macruisefan

Trying not to sound stupid here but....what is a propulsion problem? It seems to be treated an an emergency since they are dry docked suddenly?

One of the azipods is damaged, so they don't have as much propulsion as usual. As a result, top speed is decreased, thereby increasing transit time, hence the shortened port visits.

Not sure what makes you think it's being treated as an emergency. The problem has been ongoing for a few months, and they're taking a week out of service a few months from now to fix it. Hardly an emergency.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5616

 

Seems it needs repairs?

Would you feel you got less of a cruise to go right before dry dock? Out of supplies, low on food, staff ready to take a break? Are there safety concerns?

Out of supplies? Low on food? Safety concerns?

No. No. and No.

Allure has a lower top speed because of a propulsion problem. Certain ports of call have been shortened as a result. But the concerns you mention are pretty far fetched.

That looks like a classic french Béarnaise sauce. Basically made from butter, white wine vinegar, egg yolks and tarragon.

I think you're looking at the picture of the filet, which often comes with bearnaise. The lamb is pictured below it and most certainly is NOT with a bearnaise sauce.

The initial assertion by the OP is rather absurd: People are rudely leaving shows to make their dinner reservation, therefore we should scrap the entire MTD system.

This is akin to saying "It's a shame that some inconsiderate people are littering in the forest, therefore we should cut down all the trees and eliminate the forest. Then they won't be able to make a mess of it".

There are rude and inconsiderate people everywhere. And they tend to be in their glory on a cruise ship. They're not going to choose to sit in the back, because they don't care. And going back to fixed seatings for dinner is an archaic solution that brushes against the market trend and popular demand.

The best solution is for the OP to realize what a trivial thing this really is to obsess about in the first place.

We flew into Miami for our cruise in March and we took a Royal Caribbean bus/shuttle thing. I think my husband and I paid $15-$20 each for this service. We had prebooked this through our travel agent, but when we got to baggage claim where everyone gathers, they had no record of our reservation (not sure if this is RC's fault or the travel agent). Either way, they had no trouble fitting us in and we were at the port in no time. I have no idea what a rental car, taxi or the train that was mentioned cost in comparison, but we thought this bus was convenient and reasonable. Like I said, they are in he baggage claim area with signs trolling around so you can't miss them. Just a suggestion, I'm sure others are more well versed in this area. Hope it helps!

That is convenient, but it's only applicable if you're flying in day-of and heading straight to the port. I would never bother to rent a car just to get from the airport to the port.

Maybe you should do a little bit more research about Fort Lauderdale, and perhaps even be more open minded. Living close to both cities, there is plenty to enjoy in FLL on the FLL beach even, that is just as nice (if not more so) than Miami.

 

The Las Olas area of Fort Lauderdale or Ocean Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, can easily give Miami and Miami Beach a run for their money, and give you a wonderful pre-cruise experience.

I actually lived in South Florida for a period of time, and visit both cities regularly. So I am familiar with the areas you speak of. While they are nice, I respectfully disagree.

I find Miami Beach to be a much more appealing place to visit. Much larger, better hotels, better restaurants. Ft. Lauderdale, be it Ocean Ave or Las Olas has a very manufactured feel to it. It caters well to those that gravitate towards it. But much like reading a lot of the replies here, I know I am not their audience.

Give me a day on Miami Beach, dinner at Joe's or Prime One Twelve, or BLT, or The Forge, or a variety of others. Let me enjoy some live music walking along Collins Ave. Let me grab a late night snack or drink at News Cafe. Let me start my next morning at The 11th Street Diner.

Sorry, but Ft. Lauderdale is nice, but just doesn't cut it for what I'm after.

The relative merits of Miami vis a vis Ft. Lauderdale as a vacation location are pretty much irrelevant to the question as to why RCI has based more of his ships in Port Everglades. It pretty much comes down to the almighty dollar and PE offered greater incentives (financial and non-financial) to the cruise line to move their ships north, incentives that POM either couldn't or wouldn't match. Factors such as airlift, proximity to the cruise piers, etc. more than likely played a role as well.

Port of Miami has evidently determined that their cargo business is more valuable than expanding their cruise business.

ULTIMATE*

$65 USD

per person, per day

Includes:

Virtually unlimited options. A combination of all the benefits from Premium and Royal Replenish packages.

 

Virtually …..Really:confused: this is so typical Royal(sorry…still luv ya)….but….don't spell it out for us…that would be to easy:p

No kidding. I don't know why they continue to offer these half-baked options. Reading the details on the website of everything it doesn't include: canned sodas, canned juices, Evian water, "super premium" beverages, "specialty" beers.

And still haven't heard, but I suspect that if something is above the $12 limit, you pay the entire price and not just the difference.

No package for me until it's truly unlimited. One of the things I definitely prefer about Celebrity.

I fly into Miami to cruise out of Port Everglades regularly. I prefer to spend my night before in Miami Beach, and I get better flight options out of MIA.

Tri-Rail is okay, but it's time consuming and restricts you to their schedule. I just rent a car at MIA and either return it at FLL, then grab a cab ($10 to the port), or if I rent with Hertz, they have a local facility drop off with a free shuttle to the port at one of the nearby hotels.

Picking up a rental car at MIA is a breeze with the centralized rental car facility and tram from the terminal.

Not sure what you were looking at, but currently, Liberty is just now pulling into Port Everglades.

At first I did not understand the attack from you on someone that is tired of the ugliness that has recently started to be a constant on these boards until I reread your post and signature.

I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. What in my post or better yet, my signature makes you believe I was attacking anyone?

STOP!!!

It is almost Christmas. The OP's question has been answered so we do not need the usual name calling and nastiness out of the CC "bullies" who think their way is the only way.

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Ummm.... Lighten up? No bullies here. I mean Redcard is being his usual idiot self, but that's not even worthy of being called a bully. I don't see anything here that is even remotely close to bullying. Except maybe your admonition to "STOP!". I guess I missed the part where someone died and made you Cruise Critic hall monitor.

Perhaps in the future, before any of us replies to anything, we should run it by you first?

:confused:I need help as RCI is only mailing tags for suites. I know where to find the tags, but don't know what size of paper to use.

 

I know on my printer how to change configurations but haven't figured out which is best to use.

 

Letter size paper in portrait with no header or footer cuts off the tag at the end, leaving important stuff in that area off. I have not tried landscape mode [haven't had time].

 

:confused:Should I get legal size paper?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Doug

Depending on where you're sailing out of, I would most likely not even bother. At most of the ports, the porters will happily label your bags appropriately in a flash. There have been some reports of this slowing things down, but at the regular ports (Everglades, Canaveral, Tampa, Baltimore, Bayonne, etc...), this seems to be a non-existent problem.

Thanks Guys!

 

I like the idea of tipping personally rather than into a bank account of the cruise company just for my piece of mind.

 

Thanks :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You certainly can do this if you like, it is absolutely your prerogative. But just for your own understanding, at the end of the day, it makes no difference whatsoever. The same people still get the same money at the same time.

The thing with automatic tips is that it is effortless. No waiting in line, no filling envelopes, no seeking anyone out.

Again, either way is fine. It's a question of preferred style vs. effort.

Me too

The worst part: The first day of winter is still 6 days away.

Using this information would be way too tedious for dining arrangements. I think this is a form of free marketing information. They are pretty much letting their sailing passengers tell them who's their target market in each cruise market/itinerary, or at least give them an idea.

I agree. I've given this some more thought, and I still think this is a pretty weak marketing tool. If there is one thing we all know, cruisers do come from all walks of life. So I think the broad demographic has been rather well established.

If I were in charge of it, I would ask a different question. One that a lot of organizations and entities ask. It would of course be optional, but I think it would be far more useful. I would ask the range for the household annual income. From a marketing standpoint, know how much one spends in relation to how much is earned is a lot more valuable than knowing if they are "blue collar" or "retired" or a "nurse".

I'm not a big animal person. I definitely don't want them to give me a cat to deal with on my cruise!

All kidding aside, your initial "if" is a really big one. The ships almost always sail full. They will offer cut rate deals sometimes for last minute bookings, and they also offer a lot of nice deals to industry people (their own employees, travel agents, etc...) So by the time embarkation arrives, there is rarely anything left.

What I did this morning:

http://allwellnessvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/snow_shovel.jpg

What I wish I did this moring!

http://portevergladeswebcam.com/

I. Hate. Winter.

You can get the same or similar furniture. But you're not likely to find it retail. It would be through a commercial furnishing and supply operation. I have a family member who runs a commercial supply company, furnishing offices, hotels, restaurants. He works with a variety of vendors who deal in both U.S. and foreign manufactured goods.

All you would need to know is who manufactured it. If you're really curious the next time you sail, tip the chair over and see who manufactured it. Do a google search, and you'll probably find it. It's unlikely that the table and chair sets were a custom design for so few pieces (perhaps not the case with the furniture in the cabins, where there are hundreds if not thousands).

The only catch then is finding a commercial supplier who can order form the manufacturer, and is willing to go through the hassle for one set. Most commercial suppliers are interested on big orders.

The final caveat to ordering this type of thing is that it ships as a freight drop, meaning an 18 wheeler is going to show up and you'll be responsible for unloading, inspecting and signing off on the items.

I'm seriously not going to spend thousands on a cruise to have to spend time in line at guest services to remove a $5 tip to the dining room staff because I choose not to eat there one night....Sorry, but my vacation time is worth a lot more than that. If this makes me a tip bully, I can handle being called that rather than a parsimonious cheapskate - but that's just me.

AGREE 100%!!!!!

They've automatically charged the tips, I consider it part of the cost of cruising and then I don't give it another thought.

Rumors are just that- rumors. As in nothing has been announced.

That being said, there is a third Oasis class ship under construction, and popular thinking is that they will not port all three at Port Everglades. Port Canaveral would be the most logical choice for one of the ships. And with Oasis being the oldest of the three, it is most likely to be sent off.

The only other possibility would be if they chose to move an Oasis class ship out of the Florida-Caribbean market. But I don't think there are many options. The west coast is incapable of supporting even the smaller ships, so it won't get an Oasis class. Europe doesn't offer enough accessible ports (although they are touring a bit this summer on Oasis when it heads to dry dock).

I dislike Miami and all the "plastic facade" look of everything there. In fact I always joke that behind that fake facade in Miami is even more fake facade.

I have no idea what this even means. Miami's "fake facade" is actually the greatest example of a bygone era and bygone style of art deco you'll find anywhere in the world. Behind that, you'll find the most vibrant Cuban, Hatian and various other Latin American cultures anywhere in The United States.

In contrast, Ft. Lauderdale, while very "nice" is noting but a series of homogeneous hotels, chain restaurants and new "plastic facades".

There are a lot of reasons to criticize Miami if one chooses to. But calling it artificial, in comparison to Ft. Lauderdale is truly puzzling.

Miami International is fine if you're flying in and out on American. That terminal is nice. It's the rest that's a mess...

I'm just a sucker for Miami and it's more metropolitan feel. I love the restaurants, the hotels, the beach...

Don't get me wrong. The terminals and access at Canaveral and Everglades have never been a problem to me. It's just that there isn't much worthwhile around them. Ft. Lauderdale can't hold a candle to Miami and Miami Beach as far as destinations go. That's why I tend to fly into Miami and stay there the night before, even if I'm sailing out of Everglades.