boscobeans

If you win a bid I think that's it. No changes, no choice. It is automatically charged to your card.

A lot of food service employers require shoes that are non-slip, as well as closed toe. 

Free Continental Breakfast in your room.

Very nice variety of items other than cooked foods.

LEFT SIDE OF MENU.

Jersey had a solution to their problem.

53 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

Found this today.  Looks like things are starting to move. Not sure how accurate it is as it just a random guy talking, but it is interesting.
 

 

These guys are playing pick-up sticks with thousands of tons of connected steel girders which are in many cases under tremendous stress. Like trying to clear up a wood lot after a tornado, very dangerous.

55 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

The steel is only one part of the problem,  there is all the pavement that has broken up and is littering the channel bottom.

Depending on the size of the debris, which can also be reduced. a dredge could clear the rubble.

1 hour ago, TPKeller said:

 

I'll chime in.  I think the channel will be open long before that.  Remember the channel is only the section between the two bridge supports on either side of the ship.  They can leave the rest of the bridge outside the channel to be removed later.

The NTSB video posted earlier (well worth the watch, by the way) never caught a view of the whole channel, but I snagged two screen shots that show both sections of the bridge that are blocking the channel.  From the twisted angles of the truss, it appears that the two sections are mostly already separated (broken apart from each other), although they could still be connected below the water.  They are obviously not completely connected as they were before they fell.  That means fewer points to cut them apart.

I think it all comes down to whether they can bring in strong enough crane(s) to lift the two sections intact.  I honestly don't know if they can, but my hunch is that they can.  If they have to disassemble the girders, then the time extends, but they won't take them down to the individual girders, just to chunks light enough to be lifted by whatever cranes they do get.

 

Space to store them on land is not an issue.  All they have to do is get the steel out of the channel.  They could even dump it a few hundred yards off to the side if they have to. They'll clean the parts up later.

There's also the concrete roadway that is laying on the bottom.  If those pieces broke up or mostly fell flat, they might just leave it for later as well.  Losing a foot or two of channel depth to save a month's closure is well worth it.  No doubt they will "sonar the area to death" to make sure there are no hazards... but as important as this is, I think it'll be done in weeks, not months.

 

As acknowledged by all... we can speculate, but only time will tell!

 

Theron

 

Those sections are all under extreme stress that would make it way too dangerous to attempt cutting the downed bridge into manageable pieces with divers.

Best bet would be to have engineers decide the best way to section the mess up into pieces for removal and use explosives to do the cutting with much less danger to humans.

1 hour ago, death_star said:

There is a marine terminal at Sparrows Point outside the bridge that's run by Tradepoint Atlantic. It's used mainly for RoRo at the moment but there really isn't anything that would prevent a cruise ship docking there with the normal port ramp style gangway. Process the passengers at the cruise terminal then bus them over for embarking. I remember we used to have to take a bus at Bayonne to the ship so it would be similar. Would be fine for the next few cruises before dry dock. 

 

Provisioning just means the trucks drive to the other terminal. 

Only a few short miles from the cruise terminal and since the passengers would be ready to board it would be fairly easy and fast.

Wouldn't even need a gangway just embark and debark from the lower deck.

Comparing HAVEN to a veranda on Royal Caribbean?

Just wondering if price is the only thing you are comparing?

Will your choice be based on accommodations and other perks?

Good butter with a nice salty taste. 

23 hours ago, teddie said:

OOOH  Did you request it specifically from Room Service, or did it come with the pastries plate?

 

Teddie

We ordered fruit Danishes and were surprised to get 2 blueberry muffins and 2 slices of the stollen. 

The selections they made were a bit off the mark, but not at all a problem.

It is very similar to an Italian Panettone or a European Babka, just flattened out a bit like a biscotti. LOL.

15 hours ago, SpainAlien said:

Last time I was on a Royal Caribbean ship was before covid and in Windjammer they used to have a lovely sweet bread with crystallised sugar on the top, I'm now on Ovation of the Seas and I can't find it, do they still do it?

On our recent Anthem cruise (Jan29/2024) They had it and was almost an everyday item FROM ROOM SERVICE.

It was a fairly traditional (stollen) yeast raised sweetbread with raisins and a delicate sugary crisp crust. It was almost an everyday item when we asked for Danish pastries on our order.

Any rollator/wheelchair assistance embarkation day, cape liberty?

Do they still have the tram/trolley from the ship to the shopping area?

50 minutes ago, iscruisingdunzo said:

Lol, this is the most comical thing I have ever read. That is like stating that you are the employer for every person you do business with! No sorry, again, gratuities AKA tips, are funds people pay to reward someone or a group of people for their quality of work. By no means do I consider myself the employer for anyone I tip!

Fact is everything that makes a cruise or cruise line from the telephone representatives to the President and board of directors is PAID WITH THE FARES COLLECTED FROM THE PASSENGERS.

And just like any other service I pay for I understand that even those flipping the burgers, who I actually and indirectly pay, are to a degree my employees and deserve a living wage that most probably should rise with inflation.

I don't wish to debate who is and isn't an employer, in my opinion it is a person who pays someone or a group of people to provide that person with goods or services. So, YES, the passenger is the ultimate employer of a series of employees.

Tipping in the American culture IS PART OF LIFE and is and has been for decades considered a part of an EMPLOYEE'S salary (EVEN BY THE IRS.).

I don't really care who tips or doesn't, but I worked in the service industry and did rely on tips just as the employees on cruise ships do. I also UNDERSTAND that there is such a thing as inflation as is easily seen by the increase in cruise fares over the years. 

On 10/31/2023 at 4:06 PM, NightOne said:

We have always prepaid gratuities. We have also gave additional cash gratuities to our room steward and MDR waiters. We also added additional gratuities at special dining.

 

However, with the automatic daily gratuities going higher and higher it is getting hard to justify the "tips on top of the tips".

We ALL expect a salary raise from our employers, and since passengers are actually the people who ultimately are the employers, I see nothing unusual with a minor increase.

12% does seem to be a bit steep but as part of the total cruise package and compared to the cost of living in some parts of the world once again I see nothing unusual.

17 hours ago, cruisin73 said:

I have always taken Bonine with no problem however someone introduced 

Me to this patch.  Has anyone tried it?  I’m a little skeptical but open to trying something new.  

On their advertisement they claim to be MEZCALINE free, whereas BONINE and DRAMAMINE are NOT?

This is very sketchy/ What is MEZCALINE? 

It is NOT MECLIZINE (Bonine or non-drowsy dramamine)

and it is not MESCALINE a psychedelic protoalkaloid drug that produces hallucinations.

Obviously they haven't a clue as to reality so why would ANYONE rely on their ridiculous advertisement for what might be what was called back in the day "SNAKE OIL".

2 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

How likely is it to get a table for two people only, not sharing with others at dinner time?. Either on fix dining or in MTD. Are quite a few number of tables for two?

Never had a problem in 23+ years.

In the buffet or MDR for breakfast or lunch it's any of the juices, lemonade or iced tea. The FIVE drinks on my card go for drinks from lunch to the end of the day, anything more is no problem to pay for. My wife has the same 5 on her card plus her drinks are comped in the casino. For beverages in the room, we always get a water package and bring on 12 sodas.

On almost all the Royal and Celebrity ships over the past 23 years the beer selection, aside from the usual carbonated defrost brands, seems to change depending on the ship, the cruise and the weather. LOL. 

Try all the bars and you might find one that at least tastes like a real beer or ale. 

On 10/21/2023 at 12:23 PM, Travelalot76 said:

Does anyone know what the size of the water bottles are order from Royal are? The image has a size, but is that true to what is actually delivered? Thanks.

Our last cruise in May the Evian bottles were one liter. 

The 12 liters were about $19.00 through cruise planner.

Look for an agent that is part of a major consortium which purchases large blocks of staterooms on cruises well into the future.

Sometimes the prices they offer are outrageous.

Many offer deposit dates that are a month or two into the future as well.

16 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Delivering bags to your car is certainly a tip worthy action; even for me 

First stop once in the baggage area is to get a porter, give him our carry-ons and walk to where our checked bags are. 

Walk through customs and to the lot, as my wife heads to the car with the porter I pay at one of the kiosks. 

In the car within 5 minutes and on our way.

LOVE BAYONNE

6 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

It’s easy to imagine that there were no porters. Your port fees would go down; that is how these guys get paid. 

Lot more to port fees than a few porters. LOL

I don't care what anyone else does as far as tipping and never have.

I just try to imagine what it would be like if there WERE NO porters to just yank those fifty pound Samsonite anchors from a thousand +/-  SUVs, and toss them onto a luggage trolley.

For a couple of bucks when spending a few thousand on the cruise I do not want to wait while a thousand people are fighting over spaces to unload, finding a luggage trolly, stacking their bags so they won't fall out on the trip to the ship, handling their bags in the rain or the snow and keeping the line moving as fast as possible to get me on the ship.