S.S.Oceanlover

6 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I talked to 2 employees aboard Vista including the head of guest services who told me the number of diamond and platinum is unmanageable and that there really has to be a new loyalty tier. 

 

If the employees on the ship are saying it ..

 

We had over 600 diamond/platinum plus the FTTF plus the ultra cruisers who all got early access. priorty is getting to be a zoo.

 

We had one diamond who they called up to the stage who had over 770 or maybe it was 780 days on Carnival. Though only 125 diamonds this time we had over 200 diamonds my last cruise.

 

I hope someone puts a tickle in John Healds ear about a new loyalty tier. With all these casino cruises there more and more diamonds. a level that maybe should get guaranteed speciality restaurants .... or even one a cruise like NCL.

 

Id asked about a post i read 2 weeks before i left on my cruise where a diamond couldnt get a steak house reservation. I was told they were always only priority, which is getting to mean not much.

 

First time I didnt get the dining time I requested, so many people have passed me in days now. Im a mere platinum 174 days i think, so I rate about zero any more.

 

Ive been eyeing NCL only because I can go out of New Orleans twice iin Nov they had dates with no solo supplemnt. Id really like to get to diamond, but its getting meaningless. ... over 750 days on Carnival .... wow. and she wasnt even that old.

 

When even the employees on the ship are saying there sure needs to be another loyalty level ... its time already. So they have a workable amount of cabins to prepare as a for instance. 

On cruises with unmanageable number of plats/diamond are they still selling FTTF making it even worse?

It used to be when FTTF first started it was based on the amount of plats/diamonds on each sailing.

Bill

30 minutes ago, Crazy4Camping said:

We already have purchased transfers because we were told no Uber in San Juan and taxis are expensive.  Now that I have been following these forums I see that some folks have used ride-sharing, taxis, etc. without any issues and much cheaper than transfers.  Someone also said I can get a refund for the transfers and cancel them.  Can anyone tell me FOR SURE that they have used Uber or taxi or whatever in San Juan and also has anyone cancelled transfers and received refunds without a problem??

 In your research about how much was a taxi? I thought I read they were fixed rates and resonably priced.

We will be there in a few weeks and would like to confirm the taxi info

Bill

8 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

I said that they have something scheduled in the main theater and both of those things are scheduled (and I believe that when those are scheduled there is one other thing scheduled for that evening also). 

Thanks Sparks for the update.

Appreciate it.👍

Bill

3 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

The OP said "I like that Carnival has their shows scheduled to work around MDR schedules.  If I have late dinning, I can go to the early show.  If I have early dinning, I can go to the late show.  RCL seemed to only have shows at one time (10:30).  We had 8:00 dinning and found ourselves with not much to do from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM.  On carnival...we would have been seeing a show during that time.  Carnival Wins." so they were concerned with doing something before dinner. I believe that Carnival does have something scheduled in the main theater on most nights, an early show for late seating and a late show for early seating.

are lip sync battles and the Hasbro game show considered 2 nights of the showroom entertainment or do they have other things in the main showroom those nights as well?

Bill

28 minutes ago, fyree39 said:

I cringe at the thought of writing to the CEO to complain about cabin temperature.  Who comes up with these ideas?

 

I've never had a cabin that was too hot.  Of course, we typically cruise in Oct/Nov and Jan/Feb, so those are cool-weather cruises.

I hope you never have to try to sleep in a cabin that is too hot.

Those people who have are the ones that come up with this stuff. I must say that it is only on CCL that I have encountered this and thankfully only once.

No I am not writing to the CEO though.

Bill

6 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Yes, the air handler that provides outside fresh air will supply a block of cabins, typically all the cabins on one deck (sometimes two decks), in one fire zone (the area between the doors in the passageway).  AC ducting is not allowed to cross fire zone boundaries, so each zone has its own supply AC.  Some ships further break it down between the sides of the ship, one system doing port side, one starboard side.  So, a balcony door open will affect all cabins around it, whether balcony, oceanview, or inside.

 

As for putting a thermometer into the duct, unless they have a standard for supply air temperature (which should be around 55-60) and a standard for air flow, those measurements are pretty meaningless.  Most hotels and cruise lines follow industry standards and say that if the cabin temp is within 72-74, then there is no compensation or rectification justified.

Thanks again for a thorough and understandable explanation.

It is very much appreciated.

After 2 nights waking up soaked they finally gave us a fan.

Bill

8 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

The sensor that shuts off AC when the balcony door is open only shuts off the recirculation AC.  The fresh air supply, which is a common system for a whole block of cabins, is not affected by these sensors/switches, and this is the system that has a problem with balcony doors open.  This fresh air supply is supplied at a higher pressure, and when the exhaust from the cabin is changed from the small bathroom vent and the gap under the door, to the huge opening of the balcony door, this drops the pressure in that cabin, so the fresh air supply sends more air to that cabin with the door open to try to re-establish the required pressure, and therefore all the other cabins on the block get less air.  So, it really doesn't matter whether the ship has a switch on the balcony door or not.

Chengkp75,

Would there also be inside cabins affected by the balcony doors being open?

I've been on a CCL cruise before in an inside cabin where we woke up covered in sweat so just curious.

Had the CCL guys come twice and stick a thermometer in the duct in the ceiling and proclaim it was within their limits so nothing they could do.

Bill

RCI must be cutting back in the entertainment since we cruised on the Oasis class ships last year.

Having one show a night at 10:30pm does not sit well with me. Disappointed to hear this.

Jimbo. You like what you like, nothing wrong with that.👍

Bill

On 11/26/2015 at 9:29 AM, CruiseHealing said:

 

This is all correct. A couple of things:

 

1. As you enter the lounge, tell your son that this is what it is like to have proper status. Have him survey the sea of humanity in the general boarding area and strongly suggest he work hard to reach the Platinum level.

 

2. Before you even get to the cruise port, teach him the proper Royalty Wave (hand slightly curved, thumb tuck in towards your palm and the back of the hand facing the public). As you leave the lounge, do the Platinum Royalty Wave as you are escorted past the crowds to your awaiting cruise ship!

Last time I was in the lounge for plats there was a sea of humanity in there as well.

Bill

we cruised on the Getaway with friends of ours. 2 totally different cabins and different reservation numbers.

She gambled a lot and got a free cruise offer in her name but it came to our address and not hers.

How that happens I have no clue.

Bill

16 minutes ago, Fincherson said:

 

Correct, we're ditching Alaska since our friends bailed, we'll take our kids to the Caribbean instead. 

 

I'm so appreciative of everyone's advice... We keep going back and forth but are probably going to pull the trigger on Horizon. I'm sorry for not giving enough information in my OP but I believe we will be looking at November instead of the original June, to give myself more time to get my head around a trip with seven people. 😅

 

Thank you everyone! 

if you have changed your plans to November keep an eye on the Oasis class ships offering kids sail free.

They offer it a few times during the year and might be available on the dates you are looking at making it cheaper than the other lines.

Bill

4 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

I am slow on the uptake....

Maybe you had a slight case of funnel vision.😛

Bill

39 minutes ago, Scootersmom55 said:

Anyone know if the British Hilton at the Nassau port has beach access packages?  Thank you in advance. I read their website but didn’t see anything mentioned.

http://www.resortforaday.com/British-Colonial-Hilton-Day-pass-p/nsnabcha.htm

Bill

4 hours ago, davekathy said:

Unfortunately Crown Bay. 

tyvm

Bill

 does the does the jewel dock in havensite or crown Bay?

Bill

1 hour ago, Joolsverne said:

Hi,  we are interested in the Beach day pass - but do the Hotel store your luggage for you?  I don't fancy trying to drag it on to the beach!

I don't think I am understanding your question.

Why would you have your luggage with you? Does your cruise start or end in St Maarten?

Bill

3 hours ago, blackshirt said:

If you say so. All I know is every cruise I’ve been on it states every single day in the cruise compass that shorts are not allowed in the dining room. You can call that whatever you want.

obsolete ?

Bill

5 hours ago, bobsfamily said:

One of the reasons I do not cruise RCL... I do not want anyone to know my every move on the ship - or off.

I know they have cameras everywhere and the SS card can have a chip in it but no thanks to something I have to "wear".

what are the others?

Bill

57 minutes ago, Diamond Dandy said:

Would it have been possible to sail the cruise that ended yesterday, then stay on board to take the first one out of Miami?  No problem getting a deck chair I bet.

Nope. It would have violated the PVSA.

You would have had to get off in FLL and travel down to MIA to do that.

Bill

1 hour ago, wytygr8 said:

 

It’s not just the cruise line, it’s the staff as well, and I can’t imagine not caring when you see others being disrespectful to people who are busting their rears for crappy wages.

At the end of the day I bet most staff care much more about the tips they are hoping to receive and not what people are wearing.

Bill

1 minute ago, coevan said:

Silly was right, it was not a new policy, there was a specific reason. Might as well have your 11:15 drink at your hotel

Yep gotta get all the debris from the pre drydock work they did the previous week and load new materials on so they can continue working on the ship during the OPs cruise.

Bill

1 hour ago, M_BA said:

Kids sail free is a frequent offer. However, the cruise rates often increase to offset the 'offer'.

 

Another poster in the past week referred to this offer starting again on November 1st, but I don't know this to factual or not.

This wasn't the case when we sailed last year.

My niece and her significant other were booked in a triple with 1 child under 12 at regular rates.

About 2 months later they had a kids sail free promotion. I let her know and she called and saved a significant amount of money as they took off the rate of the 3rd person in the cabin and just charged taxes and fees.

Bill

45 minutes ago, royalcruz said:

I can't imagine why the TA would have recommended the virtual balcony instead of the Central Park balcony. Keep checking and I hope the price drops again. 

I don't know if they had any more chances to upgrade but their cruise departed last Saturday.

Hopefully they are happy with their accommodations.🙂

Bill

33 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

I do not know... I thought we were getting along just fine.  My post was more an attempt at humor than anything else.....

OK it's late so i guess I missed it.

I was wondering what this meant...  "I will effort it on on the Breeze starting next weekend." Thus my statement about the talk to text. Have a good night my friend.🙂

Bill

6 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

FTTF as a perk was a great idea, I have said it before, whoever thought of it, deserved a promotion.  That said, I stand by my previous post that if my friend is right and they pull the perk from plats and diamonds, it would be a disaster.  Despite my emotional friend, and I do understand the logic that was posted, I just do not think they want to go there.  I will effort it on on the Breeze starting next weekend.

Jim,

Looks like your talk to text is working as well as mine.😲 Why is your friend emotional?

Bill