antique sailor

AHOY SHIPMATES,

 

I'm a creature of habit. 90% of the time I'm awake at 0500 and up by 0530

don my bathing suit, and jacket I made from Ship's towels that were torn etc. (given to me) I wear my retired NAVY ball cap and proceed to the LIDO where I sit adjacent to the coffee machine until the hot tub opens at about 0730/o800.

During those couple hours I meet the nicest variety of people and have the best discussions on an amazing assortment of topics.

I get to know the LIDO supervisor, several of the cooks, many ex military,

several "big name" entertainers back when they had them on the ships.

When the breakfast line opens I usually get a nod and am the first one to be served with FRESH eggs etc. Also I witness some beautiful sunrises. Occasionally if the sunrise is exceptionally nice I bring my camera up at sunset and take a picture UPSIDE down and have the sunrise for my scrapbook.

 

 

 

 

gary

AHOY SHIPMATES.....We used to do Christmas and New Years every year because our Wedding Anniversary is 25 Dec. Ship was always full and fun to watch, then about 10 years ago the price DOUBLED, so we now do early Dec. or the middle of Jan. at the normal price.

 

The only problem w the Xmas week is that the kids (esp the teens) get very bored about day three, they have worn out the grandparents, the parents cant be found and the mischief starts. the elevators have every deck pushed and the kids are gone, the signs on food in LIDO are switched around and in general it is harmless but not what HAL is used to.

 

STILL A FUN CRUISE

AHOY SHIPMATES,

 

[ USN 1957-1980] IN 1981 DW got orders to NATO Naples It. so we decided to take 5 day cruise on the QE2 to England and fly to Naples. When I got aboard and started looking around I was scared to death...the entire 5 days. There was NO watertight integrity. I had been a cook when enlisted and had a collateral duty as damage control PO for my division, knew what was supposed to keep a ship from sinking. Also in the lower decks none of the watertight doors would seal when closed.....I went to see the Captain and he went with me to see what I was talking about. Some officers didn't like me much after that.

Finally in 1997 DW (also ret E-8 NAVY) and I sailed again and it was much different on the HAL ship and we have been cruising a lot since then.

In addition to other nice things previously mentioned....there is the CASINO

NO morning meetings with the Dept head. Really nice are the HOT TUBS and the EYE CANDY that usually surrounds them........ONLY real problem is that MY uniforms have all shrunk so much that I gave them all to thrift shop on nearby base and now do formal nights in a TUX.

Passengers think the crew work long hours and do not have adequate living conditions. They should spend 9 months on a carrier . from the 50s

 

 

great thread

 

GARY SEITZ LT. SC. USN RET

AHOY SHIPMATES,

 

 

I have read all three threads on the new BANS, a total of over 40 pages of posts, some very interesting comments.

 

NOW ....I wonder how long it will be before someone is offended or bumped into by a drunk and starts crusading to bring back PROHIBITION on Cruise Ships.

 

Also there was a post regarding offensive odors , and wants to ban "old lady perfume". That's DUMB, why not just ban OLD LADIES ? LOL

 

gary

Amen on making one side smoking

 

AHOY SHIPMATES,

 

i WOULD GO ALONG WITH ONE SIDE SMOKING.......AS LONG AS IT WAS THE BOTTOM SIDE.

Is there anywhere in particular that you can see listings of upcoming military appreciation or veterans cruises? I was looking for something on Carnival, but when I enter the search term at the Carnival site, it comes back with an entry from 2007 (that doesn't work).

 

AHOY SHIPMATE,

 

Icruise about once a month (I'm an addict) on Carnival from JAX and find that military rates are at random for NO apparent reason, but there are a few advantages ie; shipboard credits sometimes and" no penalty" cancellations.

When looking to book, call the booking office @ 1 800 227 6482 and ask for details on currently avail perks. If answer is'nt real clear, ask for a supervisor.

It's not a question often asked. Happy sailing. I have done several cruises since earlier posts and found that it is the least trouble and cheapest to deal direct w Carnival. (not so with other Lines) They are always cheaper than dealing with the ticket office on base.

AHOY SHIPMATES,

 

When I saw this ad I called the promoter immediately to get the price breakdown.

They were reluctant to give it at first but eventually I got enough specifics

to determine that all categories were WAY over normal price and then the only

opportunity to actually meet any of the entertainers is to buy a ticket to private cocktail party etc.

 

I'm used to it being like the world cruises where the "Stars " mingle and are like other passengers most of the time while aboard (always an exception) but in general it is nice to make lasting friendship occasionally.

Ahoy shipmates,

 

ship........prinsendam.....2nd choice ....amsterdam

 

port......hong kong..........." sorrento/ amalfi coast

AHOY SHIPMATE,

 

The FASCINATION ported in JAX is really a pleasant ship with a great crew and staff.... If you have never been to NASSAU, then it is worth seeing ONCE

Otherwise head for the Caribbean.

. Happy sailing

AHOY SHIPMATES,

When on Carnival (5 days) we each pack large dufflebag w wheels and a small shoulder bag. so self assist is logical choice.

Only problem is room must be vacated by 0830 and disembarking doesn't begin till about 0930 by decks in JAX. so there is an hour that you must wait somewhere till called. Most elevators are turned off and stairs are jammed with those who can't follow instructions and have too much luggage to handle efficiently and rules are NOT enforced by staff so as not to offend anyone. With my military background , I get rather upset watching the" FIASCO" It's still the best way to go!!!!......We park off site and don't want to wait all day for the shuttle to pick up our car for the 15 minute drive home. LOL

.. please not a sticky.

 

If someone cannot look at what categories are .. like go to cruisedeckplans.com and look .. they should not be allowed to book a cruise.

 

this is good info .. but I really dont think it warrants being a sticky. People are interested in one ship usually .. and then they dig down to categories. Most of us know the categories and know what we want to book and if someone is confused .. we can sort it out on a thread.

 

AHOY SHIPMATES,

I thought the info about cabins was worth having foe those who are new to cruising or undecided about the choice for their next cruise.

If you are smarter than most of us you are allowed to skip over it and read something more suitable to your intellectual level

I've done some cruising but still like a refresher course occassionaly.

Ahoy shipmate,

 

you asked an innocent question and seem to be catching a lot of flak for it. Generally speaking they are correct even if rather blunt in there remarks. In planning your next cruise i'm sure you won't make the same mistake......remember krystal doesn't serve filet mignon,

AHOY SHIPMATES

 

As you can SEA we tend to cruise a LOT. Long cruises require a lot of large suitcases and the pier personnel are really rough on the bags. The heavier they are the worse they treat them The ships crew are a bit more careful. On Holland America they have a repair shop (free) and fix things enough to get you home. They dont replace wheels/castors tho, I'm a handy man and replace wheels when lost by getting small 1" wheels at hardware store. When they break handles I replace with pieces of old leather belts and rivet them on or

use small bolts/nuts w lock washers. For fast retrieval at customs area I have painted large palm trees on each side of bags. dont need to be an artist to paint a tree, then spray it with polteurethane varnish (waterproof and lasts the life of the bag

For the short Carnival trips WE use duffle bags with wheels. REMEMBER they must be small enough to fit thru xray and always debark early in unassisted class.

AHOY SHIPMATES,

 

THE CHEESE PLATTERS are great, you can ask for a double and request specific cheeses on one, and their choices on other to taste somethin new and different. DO NOT order it to replace dessert. You would miss the World Famous CHOCOLATE MELTING CAKE (ala mode).

AHOY SHIPMATES

 

I have only sailed on the FASCINATION recently, about once a month in the past year. I live about 20 minutes from the port. It is very easy to get to and the " natives" are friendly. I have found the crew & Staff to be VERY friendly,

food is good, entertainment is standard Carnival. Best meal I have had on cruise ships is the Mongolian BBQ at noon each day on the LIDO deck. Coffee on lido is terrible but great if mixed with hot chocolate. Coffee in MDR is very good. 5 day cruises are usually less wild that the 3 n 4 day ones. Half Moon Cay is much nicer than Little stirup Cat if you have a choice of which time to go.....they alternate. Any more specific questions just ask.

 

 

 

 

gary

AHOY SHIPMATE,

 

RELAX, HOW OLD ARE KIDS? EACH PERSON GETS A KEY TO ROOM THEY ARE BOOKED IN. IF KIDS GENERALLY ROAM TOGETHER , JUST KEEP ONE OF THEIR KEYS YOURSELF AND PLAY IT BY EAR. DON'T BOTHER FRONT DESK UNLESS YOU HAVE A PROBLEM. ALSO DON'T BE IN A HURRY TO MAKE CHANGES ON DAY OF BOARDING. YOU CAN GET A LOT MORE DONE EARLY ON NEXT MORNING.

HAVE A GREAT CRUISE, SPEND LIBERALLY i HAVE SOME CARNIVAL STOCK

Ahoy shipmate,

 

 

 

yes

ok, way back in history, when i was young ;), my all-time ultimate travel experience that i would dream of was a world cruise.

 

Sadly, i didn't start cruising until my "older years". Happily, i took to it with a passion.

 

I was quite thrilled when i found hal had world cruises. Is it still worth taking one on hal (with all the cutbacks and downgrades)?

 

ahoy shipmate,

 

yes

AHOY SHIPMATES,

 

DW and I have done 5 complete World Cruises since 1997. That was the final one on the ROTTERDAM V and had mostly previous WC ers , Then in 98 on the new ROTTERDAM VI it was almost full of complete WCers. 2000 had over 500, but 2002 Had only 359+- due to all the cancellations because of 911. The segments only had about the same numbers of part timers.

2011 was my last one and had about 650-700 full timers and 300-400 part timers. It is almost CHEAPER to do the entire cruise , F cat with free luggage shipment,SBC, comp. gratuities etc. We live in Fl so travel cost is minimal.

When we started most of the passengers were every year repeaters

Many elderly widows spending their Insurance money. Going aboard was like a family reunion. Many have died and many went to other Lines after the 2002 treatment and general changes taking place to cut costs.

It aint what it used to be.

 

gary

AHOY SHIPMATES
IMO,
I THINK I CAN SPEAK FROM EXPERIENCE. With over 1200 days sailing on HAL, I've only had TWO bad experiences, The 2002 Grand world voyage when 75% of the passengers cancelled those of us who did sail got NO upgrades to outside cabins. reason The Upper class passengers complained that we shouldn't get "free" what they had paid for. THere were only approximately 350 passengers on for the complete cruise, with maybe 150 more on segments.
We have always preferred HAL because of the crew and staff. GREAT PEOPLE!
The 42 day MAASDAM roundtrip cruise to the Med was a bummer for many reasons. There were so many 4 & 5 star mariners (600+) that the Staff didn't know how to handle the scheduling etc.
Our BEST cruise was on the PRINCENDAM, 68 day to Antarctica and the Amazon in 2014....great ship,great staff & crew good food etc

When the MAAS,NOR,VEEN & STAT were new they had a crew of approx 770 ... now they have crew of 590-600. Biggest cut was in waiters,DR supervisors,cooks,bakers, and room stewards. They work hard but are way understaffed.
The entertainment is a joke (not comedy) and cast is ????
The CEO has made the bottom line look good and got his promotion but at the expense of loosing a lot of loyal passengers. This will show up slowly but it has changed HAL forever. Many of us preferred the smaller ships but they are disappearing.

We live about 20 min. from port in JAX and really enjoy the Carnival FASCINATION for 5 to 10 cruises. It's cheap, friendly, comparable food,
GREAT Mongolian BBQ daily on LIDO, Lotsa Phillipino cooks,....and Great upsells to balconies on almost every cruise. The other passengers are great and the EYE CANDY by the pool is fantastic most of the time.
At age 75, I dont blend into the crowd, but am treated with respect.

enough said !


gary

AHOY SHIPMATES,

 

DW AND I HAVE BOOKED ON RYNDAM FOR 21 days B2B on Nov 30.

Am looking forward to the new set up for burgers etc on the LIDO.

We live about 15 minutes from port in Jax fl so do a lot of 5 day trips

on the Carnival ship there between our real cruises on HAL.

Since Carnival owns HAL I've always wondered why they don't check

each others operations for ideas on how to improve things.

Nobody is perfect but it is nice to see that they are heading in the right direction.

I hope it's good bye to the precooked cardboard burgers soaked in hot water till ordered. The fries are always great (sweet tater and cheese ).

 

Now I'm wondering if the new beach towels will get you any drier than the old plain dark blue ones?? I noted that the price has gone UP.

AHOY SHIPMATES

 

MY FAVORITE CRUISELINE IS HAL. ONLY EAT EVENING MEAL IN MDR

at table for 6 or 8 early seating. Service is very slow and getting worse

due to shortage of help to save money & make the CEO look good.

Breakfast and lunch in LIDO is EXCELLENT and cooks will respond to your special requests. Variety is also extensive. Breakfast or lunch in MDR is like eating with my grandparents, and food usually arrives "warm" at best.

 

NEXT CHOICE IS CARNIVAL ( live about 15 min from port in JAX)

BREAKFAST in LIDO is really great due to variety and response to special requests, fresh eggs are always available if requested.

LUNCH in LIDO offers MONGOLIAN BBQ, opens at noon and has 3 Philipeano

chefs who are really good. (as proven by number of STAFF who eat there at end of line in port)

BRUNCH in MDR(opens at 0830) is served on AT SEA DAYS, They specialize in Eggs Benedict & my favorite, Juevos Rancheros. Always eat there on last day at sea of cruise. Food is HOT and served quickly.

 

COFFEE IS ALWAYS BEST in MDR. Lido has old water pipes and shaky

water pressure which messes up the coffee machines. It is drinkable if mixed

half & half with the hot chocolate.

 

PS,

I'm a retired Chef.

 

 

 

GARY

AHOY SHIPMATES

 

JUST RETURNED FROM 5 DAY CRUISE AND BOOKED TWO 5 DAY B2B

CRUISES FOR NEXT JAN AFTER THE HOLIDAY PRICES GO DOWN

WILL BE ON THIS ONE AND THE 17th. live just 10 miles (15 min) from the port. If you are not from Jax or are new cruisers and have any questions just ASK. maybe I can answer .

 

 

 

gary

AHOY SHIPMATES,

 

 

CARNIVAL Fascination in JAX Fla has it on menu once each cruise

(5 ,4, 3, & 7 day) but you can special order it if you smile at the Dining room

Manager

 

 

Holland America's Prinsendam had them weekly on the Grand cruise to Anarctica and the Amazon.

 

 

MAASDAM ALSO ON THE MED CRUISE LAST FALL

I stared cruising in 1994 my fist cruise was a Christmas Cruise (8 nites) in 1994 RCCL gave us a Llardo Statue I still have it. Midnight Buffets were every night which was way too much. I paid 3500 for the cruise.

 

Today you can get cruises a lot cheaper than that even at Christmas and all of us know what has happened to fuel prices since 1994 so how do they balance the books? They cut services. I think some of the items cut were a waste especially the amount of food. However, some of it is really sad and the endless promotion of extra cost items is bothersome.

 

I will not take a cruise with a Mega Line again the ships have gotten just too big and the service isn't there anymore. I have found Oceania to be fantastic as far as service and what you get for your money. People want cheap cruises GREAT they are out there but don't expect that all inclusive vacation of yesteryear.

 

 

Sorry to say, HOLLAND AMERICA really bit the dust in this respect.

No more free cappuccino with supper, nice cocktails at the previous cruisers party, and Captains cocktail party, elegant capt table dinners on reg cruises, free shuttle into town from pier, good ham at breakfast, pies that are edible at meals(frozen) and on and on. Recently did 5 day on Carnival and found it to be much better in many respects.

The only thing HAL has maintained is the Quality of the Staff and Crew(

( those that are left) Manning has been reduced by average of 25% on the older ships.