JRG

They don't have to lobby for it. Let us know when you have a better argument.

If I were King for a Day I would waive good bye to the old PVSA* and refund two days back to the OP's cruising wallet (taxes and port fees included) and grant your original cruising wish. You would also save two days' worth of Kennel charges, which are usually one of our biggest traveling expenses. The really good news is that this would make US dock workers happy and bring them more business than they are currently handling. That is Win-Win for everyone who cruises and for our fellow citizens who work on our docks.

No need to be curious george about it. The mystery is easily solved. Just dip one leg a little lower in the hot tub and see if the rash-line rises on that leg. Keep the other leg dry. Then dip the other leg so it doesn't look funny after you eliminate the hot tub.

I am Spartacus, direct descendent of the famous philosopher Comicus. Daphne cannot be Spartacus if I am Spartacus and somebody else is Spartacus. Something has to be different, yet similar amongst us all. You will not be the only one in attendance. Imagine what what happend if we all called out "I am Spartacus" I have recently been to the Galapagos, and to the UK, Canterbury, in fact, to study the works of Charles Darwin and what he had to face to ask Royal Society to Heave To and think things through, and low and behold you have this theory that challenged conventional thinking and he now finds himself interned in the holiest of holy places. I cannot understand why Iam Fleming has not been honored in the same way? My point is that, Music and Rock and Roll, may be the singlemost common denominator that cruisers have in common, and if we never put forth a singular voice, to rally the forces, then the Romans will never allow us to let Rock and Roll the seven seas and we will continue to be eaten alive by bad entertainmentwhen we cruise. Should we not also be looking at musical tastes as Genus to Species? As for naming rights to the music genre, I think that @cruisemom42 has dibs on Spartacus-Gothus, from a previous post IIRC, I have dibs on Spartacus-Rockus and that leaves either Spartacus-Punkus and a bunch of other sub-species to be named with the remainder of the musical genre spectrum. I am Spartacus-Rockus

I blame this on the house champagne in the Lounge at CDG. It's not Bollinger but its the best house bubbly I've ever tasted in an airport lounge. That should be expected given the proximity to the region where it was born.

What I have seen play out in both cruising life aboard and in real life, seems like a simple case of Life Imitating Art. That is, If you have ever seen Tom Cruise in Rock of Ages, then you will get it. Rock of Ages would be a perfect stage show on the big ships, if it hasn't already happened. Its the RockStars versus themselves in an older version. It is music that can bridge the intergenerational age gap and the Marketing Pros at the cruise lines recognize this as but one of many strategies. In other words, I don't see any Benny Goodman fans being targeted by the mainlines in the ads.

Its called the Inter-Generational age gap phonemena but I thought you knew this. You can read it about in the link below, here is the key extract. Why Generational Differences Matter In every society, the older generation holds the future in trust for the younger generation. Disparities in experience and interests make generational differences in perception and priorities almost inevitable. But it is the views of the young that are most likely to determine the future trajectory of societies and their relations with other nations. For this reason, the generation now in power—whose worldview was shaped in another era—needs to understand, and where possible accommodate, the views of those who will follow them, a generation shaped by more recent events and priorities. For the future is theirs. The Intergenerational Gap on Challenges for the Century | German Marshall Fund of the United States (gmfus.org)

Maybe they were fans of the Red Sox. That must have been tough for all those years, first with the Curse of the Bambino, and then with Billy Buckner playing 'tweeners with the puck' I'm glad those days are over and there is joy in mudville again. I'm also glad Joe Kelly is back where he belongs and well ,Mookie just Rocks, right?

They were talking about the Boston Red Sox and their chances for making it to the series!

If you are flying business class or better you may have a Fast Pass which will get you through the ugly lines faster, buts its also easy to get hung up in the First-Class lounge too long even with the Fast Pass in hand so you have to pay attention. But this doesn't exactly answer the checked bag question, I know. I can just confirm that the airport is ugly and the lines can get longer fast.

I think the word define here needs special attention when you talk about PVSA because it is one of the Marlarkey Kool-aid cruising urban myths that I am trying to debunk with solid evidence. Right now it looks like maybe this is actually just how the USCG and its overseers are using an "Adoptive Interpretation" to determine what is a distant port or not. but I could be wrong..... lets see what the cat brings in.

Bolding is mine. What is not boldly stated here is that cruisers are being re-directed to a Country which is dangerously classified by our State Department, for the sole purpose of avoiding what is essentially a 'fining structure' designed to support some aspects of cabotage. Thank You United States for your Adoptive Interpretations of the law which endangers US citizens and citizens from other countries not to mention the fact that is costing us in the wallet and we are losing the last day of the cruise or most of it to satisfy this law. The needs to amend the PVSA act properly outweigh the needs of the few who were designed to benefit from this but are not.

The cruise lines will jump on it like a flying Armada of Spanish Med-flies in a grove of Valencia Oranges. They are just going to let the offices of Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah do the heavy lifting. As for the labor forces, yes that topic will be covered in PVSA Snafu 201, but only after I confer with numerous union family members in my immediate family who know what to say because they have been there and done that and because their fathers (my uncles) were the deal-makers. I will suggest that the bigger impediment (pre-requisite to be solved) may be with the port workers in that they are afraid of 'Port Automation' because they are afraid it will lead to job loss even though it can be shown that the increased bandwidth of output or through-put in this case will conversely create of additional jobs and that they will benefit and they can maintain the precious birth-right of handing down their jobs to their children like they were season tickets to the Green Bay Packers. Solve this domino and the PVSA Snafu challenge is easier to tackle and to digest.

And this is one of a few topics covered in PVSA Snafu 201. This is when we examine the 'truth's about the PVSA Snafu. There is no ill will and name-calling in level 201 courses, it is big-league discussion and those who miss the cut will get left behind like something that fell off the last ship in the convoy. The critical mass is moving forward. There is no need to bandy around the same old slippery grease pole every time as is being done in the previous 10 or 15 posts before this one; listen to some fresh ideas and say good-bye to the same old malarkey and kool-aid and other propaganda. Develop a sense of Deductive Reasoning, as taught to us by Sherlock Holmes, and then you can defend and counter-persuade the weakest of arguments and not waste your precious time. That would be my message to the general reader. I think I can teach a 201-level class and graduate some students and have fun at the same time doing it. p.s. Please remember to include credible citing and (credible) references if you have ideas to beat the PVSA Snafu.

New Sailors Mantra ... regarding Cruising the Caribbean in August "Any Port In A Storm"

Prove it.

I disagree but I only because I understand. Read this. Potential Longshoreman's strike could impact cruise lines in Vancouver and Victoria. - West Coast Departures - Cruise Critic Community. There is a fantastic answer written which should serve as the basis for PVSA Snafu 101. You need to think Bali-hai and wash the crazy PVSA defense motions out of your hair. The above link is short and will give you something to target. Go for it and show me what you can originate. I don't care to bandy about the PVSA snafu so I laugh every time I see somebody use that same old comparison and try to persuade me, but I enjoy it when posters of IQ tell me what they think of the argument in post #17 of the above referenced link.

Agreed and let me just add to that that the US would not be ignorant enough eliminate the PVSA without first replacing it with a modern state of the art Passenger cabotage act so that domestic economies are not adversely affected. If one is too close to the trees they will not see the forest. So we can live with more exceptions until we can't. I don't' like the way PVSA was written because it preceded modern transportation and is obsolete and thus hurts Cruisers in the wallet. Its has been easier to band-aid it together over the years and that in and of itself is the symptom of a poorly designed law for the current time.

Unfortunately, the Associative Law of Mathematics does not apply to Transportations acts, or any other processes that are not Mathematical. The above post is not logical. I'm sorry, I didn't invent math. But one cannot use the Assoicative Law of Mathematics to compare how similar PVSA treats airlines and cruiseline and this is one way you can prove it. It is a weak comparison that falls apart as explained above.

I'm just glad we don't have to stop in Ensenada every time we fly round-trip from San Diego to Kauai because we have a timeshare there but ... But hey remember, the PVSA just doesn't apply to cruising, as if that makes any sense.

Watch the Netflix series "Boundless". (spanish with subtitlels) and some great shots of Lisbon and recreations of Seville. It is the best production of 16th Century ancient sailing that I have ever seen. It is about the Voyage of Ferdinand Magellan and the circumnavigation of the globe.

I remember making a post about my parents burial at sea and boy I got flamebroiled like a Whopper at Burger King. But nothing well ever take away from the magnificance of doing this properly, with a seasoned Captain who understands the process, especially for Coast Guard and Navy veterans and their families. But what I forgot to add way back then that if you do choose a burial at sea (like me ) then ask that your survivors do on the Equinox or the Solstice, (we chose Dec .21) off of the coast of Oceanside in a spot where the Captain knew exactly how the currents would behave. Crusty sailors know that the atmospheric conditions of the earth and the ocean act differently on these days, and especially at twelve noon. So the ashes and dust of my parents played and danced with us lingering for minutes on the surface of the sea, not descending, as though they were waving goodbye to all us like we were leaving on a cruise and taking their sweet time. For you, the reader, when it comes to your burial at sea, remember "HAVE IT YOUR WAY" I glad to see that we can discuss these topics now on CC without degradation of the thread.

Agreed. I'm not sure all of our cc readers are familiar with how influencers get rich on the big platforms. It's really a case of money for nothing (and the chicks for free)

The fact of the matter is that true influencers don't need free cruises or free perks because if they are on the big platforms and have a large following they are making millions of dollars and driving Maseratis or Lamborghinis and can afford to charter their own cruises.

I suggest a Rock and Roll theme cruise. Let the music soothe your moral soul. And I'm not talking about the Jersey boys unless its Bon Jovi or the Boss.