mnocket

I waver back and forth on using TAs. I guess if I could find one of these "great" TAs that people say give sizeable perks/discounts while also providing knowledgeable and responsive service, I'd choose the TA route in a second. The problem is I can't find one. My experience has been you can have either good service or good prices, but not both. Whenever I read about people boasting that their TA routinely gives them 10% back in OBC while also tending to their every need, it's like someone reporting a UFO sighting - it might be real, but I've never seen one😀

Agreed. It's a pointless question - OP is essentially asking why your values are different then theirs. OP could also ask "Why do you spend money on a luxury car when a cheaper model will also get you where you're going"? Maybe OP is just virtue signaling?

Brazil is reintroducing the requirement to obtain tourist visas for citizens of the U.S., Australia, Canada, and Japan starting Oct. 1, the foreign ministry said. https://apnews.com/article/brazil-us-tourism-visas-lula-bolsonaro-e206025994b64fa5695484b99a807971 Supposedly we will be able to obtain a visa from the Brazilian government website, but no option currently exists. Does anyone have any specific information about US citizens obtaining a Brazilian visa?

This is a great point and raises questions as to whether the staffing shortages on current ships is more the result of not wanting to hire rather than not being able to hire?

It would be interesting to know which customer is more profitable, X or RCL? Perhaps the corporation is intentionally trying to bring the X product more in line with RCL's, with the only distinction being one is adult oriented and the other family.

HR is also a shared service between brands. Chief HR Officer Bettina Deynes is a direct report to Weinstein. My point remains that despite being every bit as critical to business operations as HR for example, IT is still not recognized as such in the organization.

I also turn on WiFi Calling - in some locations it's actually easier to access free wifi than get a good cell signal.

For those who are occasionally disappointed by cruise line website problems, medallions, etc., notice that IT isn't mentioned as a top level management position. Despite being a critical function that impacts every aspect of the business operation, corporate executives don't understand it and don't want to deal with it - leaving it to lower-level, underfunded and often ignored managers.

I'll be cruising Iceland for the first time in Sept. Different cruise line, but maybe you can help me decide about what to do on the day we arrive, which is 2 days prior to boarding the ship. We arrive at 6am and I doubt our hotel room will be ready until sometime that afternoon. It was suggested that a good way to spend the day would be a stop at the Blue Lagoon (since it's near the airport) before proceeding to the hotel in Reykjavik. There are several transportation options for traveling from the airport to the Blue Lagoon, but it seems you need to purchase transportation for a scheduled departure time. Am I reading your post correctly in that I should be OK scheduling 7:30am transportation given a scheduled arrival time of 6am? Would it be better/safer to schedule the transportation for 8:30am and plan to eat breakfast at the airport? It's kind of difficult deciding how to kill 9hrs between landing and the hotel room being ready given I do tend towards being a jet lag zombie (my body will be 6hrs earlier - i.e. landing at midnight body time). Thanks for your thoughts.

Excuse me for saying this, but you seem to me to be a lazy journalist who doesn't want to spend the time to do the research. These boards are filled with information about cruise line food - the good, the bad & the ugly. There's even a search function to help you find what you want. Time to roll up your sleeves and get to work.

I've sometimes used Viator to research what tours are available at a particular location and read reviews. If I find something I like, I'm often then able to find the actual tour company on Google and book directly with the company.

Just my 2 cents... As long as you understand that the experience on HAL is not the same as on Cunard and you're ok with that, I say why not. HAL will not be the same as Cunard. If you want things to be similar to Cunard, HAL is not a good choice.

4 Ways to get from Fort Lauderdale Airport to Miami Cruise Port Bus: $24 USD; journey time= 1 hour; take line# Orlando to Miami Taxi: $70-75 USD; journey time= 45 min Uber: $50-55 USD Bus hops: budget option but requires change source: https://triplyzer.com/transit/us/fort-lauderdale-airport-to-miami-cruise-port/

Thanks. This could prove helpful.

Not saying this is the case here, but I find some people are quick to label accidents as negligence. Even skilled, diligent practitioners can have accidents. Not every accident is the result of negligence.

In the future you might also look at direct flights into Miami. The trip to Ft Lauderdale is fairly short and relatively inexpensive. I often use Uber or Lyft. I will book a flight into whichever airport offers the best direct schedule - regardless of whether I'm sailing from Ft Lauderdale or Miami.

Oops.... my mistake. But why didn't the pilot boat rescue him? Still doesn't make sense to me.

Agreed. It's also strange that they say he was recovered after 2hrs in the water by a Princess rescue boat. All I've ever seen is pilots arriving and departing by pilot boats. If a pilot happened to fall into the water stepping from the pilot boat onto the ship, I would expect the pilot boat would immediately rescue him. This report just doesn't make sense to me.

Is it only the Virtuosa cruises that are affected? I ask because I'm booked on the Aug 4th Preziosa sailing and I haven't heard anything.

That has been my experience as well.

Strange. Where did you previously have safes that used a set code that you couldn't change? I've only encountered safes where I was required to enter a code of my choosing when locking the safe. I'd certainly not feel secure using a safe where I didn't set my own code.

Does your TA have any idea when the 2024/2025 Antarctic schedule will be released?

That's pretty disappointing. I'm hoping you have success checking each morning/evening to see if there are cancellations. There often are since if no-shows don't cancel in advance they get charged. The best advice I can give is to try to not let this situation anger you to the point that it impacts your enjoyment of your vacation. No, it's not right, but it is what it is.

I used to prefer printed boarding passes to relying on my phone. I've become a convert and never had a problem with electronic boarding passes on my phone. It seems to me that the overwhelming majority of travelers have adopted them. Might be worth giving it a try?

If one wants an Adults Only cruise, there are several such cruise lines. If one is satisfied with a Mostly Adult cruise, Celebrity is a good fit. While I would prefer Celebrity to be Adults Only - it isn't. Were I younger with a family, I would appreciate accommodations such as this one made for children - even though as a grumpy old man I don't want children in the solarium. I can live with it🙂