ldubs

12 minutes ago, CunucuMom said:

In my world it's called "theft of services."  It is disrespectful and annoying but I trust karma will take care of the thieves in due time.

I don't think this would meet the legal definition.  Might be tacky but not illegal.  

I hope the interlopers are reading this thread and have their eyes opened.   Maybe they don't realize how "unclassy" they were being.  

6 hours ago, DarrenM said:

definitely not.

 

I dont want to be on a cruise ship that is a floating theme park, invaded by thousands of children.

 

On saying that, I have just been on my smallest ship to date, and I found it quite dull. A bit like an Old peoples home for cruisers. If the most exciting thing is an unused ballroom then its potentially very dull.

 

So the medium sized ships are my go to. 2500-3500 customers.

 

 

2,500 - 3,500 is our sweet spot too.  Large enough to have a lively atmosphere with things happening throughout the day as well as places to chill when that is needed.  

I'm not bothered by families & children.  Just the opposite really.  In reality there will be much fewer on this size than the 5,000 - 6,000 passenger ships.  

8 minutes ago, horseymike said:

Stealing is stealing where I come from.

I was referring to the invalid comparison.  I doubt you would call the police on the interlopers.  

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

And what could guest relations realistically do? Is there something in the cruise contract that says passengers cannot walk at the same place as an excursion?

 

Note I am not defending them, just wondering what can be done.

Guest services would smile and say thanks for the info.  Then they would do nothing, other than shake their heads and chuckle that anyone thought they would do something. 

4 hours ago, horseymike said:

If someone was robbing your house when you were not home would you want your neighbors to say something to someone ( you , police , ect ) or would you want them to say that is your issue and ignore it ?

That is incredibly not even close to a valid comparison.  While an embarrassingly low class move, the interlopers were not committing a felony. 

5 hours ago, arealcheapskate said:

Having just come off our cruise, I have to tell you all about the strangest experience we've had yet. 

 

Now I consider myself about as cheap as they come, but another couple one-upped us on a recent walking tour shore excursion we had booked. 

 

Basically, they hung around and just followed the walking tour of the city - but weren't on the official excursion list, nor had they paid. We got to talking and they defended their actions by saying that we were just walking in public and there wasn't anything the guide could do. The guide didn't make a fuss but we all felt a bit awkard. I do wonder if they got charged for it in the end but I doubt the cruise line did anything. 

I sure wouldn't feel awkward. It is a head shaker for sure, but I wouldn't waste any energy on them.   I doubt the tour company did anything other than roll their eyes.   There probably isn't much they could do.   

1 hour ago, PGca said:

thanks ~ what helps is that expedited processing is now 2-3 weeks instead of 6-8 weeks like it was last year and if there was any hiccup with a 6-8 week timeline, she would definitely would have been without a passport in time to fly ! and I knew England would have let her into the country with her old passport with 5 months validity.... hence my hesitation to renew ..... but 2-3 weeks processing time + overnight mailing is easy peasy .... so that's the way we'll go .....

We just did expedited.  For what it is worth, we had the new passports in two weeks.   We have yet to get the old ones yet.  I guess it can take up to 2 months for the old ones to be returned. I'm not sure why they are mailed separately, but we don't have any needed visas in the old ones so not a big deal for us.   

I think I would be guided by whatever it is Princess says.  They are who you will be dealing with at the embark terminal.  Bringing proof their stated policy is incorrect may not get you anywhere.  Renewing the passport is relatively painless.  All Mom really needs to do is sit for a photo and sign the form. You can do the rest.   

Enjoy!  

11 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Yes  of course, I should have made that distinction clear.

 

 

We always do that!  Just wish that prices in the stores included taxes similar to here.  The number of times I have been caught out by forgetting State and City Sales taxes. 🙄

I wish our sales tax was built into the sticker price.  21st century tech makes that relatively easy.  

4 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Why is it that Americans reject the advice given by Europeans regarding the European market?

I had a similar thought when I read some of the comments.  Cultural habits are sometimes difficult to let go.  You say tips are not expected.  Truth is Americans traveling abroad are often solicited for gratuities.  Because it is the traveler's norm, they are often given.  I suspect (hope) this practice is limited to touristy areas.  

Based on comments here (sometimes rather forceful), I quit voluntary gratuities in Europe (and Australia) some time ago, even though they are often solicited. Except sometimes we are given no choice when they are hidden as service charges. Though I have to admit, whether those are for the business or the staff is not clear to me.  Either way, if that is the norm, I don't have a bone to pick. 

4 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

I have completed 3 x 14 day cruises in Europe in the last 8 months.  At no time was a tip required or requested. 

I think you mean while visiting port stops.  I don't find that surprising.  Most cruise lines have an expectation of a daily gratuity, though I understand some upscale lines do not.  

4 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Please keep American customs where they belong....in America.

thankyou.  Rant over.

 

Please return the favor should you visit our country.  

5 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

From my experience, I love the spinner wheels.  On the few occasions that I've had to use a wheelchair + 2 medium sized luggage + CPAP + carry on + personal piece, my wheel chair "driver" has thanked me for having good luggage with wheels.  They have been able to push the chair AND manipulate the two larger suitcases with ease.

 

I have given up on pull alongs.  I prefer hard sided suitcases that open up from the top (not clam shells).  Takes less room to open and packs so much easier.  My brand of choice is Delsey.  

 

Word of caution.  The sales person at Macy's told me NOT to get the biggest piece of luggage.  Too hard to handle.  You WILL overpack/be overweight.  And European/overseas cars may have a harder time placing them in their trunk.  I can "easily" pack a 21 inch carry on with 50 pounds of Trader Joes stuff when I go to Hawaii...of course, it goes as baggage.

Our 25" (check in) luggage is easy to pack with 50# of stuff and move around. Our 29" was alway overweight.  They are pretty much gathering dust these days.   

I am another vote for spinners.  Most of the time they work fine.  Those times we have to pull them over cobbles, we use them like two-wheelers.   

I like @Essiesmom's approach.  Another is to explain to a vendor you collect foreign currency then ask  to exchange their currency for your $5 or $10.  Ask them to keep a buck for their troubles.  Might be a lousy exchange rate, but we are only talking about a few bucks.

Edit:  It occurs that what I'm suggesting could possibly be illegal.  

On 6/3/2024 at 3:48 PM, SCX22 said:

 

Never do the round up for charity thing.  It's how companies donate to charity to seem charitable using your money, but they take the credit.

15 hours ago, Torfamm said:

To be fair, organizations are incredibly grateful when companies do this kind of thing. It can have a huge impact, but can take a fair amount of effort on the company’s part to collect donations.
 

Encouraging and accepting donations doesn’t make companies “seem charitable” anymore than the individual who participates in a pledge-based activity like a walkathon does it to “seem charitable”.

I'm not concerned with who gets credit so much as the charity gets a donation.  Rounding up is an easy thing to do that over a year's time can be meaningful to the charity.  

We found the medallion "locate" feature was glitchy on one of our last four Princess cruises.  It still worked but sometimes took a few tries.   On the other three it worked great.  For example, it can be used to locate where a member of your party is sitting in a certain lounge or even where they are seated in the buffet.  One time I could see Mrs Ldubs moving in the wrong direction. Of course it takes screen refreshes to see this.  I called her and told her to go the other way!  Haha.   

23 hours ago, funship freddy said:

I began cruising in the mid 90’s.  It was a different world. At the end of the cruise you would get envelopes in your cabin to present on the last evening in the dining room.  There were no specialty restaurants.  You got an envelope for your room steward, your waiter and his assistant and the maitre’d. I remember vividly that the only time you ever saw the maitre’d was on the last night when they visited your table to “collect” their envelopes.  There was no mention of leaving tips for those “behind the scenes” that make your cruise special.

Along came specialty restaurants for an extra fee that included gratuity.  That was then.

Quietly the cruise lines added their 18% to specialty restaurants.

Today we are charged “gratuity” on everything.  We are paying the wages of the crew.  What a shift from when I began cruising.  And now if you want an edible steat in the dining room you have to pay $20 or more.

Face it…. they don’t pay that much for the steak.

They mask their “burden” to us.

Reduce Reduce Reduce

Charge us more.

I don’t know how you feel but I am beginning to squeal.

Your comments   ?

 

Of course we pay the wages of the crew.  I think the bone to pick for some is how that money is transferred from the customer's pocket to the crew's salary.    

Of course the cruise line's expense for that steak is less than what they charge.    Pretty much what businesses do if they want to stay in business.  I think for some folks, it appears the bone to pick is that cruise lines have elected to keep basic fares low and charge extra for things that might have been included in higher fares charged in the past.  

Twenty five years ago I might have paid $2500 for an inside cabin with MDR food equivalent to today's specialty restaurants.  Today, the fair might be $1,500  for a balcony with an extra charge for better dining, room service, etc.   The difference in base fares is even greater if you factor inflation impact on real dollars.

My perspective is I continue to enjoy cruise vacations and consider them a bargain.      

52 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Stirring the pot, are we? 😀 

Let me get my popcorn...

Never mind. I got the short answer from Mrs Ldubs.   Rubber beach style flip flops are too casual.  

17 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Stirring the pot, are we? 😀 

Let me get my popcorn...

I was hoping someone could clue me in.  It is like saying chinos are not allowed but casual pants are OK.   One difference I can think of is that thong style sandals of various designs are pretty much exclusively worn by women.  Whereas your basic flip flops could be worn by men.  Is it about seeing men's feet?  Won't hurt my feeling if that is the reason.  Or is it that they are simply deemed too casual? Safety hazard (men are clumsy)?  

Since this is a dress code thread.....  

What I don't understand it the difference between flip flops and thong style sandals.  Thong style sandals are deemed perfectly alright, even on formal night if silver or gold colors. Flip flops on the other hand are the cause much gasping, head shaking, and mass anxiety.    

The two are pretty much the same thing.   I don't get it.  If sandals of any kind are OK, then flip flops should be OK.  

7 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

I guess I should have just said it's worth it to me to "waste" $4 for the luxury of knowing that I have a valid passport available to travel last minute. Personal choice.

That is a choice many make.  Just a convenience thing.  We actually renewed something like 14 months in advance simply because we have travel stacked up and now is the window of renewal opportunity.  I may be repeating myself.  Seems like it anyway.  If so, Oops!  😀

On 5/31/2024 at 11:58 AM, navybankerteacher said:

Of course, while it is possible for a heavy drinker to save money by buying a package, does anyone really believe that a cruise line wants its customers to SAVE money?  Pretty much everything they do is to encourage on board spending - and the concept of a drinks package is to put more money in the line’s pocket - by encouraging you to spend more on drinks than you would if there were no package.

I'm in general agreement.   Bundling a package together should always be a better option to the customer compared to the separate cost of all the individual parts.   Others might view a package as only a worthwhile convenience feature.  Or it might even be considered a desired must-have luxury because after all we are on vacation.  The beauty is, regardless of the reason someone buys, it promotes revenue growth.  If it did the opposite there would be no more packages.     

2 hours ago, Whizbank said:

Back when I did Royal Carribean with my husband, who was in a wheelchair, with the old muster format, they sent us to the area outside of the dining room along with all of the other  mobility challenged people.We couldn't hear the announcements and no one came to check on us or get any other information, though, because we had notified special needs before boarding I assume we were on some list somewhere. I had the distinct impression that if anything were to really happen, we were either on our own, or, they didn't see any reason for us to learn anything since they planned to come get us anyway. Luckily we never had to find out. If I were to travel with someone with a mobility issue again (which I will in December) I think I'll make a much bigger effort to make sure that we all know what we are supposed to be doing.

Yikes.   They didn't tell you what to do should there be a general muster call?   That is pretty bad.   I think someone screwed up.  

19 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

I wasn't suggesting that anyone shouldn't be traveling,  but can see how my post could be interpreted that way. I was just saying that if "wasting" $4 was a big issue international travel might be prohibitive. 

Thank you.  I misunderstood.  

I think we can all agree if someone does not want to waste $4 it does not mean they cannot afford $4.  I elect to pay an annual vessel tax by check because I don't want to pay the $7.50 extra if I used a credit card.  It has nothing to do with my ability to pay $7.50.  

1 hour ago, Luvcrusn said:

No one is forced to renew at a particular time. My point was that having a passport which is valid for at least 6 months allows a traveler to make travel plans with the knowledge that they are "good to go" at the last minute.  I was just offering an alternative view about the cost or "wasted value."

I agree with that.  In fact I said something very similar.   I don't agree with the implication that someone who chooses to not waste their dollars should not be traveling.       

1 hour ago, Luvcrusn said:

A passport renewal is currently $130 which equates to $13 annually or $1.0833 a month. If one "wastes" 4 months of validity it would come to $4.33 down the drain. If that amount is daunting perhaps one shouldn't be traveling since the cost of international travel would be considerably more.

Passports are not on the easy payment plan.  It is $130 up front.  It is normal for us common folk to not pay for something until it is due.