rkacruiser

19 hours ago, oldbluff said:

Do you recall the name of the book?

Burning Cold is the correct name for an excellent account.  Tomorrow, I will find the book written by the USCG Officer and post its title.  

3 hours ago, Scrapnana said:

🤣

When I attend a wine tasting in the future, do I need to BMOC?  (Bring my own crackers?)  

On 11/9/2022 at 5:40 PM, Nunagoras said:

The Armonia is becoming somewhat out of standards these days

She is among at least one of the others that had been built for First Festival Cruises.  In their day, they were "state of the art" of cruising and, as I recall, were well considered.  Then, financial issues began and First Festival went belly-up.  

6 hours ago, Lois R said:

Cherry Garcia is my favorite

Maybe my memory is incorrect, but, isn't this the ice cream that HAL now uses to make their Baked Alaska in the Pinnacle Grill?  It's good, but, not a favorite of mine.

Our local premium ice cream company, at this time of the year, make two seasonal ice creams that I enjoy:  Eggnog and Cinnamon.  

13 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Anyone else old enough to remember when five stars were the best of the best.

Long closed, but, my city had a 5 Star restaurant, the King Cole, that truly was 5 Stars!  It was a restaurant that my dining party patronized very rarely--maybe celebrating the Holiday season or a birthday.  Ambiance, decor (lovely art), Silver Service, a Sommelier with an extensive wine list, Maitre d', Bus Boy, a Waiter (or was there an assistant as well?), leather seating and dim lights, tableside preparations and flambes:  there is nothing on the High Seas that comes close to that standard of dining.  That, at least for my dining companion and me, was luxury!  

13 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Anyone else old enough to remember when five stars were the best of the best.

Long closed, but, my city had a 5 Star restaurant, the King Cole, that truly was 5 Stars!  It was a restaurant that my dining party patronized very rarely--maybe celebrating the Holiday season or a birthday.  Ambiance, decor (lovely art), Silver Service, a Sommelier with an extensive wine list, Maitre d', Bus Boy, a Waiter (or was there an assistant as well?), leather seating and dim lights, tableside preparations and flambes:  there is nothing on the High Seas that comes close to that standard of dining.  That, at least for my dining companion and me, was luxury!  

21 hours ago, Capt_BJ said:

IME the ships drop mail with their agent every port call so simply  give your mail to the front desk ... often I've seen a 'mail box'

 

your mail may be held 'til the next port where your stamps apply . . . 

 

The Front Desk can do this for a guest, but, I would caution as to what denomination of stamps are sold for mail.  Postcard stamps aren't going to work on First Class mail.  My experience:  some Front Desk staff do not seem to know the difference.  A possibility for a guest would be (if its USPS mail), to ask the Front Desk to give it to the Port Agent prior to the ship sailing.  

The larger hotels with restaurants are likely to be serving.  

Just prior to my passage through this area, a severe storm had developed.  The Captain delayed our transit to Antarctica by a half day+ by sailing the Zaandam in the lee of the land mass at the end of Cape Horn.  When the storm had passed, we began across and, it was sufficiently rough, that maintaining one's balance in the Crow's Nest without hanging on to something was wise to do.  Looking out my cabin's window at the very dark cloud masses of the storm that had passed us, trying to have made that crossing might have been the worse sea conditions that I have experienced.

Crossing the Northern Pacific in late September from Vancouver to Russia, the Volendam experienced two strong storms with waves washing over the Crow's Nest when the bow slammed down into a trough.  There were some other "not so calm" parts of days, but, nothing like those storms!  

I.  If cabin is available, drop off carry-on.  Then, a quick read of the daily program to help me plan the afternoon/rest of the day, maybe.  

2.  Make any spa appointments I want.

3.  Arrange for a wine package.

4.  Lunch (hopefully in the MDR)

5.  Return to cabin and begin to unpack.

6.  With the new Muster Drill procedure, I will need to work it in somewhere.  

1 hour ago, Gardyloo said:

Put yourself in the airline's shoes.  (I know, ha ha.)  And answer these questions.

 

• What's the price of Jet A fuel going to be in 10 months' time?  
• Will the economy (whose?) be in recession?  What will interest rates be like?
• Will there be labor shortages or unrest in key occupations?
• Will there be a reemergence of some pandemic or another reason people stay home?

 

If your answer to any/all of the above is, "I don't know," then what would you do relative to pricing your product or service today?

 

1.  Discount the price so that people will commit now.

2.  Set prices high enough now so that the "worst case" still results in profits, however small.

A very good post and points with which I agree.

Responding to the OP. I am a traveler that is a bit choosy over what airlines I fly and like to have control (as much as I can have) over my itinerary.  When flights become available after I have booked a cruise, I will tend to book my flights as soon as I am as certain as I could then be than the cruise/flights will take place.  Price?  If it is outlandish, then, I will do some shopping and engage my travel agent to do some as well.  She has often found better pricing, for the same flights that I originally wanted, than I was able to do.  Patience is, I think, a good operative word for my situations.  

27 minutes ago, richwmn said:

The Bridge Watch was probably doing what he is supposed to do. It takes a bit of luck to see a small raft in the open ocean.

Agree that they were on duty, but, for a guest to spot the craft and sound an alarm!  Well, whomever that guest is, that person needs to be recognized by HAL and the USCG as nothing less than a hero.  

2 minutes ago, SUESEABE said:

Report that a passenger in the Crow's Nest saw a raft in the water just before complete darkness.

Interesting, but, I question the accuracy of the report of that first observation of this situation.  What's the Bridge Watch doing?  

13 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Damn, I forgot this was not Carnival; I was hoping to win a lifeboat on a stick. 🤣

I was hoping for one of those several destination for lapel pins!  

5 hours ago, Scrapnana said:

I was loopy (even eating the cheese and crackers provided).

The minimal provided is responsible for this.  

2 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

...not allowed in there...I'm certain that is better service....we hang with the regular peeps!

Even when I have been a a peep (more times than being a Delta One customer), I have had no complaints with ATL, either the terminal set-up or those people who assist the passengers in the concessions or at the gates.  

20 minutes ago, TwoAdriftAtSea said:

The YC staff are tremendous I just dont see the value vs cost.  My wife said walking into the top sail lounge in the evening is like walking into a funeral home,

Thanks for your reply.  I understand your point of view.  Never thought about your wife's comment about the Top Sail Lounge, but, yes, if there isn't some music being played, it is a rather quiet lounge.  I rather like that, though, since I do spend a part of the evening in the area outside the YC, enjoying the activity and the music possibilities.  Coming back to the YC, a quiet nightcap in the Lounge is, for me, pleasant and relaxing way to end a day at sea.  

I chose MSC and YC because I was looking for a different cruise experience than what my signature shows that I have had.  I found it; I liked it; I would return.  (But, I would not disavow my other experiences, however.)  

A very disagreeable situation that I have encountered was a usually pleasant couple who had interesting careers (one an artist, the other a financial consultant), but, would, at times, come to the table in the midst of an argument that they were having.  Since one of them was seated next to me, I sometimes felt like I needed a Black/White striped shirt with a whistle.  

3 minutes ago, TwoAdriftAtSea said:

not everyone needs YC cabins, currently in one and would never choose it again

May I ask why?  

4 hours ago, gmbhardy said:

we could not here the music and as a result the show just didn’t have the same impact

I watched from my starboard side YC suite.  Heard the music well and my hearing is not the world's best anymore.  Agree, without the music, a bit of the experience is lost.  

1 minute ago, d9704011 said:

I don't know about the accuracy of 'the polls' but I'd say, at least for onboard spending, the tiny sector of the overall population/public engaged in that activity is not in the least representative of the population as a whole and drawing any conclusions about inflation and the economy from that sample space is not sound analysis.

Thanks for your  comment.  Your analysis of what I read is different than mine.  

23 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

 ONBOARD SPEND: Leisure and entertainment companies have broadly said that they have yet to see inflation or other economic burdens weigh on their customers."

This is what does not make sense to me both afloat and ashore.   The polls say that "inflation" and the "economy" is a prime concern of our citizens, yet, the spending, both ashore and afloat remains healthy.  Are the polls incorrect?  Some have been in the past.  This Election Day may tell us a tale when the tallies are completed.  

2 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Partner up with me, and your chances of winning will go up exponentially. 😉

😆!      Game on! 

1 minute ago, RuthC said:

Have you ever seen/heard The Jersey Tenors? Or The Aussie Boys? Both are excellent.

Aussie Boys?  No.  I have heard The Jersey Tenors during a couple of cruises.  I agree.  They are good.  Frankie Valli and company are favorites of mine.  

12 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I'll ask for the section of the lifeboat where they are playing trivia. 🤣

Maybe with a glass or two of wine and playing trivia, I might have a better chance of actually winning the game?  🤣