rocker57

Thank you dfb, gives me options!

So would you reserve the shuttle to transport you to the airport after the cruise, or would you go through the cruiseline transfer? It appears the cruiseline (in this case Princess) charges $39 for a shuttle, but is it easier, or less hassle? thanks

Hi there, was wondering if there was any public transportation from San Pedro to Long Beach? There doesn't appear to be much in San Pedro, shopping, beaches restaurants are in Long Beach. Thought about renting a car for the day, but Enterprise in SP is not opened on Sunday, and not sure what time we will be in on Saturday, but I am sure the office is closed. I can't seem to find any other car rentals in SP. It seems a taxi is about $25-$30 to go from SP - Long Beach. It still might be cheaper to rent from Enterprise in Long Beach and drop the car off at SP, but they charge a $40 drop off fee. So just trying to find all my options. Thanks in advance for any advice.

thanks very much for your reply. One less confusion :)

Okay, I am confused, a state that I am used to. I booked on line, but I don't see anywhere on my personalizer where I can mark no upgrades, or meta upgrade only. Am I missing something, or is this only on the phone? Thanks

I've only been on 2 cruises, Emerald Princess was my first cruise and loved it. We were on Carnival Miracle last year through the Panama Canal. Our cabin steward was fantastic and so was our wait staff (we had set times for dining) But other than that, I would personally not do Carnival again. I sat in a lounge one night with our friends, and in 20 minutes, not one person came up and asked me what I wanted to drink. You only got 1 drink at dinner, because the poor guy was so busy doing, I don't know how many tables he just never got back. I also did not like the decor of the Miracle. I just have booked another cruise with Princess, so my opinion is to jump ship! :D

Now that everyone has finished guessing about ship captains, I can give you some real information.

 

Most major cruise lines have unions representing Deck, Engine, and Hotel.

The primary unions representing Deck Officers (including Captains) are European.

Very few Americans belong to European Maritime Unions, so are not able to be hired.

 

Most major cruise lines have their Captains working 3 months on and 3 months off. The 3 months off are usually not paid. American Captains like to claim unemployment insurance during those 3 months, creating a huge insurance expense for the cruise line.

 

Cruise lines hire their crews from Recruiting Agencies in many different countries; the USA has nearly no crewing agencies of any kind.

 

American Maritime Union rates for Deck Officers (including Captains) are nearly double the rates for European Deck Officers. The cruise lines cannot afford the Americans.

 

Nearly all Cruise Ship Captains speak several languages - including the language of the flag or country of their ships.

American Captains all speak two languages:

1. English (or at least an American version of English).

2. English louder.

 

American cruise ship crew rarely get along very well with crew from other countries. They usually have the attitude that the American way is the right way, and all other ways are wrong.

 

The US Navy has many Captains who are familiar with nuclear ships and warships.

Cruise ships are neither nuclear nor warships. They operate and handle much differently.

 

On a cruise ship, the Captain is expected and responsible to socialize comfortably with passengers from many different nations. The few American Captains we see are not very adept nor comfortable doing this.

 

The International Maritime Organisation mandates many of the regulations and operations on international vessels. For reasons that nobody seems able to explain, the few remaining American ships frequently have operations that are directly opposite from the rest of the world. A good example; on international ships, all even numbered boats, rafts, cabins, lockers, etc are on the port side. On American ships they are on starboard side.

Another example: on international ships, the alarm codes for emergency alerts and crew to lifeboat stations are exactly opposite the ones on US Ships.

 

Most countries have a nautical history, with a tradition of merchant mariners moving up through the ranks of merchant vessels to finally arrive as captains on cruise ships.

The USA lost that history and tradition long ago.

Excellent post & response!

Me, I am the opposite, I prefer a land based vacation. True it is nice to seat out on the balconey and listen to the ocean, but I prefer to sit in the sand, and play in the waters. I prefer that my room is bigger, that I don't have to worry about getting a shower curtain up my unmentionables when taking a shower. The last resort we stayed at had 8 different sit down restaurants you had a choice to eat at for dinner. I don't drink much, but I liked being able to get a pop or juice without paying extra for. I also enjoyed our cruise, and we will be on another one in March which again I will enjoy, as it gets us away from the snow and yucchy weather. It is all in your preference, but whatever you do, enjoy it!

Thank you for the wonderful review and all the photos. We will be on The Miracle in March, and your pics makes me even more excited about experiencing it. Also, it looks like there is a lot to do and fun so will be sure to do some of the events after reading this.

From one coast to the other, thanks!

Susan