HappyCruiserettu

21 hours ago, rafinmd said:

I see chengkp75 has not yet weighed in on the reasons for the PVSA but I think I remember most of it.   Cruising is not really the focal point of the PVSA.  Without it, every local ferry, dinner cruise boat, and such could be run with a foreign flag vessel.  Protectionist, perhaps, but there are a LOT of jobs involved. 

Pride of America got a very LIMITED waiver.  It is a US flag ship but that does not quite qualify it under PVSA.  The PVSA rules also state that a ship must be built in the US, and Pride of America was partially built in the US but finished in a foreign shipyard. 

The exception NCL got was for that part of the work that was done overseas.  Part of the bargain is that they would sail limited itineraries with the ship, for example they cannot sail from Hawaii to Alaska.

NCL's rates are not high because they have a monopoly.  They are high because their costs are high.  Not only must all their crew be certified to work in the US but the qualifications are also higher for a PVSA ship.  Everybody, from the room stewards to cooks to the cruise director must hold US maritime credentials.  Expensive perhaps, but it was at least designed to ensure our safety.  I believe they originally got an exemption for 2 ships but with the costs there was only enough business to justify one, and the other was reflagged to another country.  Other cruise lines could certainly apply for an exemption, similar to the one NCL has and would likely be approved, but the profit margin just doesn't appear to justify it.

 

Finally, the US is not unique with the PVSA.  Many countries maintain similar cabotage requirements.  One that comes to mind is Canada and I've seen it applied a few times.  Blount Small Ship Adventures once experimented with a cruise from Montreal to Newfoundland, and ended up busing passengers to Ogdensburg New York so they wouldn't be transporting people between 2 Canadian ports.  I was also on a Crystal Symphony maritimes cruise round trip Montreal.  It was noted that our stop in St. Pierre/Miquelon (French territory) was required to make the itinerary legal.  I am also on the Zuiderdam in September Quebec to Montreal.  The voyage makes 3 stops in Newfoundland.  I wanted to get off at the first stop and rejoin in the 3rd stop to give me a chance to visit Gander, but was denied as doing so would mean I was transported from Quebec to Corner Brook and would be violating Canadian cabotage rules.

 

Roy

I'm running into the same situation with a  Princess cruise, San Francisco to Hawaii and back to SF. I wanted to get off in Hilo, and rejoin the ship in Honolulu the next evening. I'm told that is also not allowed.

33 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

Wowee Zowee!!!  Princess has made the $1 deposit refundable.  Better book quick before they change it to NRD!!!  😏

I'd hate to lose a dollar if I decided to cancel.  lol.

On 8/23/2019 at 11:52 AM, Mackenzie1 said:

 

I’m not expecting Princess to change anything. Someone has made this decision, and Princess will defend it. I’ll let the revenue numbers speak for themselves. On the one hand, for this cruise, Princess has had little entertainment in the Atrium, so Princess will save on entertainment expenses, but there will be a drop in bar revenue.

I'm glad know that they have cut some of the entertainment in the atrium. I have complained on previous cruises. I don't think it's necessary to have something going on in Piazza all the time. Sometimes, it's nice just to hang out and chill.Typo Having (especially, loud) activities going on all day is detrimental. Don't mind the classical trio, or piano stylists and such.

9 hours ago, riffatsea said:

Wouldn't it still be a surprise if you told them sooner rather than later?

Just the idea that you bought them a cruise without them knowing about it would be a surprise in my book.

Not sure why it's more exciting to wait until the day before to tell them?

To me it is more of a control issue . Who gets to plan you or them??

What about excursions? Do you arrange those too?

I know lots of people do these sorts of things but I guess I am just not a surprise sort of person.

It reminds me of the situation where an expectant couple is considering whether they want to know ahead the gender of the baby, or want to be "surprised." My wife says, why not be surprised ahead of time, then you have time to make the appropriate preparations.

8 hours ago, dides said:

Here is the embarkation day patter

 

 

 

 

To answer a recurring question, note that the Dining section shows Estrella (?) Anytime dining restaurant as serving lunch, 12:00 to 1:30, on embarkation day. From experience, I can tell you that it will not be crowded, and that the Beef Tenderloin is wonderful! We eat in the buffet most of the time, but make a point to go to MDR for lunch upon boarding.

Check a deck plan for the new Sky Princess. Shows "Water Shuttle Stations" on Deck 4.

Your loyalty level is maintained by Princess, not a TA. You have a Past Passenger number, and that should be all you need.

32 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

Shore Shuttle might have been a fun tongue twister.

Shore would!

On 10/6/2019 at 4:10 PM, NavyVeteran said:

No one is sailing "to" Antarctica on Princess - you may be sailing "by" Antarctica. If you want to sail "to" Antarctica, you have to book a ship with no more than 500 passengers.

One can go "to" a place and never enter.   e.g., "I went to the bank, but it was closed."

6 hours ago, screamingreen said:

We embarked the Star in Seattle on 9/22/19. We didn't ask anyone and just went to the Portofino dining room. The hostess was a little sarcastic and said the menu was very limited for lunch. Had us look at the menu before seating us. Was a little surprised how few people were there.

I always check the Patter. Look on the back, under "dining" It will give the hours for each dining room for the day. One of the MDR's will be open, usually until about 1:30. Generally, very few people there, mostly experienced Princess cruisers. I always get the Beef Tenderloin. It is delicious!

On 10/15/2019 at 7:46 AM, WatchHill said:

Totally agree about the price increase. I can never finish the beef and have often walked out with the dessert in hand - late night snack. Actually, I don't like any of the same old desserts so I request creme brule instead. It goes better with my brewed coffee at the Int'l cafe. 

 

Darcy

Love the creme brûlée

On 9/10/2019 at 6:38 PM, nukesubsailor said:

Yes, we use the term underwear rather than knickers in the U.S.A.  Those of us who served in the Navy use the term "skivvies" sometimes.  My wife will not send her undies to the ships laundry but has no problem sending mine.  She claims hers are too delicate but mine are tough enough to handle the hot washing temperature.  

We always use the ship's laundry and so far have never had anything lost or damaged.

Allow for 3 days to get your laundry back.

My wife sends my underwear, socks, t-shirts and golf/polo shirts to the laundry. She does hers in the self-service. (She has a reaction to certain detergents.) The laundry all comes back nicely folded or on hangars, as appropriate. I don't think we have ever waited more than 36 hours for turn-around. Our shipboard account shows the normal charge; then within a day, a full credit is applied due to my "elite" status.

2 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

Thanks!  Can anyone tell me when this might expire.  Or if it is limited number available?    
When I go to citieasydeals and hit APPLY it only brings up the Diamond card and not the simplicity.  Looks like they will have to call Citi to find out more. 

We have done the AMEX.  That is a good one, if AMEX would offer that again. 

AMEX deal doesn't apply to all cards, e.g., my AMEX Delta Skymiles card. Only the top tier of cards.

On 10/10/2019 at 10:56 AM, kpauley said:

cucadodger - Thank you for the information.  Apparently our credit cards with Citi are not eligible for Easy Deals. 🙁 According to the representative at Citi, Diamond Preferred and Simplicity are the only cards eligible for Easy Deals. 

American Express often has a similar deal for their cardholders. Unfortunately, it doesn't apply to my AMEX card with Delta.

On 10/11/2019 at 4:04 AM, villauk said:

More alike than different; possibly X get the edge for food and Princess win on entertainment/activities.

 

We still have placeholders with X, so we do sail both lines. I’d say go with the itinerary that you most want to do, providing it gives good value for money, and check out those ports before you commit either way. The BI is very different from one place to another - just the same as each of the US states. On a side note, beware if you are taking the ‘free’ beverage package with X (as one of your perks) because there is now a $14pp per day fee chargeable when booking.

 

I’m sure you’d have a great time on either cruise.

that $14/day would cover the gratuities for the beverage package. Those gratuities are included in Princess' package. Friends, who only occasionaly have a glass of wine, gave up the free beverage package on a 12-day NCL cruise, and saved $480 in gratuities which would have been assessed. They had all the wine/drinks THEY WANTED for a lot less than $480.

On 10/7/2019 at 5:38 PM, joybook said:

To each his own. Personally I am comfortable with the current design. I am sure Princess is catering for their passenger demographics. I don't need water slides, dodgem cars, rock climbing walls etc etc etc for my cruise experience and I am sure that a lot of other Princess passengers feel the same.

So true, and I don't want a ship that looks like a floating apartment building. I want a ship to look like a ship, even if I did spend 18 months cruising on aircraft carriers.

On 10/8/2019 at 12:30 PM, habita said:

Because there was nothing else to do.

Nothing else to do? Have you even checked the Patter?

9 hours ago, Thrak said:

We would like a Trans Pacific from Sydney to Los Angeles. That could hit Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, and Pago Pago, then on to Hawaii before ending up in San Pedro. Sounds great to us!

Hal has something like that. They also have a Sydney, Fiji, American Samoa, disembarking at either Honolulu, or Vancouver.

On 9/29/2019 at 7:10 PM, waltd said:

I hope not.   I have so many plastic logo water bottles that I have been given to me over the years.   I don't know what to do with all of them.  Can't recycle as in our area recycle centers are closing up.   It's a problem.

Donate them to a homeless shelter, or some such.

18 hours ago, Adventures ahead said:

 

We're now Elite and I finally (only just) brought a magnetic clip (it took awhile, lol) for the wall next to the desk. The only thing I hang is the Patter for the first day, open to the second page where the cruise is outlined... days and times in port, shows and movies, entertainment headliners for the week... as a quick reminder without needing to dig for the info.

Hey, Great idea! I always keep that first Patter for the same reasons, but it usually winds up under a pile of other papers.

18 hours ago, Adventures ahead said:

 

 

Have a great time!

On 10/2/2019 at 12:30 PM, EmilyColwell said:

Hey cruisers!
 

I am leaving for my 15 day Hawaiian cruise in a short 5 days and have already been thinking about the best way to set up my stateroom. 

 

I already have a pop up hamper, magnets and electric tea lights for my bathroom to help with room organization and to optimize the space in there.

I am curious what you all do to help keep the room clean, organized and functional. Lets hear those tips!

 

Thanks! 

We usually have a cabin attendant (sometimes named "Stewart") who takes care of most of that stuff. He/she gets a gratuity for those services.

2 hours ago, Pam in CA said:

Yes. That would be a violation. If you are not onboard the ship when it sails, you have disembarked the ship as though it were a final destination. Your things would be packed up and left with the port rep in Honolulu along with everything in the safe. 

Passengers who fail to return to the ship while visiting a port are forced to make their way, at their own expense, to the next, or subsequent, port in order to reboard. Does that not apply in Hawaii?

7 hours ago, Pam in CA said:

It’s not the ship but the passenger so it’s wherever YOU initially get on the ship, whether it’s your scheduled embarkation port or the next port or the next. 
 

Thats why passengers are warned to not miss the ship in any Hawaiian port or plan to fly to the next island and re-embark. It’s a violation of the PVSA and each passenger is fined $300 in addition to any other travel charges. The ship has your credit card info and will charge you the violation. Same for Alaska. 

So, if I am on the Grand SF-Hawaii rt, and I get to Hilo on Saturday AM, fly immediately to Honolulu and spend the night, then re-board the ship in Honolulu on Sunday evening to continue my trip, that is a violation? I did not know that. I thought I was fairly up on the PVSA. Apparently not!

9 hours ago, Pam in CA said:

It's the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1889. It was implemented to protect US shipping and still does today.

 

It affects cruise passengers, regardless of nationality. 

 

It applies only to passengers both initially embarking and finally disembarking at US ports no matter how long the cruise or the number of B2Bs.

 

In a nutshell:

 

Embark and disembark at the SAME US port: this is called a "closed loop" and the ship, and passenger, must go to a NEAR foreign port. "Near" is Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

 

Embark at one US port and disembark at another US port: the ship, and passenger, must go to a FAR foreign port. The closest "far" foreign ports are South America or the ABC Islands. 

 

Examples: a round trip cruise from Los Angeles to Hawaii stops in Ensenada, Mexico. That's a closed loop cruise.

 

A cruise from LA to Ft. Lauderdale stops in Colombia, South America. This is not a closed loop cruise unless you stayed on the ship and sailed back to LA. 

 

You can cruise from SEA to YVR, board a different ship even the same day and sail to LA legally.

 

If you initially board or disembark in Vancouver, the PVSA doesn't apply. It's only US ports.

There may be huge amount of US shipping today, but there is virtually no US passenger ships. )Pride of America and river cruise ships only. Who are they protecting?.

7 hours ago, Pam in CA said:

It’s not the ship but the passenger so it’s wherever YOU initially get on the ship, whether it’s your scheduled embarkation port or the next port or the next. 
 

Thats why passengers are warned to not miss the ship in any Hawaiian port or plan to fly to the next island and re-embark. It’s a violation of the PVSA and each passenger is fined $300 in addition to any other travel charges. The ship has your credit card info and will charge you the violation. Same for Alaska. 

So, if I am on the Grand SF-Hawaii rt, and I get to Hilo on Saturday AM, fly immediately to Honolulu and spend the night, then re-board the ship in Honolulu on Sunday evening to continue my trip, that is a violation? I did not know that. I thought I was fairly up on the PVSA. Apparently not!

6 hours ago, LeeW said:

The email from our TA often lists "x" cruise line offering savings to previous customers but usually with Princess it is those launch savings already mentioned.  Certainly have gotten many casino offers, even not playing that much.  Best for us was $99 inside/$199 for balcony on a 7 day sailing.

That is a great fare!