BruceMuzz

If you sail on Walmart of the Seas, you are going to get Walmart quality and service. On my small, elegant, pricey, premium ship, we deliver any type of food you order - including tuna fish sandwiches.

If you choose to travel on a Mass Market cruise line, you are going to receive Mass Market products, and Mass Market service - no matter how well they dress them up or change the names. If you want quality, you only need pay for it. Try a small, elegant, premium (and pricier) cruise ship if you want that special experience.

Don’t buy the radios. Waste of time. Waste of money. They rarely work. They upset everyone around you.

Most cruisers do not understand nor appreciate the complicated details of employing multiple nationalities on international cruise ships. Nearly every employee on nearly every cruise ship is represented by a Maritime Union from their home country, that has negotiated an employment contract with the cruise line - and had it approved by their local government. A major element of that contract is renumeration, and all the details of salaries, tips, employment taxes, currencies, money transfers, and income-reporting to each government involved. Changing the current tipping / salary system to a new one would require each cruise line to re-negotiate all those employment contracts with as many as 40 different Maritime Unions and their respective governments. Ignoring the massive costs involved to the cruise line, the negotiations alone could take decades. Currently, many tipped cruise line employees (or their cruise line employer) are required to report a percentage of the employee’s income to the employee’s government tax office. Depending on the contract, the union, the country, and the cruise line, a large percentage of the tips received by the employee are not reported to his/her local government for taxation purposes. If the “tips” become part of the employee’s salary, all or most of that money will be taxed back home - resulting in a substantial net salary loss for the cruise line employee. The cruise lines would be forced to increase salaries for crew. That increase would be passed on to you - the Passenger - in the form of higher fares and higher onboard prices. Now, with a better understanding of how all this works, are you still in favor of including the tips in the fare?

This is a nice surprise ! Announced on Japanese television last night. Still no solid details on exactly when this will start, but nearly certain it will be in place by February / March, when the cruise season begins again.

The posters here are missing the very obvious point of staffing by gender. When cruise lines berth crew in shared cabins of 2, 3, and 4, they are always challenged to assign women to ships so that the berthing allows all females in one cabin and all males in another. It sounds simple to do - but it is not. Cruise ships rarely have extra cabins or beds for crew. Every 10 days or so, between 5% and 10% of the crew turn over on regular rotation. The number of males and females signing off must EXACTLY match the number of male and female replacements. This is far easier to accomplish when all or most of the crew are male. The same would be true if all or most of the crew were female.

VAT is levied on some - but not all - onboard sales when a foreign flag cruise ship (non-EU flag) spends the entire voyage in the Eurozone. The VAT rate changes, depending on which EU countries the ship is visiting. A cruise ship traveling from Greece to Italy (without leaving the Eurozone) is charged one VAT rate, and then is charged a different rate when traveling from Italy to Spain (without leaving the Eurozone). Many cruise lines choose to have the passengers pay the VAT on larger purchases. With smaller purchases (like individual drinks), they tend to “eat” the VAT rather than increase prices.

Metro Tokyo is the largest city on Earth. The choices there for just about anything are often overwhelming. Hotels near the Imperial Palace will put you close to Ginza and Tokyo Station. Hotels in Shinjuku will put you near Shinjuku Station in Tokyo’s major entertainment and shopping district. Both locations are excellent for connections to Narita, Haneda, Yokohama, Cruise Terminals, Bullet Trains, Subways, Buses, and Taxis. In the Imperial Palace area, accommodations are generally more upscale and more expensive - but not always. In Shinjuku, accommodations are generally less expensive - but not always. In the Imperial Palace area, you are more likely to spot Japanese ladies in Kimonos, shopping in upscale shops. In Shinjuku, you are more likely to spot young people partying in clubs and bars. Imperial Palace area and Shinjuku are only 10 to 15 minutes apart by taxi or train. Either location will be easy and fun.

I’m looking for a car like a Ferrari, but less expensive. Maybe you can help me??

In the nearly 30 days since Japan opened up to foreign visitors, the COVID infection numbers have sky-rocketed. The Japanese Government wants the tourist dollars, but the Japanese public does not want the high infection rates. Since all Japanese wear masks always, it is very apparent when the American tourists (who speak very loudly always) are not wearing masks. This is causing a lot of drama in Japan. The public is pushing to close the borders again.

If you want to visit Japan, you MUST download an APP to your smart phone or Ipad. On this APP you MUST pre-register your passport photo, scan of your COVID vaccinations, and enter all your personal details and flight details. If all is correct, your application will be approved with a QR Code. When you arrive in Japan, you MUST present that QR Code on your smart phone or Ipad. No QR Code - no entry to Japan.

Looking at the current Hospitality situation in America, you are spot on.

With pre-cruise testing (and denying boarding to 6 - 8 people) my ship was seeing 1 or 2 positive passenger cases per week - and zero positive crew cases. Now with no pre-cruise testing we are seeing 20 positive passengers in quarantine and 8 positive crew in quarantine every week.

The Cruise Line I work for required pre-cruise testing until a few weeks ago. Up to that point we were finding 6 - 8 positives every week. These positives were denied boarding. They were very disappointed and had to settle for a local hotel instead of a cruise. Now, without pre-cruise testing, those 6 - 8 sick people are making it onboard every week. Some of them know they have the illness - some do not know. All of them are spreading it to other passengers and the crew. When we find positive passengers, they are confined to their cabins for the remainder of the cruise. The responses from these passengers has been extremely negative. At the same time, the infected passengers are infecting the crew, who must also be quarantined. This is resulting in reduced services for ALL passengers. It also results in the illness being carried from one cruise to the next by the crew.

Some people confuse convenience with extra controls. There are hundreds of different POS (Point of Sale)Systems out there. Nearly all of them are a variation on the waiter entering your order into some sort of computer. The computer then sends the order(s) to the proper locations for preparation. At the end of the meal, the waiter simply pushes a button and the computer spits out a detailed bill with correct addition / subtraction, taxes, etc. Did you think that the expensive computer system was purchased to improve efficiency and speed up service? If so, you are sadly mistaken. Waiters using an expensive POS system actually take longer to serve the average guest. The machine slows them down. So why would a restaurant operator spend big money for a machine that slows his service, and increases his labor costs? A POS Machine: Gives a history of dishes ordered, by hour, day, and week. This reduces over-production, and over-(and under) food preparation, which reduces food cost. Can be programmed to automatically order food and beverage items based on consumption. Prevents Waiters giving away food or forgetting to charge for something. Prevents Bartenders giving away drinks or forgetting to charge for them. Can accurately produce bills split any number of ways, with a push of a button. Accurately tracks gratuities - which is required by the IRS in America. Tracks productivity and selling skills of each waiter. Doubles as a time-keeper, to automatically compute wages, employment taxes, etc. Can give real-time results on sales for the minute, hour, day, week, month, year. Can perform 100 additional book-keeping functions that the restaurant owner would need to hire an accountant to do.

When the first Transcontinental Railroad was introduced in America in the 1800’s, there was a rather large and vocal percentage of the population that refused to ride on the new-fangled train. They claimed that God had never intended for humans to travel faster than 13 miles per hour. That train was the new “Technology” of the day. Some people just couldn’t accept it. The same thing happened when electricity was first available to be installed in homes. Many people refused- claiming that the electrical waves caused all kinds of illnesses in humans. Paper Bank Checks? Enjoy using them in the USA. But if you try to use them in just about any other country, you will be disappointed to learn that most developed countries will no longer accept them.

The Japan Times reported yesterday that South Korea will be allowed to resume passenger ship services between South Korea and Japan (to a limited number of Japanese Ports) on 04 November. So far this is only for South Korean flagged ships, and only to a small number of Japanese West Coast Ports. But it is a great re-start.

Well - except for that………..

SS Monterey. Aloha Pacific Line. Like most American Cruise Lines, they went bankrupt almost immediately.

It is always a good idea to have positive thoughts. Japan has been open to foreigners for just 2 weeks. Many of them refuse to wear masks. Quite a few have been diagnosed with COVID and sent home. Time will tell if the Japanese Government is willing to put up with this in order to get those Tourist Dollars. Foreign Cruise ships are another animal entirely. They generate very little tourist income, compared to the air and land arrivals. The Government has little incentive to quickly let them back into Japan. Japanese Domestic Cruise Lines are pushing to keep them out as long as possible.

Pandemics are a great time to cruise. No crowds at all.

FOREIGN FLAG cruise ships are still not approved to visit Japan. Domestic Japanese cruise ships are operating in Japan as normal. Japanese Ferries - some of which are nicer than foreign cruise ships - are also operating normally

Japan's telephone / commuications regualtions are very strict. Only Japanese Residents can purchase a Japanese SIM Card. Perhaps you can find a Japanese local to buy one for you. Otherwise you can rent a SIM card at any Japanese international airport.

Silver Service mostly stopped when cruisers told the cruise lines that they were unwilling to pay for it anymore. In the 1960’s, a good Waiter or Maitre d’ on a cruise ship earned about double what they earn today - and that is WITHOUT factoring inflation. Many of the cruise lines today still offer the same Hotel Employment contracts they offered 50 years ago: $1 per day, plus tips. In the 1960’s those tips were plentiful. Today those tips are meager. When the cruise lines enlarged their ships, starting in the 1970’s, they made it affordable for all of humanity to go on a cruise. Unfortunately most of that humanity could not / would not / cannot afford to tip like they did in the good old days. Over a 10 year period, many cruise line employees lost half of their earnings when the new generation of cruisers tipped very little - or not at all. Many of the best cruise line employees quit and went to work in their home countries, where they could see their families every day, and earn as much or more than they were earning on a ship. The cruise lines - especially the Mass Market lines - didn’t really mind losing their best employees. The new cruising demographic has much lower expectations, and for the most part, really doesn’t seem to mind a reduced quality cruise. This all makes it far easier for the Mass Market lines to fill their mega-ships and make more money at the same time.

Anyone who could accurately predict Pacific Weather between the West Coast and Hawaii would not be posting it free on Cruisecritic. Just plan for the layered look and hope for the best.