gillianrose

Oh my... they just reported that he had the gun in his checked bag and had flown in from Canada...:eek:

 

He is ex-military, flew in from Anchorage, Alaska, and yes, with his gun checked in his baggage. After retrieving his baggage, he went into the airport bathroom and got his gun out and loaded it before he started shooting innocent people in their heads.

 

IF they are going to allow people to fly with guns, then they ought to ensure that all guns are packed in separate "gun baggage", tagged, and accepted outside the terminal by a special officer and returned to passenger outside the airport, on the concrete, returned by an armed officer in the special unit. (TSA are not armed, and we don't want them armed.) Sure, some might still try something outside, but they would have many fewer living targets.

 

Gun toters should have to pay enough for this special baggage and the service by an officer to hand it back to them to be a deterrent to a decent proportion of them.

 

If they don't comply with this new regulation, then they don't get their guns back.

I still don't get it. Of course the poll is visible to anyone that signs onto Cruise Critic. That was the intent. If it weren't visible, no one could see it and participate. :D It's on the Oceania forum, so I don't think many criminals are cruising a forum of mostly 60+ year olds that are planning their cruises. ;)

 

All polls are public, but you chose to make the screen names public, and that's different. It's nobody's business what age anyone is on the Oceania forum. I think some people answered your poll without realizing that their screen name would be disclosed, and that's even though it says it's public. Most people don't read the small disclaimers.

 

Those disclaimers (this is a public poll) should be bold, in red.

:confused: Huh....Not sure what you mean, but I certainly have no interest in using an age poll to comment ill intent. That's crazy!

 

I am on no other social media outside of CC. No Facebook, Instagram, nada. And don't want to be! :rolleyes: (

 

Your poll is visible to anyone who signs in to Cruise Critic. I was not suggesting that you personally plan to misuse the data.

 

Nosy, though? Yeah, I'd say the poll is nosy.

Note that you are polling a subsection of O cruisers - those that use Cruie Critic. However that will be interesting to see.

 

Frances

 

And only a subsection of those who post on Cruise Critic participate in public polls where personal data is open to all prying eyes, Cruise Critic posters and those who just cruise Social Media forums for information they can use for nefarious purposes.

 

I am curious why the OP did not make the poll private.

Just because there is a rolling roof to cover the pool, don't count on it being covered in Alaska, even if it is cold. It might be open or closed.

 

We sailed on Zuiderdam to Alaska and not only was the pool cover retracted (and it was freezing), but the workers used the nicest part of the midday to bang, bang, bang away on the metal roof rollers, apparently to fix something.

[SIZE="6"][/SIZE][quote name='ithaca gal']That is certainly a possibility but smokers literally drove me out of the casino.[/QUOTE]

[B][SIZE="5"][B]Smokers, especially balcony cigar smokers drove us and our friends off cruising HAL, altogether. Oh, I check in here once in awhile to see if it is safe to book a HAL cruise, but apparently it's not.

I can't believe that we are heading into 2016 and HAL still permits smoking on balconies. It's just disgusting and so unfair to everyone else who has paid . [/B][/SIZE][/B][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][/COLOR]

I just read this evening that the Veendam has Norovirus onboard, with 5% of passengers affected. (That's why I signed on to the HAL board this particular evening, to see if there was more news.)

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas, and will have a happy and prosperous New Year.

Also, only the "over water" portion of a BC flight is assured to be in BC. Domestic connecting flights may be Economy. Be sure to ask.

 

What if one lives on the west coast where flights to Europe (for example) are always the polar route? I can't imagine ever flying to the east coast and then transferring to another plane to fly over the pond.

 

What routes have west coast people received from Regent?

Then I hope tables are round, because I like elbow room and dislike having to eat at picnic-table tables.

 

So which lines should I avoid and which should I be looking at?

I would much prefer to be notified further in advance than any of the lines are doing, since I would already be in Europe a week or two before a river cruise and would be able to switch plans to a DIY trip rather than any chance of a bus trip.

I agree, the loungers around the pool should be used by people using the pool or parents supervising children in the pool. There are plenty of people that complain about children not being supervised - well in my experience, a lot of the time it's because as a parent we can't get anywhere near the pool, because of those that fill the loungers and never have any intention of going in the pool. P&O are also at fault as they don't do anything about it. Best line for this is Celebrity - if your not on your lounger for a period of time, your stuff is removed, and rightly so...

 

I agree with your last comment, about stuff being removed (and I do it), but that's as far as it goes.

 

As a parent, your best way to supervise your children is to be in the pool with them, whether you are right next to them or further away in the pool. That's what our parents did.

 

Otherwise, you have no more right to the loungers near the pool than anyone else.

Funny thing, the world survived for ions without constant instant communications and people still traveled then!

 

...and traveled better, too!

That wasn't true on our AMA cruise. Our party lingered in the dining room after everyone else, and we were never rushed.

 

AFAIK all river cruises have one set time for dinner (which varies depending on the days activities). The dining room is sized to fit the boat so everyone fits, and the kitchen is geared up for this schedule. We thought we would hate it, but it turned out to work very well.

 

I would prefer to be able to not line up with everyone at one time.

 

Could you arrive later and just stroll in, especially if you were at a small table?

The posting I read mentioned they had gone to the 'my account' section, but found very little, if anything available. Still debating. I enjoy the MDR, while my husband really enjoys the specialty restaurants. The 'included' specialty restaurants is one of the reasons I'm considering this cruise, but if we can't get in we might reconsider.

 

Why don't you just pay to upgrade to a suite stateroom if they are available? Then if you cannot get as many specialty restaurant reservations as you want, your butler can serve you in your suite the same food as is in the specialty restaurants. He might also be able to get you more reservations in the SR's; however, everyone else on the ship gets to dine there a certain number of times depending on their booked class of stateroom. You did book a "balcony guarantee"....yet your post sounds like you and your husband want special privileges/guarantees or you may cancel.

 

"Included" does not mean "included every night".

It's not always what's IN food but also what's ON food, the "hitchhikers," (e.g., the med fruit fly that wreaked havoc in California decades ago), which were not inspected by the USDA or it's equivalent in a developed country.

 

What's different between the croissant on the ship and the one in the street? Food safety (e.g., cross contamination proximity) and handling are vastly different. And that doesn't automatically mean that the one on the ship would pass USDA inspection.

 

I am totally confident that the croissants on Oceania will pass USDA inspection and that they do not harbor medflies. Aren't you? :rolleyes:

 

Actually, it is far more likely that a passenger could be unknowingly carrying a harmful insect in their hair or on their clothing, including shoes, than that a BAKED good would. Even if there had been an insect in the flour, for example, the high heat used for BAKING would have killed it.

It has happened fairly regularly ... we received such an offer a week or two ago, to downgrade from a PH3 on Marina to a B2. We also declined. In our case it would have meant a refund of over $5,000. Not too shabby ...

 

Mura

 

$5,000 for the stateroom ($2,500 per person)? How does that compare with the difference between the PH3 and the B2 when you first booked? The reason I ask is because you have to subtract that amount from the $5,000 just to start the comparison, don't you?

You're missing the point. The restrictions are also about food handling. The problem is that it is what you don't see that is going to present a danger to agricultural enterprises.

Just leave the food on the ship and break down and buy something while you are ashore.

 

I agree with the poster above: ziplock bags and squished croissants from this morning's buffet? Really?

 

I am "the poster above". I don't squish croissants. They are too precious. Personally, for the croissants, I use firmer small plastic boxes that are made by Ziploc and intended to be disposable, but I wash and reuse them in most cases, at least a few times.

 

What is in a croissant (or a cookie) that you think is a danger to agricultural enterprises anymore than the croissant that is sold on the street in the same port?

Oh, right! Great idea. A croissant sounds like the perfect pick-me-up to stave off hunger when out on a boat. I'm not a huge protein-bar or granola bar fan...they sometimes taste like clay to me. But I can grab a croissant or two from the breakfast buffet, put it in a zip-lock (I never go anywhere without ziplocks!) and stuff it in my bag. Sounds perfect -- why didn't I think of that? Thanks!

 

You're welcome. I hope you will do a trip report as you have in the past. :)

I have taken baked goods ashore in many ports and never had a problem. Use a small plastic box or zip loc bags and stick this in your day bag. IF you have a problem (highly unlikely), just toss them. If you like you can also bring prepackaged bars from home as a backup, but they aren't tasty to me so I just take something from the ship that was either on my breakfast tray or something from the night before.

 

Restrictions about food (from the port, not the ship) are related to produce and things like sausages, deli meats, cheeses, eggs, milk, etc. Cookies, crackers, croissants and similar have never presented a problem in my long and varied experience.

I think we are talking apples and oranges.

If you re-read post #10, more carefully this time, you will see an "apology" by loum 140. ....

 

When I looked at post #10 I thought you were referring to the "clue" to the travel agent involved. Your smiley :) seemed to refer to that.

 

When I checked on the sailing in the new brochure with the top 3 suites and lowest inside wait-listed and I posted to confirm that, it was sitraveler's post #8 about the "new" sailings and the one with the wait lists that led me to do that.

 

Please try to understand this. ;) :)

(underlining mine)

I can understand your confusion - it would seem that both the T/A and the one following it appear on the same page as the subsequent voyages and the top of the page states they can be booked on March 4th.

The fact is that those two 2 cruises on the Marina (T/A and the one from Lisbon to London) have been part of a prior release and only the one from London (and thereafter) are new.

I know this for a fact as I wanted to book these 2 cruises on the Marina some time ago but did not as there is a gap between the two for dry dock. T/A May 14 - May 28/2016 & the next one is June 7 - June 14, 2016 - note the gap from May 28 to June 7 for dry dock.

So, these 2 cruises that are wait listed in some categories have been bookable for some time.

Please, try to understand this :)

 

So then it's just Oceania's way of adding "NEW and IMPROVED !!!" to their advertising similar to how one hawks a box of detergent? ;)

 

Seriously, when a brochure states that a particular sailing cannot be booked until March 4th at 8:30 AM, it tends to make the reader think that criteria must be met.

 

I agree with posters that have stated the prices per diem seem for the most part to be very high at the lead in for suites for the voyages that interest me.

The "new" season for both Riviera and Marina started AFTER their TA voyages in Spring 2016.

 

The two TA voyages I mentioned in my earlier post are listed in the online summer 2016 36-page brochure. The name of the brochure is "Advance Preview 2016 Summer Collection." The top of the page (page 23) that lists the "Beaches, Blooms & Bluffs" 14-day Miami to Barcelona voyage on Riviera states "BOOKINGS OPEN MARCH 4, 2015 at 8:30 AM EASTERN.

 

That cruise, as well as the European one following it already has cabins including all the top suites wait-listed and the Marina TA and the European one following it has even more wait-listed cabins.

Absolutely no one is allowed to book before March 4 so it is NOT possible for cabins to be sold out and waitlisted for the new itins that just came out..the sailings are not even in Oceanias computers yet..

Jancruz1

 

Then how do you explain what is clearly shown on Oceania's website, which is exactly as a previous poster to this thread stated: the top three categories and the least expensive inside (on the first cruise in the collection, that is the Riviera T-A) which is part of the new Summer Collection are already shown to be wait-listed?

 

Then take a look at the Marina's T-A, which is even more heavily wait-listed in the top categories and numerous categories below.

 

If those are not special set-asides, as I believe them to be, what are they?

 

If a TA and or agency is "holding them" already (for "special" clients, perhaps), and no one else can book those cabins unless that TA releases them, the cabins are in effect booked.

See post #10 above :)

 

Yes, it is very disconcerting and very unfair to other TA's and to their clients when stuff like this goes on.

 

What's the point of recommending Oceania to clients who wish to book the highest or lowest categories if those categories won't be available come March 4th?

So I'm looking at a cruise for 2016 which opens for booking on March 4th.

 

Top 3 categories are already waitlisted, bottom only guarantee????

 

Sounds like "someone" is playing favorites, if your post is accurate. :(