rhblake

On 4/3/2020 at 8:39 PM, martinpj said:

As long as it doesn't expire before the end of the cruise.    Otherwise you can just use your birth certificate and state ID

I do not know the answer to this but will the cruise industry require a "Real ID" (driver's license with the star) not just a driver's license after October 2021 (previously October 2020)?

On 4/3/2020 at 11:54 AM, mayleeman said:

 

They had correct information, as did all the individual people who began cancelling cruises as far back as January despite losing deposits. The industry chose to ignore it in favor of the official fairy tales.

I apologize if I get this thread closed. But, here is a calendar of what I as a US citizen was hearing and seeing from January to mid March. How can anyone know how serious things where?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJuIT0ojx_k

Most of the cruise line executives have their offices here in the USA and until the middle of March our government was calling this virus a hoax and nothing to worry about, it will be over by April. With the flawed information they were receiving there is no way the cruise industry could make informed judgements as to operate or not.

I must ask OP, are you happy you are home? I ask because if the captain had known and did report the corona virus to the port authorities, my guess is the ship would be floating around in the Pacific, quarantining the passengers, trying to find a port to disembark its passengers just like Holland America’s ship off the coast of Florida. I guess you must pick which scenario is best for you.

You have to remember in these unusual times they are probably trying to process more than 28,000 (number of Princess cabins, all ships) refunds per week it may take a while. Taking 30 to 60 days would not be unusual.

You have to remember in these unusual times they are probably trying to process more than 25,000 (number of NCL cabins, all ships) refunds per week it may take a while. Taking 30 to 60 days would not be unusual.

19 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

I don't think cruise fares are cheap, not by any stretch of the imagination.

Let me put this in perspective. Our first 2 week cruise was on RCCL’s Nordic Princess in April of 1981. We paid approximately $4,900 for a deluxe ocean view cabin on that cruise. With inflation that same cruise would now cost us $13,944. Today you can get an ocean-view cabin for about $4,000. That is $900 less than we paid 39 years ago. So yes they are a relatively inexpensive vacations.

We had a window suite on the Grand right after they were put in back in the fall of 2011. We were in F307 and here are our short videos of that suite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_Tu-gcJrd8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzHwFRg0abM

They are wonderful. If you can imagine we were upgraded to the suite from an ocean-view room.

Are there any other places you can sail to from Seattle, other than Alaska? Can you do west coast or Hawaii?

10 hours ago, MarLieb said:

I'm not blaming Celebrity.  I do think Princess, however, was incredibly negligent in the handling of the Diamond and then the Grand. 

5 hours ago, MightyMike said:

I do not blame Celebrity, but Princess made poor decisions that ultimately lead to sick passengers and even death. They should be held responsible and face consequences.

Please explain how following governmental orders is either negligent or a poor decision? Princess ships were under the control  government entities.

How do feel about the Eclipse having to come back to the US because no other country will allow it to dock?

FCC's normally have expiration dates. If not used before that date the FCC becomes worthless.

I am sorry you are ill, but it appears you did things in reverse. First you cancelled the cruise, then you went to the clinic for them to justify your cancellation and the clinic said that you were not sick enough from them to deem you unfit for travel. Unless you have CFAR travel insurance you are probably out of luck.

I also find the advice you are getting from others about doctor shopping to be inappropriate.

Delete

I use squaremouth.com as it provides, in the plan description, summaries of 1) whether the medical coverage you are purchasing is primary or secondary and 2) the amount of evacuation coverage that is included. No need to go searching for the info.

9 minutes ago, NLH Arizona said:

then on your next cruise, just ask for them. 

 

I think the reason they stopped them, without the cabin requesting them, is three fold.  One, it saves the Cabin Stewards time.  Two, it does save water and soap.  Three, not everyone is enthralled with them, so why wasted the Cabin Steward's time and use up soap and water, if someone doesn't care and doesn't request them.

Assuming it takes 2 towels per animal it also reduces the quantity of towels each ship must keep in inventory and the laundry's time in washing them. My guess is that is about 3000 (2 towels x 1500 cabins) towels per day.

In today's world, most if not all, cruise lines require that you retrieve your own luggage.

You just walk in. But because they are very popular you may need to get there 20 - 30 minutes early if you want a seat. To get the seat I preferred I got there 45 minutes early.

If you have booked with a TA, the TA will most likely get the email notices not you.

5 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

Actually most are not charged in those situations (and those tragedies are not due to carelessness but a specific set of events which causes the brain to fail).

I do not know where you live but here in the USA 9 times out of 10 they serve jail time, especially in Florida.

If a parent is careless and leaves a child in a hot car and the child dies that parent will normally be convicted and serve time in jail. I think that it is only equitable that the grandfather should serve jail time for his careless actions.

I think maybe you (1 person) have set your individual expectations to high for a ship which must feed 3300+ passengers, 3 times a day.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-the-suites-program

This link should show you all the suite perks by class of suite

51 minutes ago, stoneharborlady said:

I would not be surprised at this in the MDR, but for a peanut butter sandwich in the buffet, for a child's request, it is ridiculous.  

The problem is there is no sandwich station in the buffet so there are no people to make any kind of sandwich for you. If you want a sandwich you must gather the ingredients (no peanut butter is out and available at lunch) and the rolls or baked bread (no regular loaf bread) and take it to your table and make it yourself. This comment pertains to the Sky Princess.

I saw people doing laps early in the morning before the pool filled up.

We were just on the Sky in December and never saw pre-made sandwiches. The only time one could find "regular" slices of bread and peanut butter and jelly was at breakfast. the bread was problematic because it was behind the counter so it could be toasted. You might be able to ask for some plain slices at breakfast but not at lunch. All the breakfast food is put away during lunch service.  If your child is a picky eater I'm not sure what you could do. They did serve mac  'n cheese and chicken nuggets at lunch most of the time. They do have some pre-made sandwiches at the International Cafe but they were on rolls or specialty baked breads and were mostly salad type sandwiches (tuna, chicken and egg).