June 7th - First Triumph Cruise out of NY - Review

[rolloman]

Stirring the pot:confused: How so:confused:

 

I think its all about adding value to the website. On one hand we have Michele who is actively publishing information (especially in the family section) and providing extensive reviews with photos. On the other hand we have.... well, we have you, and your 12000+ posts in only 3 years. I am curious, how much of ones life is spent dedicated in 3 years to get that many posts in? I have been here for 10 years and consider myself pretty active yet only have a little over 700 posts. You have done a good job of looking up her past history, can you give us a link or two of some great value add threads bursting full of hard to find information you have contributed? I am always looking for cruising information, she tends to provide that quite readily, so hopefully these links of your past 12000 posts will have photos, reviews, menus, daily onboard publications, rules and regulations, info about places to see and where to be. Thanks in advance.

[Kurbanfan]

I think its all about adding value to the website. On one hand we have Michele who is actively publishing information (especially in the family section) and providing extensive reviews with photos. On the other hand we have.... well, we have you, and your 12000+ posts in only 3 years. I am curious, how much of ones life is spent dedicated in 3 years to get that many posts in? I have been here for 10 years and consider myself pretty active yet only have a little over 700 posts. You have done a good job of looking up her past history, can you give us a link or two of some great value add threads bursting full of hard to find information you have contributed? I am always looking for cruising information, she tends to provide that quite readily, so hopefully these links of your past 12000 posts will have photos, reviews, menus, daily onboard publications, rules and regulations, info about places to see and where to be. Thanks in advance.

 

Well you might have been confused.......this is not the family section;)

I have never looked up Michelles past history...you must have mistaken me with someone else.......I do remember her review of the Elation because we interacted on that one......as for my posts.....is that another bad stab at an insult:confused: Sorry it didn't work lol!

If you would have read all my posts I said her review was great:)

[nrdsb4]

I have never seen so many RCCL loyals on the Carnival board:p I think this might be a first:D

 

Oh good God, what is this, Jr. High? Preps vs. Jocks? RCCL loyals? Carnival Cruise loyals? Us vs. them mentality?

 

I still don't get how which cruise ship one boards becomes part of one's identity. Glad I haven't settled on any one cruise line. Would have to take sides on the Cruise Critic board.:rolleyes:

[Kurbanfan]

I still don't get how which cruise ship one boards becomes part of one's identity. Glad I haven't settled on any one cruise line. Would have to take sides on the Cruise Critic board.:rolleyes:

 

Me either;)

[rolloman]

Well you might have been confused.......this is not the family section;)

I have never looked up Michelles past history...you must have mistaken me with someone else.......I do remember her review of the Elation because we interacted on that one......as for my posts.....is that another bad stab at an insult:confused: Sorry it didn't work lol!

If you would have read all my posts I said her review was great:)

 

Thanks for answering my question.

[nrdsb4]

Too funny.:D

[5o'clocksomewhere]

Thanks for answering my question.

 

Kurbanfan contributes to alot of threads........ you should check out Carnival boards more often..........she/he was just commenting on yours........which was very helpful:D

[5o'clocksomewhere]

Thanks for answering my question.

 

................

[crusinmama06]

Holy Moly you guys have way too much time on your hands. Yes, Freedom in 2007 had diapered babies in the H20 zone (not main pools) My comment to you Pete was about my most recent, that would have been Indy 2009. They now employ deck patrol that monitors the area and ask the babies to be removed.

 

Here she was on our most recent RCCL cruise...

 

 

And I have never hid the fact that I was NOT HAPPY with one Freedom counselor. In fact, I went Live on CC from the ship. My youngest is speech delayed. When she was 3, she had just had surgery the week before the cruise to put tubes in her ears and restore her hearing. She was unable to hear for the first 3 years of her life. So she was not able to speak when she was 3. I gave her medical history to the Freedom counselors and still got asked "Does she speak English????" when I went to pick her up. She didn't stop sliding on the slide when they asked her to. After going live on CC, and talking to the head of Freedom's AO, who was shocked at what the counselor was saying to us, she monitored the situation and fixed it.

 

It was that situation and my experiences with Camp Carnival that convinced me that Camp Carnival was a better fit for a child with a delay. I tell people on the Family board how wonderful the Carnival staff is for children with delays.

 

Freedom would have been her 3rd cruise. Followed by Sensation, Wonder, Indy and then Triumph. We had no problems with the kids club on 5 of her 7 cruises.

 

She also stopped breathing and they tried to medevac from Disney Magic when she was 8 months old. Should we go into that here too? Let's go into the details about how my lifeless child was carried into the Disney infirmary and intebated. I am fiercly protective of that little girl. She has been through alot in 5 years. And yes, I take it personally when the biggest problem a counselor has with her is abusing a darn rubber shark or not stopping sliding down a slide {as was the case on Freedom}.

 

Take your petty arguments elsewhere.

[Livabeth]

Hey Michelle,

 

I was away for the weekend and looked forward to logging on tonight to hear about your cruise and see some pictures. As always ... i loved your review and appreciate all the detail and honesty you put into your review.

 

And then i could not believe (jaw dropped) when the bashing started ... so uncalled for!! This is what you get for trying to give an honest review that should help others before they get on similar cruises. Your reviews helps us all be aware of possible problems so that we can make decisions before and during the cruise.

 

We appreciate all the time and insight you give and look forward to hearing more reviews from your future cruises. I just hope that this does not turn you off from sharing with us.

 

Livabeth

[crusinmama06]

I just hope that this does not turn you off from sharing with us.

 

Livabeth

 

No, of course not, I'll still be on the Family Board yapping away. :D

 

Thanks darling! Hope you had a great weekend. :D

[nrdsb4]

Wow, what a lot that kid has gone through (and you probably tenfold as the horrified observer). Well, I have a feeling that some of the conspiracy theorists won't care about facts such as experiences you had in 2007 being different from your experiences in 2009. That doesn't jibe with their investigative reporting on your "contradictions," and GOD FORBID anyone ever admit they were mistaken about anything, the world just might come to an end to say "I was out of line" or "I was pompous, condescending, and wrong." Brings to mind an old Happy Days episode where Fonzie just couldn't say the words "I was wrong." It would come out "I was wrrrrrrr...I was wrroooooo..." I don't remember if he ever did say it, lol.

 

I do vaguely remember reading that you had a child that had to be resuscitated on a cruise. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. I can now understand your reaction on this cruise (I had thought I would have let it slide off my shoulders even more than you did, but my kids have gone through life relatively unscathed until this past year, and boy did the mother bear come out and surprise even me). When I read your review, the only thing I was puzzled about was why you didn't express your true feelings to the staff about how they handled things, but in retrospect, you were on vacation and probably trying to minimize the negative stuff in your life as much as possible.

 

Well, good luck in the future. Maybe you will give Carnival another chance someday when your kids are older and disinterested in the kids' club. If not, enjoy all your future cruises. Very cute kids, even the one that abuses sharks, lol.

[crusinmama06]

When I read your review, the only thing I was puzzled about was why you didn't express your true feelings to the staff about how they handled things, but in retrospect, you were on vacation and probably trying to minimize the negative stuff in your life as much as possible.

 

Yep, that is pretty much it. It was a 4 day cruise. Yes I missed formal night, but I spent the night with one of my most favorite people in the world. And we colored fairies and ate grilled sandwiches in the cabin. :D

[vlg959]

Yep, that is pretty much it. It was a 4 day cruise. Yes I missed formal night, but I spent the night with one of my most favorite people in the world. And we colored fairies and ate grilled sandwiches in the cabin. :D

 

That's so sweet. :) My best memory of our cruise is getting to spend an entire week (4 day cruise, but 2 days in FL before the cruise) with my 2 daughters (and one son-in-law and a niece) having them all to MYSELF. There is no place in the world I would rather be than with them...all of us together.

 

I don't blame you one bit for not wanting to spend MORE time in lines. It sounds like you had to do that enough already.

[CC Help Michell]

Michele, thanks for replying to my question/comment, and others, on this thread. Since I don't read internet message boards to free my "inner Freud" I'll refrain from trying to psychoanalyze you or your motivations for posting. Not only would doing so be patently rude, it's against the terms of service here at CC. :rolleyes:

 

I think many people here at CC, me included, may have "a lot of" (I wouldn't say "too much" because that's dependent on the situation) time on their hands, but I don't think posting here is a sign of a personality disorder! Most of us love cruising, and most of us love trying to help fellow cruisers make the most of their vacations (by, for instance, posting the Capers or reporting on menus, schedules, etc.). As someone sailing on this ship and itinerary twice in the next two weeks, I found your review to be a great help.

 

I appreciate you taking the time, and I'm glad that you seem resolved to ignore those who seem to like to argue for the sake of arguing.

[petesweet]

To the poster who said Michele appeared "snobby" and to those who agreed, let me share the following post. I found this while searching to see what the dress code was on Cunard as we were contemplating a cruise on the Queen Victoria.

Faced with ivory dinner jackets, ivory dinner jackets with black shirts and (worse still) ivory dinner jackets with black shirt and white tie; gaudy bow ties worn at dinner, bright coloured bow ties, ready tied bow ties (especially with the fasteners visible) and the like, I would argue with that suggestion. All of these have been seen on a recent transatlantic.

 

I find that there is far more dressing up than being well dressed, at least compared with the incomparably elegant QE2.

 

Now this is SNOBBY. And to think we stress out over "a neat pair of jeans." How horrifying that someone does not hand-tie his bow tie!!!

Needless to say, we decided Cunard is not the line for us!:D

[lisaannm]

Michelle, I wanted to thank you kindly for your awesome review and pictures. We are sailing on Triumph on August 1st, and I was waiting patiently for your review.

 

Please don't change a thing, as a lot of us are grateful for what you posted and will post in the future!

 

Have a great day :D

[MrPete]

My comment to you Pete was about my most recent, that would have been Indy 2009.

 

I'm sorry.

When you reponded to my post and said "And that hasn't been my experience on RCCL though", I took that to mean that hadn't been your experience on RCCL.

I didn't know there were exclusions.

[vacation fool]

Let me start out by saying i do not know Michelle or any of you that have posted on this thread. I am going on the 7/29 sailing of the Triumph and was most interested in reading her thread and seeing her beautiful pictures. And that is exactly what i got for the first 5 or so pages. Then it became a riduculous and immature playground for those that use this board to take out their frustrations, pent up anger that they have toward someone else, and use it to become argumentative. This is what turns me off about Cruise Critic at times which is a shame because for the most part i have learned so much from others and enjoy coming to this site. :)

For me, those that continue to throw jabs every other post need to seek counseling. Don't bother flaming me if u do not like what i say because unlike some of you, i for one will not perpetuate it by fueling the fire and feel no need to respond. Don't ruin this Board and cause the moderators to have to "lock" threads for goodness sakes. Childish behavior coming from adults is most unattractive and has no place on Cruise Critic!

[WAcruisers]

Michelle,

First of all I dont know you or anyone on these boards, but have read every review I come across,

 

I too am a parent who takes being a parent seriously (my son was beaten when he was two by his babysitter, he is now 16). A rubber shark? I would of had a problem with the counselor too!

 

Who cares how many times she and her children cruise (NO ONES BUSINESS, but their own). My son travels with me, SO WHAT.

 

You have a beautiful family. NOT a snob.

Michelle has answered MANY peoples questions on these boards.

I dont understand why some people have to pick apart everything that is being said, and then start flinging mud! :confused::confused:

[Perfect Stranger]

It's not that we care how many times they cruise, just that the parents will probably end up sorry they indulged these girls so much. I can imagine how they'll be when they're 10-16 years old. Most girls that age have an attitude (at least at times) anyway even when they haven't been this spoiled.

[crusinmama06]

Is your daughter's medical history the reason you feel the need to spoil her with so many cruises? I don't know of any other kids who have been on so many cruises in their short lives. It seems at least your oldest must have missed a lot of school days over the years for all these vacations.

 

I was thinking the same thing.......

 

But if a mother "loves cruising with her children" so much...then why not spend the whole cruise with them instead of putting them into camp?

 

Or, (since your RCI review has convinced me you are a person of means) bring your own babysitter with you.... I know someone who did this, and it worked for them.

 

It's not that we care how many times they cruise, just that the parents will probably end up sorry they indulged these girls so much. I can imagine how they'll be when they're 10-16 years old. Most girls that age have an attitude (at least at times) anyway even when they haven't been this spoiled.

 

What is wrong with you people? So going on a vacation is spoiling your children? And the kids are out of school now, so they didn't miss anything.

 

Now this just sounds a whole lot like a bunch of jealousy, calling me a "person of means" because of my last review. You have NO idea.

[patseacruiser]

This is totally out of hand. To call someone a person of means is like saying I am jealous of them. You must be. Why would you leave your children home if you don't have to OR BETTER YET - don't want to. Give it up people. This is crazy. She wrote a review for your benefit. Not hers. She's already been on it. She has answered more people's questions on these threads and this is out of hand now. When did it become anybody's business how much money someone has or how much time they miss from school. Obviously they haven't exceeded the time or they'd be left back. Get over yourselves.

[krissy72]

It's not "A" vacation. They've had three cruises in eight months and five in two years! That's only "normal" for celebrities!

 

WTH? Did the President appoint another new Czar while I was sleeping last night? Great now we have a travel czar too. One that will decide how many vacations someone is allowed to take in a single year. And no one person is allowed to take more vacations than someone else because it's "not fair".

[patseacruiser]

michele - please report to the vacation police when you will be taking your next 'vacation' so they can decide if it's okay or not. jeez.