navybankerteacher

You might consider a hotel at Newark airport - Marriott has a couple of restaurants and free transport from airport terminal; so you would only have to cover transfer from hotel to port. Probably Uber would be best to the port.

Perhaps a book, opened to the middle, face down would be more effective.

When you get down to it, the cruise industry has been generally well run and not overly challenged. But the more very large ships you have sailing with thousands of passengers on board, the greater the possibility is that a bad (perhaps even a worst case) scenario will arise. I am not enough concerned to quit cruising - but for a number of reasons (three deck lifeboats carrying hundreds being just one of them), I am not inclined to sail on any ship carrying much over 2,000 passengers.

Of course ongoing strong sales will be necessary for cruise lines to survive - but given the fact that inflation is depleting the recreational travel budgets, and unavoidable fare increases, plus possible job losses in the (almost certain) coming recession are also likely to limit future sales, Cruising will survive, but the stockholders of more than one major player are likely to lose their equity in chapter 11 reorganizations

Are you referring to Captain Schettino? He seems to have made “that choice”.

Suspension of operations is highly unlikely. The purpose of reorganizations in bankruptcy is to give the debtor an opportunity to restructure its debt - likely at high cost to the equity owners and involve some write-offs for junior debt. Suspension of operations would jeopardize prospects for ANY successful reorganization.

If you are interested in real travel, you might consider a trans-Atlantic repositioning (usually reasonable fares in May) to the Med, then fly home after spending some time in, say, Spain or Italy.

Hoping you enjoy your first cruise - suggest that you consider either fixed dining which would give you table mates, or simply asking to be seated with others. You will find that cruising can be a lot more enjoyable with the sort of interaction group dining provides.

His $22 calculation was based on the taxi going north in Manhattan to the Brooklyn Bridge, crossing the bridge , then getting to the cruise terminal. Your taxi fare should have been about $5 to $7 - I can see why you did not want to walk in the heat; and, while you did not personally cheat anyone, you sure were overcharged — and you most likely did facilitate the driver cheating either the taxi’s owner or the taxing authorities who rely on licensed taxi drivers abiding by the laws governing their trade. Now, that is “Enough said”.

It is precisely that “left alone thing” which makes HMC so superior to overbuilt nightmare spots like Labadee.

Also Navy. Once on Noordam on the first morning of a winter sailing from New York I woke to refreshing motion- and seeing green sea water outside my window every minute or so as we plowed through on-coming seas. But these large ships can come close to ignoring 20+ foot seas, which on a DE made every motion a balancing act.

True: it is "barely done" - but it is still done, at times -- and you have no assurance that it will not be done -- so you should not just "walk straight through" without some indication that you may walk straight through.

The fact is: cruising will continue to evolve (perhaps devolve is a better term) - fare increases and the impact of cost cutting on amenities will continue. If you are not satisfied living year to year on the same income, why would you think a cruise line’s management’s approach might differ?

I suppose ports without proper medical facilities have a special danger - in addition to the harm suffered in “the incident”. But I do not think lack of good medical treatment facilities is the sort of danger OP was contemplating. Perhaps increased chance of earthquake, volcanic eruption, etc. should also be considered.

If you were staying at the Hilton Garden Inn, the driver did rip you off (it should have been well under $10) while possibly stealing from his boss.

12 - Queen of Bermuda, New York-Hamilton .

Of course, the Eurostar comes with some risk: my first time, it lurched to a stop shortly after leaving the tunnel upon entering France: a group of French fishermen were staging a protest strike against catch limitations by sitting on the track. We were several hours late arriving in Paris as the train had to be re-routed.

Agreed, but my comment addressed an earlier post which claimed that you could ensure that the bags were on board before you sailed.

Of course if you book Haven you are not booking regular NCL accommodations. NCL’s business model is to offer very low prices to lure people on board - and then to offer alternatives to people who want more than the bare bones bargain basement experience. That is why they have such a variety of rather good alternative dining options. Then, however, thinking people should comparison shop - and see what other lines offer for the price they wind up paying on NCL if they want anything more than the bargain deal.

Unless you are on NCL or Carnival, it is highly unlikely that the food will be “…really terrible…”, and even on those lines it will probably be OK. Of course, you should look at the menu and select something that you think you will like. If it is badly prepared, or served cold, you should certainly point it out to your server. At the end of the day, you are of course not required to show deference to a dining room staff if they serve you swill.

Of course the included food on NCL and Carnival is “meh” - they are discount cruise lines which attract customers with their low prices; and then offer alternative dining (for which you pay) to make up the difference. You may not always get what you pay for - but you surely will not ever be given anything better than what you are willing to pay for.

And what will you do when your AirTags start showing a growing distance between you and your bags as your ship backs away from the piers?

Good idea to double up your visit to Europe - plus, by flying back from Paris you avoid that annoying “environment” surcharge the Brits tack on to flights leaving the UK - depending upon distance and class of seat, it can be significant: up to about an extra $250 for a long flight in premium cabin - meaning that you could actually be saving money by taking the Eurostar and spending a night in Paris. Also, one more reason to fly to UK and QM2 home rather than the other way around.

Why cruise? Anyone who ever saw a sunrise at sea would understand. Then, too, if you chose a good ship and an interesting itinerary - that would be gravy.

Yes it is - but when you sail from Baltimore, much of your time to the Virginia Capes will be in the dark — as will most of your returning hours up the bay. But, I was really questioning how similar the itineraries would be. Sailing from Cape Liberty puts you in the Atlantic by early evening, while sailing from Baltimore puts you in the Atlantic early morning the next day - several hundred miles to the south. If both sailings were to Bermuda, the itineraries would be similar; otherwise, not so much.