SargassoPirate

I'm D+ and have been happy with Princess as well as RCI and Celebrity. So much so, in fact, that I'm Elite with Princess which gives me a free mini bar setup for each cruise and free laundry/pressing services as part of the Elite benefits. Before I achieved Elite, I was just happy to have on board guest laundromats since my first two cruises were 33 and 49 days respectively.

You got that right, which is why I won't cruise on a ship without a full promenade. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

For me, once the ship pushes away from the dock, I leave the world behind. An early morning coffee to watch the sunrise, breakfast and lunch in the MDR, a good book and a shady spot on the promenade, a wee dram or three in the evening and I'm good. Any questions? See my signature line below.

Once the double billing hits your credit card, file a dispute right away.

I wonder how many plastic straws it takes to equal the environmental impact of one plastic water bottle?

If you've been following this thread, you can see that I'm not the only one who avoids the MDR in the evening, the over-amplified production shows, and the Melanoma Deck. There is a plethora of reasons to cruise and a plethora of other ways to amuse oneself other than the three you mentioned. However, I am tickled that the majority of the sheeple think those things are obligatory because it frees up other areas for uncrowded enjoyment such as those I expressed in my original post: "For me, once the ship pushes away from the dock, I leave the world behind. An early morning coffee to watch the sunrise, breakfast and lunch in the MDR, a good book and a shady spot on the promenade, a wee dram or three in the evening and I'm good. "

I've done an overnight in Lahaina in the past and rented a car for the two days. There was a municipal parking lot not too far from the park with the huge banyan tree where I left the car overnight. The road to Hana is not for those with motion sickness, but worth the drive. Also, Da Kitchen is my go-to place for loco moco. It used to be in Kahului and was a convenient stop on the way back from Hana. Have fun.

Ditto what caribill sez. You gotta put the pencil to it.

Sounds like very little went right for you and the cruise did not meet your expectations. Just goes to show that one person's cruise from hell wouldn't even be noticed by some. After 50-some cruises, I take a more relaxed approach. I avoid over-amplified production shows, evening meals in the MDR, and the Melanoma Deck. If the herd is headed one direction, I try to see what's in the other. If a problem arises, I start at the guest relations desk with a smile, explain my concern, and ask what the person can do for me. For me, once the ship pushes away from the dock, I leave the world behind. An early morning coffee to watch the sunrise, breakfast and lunch in the MDR, a good book and a shady spot on the promenade, a wee dram or three in the evening and I'm good. Any questions? See my signature line below.

I'll bet you don't like "Salt, Salt, Salt" whenever you have Margaritaville inflicted on you either. 😉

Reminds me of a drag queen I once encountered called Mary K Mart. Mary K was a bit more flamboyant, but just as annoying.

First night chaos is a cruising tradition and one of the reasons when I cruise solo I head for the Foodjammer on the first night for sure, and most nights after that as well. I try to eat sensibly and avoid full meals late in the evening. I do, however, enjoy the MDR for breakfasts and lunches.

Maybe the folks who sell fake service animal certificates can provide a covid test certificate as well.

I wonder if this will be the end of unwanted "upgrades" that are not really an upgrade at all? You know, the category upgrade to a crappo location such as under the Melanoma Deck or above the disco. I always have my reservations marked "no upgrades" and have to watch them like a hawk and check every day since in spite of my no upgrade request I've discovered that I've been moved. Luckily, I discovered the upgrade before my old cabin was reassigned and was able to get back to my original location. There's a reason some cabins are unsold and available for upgrades - location, location, location.

I agree that pre-cruise testing is one of the biggest hassles to cruising. Covid is everywhere and here to stay. Most of America has moved on, but the cruise lines are scared to death of media scrutiny with the threshold of "outbreak" being so low. All they need is some media outlet's headlines of "covid outbreak and skyrocketing cases" on a cruise ship.

Covid rules don't have to make sense.

Covid is here to stay and is everywhere, planes, buses, trains, grocery stores, movies, concerts, sporting events, bars, restaurants, and yes, cruise ships. If one is that afraid of catching covid in the face of vaccines and therapeutics, they should stay home and where an N95 to venture out.

True, but depending on the deal most often I don't get the drink package, especially when I cruise solo and I only drink a wee dram or three in the evenings. In those times when I'm paying by the drink, my two dollar bill works well.

It is indeed nice to see some things return to normal and common sense come into play.

See post #2 above. It's probably true that most people don't tip a little extra. That's why my two dollar bill opens the door to better pours and better Scotch. The "no extra tipper" gets something from the well while I'm enjoying a nicer Scotch.

She'd probably have to take off one glove to do it!

Since I booked two cruises separately, I think I should be ok. I won't need to test before the first one and if they want to test me before the second one it'll be up to them since I'll already be on board. We can only hope that common sense will prevail - something sometimes in short supply.

That is indeed the reason and it's theater. Consider cross contamination. I was at a major hotel chain restaurant recently and watched one of the servers wearing rubber gloves. She bussed a couple of tables, scraped off the plates, delivered some food, grabbed a couple of glasses by sticking her fingers down inside when she picked them up, filled them with water, picked up two unwrapped straws and inserted them with her gloved hands touching the tops of the straws where you place your lips, delivered the water, grabbed a broom and dustpan to sweep under some tables, went back into the expo area to pick up some more food, then adjusted her hair, and pulled out her cellphone to check something. All while wearing the same "magic sanitizing gloves". I called the manager over and asked her why the servers were wearing rubber gloves. Her one word answer was "sanitation". I described what I had observed and asked how sanitary was that. She got a puzzled look and then said it was company policy. BTW, the last time I looked the only area where the USDA food sanitation manual mentions gloves is the chain mail gloves for meat cutters. For everyone else, it's frequent handwashing and handwashing between tasks such as bussing tables and serving food.

I'm usually not disappointed by most Scotches. I can get by just fine with Dewers - which seems to always be available on most lines. When I treat myself at home it's Bowmore or Jura, and failing those any Scotch from Islay.

I usually take a stack of one and two dollar bills to use. Two dollar bills are unusual, and it helps them remember me and my order.