What is a discontinued service/amenity you miss the most from a cruise?

[Donald]

11 hours ago, Mike981 said:

Just a better customer to staff ratio.

 

Although, on our last cruise this past January on Celebrity Silhouette it was better than the last several cruises. BUT, not like it used to be. 

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. 

[Airbear232]

22 hours ago, Donald said:

If you choose to sail on a great cruise line, you can still have most of 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.

Okay, so what do you say is a “great” cruise line?

 

On holiday cruises, we still bring formal wear.  For us, it adds to the experience. 
 

For skeet, I thought the issue in the past was environmental around lead shot.  There are other options now which render this a non-issue.  To my knowledge, on a personal vessel there isn’t much issue in bringing firearms into other countries provided they’re declared and you follow the directives given by the respective country.  For a cruise line this should pretty much be a non-issue.  That being said, I can’t see it coming back on today’s mega ships.  However, it might suit some of the lines with smaller ships. 

[Donald]

37 minutes ago, Airbear232 said:

Okay, so what do you say is a “great” cruise line?

 

On holiday cruises, we still bring formal wear.  For us, it adds to the experience. 
 

For skeet, I thought the issue in the past was environmental around lead shot.  There are other options now which render this a non-issue.  To my knowledge, on a personal vessel there isn’t much issue in bringing firearms into other countries provided they’re declared and you follow the directives given by the respective country.  For a cruise line this should pretty much be a non-issue.  That being said, I can’t see it coming back on today’s mega ships.  However, it might suit some of the lines with smaller ships. 

 

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. 

[Mike981]

11 hours ago, Donald said:

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. 

 

I have looked, maybe I'm doing something wrong. But from what I have seen it is a lot more that just 'a bit more'. Since we like to cruise to get away from the winter (Caribbean) and fly from Minnesota, some of the luxury lines start in smaller countries that are much more expensive to fly to.

We are also maxed out at 10 day cruises, and many luxury cruises are 14 or more days.

 

I would love to find a luxury line that I could do for my wife and I for less than $1,000 a day. I have to figure our flights will be close to $2,000 and that makes the total a chunk of change for us.

 

I understand and do figure in the included items that you get with a luxury cruise line to the bottom line, but I have not been able to find one that fits our wallet.

 

Like I said, maybe I'm not looking in the right place.

[clo]

6 hours ago, Airbear232 said:

Okay, so what do you say is a “great” cruise line?

 

On holiday cruises, we still bring formal wear.  For us, it adds to the experience. 
 

For skeet, I thought the issue in the past was environmental around lead shot.  There are other options now which render this a non-issue.  To my knowledge, on a personal vessel there isn’t much issue in bringing firearms into other countries provided they’re declared and you follow the directives given by the respective country.  For a cruise line this should pretty much be a non-issue.  That being said, I can’t see it coming back on today’s mega ships.  However, it might suit some of the lines with smaller ships. 

Skeet shooting is no longer allowed on cruise ships due to safety concerns and environmental regulations:

• Safety: Giving passengers guns and crew members throwing objects into the air for them to shoot is dangerous.
• Environment: Throwing foreign objects into the ocean is prohibited.
• World events: Events like 9/11 have also contributed to the end of skeet shooting on cruise ships. 

[clo]

1 minute ago, clo said:

Skeet shooting is no longer allowed on cruise ships due to safety concerns and environmental regulations:

• Safety: Giving passengers guns and crew members throwing objects into the air for them to shoot is dangerous.
• Environment: Throwing foreign objects into the ocean is prohibited.
• World events: Events like 9/11 have also contributed to the end of skeet shooting on cruise ships. 

And speaking of, here's the story on golf balls.

 

 

Cruise lines may not allow golf balls on board because of environmental concerns. In the past, some passengers would hit golf balls off the back of the ship into the ocean, which was wasteful and polluted the sea. Golf balls can take up to 1,000 years to decompose, and modern balls often contain toxic chemicals that can harm marine life when they break down. 

 

 

[ldubs]

14 hours ago, Airbear232 said:

 

For skeet, I thought the issue in the past was environmental around lead shot.  There are other options now which render this a non-issue.  

 

It was banned and replaced with steel shot (or other) something like 30 years ago due to environmental concerns.  Not so much concerns about skeet and trap ranges as concerns about wetlands.  Whatever the case, I suspect another reason for the elimination of clay target shooting on cruise ships is simply good loss control/risk management.  

[Airbear232]

14 hours ago, clo said:

Skeet shooting is no longer allowed on cruise ships due to safety concerns and environmental regulations:

• Safety: Giving passengers guns and crew members throwing objects into the air for them to shoot is dangerous.
• Environment: Throwing foreign objects into the ocean is prohibited.
• World events: Events like 9/11 have also contributed to the end of skeet shooting on cruise ships. 

Seriously?

Safety: Not an issue.  BTW, crew members don’t throw objects in the air to be shot. 
Environment: Not an Issue with biodegradable products. 
World Events:  ROTFLMAO

 

I do believe it’s not something likely to be on large mega ships but believe it could possibly feature on smaller upscale ships. 

[Airbear232]

5 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

It was banned and replaced with steel shot (or other) something like 30 years ago due to environmental concerns.  Not so much concerns about skeet and trap ranges as concerns about wetlands.  Whatever the case, I suspect another reason for the elimination of clay target shooting on cruise ships is simply good loss control/risk management.  

I don’t see it as an option for mega ships but maybe for smaller upscale ships 

[Airbear232]

14 hours ago, clo said:

And speaking of, here's the story on golf balls.

 

 

Cruise lines may not allow golf balls on board because of environmental concerns. In the past, some passengers would hit golf balls off the back of the ship into the ocean, which was wasteful and polluted the sea. Golf balls can take up to 1,000 years to decompose, and modern balls often contain toxic chemicals that can harm marine life when they break down. 

 

 

Whatever are you talking about?  Many cruise lines have golf simulators and mini golf.  Driving balls off the ship was stopped allegedly for environmental concerns.  This too would be a non-issue with biodegradable products.  A more likely reason would be cost associated.  To hit a large bucket of biodegradable balls would likely be several hundred dollars for it to be profitable for the cruise line. 

Edited August 12 by Airbear232

[ldubs]

17 hours ago, clo said:

And speaking of, here's the story on golf balls.

 

 

Cruise lines may not allow golf balls on board because of environmental concerns. In the past, some passengers would hit golf balls off the back of the ship into the ocean, which was wasteful and polluted the sea. Golf balls can take up to 1,000 years to decompose, and modern balls often contain toxic chemicals that can harm marine life when they break down. 

 

 

 

We can all fee good about keeping some golf balls from sinking to the bottom of the ocean while we float around on our environmentally friendly cruise ship.  😃

[clo]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

We can all fee good about keeping some golf balls from sinking to the bottom of the ocean while we float around on our environmentally friendly cruise ship.  😃

Well, at least a lot of the ships are getting more environmentally friendly. At least if they want to do the Norwegian cruises. Is Antarctica making those rules also. And I'm one of those silly people who believes that on person can make a difference in this world.

[ldubs]

9 minutes ago, clo said:

Well, at least a lot of the ships are getting more environmentally friendly. At least if they want to do the Norwegian cruises. Is Antarctica making those rules also. And I'm one of those silly people who believes that on person can make a difference in this world.

 

Yes, we all need to do our part where we can.  I just recognize the irony of people sitting on a cruise ship being concerned about golf balls.  We should recognize the reality, "getting more environmentally friendly" is a good thing but is still far away from being environmentally friendly.  

[clo]

1 minute ago, ldubs said:

 

Yes, we all need to do our part where we can.  I just recognize the irony of people sitting on a cruise ship being concerned about golf balls.  We should recognize the reality, "getting more environmentally friendly" is a good thing but is still far away from being environmentally friendly.  

Sigh. Conversation over.

[ldubs]

27 minutes ago, clo said:

Sigh. Conversation over.

 

Sorry if I didn't follow the accepted script.    

[clo]

18 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

Sorry if I didn't follow the accepted script.    

Not at all. I can only go so far in a conversation like this. I'm passionate that individuals can and do (and honestly must) make a difference. I'm too far apart from people I don't even know to discuss. I like you, just don't agree a bit here. Peace 🙂

[ldubs]

Just now, clo said:

Not at all. I can only go so far in a conversation like this. I'm passionate that individuals can and do (and honestly must) make a difference. I'm too far apart from people I don't even know to discuss. I like you, just don't agree a bit here. Peace 🙂

 

Why? I agreed we all should do what we can.  Just added a dose of heretical reality.    Now, if you don't mind, I'll be going to the climate change tailgate party in my gas guzzling RV.  😃

 

[Mum2Mercury]

I miss twice a day cabin service -- especially since its disappearance coincided with an increase in gratuity prices.  

 

But I never cared about the midnight buffet.  I prefer having a number of small food venues available throughout the day.  

[George C]

On 8/11/2024 at 2:53 PM, Mike981 said:

 

I have looked, maybe I'm doing something wrong. But from what I have seen it is a lot more that just 'a bit more'. Since we like to cruise to get away from the winter (Caribbean) and fly from Minnesota, some of the luxury lines start in smaller countries that are much more expensive to fly to.

We are also maxed out at 10 day cruises, and many luxury cruises are 14 or more days.

 

I would love to find a luxury line that I could do for my wife and I for less than $1,000 a day. I have to figure our flights will be close to $2,000 and that makes the total a chunk of change for us.

 

I understand and do figure in the included items that you get with a luxury cruise line to the bottom line, but I have not been able to find one that fits our wallet.

 

Like I said, maybe I'm not looking in the right place.

MSc yacht club is really nice , way less than a thousand a day , comes with premium liquor package, WiFi , great lounge with live music , good restaurants. Outdoor area has restaurant and bar lots of lounge chairs hot tub and pool . Love their private island which has an area for yacht club including restaurant with waiter service. Ship within ship concept, reserved seats for main shows butler will escort you to the show . Way better than rccl suites , a little better than celebrity suites. 

[Hlitner]

44 minutes ago, George C said:

MSc yacht club is really nice , way less than a thousand a day , comes with premium liquor package, WiFi , great lounge with live music , good restaurants. Outdoor area has restaurant and bar lots of lounge chairs hot tub and pool . Love their private island which has an area for yacht club including restaurant with waiter service. Ship within ship concept, reserved seats for main shows butler will escort you to the show . Way better than rccl suites , a little better than celebrity suites. 

Just wanted to add my support and agreement to your post.  My only issue with those MSC Caribbean cruises is that we are not fans of their itinerary (except for Ocean Cay).  On the other hand. DW and I have been known to simply stay on the ship when its in ports :).  Their Yacht Club is a fabulous product for the price.

 

Hank

[clo]

2 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I miss twice a day cabin service -- especially since its disappearance coincided with an increase in gratuity prices.  

 

But I never cared about the midnight buffet.  I prefer having a number of small food venues available throughout the day.  

We've actually asked for once a day cabin service. AM.

[Donald]

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.

[ontheweb]

8 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I miss twice a day cabin service -- especially since its disappearance coincided with an increase in gratuity prices.  

 

I don't believe all cruise lines did that. Having the lesser cabin service coincide with the increase in the daily gratuity was something specific to NCL.

 

We were actually booked with a future cruise at the time they were increasing the DSC. They gave the option of paying the gratuity at the rate it was before the increase if you would pay it advance.

[ldubs]

10 hours ago, clo said:

We've actually asked for once a day cabin service. AM.

 

Yeah, we prefer that too.  We got into the habit of asking the stewart to skip the second one. 

[Mike981]

14 hours ago, George C said:

MSc yacht club is really nice , way less than a thousand a day , comes with premium liquor package, WiFi , great lounge with live music , good restaurants. Outdoor area has restaurant and bar lots of lounge chairs hot tub and pool . Love their private island which has an area for yacht club including restaurant with waiter service. Ship within ship concept, reserved seats for main shows butler will escort you to the show . Way better than rccl suites , a little better than celebrity suites. 

 

Thank you for this, I will definitely give it a look.