beingatraveler

From years of working on ships with strict uniform guidelines (that do not include pockets) and having to tote around a room key and/or ID card, I just simply put the cards in my bra! They never fell out, and I never lost them!

Now that I'm cruising for fun, I usually carry around a little wristlet purse that holds a few cards, phone, camera etc. when I'm on the ship, and the same little purse doubles as a wallet when we're in port tossed into a bigger beach bag/purse, backpack etc.

I have no issues with a lanyard at all, it's just not for me. Do I think any less of those who choose to use them for their own convenience?! Heck no! It's your vacation, do what you want, who is anyone else to judge you?!

Those of you doing the judging, mind your own business and enjoy your own vacation. Would you go up to someone on the ship with a lanyard and tell them to their face the things you're saying on here? Highly unlikely.

We are doing a B2B on the CB later this month and was wondering if they do the pub lunch on the short cruises. Also do they have Bavarian night in the HC?

We did a B2B on the Ruby in Feb. and they definitely had the pub lunch on the second half, which was the 4 night segment.

We didn't do the Bavarian night, but I do think it was offered.

The only thing we were a little disappointed in with the two short B2B's was that they repeated the menu in the MDR. I thought they might have just continued on with a string of different menu's, but they started over again. We go to re-visit some things we enjoyed a few days before, and tried some things we wished we had of the first time around. Still wished it was a different menu for the last half.

And this is limited to Nassau? St. Thomas and St. Maarten can easily have 15,000 people or more "dropped off" for a few hours during any given day.

I was just referring to the day I was in Nassau personally. We didn't stop at St. Thomas or St. Maarten during that itinerary and having not traveled there yet myself, I can't comment. Although being common stops in most itineraries, I'm sure they all face the same thing. Again, not something I can comment on from personal experience.

Yes, found that very annoying even though it's possible to say no thank you and keep on going. Just don't like having to do it. Friend and I did break down and agree to a tour. The tour was bizarre and a bit scary so it's something I would not do again.

 

 

But wait, aren't you one of those tourists helping to make it full?:D

Oh most definitely! With other parts of the world though, it's easy to walk off the ship into town and see what it's really like with locals around town too. That just didn't seem to be the way in Nassau!

I worked for a cruise line and have spent lots of time wandering new ports and countries and experiencing them first hand not as part of an organized tour/excursion, something I still do to this day.

Some would say you "got lucky" by not having to stop in Nassau! :D

I completely agree! I've been to Nassau before staying at a resort, and went in on a cruise for the first time this year, and we honestly wished we had of stayed on the ship. That port area is SO chaotic, not to mention how annoying it is to have to say no to a taxi every two steps.

There were also 6 or 7 ships in port that day, so the authenticity of the town is a bit lost when it's all full of tourists anyways.

**sorry this is a long post**

I can't even imagine how upset they would be. I'm in the middle of planning a wedding here at home and searched for ages for the right photographer who has solid reference and portfolio, something that is difficult to do at sea. You're putting a lot of trust in someone you don't know, in this case a photographer who does it as a job day in and day out, and was hired to specifically be a photographer so theoretically they should do a good job. They wouldn't hire a chef that can't cook, right? :rolleyes:

Mechanical things DO happen, but at the same time a "professional" (a loose term for shipboard photogs) has some responsibility to ensure their services are being provided. Did they not look at the photos in between shots? If a memory card is corrupt the pictures usually won't show up right away. Hard to know what happened, but it sucks. Royal Caribbean did step up and take care of it though.

I agree that the photos can't be replaced, but you still have the memories. You had all your family and friends there to make the day special, which I'm sure it was until the unfortunate events were discovered.

Just a fun idea...A friend of mine did all of her wedding photos on a totally separate day anyways, the photographers came in and shot the ceremony and a few at the reception, but the photos of just them, they did on another day! It was a fun way to spend the day, get all dressed up again (and wear your dress again!) and take your time taking pictures. Could be a fun way to spend a day with your new hubby :)

Don't get me wrong, I'd be devastated if it happened to me too, but I think that there are ways to remember how awesome that day was with or without photographic proof. You're still married to the love of your life, right? The marriage didn't dissolve with the lost photos.

I worked for Princess onboard ships for many, many months at a time and I can assure you that it's difficult to plug up those toilets. They seem to have more flushing power than any on land anyways!

We did have one issue where we ran out of toilet paper in our cabin and used kleenex instead - that didn't fare so well and we had to call the plumber to fix it. He left us a nice little note (written on a kleenex, of course!) informing us that kleenex isn't to be flushed, and only to use the provided toilet tissue. (He also came when we weren't even in the room so there was no awkward run-in)

So if your friend isn't flushing random objects down there, it'll be fine. Much healthier that way also!

I'm a Princess Commodore, and I can tell you first hand that the course is not easy, or something quick by any means. I've even worked on board Princess ships, and there were still many many things I learned by taking this course now that I'm a travel agent. It's impossible to know every little thing about a cruise line when things are changing so much. Commodore or not. If you don't like the agent you're dealing with, find another one. Get recommendations from friends, colleagues, fellow cruises from your area.

(I can't speak for all Commodores, I'm sure there are ones out there who have gotten their friends to do the courses for them, and other "shady" business...there's people like that everywhere, in every profession.)

We usually book whatever cabin offers the best value at the time. Our last cruise we did a balcony because it was the same price as an inside, and on our upcoming cruise we did an ocean view because it was the best value - a balcony on this one would have been considerably more expensive.

As for what we do on board, we don't do the soda card as we don't drink it at home, so why would when we're away? We'll have a drink before dinner if we want to, and maybe a bottle of wine with dinner that lasts us a few nights. We don't go crazy, because we wouldn't at home either. We don't like being hungover (who does?!) and definitely don't want to get up early and do an excursion feeling crappy.

Which leads me to the excursions, we book what we want to. We usually book the city tours to actually see where we are and they're generally very reasonably priced anyways. I used to work for Princess and have spent many hours wandering around ports and seeing nothing the city has to offer. Some ports have more to see close by than others. In Alaska for example, I just wandered around most of the ports which all kind of look the same, now when I look back at the excursions that I had the opportunity to do, and didn't do them, I kick myself. Now we just book what we want to do so we have no regrets. We've booked dune buggy excursion in Grand Turk for our upcoming cruise and we can't wait!

We're very fortunate to be able to travel multiple times a year, but this year we've got our one "big" 9-day cruise as we're getting married next year and the rest of our money is going to that!

We have never done a cruise and want to this year. Should we use a travel agent or book online ourselves? Will the agent find better deals?

 

It will be my husband & I with our 4 girls(one is a baby). Is there any suites to fit us all or will we need two rooms?

Being a travel agent myself and a cruiser, I know first hand that booking with an agent WILL make your life easier. Especially when booking multiple rooms, trying to work out occupancies, connecting rooms etc. Agents also have connections with the cruise lines so they can get things done faster for you. If something did happen to go wrong, you have an agent to fight on your behalf to resolve any issues. Just make you find a reputable agent, even one who specializes in cruises to ensure that no details are missed.

Age: 29

State: Ontario, Canada

What you do: Travel Agent

Family? fiance, mom and 2 sisters

Hobbies/Interests: Travel, photography, scrapbooking

Next cruise: Caribbean February 20th, 2014 - Ruby Princess

Last Cruise: Canada & New England - July 2013 - Carnival Glory