wcook

Titanic. Duh. 

Attention passengers: There will be a muster drill today sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 pm. Note that the primary purpose of the drill is to train the crew and we want it to be as realistic as possible. Think how you would behave during an actual emergency. Will you panic? Be a little hysterical? Is there a chance you will forget and go to the wrong assembly point? Then that’s how you should behave today. Let’s get the crew trained, and have some fun in the process. 

3 minutes ago, ldubs said:

I would certainly still cruise.  But "nothing is going to stop me" is not applicable and should not be part of the poll.   Hence, I didn't vote. 

An ode to a travel agent:
 

And we can plan this cruise together
Standing strong forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of cruisers
We'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us
Nothing's gonna stop us

I always book direct with the cruise line. The question for me is would I cruise less if I had to use an agent. 

Literally millions of people cruise without a passport or leave their passport in a safe when walking around a foreign country. These people aren’t idiots. They’ve looked at the pros and cons and made a decision. 
 

I know people mean well, ok most of you mean well. But calling people names for making a different choice than you would make isn’t helpful. 

Alternate opinion: The amount of “safety” that is added by any muster drill is approximately zero. For the passengers at least (it may help the crew.) 

We can all have opinions on which is better, but the idea that one is measurably and demonstratively better… not buying it. 

Up to you. I would absolutely notify the crew that someone in that cabin was smoking on their balcony. I would absolutely not speculate about what they were smoking or possible illegality. 

Bonine is a brand name for meclizine. Works great for me. 

Assuming we are talking about Livorno, it is a massive (seriously!) industrial port. If your goal is to come back to the ship late at night, have a plan on how you are going to get to the ship itself. 
 

oh, and I’ll add to the love for Lucca. 

I book directly. I like controlling my reservation. But that’s just me; to each their own. 

If you don’t see generic meclizine in your pharmacy, you can get it from Amazon. Works wonders for me. 

Wait, you folks up in the Haven get signs pointing you to your cabin? You get all the good stuff. But you pay extra, so we’ll deserved. 

27 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

It's nice to have the choice.

And…. end thread. 

Americans are more likely to have Facebook/Messenger on their phones than What’s App. 

Back in my day, we used two tin cans and a long string to communicate. And we liked it. Don’t know if that would work today; ships were smaller back then. Anyway,  while I respect those who want to do without cell phones on a cruise, I find them way too useful. Nice to be able to text somebody “I’m up in the sky lounge and there’s a band you would love. Come on up.”

To get into the legal weeds for a second… in the US (and I haven’t a clue how much of this applies to cruise ships) discrimination, even against a protected class, is both legal and generally considered morally acceptable so long as (1) you have a good reason (2) you don’t have a decent alternative way to accomplish that reason. Pregnant women are highly protected. Keeping late-stage pregnant women off cruise ships is a good thing. 

17 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

The first time my travel agent booked a wife on my booking. She did not tell me what she was doing and I freaked out. when I saw the name on the booking.

If you freaked out, image how your actual wife/girlfriend would feel. I wouldn’t want to have to explain this one 🙂

Cruising now is better than any time in history. People complain about negative changes, but those have to be balanced against the constant change for god going on 

That’s one of the great things about sailing an inside cabin. You can’t be downgraded. 

Oh, a funny question about luggage. I thought this thread was going to be a question about funny luggage. Like, with amusing stickers or something. 
 

Don’t have an answer for the OP, but good luck. 

One fun thing about Disney: their ships do great horn battles when meeting. 

Note that cruise line sales are often bogus. This week it’s $800 per person. Next week it’s $1600 for one, second passenger free. 

Just me, but Alaska’s kinda cold in September. I personally wouldn’t do it. 

22 hours ago, ERNLYN said:

BTW, neither are alcohol drinkers a "protected class."

What you call alcohol, I call rheumatism medicine. And drink out of a jug marked XXX. 

I would have expected $0. While you always want more, $100/person plus 20% fcc ain’t bad.