Ray in NH
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Posts posted by Ray in NH
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2 minutes ago, M&M Hayden said:
Ravbo is correct. In MOST ports everyone doing a B2B meets in the morning and after other cruisers have departed you will be escorted off and go thru customs/immigration. When the ship has been "zero'd out" you will be escorted back on. You will get new seapass cards either at your B2B meeting, the group meet up in the morning or when you get off the ship.
In other ports you don't have to get off the ship. We have only encountered that twice.
In another port CBP came on board to process B2B cruisers.
If you aren't changing rooms there is nothing you have to do. If you are changing rooms leave the hanging items on their hangers and pack up everything else. They will send someone to move all your belongings to your new stateroom. We have not had good luck with that service so we move it ourselves.
The B2B letter that they give you includes good instructions, just pay attention to that.
I would echo much of what M&M Hayden said, but, do not be too surprised by a different wrinkle being thrown in, especially if it is a non-U.S. port. We have done a number of B-2-B,s and had some very different "experiences". However, we almost always had the proper information to help make it somewhat "seamless". Most of the cruise line staffs have experience in making as painless as possible, and they usually succeed. If something goes slightly "amiss" it may be a great "You had to be there" story.
Hope all goes well for your first "B-2-B" experience.
NRayH
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3 hours ago, SteelMagnolia9 said:
A Disappointing Start To The Cruise:
Embarkation:
Instructions in the Welcome Packet requested that all luggage be ready inside your room at 7:45 a.m. for pickup by the bell staff. Luggage was then delivered directly to your cabin. Passengers were advised to meet in the Lafayette and Lasalle Room, a large meeting room, at 9:45 a.m. The Cruise Director was present and gave some preliminary instructions and we then were checked in from a passenger list as we boarded the buses which departed at 10:15 a.m. for the QOM. A couple of weeks prior to the cruise, I received an email from ACL indicating that our embarkation port was changed to Alton, IIlinois. It proved to be a positive revision in the schedule as when we cruised the Mississippi River that afternoon we went past St. Louis on the river and I was able to get some excellent photos from the upper deck of the QOM of the Arch with the Old St. Louis Courthouse in the background. We had an entertaining sightseeing trip by our bus driver on the way to the dock. When we boarded, our names were again checked off a list by staff and we were told our cabins were ready. There was also a reception in the Magnolia Lounge with hors d'oeuvres and beverages upon boarding.
Cabin:
I decided to drop off my carry-on bag to my cabin before going to the reception. I entered my cabin and was greeted with a musty, sweet, chemical odor that was very strong. I immediately knew there was a problem in my cabin. I thought at first it was from cleaning products, but then I was able to determine that the odor was coming from the A/C. I have no allergies and my nose began to run for the short time I was in the cabin and my throat felt scratchy. I sought out the Hotel Director and reported it and he informed me that maintenance would be sent to my room to check on it. Over the course of two full days, I had to continually stay on top of this and seek out the Hotel Director multiple times to find out what was going on and when this was going to be resolved. In the meantime, I stayed out of my cabin as much as possible the first two days. At the end of the second day, it was resolved and there were no further issues with the odor coming from the A/C. I did feel this was a major deficiency both in maintenance and service and stated so on the post-cruise survey I received. It was a disappointing start to my trip.
I was in one of the solo cabins. Aside from the above issue, there was a rip in the carpet in one corner of the room. The desk lamp was difficult to turn off and on as the switch to turn it on and off seemed like it was almost stripped. The room was 230 sq. ft. with a balcony. The bathroom was more spacious than one would find on an ocean cruise ship. My cabin was kept very clean and a deckhand swept and cleaned my balcony area on at least one occasion during the cruise.
Next: Dining and Wi-Fi
SteelMagnolia9,
Thank you for providing a record of your cruise experience. We have been thinking about this itinerary, so it is especially timely.
We will next be aboard for the Northwest Pioneers Cruise on 11 October.
NRayH
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12 hours ago, Redtravel said:
Too little, too late. Last night we had dinner with friends who cruised last week. They are elite plus. We are too. They told us about the cut of free movies. They were angry. No way would they do a cruise with several sea days. They like watching movies. They also told us that there were long waits using beepers at dinner. Too many changes are pushing former loyal guests to seek other cruise options. Each change whether a cutback or a reinstatement sends a message. It says that the cruise line is changing and you shouldn't expect the same product as on previous cruises. It may just be what Celebrity means by a Revolution. For me, it means unreliability.
"Just Saying" One needs something "revolting" to happen to engender a "Revolution". 🤔
NRayH
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25 minutes ago, Missabby said:
How are tips handled on American Cruise Lines? Suggested amount?
Missabby.
Quoting from ACL Brochure, "Fare: American Cruise Lines, Inc.'s per person fare includes passage, dining service, snacks, complimentary cocktail parties, and entertainment aboard the ship. Fares do not include most shore tours (unless otherwise noted) or port charges and fees. Guests are not expected to leave a gratuity on board."
Having said that I have not seen, nor heard of, any free-will offer a gratuity being refused. However, they are not really expected.
Hopefully, that answers your question.
NRayH
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2 minutes ago, sasset said:
When you list a special occasion, birthday, anniversary, etc. in your reservation does that show up at the hostess station when you are being seated?
Thanks
Unfortunately, Not always. We tend not to mention any "special occasion" when making our reservations. In discussions, over the years, with various guests, this topic has arisen and the results seem to be very inconsistent.
If it is important, to you, I would mention it (before the event in question) to whomever you think appropriate. It may vary according to your cabin/stateroom assignment. It could be the Dining Room Manager, Concierge Services, Butler, Guest Services, Food/Beverage Manager, Hotel Director. If you are successful in receiving an acceptable level of accommodation, please be sure to mention the good accommodation provided, by whomever, in the Post-Cruise Survey.
NRayH
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1 hour ago, ipeeinthepool said:
I've heard/read that everyone does some "stuff" in the pool. 😉
Probably some truth to that also. 😎
NRayH
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21 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:
No problem. We are also doing a B2B so we'll see you on Feb 23. Hopefully we'll see you by the pool. 😉
Might be advisable not to meet in the pool -- I heard/read that some folks do "stuff" in the pool. 😏
NRayH
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20 hours ago, SuziCruises said:
We are going in December, so I'd appreciate any pictures and feedback you have after your cruise.
Hi SuziCruises,
Not sure which cruise you are looking for information on? This thread was started about ACL's Harmony, which started its initial sailings very recently. I also mentioned that we would be hoping to book aboard ACL's sailing the Great Rivers of Florida itinerary for later this year (based upon availability, in our preferred staterooms. This would be booked whilst aboard our Northwest Pioneers cruise, next month. Booking aboard Harmony is on our "to-do" list, for "someday".
I will usually post a review of whatever cruise we complete, not always with photos though.
NRayH
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17 hours ago, debcip said:
My husband and I are pretty easy to please and don’t find much to complain about on HAL or Celebrity, with whom we’ve cruised multiple times. However, we much prefer AZ to the mass market ships.
The objective things to love about AZ are easy: the small size, lack of crowds, port-intensive and interesting itineraries, and genuine friendliness of the staff. DH and I enjoy the food on AZ more than any of the other lines we sailed. We’ve taken some ship excursions and have been happy with them—they are comparable to those on other ships with the exception of the smaller group size.
But honestly, the thing we like the most is more intangible—we just love the “vibe.” We like the upscale but casual atmosphere; we don’t require and don’t much like being fussed over although we do like being treated well. We feel like we are very much at home there. So, for us, it is worth it. And there’s no way for you to measure this feeling without doing it yourself. I bet you won’t be sorry if you do!
Very well stated. We can totally understand your train of thought.
We are very much looking forward to our next (only second) Azamara cruise. Just need to make the final decision and book it.
NRayH
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12 hours ago, DcnLee said:
American Harmony was on its maiden voyage last week. Can anyone give us a review? We will be on the Oct 12 sailing for the lower Mississippi Memphis to NOLA, and I'm anxious to hear what the early travelers have experienced. Pictures of the interior of the ship would be an added bonus since ACL keeps recycling the computer generated pix for the ships in this series.
--Larry
I think it may be some time before we see any reviews on American Harmony, based on the over-all paucity of reviews in general on this board.
We are also looking forward to whatever reviews may become available. We will be aboard ACL Song in a few weeks and are planning on booking a Great Rivers of Florida cruise for later this year (depending upon availability). This would be aboard American Star, the only ship (at this time) doing this itinerary.
NRayH
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On 8/15/2019 at 10:59 AM, misterkevin said:
Class perks are not new to Celebrity, or to travel in general from airlines, to trains, to hotels. While it feels like something is being taken away from you based on how much money you spend for your vacation, the truth is that there are plenty of other places on the ships which are equally as private and quiet as this sundeck. I will direct you to them if you're not aware of them.
All leisure companies are trying to attract the highest spending customers who are more valuable to them because they tend to spend at least twice as much for a cabin. Luminae, the private dining room, has been available for years, as well as Michael's club, now the Retreat Lounge. Most cruise lines offer separate embarkation lounges for suite guests as well.
Issues around premium branding have been going on for decades as well. Years ago, nobody thought about asking for a specific brand for their highball or screwdriver, and now with the proliferation of brands, there are 15 kinds of vodka and 50 kinds of whiskey, not to mention the water tiers. All Celebrity is doing is giving their customers choice. For many people, vacations are an indulgence, a splurge. They use the cruise to sample and live like they can't while they're working and saving for their next cruise.
The only person aware of the class distinction is you. Nobody knows where your cabin is or how much you spent when you grab a seat at one of the many bars or lounges or when you're grabbing a snack at the Ocean View Cafe. Plenty of suite passengers mingle with the rest of the ship as evidenced by how few of them find themselves in the special areas reserved for them. However, these differentiators help keep Celebrity competitive in the travel market and profitable as a company. Celebrity is neither a charity or a social experiment. It's a business and has to account to its shareholders while keeping all of the customers happy. There's no reason you can't enjoy yourself if you're not in a suite!
Well stated, even coming from a "mid-westerner" 😎
NRayH
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35 minutes ago, bhopal21 said:
We also did this cruise but in reverse (Charleston to Jacksonsville). Did a couple of days pre cruise in Charleston and had a terrific cruise. We chose our route to end up closer to home.
Mike😊
Your choice of ending the cruise closer to home makes sense to me. In our situation the flights from either Charleston or Jacksonville to Boston doesn't really make much difference. We had been to Jacksonville on other occasions, but not to Charleston, hence our choice. Nice to have easily scheduled options -- not always the situation.
NRayH
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On 7/13/2019 at 3:46 PM, Tom47 said:
Thanks for starting this thread. We were on the Pearl Seas Mist cruise to Cuba in Feb. and booked ACL Columbia river cruise Sept 2020. We received discounts totaling $3000. Pearl Seas is owned by ACL. Charleston-Jacksonville is on our wish list.
We did the reverse of your "wish list" cruise. We did Jacksonville-Charleston in March 2018, and had a lovely time. We started in Jacksonville because we wanted to spend a few days in Charleston, post cruise. I hope you have, at least, as an enjoyable cruise as we did.
NRayH
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19 hours ago, renesir said:
Planning first river cruise on American cruise line’s America
Just a short one called Highlights of Mississippi
Anyone done this one with American? Im curious
of what to expect
Thank you
We have not done this particular itinerary. We did our first ACL cruise in March of 2017, also aboard their ship, ACL America. We enjoyed it so much we have done four more since then (on various other ACL ships) -- with another scheduled for this October.
Hope you also have a wonderful experience.
NRayH
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13 hours ago, whoopie said:
Thanks. We called and they were most helpful. The hotel where they have an included pre cruise night has a shuttle from the airport. The ship has a shuttle to the post cruise airport.
Glad to be able to help.
Enjoy your cruise.
NRayH
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12 hours ago, whoopie said:
Does American Cruise Line have shuttle service to and from the airports where you embark/disembark the cruise?
It can depend upon the various itineraries.
Often they will provide complimentary pre-cruise hotel stays, in those situations they also provide transportation to the ship, for embakation. Transportation from the airport is usually up to you/us. Arriving to the embarkation port city on the day of the cruise, leaves getting to the ship up to you.
On disembarkation days, the cruise line will usually make arrangements for transportaion from ship to airport, or hotels -- the cost will be usually the cruiser's responsibilty. Sometimes the cruise line will provide a complimentary shuttle from the pier to the airport.
With the relatively small number of passengers per cruise, it can be difficult ascertain before-hand exactly what will needed. If you have need to address special transportation issues, a call to ACL's Customer Services should get you your particular answers.
In our six cruises, we have not had any real difficulties - time/cost wise.
NRayH
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9 hours ago, CdMAgFox said:
Hello again, Ray,
Yes, we are on the same Northwest Pioneers Cruise on October 11. You may recall our discussing this previously as to my stateroom 409 and your choice to change from a Deck 4 stateroom to a Deck 3 stateroom to avoid any Deck 4 traffic to/from the Lounges. We are also both staying at the Red Lion Hotel in Portland although I am spending two nights there. I have received my documents already from ACL including my luggage tags, hotel voucher, boarding pass, etc. Looking forward to this new adventure for me in the Northwest. I have been doing my research on Lewis and Clark and their expedition.
Ron
Hi Ron,
I do recall our previous discussion, thank you for the reminder. We moved our stateroom due to the scheduld one was next door to the Excercise Room. That was the bigger reason, more so than the corridor traffic.
Looking forward to seeing you in Portland.
NRayH
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On 8/3/2019 at 7:08 PM, CdMAgFox said:
Hello Ray,
In response to your question as to whether Pearl Seas offers an onboard discount, the answer is YES!
While on my recent Lower Mississippi RIver Cruise with American Cruise Lines last April, I successfully rebooked my Canadian Maritimes & St. Lawrence Seaway 15-day cruise on Pearl Seas, receiving the 15% discount PLUS forgiveness of taxes and port fees. My cruise date is May 21, 2020, from Portland, Maine. The cruise ends in Toronto, Ontario.
At first I was told that rebooking would not be possible but, with the able assistance of one of the ship’s managers, my rebooking was accomplished AND with my original stateroom selection: 512, a single balcony room.
Unfortunately, since then, Pearl Seas has reduced the fare on my single balcony stateroom by $2000, taking away most of my discount! Oh well...
Ron
Hi Ron,
I just noticed in your signature space that you will be on the same ACL cruise (Northwest Pioneers -- 11 October 2019 aboard ACL's Song) as us. Hopefully that is when we are looking to probably book our first Pearl Seas cruise.
NRayH
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12 minutes ago, adele319 said:
Hi, I am trying to find a list of brands offered on the classic and premium beverage packages. If any one can provide this, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
It has been our experience that this can (and often does) vary greatly from ship to ship and even itinerary to itinerary, and perhaps even by diligence of servers. We have been told that a particular wine is no longer available, and have it offered to us an hour or so later (at a different service area). That has been our experience -- we wish you good luck in finding your spirits of choice.
NRayH
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15 hours ago, CdMAgFox said:
Hello Ray,
In response to your question as to whether Pearl Seas offers an onboard discount, the answer is YES!
While on my recent Lower Mississippi RIver Cruise with American Cruise Lines last April, I successfully rebooked my Canadian Maritimes & St. Lawrence Seaway 15-day cruise on Pearl Seas, receiving the 15% discount PLUS forgiveness of taxes and port fees. My cruise date is May 21, 2020, from Portland, Maine. The cruise ends in Toronto, Ontario.
At first I was told that rebooking would not be possible but, with the able assistance of one of the ship’s managers, my rebooking was accomplished AND with my original stateroom selection: 512, a single balcony room.
Unfortunately, since then, Pearl Seas has reduced the fare on my single balcony stateroom by $2000, taking away most of my discount! Oh well...
Ron
Ron,
Thank you for your first hand information, in regards to my inquiry.
I am looking forward to pursuing this option, whilst aboard our Northwest Pioneers Cruise, later this year.
NRayH
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I guess the true (or at least truer) norm is not as "bad" as it might have been perceived?
Thanks to all that took time to share their recent experiences -- good and poor.
NRayH
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2 hours ago, Doh15 said:
What about the flip side— if the ship is scheduled to arrive at 8 am, how likely is it that we will be off the boat by, say, 8:10 (in a non-tender port)?
That might be more difficult to estimate, depending on the port and what local clearances need to be attended to -- more so for the ship, versus indivdual passengers. An 08:10 departure might be cutting it close. If the tour operator does a lot of business at that particular port, they may be better able to answer that part of the question. I'd be somewhat hesitant to plan on that time table without assurance (in writing) from the operator about how workable that timing is.
NRayH
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4 hours ago, Glenndale said:
But shouldn't this be the norm and not the exception?
Yes, it should be. Perhaps we are moving in that direction?? The comments, perhaps, should be encouraging more of the same, not neglecting whatever progress that is now being observed?
Let us celebrate the positive, whilst we have something to celebrate.
NRayH
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5 hours ago, jebhoward3 said:
Just waiting until it's time for our 15nt. Grand Heartland cruise on America, August 24, 2019. This will be our 4th on this line. We have done other USA river cruises on other lines. And lots of ocean cruises. We are hoping we can book and get a discount for booking onboard, a Pearl Seas cruise to Great Lakes.
I agree, it is not easy to find out if booking a Pearl Seas cruise whilst aboard an ACL cruise offers any discount. We plan to ask again when we are on our October cruise. Pearl Seas has a few interesting (to us) Great Lakes itineraries.
We have completed five cruises aboard ACL and a few European River cruises, along with many ocean cruises. They all seem to have "something" that keeps calling us back.
NRayH
Mini-Review - Cumberland River Cruise - St. Louis to Nashville - September 7-14, 2019
in American Cruise Lines
Posted
SteelMagnolia9,
Thank you very much for the valuable insights of this itinerary. We have been looking at this cruise and were still somewhat un-decided as to it's appeal. Your review has raised our level of interest again.
We grew up in the Mid-Atlantic states (Pennsylvania) but have been here in New Hampshire for the last twenty (+0) years, and now are less tolerant of high temperatures/humidity levels. The timing of these cruise seems to be limited to August/September, which is a major reason we have not yet booked it. Also, we had not seen many reviews of this itinerary. Your review has rekindled our interest. I guess "time will tell"? At least we have some additional information, from a ACL cruiser.
Thank you, again.
NRayH