D C

So MORE US citizens would be employed across various ports without the PVSA and that's somehow a horrific thing?

Still. No horror. Valueless protectionism.

Thanks for the details. I'll maintain that absolutely no horror would occur if the PVSA were to vanish in its intereity.

I think the "what a ridiculous outdated law" comment summed it up nicely. I suspect that cruise ships collectively carry more American passengers thanks any other service operating from US ports, yet the PVSA does exactly nothing to effect the safety of those passengers and protects a miniscule # of US flagged cruise lines.

It very much is. Go into it with that attitude and while it makes no logical sense, it shouldn't be surprising as the product of our government.

I distinctly remember 1109 having a bed.... but where....? 🤣

Is that a guarantee room for $429?

We were in 1109 last time we were on the Summit. Never a noise issue inside or out. One of the best locations on any ship imho.

Likewise, more space on the ship for us!

And I live in Michigan where we have snow or brown for nearly 6 months of the year. A beach is one of the 9 circles of hell in my book. Few places where I would rather NOT be stuck for a day of my cruise.

Certainly not looking forward to going there as we don't care for going to the beach. Will likely be a walk around the island followed by a ship day. No worse than Nassau.

Hopefully things change and improve with the changing of the guard. LLP seemed to take loyalty for granted while delivering a lesser product.

We've shied away from looking at MSC after we met a couple on X who said they figured out first hand that MSC stood for My Sh**ty Cruise. I do wonder how much of a difference we'd see in reality. We spent a week on Princess in Jan and concluded that while we prefer X, we couldn't justify the X premium in price.

Even the non-refundable fares are uncompetitive. $1000 more per balcony room for a 7n on X vs Princess, HAL, or other lines isn't going to get them any business from me. The refundable deposit prices hike just adds further insult to the prices. I recall several years ago where X deposits were typically refundable, and they offered an incentive to book non-refundable. Took a couple of cruises where the non-refundable took us from a 3-perk "Drinks, Grats, OBC" perk list to all-4-perk "Premium Drinks, Grats, OBC, Wifi". With no (or minimal) change in price, that was rather nice. Those days are long gone now.

Do you expect a better deal at the furniture store when they say "get a free loveseat when you buy a sofa" than when they say the sofa/love-seat combo is on sale for 45% off? There are no deals. Only the name of the sale changes.

Celebrity seems to have an overabundance of those consumers.

Pickpockets in tourist areas generally target the naive. Those who act as if they're walking around Hometown Iowa, purses open in plain sight, not paying attention to their surroundings. They're as easy to spot as the pickpockets who are watching them.

Careless people do not justify ignoring the good sense of carrying proper ID.

Splurge on the cruise but skimp on the flight?

Having traveled all over the world on land, with my passport along for the ride, I find that the lost/stolen concern is virtually nonexistent. Are people regularly losing wallets, phones, seapass cards, and other things they routinely carry? Passports are no different.

Are the others that snooty?

Visit St Barths from St Maarten and you'll need a passport. Personally, I see no reason to leave it behind.

Why are people sailing in suites on X when actual luxury lines are comparable, or less $ per night?

Passport goes with me 100% of the time in a foreign country.

It's not a long walk at all, and being along the waterfront it's flat. https://goo.gl/maps/LkUsLqbrxFECj3438 Do the ferry schedules work with your arrival and departure times? The ship might offer excursions to Sark as an alternative.