Too old to cut the mustard anymore :)

[kitkat343]

5 hours ago, Ret MP said:

Yep!  We were over 2 hours late getting back to the dock in Panama, actually Colon, the ship was there and waiting on us.  It was an excursion we booked through the cruise line.  Otherwise, we would have been S*%# out of luck.  That was my very first cruise ever and I was and still am glad that we did what we did.  I'll NEVER book an excursion that isn't a cruise line-offered excursion.  

I was late on an excursion in Belize (the other family on our tour had kids and they started late so we were waiting for them).  Our driver was calling the ship excursion drivers to see how late they were to see how much time we had to get back to the ship.  It was a bit stressful, but since we beat the cruise line tours back to the port, everything was fine.

[c-leg5]

1 hour ago, kitkat343 said:

Start with the list of ship excursions.  Pick whatever you are most interested in.  Go to TripAdvisor, and identify strong private vendors.  Email them and tell them your age and be completely honest about your physical limitations (if any).  Ask them if your original excursion is a good choice or if there is an alternative activity they would recommend.  Long term, if you have any difficulty with mobility, there are also some tours that might not be accessible in a group setting but could work if you take a private tour for just your family.  

 

We took our 2 year old to Norway and he was able to hike to the glacier, but at a much slower pace.  Because we were traveling independently we were able to complete that excursion (in a group we would have needed to turn back sooner because we can't hold everyone else up).  The cruise lines are sometimes wrong about age limits for children - you just need to research the excursion and double check that it is safe for you.  and you'd need to find a private vendor if the ship won't let you participate.  And have a great trip!

Might be good general advice but not for cruise ship excursions to the mainland from Cozumel. unless you have an overnight stop or very long port hours.

Edited October 3, 2023 by c-leg5

[steveru621]

On 10/2/2023 at 6:14 PM, jwlane said:

Exactly. It's only discrimination IF it's unjust or prejudicial. 

 

Or it impacts your excursion.  HAHAHAHA  People think everything is discrimination or racist these days.  I agree with you.  It's not discrimination, it's just setting limits.

[lovesthebeach2]

On 10/3/2023 at 9:19 AM, Ret MP said:

Yep!  We were over 2 hours late getting back to the dock in Panama, actually Colon, the ship was there and waiting on us.  It was an excursion we booked through the cruise line.  Otherwise, we would have been S*%# out of luck.  That was my very first cruise ever and I was and still am glad that we did what we did.  I'll NEVER book an excursion that isn't a cruise line-offered excursion.  

Same here on our Panama excursion in Colon.  The bus driver drove like a crazy man trying to get us back to the ship, but we were so late, we just grabbed some food from the WJ (clearly we missed dinner we were that late) grabbed a couple of glasses of wine, and went back to our cabin to take well deserved showers, and never left for the night.

We’re not gamblers and ALWAYS take ship excursions .

[BND]

14 minutes ago, steveru621 said:

 

Or it impacts your excursion.  HAHAHAHA  People think everything is discrimination or racist these days.  I agree with you.  It's not discrimination, it's just setting limits.

Problem is, as I said before, there are people of all ages that would be unable to do these excursions due to physical limitations and there are older people who can easily do them, so it is discriminatory because it sets a random age not based on someone's ability.  Due to my knee, there are things I can't do and I'm under 70.  I get the whole liability thing except people need to have personal responsibility also.

[Ret MP]

8 hours ago, BND said:

people need to have personal responsibility also.

WHAAAAAAT, no way!

[Ret MP]

On 10/2/2023 at 6:14 PM, jwlane said:

Exactly. It's only discrimination IF it's unjust or prejudicial. 

No, not "exactly".  Discrimination can be illegal and discrimination can be illegal.

 

Just saying "unjust" discrimination is illegal is not necessarily true! There are lots of things that are both unjust and immoral, but not illegal.

 

Same for prejudical.  I'm prejudice against criminals.  It isn't illegal.

[jwlane]

1 hour ago, Ret MP said:

No, not "exactly".  Discrimination can be illegal and discrimination can be illegal.

 

Just saying "unjust" discrimination is illegal is not necessarily true! There are lots of things that are both unjust and immoral, but not illegal.

 

Same for prejudical.  I'm prejudice against criminals.  It isn't illegal.

Look up the #1 definition of discrimination.  And prejudice, for that matter (involves a preconceived opinion NOT based on reason).

[Ret MP]

9 minutes ago, jwlane said:

Look up the #1 definition of discrimination.  And prejudice, for that matter (involves a preconceived opinion NOT based on reason).

Has nothing to do with legality!!!!!!

[Ret MP]

1 hour ago, Ret MP said:

No, not "exactly".  Discrimination can be illegal <LEGAL and discrimination can be illegal.

 

Just saying "unjust" discrimination is illegal is not necessarily true! There are lots of things that are both unjust and immoral, but not illegal.

 

Same for prejudical.  I'm prejudice against criminals.  It isn't illegal.

CORRECTION ^^^^

[Etta1213]

On 10/2/2023 at 12:54 PM, Ret MP said:

Non-profits!  

Not too sure. I've read that some keep up to 95% of donations for management/operating expenses and are only required to spend 5% on actual charity.

[Ret MP]

Just now, Etta1213 said:

Not too sure. I've read that some keep up to 95% of donations for management/operating expenses and are only required to spend 5% on actual charity.

Yep, that's for sure.  Some non-profits, I wouldn't donate a dime to.  But, they do have overhead expenses and have to pay their bills.  Not too many, if any, actually donate every penny they receive as donations to their subject. I'm talking about actual Charities, not radio, podcasts, or TV shows, et al, that collect donations and then turn that over to other charities or causes.   

[UKWLDCruise]

I was on a cruise excursion tour of Petra and they warned and warned people that there was a long walk, that the ground was uneven and rough in places and if you wanted to see some things there was a ton of rough stairs.  I knew it was going to go wrong when people got on the bus complaining it was the furthest away from the ship, we had only walked just over half the ships length after the gang way.

 

The first person dropped out from our party on the path to the treasury, they were wearing dinky flat sandals and their feet had given up.  By the time we got to the amphitheatre there was four of us left with the guide.  Some had pushed on solo in disgust I admit but we had dropped people right and left,  some telling the guide they were going back and some not bothering.

 

The last few of us ended up having a choice of going back with the guide who was nervous of misplacing most of his coach load or going on solo all because people decided that they could manage when they just couldn't. 

 

It is not an age thing, I was in my late 50s myself, if was a general fitness thing but if people are failing to exclude themselves they have to have some fixed measure to do it for them. 

 

[vjmatty]

On 10/1/2023 at 4:37 AM, firefly333 said:

I was 1 year too old to be allowed to do a bird watching rcl excursion in Belize. Denied. Insurance I'd guess. .. but seriously bird watching. 

Those must have been some badass birds…..

[deliver42]

I'm 81, and have never been denied, but I also look at Royal's excursion page to see how hard the tour may be. If there's a lot of walking, I won't go. I think it's the person's responsibility to judge if the excursion is right for them.

[Engineroom Snipe]

This thread is right at the top of hot button lists:

 

1. Chair Hogs

2. Unruly children

3. Rude and poor behavior of guests.

4. Imbibed guests.

5. Overloading the pools and jacuzzis

6.Shorts and hats in the MDR.

7. Finger licking guests in the Windjammer.

8. Poor elevator etiquette.

 

We as children were admonished, "You are too young to do this....."

 

When we grew, we told our children, "You are too young to do this..."

 

We told our parents, "You are too old to do this..."

 

Now we are older and the shoe is on the other foot.

 

😉😇🤣

[c-leg5]

42 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

This thread is right at the top of hot button lists:

 

1. Chair Hogs

2. Unruly children

3. Rude and poor behavior of guests.

4. Imbibed guests.

5. Overloading the pools and jacuzzis

6.Shorts and hats in the MDR.

7. Finger licking guests in the Windjammer.

8. Poor elevator etiquette.

 

We as children were admonished, "You are too young to do this....."

 

When we grew, we told our children, "You are too young to do this..."

 

We told our parents, "You are too old to do this..."

 

Now we are older and the shoe is on the other foot.

 

😉😇🤣

 

+1

 

The thread is 4 pages long and I am still not sure who is being blamed for the discrimination! 
 

I find the idea that people think the cruise lines are actively trying to prevent them buying an excursion very strange.

[BND]

43 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

 

+1

 

The thread is 4 pages long and I am still not sure who is being blamed for the discrimination! 
 

I find the idea that people think the cruise lines are actively trying to prevent them buying an excursion very strange.

It's actually very simple.   Someone (cruise line or provider) is using an arbitrary age to limit participation when in reality it should be about ability.  That's all.

[lovesthebeach2]

13 hours ago, vjmatty said:

Those must have been some badass birds…..

I think they were pterodactyls..

 

[jwlane]

16 hours ago, Ret MP said:

Has nothing to do with legality!!!!!!

It has to do with using the correct word.

[Ret MP]

1 minute ago, jwlane said:

It has to do with using the correct word.

What might that be?

[Mapleleafforever]

3 hours ago, BND said:

It's actually very simple.   Someone (cruise line or provider) is using an arbitrary age to limit participation when in reality it should be about ability.  That's all.

Interesting. So if I understand it correctly, you believe that arbitrary age with over 70 on excursions is not ok but arbitrary age with 18 in the Solarium is ok. Gotcha. 

 

For the record, I think both are completely ok. 

[Engineroom Snipe]

6 hours ago, BND said:

It's actually very simple.   Someone (cruise line or provider) is using an arbitrary age to limit participation when in reality it should be about ability.  That's all.

No argument here. Everything in life is arbitrary. It should be about ability but it is not.

 

Adapt or die. I learned that over 50 years ago.

 

I wish life was so simple and predictable.

 

NOT!

 

😁

[AZSwissGal]

My daughter and I went on a cruise on the Navigator in April for my birthday this past April.  My daughter was all excited about an excursion she saw for Puerto Vallarta.  It involved horseback riding (as well as tequila tasing lol).  After I looked at the excursion I had to tell her that she needed to do this excursion by herself because I was not able to do it.  She wanted to know why and when I told her I was too old (by one year), she was really upset.  She knows that I go on horseback rides several times a year.  We ended up choosing a different excursion.  She didn't want to leave her mom behind.  She was more upset than I was😀

[Engineroom Snipe]

1 minute ago, AZSwissGal said:

My daughter and I went on a cruise on the Navigator in April for my birthday this past April.  My daughter was all excited about an excursion she saw for Puerto Vallarta.  It involved horseback riding (as well as tequila tasing lol).  After I looked at the excursion I had to tell her that she needed to do this excursion by herself because I was not able to do it.  She wanted to know why and when I told her I was too old (by one year), she was really upset.  She knows that I go on horseback rides several times a year.  We ended up choosing a different excursion.  She didn't want to leave her mom behind.  She was more upset than I was😀

You will value this vacation as a validation of her wisdom. The apple never falls far from the tree (unless 'Johnny Appleseed' got hold of it).

 

I am told I am too old to do things. We deal with these stereotypes and try to change the perception of things. My goodness, sounds like the 60's!

 

🤣