ilikeanswers

Fatu Hiva French Polynesia. One it is fascinating to see a society that lives in extremely isolated conditions and two it is one of the most gorgeous places I have visited. Certainly most spectacular place visited by cruise ship. 

3 hours ago, HardToPort said:

No bragging about your job, finances, kids, house etc. Be self aware enough to know when you’re boring.

I would another side. I don't want to spend my holidays answering every tiny detailed question about my job😬. I don't care if you find my job interesting, I am not your cruise ship entertainment and if I wanted to talk about work I would have stayed home and worked😂. 

7 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Unfortunately, you are causing them additional work, as it takes longer for them to clean, once they finally get access to the cabin. If they don't get access until turnaround day, expect to see your photo on the crew dart board, as having a backlog of cleaning to do is something they don't need on the already busy turnaround day.

 

Lack of regular cleaning, especially dusting, increases the risk of fire, a fact that is hammered into us when we were new cadets.

 

BTW - the do not disturb sign doesn't prevent access to your cabin, as the Master, or designate can search/inspect any space at any time. 

I'd like to think I'm not that particularly messy that, it would make such a difference on turn around day😳. Though thanks for reminding of another concern. IMO when a cruise finishes all passenger data, should be deleted. With all these increasing data breaches you got to wonder why companies keep your ID data for so long even when you stopped utilising a company a decade ago🙄. 

But I am wondering if dust is so hazardous why have Do Not Disturb signs at all? Why not tell passengers it is mandatory to have your cabins cleaned due to fire hazard? 

4 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

I actually forgot about the do not disturb sign.

 

I suppose I feel that the room attendant might feel offended if I left that on every day.

 

Going soft as a get older

I figure I am doing them a favour one less room to clean🤷‍♀️. My mum always refuses to use the Do Not Disturb sign even though she too dislikes daily room cleaning but the way she sees it, it's included in the room price so she wants to use. I have said the Do Not Disturb sign is also included in the room price so why not give that some use🤪.

53 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

I fall into this trap regularly on the net. My sense of tone, or humour, doesnt translate well. Especially when discussing with folk from different backgrounds, countries etc.

 

I type like I am talking to a mate in the pub.

 

Apart from the swear words.

Emojis can help. Not perfect but sometimes it is a way to separate where you are trying to lighten the mood in your text. 

48 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

I must be odd then because I dont like anyone coming in my room during my time on board. I would rather make my own bed and re-use towels etc. I dont stop them cleaning etc because its disrespectful to do that, and I tip generously, on top of what I pay upfront as part of the cruise cost.

 

But I would rather know that when we  leave the room nobody has been in.

 

I am like that in hotels too.

I would actually agree with you on this. I've never liked having my rooms cleaned daily. Unlike you I have put up the Do Not Disturb signs just to stop the cleaning😂. I like to know the space I reserved is just for me and not open to anyone and everyone. I would much prefer it if room cleaning was done by request than on a daily schedule. 

26 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

They are only cleaning the cabins once per day, so less hours per cabin. Since the scope of work is reduced they require less cabin stewards to service all cabins aboard the ship, within the same hours.

I understand they have less shifts but if you half the staff surely it would take longer to do that one shift🤔? 

Most people cruising aren't regulars. It may feel like everyone is taking multiple cruises a year when on CC forums but for the average passengers what a CC cruiser does in a year will be the amount of cruises most people will take in their life😂. So they are less likely to notice the cut backs because they won't know how it was before. And maybe they are a little less jaded or critical because they don't have a routine yet, everything would still feel like a new cruise. I don't think any demographic is being phased out but regular cruisers were never the majority demographic, so the companies know what to cut that won't effect the bottom line and unfortunately the regular cruisers are people they can afford to lose. 

6 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

The cabin stewards will have more cabins to clean, but that doesn't translate into longer work hours, which are regulated. The change also won't affect their ability to go ashore, as this is dictated by "In Port Manning", where a percentage of the crew have always been required to remain onboard.

If there are less cabin stewards doesn't that mean you have to work longer to get all the cabins cleaned in one day? Or do they reach the maximum hours of work and just leave the rest of the cabins not done? 

About two week ago I was on CC on my mobile and noticed this number 035 has appeared at the top of the page:

I looked at the desktop site and the number is not there. I'm just curious what this number is about and does it mean something about my account? 

I don't have an interesting story as to how I started cruise it was just the destination I wanted to visit was easier to get to via cruise. My reason was so boringly practical😂. 

Wow that is so weird to me that the bar tenders pay the bar steward. That whole system is so foreign to me. Though I do wonder why the cruise lines don't just pay more for such a difficult and hard job especially if they have such a high turnover. If you have a good worker you should be doing everything to value them make them want to stay in that job instead of not promoting them just to force them to stay in that job. 

If you travel to see a festival isn't that travelling for the people? 90% of a festivities is really people doing stuff and you go and watch them do said stuff😂. I do enjoy talking to locals hearing what it is like to live in a place as travel I think does give a bit of rose tinted view of the world so I do find it educational when you can talk to people who can give you a fuller picture of a destination. 

Definitely everything you listed but I would add I don't to day spas and beauty clinics. 

Probably less. Not an age thing for me it is just the types of cruises I am attracted to seem to be disappearing and I don't see the market coming back for them. Maybe if my industry had a big salary increase I would be able to afford the huge price increase of cruises itineraries I am interested in then I could possibly cruise more often😂. 

Not a cruise but a land trip. The day we decided to visit Cesky Krumlov it turned out to be the same day a medieval festival closed the whole historic centre to only people with tickets for the festival. I didn't know you could book a whole town for an event😂. When we realised we couldn't get in we were about to go back to our hotel when a fight broke at one of the barricades, the guards left and we decided to be naughty and made a quick dash for it which to be fair there were other tourists who also visiting unaware of the festival rushed in first. With the festival going on it certainly was an unusual experience, (who knew in the middle ages they were into rock music😜) but at least we got to see the town especially as I doubt I will return to Czechia and we gave back to the festival by buying some of their food which was actually quite good. Lesson learnt that day check dates of places visiting in case of festivities. 

6 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

Think for yourself, don't follow a train.  

I didn't know asking questions was following a train 😂. I am glad you feel confident in your theory but for me I see just as many holes in it as the majority's theory. For me to be as confident I need more information and then maybe I too will be able to post authoritatively on this topic😜. 

5 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

But the obvious facts say otherwise.  If you're paying $2,000 for a room that they could get $4,000 for as a double occupancy, on board spend is not going to be a factor.  They charge the single supplement to make up the $2,000 difference in fare, not the marginal on-board spend difference.

Everyone else has said the opposite is true, the on board spending is the real money. Perhaps the conflicting information is an indication cruise pricing isn't that transparent? Maybe we're all being scammed by big cruise and we just don't know it😜. 

7 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 Many mass-market lines have cut about as much as they can cut from the cruise experience short of asking passengers to man the oars or bring their own food....

Sometimes I wouldn't mind the option to bring my own food 😂. 

4 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

No, you don't "pay a single supplement to supposedly replicate the earnings of the on board spending of an average cruiser" you pay the single supplement because you are getting 2 people's worth of real estate.  Those 3rd and 4th passengers aren't getting any real estate, they are just cramping the 1st and 2nd passengers' space.

 

The "extra services or products" you get for the single supplement is twice as much room as each individual in a comparable double occupancy cabin.

 

Basically the pricing is really per cabin pricing even when it is expressed as per person pricing.

Everyone in this thread says it is to compensate for onboard spending so I am following that train of thought. 

However that seems like a be a bit of an odd way to price things. Why express a per room price as per person? AI resorts don't do that and it doesn't dissuade people from booking. Surely couples can figure out how to split costs amongst themselves.

As far as I can see cruising is growing not diminishing. The reality is people will get use to all the cut backs and it will just be part of the cruise experience. Most people don't cruise regularly. It may feel like that on a site dedicated to cruising but the average cruiser is more erratic in their cruise schedule so they are not going to notice these changes as starkly like prolific cruises who feel their routines have been disturbed. 

3 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Those second and third passengers spend money on board.  You may not believe it, but the cruise lines' bean counters, who are better-informed, full-time money guys seem to, --- and, even though I do not like it, I have to accept the likely fact that the cruise lines know what they are doing (maximizing earnings), and are more interested in that than in being "fair" to single cruisers.

 

Like it or not:   you are playing in their back yard, so you play by their rules.

But at least when third and fourth passengers spend on board they are getting services and products in return. I pay a single supplement to supposedly replicate the earnings of the on board spending of an average cruiser and I don't get extra services or products. It is kind of similar to all inclusive single supplement, you pay this extra money but don't get extra tours, meals or whatever else there is. Normally if you pay for something and don't recieve it the transaction would be considered fraud, but call it "single supplement" and suddenly it is rebranded as compensation😂. 

11 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I asked about it, and he said no worries this would be like Australia, and it would be taken care of by the airline before flying. 

Being Australian I obviously never applied for our visa waiver but I have never experienced an airline that has filled out any entry requirements into a country before. Which airline was this? Are you sure you didn't misunderstand and it was the travel agent who did this for you? 

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

 

Would you also agree to being charged double for your drinks, specialty dining, and excursions? The fare alone doesn't drive the revenue that they want. They are hoping people purchase extras too. Something tells me a solo cruiser also isn't going to spend as much.

That is sort of my question. If single supplement is to compensate loss of earnings on those items then isn't it like they are asking me to pay them their potential profits without them needing to provide those services or products? 

1 hour ago, pobox1067 said:

Sanger, as I said, this involves leaving a Schengen country, going to a non-Schengen country, and then returning to a Schengen country.  As your own reference states:

 

• "On the other hand, US residents coming from countries that have not established a visa-free regime with the EU will have to apply for a Schengen visa in the US, in order to be able to enter any of these countries."

Also, the info sent from the cruise company states, "A multiple entry visa will be required if a non-Schengen country is visited in between visits to Schengen countries. (Example: depart from Italy, visit Turkey, arrive in Spain)."  My situation exactly.

 

This will be a deal-breaker for us.  But I just can't believe that thousands of other people on the ship are going to do this.  And I go back to my example where we were all set to go to from Spain to Morocco back to Spain last year and none of this came up.

 

BTW, this is an entirely separate issue from the ETIAS authorization, which is not a big problem for me.  The multiple entry visa, on the other hand, involves a fee of $90 X 2, providing bank statements, submitting passport photos, and obtaining insurance, apparently over and above what the cruise line provides.

I feel there maybe some misinterpretation going on because that is simply not right. This is from the EU affiliate Europa site:

Who must apply for a visa

No mention of having to apply for a multi entry visa because you are travelling between Schengen and non Schengen countries

And from USA State Department:

US Travellers in Europe

Which again makes no mention of such a requirement. 

Anecdotally I have travelled between Schengen and non Schengen countries (via land though not ship) and was never asked for a visa. I just got my passport stamped in and out. And people I know who have cruised the Mediterranean has never said they had to apply for a Schengen Visa.