ilikeanswers

THIS is what prompted me make the OP. I now understand that the real problem is microplastics and the pictures that are published of the Pacific Garbage Patch are misleading. Why do they (advocates) do this? I think it works against them in the end. People read about this Texas size garbage patch and see the pictures and are horrified - then when real life experiences (i.e. cruising through It) fail to confirm what the pictures show, people doubt the whole thing. Global Warming advocates are guilty of the same thing. Instead of focusing on the fundamental problem, they tend to publicize the most extreme (and graphic) predictions. When an individual's everyday experience fails to confirm these predictions, the whole topic loses credibility. I sometimes think that the best way to stymie the acceptance of real concerns is for advocates to use alarmism to raise awareness.

I feel it is less the advocates who do this and really the news. You will get this detailed talk by a researcher that goes for an hour and some news person will take one line leaving out all the context behind it and then it becomes alarmist news:eek:

I would suspect the same with these pictures. They all come from news sites or bloggers rather than researchers themselves. Even the whole size of Texas thing, most ocean researchers refer to density but for a news article four particles per square metre is not as interesting as "the size of Texas". In saying that we as the audience don't chose to watch a hour long discussion on the plastics pollution of the ocean. We chose to wait for the news bullet points and we will only tune in or read if the headline is intriguing enough:')

I watched a documentary about researchers at the patch and they say that most of the plastics that end up in the gyres are "new plastics" so they haven't had time to break down yet. They were saying that what is needed is for a reduction in "new plastics" coming into the gyres as that would see the process of reducing micro plastics in the ocean.

What is really needed is for us humans to stop using disposable stuff:( We buy so much stuff that we use for a year before we swap it out for the latest greatest thing, or because they are so badly made they break too quickly:o. And don't bother with biodegradable plastics, it turns out they just breakdown into micro plastics quicker:loudcry:. Also polyester clothing worst contributer to micro plastics next to manufacturers plastic pellets that are the raw ingredients in plastic goods:eek:.

I hate all this doom and gloom stuff. Does anyone try to reduce their plastic waste? I try to bring my own cup to coffee shops, and bags to shopping centres, I also have reduced the amount of clothes I buy especially after realising how much stuff I have hardly worn! Saved me a ton of money, can go on more holidays;). I know this stuff is probably superficial but I don't really know what else I can do:o

I admit I am a food and drink snob;p when I am on vacation I drink less, but in saying that I don't drink much when I am at home. I know a lot of people who drink a bottle of wine a night. It takes me a week to finish a bottle:'). Getting drunk or even buzzing has no appeal to me at all:cool:

I am a quality over quantity person. The products I buy are usually of the higher price range and I generally drink straight up spirits. These brands are usually double the price in tourist places and never included in drink packages if even sold on ships at all and I generally do not enjoy cocktails as I usually find them too sickly sweet.

I will sometimes have a glass of wine or beer as with these products price or brand have little effect on taste but since both drinks aren't a favourite I am happy to not have them at all;).

However when I travel to a new country I love to try the local beverage of choice or a unique drink they make in that community:D

Just phoned MSC on +1-877-665-4655 and they said that they would accept a 500 euro note onboard a Mediterranean cruise in Europe. Thanks everyone, for all your inputs and advice!

Well that is good to hear(y) Looks like problem solved:D.

On MSC, in Europe, everyone will be billed in euros. So I will use it to pay my bill. They will have to accept it, right?

Legally businesses should probably accept it (though if the ship is registered in a non EU country maybe it is not subject to EU business rules) but if the on board MSC staff refuse to take it what can you do:o? I suppose you could try refusing to pay your bill till they accept your notes:confused: Maybe contact MSC customer service and find out what their on board policy is for 500 and 200 Euro notes. Maybe contact your hotel too, just so you can be prepared.

I know in this case this is a passanger but I was once told that cruise ship crews transporting drugs for syndicates is actually quite common. That the crew don't get as thoroughly checked as passangers (though I don't know which ports they were referring to:o) and they sneak their drug loads through whatever cruise ships are loading or unloading. I've always wondered if this is an urban myth;p or if there is any thruth to it:confused:

I would say your best bet is to break it at a bank and do it soon. While it will still be considered legal currency by the end of the year it is meant to be officially phased out, and they already stopped printing them two years ago. I have my doubts any cruise ship will accept notes that are disappearing from circulation. Even at the banks giving 500€ notes entails a lot of bureaucracy (bring all the ID you have and maybe some tax file numbers), that cruise companies may be reluctant to go through such a process, not to mention some banks charge a 0.15% fee for processing 500€ notes.

Have you ever been on a cruise where you thought the route or ports of call were not very good or perhaps you thought certain places were not suited to cruise style travel and are better visited in other ways :confused:

I am the exact opposite when it comes to travelling:p. I always bring items that I feel are disposable, that way if they are ruined or lost it won't bother me:cool:. I am always digging into the back of the wardrobe looking for the older stuff I don't care about any more. Unless I need a specific item I don't already own I avoid bringing any thing new;).

Now That is interesting. Where do I find that as I can not see a promotions folder on my Gmail, only my Inbox, Sent mail, Drafts, All mail, Spam & Trash. All the rest are my private ones I installed.

My Gmail has Primary underneath which is Social and underneath that is Promotions. That is where I find all my commercial subscriptions are automatically placed:cool:.

If you can't see Promotions try going into Settings - > select your email address - > manage labels.

Maybe you need to sync Promotions with inbox?

I noticed you said you have Gmail, so I am wondering have you checked the Promotions folder? I find all my advertising goes in there.

Wow you went through a lot of trouble to make that rant. :)

 

I book all of our cruises direct with the cruise line, no middle person.

Sometimes you need to get things out to be able to move on. I totally get the need to write a rant;). If you really want to make it official there should be some agency in your country/state/region that should handle accreditation of travel agents, usually through them you can make a complaint.

I have a general rule of never putting anything I'm afraid of losing in checked luggage. Would it suck to lose your clothes:o? Yes but I can always buy new ones;) As for travel insurance it would be foolish to go without it. $89 sounds expensive but if you got really sick and needed medical evacuation than the costs would sky-rocket:eek:.

I don't mind the idea of private islands, as long as it was done right.

 

We've done a Caribbean cruise on Disney out of Port Canaveral. All of their Bahamas and Caribbean cruises include a day at Castaway Cay, which is Disney's private island in the Bahamas - it's on a 99 year lease or something from the Bahamas. It's basically a tiny undeveloped island (Wikipedia tells me that only 55 of the 1000 acres are developed) where Disney have built a pier, and various facilities.

 

We loved it because of the relative lack of crowds, and that because it's a private DCL island, all you need to bring ashore is your cruise card. Food (BBQ lunch) is all included, as is access to all the facilities so you don't need to worry about cash or anything. They also have a kids area where you can sign your kids in (the kids club staff from your ship are there all day) and then hang out in the adults only area if you like.

 

So if RCL is planning something like this, I actually don't mind that idea.

I'm just wondering how is it any different to what is offered on board:confused:? Food, kids club and adult areas aren't those things already on the ship? Apart from beach access what did you find was the advantage of having these things on land vs on ship? :)

To me this all part of them trying to stop money leaving the ship. It is like when they try to ban non affiliated tour operators from entering ports they dock at:confused:. While there is a growing number of passengers who cruise solely for the experience of the ship a large number of passengers still like to have destinations to visit:cool:, and to be honest I don't think everyone will find themed park private islands that appealing especially when cruise ship already seem to have theme parks:o.

It's interesting to see how few times luxury ships really came up.

I thought that was interesting too:Dalso apart from Antarctica and Galapagos not much mention of expedition cruises. I guess they really are a niche market;p. I do love the people suggesting having their own cruise ship, now that is dreaming big;)(y)

Silver Sea, Heritage Expeditions and Lindbald Expeditions are cruises that cross the Bering Strait.

Are there any cruises you wish you could do but are prevented because it would be too expensive?

Not so far fetched a thought. Maybe not a new cruise line, but sounds a bit like Regent Cruises Navigator. To quote a Yahoo website, "The hull was constructed by former USSR (Russia) as a satellite tracking ship. The hull was purchased by RSSC and the superstructure was finished by Mariotti Yards, Italy."

My mother's friend told me back in the day Russians were running a bunch of cheap no frills cruises. No bars, no pools certainly no entertainment:p. The way she described them it made me think of a floating hostel. Rooms were small, no balcony option at all, (you were lucky if they had a window:')) many times it was dormitory but you got three meals a day and lots of stops, sometimes they provided tours but usually you had to arrange your own thing and apparently they were dirt cheap.

My mother's friend loved them, travelled the world with them all through her 20s and 30s even travelling with her whole family. She told me the big cruise companies as they became more established and flights became cheaper the no frills companies couldn't compete after all while she loved no frills most people do like a little comfort;)

I sometimes wonder when you see complaint posts and the OP never answers back could they be fake stories to bad mouth the competition:o? I have heard companies employ people to post complaints around social media pretending to be disgruntled customers of their competition.

It sort of has all the hallmarks. The 70yr old couple, an age group people tend to feel are more vulnerable and therefore more likely to sympathise with, the whole scenario of "all they needed was one more day", the focus on supposedly bad customer service (how could they not alert the frail 70yr old couple on visa requirements:eek:?), even the hole in the story, that they are seasoned cruisers is almost like they are trying to say other cruises companies are much better at giving you information and of course the high price tag, $10000 each, not too much that it is ridiculous but not so little as to be dismissed:confused:.

IDK maybe the cynic in me is just making me too much into a conspiracy theorist;p

Maybe, But I can;t help but think that drinks packages encourage drinking. If your paying $95 a day for a drinks package your going to want to get "your moneys worth"

 

Yes I think one should not under estimate the psychological effect of prepaid packages. I have heard many times people say "well I am on holiday and I just want to get my moneys worth":rolleyes:. I do think there are people who will drink heavily no matter what but IME they deliberately seek out travel packages that have a generous drink allowance, so I think there is an argument to getting rid of alcohol drink packages.

I've been reading this thread with interest as I too am curious if this is at all possible. Though I do wonder if you should consider a passager freighter voyage/cruise instead of a tourist cruise:confused:? Being a freighter they are highly unlikely to skip a port plus being freighters they might be better equipped and more amenable to shipping personal belongings.

I'm not interested in a holiday for a holiday's sake, I'm interested in increasing my experiences:D. Unfortunately that comes with a bigger price tag:eek:. I will look for any discounts I can but I will save for particular experiences and easily give up any other luxuries in my life. You only live once so I want to make the most of it;p

built to survive in far more extreme conditions than the Gold Coast will ever experience.

 

 

There is no alternative to a rail link of some sort to shore. The overall distance to be travelled from ship to calm water ferry terminal is around 1500m. Cruise companies will not even consider a tender type setup, and it's probably a bit far for people to walk, although a walkway could be included in the plans. .

Have you taken climate change into account? Regardless of what you think of climate change, investors do care how it might effect the future viability of off shore building projects and I don't know how you will convince companies to pour millions into an already risky, experimental project when weather modelling predictions indicate storms becoming more violent and frequent:o.

Will a rail link quickly and comfortably be able to disembark and re-embark up to 5000 passengers including the numerous cruisers who need wheelchairs:confused:? As cruise ships get bigger it will have to accommodate larger crowds, not to mention if you have cruises starting and ending at GC you'll have to accommodate luggage handling and the resupply of the ship.

Apart from price and duration when choosing a cruise do you prioritise the port of calls or the amenities offered by the ship?:confused: