mredandchis

I have enjoyed reading most of yall.  And i would agree that I applaud these changes outlined in the OP. But i think Sparks said it was at least something but there is more that can be done and i totally buy that.  What i also see a lot of is that these changes are inconvenient for many people.  This idea that well it saves the company money is valid but the reason the company spent the money in the first place was for the convenience of the passengers.  But then i wonder what the cost is for an edible straw as opposed to a plastic straw.   I can bring my own reusable straws.  But then many will say that is inconvenient.  But lets get real here,  I sit on the lido out in the pool area and what i see is people that just dont care for the most part.  Oh yes I have seen people actually cleaning up after themselves.  Tossing objects into the recycle bins that are all over the place up there but they are the exception.  Even taking their empty glass back to the bar.  But back to the op i am glad for what they are doing,  lets do more. 

43 minutes ago, Sean_B said:

 

As a former SC, I'd be interested in hearing this story. How did you spot it? Visual? From 25K? The E-3 doesn't have an EO camera and doesn't have an SS or ISR role, so getting any identifying information from the boat would be impossible.

It was on mission and spotted from the cockpit. The radar does do surface tracking and i cant be sure what all info was gathered from the SO.   I was sitting in seat 5 and saw  the ship was making turns in the water. The dark water trailing the ship was significant.   The aircraft commander called it in as a possible ship in distress and the ground units after a bit responded with their answer. How they made this determination is beyond me but the report was closed.  

Seaday Brunch!  I also like to hit the family friendly comedy show.  Also on a hot day on Lido i like to get a kiss on the lips.  Not a manly drink but very refreshing.  

41 minutes ago, MT_Sea_Cruisers said:

1st two accounts (husband and myself) under the same credit card.  The third passenger under their own credit card

the obc will just go to that credit card.  We have obc on every cruise and they simply deduct the credit at the end of the cruise on the bill.

We are platinum and always do self assist.  You can go down to a room to wait and that works fine or you can just wait for the announcement.  They try to control it the best they can but sometimes the crowd will just slide into the area and block things up a bit.  My next cruise is a journey cruise and we were already notified that there is a huge number of DandP on board so the lines are inevitable.

1 hour ago, ALVINF said:

We will be driving in on June 24th for a Celebrity cruise on the 27th. I think we will book the park, sleep, and shuttle package with TrinityReservations at the Springhill Suites for the night of the 26th. We will book the 24th and 25th directly with Springhill Suites. Two questions: 

#1...Does this sound like a solid plan?

#2...Is the Springhill Suites convenient to transportation to Manhattan (train, etc)? There’s no way I’m driving in NYC.  

Thank you in advance for the answers. 

i booked with trinity for this upcoming weekend and will be staying on the Jersey side.  They also provide transport to and from the port at a scheduled time.  I havent ever done this in NY but it seems like it will work out.  Just hoping i recognise all this in what i consider a turbulant area.

I read all this and I am sorry I feel it is all ssdd.  Dumping stuff into the oceans,  like as if there are not commercial ships doing it every day.  not to count the land areas of cities and towns doing it also.  I cannot get all excited about establishing a program to prevent all this.  I was on a cruise ship decades ago that i saw a sign that explained the dumping of items at sea.  There was a distance from land factor that was included.  And the idea of having plastic waste on board a ship is a terrible idea.  It all boils down to the convenience to humans.  They have to have their plastic bottle of water and then hope that it makes it to a recycling plant.  I was on an AWACS plane once off the european coast and we spotted a ship leaving a long trail of black in its wake.  we thought it was in serious trouble and reported it as a possible ship in distress.  we were told it was just a garbage boat dumping from the nearest country.  They do this daily.   I believe this whole thing is smoke and mirrors, all ships will just have to be more careful is all. And people are gullible and think that it is all solved and the guilty are all punished and we can go feeling better about ourselves. Maybe the company will get rid of all the 'individual serving" offers like cereal and butter pats and plastic straws.  But they would need to be replaces with dispensers and that costs money.  the changes will make things "inconvenient" for people and they will gripe or decide that things are not sanitary but in the big picture the planet will say thank you for your support.  

Very interesting.  If you wanted to convince me that I should fire them as my cruise company you failed.  Now as for RCL I fired them 20 cruises ago.  Every cruise I have been on with Carnival has not been perfect but everyone was fun.  I am jumping onto the Sunrise on monday and I am greatly looking forward to it.  

19 hours ago, JennyB1977 said:

@mredandchis - The previous posters have covered the answers regarding debit cards. As an example on the holds, there was a recent post where a lady was in tears because she could not get the holds released and had zero money to spend. 

Thanks, and thanks to the others also.  I had used the debit cards for many years and I do remember the hold but there was always a lot more in the account and the credit union I use does offer protection.  I didnt know about the methods of cash on the account and I wouldnt have a credit card for a long time.  But then i got that Carnival card and pay it off monthly for the past 2 years and it works fine. I like that point system. thanks again yall

6 hours ago, JennyB1977 said:

Yes, you can do this at the port or online during check-in. It will ask how you want each cabin/guests accounts to be set up, Credit Card or Cash.  DO NOT USE A DEBIT CARD.

Why not use a debit card?  I used a debit card for years and it wasnt a problem. just interested in the answer.

On 5/29/2019 at 1:29 PM, CruiseFamilyx1215 said:

This is great news. So I don't take care of it when I check in to the cruise port? I go straight to guest services when I board the ship?

Well go get your card keys from the rooms first. lol They will redo them to open the correct cabin.   I can imagine you will be on a mission to get it done but it is easy peasy

15 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

If two (or three) bartenders are working the same bar during the same shift, the cash tips go into the jar and the two (or three) of them div it up.  Similar when added to the S&S.  

Then that jar is the right front pants pocket.  I think you are comparing apples to oranges, the way we do things in the US is not the way other nations do it and a cruise ship is its own world.  I was told on more than one occasion by the crew members (who I would think would know better than any passenger) that anything on the sail and sign card gets put into the pot.  All bar staff gets a certain cut of that pot.  Now i assume here that the jobs may have a different percentage.  But personal tips in cash are individual.  

Also i read on here that reviews arent valued by the crew.  I have been asked by crew members to write a review as those things will really aid them on getting a new contract and sometimes a choice of ships.  I wrote one on a young lady that worked for housekeeping in a general area on a journey cruise.  She was so pleasant and I even have a pic with her.  a year later I was on a cruise andran into her.  She knew i was the one that mentioned her because a few weeks later they did her review and her boss showed her all her reviews and she read mine and knew who wrote it.  She was promoted for her next contract.  A number of passengers on the boat will complain at the drop of a hat but less will take the time to praise.  I remember the old days when they use to pass out review cards and you could just fill them out and drop them in a box.  Now it is all online but i always make sure i have the name and the job title of each crewdog that made it a better cruise. 

So yes cash is still king but words still have power.

we had this problem a year or so ago, it took guest services 5 mins to adjust it.  They just redid the cards we had.

As a whole I dont tip.  For bar waiters there is one already on the order.  But then there is that one that stands out, one that makes the cruise a bit better.  Even a bartender, waiter, steward can just make an impression.  Money from my hand to theirs is just between us.  There are times were getting a waiter up around  lido isnt easy.  I slide them a tenner and i never have to look for them again.  We can even communicate across the ship with out saying a word.  Those tips on the bills are all pooled.  At the end of the cruise they get their share.  Cash is in the pocket,  It is the difference between being a VIFP, which is good, to being his VIFP, a bit better.   But with that said if you only drink 1 a day then the tip on the check is enough i think.

They have a board for that lol.  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/317-east-coast-departures/  look for port Liberty.  I am sailing outta there in June and they answer a lot of questions.   How to get to the port and expenses and traffic and all.  And if you cant find the answers they will have solutions.

On 5/21/2019 at 11:41 AM, JCinATL said:

I'm traveling with a friend whose flight out on the last day isn't until 6 p.m.  And I don't want to end my vacation by getting up at the crack of dawn and rushing around.  Standing in a long line to wait to for my cruise to be over just seems depressing.  😞 I'm looking for tips on doing the opposite of what most people want to do - how can we get the latest possible debarkation time slot so that we can sleep as late as possible and not rush through breakfast? 

 

My forum searches for past posts have indicated that we need to be out of the cabin by 8:30 so cleaning can begin, and the buffet will close down by 9 or 9:30.  But I'd be happy to chill on the lido deck with a final cup of coffee until the last possible minute.  And it would be great if that would result in hitting customs after most people have already gone through and the line is short.  

 

Any tips would be appreciated.

 

(And also any tips on killing time in Orlando for an afternoon.  I'll have my car so we can drive somewhere and not have to drag our luggage around.)

I was on the Dream and we were with another couple and simply headed to the hotel for the night.  I didnt worry about the disembarkation time and asked when they had to have me off the boat.  They gave me a time but I decided to just get off 30 mins before that.  I sat on deck 5 with what was left of our coffees and then it had to be like 9am we simply walked off.  They are from the Netherlands and it was a straight shot thru customs.  Even at customs there was only a few people and it was easy peasy.  Just be considerate as other people are waiting to board and dont be the last one off.

Well personally I dont care as long as I have butter or even margarine.  As far as people jumping off a cliff over how it is served seems a little on the outlandish side.  Restaurants in the US sometimes use the tub and knife such as Golden Corral.  And as far as other people touching the knife they touch everything around you.  Most of you dont got any cooties. I do worry about illnesses on a cruise and I am very careful as to what I touch like the hand rails but sometimes i have to bite the bullet and get some ice cream.  But I wash my hands a lot on a cruise and really dont care for the sanitizers but will use them entering food areas. But all and all we are all living in a close environment on a ship and there is a risk.  We as passengers should do what we can to minimize this risk and be considerate of others.  

22 hours ago, cruise_mojo said:

hijacking a bit... didja girtls go to east or carver 

 

I was at carver 9-10 and east 11-12     class of 77 at that time each school only had two grades and East was one of the biggest schools in the state. There were 628 students in my gradutation class!   just a few years after East hit about 1500 students and a couple times had the largest graduating class in the state.   

 

Back then Reynolds, Norph, East, West and Parkland were the 5 senior high schools. along with a couple private schools. And Greensboro \ Guilford county still had the split system of city and separate county high schools 

 

Didja grow up there in Horneytown? lifelong carolininian? Eat at Bills Pizza Pub in Gbro? …. watch crazy IGOR at the old coliusem or wahoo mcDaniels in the old days of wrasslin in the two associations era ( NWA IWA pre WWF ) 

i wish we could continue this off the board, I hate hijacking a thread.  But not a native,  I retired from the Air Force and chose NC.

mahogany bay has wheel chair service. I recently saw a man come to the bottom of the hill to help an elderly woman and he was in a uniform of sorts.  

Also there is a cigar bar on some ships near the room the comedian preforms in,  on the right side as you are about to enter that room.  it has a bar and sometimes a bartender. I think they sell cigars in there also.  But all the answers above are my understanding as well

2 minutes ago, coevan said:

never heard this before, thought it was cruising days, not number of cruises for VIFP

You are correct , cruising days is for the color on the cards but I hear at one point the card colors were by cruises.  Trouble was some people were doing a lot of 3 day cruises and racked up diamond fairly quick.  So they went to cruise days but the old system had the 25/50/75/100 built in  to get s special one time deal and carnival kept it.  I have run into several people on ship rolling over 25 and they simply get a 25 percent on board credit for a cruise afterwards with some caveats .  Some day many eons from now i will get there.  lol  on 16 9 to go.

I drove in the day after Florence hit landfall just north of there.  I arrived early worried about weather conditions and possible detours.  I got there early early.  They allowed me to drive into the parking lot to drop off my bags.  They do this in the parking lot a distance from the terminal. Then I had to leave the parking lot and sit on the street for a good while.  Not sure what time it was but i want to say 10am they allowed us to park.  They have shuttle busses running back and forth but i chose to walk.  it is about a 2 block walk over all.  They didnt blink about check in times but that could be cause of the storm and loads of cancellations.  I am platinum and there is a VIP route. There was a man directing us to a seperate door for entry into the terminal.  it is not a large terminal and not set up like the Florida terminals but they manage.  I will drive there again in the future.  

Well, as for my family we comply to the set standards for the MDR and even the kids but when we arent feeling it we head for Lido cause there is no standard there.  I personally hate wearing a tie on vacation but will do it for the ladies who like the feeling of everything being fancy. Even the staff dress up for elegant night.  I see it as an example.  

4 minutes ago, wanderlust0713 said:

This will be our first cruise on the Liberty and I see they have.a coffee shop, but I cannot find it on the ship maps. Does anyone know where it is located?

havent been on the Liberty since 2013, but there always is a coffee shop.  It is on the promenade about mid ship if I remember .  Real close to casino but it isnt called the normal name but is just like we are use to on most boats.

16 hours ago, cruise_mojo said:

OUT PAST KVILLE! and high pockets! harumpf harumpf! can I get a harumpf outta that guy over there! 

 

I grew up in east Winston and went to east forsyth and carver when we had 2 yr hi and 2 yr senior high screwels! 🏃‍♂️

We've gotta protect our phony baloney jobs gentlemen.  My daughters went there.