Donald

You can thank the US Government for many of the quality problems. The United States Public Health Service, where I work part of the year, claims jurisdiction over any cruise ship that: 1) Sells tickets in America, 2) Carries American Passengers, 3) Calls at any American Port, or 4) Has a sister ship that calls at any American Port. This jurisdiction allows them to control most foods on nearly every cruise ship in the world - no matter where that ship is operating. They require that: 1) All protein items served onboard must come only from American Certified Vendors in America. 2) All protein items served onboard must be frozen for at least one week, at a maximum temperature of -21 Celsius. Those 2 requirements result in lower quality and far higher cost for most of the food you eat on a cruise ship nearly anywhere in the world. Violating these rules results in less expensive and higher quality food, but the ship and cruise line face failing USPH Health Inspection Scores if and when they call at a US Port. Those of us lucky enough to permanently avoid US Ports do not worry about that, and can afford to serve higher quality, lower cost, fresh foods on our ships.

There are still many small classic look ships out there. Many are nearly new, Operating a small ship is far more expensive - per passenger - than operating a big ship. This means that pax who want that small ship experience need only pay for it Too many of today's cruisers are far too frugal to put their money where their mouth is.

The people who own cruise lines are Capitalists, with hungry shareholders. They are NOT building larger ships to claim that they have the biggest ones at sea. They ARE building larger ships to make more money for themselves and their shareholders. Cruise Lines do not get to choose their customers. Customers choose cruise lines. So long as the cruising public chooses the largest ships - that make far more profit than smaller ships - the ships will continue to grow in size (and profitability). Note: The average Loyal Cruiser spends far less money onboard than average first-time cruisers. If you just built a $2 BILLION Mega-ship, with a high interest bank loan, will you try to attract loyal low-spenders or first-time big-spenders?

You may be surprised to learn that most cruise ships do not have space to carry Christmas Decorations onboard all year. They are generally stored at shoreside warehouses - or they belong to a decorating company that brings them onboard at a convenient port. Installation dates are very predictable. Most of the Mass Market lines are in the Caribbean for Christmas. They can easily schedule the decorations for a Florida turnaround. The better cruise lines are often at more exotic places, quite often with longer itineraries. There, they must schedule shipping and installation at ports that can handle the shipments and staff to put up the decorations.Those dates and places are much more random.

The experts on the internet tell us that US$100 from 1970 is US$810 today. In 1970, you could buy an excellent cruise package for $100 per day. In 2024, you can get a far better cruise package - on a better cruise line - for much less than $810 per day.

I am not aware of any cruise line that forbids formal wear on their ships. But many have rules about dressing like a slob. We live in an era where cruise ships are not allowed to dump even used oyster or abalone shells into the sea. Clay pigeons, shotgun shell wadding, and any kind of shot are defiinitely prohibited. For a cruise line, bringing guns into a foreign country should pretty much be a non-issue. But it is actually a BIG issue. The laws of the country's flag on the stern of the ship govern in every case - but the laws of the countries the ship visits also count. A cruise ship can take guns into Bahamas, for example, if they are properly claimed and registered. But if that same ship takes guns into Turks and Caicos, there is a manatory 10 year jail sentence for those involved. Cruise Line Legal Departments do not like risks that involve loaded guns and jail sentences.

If they allow you to use a raft, the onboard lifeguard will not allow you to get far from the ship. They normally anchor very near shipping lanes with heavy ferry traffic. The chances of being run over by a ferry or yacht are quite real.

More and more cruisers are opting for shipping luggage ahead - despite the fact that it is expensive. From the ship side, for international shipping, we are seeing about a 50% success rate. It is a great idea, but there are too many people and organizations involved in this to allow it to work well. Customs officers in far too many countries do not like it. Ship Agents who should be receiving the bags are too often too busy or just not interested in following through. The bags usually make it to the ship, but too often arrive mid-cruise, or after the cruise is over.

If you spend just a bit more for your cruise and book a luxury line, you will generally have a better customer to staff ratio than we had in the "good old days". Better yet, factoring inflation, your fare will be about the same as in the Good Old Days.

If you choose to sail on a great cruise line, you can still have most of those things. The fare you pay for that great cruise - factoring inflation - will be about the same you would have paid decades ago. If you choose to take a cheapatoni mass market cruise today, you will not get those things. Tux rentals are gone, and dress codes in MDRs are disappearing - mainly because the majority of today's cruise passsengers prefer to dress as if they are on a camping trip. Skeet shooting is gone because many local and international laws prohibit cruise ships bringing guns into other countries. But we are considering re-instating skeet shooting, to be scheduled right after the whiskey tasting.Since the Medical Department is now considered a revenue department, this should help them reach budget goals.

Windstar has an exclusive agreement with the local government to have these events for Windstar ships only. The only chance of cancellation is rain. There is no Plan B for a rainy evening. But in the Summer it very rarely rains in Kusadasi.

When I started cruising in 1970, cruises were quite expensive. Most passengers were quite well off, well dressed, well educated, well traveled. Whenever a crew member tried to sneak into passenger areas out of uniform, it was easy to catch them. They were never as well dressed as the passengers. Today, mass market cruises are very cheap, but for many of the passengers this is the most costly experience they ever had. Many are traveling on a birth certificate or have just purchased their first passport. When a crew member tries to sneak into a passenger area out of uniform, it is very easy to catch them. The passengers are mostly dressed like they are going to clean the garage; the crew members are better dressed.

The "Best Drink Package", and is it worth it ? For the bargain hunter, the best drink package allows them to drink their money's worth. For the experienced traveler, the best drink package offers the most convenience and the best quality.

Technically, as soon as your ship approaches the Japanese Coast, you are in Japanese Waters and Technically / Legally in Japan. Technically, looking at it from the Officials' point of view, even though the medications and medical devices are in your cabin, they are legally in Japan. Those officials do not plan to stand at the gangway all day to ensure that you are not taking them ashore at some point and selling them. Would you do that? Probably not. But you could. Are they very worried that you will do that? No.

The Japanese authorities will NOT go to your cabin to inspect medications and medical devices. But if you leave the ship in Japan and have those items with you, there is an extremely small chance that there could be an issue. I have lived in Japan most of my life, and have never heard about anyone stopped, inspected, fined, or jailed for personal medications or medical machines. I have often heard about drug smugglers jailed - and hanged - for trying to import large quantities of opiates and other forbidden drugs.

You should ask HAL if they are providing a shuttle. You can take a train for US$2 per person (50 minutes one-way) You can take a taxi for US$40 (20 minutes one-way)

Yes.

I managed big mass market ships for many years. The snobbery game was taken to new heights on many of those ships - especially on long cruises. Today I manage small high-end ships where just about everyone onboard has a lot of money, dresses well, and behaves well. We have managed to price out the snobs and their victims in one go.

How do you feel about a cruise ship dumping 2 tons of food waste into the ocean every day? Nearly every cruise ship carrying more than 2,000 passengers does that every day of the year. There are currently around 275 ships of that size or larger doing that around the world today. A bit over 500 tons every day of the year. Wasteful? Today only, approximately 650,000 cruise passengers each produced around a half ton of waste water on cruise ships. About half those ships processed that waste water to drinking quality before dumping it into the ocean. The other half do not have that technology. They dumped around 160,000 tons of raw sewage and dirty water directly into the world's oceans. They will do it again tomorrow - and every day after that - as well. Wasteful?

On most modern cruise ships today, there are three departments onboard: Nautical Technical Hotel Nautical usually has Bridge Officers, Sailors, Security, and Medical. These assignments can vary by company. Nautical is usually about 10% of the crew. Captain and Staff Captain are in charge. Technical usually has Engineers and IT. Technical is usually about 10% of the crew. Chief Engineer is in charge. Hotel has the other 80% of the crew. This includes Dining, Bars, Housekeeping, Entertainment, Shops, Spa, Casino, Shore Excursions, Reception, Galleys, Provisions, Ordering, Public Health, Human Resurces, Guest Relations, Guest Satisfaction, Pursers Department, and all the money. Hotel Manager is in charge. Captain is the legal representative of the ship's owner. He typically reports to a few senior Vice Presidents and the President of the Company. He is legally in charge of all the crew, and responsible for the safety of all onboard, and the safety of the ship. Cheif Engineer reports on a dotted line to the Captain, but actually reports to a ship Superintendent or Vice President. Hotel Manager reports on a dotted line to the Captain, but actually reports directly to a Vice President and the President of the Company. The Captain and Chief Engineer spend a lot of the company's money. The Hotel Manager makes all that money. In today's cruise company environment, who do you think caries the most weight?

Hotel General Manager

On the 38 cruise ships I have managed, on 1,658 cruises, over a period of 48 years, with 13 different cruise lines, the Captain ALWAYS consulted Head Office before skipping a port - for any reason. If the reason was safety-related, I can remember only one case where the Head Office over-ruled the Captain and instructed him to proceed on the planned itinerary, despite dangerous weather ahead.

Sea Days are indeed very profitable for cruise lines. Port days are even more profitable. The Shore Excursion Department on EVERY mass market cruise line generates more revenue than all the other departments combined.

So true. Just as a lot of low-lifes do not realize they are low-lifes.

Actually, the Captain CANNOT change the itinerary at ANY time. He is allowed to change the itinerary for emergencies or safety of the ship - only. Even then, he is required to consult with Head Office before he does it. Any other itinerary changes must be decided by the Head Office. One of the major considerations is berthing availability. Parking places for cruise ships are reserved years in advance. Trying to change a berthing reservation is often impossible, as all spaces are taken. If the ship does make a last minute change, many factors come into play. Changing a port results in all port charges refunded to Guests. Many of those charges must be paid anyway,even though the ship is not calling there. Changing a port means that all shore tours are cancelled and refunded, but the ship must stil pay the tour operators for the cancelled tours. No matter which port is cancelled or changed, half the passengers onboard will claim that the only reason they booked the cruise was to visit that port.They want a full refund for the cruise line ruining their lives.