wcook

You will be told - in the daily program and on signs when exiting - what the “all aboard time” is. Usually a half hour before the ship is scheduled to leave.

Honestly, any of the mainstream lines will give you a wonderful cruise with something for everybody. Pick whichever strikes your fancy and have a great time.

Q: Is a hot dog a sandwich?

Unless you are driving the boat 🙂

10 drinks in one session? Yes. Ten drinks spread over 24 hours? Not an issue (on vacation, 10 a day every day would be a problem.)

No, I was mislead. I later studied more and realized my mistake, but initially I was mislead.

I’m pretty sure NCL could throw passengers overboard in the middle of the ocean and some posters would find a way to defend it. I’ll only speak for myself here. When I read about the FREE At Sea package and that it included a FREE drinks package, I thought that meant I would get a drinks package and wouldn’t have to pay anything. Maybe I’m stupid, maybe I’m drunk, but I was mislead. The advertising mislead at least one person and I’m guessing a whole lot more.

If I remember correctly, Miss Leading was my third grade teacher.

One problem is you aren’t just hopping out of a cab and running up the gangplank. You have to go through the whole security and check-in process in the cruise terminal first. Which can take a while assuming the staff is even still there to check you in that late.

Someday on a cruise critic forum: Poster 1: I’m currently on my honeymoon cruise and we’ve been told the only meals on board will be bread and water. Poster 2: You have no right to complain, didn’t you read your cruise contract. The line is only required to provide “meals;” they are free to serve whatever food they want. It’s your fault for not understanding the contract you signed.

Big Papi, is that you?

Has anybody considered that the simplest explanation is often true. And in this case would be: Antarctica doesn’t exist. It’s a lie started by the pro-globe conspiracy.

Second, before we get into hard stuff like compensation for missed ports, we need a fairness in price advertising rule. Lines should be required to show fares with all taxes, port fees and “mandatory” tips/charges. I believe several European counties (the UK?) already require this.

First, the political aspect. Self regulation is essentially no regulation. No way they produce anything with teeth. And if by some miracle the US was able to pass anything, it would be super industry friendly. If anything passenger friendly comes about, it’ll be via Europe.

Think about it this way - hangovers are things you get when you sober up.

This one is easy - don’t even think about it. While I’m sure it’s technically possible, the April heat, lack of shade and port isolation make it a no go. Note that cabs in Dubai are relatively cheap (as long as you make sure the meter is running) and hoho busses are expensive.

It’s a race to see which actually gets implemented first, this or real id in the US.

This site is dominated by Americans. I just got off the Toscana in Dubai and didn’t hear or meet a single American on board all week. I did see a few people wearing our national uniform (t-shirt and baseball cap) but can’t confirm their nationality. To be clear, it was a fantastic cruise, and there were zero problems being an English-only speaker. But Costa clearly isn’t marketing to Americans. Heck, their app still doesn’t work on American iPhones.

There was a currency exchange at both. The ship docks next to a huge terminal building in Doha that is pretty nice. I exchanged $60 USD and got back Qatari bills with no fees or charges at a rate just less than spot. Almost too good to be true; maybe I did the math wrong. Muscat is a serious industrial port. Mandatory shuttle bus to the terminal which is in the middle of the port. There was a money exchange there that turned my remaining Qatari money into Account Omani. Again, the rate seemed almost too good to see it all be true. Then you had to take another shuttle out of the port. Terminals both had ATMs. In Oman the taxis and shops I saw had prices in USD/EUR/Omani.

I have no knowledge other than I’m on the ship now. I boarded on Sat Feb 3. My paperwork said I had to be on board by 13:00 or maybe 15:00 on Feb 4. We arrive back in Dubai on Feb 9 at 13:00-ish. I have to leave on Feb 10.

For what’s it’s worth, I’m currently sailing on Costa out of Dubai. Everything on ship is in Euros, not the UAE currency and certainly not USD (I’ve yet to notice a single American on board.)

So I took a look at the daily programs back when we were docked in Dubai and the casino wasn’t open. Bummer. It’s closed while we are in Doha, but opens as soon as we pull out. VP selection is mighty thin. Maybe 4-5 multi-game machines where one of the options is VP. Since the machines were locked in attract mode I couldn’t check pay tables. I assume they are terrible. Slots are new and very colorful. Lots of the games you see in American casinos - but standard stuff, nothing exotic: pandas, tritons, buffalos. One bank with the fake-ish reals Euros like. They have a couple of those electronic table games with the electronic dealers, plus 4-5 true table games. Overall a pretty small casino, especially for the size of the ship. It gets zero promotion except for the scratch cards and lotto jackpot. No promises, but if you have any more questions fire away and I’ll check out when the casino’s open. Assuming I don’t drink too much and forget 🙂

I’m on the Toscana now headed to Doha. The casino has been open

You’ve got a cute face and they want to say hello?

Ever have a late (late!) night onboard, possibly while getting the most out of your drink package. You stumble out of bed and somehow make it to breakfast only to be treated by… the buffet. Who are all these people? Why is it so chaotic? And as the Grinch would say, the noise, noise noise. I’ll be fine after a little bacon and eggs. Just thought I’d share with you guys as I cruise along, somewhere in the Persian Gulf…