hrhdhd

I am married (happily!), and I travel solo on cruises and other types of trips.

My DH and I work different types of jobs, and I get more time off than he does, so I use it to travel. We also have different travel tastes; he doesn't really like museums and churches, so I would rather not have him around when I'm pursuing those interests of mine. And he'd rather go on a fishing charter without me there complaining about the wind and weather. ;)

I am also an introvert, so I enjoy being by myself and I can entertain myself quite well. My favorite cruises are transatlantics where I can just spend my days sleeping, reading, watching the waves, eating, or whatever I feel like doing. I sometimes join a table of others for a meal, but I also don't mind eating or going to a show alone.

People who have to travel with others are weird to me. :) Traveling solo is not weird.

See this is exactly the issue that those of us who come from countries where everyone is paid a decent liveable wage, don't understand. How is it possible that a very large sector of employed people (the hospitality industry) are legally paid less than the minimum wage??? Why is it a minimum wage for some but not for others?

Just like how in Australia different categories of workers can be paid differently, minimum wage or no.

http://www.fairwork.gov.au/pay/minimum-wages

There's a size zero? That seems counter-intuitive to me.

Yep. And Chico's has sizes 0, 00, and 000. Yikes. :rolleyes:

I am wondering if you actually have a heel spur or bone spur rather than PF.

When I had a bout of PF several years ago, I was fine while standing and walking. It became noticeable when I had been sitting for a while and then got up, or when I woke up in the morning and put my feet on the floor to get up -- total agony.

Now I'm dealing with a heel spur; that pain occurs while I'm standing and walking, and not so much when I get up from having been seated for a while.

You might need a slightly different solution depending on what you actually have, so a visit to a podiatrist might be helpful to confirm your GP's diagnosis.

Wearing Vionics or a brand called Sole does help with my spur.

The pizza can't be beat, for one. :) The Crown Grill is great, and we also like the pub lunch at the Wheelhouse Bar. Also, small thing, but servers will bring diners drinks (water, lemonade, tea [the "free" stuff]) in the Lido buffet, unlike on say, HAL, where passengers have to get their own drinks or get dehydrated waiting for the drink cart to come by.

We like Caribe deck balconies, the layout of the cabin with the large open closet, and the International Cafes on the ships where they exist.

It's a river cruise line. Quite well known.

I got that from the title of the thread and the first post. I'll take your word for it that it's "well known."

I mean - I want TOTAL control of my flights. I want to pick the airline. I want to know that the fare basis I've purchased gives me miles to maintain my status, etc. But then, I pretty much want complete control of my entire travel experience, so...Just my preference;)

You can get all of that information through ChoiceAir. Use them or don't--whatever. I just wanted anyone who was confused about what ChoiceAir is to understand it's not like the traditional roll-of-the-dice air booking with a cruise line.

I want to be in charge of my flights so I always book my own, and just budget it all as part of the vacation.

If previous posters are referring to ChoiceAir, which is associated with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Azamara, you do have control of your flights. You go to the website, search for flights, and choose what you want. Or you can call. The prices are usually the same as what you'd find on an airline's website (or one of those sites we're not allowed to name), and I've been able to fly in days before the cruise or depart days after. In particular, I have found ChoiceAir has great prices for one-way flights (i.e., for transatlantic cruises where I need a flight in only one direction).

I am not sure what kind of flight arrangements can be made with the OP's cruise line, which I have not heard of.

E-Z pass from other states will not work YET in Fl.

Actually, a couple of states' passes can be used now in FL.

According to the Central Florida Expressway Authority's website, "Quick Pass from North Carolina and PeachPass from Georgia can be used on any road with the E-PASS or SunPass logo. You can also use your E-PASS in North Carolina on the Quick Pass system and in George on the PeachPass system. Passes from other states are not accepted in Florida."

(And yes, I know this has nothing to do with hiring a limo, but just wanted to post the updated info for others getting info from this thread.)

We cruise to get away from our families ;), so the idea of communal meals with family holds no appeal whatsoever. We also always request a table for two in the MDR, so the idea of sharing platters with strangers has no appeal either.

I am also not willing to pay an upcharge to not eat some of the food that the communal table orders, given that I won't like every dish ordered (e.g., I don't do mushrooms). I'd rather pay an upcharge knowing I can choose the food I want from the courses I want and not have to negotiate with others about what the table will order.

Come to think of it, the winning wedding gown used text, too. But in a far cooler way.

Blake's dress also had text; the card pieces at the waist had a word on them. "Fabulous"? Something like that. But he didn't seem to appreciate the challenge, either. He used a lot of muslin and just coated it with glitter. It was funny to see Zac trying to get it off his hands after the judges looked at the outfits after the runway show.

Can't understand why anyone would feel it makes any sense to go to the trouble of:

a) getting the forms early

b) filling them in during time you could be doing something else

c) deciding where to put the completed form so that you can get at it easily when you need it

d) messing around getting it out of your pocket / bag / folder at a time when you are focussed in getting your hand baggage into the scanner etc.

a) the PDF file is on my computer

b) given that earlier in this thread people argue that it takes only seconds to fill out, what do you propose I do with all of that extra time?

c) er, with my boarding pass and passport?

d) see above

You're really overthinking this.

Never seen them in Port Everglades. Must be a CA phenomenon.

Agreed. I have used the form provided by PierlessCruisers in FLL and no one batted an eye.

Having ignored Nordski's advice :), we renovated our master bath a couple of years ago and took out the gigantic garden tub with jets that took up a lot of square feet. It's one of those things that people on House Hunters ooh and aah over, but I used it maybe twice in 10 years.

On a ship, I don't see myself getting a hankering for a bath. Shower all the way, please!

The whole point of the form is to provide current and accurate health info. for embarking in order to prevent the spread of illnesses onboard. Filling it out in advance, though convenient, would negate the whole purpose! Please take 2 min, and fill it out at the cruise terminal.

Filling out the form at a hotel 30 minutes before arriving at the terminal is not a big deal.

And I agree with previous posters: all that pen sharing is a bit strange to me when the questionnaire is about communicable diseases! :eek:

I am in your boat. I just found a hat that fits at Bass Pro Shops; it's no fashion statement, but it fits and will keep the sun off my head. :)

I am always happy for a poster on CC who is excited as they received a great deal on an upsell offer to a suite. Everyone has their way of cruising, we splurge on a more premium cabin as we are both not retired, finding the time to get away is very difficult, and allocate funds to make this our once a year big vacation. Others have more free time and are able to cruise more and get balcony/interior rooms. I don't look down on their choices and in reality jealous, and certainly don't feel like I should be judged on mine.

Indeed. I am about to start a thread titled, "In defense of the suite cruiser."

Like I said, defenders can use lots of other words, but what all boils down to is that the Pinnacle Grill breakfast is better because it's exclusive.

Okay, we'll use your word. But it would be better if it were exclusive to left-handed passengers or those who watch Deadliest Catch or those who drive Mazdas. The membership of the small(ish) group doesn't matter.

When I travel in a suite on HAL (which is about 25% of the time), I don't have breakfast in the Pinnacle to rub elbows with other suite people. I have it there because it's easier to get a table for two, I can get a cup of tea before I am finished with my meal, and my DH can get his chocolate croissant rather than a shrug when the muffin man has run out of them.

And yet nobody can seem to come right out and say what it is.

I am not sure if you're being deliberately obtuse, but a smaller venue, better food, better service, and the resulting overall ambiance are what "it" is. It's really not that hard to get given the descriptions earlier in this thread.

Again, your not valuing those things doesn't mean they are not of value to others.

Well, presumably the food is better than the MDR. It wouldn't be any different than Pinnacle or Le Cirque (I think that is $69 per person iirc) if suite passengers on HAL got to eat there free as part of their suite fare, except for the fact that non-suite passengers can't eat there unless they are a guest of a suite passenger. I still can't figure out why that is a perk.

If you've ever had breakfast in the Pinnacle, you'd figure it out. (And the menus in Luminae are different.)

That you don't want to spend your money to have suite perks doesn't make them not perks.

I think the OP's point is that Celebrity is offering a top quality dining experience for their suite guests and HAL should consider doing the same. People on the Celebrity forum are raving about the wonderful food in Luminae. Certainly if someone pays top dollar for a suite I think they deserve the option of a place to have true "fine dining".

We don't sail in suites, but I don't begrudge those who do some extra perks. You SHOULD get what you pay for. I would never pay for a Neptune suite now, but I might consider it if I was getting a better dining experience for that price. HAL should really look at this. I think for what people pay for Neptune suites they deserve a much better dining experience than the MDR chaos.

I just booked our first cruise on Celebrity in a Sky Suite and am looking forward to enjoying all of the perks, including dining in Luminae. I agree that we should get what we pay for, and we will use the perks we pay for.

We have been unimpressed overall with HAL's suites and the suite perks, so we thought we'd give Celebrity a try. That they offer increased and different perks is what was interesting. That and free beverage packages and generous OBC. :)

I wish it were that way also but unfortunately Holland America and some others are examples of the problem. They had a no tipping [policy] and guess what happened, people started tipping and the whole conversation started over again. I'm guessing Celebrity did what was best so as not to have a revolt by crew members, its unfortunate but that is the way it occurred.

Actually, the phrase on Holland America was "Tipping Not Required," which is not the same as "No Tipping." People were allowed to tip, or not, as they wished.

You have my condolences, I have one of those.

Sending a hug to you. :)

Fortunately, my husband is nothing like her. In fact, I am amazed that he turned out as great as he did.

I didn't think those MIL really existed.😱

Yeah, she's a piece of work. I told my photographer to avoid pictures of her and me standing next to each other (not that that happened a lot!).

Bring at least two pairs of shoes, the wedges & a pair of flats (either sandals or ballet flats). Being your first cruise you don't know if your feet will swell (& it's always good to be prepared). I became best MIL ever when I pulled out ballet slippers for the wedding party, bride was very grateful as her specially made glass slippers (yes it was a Cinderella theme wedding) turned out to be very uncomfortable...

Certainly better than my MIL, who wore white to my wedding. :eek:

One of the sad things about US credit cards is that, up until very recently, they didn't have "chip" technology. Sadly, even though many cards are now being issued with an embedded chip, most US credit cards are using "chip and sign" technology while the rest of the worlds is using "chip and PIN" technology. That means that, even though your card may now have a chip embedded in it, it may well not work at unattended kiosks selling gas or other items. For instance it probably won't work in Vancouver at the unattended Sky Train kiosks. I don't know why the US is lagging so far behind the rest of the world in this matter but I would guess that, as Pam is often known to say, "follow the money" is a good bet when it comes to figuring it out.

I used my chipless card at the Sky Train kiosks in Vancouver in February and didn't have a problem.