camarodrivenrs

They really don't have to do anything.  I have a cruise planned in October and if it goes, I'll go.  I'm actively booking cruises right now when I see a deal I like.  As a Carnival and Royal share holder, the more they have on the books, the better.

I think anything less than $10 is a buy right now.  Though I've only been pulling the trigger when its been in the $8 range.  I can't see Carnival Corp going belly up, perhaps they have to spin off a minor brand or two, but they'll avoid bankruptcy.  Its not just cruise companies either, if you've got the money to spend now is the time to buy any travel company stocks.  United, Southwest, Marriott, and Carnival will all be back.

Tampa Marriott Water Street is walking distance.  Embassy Suites is a block north of the Marriott.  I think the Marriott just went through renovations so it should be nice.

Which airport IAH or HOU?  You will never make IAH for a 10:40 flight and even Hobby will be very tight.

plan on a cruise to the western Caribbean, STT and Grand Turk are destroyed

My buddy is getting married at Frenchmen's Cove on STT in December. They called already and told him to continue to plan as the wedding will not be affected.

I think had Princess thought about this a little more, they could have easily achieved getting the majority of passengers to pay for their excursions in advance while not angering anyone. Why not implement a system like many rental car agencies and hotels use? If a customer is willing to pay in advance, offer them a small discount, say 3-5%, and those that don't want to pay in advance could reserve at the full list price.

Either way, when it comes to following industry standards, I like to give my business to a company that is more interested in drawing the line, not just walking it.

Umm, I think it's a matter of relative wind vs the top speed of the drone. If the ship is doing 20 knots and has a 10 knot wind from the stern, you only have a 10 knot wind to deal with. if it's going in the other direction, then you have a 30 knot wind. The DJI phantom 4 has a top speed of about 40 knots, so theoretically it can handle either situation.

It would make take offs and landings a little tricky though. I live in a high rise downtown and sometimes fly mine off the balcony and have had more than a few close calls on windy days not being able to get it back to the balcony.

I'm sorry but they should cover ALL expenses in regards to airfare. If it were an act of nature and not a mechanical issue I could see it, but these people didn't ask for this cruise to be cancelled.

Probably cheaper to grab a rental car and just enjoy the Houston area for a few nights or even head over to San Antonio. I know I would. If I'm on vacation, I'm definitely having a vacation, one way or another.

So here we are after the first day.

 

205 folks have marked their age group, and 69% are over 50! that post on CC and sail Celebrity.

 

62 had registered a vote on the target market, and 49, or 79% said they were it.

 

So after the first 24 hours it would lead one to think if Celebrity is trying to reach a younger market, thru drink pkg's and loud music, it is not working. Us older empty nesters are still the bulk of the passenger base that is cruising on Celebrity. And from the couple of comments from those under 50, they like the up scale product and hangin with us old fogies'!

 

Very interesting, indeed.

I'd think if we just did a "what's your age poll?" across all of the CC boards we'd see a similar age distribution.

Why not fly into Fairbanks and drive back down? You'll pay a little more for the car, but I would not want to drive Anchorage->Fairbanks->Anchorage in a small period of time. I went to school in Fairbanks and you can count on that drive taking at least 9 hours one way with only stopping for gas at Trapper Creek. Its less than an hour flight on Ravn and if you get a clear day you'll get a beautiful view of Denali on the port side flying north.

As others have said, I think itinerary has more influence on the age group sailing than anything. I didn't notice anything on my Celebrity cruise that directly pointed to them trying to attract younger people or pushing away older people. As someone in my early 30's Celebrity appeals to me more than Princess, but to me both experiences are more similar than different.

That's part of a circle Pacific from Australia.

 

 

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I see, so the Golden is likely to return to Australia. Well maybe they'll have a change of heart for Fall 2018.

Yes they used to offer this cruise . The Diamond Princess used to do both directions.They stopped about 4 or 5 years when the Diamond was kept in Japan in the summer.

Thanks. I thought at one point I had seen them. I see the Golden is doing the Japan to Vancouver route April 2018, I guess I'll just have to wait to see if they offer it during Fall 2018. I know that Celebrity and Holland America are offering ones for Fall 2017 and we are assuming they will for 2018, but I'd prefer Princess.

As others have said it will be a great party. However, we did a New Year's cruise on Celebrity and we swore we will never do it again--the ship was overrun with children. Go in with the expectations that there will be lots of children and a max capacity ship and enjoy the party!

Has Princess ever offered this itinerary going from Vancouver to Tokyo?. I can't find sailings going west and haven't seen any reviews on here.

I agree with some of the folks above. After my Celebrity cruise over New Year's a couple years back, I will never cruise over holidays again. There was far too many children sailing with parents who were more interested in celebrating their New Year's instead of being parents. I would think Princess would be the best line to get a normal cruise during spring break times, but there potentially could be a few spring breakers who got good deals, etc.

Has anyone seen any taxis or any type of transportation around the Maria la Gorda landing point?

During the previous two Cuba Cruise years we noted U.S. citizens aboard the Crystal embarking and disembarking at Montego Bay. Whatever circumstances between their government and themselves was just that, between them. But this year I am curious to know if that is now not a possibility and that any U.S. citizen looking to book with Celestyl must do so through the Person to Person program. In other words does it fall upon Celestyl to prevent any U.S. citizen from coming aboard that is not part of the P2P program?

 

Chimo

I'm booked to get on and off in Montego Bay and as far as I can tell it only requires the P2P paperwork to be complete. They ask for a $90 donation and mail out the required paperwork. From Celestyl once on board it is completely up to the passenger to attend the P2P classes, sessions, and pre arranged tours. They've clearly stated it isn't their job to enforce attendance and we will be free to move about as we see fit.

Firstly, by using Canadian dollars in conversion transactions you will be penalized by an exchange rate of approximately 35%. The CUC is based on a par value with the US dollar. Because currency exchange can be made at each port upon arrival, we convert more on necessity for the day, drinks and food being fairly minimal costs. Purchasing too many CUC's and having to convert back upon leaving the country will also cost you in buy/sell exchange rates. Other than the currency needed for your car hire I would suggest you carry no more than 100 CUC's with you. Remember businesses do now accept US credit cards and there are banks to use a debit card. Hope this helps

 

Chimo

 

Ron

Thanks. From my understanding of I were to bring USD I'd be taxed 10% plus a 3% change fee in Cuba. By changing to CAD here in the states, I lose 3% before the trip and 3% exchanging cad to cuc. Correct?

Doing a little planning for our March cruise and was wondering what most people are budgeting for cash to convert to cuc? We'll be bring CAD. Would $1000 be a good amount to cover spending money in all the ports? We've booked a private car that will cost probably $250-300 CUC in Havana.

Has anyone arranged a hotel in Havana for the overnight? It does appear the ship docks basically right next to old Havana so it may not be really worth it. The prices for Hotel Nacional De Cuba are quite high. I've never been on a cruise that overnights in a port, is there any requirement to return to the ship by a certain time?

Patience

 

Within 3 years Cuba will be wide open and it will just be another stop on a Caribbean cruise.

Exactly and hopefully this doesn't ruin what makes Cuba special.

I think Carnival Corp is really going to lose out by creating Fathom. There is already normal cruise lines that American citizens can legally travel with which allow a normal cruising experience with normal excursions for the price of a small ship cruise.

I also think that in less than five years mainstream cruise lines will be allowed to call on Cuban ports. Once that happens, I can't really see a large demand for Fathom.

The port is very close to the airport, only about a 15 minute ride, but a 10:45 AM flight leaves little room for any hiccups. Last time we flew out after a cruise the security situation was a disaster at FLL, with very long lines. If you carry off your things and everything goes smoothly, you'll make it with time to spare. Another consideration is the port load for the day, which will probably be pretty heavy.

Looking for advice for getting from Kingston to Montego Bay. We are flying in from Grand Cayman the day before departing on a cruise out of Montego Bay. I'm open to road or air, though I don't consider driving myself an option. I guess my three options are fly on InterCaribbean and spend the night in Montego Bay, spend the night in Kingston and fly the morning to Montego Bay, or hire a car and ride over the day before.

Is there anything worth seeing in Kingston? The hotel would be cheaper there, we'd stay at the Spanish Court Hotel. Is it safe?

Is there anything interesting to see on the drive between Kingston and Montego Bay? Any driver recommendations?