly every port in the world.

Not ever been on a cruise longer than 2 weeks. I'd tip my cabin steward in cash at the start as usual, then probably every week. Would want him/her to have some walking-around money in ports. Use whatever guidelines the ship gives you, plus/minus depending on any extras. You will LOVE Cunard, a wonderful experience all around.

Good question. Haven't ever been gone longer than 3 weeks. It would be simple to prepay certain things. We use one credit card consistently, I'd pay everything else before we left and prepay any automatic monthly charges. If no other choice, I think I'd set up a separate bank account, then change the password and clear out the a/c when I got to a secure connection.

I hear you and I too am super-careful about my personal information. I wouldn't dream of doing any financial transactions on a phone or an internet connection that isn't secure, for example. One would assume that the medallion itself doesn't contain any more information than your name and cabin number. But Princess' IT is so incredibly bad that nothing would surprise me. I do think if there's a 'crowd' around a terminal that the staff would verbally verify your cabin number.