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U4icmusic

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Posts posted by U4icmusic

    What's up with the PG-13 movies at the pool?

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    No matter what movie they play someone will be unhappy. If they play the 5-7 year old type movies (PG) then the younger adults won't be happy and they'll be posting a thread about the PG-13 movies no longer showing. Just the way it is most likely.
    The last thing I want to do on a cruise ship is watch a movie. Save that for at home. There are too many other fun things going on around the ship to waste 2 hours watching a movie.

     

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    Unlimited Drink Options Included with other lines: will you still book Carnival?

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Please clarify your statement. It seems they only offer lower fares via guarantee (sailaway) cabins if you don't want the perks. But what if you don't want the perks and want to choose your cabin? Then you are still paying for the perks. All 3 of the major lines offer slightly cheaper guarantee cabins, and NCL's is only slightly cheaper as well.

     

    Their perks are FREE perks. You can't lower the price for the same booking by not taking free perks. That's not how "free" works. So they do it with their guarantee cabins, and the pricing is definitely not lowered by the value of the perks, not even close.

    They do have lower rates without perks. Call and ask. Free is not really free.

     

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    Unlimited Drink Options Included with other lines: will you still book Carnival?

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    If the price of the cruise on NCL without the package is the same (minus the service charge) what makes you think the price is included in the base cruise price for those who don't want it? The way I read it is you are simply paying for the service charge of the UBP. You can speculate all you want but nowhere does it show that you somehow pay extra for it beyond that service charge. If you chose not to pick the UBP and the base price was lower than it would be clear that you are paying for it. Who's to say what Carnival hides or includes in their base fees. Like I mentioned before. The real value of NCL's drink package is on longer cruises . The more days the better the value vs. Cheers. Our 15 day Panama Canal on the Bliss with UBP was $600 less overall than the 14 day Panama Canal on Carnival with Cheers. Until someone can actually prove that NCL raises the prices for everyone on the ship beyond the service charge, then its all just speculation.
    That is blatantly false. NCL offers lower fares if you don't take the drink package or other perks. All the cruise lines build the price of their perks into their prices.

     

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    Alcohol drink packages

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    them's the rules. everyone( of legal drinking age) in the cabin must get a drink package. they are being nice and giving the option to purchase a NA package instead on making everyone get the same package.
    It depends on the cruise line. Celebrity does not require other guests in the same cabin to buy the alcohol package.

     

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    Is It Safe to Leave Scooter outside Restaurants or Shops in Ports?

    in Disabled Cruise Travel

    Posted

    Will be using a scooter for the first time on a Caribbean cruise visiting San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Maartin, and have seen some posts about leaving scooter outside of facilities. I can get around short distances with a cane such as walking to table in a restaurant or a quick browse through a shop but would not want to come out and find the scooter gone. Any opinions?
    Don't do it. It won't be there when you get out.

     

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    Wait List for Accessible Room: Anyone have success?

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Oh, this is the last time I'll be using them. I usually book through Royal, and would have this time, too, except Royal had no balcony rooms to choose from, only Guarantee Balcony. The TA still had some balconies available in their block of rooms, so I was able to pick one close to the elevators.
    Can your husband get along without the accessible room? This is such a great cruise. Did you check the inventory with several of the larger cruise companies. They all may have different cabins held and one might have an accessible room available. Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

     

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    Free Promos are Not Free

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    that is so true, but something some people miss is Carnival has a max number of drinks per day. NCL does not. Celebrity has no limit but the drink choices are limited to drinks under $10 or not to exceed $10. NCL has a $15 limit. It all, probably works out about the same. Let me also add, when you are discussing how much you are paying in gratuities for your promo, you are missing something. You are not charged more than the rest of us. I know our upcoming 10 day cruise does not have charges anywhere near what you are quoting. You need to get your TA to explain it to you. Obviously we are not doing a very good job.
    NCL charges a 20% gratuity on all drink packages, whether you buy them or they are one of your free perks.

     

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    Getting from Cruise Terminal to Fusterlandia

    in Cuba

    Posted

    Once you clear customs and immigration, leave the terminal, hang a right, start walking and start negotiating. My girlfriend and I got a convertible taxi for 22 CUC. Took us to Fusterlandia, waited while we visited and then dropped us off at the Hotel Nacional.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

    That's exactly what we want to do. Thanks for your information. Was that 22 CUC each way or round trip?

     

    Sent from my Moto G (4) using Forums mobile app

    Ncl getaway november 25, 2018 g&l roll call

    in LGBTQIA+ Roll Calls

    Posted · Edited by U4icmusic

    Have been to Playa many times on land based vacations and have never had any issues. Everyday we take risks when we walk out the door, not going to stop travelling because of it. In the U.S. you should be more concerned about walking into a shopping center than taking a ferry from Coz to Playa.
    A few years ago we did a really cool tour in Playa, where we went snorkeling in underwater caves. One of the best we've ever done.

     

    Those government warnings are recent because of the bombings on the ferry a while back. I agree with you though. Can't stop living or traveling. Just need to pay attention to your surroundings.

     

    A few years ago we were planning a vacation in Memphis, Tennessee. All our friends and co-workers warned us not to go. We went and loved it, but we we're careful.

     

    Not sure what we are doing in Cozumel yet. We've parasailed, rented jet skis, gone snorkeling from the beach and done Mr. Sancho's several times and loved all of them.

     

    The only thing we haven't done yet in the Scavenger Hunt. We aren't even sure who's going yet. Three for sure and maybe two more.

     

    What are you thinking for the other ports? Costa Maya has a newer water park that looks fun.

     

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    Yet Another Gratuities Question

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Seriously? Do you go into a restaurant and ask the staff about their compensation? If it’s a chain restaurant, do you expect to have workers’ compensation amounts posted on the parent company’s website? I’ve never had a discussion with any crew member regarding the compensation s/he received. Absolutely none of my business and I would consider any such discussion to be terribly tacky at best. Why on earth would you bring up such a thing? Do you go around asking people how much they make and how they are paid?
    This is not about compensation or how much they are paid. It's about how the cruise lines splits up the daily service charge. We all know servers in the USA make about $2.52 per hour plus tips. Again, two different things when working in the USA, or on a foreign flagged ship.

     

    Personally, I like the daily service charge. It's easier and there's no need to carry extra cash for envelopes like we used to. I think most of us agree that we want the money to go to the staff that it is intended to go to and not officers and stock holders.

     

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    Yet Another Gratuities Question

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Yes, absolutely. Because they want more cash. The exact thing you keep saying they can't keep.
    They can't keep it if they don't get it. If the cruise lines were splitting up the daily service charges honestly, then each cruise line would have an exact breakdown on their website, showing who gets what. None of them do because they are all secretive and deceitful. They don't care about their employees and how they get paid. They want the cheapest workforce they can find. It's also why most cruise lines ships are registered in third world countries so they don't have to follow labor laws in industrialized nations.

     

    Sent from my Moto G (4) using Forums mobile app

    Yet Another Gratuities Question

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    That's my point- I don't have to worry about it because my only task is to leave the tip, after that what exactly happens to it isn't my concern. I don't ask my wait staff in a land based restaurant if they get to keep all of the tip I give them or if they have to tip out to other staff or pool the tip with other servers, why would I ask aboard ship?
    Because you are not tipping the staff, you are paying a daily service charge to the cruise line and they are worried only with their bottom line and not their poor, underpaid staff, typically from poor underdeveloped countries.

     

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    Yet Another Gratuities Question

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Personally I'm not interested in re-inventing the wheel. As long as all of the gratuities I leave make it to a staff person and are not retained by the company for its profits I am fine with however it gets distributed. I figure once I leave a tip in a restaurant what happens to it is out of my control, so why should I worry any more about the shipboard tips since I have no control over that either?
    The issue is cruise staff will tell you they are not getting all the money paid into the daily service charge pool. If you ask a cruise line how the money is broken down, they won't tell you who gets what. On some cruise lines it is impossible or nearly impossible to get the daily service charges waived and tip out individually, like we all used to. I truly believe that there is something fishy going on and that part of the daily service charges are going to stockholders and executive staff.

     

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