EdmPair

I work the lock trade and this thread describes something well outside the design for hotel function locks. I have read all 4 pages to be clear and I see it as unacceptable that a cabin attendant would open a door when the deadbolt is engaged. (My comments are based on typical model function but since the world is a big place, it can not speak to all brands. And yet, the two cruises I have been on used hotel type locks I have seen in local buildings.) The idea from the lock makers was that each passenger would get a key or two which have an expiry date/time. If you snuck back onto the same ship the next day, your key will be dead automatically. The staff cards will not expire but are collected when they leave the ship and could be disabled if lost. Housekeeping staff are given a key card for an area but how much of the ship any one card can open would depend on how it is programmed. A housekeeping supervisor could open any cabin. Usually, these two levels would not override a deadbolt. Remember any card use is recorded and can be traced in an audit.

Senior managers and security could open any cabin in an emergency even if the deadbolt is thrown. I want to correct a few people who think the attendant can tell the deadbolt is pulled back by any card. The card use does not make any different noise just an unauthorized card can not open the deadbolt. Security has a key too but those are even less used than a master card. The idea of needing a large number to sweep the ship in an emergency sounds plausible on one level, but if you think of any event when that is needed, it is plausible staff would run to a station to get a visibility vest or coloured hat or such. It is in those locations such cards could be handed out. I too have seen the photos of staff during the Costa Concordia sinking and they all had vests. A fire sweep of cabins would be after general alarm and again new uniforms would be used.

Working in the trade, giving all cabin staff a maser key to every cabin and the ability to override the deadbolt, is just too many people. You can maintain security better in a smaller group and this seems a 'big hammer solution to put in a thumb tack.' I will ask Princess of it next time I sail.

I have read the old parts of this thread and the new parts. I think the anecdotal nature of the stories mean these everts happen but a reasonable person would expect nothing else but without stats the rate is unknowable. Compared to 20 or 30 years ago, there are more ships with more passenger afloat and coupled with increased communication via the internet means an apparent increase in incidents could be nothing of the sort.

I want to caution people that codes on the various lines may not be the same. Code Alpha may not mean exactly the same thing on RCI as HAL. If one of the cruise industry safety organization defines them, then they would but I have not looked.

Another note comes from the fact I have worked in environments with various risks and a mix of languages by the people. Radio codes are chosen to be clear. Protocol establishes ALL know what the codes mean and will be understood. For instance they would not have both a Code Beta and Code Theta just because in a hurry somebody may confuse them. They are concise and can be repeated twice to communicate to those who need it fast. If you did not clearly hear the word following Code the first time, you know it will now be repeated. Staff train for the codes each needs to know. Ask a hospital staff if they carry a code card? I bet each will or have them memorized.

Sad to hear people die on ships but it would not be the worst place to die -- for me. I think my loved ones would have more hassle to deal with the body after.

Later,

M

US being what it is, the rest of the story may be to ask if any drugs were involved in the charges. That seems to trigger Homeland Security to react. However, I agree with many others that CC is the wrong forum to get a clear answer.

I am with the crowd here who never noticed the size of the glasses on cruise ships. There were a variety of sizes and sometimes I had to refill them. So? I realize my coffee cups at home are bigger than Princess or Holland America but each has coffee cups in the same size as many local eateries.

My cruise is about so many other things than this -- for me.

Whales? I watched and was sure it was the Loch Ness Monster.

Let me watch again with my glasses...

Umm. Never mind.

(Nice Vid clip.)

I am struck by how much has been written on this thread assuming the lady who jumped was mentally ill. I do not view committing suicide as diagnostic of mental illness. The US and Canada are so afraid to give terminally ill people the ability to control the end of life in any dignified way, that suicide becomes the only legally possible option. However, again, this is me working a different assumption.

And yet, my sympathies do extend to those family and friends left behind who try to make some sense of it all. For those on the same trip, sorry for your inconvenience. However, there is nothing you could have done to stop it regardless of the cause so that perspective is needed.

Both in The Gay communities and beyond, I believe the price structure of paying almost double to cruise solo is what limited the number of solo cruisers. I have never thought it a poor choice for a person to travel as such, but I know I could not afford as many trips if I had to drop that extra coin.

My 3 cents Canadian.

Oh almost forgot. We do not count the days until 'the big adventure', we count the sleeps like a small child waiting on Christmas or a birthday. I have even marked the day timer out to about 60 sleeps just to keep the number right at my finger tips.

If I have the time when such scams call, I feed bogus info to keep them on the line at least until I bore. I do it just to make the whole process slower for them and every minute I waste of their time, they are not calling the next number. Other times, I just hang up.

I can not think of anything before a cruise but you just KNOW I will use some of these now. After a cruise, each cruise is 'the big adventure' and the ship is now 'our ship'. For that short time and ever after, we OWNED that boat. Oh yes, on the boat vs ship debate, I will call it all kinds of names. Past ships have been called barges, sloops, skiffs, skows, barques, and even tubs.

Oh yes, I know Princess is so proud of Movies Under The Stars, but we have taken to casually calling it Old Resolution TV Outside.

Least important features in choosing a cruise:

-- casino

-- the TV in the cabin

-- colour of the beach sand and carpets

-- cruise director and officers

(The only people who ever seem to talk to the CD are those who seek him or her out.)

-- the length of the wine list

(When is some line going to start serving up a good selection of beers?)

-- all the stuff in the little fridge of the cabin

I am guessing a few more but we each ask different things of a vacation.

I find the muster drills fun and get what information I can from them. I also walk the deck from which the life boats are dispatched. (It is often called the Promenade Deck but that might not be universal.) If you are mechanical like me, you can see all kinds of things over time. I saw mechanic guys moving compressed gas cylinders and had to look up the name which was on them. (It was Europe and my guess was right it was nitrogen. I think the label said azote.) Since I had done some welding, I just thought this was an inert carrier gas but then noticed there were these green tanks at EVERY crane which sets out a lifeboat. I later found out the crane was called a divot but you do live to learn. It turns out they are powered by electricity but should that fail, the compressed gas can run the mechanics to deploy a life boat.

I also found out the barrels which house the life rafts can be deployed by kicking one from its mounts and the tied rope will inflate it and hold it next to the ship. There is a safety knife in the raft to cut the rope to get away from the ship. I know they are mostly for crew but if that is my last choice, I wanna know how it works.

As to the OP not saying which boat it is, I am sympathetic. The safety of your house when you go away is partly dependent on not saying all over the internet that you will be away any particular time. Giving the boat and which port it leaves from sometimes amounts to the same thing. I work in security as a locksmith and information is best carefully controlled. Of course, if you live in a high rise condo with on-site security 24/7 then you can speak more freely. These things are variable.

I have a cruise booked next year. I am lurking on the boards for info but am a long ways from saying when or where. After, you may not be able to get me to shut up.

M

We were on a Princess cruise and had couple shots taken and the photographers were great. Some sparked with us a bit more than others but that is life. At one place on formal night when the crew of photogs staffed 6(?) sites, we had a great lady taking picts and 3 nicely drunk Spanish ladies giving encouragement. In fact they were suggesting poses and places for hands which I was not about to do in a public place. LOL.

I am not saying you will not have trouble, but I suspect as a business the photos make so much money you are just one more possible sale to make smile. Have fun.

Now, now. Wishing us poor folks left behind over Christmas bad weather as you fly out is just not neighbourly.

Personally, I would fly to San Diego and not Florida but to each their own. I have a more flexible vacation schedule so escaped to San Diego and its Zoo last February. And your flight costs would not be the same in that time frame but I know it is not an option. We all know some teachers.

Some year, a winter escape to San Diego or San Fran or LA, will be to jump a ship to Mx or Hawaii. This is not that year.

As a Canadian, I see Atlantis as an American product. The market is for a party ship. And so I hear clearly how some in Netherlands would see the same and not jump at the extra fair to go on a cruise with all gay men when they are so at home in their own country and know they will be welcomed on any ship. (From my POV, Atlantis does a similar dance with lesbians. "Of course, they are welcome." However, try to find a photo of some on the pages.

I hear you do not like some of the answers you have been given. I will post no more.

Might perhaps maybe book onto Alaska trip from San Fran for 11 nights with Star Princess. Tack a few days in SF before and we are thinking it could be a GREAT trip.

RSA is good. Well, that might be 2% of the cruise market. Partner is booked on the Cruise to the Edge charter. That booking went well, but the more we hear the less likely MCS will be considered in the future.

Somebody asked if afternoon tea was charged and I don't think anybody said. It is FULLY included in your cruise ticket. I had it two day and it is elegant. The second time I had tea and ONE dessert. It is one more place to over eat for me. The table company was nice. We were seated by staff. It is not free for all seating.

I find the flight to the ship is exciting BUT the flight home is the worst. I have just been dumped off the boat. Last trip was a long enough wait we had to get ripped off for cheap food in the airport and buying and eating it could not be drawn out enough to kill the hours.

My second worst thing is misreading or misjudging an excursion. And along with this is being taken to some site for 45 minutes only to realize you want to spend a day there.

I just looked at several photos and it seems the anchor is always on the bottom of the ship. I hope this helps.

Thanks for the info Capt! Informed me.

great thread and very informative.

could anyone tell me what the UK equivalent of a ziplock is ?:o:o:o

A self sealing bag? My vacuum cleaner bags now come in them. This way when you use the first the other 2 will not go stale.

'I do not think that word means what you think it means.'

Order what you want. We all pay for food and while I enjoy exploring the menus in the MDR, eventually you have eaten you want. If spaghetti and meatballs is available, why not?? We only live once and eating something more basic than gourmet on a cruise ship seems a small issue if its an issue at all.

If 'it's inconceivable', you are having a failure of imagination.

We all know how phone books work. Your name is not unique and yet the cruise company MUST follow law and so it has to know the same person is sailing as who provided the information when booking. Close is not good enough. Phone books were and Google is filled with people with all the subtle variations of your name. (Unless your name is really rare but that has to be rare on an international level, not just the city where you live.)

... and if you carry a stamp for some nation which is hostile toward your port of call, you can be asked for details on that too. I get stamps as the agents which but stamps are a paper trail which can bite too.