MBP&O2/O

Not as busy on that day 🙂  Just three others, a Carnival, a Princess, and Silversea.

It will be an interesting day for you.

Also scheduled to be in port the same day ..3 June 2024

Celebrity Edge

Discovery Princess

Eurodam

Koningsdam

Norwegian Sun

The town could be heaving.

My last cruise was SB. One night a guy came into the MDR wearing jeans and a faded round neck tee shirt with the obligatory logo. He then complained he was cold so staff fetched him a blanket to wrap around his shoulders. Encouragement not enforcement?

I understand questions were asked at the time but .....

Having said that, imho, the whole F&B department was shocking in its management....

We paid $50pp for a UK deviation. We requested specific flights ... KLM .... NCL AMS FCO on the day before the cruise. No problem. TA sorted it. Obviously lost all transfers etc. Wouldn't touch Blackstone. Too many comments about last minute cancellations and I suspect the 'base car' has a very restricted luggage allowance which they enforce and they then invite you to upgrade to a larger vehicle.

I had an issue with 'MySilversea' some time ago. They merged my account with the Memsahibs.

I contacted a help line who said that they will only deal with post cruise problems. Please contact your PCC. Really?

I contacted said PCC who told me in no uncertain terms that it was nothing to do with her and any queries should come via my TA.

Customer services at its best ..... not🥴

Fine for me in the UK.

I lied ... it was just under six months ... I forgot the time in drydock🙄 so when you factor in the long haul around the Cape, it all adds up. In those five and a half months we managed ....

8 minutes ago, clo said:

That's kinda what I'm thinking. Not just a stray bullet but it seems like these folks may not be the best shots. So, yeah, keep the cruise ships out of there.

And please educate me. Do the merchant ships have to go through that area? Thanks.

They don't 'have to' of course .... but if they want the Suez Canal then yes ...

The incident I mentioned .. on a six month trip we went UK to the Gulf, then four round trips Gulf to Italy and a half trip back to Italy when Ieft.

When the canal was closed it worked out at roughly at a month each way .. Gulf to Italy to Gulf.

Big difference in money / time.

FWIW .. i have just come back from Florence. In early March the crowds and queues were horrendous. Unless pre-booked, expect at least an hours queue for the museums and once inside be prepared for more crowds and very limited viewing. Our hotel staff said it will get a lot more crowded

If you want a reasonable hotel near to the train station, we stayed at the Grand Hotel Baglioni. It is a 10 min walk to the Duomo area and there are some decent eateries in the area. Less than a 5min walk from the station. Ten mins to the Accadami and twenty to the Uffizi.

Not a particularly nice trip for the officers and crew of the Merchant Ships that do have to transit that area. I once did a Suez Canal Transit on a fully laden oil tanker ... 50,000 tons of oil ... whilst the Egyptian and Israeli chaps were sniping at each other ... one stray bullet, one spark,  and who knows what could have happened? 

I can sympathise... last year we did Newcastle to Vancouver via Amsterdam. First flight was 0900 ...which meant be at the airport for 0700 which meant getting up at 0500 and arriving YVR at 1600 plus clocks ... ie 0100🤪. Arrived at the hotel around 0200 body clock time. Didn't know it is was Tuesday or Easter🙃.

We just had a quick meal and dragged out bedtime as best we could but still woke up at 0600. Unfortunately it was a case of 'live with it' for the rest of the day. We booked 2 nights pre-cruise because of the jet lag.

I will not use drugs for sleep etc.

The use of abbreviations doesn't bother me ... most are self explanatory and those that aren't can be researched on Google ... if it is that necessary.

Two things cause me the odd raised eyebrow. One is when people put a 'part' name of a ship and expect everyone to know which ship they mean. Odyssey  was a well used one. More than one ship has/had Odyssey as part of its name. As stated, a couple of extra seconds? 

The second is a personal gripe ...people who misspell the name of a place they are visiting.

I would give an example of " carribbean " .... without even a capital letter?

I am getting grumpy in my old age 🤨

AFAIK 😄  It is an abbreviation that is used in the industry so why not on a forum? There are numerous others in use ... a lot of which are not understood by different nationalities. 

Where do you draw the line on what is and is not an acceptable abbreviation?

On our ships, with European crews, the officers and the crew dined separately. ALL food was cooked in the same place and quality was equal across the board. 

Perks for us?

Meals were NEVER a relaxed affair.

You had no choice about what to wear, and no choice about when to eat, or where to sit. Taking as long as twenty minutes for a meal was frowned upon. Meals were frequently missed altogether if operational requirements deemed it necessary.

When in port, 6 hrs on, 6 hrs off. Same principle but no dining saloon as you were in working gear.

Swings and roundabouts?

I am sure I read somewhere about a 'mass market' line that charged for a speciality restaurant and then charged extra if you wanted lobster, or similar 'expensive food' from that menu?

55 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

HAL have started putting a "crew dish of the day" on their MDR menu. Often Indonesian, which is usually tasty.

 

When in port, the dining room was usually out of bounds ... dress code issues 🤭 so we frequently snaffled a meal from the Indian cook, and ate it in a 'dirty mess'. Dirty as in clothes🙂 as we were in working gear.

This cook was cooking for the Indian crew so it was 100% authentic 😁.

Far better than the Goanese cooks who cooked what they thought the Europeans would like🙄

Back in the day we were told from the off that Officers would never socially interact with the crew. The main reason given was that of giving an order to someone who felt that they were your friend and they could then argue the toss, rather than do what they were told.

My last cruise I saw several stripes in the buffet, and also saw some pax who interrupted their meal.

Impolite at worst?

Yup ... save up fot two years ir so. Easier on the CC as well.🙂

Having said that I think my next will be my last. 😏  

Just can't justify the expense.

13 hours ago, Aquahound said:

Well, if the hammock doesn't work, you can always do what this clown did.  Throw in the cigarettes and matchbox, and you've got yourself your own little campsite.  

 

Sleeping on deck was par for the course on someone the ships I sailed on. No a/c in the tropics was an interesting challenge 🤭

The last time I looked at 'duty free' alcohol, it was cheaper to buy from a supermarket! 🙂

Off the top of my head  I would ask your cruise line if this is acceptable as the balcony screens may not be sturdy enough for what you want. They are pretty lightweight in design and probably don't use heavy duty mounts/fixings.

Other than the initial meet and greet and supply of a bottle or two,we have only once ever been proactive with a butler, and that was for a very early breakfast for an excursion at stupid-o'clock🙂

I always tell them we are extremely low maintenance and in the unlikely event of needing them we will call. 

I actually found the first one too intrusive so adopted this policy.

Other than the initial meet and greet and supply of a bottle or two,we have only once ever been proactive with a butler, and that was for a very early breakfast for an excursion at stupid-o'clock🙂

I always tell them we are extremely low maintenance and in the unlikely event of needing them we will call. 

I actually found the first one too intrusive so adopted this policy.

I looked at trains from Northumberland .....everyone needed a change at Birmingham  from whence it was a straight single no change journey.

Similar story here. Tanker post-typhoon. Rolling endlessly for several days. No hot food. Not allowed to sit down on watch so it somewhat uncomfortable 🤭

Reefers in 'owt but a calm sea .... N Atlantic in December was vile.

A few hours in an open lifeboat in a Force 7 - again post-typoon -  wasn't pleasant.🙂