Woodinville

A fourth passenger from the ill-fated Diamond Princess died while quarantined in Japan having contracted Coronavirus aboard the ship. The four who have died were all in their 80s. Approx 700 have now been identified as having the virus. https://securelytravel.com/travel/diamond-princess-4-dead-due-to-covid-19/

4 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

I think what they do is so rude. 

Sometimes Mother Nature dispenses Karma without warning ... ⛈️

13 minutes ago, vettprincess said:

How about something other than food pictures. No Princess Cays-? some venue pictures would be helpful? How about pictures if you go to St Thomas and St Maartin? Dining places, Bars, night club photos, all on the ship. Many people would like to see ship photos and land photos to give them idea of what to expect. Also, patter is hard to read and not very clear on the posts.

WOW ... rendered speechless on how to craft a retort, so instead I will share a thank you to the one doing the lifting

@Steelers0854 we don't say thank you enough for your live sharing of your cruise (your memories, your choices, your thread) and i'm old w/tired eyes and can read those patters and menus with ease.  Carry on and THANK YOU!  

There is a live thread being posted by @Steelers0854 from the Regal post wet-dock.

Based on my read, a good time is being had aboard the Regal. 

Cheers,

CB

42 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

 

There’s a Total Wine & Publix on 17th about half a mile from Terminal 2 and even closer there’s a Walgreens on 17th.

 

More options & probably better prices at TW & have read posts that by ordering in advance you could quickly pick up your wine while the taxi’s meter runs.

@Astro Flyer is spot-on - We have pre-ordered and they had our order ready for pickup when we swung by the next day. Very accommodating and entire process took about 15 mins ... we had our cab stop between Airport and night-before-cruise hotel to pickup. 

Just now, TNhome said:

I understand the whole process but still have a question. Do you put wine in your carry on or can you put the one bottle per person in your luggage?

We carry our wine on in our hand-carry visible and accessible to speed the process, as who likes to wait to check your wine in when the ship is waiting for you 😉

15 hours ago, yvr49 said:

Just the question I was going to ask!  The benefit form I have specifies July 31/20 but I will disregard that.  It would be nice if they would allow email.   I guess I will send it tomorrow by snail mail. 

Sent ours by snail mail right after making final payment and within ten days the credit showed up under the specific cruise's Payments and Credits tab - Enjoy your cruise. 

1 hour ago, steelers36 said:

Don't recall the one time we have boarded a ship in Sydney, but we are always early arrivers in Fort Lauderdale and rarely is the wine table set up, so I just take it on with no issue and then they just charge bottles you bring to the DR.  You might get lucky after a few days and your waiter might not charge every new bottle.  But don't count on it.  On our last cruise, I went back downstairs a while after we checked in and still no one at the table. 

 

You can also bring additional wine on board at port stops and no one minds that.  They don't even charge for a bottle each (usually they don't even notice), but again anything new brought to the DR is subject to the corkage fee.  I think Princess charges a fair amount and do not begrudge it for the opportunity to bring on wines of choice and save some money.

 

@steelers36experience has been ours as well ... the one time the table wasn't set up after the security check, we saw $15 corkage when we took a bottle out of the cabin to the MDR or a venue. We normally bring a few of our favs, especially in FLL as the Wine box store is so convenient, and we can pre-order and have it sitting waiting for pickup. 

31 minutes ago, picsa said:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:avGPCbpUAvUJ:www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do%3FsourcePage%3DshorexByPort%26ProductCode%3DTR93%26DestinationCode%3D+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

 

"It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on 4 Dec 2019 22:47:12 GMT."

Thanks - have updated the piece to reflect that sometime between 04 December and 11 December, RCI removed the offering of this shore excursion. 

CB

Thanks --  did look in "Way Back Machine" (Internet archive and did not see a prior page) if they did that it would be an affront to transparency, wouldn't it. 

Update - Ovation of the Sea & White Island Volcano - Warnings had been issued. Yet private tour operators say it didn't pass their threshold for danger. It would appear from the RCI site, that the Ovation of the Seas did not offer White Island as a tour. 

https://securelytravel.com/travel/update-ovation-of-the-sea-white-island-volcano-warnings-had-been-issued/

Update - Ovation of the Sea & White Island Volcano - Warnings had been issued! Yet private tour operators say it didn't pass their threshold for danger.  RCI - Ovation of the Seas shore excursions did not appear to include White Island. 

https://securelytravel.com/travel/update-ovation-of-the-sea-white-island-volcano-warnings-had-been-issued/

58 minutes ago, salty dingo said:

That's not a realistic option. When taking a cruise, passengers basically give away any legal rights to sue as they could normally do on land. The maritime law is different and the ship's flag (Bahamas, I think) dictates which courts handle the dispute.

 

So lots of luck with the "legal action"!

Agreed ... 

The Norwegian Spirit returned to Southhampton, UK morning of 11 October.

A great many passengers were telling local media they intended legal action.

While as many noted that mother nature and the North Sea are to be respected, especially in October.

The rub appears to be the original itinerary was largely discarded and 7 sea days instead of 4, with multiple port adjustments.

https://securelytravel.com/travel/norwegian-spirit-passengers-protest-at-sea/

CB

On 10/8/2019 at 5:10 PM, Woodinville said:

It sure looked like rough seas on this voyage all around ... but the en masse protest I've never seen before, so I wrote it up for

Securely Travel - https://securelytravel.com/travel/norwegian-spirit-passengers-protest-at-sea/ and ask two questions:

 

1. Do the passengers have a beef, or are they acting in a truculent manner?
2. Norwegian is offering all aboard 25 percent credit toward a future cruise, is that enough given that mother nature and prudence dictated the at sea changes?

The cruise will be back on the 11th ... no doubt with a lot of detailed perspective.

 

Safe Sailing,

CB

The Norwegian Spirit has returned to Southhampton.

Many passengers are talking legal action to extract a refund from NCL. 

While others are hailing the crew as performing admirably in the face of adverse weather. 

CB

19 minutes ago, Poulsbo Cruisers said:

Does this mean you can’t ask for a large portion of Bacon?

Yes and I've always been accommodated with a smile. 

They clearly could detect that every day is a better day when it begins with bacon 😋

While I've never seen it thrown into the mix after the fact, I did recently receive an upsell which included HAL's signature beverage package for less than $100 for each passenger on a 7-day itinerary. I thought that was a good deal. 

CB

I crafted a piece on the passenger unhappiness and received some feedback from those on board which does in fact confirm that seas were heavy, that port changes happen when mother nature imposes their will and that they were still enjoying the cruise. Of course experiences vary for each of us.  

Norwegian Spirit Passengers Protest at Sea via Securely Travel

It sure looked like rough seas on this voyage all around ... but the en masse protest I've never seen before, so I wrote it up for

Securely Travel - https://securelytravel.com/travel/norwegian-spirit-passengers-protest-at-sea/ and ask two questions:

1. Do the passengers have a beef, or are they acting in a truculent manner?
2. Norwegian is offering all aboard 25 percent credit toward a future cruise, is that enough given that mother nature and prudence dictated the at sea changes?

The cruise will be back on the 11th ... no doubt with a lot of detailed perspective.

Safe Sailing,

CB

On 9/3/2019 at 4:14 PM, TAD2005 said:

 We get the e-mail address of the Ship's Coordinator for the ship we will be on.  Ship's Services can help you with this.   Go onto HAL Facts dot com, and checkout the PDF of the MDR, upper level for the Oosterdam.   Pick a list of 5 or 10 tables that will work for you.  The PDF has table numbers on it.  Send that list to the Oosterdam's Ship Coordinator about 3 to 5 months out, and you will almost always get one of the tables you select.

@TAD2005 Could you help me understand how you obtained the email address of the Ship's Coordinator (SC). I've checked the HAL website (ships services) and come up empty.  Looking for the current Oosterdam SC.  Thank you! CB

Yesterday the Attorney General of Guerrero, along with the armed forces and state police took control of the Acapulco municipal police function (and their sidearms). While the US Department of State declares Acapulco a "Do Not Travel Zone" - Securely Travel offers up this advice: "A review of cruise ship schedules for the 2018-19 winter cruise season indicates that NCL’s Norwegian Star and Hapag Lloyd’s HL Europa are both scheduled to make port of call in Acapulco. If you are booked on one of these cruises, you may wish to keep yourself informed about the situation in Acapulco when planning any shore excursions. The likelihood that an untoward event occurring, is low, but it is not zero, and the state of flux within the law enforcement community in Acapulco may make obtaining police or armed forces assistance problematic should the need exist."

If you were on the ship, unless you were a member of that group, it wasn't a charter. A charter takes the entire ship, and you won't have been able to book it. You were simply on with a large group.

Thanks Bruce for correcting my verbiage -- you are correct -- a very large group ... appreciative.

:halo:

While how full a cruise is doesn't affect our purchase .. what "charter groups" are on board does. We were surprised once when a large charter absorbed some of the boat's venues for the duration of the cruise and thus had a mildly negative impact on our experience.

So now I ask the question of Holland directly (sometimes I get an answer) and do a web search for the cruise and "charter" to see who might be putting together a group.

In the end, a day at sea beats the pants off a day shoveling behind our horses ... enjoy the day.

CB

It can be for people with mobility problems. Especially when they are back in their cabin, and just too wiped out to go out again for something to eat.

 

Not everyone is able-bodied. And not all who are able-bodied will be able to say that for the rest of their lives.

And at 0100 hours ... the Dive-In Burger is made in the kitchen and it is delicious ... $4.95 fee, surprised us, but didn't stop us ...

Getting ready to pre-purchase internet for my March 10 sailing on the Royal. Can any members report back that have sailed on the Royal recently with info on speed and if any other packages were offered onboard (ie package for full cruise duration or unlimited per day fees). My only experience with internet on board Princess was back in December on the Regal and it was the new Medallion Net Class speed at $9.99 per day. Any info would be most appreciated. Thanks!

 

 

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