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7 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

In the Concordia incident, I would have done this immediately after the grounding.

Im guessing you (or bridge officer) would have also called the coast guard. One of the craziest parts of the story is that the coast guard only became involved when one of the passengers was on the phone with her mom, told her mom what was happening, and the mom called the coast guard. The coast guard contacts the ship and the officers lie to the coast guard and say everything is under control. The coast guard didn’t quite believe them so sent a nearby ship to take a look. 

39 minutes ago, PoofCat99 said:

although it is hard to predict how any animal will react in a given situation. 

 I have a beagle. Although he has never been in an emergency situation, I know how he will react. He will beg for food. 

Reminder, this was not the case of a otherwise fine captain panicking during an emergency. This was a captain with a pattern of inappropriate behavior that was known about by both corporate executives above him and bridge officers below him. All of whom enabled him instead of protecting the ship and passengers from him. On the day of the crash his actions both caused the accident and prevented the safe rescue of many passengers. Again, aided by butt covering and incompetence both above and below. 

C and F are essentially interchangeable. In the rare circumstances they aren’t, C is slightly more universal. 

I had a long post written out, but I think it’s better to agree with an above poster. Read the official inquest report. Warning: it will piss you off greatly. So many people behaved badly. 
 

Side note: There have been a couple airline incidents where passengers were furious that the captain not only wasn’t the last person but actually pushed people out of the way to be the first person off a “crashed” airplane. Turned out it was the first officer doing exactly what they were supposed to do as they were going out to make sure things were safe for evacuating passengers. So while the Concordia captain and senior officers deserve every bit of the scorn they received (and more) it’s often hard for passengers to judge. 

1 hour ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

 

Don't you think "Dinner is mandatory" sounds a bit demanding and doesn't exactly set the tone for a relaxing meal?

LOL. That wouldn’t go over well on a cruise with friends, would it. I’m just used to giving the speech on big family trips to the yutes and that’s the language I use. 

This will be sent to the RCI board, but in general ships don’t sell daily drink packages. You usually have to book by the second day. On a four day they might not even allow that. Keep in mind RCI charges a fortune for the package and drinks in general. If you just buy drinks as you go you can burn through a lot of OBC quickly. 
 

But to answer the generic question, I use OBC for the daily service charge. It’s as good as cash that way. 

Simple… tattoos. 
 

Side note: I happened to be reading an article early today from a nation park completist visiting the one in American Samoa. Sounds spectacular, but a huge PITA to visit. Hope you make it someday. I wonder if any cruises go there. 

Rome is pretty easy to tour on your own. You will find many write ups and advice. 
 

Florence is a pain in the ass to get to on your own. People do it, but, personally, I’d only go to Florence on a cruise stop if I had a burning desire to see Florence. Consider Lucca as an alternative. 
 

Unfortunately, even Lucca is a bit tricky to get to via public transportation from the port. We rented a car which worked out great, but isn’t for everyone. 

7 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

About 30 minutes later, announcement that there was a small "fire incident" in the engine room and "all is well now."

Must have been fun trying to go back to sleep. 

3 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

and have a 21 day Med cruise booed for 2025.

Boo. Lousy cruise. Boo. Booooo

Honestly, I don’t think lines are that different between regions. If you like somebody in the Caribbean, you’ll probably like them in Europe. 

Siri says 272 days. Seems way to long. Should I check her math? 

I can’t help with info, I always love a toast. I raise a tasty adult beverage in your direction. Salute!

I like to book my cruises directly with the cruise line. But my last two cruises I’ve been unable to book the cruise I want direct and had to go through an online travel agent to book. 

On 4/17/2024 at 12:55 PM, ldubs said:

To avoid getting kicked off the ship, best remove clothes before jumping into the pool. 

 
LOL. I think you may have that backwards. 

Ship: You have an outstanding balance of $23.47 and can’t leave until it’s paid. 
Me: Oh, gosh darn, I’m completely tapped out. I am stuck on this ship. Woe is me. 
Ship: And your drink package is cut off

Me: Wait! I just remembered I have another credit card. I guess I can leave. 

I’ve been lucky. Only one missed port ever, and that was due to emergency repairs at the dock, not ship or weather issues. 
 

For pretty much any flight in the world, I can look up stats on how often the flight is delayed or cancelled. It’s a shame we don’t have that for ships and ports. Only antidotal reports. 

Keep in mind UK -> Caribbean is usually about nine days in a ship. With work, you could find something that works, but I gotta believe you are better off with the long haul flight. 

1 hour ago, Cruisercl said:

No airline would let you board without the correct ID or passport

That kinda undermines your point. The airlines clearly have a gate keeping role. If they aren’t going to let you on the plane without the proper documentation, they can do a lot to help you understand the what proper id they will be looking for. Same with the cruise lines. 
 

While the ultimate responsibility lies with the passenger, the cruise lines can and should do more to help 

I hear you. Even as an American I sometimes have visa issues. I wanted to take a cruise stopping in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis are new to the whole tourism thing so provide incomplete and sometimes contradictory info on their visas. It would have been awesome for the cruise line - which is actively working with the Saudis in the first place - to sit down with their immigration and tourism people and put together a visa faq for the thousands of passengers. Nope. After running around in circles, I gave up and booked a different cruise. Bummer. 

Which port? Which airport? 

The only times hurricanes really mess up a cruise is when they hit the embarkation/disembarkation ports. Even during a busy hurricane season, the odds of a particular port being hit your week is very small. 

Trouble in the Eastern Med?

That has always been our rule when traveling with others (usually family). Dinner is mandatory. Everything else is optional.