fireball in a wine bottle

True story (and I have the evidence to prove it).

 

This was not on a Princess ship, but on NCL... I was writing a "live from". We had a bit of a situation in Morocco and I wrote a thank you note to the captain. I received a hand written note back from the captain. In the post script, he complimented my writing style on Cruise Critic, implying he was reading my posts as I was writing them. It certainly gave me pause.

 

I would be willing to guess that the major cruise lines pay very careful attention to these things as some posts have hundreds of thousand of hits meaning these situations read a wide audience.

We were on the Celebrity Century a couple of years ago -- it was during spring break but would say there were all of 3 passengers onboard under the age of 30. They were collecting everyone's wine upon boarding and delivering it to their respective staterooms by the next day. They had collected cases and cases of people's wine, some of which belonged to elderly folks.

We attended the connections party which Celebrity hosts and the cruise director and hotel director were asked why did they collect everyone's wine upon boarding ... they all thought they could legally bring on two bottles.

The Celebrity staff responded "we read the cruise critic boards and we know how you are all sneaking alcohol onboard". I had to laugh. We had the beverage package so weren't effected at all but many were caught trying to sneak on extra bottles or filled their wine bottles with booze.

Probably happens even more so with true spring break cruises. So, if it is meant to be sneaky, they aren't fooling anyone if they announce how they are going to do it right here on cruise critic. LOL

I knew a girl for about a year that used to come to the same restaurant/bar as me. She worked for Carnival Corp. in Florida but was sent to California. One night I asked her if she had ever heard of Cruise Critic. She almost fell off her bar stool. Oh course we've (she was a sales rep) have heard of it. We read it all the time.

I have also seen a post by Princess on CC.

Keith, I'm glad you posted this because now I feel I can ask what I was going to ask without sounding like a horses butt....

 

I was going to blindly ask.. how does anyone know for a fact they do.. and I do agree with the above post that it would be assnine of any company not to monitor a board this active... specially when you think how much revenue is spent by companies TRYING to get their customer's feedback, including PCL and CCL.

 

So, my question to you is... with as many cruises you have under your belt and the relationships you have built with many of the employee's of Princess...has someone actually told you they do? Short of anyone having a conversation with someone or receiving written communication indicating they do.. aren't we all just "presuming" they do?

One more case in point. I was posting a review of my cruise on these boards....mostly all super positive with one mention of a negative experience I had with the beverage package. Someone from the social media dept gave me his e-mail address to include my experience as well as my reservation number, etc. He posted a credit on my next cruise based on what I wrote on these boards. There's proof!!

My guess is more travel agents incognito post to these boards than anyone high up from a cruise line reads these boards.

I would guess one intern is assigned to periodically monitor the boards. Probably the same interns who run cruise lines FB pages. The can send me an email to verify this. :rolleyes:

I might try to fit a 40 of Old English in my wooden leg!

I'll bring the Steel Reserve in mine.....:D:D:D

Bob

Sometimes the cruises from Houston are delayed due to fog.

I see CB is still in port (as of 1551 GMT on 11/30).

http://www.princess.com/webcam/caribbean_bridge.jpg

I wonder if they are still going through OP's bags???

Sometimes the cruises from Houston are delayed due to fog.

 

I see CB is still in port (as of 1551 GMT on 11/30).

 

http://www.princess.com/webcam/caribbean_bridge.jpg

 

I wonder if they are still going through OP's bags???

LOL! I bet he regrets asking the question. :)

1701 GMT and CB still in Houston...I'm thinking OP could use a good stiff drink right about now...no wait: he still has no access to his luggage! :eek:

So, my question to you is... with as many cruises you have under your belt and the relationships you have built with many of the employee's of Princess...has someone actually told you they do? Short of anyone having a conversation with someone or receiving written communication indicating they do.. aren't we all just "presuming" they do?

There is a poster here who is pretty well known.

He reported an officer thanking him for a post shortly after he posted.

(while he was onboard)

On the other hand, there was a PSD who told me he could never leave

his office for more than an hour, or his email would be so overwhelming

that he could never catch up. I somehow doubt he spends much time

reading cruise forums. I can't remember his name ... the gent who lived

in japan, and is now gone.

Like ship security monitors websites like this.:eek:

Carnival Corp monitors this site. Last year when the hot topic on here was OBC and the casino, it caused an all-day meeting at headquarters to review and refine policy. [i know because posts on here about changes would have had a negative impact upon me, so I called right to my casino contact at corporate; he's the one that told me they were meeting all day on the subject, then clarified how the issue would be handled for me as a gambler.]

Think about it.... if you owned a business and someone pointed to a place where your customers where talking about your business, wouldn't you look?

Smuggling alcohol on-board CUTS INTO POTENTIAL REVENUE for the cruise line, so yes, corporate is reading all of this.... and by "all of this" I mean the revenue-related topics.

Every time I see another thread where someone is bragging about how they circumvented the beverage policy --or any other policy-- I just think to myself: "how silly and stupid to announce to the company how you tricked the system!"

Oh, and to clarify in the chance it will avoid a snide off-point post, literally the OP questioned "ship security" monitoring the site. Perhaps not the security workers we see performing the checks, but the people who oversee them: yes!

...I was going to blindly ask.. how does anyone know for a fact they do...

 

So, my question to you is... has someone actually told you they do? Short of anyone having a conversation with someone or receiving written communication indicating they do.. aren't we all just "presuming" they do?

See my recent post. I have a corporate executive as a contact. They really do read the board. And they do react when they feel it is important to do so.

It was off topic in my earlier post to elaborate, but I will here. He did comment that on SOME TOPICS they just roll their eyes and I heard almost distain towards the site, which I could relate to. I mean HOW MANY TIMES do we need to read a new thread discussing:

-they confiscated my port wine

-do I get two bottles if I'm doing a B2B

-my circumstance is so unique that I should be exempt ... and drama, drama, drama because they won't make the exception

-the rude 800 res agent gave me bad information and it ruined my whole cruise

-I wear shorts in the main dining room every formal night

To the OP, does your wife have breast implants....just thinking out load.

no need...the "smuggling" industry already has this covered...:rolleyes::rolleyes:

no need...the "smuggling" industry already has this covered...:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Let's hope that the manufacturer of said product does not have a companion product for men called "The Beer Tap". :D

Let's hope that the manufacturer of said product does not have a companion product for men called "The Beer Tap". :D

Heaven help us...but YES they do....

no need...the "smuggling" industry already has this covered...:rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Hilarious!

Security at Embarkation: "Excuse me, Miss. We've read reports on CC of something called a "Wine Rack," so we're gonna ask you to step this way for a 'closer inspection' behind this privacy screen with me...."

Heaven help us...but YES they do....

 

Hope it's not too cold.

And Heaven forbid it should break...

Ewwwwwww

Hilarious!

 

Security at Embarkation: "Excuse me, Miss. We've read reports on CC of something called a "Wine Rack," so we're gonna ask you to step this way for a 'closer inspection' behind this privacy screen with me...."

EXACTLY my thoughts :eek: I can see it now....ALL "well-endowed" ladies lining up to go into the private screening room...:eek::p

(that'll really go over well with someones 80+ yr. old grandma):rolleyes:

See my recent post. I have a corporate executive as a contact. They really do read the board. And they do react when they feel it is important to do so.

 

It was off topic in my earlier post to elaborate, but I will here. He did comment that on SOME TOPICS they just roll their eyes and I heard almost distain towards the site, which I could relate to. I mean HOW MANY TIMES do we need to read a new thread discussing:

 

-they confiscated my port wine

-do I get two bottles if I'm doing a B2B

-my circumstance is so unique that I should be exempt ... and drama, drama, drama because they won't make the exception

-the rude 800 res agent gave me bad information and it ruined my whole cruise

-I wear shorts in the main dining room every formal night

Too funny. Someone did the math.. I read it just a few months ago. I was going to copy it down for just such an occasion but I didn't. So here goes without the actual numbers this guy had.

Using one of the most active (responded to threads) this guy actually counted all the different posters ID. Didn't count multiple responses... then compared that number to the average number of travelers who sail with Princess in a given year.

Needless to say.. the number of "voices heard" through this site.. was so insignificant that I think the reference he used was "a tear drop in the earth's total water supply"

I don't doubt that somewhere in PCL land someone is either officially or unofficially watching these threads and making note of any particular topics that they feel are important to them. But I have to agree... I bet they skim right over (among many others) the "if I tip in cash, who gets the money" threads.

:cool:

Heaven help us...but YES they do....

I should've known!

So how do you know that Princess monitors this website?

I can tell you how I know.

A couple of years back I had made reservations at a specialty restaurant and when we arrived the head waiter had stepped away from the desk, so I leaned over to make sure our name was on the reservation list.

Not only was it on the list, there was a circle drawn around it and the words "Cruise Critic" written just to the right of the name.

I asked the head waiter when he returned what that meant and he stammered and stumbled and claimed he had no idea.

And my name in no way resembles my cruisecritic user ID.

So they certainly monitor these boards and in great detail.

Mike;)

EXACTLY my thoughts :eek: I can see it now....ALL "well-endowed" ladies lining up to go into the private screening room...:eek::p

 

(that'll really go over well with someones 80+ yr. old grandma):rolleyes:

Now that's funny.....:D

Bob

So how do you know that Princess monitors this website?

Because they are a business and it is in their best interest to do so. My hubbys company monitored all sorts of social media. Its just smart modern business. Where can they get better uncompensated feedback of their product?

This is hilarious! I should thank the OP for some great laughs!

I also agree, Princess does monitor this forum. It wouldn't make no sense otherwise.

I never said they don't, but I would be surprised if all of those people mentioned monitored Cruise Critic.

I have been told by more than one hotel general manager,that Princess corporate monitors positive and negative posts on CC and those posts,relevant to their particular ship,are sent to them on a regular basis.I doubt that they would try to identify an individual cruiser and segregate his luggage for a special inspection.