Critically Cruising

And we still can't make any kind of informed suggestions, as the departure city remains a bigger secret than the Manhattan Project.

Stay a bit away from South Beach or the FLL beach and the rates become quite reasonable.

Which is why my speculation was not mentioned in my post. Last thing I would want to do is spoil someone's employment history and future. But if I am right, I'll be quite pleased.

So...in November of 2006, "not long before" would definitely encompass the Feb 2005 incident with the Amsterdam. And there has not been a Princess ship stranding folks in Stanley. I was there in January of this year, and the locals still remember that time. I'll stick with HAL not wanting to mention that it was their captain that stranded folks.

IIRC, there are three. I haven't seen an announcement about the fourth, but I have a suspicion on who it might be. Currently on a contract with another cruise line, which I think is why there is no announcement. Yet. 100% speculation - I'm betting with myself.

All the more reason to stay in SoFla and fly home on Monday. Plus, the air tickets will be less expensive with less demand.

That is the usual situation when you get the "can't dock/tender" announcement. Guests see weather that looks OK, but they don't have the wind and wave forecasts that the captain has. And yes, I've been out when the seas got rough for the return tender ride. When the able bodied go the swell timing right and jumped back onto the ship and the "less spry" waited for a while, hoping for a bit better condition. IMO, anyone in a walker or wheelchair should simply not be allowed on a tender. Way too many possible issues with those folks who have difficulties just walking down a corridor, let alone on/off a bobbing tender.

Amazing how history gets rewritten. It was the HAL ship Amsterdam that stranded guests ashore. I guess they didn't want to sully their own line's reputation, so they substituted a fellow Carnival Corp brand in telling the story. https://en.mercopress.com/2005/02/03/when-amsterdam-came-to-stanley-and-stayed-the-night And FWIW, the Crystal Symphony was there that same day, and the captain on that ship did not tender guests and just headed to the next port in Argentina.

Remember that Blacklane is nothing more than a booking portal for independent companies. Just like Viator is for tours.

Decades ago in the computer industry, this was known as "vaporware". Grand announcements of upcoming products that never materialized.

Some of my best have been followed by fifteen hour flights.

Tell them you're an influencer with over 100,000 followers. You can be as honest as they are.

MCT shows the "MSC Explorer" for the 25th. https://nycruise.com/manhattan-terminal/schedule-mct/ And nothing for Bayonne: http://www.cruiseliberty.com/cruise_info.html

So what you have is a cooked-to-order BUFFET. The adjective may be different but the noun is still the same.

This is even easier. You just give them your reservation details and they automatically search for better prices on a regular basis (I think daily or less than that). Then, if a better price shows up, they send an email. And it works for searching Costco too.

AutoSlash. And HotelSlash.

Am I carrying my plate in both cases? Then "cooking station" means nothing more than trying to disguise a buffet. A far cry from the "Effortless ALL-DAY DINING. Elegant à la carte meals day and night" that the brochures touted.

If they want the Chinese market, where's the big casino?

Even Russians and Chinese won't be fooled more than once.

Very much Eastern Mediterranean, followed by months of Persian Gulf. In seven to nine day chunks. Big change from the grand concept of "voyages".

Hope you've done your due diligence on SoClean. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-reminds-patients-devices-claiming-clean-disinfect-or-sanitize-cpap-machines-using-ozone-gas-or Just take your hose and rinse out with hot water in the shower, and drain in the shower. Mask and cushions can be hand washed in the sink. Because you need to physically remove any residue that attaches to surfaces, not just spray gas around it. Actually clean it.

If you ever went to one of those "Cheers" knock-off bars, that's what you get with Rick's. The original you saw in the movie was just a set on the Warner Brothers lot. This is a restaurant that capitalizes on the old movie to make a new cafe that copies that look. There used to be a "Rick's" in the Hyatt hotel as well, but I think that one closed and was repurposed. Getting out to the Hassan II mosque is one of the more impressive things in Casablanca. As well as shopping for carpets.

The pictures you could ignore. The droning, dreary music was unavoidable. Especially since it was being "performed" by technicians who were technically proficient, but who had no feeling of musical expression. Like the old days of figure skaters who were awesome in the compulsory figures, but couldn't do an expressive routine to save their life.

A later version, I think from Sept 2022. EXPLORA_JOURNEYS_STORY_COLLECTION.pdf

Let's see if this works. The first is from Feb of 2022: EXPLORA_JOURNEYS_STORY_COLLECTION_20220225_HR.pdf