fishywood

The ususal "thanks for your review" seems inadequate here! You have totally convinced me (and everyone else I hope) that all the scuttlebut about "cuts" in dining and entertainment is mostly just plain false. I have always felt that the entertainment schedule can be a little biased against those of us who prefer to dine late (though much worse on some other cruiselines) but I will be on Grand Princess next week and if its evenings are similar to the Ruby's I know there will be plenty to see and do.

A couple of thoughts (which you may have referred to but I missed):

Lunch in MDR--I know it will be closed on full port days, but your Patter from Tuesdays sea day does not list it for that day. Do you know if that was the case? I see they did offer it on the day you arrived at Grand Turk at 1:00.

Afternoon Tea--I know you had busy afternoons, but hoping you had a chance to get there once (and can confirm it is as delicious as ever)

Pianist David Moore--My favorite piano bar entertainer ever since I first saw him on the old Regal Princess in 1998! A bit eccentric but can really set the mood of the room; did you catch him perform any night?

Partial quote:

While we were waiting for departure as Renante was cleaning the suite, we finished our morning walk to make certain we had at least one mile done. One of the things we find a bit amusing as we walk our inside route is that every single chair, sofa, and bench in the halls, the lounges, and even up at Skywalker’s is occupied with folks reading, lazing, and even sleeping. These generally are those who book inside cabins with no view and also no sofas or chairs. On Cruise Critic they often say that they book inside cabins as they never spend any time in their cabin but on sea days there just no place for them to relax hence they fill all the public areas.

It is perfectly fine that you and your husband enjoy spending the sea days just relaxing in your suite. But why the need to look down your nose at those who prefer to spend them relaxing in a public area of the ship? Your assumption that those who do, do so because they are of a lower cabin class than you is probably mistaken and patently unfair. And the subtle implication that they are untruthful when they say "on Cruise Critic" the reason they book an inside cabin--not because of how little time they spend there, but in your mind because they are too cheap to pay for a cabin they can "relax" in--is downright hypocritical given your boasting of booking a suite for mini-suite prices.

If you don't want to use the Princess transfer, consider finding a shuttle that goes between MIA and FLL, and take a taxi from FLL to the port.

https://reservations.supershuttle.com/Default.aspx

SuperShuttle shared van MIA-Port Everglades: $56 for two people

SuperShuttle shared van MIA-FLL: $60 for 2 people (then add $15 taxi fare to port)

Private van same for either trip: $110

But if prices were reversed I would still strongly advise against an unnecessary visit to FLL as two major exit ramps are closed for construction. Was there to catch a Sunday 5:00 flight a few weeks ago and bottleneck to exit airport was horrendous. Don't want to contemplate a Saturday or Sunday midday in January with eight ships in port.

Daily passes for the thallasotherapy pool and thermal suite can be purchased for the QM2 Canyon Ranch Spa and the Royal Spa on QV and QE. I don't have the most recent prices but I was surprised to find last year that Canyon Ranch was acutally less expensive than the Royal Spa on QV. I don't think you can buy a pass for just the pool as it and the various sweat therapy devices are found in the same secure area within the spa. On a sea day you may want to purchase your pass around mid-morning; if you plan to visit at a busy hour (opening time, post-late breakfast, and the hour preceding and following afternoon tea) you may find youself informed that the pool area is oversubscribed--unless you wish to buy a package of services.

Whether multi-day or unlimited voyage-long passes are available seems to be dependent on the itinerary, the number of pre-bookings on Day 1, and/or the whim of the spa sales associate handling your inquiry. So should your first visit prompt the desire for more, or the weather be so poor on embarkation day that you wish to be ahead of the game, be prepared to engage in the art of negotiation.

If this is standard practice in Venice, why on Earth did the ship not tell passengers to take their passports with them?

When embarking in Venice (or any other EU country) if the next port is also an EU nation the ship will hold your passports until the chain of EU border crossings is broken. Immigration staff of the exiting EU country will examine the batch of passports onboard and possibly stamp them as well. It is certainly a better system then everyone having to go through Customs each time you do an EU-to-non EU movement. The issue noted above in Venice was that no picture ID at all was carried, which I'm sure the ship's programme advised all passengers going ashore was necessary.

Not true. My passport was barely looked at--let alone stamped--at the airport in Rome.

 

My passport was collected by the ship and was stamped in Toarmina, Kotor, Hvar, and Santorini, plus in Athens at the airport.

Was Rome your first stop in Europe? Flying to Venice we changed planes in Madrid. Passports were stamped there as is required upon first entering the Schengen Agreement zone, even if just for transit. Madrid to Venice is considered a domestic flight under the current convention, we went straight from gate to baggage claim to out the door.

Unless I am mistaken on the Epic there is no fixed seating dining; it is automatically assumed you will have dinner at different times in different venues most nights, likely not seeing the same server twice unless you seek them out. Thus the rationale for prepaid gratuitites. On most lines the cabin steward is notified of those who do NOT prepay (or who request auto-tipping removed), as their envelopes must be turned into the tipping pool--but I have heard the opposite is true on RCCL, so you may want to ask on the NCL board if you are still unsure what to do (but be sure prepaying was the best thing to do).

Just returned from transatlantic cruise calling at Bermuda and Nassau--and both ports were very strict about checking photo IDs along with cruise cards as soon as you reenter the terminal. In Bermuda we were the only ship in the Royal Dockyard but the lines upon returning moved at a crawl as everyone who ignored the ship's instruction to carry at least a photocopy of a government issued picture ID with them had their person and their packages thoroughly searched TSA-style. The ship will advise you at which ports a photocopy is acceptable--Nassau did require the actual DL or passport (as does St. Thomas as I recall from earlier stops there).

Yes, it is 100% correct that a closed-loop itinerary such as this does not require a passport for US or Canadian citizens. The logic and motive for this rule (or absence of rule, depending on one's perspective) is moot here. The cruiselines have the same obligation on closed-loops as they do on all voyages: to deny boarding to anyone not eligible to return to the United States. That is why some of us feel it is necessary for the gentleman who has been denied a passport to make sure he is not on any "watch list" that could bring his vacation to an unjust conclusion.

Thankfully this does not appear to be the case. Have a wonderful time on your cruise!

[P]reviously, he was able to board a plane and fly to St. Thomas. Is there any difference than him flying to Puerto Rico and boarding the ship given that its a closed loop cruise?

A very big difference--even though departing and returning to the same US port, the ship will be leaving the US! A person ineligible for a passport cannot cross the land border to Canada or Mexico; to me it is a pretty safe assumption that it would also be illegal to travel by sea to any Caribbean nation. I'm not making any legal conclusions here--I don't know what will happen when ICE sees his name on the ship's manifest, just that it behooves you to find out in advance.

As someone who has worked on behalf of persons with federal government liens against them, this gentleman is taking a serious risk attempting to exit and reenter the country (when embarking/disembarking in San Juan) unless he is certain to have permission to do so in advance.

Well, let's not judge. It's none of our business. The cruise could be a gift, for all we know.

Very true, it is not for I or any other third parties to judge. Leave that to the attorneys representing the child once they learn of this plan.

As for the fire, the first thing we heard were very strange blasts on the whistle or alarm system, the same system that was used during the lifeboat drill. It was heard in our cabin. We didn't know what it was. It wasn't the "head for the lifeboats" sound, but it was something, and we didn't know what.

On every cruise on the various cruiselines I have taken, it is a point of emphasis at the emergency drill that any alarm other than the passenger call to muster (seven short blasts followed by one long) is meant only for the crew and passengers need not take any action until instructed otherwise. I realize it must have been quite a start to hear it sound inside your cabin, but it is best to just go about your business (weather permitting) and stay out of the crew's way. It may have been for the best that the Captian was deliberately glib--judging from all the rampant speculation, a little knowledge was definitely a dangerous thing.

One of the obvious purposes of the singles get-together held in G32 the first morning of the TA was for the social hostess to introduce the single ladies to the gentlemen dancers. Perhaps this brief hello will bring on a helpful glimmer of recognition later that night in the Queens Room. (Or perhaps that uncomforatble ritual will have them seeking out fresh faces...who can tell?)

On my August voyage the men well outnumbered the ladies at this gathering which is apparently atypical; the hostess was a bit harried in trying to introduce each of the few ladies to as many different gents whose names she could remember. Most of the ladies quickly excused themselves by saying they did not want to miss the Insights lecture. Of course I invited myself along, but the two I chatted with before the start of the lecture both bolted for the door before the house lights went up. Oh well. Truthfully it is much easier to find other unaccompanied travelers simply by going about your day than through the schemes organized by the ship.

On that note, one minor issue I had was the lack of large communal tables at afternoon tea. Yes I know a table for eight or ten would look odd in the Queens Room. But failing to chat up anyone in the queue, I would sit at at table set for three and (on all but one day) rather than someone eventually joining me either one or both of the chairs and settings would be taken by a neighboring table wishing to add a fourth or fifth.