Luckiest Dog

Darn, got all excited there for a minute, signed in and still don't see it. :confused:

I've tried 2 desktops, 2 laptops and 2 iPads, deleted cookies/history using IE, Chrome, and Safari. Needless to say, I cannot see it before or after logging on.

Since I'm not one of those who feel the need to take one of everything' date=' I tend to jump around (I do try not to push anyone out of the way to get to something I want or jump ahead of someone if there's just one step or two to get to the item I want). So as long as there's a decent empty space...I'll get to the roll or dessert I want while not expeding anyone.[/quote']

 

I do the exact same thing, as do most people. I may not have articulated well, but that is how the HC is intended. Those that complain about the layout are probably not aware that they can move around and they do not need to stay in the line around the buffet. I do see people do this as single file was the norm historically for cafeterias and buffets for a long time. That is what usually backs up the line outside just to get past the sanitation station.

They were allowing pax to enter either end and the middle was used as an exit. The two lines would converge at the middle of the buffet line. I agree that it is a poor way to layout the buffet. I sailed on the CCL Magic, one of their newest ships, and it too had the open station type layout which was great. No lines snaking through the buffet area.

I think you are hitting the key point of the problem. The HC layout is an open station layout that many perceive as a line. Evidence of this is the availability of plates at multiple locations. Many times I have seen a long line on one end just to get in, and completely open on the other. The buffet area was basically open but the line developed because everyone was blocked due to those picking through the bacon. You can walk around the line, get a plate elsewhere, get your fruit, cereal, eggs and go back for bacon when no one is there or get in line with the few people that are actually waiting for bacon. I do think you need to honor those waiting if in fact they are waiting for the same item or area. That is generaly not the case. Lines develop because many believe the etiquette is to travel in one single line throughout the entire area. The layout is confusing with a mixture of islands and a linear buffet. Treat each area as an island and it is usually Ok. If it gets too crowded inside, the attendant should hold back people at the entrance until people leave, then the line waiting to enter makes sense. Once in, you are free to move where ever you choose.

Other cruise companies do craft beers but not a huge selection.;)

Princess is launching their own IPA craft beer in November on the Regal.

http://www.princess.com/news/press_releases/2014/09/Princess-Introduces-Exclusive-50th-Anniversary-Seawitch-Craft-Beer.html#.VEb0s2ddV8E

It is always amazing to me how they can turn a ship around so quickly and not just the rooms. With all the passengers getting off, new passengers getting on, folio payments, customs, food loading, food preparation, baggage, fuel, employee scheduling and more. They certainly have it down to a science with minimal inconvenience to passengers.

My preference is to start the cruise with availability to the room and end the cruise having to vacate early.

There has to be a better reason for cruising on the Pacific other than playing poker.

You can say that about any activity on a cruise ship you personally do not like. Is bingo, dancing, bars, dining, bridge, reading, culinary demonstrations, shopping, shows, movies, swimming pool a better use of cruise ship time? It sounds like you are being biased to the original poster since you obviously do not use the casino.

It is the airport locations that apparently are not offering shuttles to the port. The Waikiki locations do (or at least some do). The airport is cheaper though. Alamo closes at 7 pm in Waikiki whereas Dollar closes at 8 pm with the last shuttle back to the port at 7 pm.

I recently made a car rental at the airport from the yellow brand. They will pick me up at the pier in the AM and take me back up until 4pm. After 4 pm, I will need to take a cab. I called again today and they confirmed this information.

I'm amazed by the people who totally ignore the instructions and are busy putting the things on a fiddling with them when the person doing the demonstration is saying over and over to NOT put them on yet.

Don't forget about those that cannot resist the urge to blow on the norovirus laden emergency whistle.

Although the crawfish étouffée is offered as an entree, I order it as an appetizer and order something else for the main dish. It is one of my favorites.

Just a question for LuckiestDog:

 

Have you applied for the FCC license that is required to use the GMRS frequencies on your radios, as clearly stated in the owner's manual? Or are you limiting your usage to channels 8-14, which are the FRS only channels?

We use channel 8 exclusively as we never have any other traffic on that channel.

I said nothing about fun. I said that the value of 2-way radios is minimal for the majority of cruisers, otherwise they would all have them. Your example that the majority of the population do not go on cruises proves my point. The majority in your example believe that taking a cruise has minimal value to them, so they "do not go on them". The same applies to 2-way radios - the majority see minimal value in them.

Thanks so much for proving my point.

I do agree with your statement, the value of using them brings minimal value for the majority of cruisers. However, the comment you quote me on was not for your post, but for swsfrail who says PROOF that radios must NOT WORK well because most people do not use them.

This is a simple topic. People use 2-way radios with success for their needs and the original poster was asking about models people use. I think it is legitimate to offer opinions of experience good or bad so the OP is prepared about the limitations. Those who respond that they flat out do not work, because they personally do not like the chirping or do not think they are necessary (use house phone, post-it's, or meet at dinner the previous day) is where I was trying to help the original poster.

Wow! Really? It's just my opinion. And clearly by your lengthy dissection of my post we disagree.

 

But no matter how many pages you write I will still think they are annoying and unnecessary. But to each his own.

Sorry to offend you. My goal was to give a proper response to the original poster about the models that do work. You supplied information that they don't work, then admit you tried them once, didn't know the range of the models and that the real reason for your input was that you find the chirping annoying.

If they were such a great idea and worked so well, you would see many more people with them. That the vast majority do not is proof that their value on a cruise ship is minimal at best.

Proof? With that logic, going on a cruise is not fun, since the majority of the population do not go on them.

If you need to stay in contact 24/7,..

Where did 24/7 contact requirement get mentioned?

I use them once or twice every couple of days.

Why do you need to be in constant contact with each other?

Again constant? 24/7? Why does every none user assume this? Do you use the house phone constantly? Do you leave post-it notes 24/7. Do plan your next days activities with everyone constantly? Only when the situation arrises that the parties take them. A typical situation is the women go to the spa and shopping, the guys may go to the pool or casino or wherever. Depending on the time they take, they will call to join us, arrange to meet for lunch or notify us of other plans. No need to go back to the room leaving post-it notes and impossible to arrange at the dinner before. Simple easy stuff, no emergencies, no "special needs" person. (my wife will argue differently about that).

Personally, after dozens of cruises, most with a group of four or more people, we never found a need to stay in contact at all times.

Again with the" ..stay in contact at all times"? Why do you assume this. So if you wouldn't use them you conclude that they must not work for everyone? I am sure there is something in your "cruise kit" that I would consider useless as well.

Back to the original poster, there are models that work and work well on ship. As you see, there are those that offer input based on their opinion of why use them at all, when that was not the question.

It would be like a poster asking where to get the best steak on board, then getting vegetarians responding that all steaks are all bad, why do you eat them 24/7 and why would you find the need to eat steak when there are plenty of other foods to eat. "We have been on several cruises and never had to eat steak"

Really not the issue.

I was only referring to the comment about calling the room - not anywhere else. At which point the house phones most certainly will work as well - and maybe better.

Of course when you are calling somebody that "may" be in the room house phones may work. All other possible scenarios the OP will face with 10 travelers cannot be covered. It can be difficult with the situations that can arise with multiple people to use the house phone or running back and forth checking on post-it notes.

We only attempted to used them once years ago - and decided we never would again. They may not have been high end quality but they absolutely did not work well at all with very limited benefit to us. If the only use was on a ship on cruise occasions that IMO buying high end units would be a total waste of money.

High end may not be the best phrase for me to use. The 35 mile range set costs about $50. These are technically considered low end. I was only trying to differentiate 2 mile radios (what most people try and use) vs the 35 mile range. I keep them with my other cruise items but have used them elsewhere on rare occasion.

The biggest drawback we saw - which prompted us to stop using them on that cruise and to never bring them on board again - was that they are quite disturbing to other passengers around you who don't need to hear your conversations and the annoying "chirp" of the call switch.

The chirp noise seems to be the source of your aversion. You must have missed my first post. I agree and would not use them either under that circumstance. Vibrate mode and normal talking voice keep those around you from even knowing you are using them. We do not require long conversations. A couple of words or sentences are all we need.

IMO, the ships are not that large so as to be difficult to set up meeting times and plans with others,

It can be very difficult with multiple people and a variety of interests and unknown times of activities. Again I believe this is the reason of the OP to ask.

...and there are far better methods of communicating on board to accomplish that.

Far better methods? Not sure what those would be, house phone...nope, post-it notes...nope

I know there is a new app trying to utilize the IPhone WITHOUT requiring internet/wi-fi/cellular. As this technology improves, it may classify as a "far better method", but you still end up with the same net result you have now, walki-talkies.

Just a thought but calling the room from any of the many house phones around the ship would work for this as well. Save having to bring the radios.

A house phone does not work just as well. You can always go to a house phone to initiate a call to the room, but what about getting in touch with someone who is at the pool, lunch or dozens of other places? The radios have their place and we only use them a few time a week when traveling as a couple, and more when traveling in a small group.

Agree with the rest of the responses about leaving them at home. Just from a function point, they do not work well enough on board to result in any real benefit.

In fact they do work well on board for what we use them for and they do provide a nice benefit. You may have had settings incorrect or had the lower range models of radios. Another possibility is your expectations or requirements were higher.

I would use Princess so you get the comfort of knowing you will not miss the ship.

We're a party of 10 taking Emerald Princess to western Caribbean. What would be a good set of 2-way radios you can recommend. Looking to get 8 units that talk to each other. Thank you.

We use the Motorola Talkabout MR350R with excellent success (about $50, set of 2 and charger). You must get a set with at least a 25-30 mile line of sight range to burn through the decks. We never had issues with signal, but we never tried the bow to stern, level 5 level 14 range but we did accomplish through several decks over the basic length of the ship. We also did not use them for long conversations, but only, "where are you" "I am on the way", "bring me back a drink" etc. We also use vibrate mode and normal talking voices, and most people do not even know we have them. They are handy when traveling with several people and couples, so you can do your own thing without constantly having to go to your room to see if anyone has left a sticky in you inbox or a message on your phone. Regardless of the other methods other will mention, the radios are superior for most situations when you want to connect with someone you have not seen in awhile. We never experienced any crowding on the airwaves. We rarely hear anyone else. If you do, there are plenty of channels to select.

I agree that repeated Nextel type beeps and loud talking is annoying, so leave on vibrate and use a normal voice level, and nobody will have any reason to complain.

If you are accustomed to good quality coffee, you definitely will want a coffee card. The vile concoction in the Horizon Court (buffet) is syrup based. Room service is also syrup based.

 

Not that syrup-based coffee is always a bad thing. My hometown source, http://www.javacoffee.com/, informs me there are different grades for syrup coffee, just as with ground coffee.

Regardless of grade, the taste of syrup based is always going to be somewhat inferior to an equivalent grade of ground. Based on flavor, Princess must use the lowest grade (cheapest) available.

Although we consider ourselves coffee snobs and always buy the card, we kind of like the Princess syrup based in the AM with breakfast. It is pretty good, unique and reminds us of being on vacation on board ship. Afternoon coffee with some sweets from the International Cafe is where we use our card. Sometimes after dinner as well.

I think the auto-gratuity works well and however you want to look at it (tip or service fee), it is part of the cost of the cruise. If I received bad service that required attention, I would bring it up to the staff person first and then to a higher up. I would never reduce/remove the auto-gratuity for any reason. I understand this a personal position. I also rarely accept free or reduced meals at restaurants when a complaint is made, so it is clear my complaint does not appear to have motive other than what it was intended, to inform the restaurant of an issue.

Also, in the days where you needed to personally tip on the last day, the dining room was always missing a significant amount of people to avoid tipping the staff. On the other hand, the staff is more honest with auto-gratuity about their attitude. It used to be blatantly patronizing , especially with the Head Waiter and the Maitre Dcoming around to the table chit chatting until they get their envelopes. Now they never stop by which is fine by me.

It is possible the 100% FCC offered on the California Coastal cruises were anticipated to be used by many California cruisers who took advantage. Since it had to be used on cruises 7 days or more and in 2014, maybe it is by design. Other incentives may also be to blame such as prepaid gratuities, OBC etc. Those who do not shop around will pay more. I booked LA 15 day in February and a month later it appeared almost booked. Prices then went up $600 for the same BB balcony I booked. My wife and I are getting the equivalent of $1139 each in extras.

Perfect - do you have to prepay when you reserve ?

What happens if it has to be cancelled due to weather ?

Thanks

Yes, your card is charged when you book. But, you can cancel or change up to 24 hours prior to your scheduled date with full refund. If within 24 hours, you get a 50% refund. No shows, 100%.

Just a week ago, I made a Blue Hawaiian tour reservation for 4 in November by phone. They hold it and will not charge it until you show up or are a no show that day. If you book online, it charges immediately. Try calling.

By reading your posts I've been realizing more and more that I should be looking for a different way of booking my cruises or at least a TA that will discount and perhaps add an OBC. One other option is booking directly with Princess - which I know many of you do. I just have a quick question though - if I book with Princess is it possible to deal with just one person or would I be dealing with different people each time I called about something? I don't think I would like that very much because I've dealt with some really good ones but with others that I just didn't connect with when I called to enquire about something.

 

Your advice is much appreciated!!

 

Camelia

I usually book direct. My most recent booking, I booked direct with Princess 9 months out and got a pretty good deal. Shortly after, I checked with a TA web page for he same cruise. There was a week long promotion that offered the same price as Princess direct, but with free paid gratuities ($345 credit), $285 OBC from TA an $200 OBC from Princess. The price direct with Princess went up $500 for our same category sometime later ( recently reduced by $100). I was able to get TA and Princess on the phone and Princess transferred the booking to the TA. That equates to an $830 discount.

Although not related to TA, we will also have 100% FCC of $599 each applied from the Getaway Cruise promotion, $200 FCC OBC we placed on the last cruise and $250 CCL stock. By the way, I give credit to the Cruise Critic posters for every bit of the savings. You can learn a lot just by reading here.

If we are not doing formal night, we go to the Horizon Court. As many have said there will be some people in specialty restaurants dressed formal and some not. But I'm just not comfortable going casual in specialty restaurants. If anything they are a step up from MDR and even on non-formal night I'd wear jacket and tie. Maybe it's just me...:(

I agree as well.

Oh, as an addition to my post above, I personally believe that a kilt, western/bolo tie or other formal cultural attire are completely acceptable.

Not sure why the big fuss. I am not a big fan of getting dressed up, but when on a cruise I embrace it and go with the flow. Sometimes tux, sometimes suit, and sometimes sport coat but always a tie. Not that big of a deal. There have been times when I leave the attire on all evening and others when I change immediately after dinner to shorts. I do agree with an earlier post that suggests photography sales is the root of the tradition, but regardless, it is what it is and I embrace it, just as other requirements and rules while on board.

Based on the 2013 rules that is not possible.

"The FCC must be applied to a SINGLE future sailing departing before Dec. 31, 2014." See official rules below.

When re-reading the rules, it does appear you can combine multiple credits for a single 7 days or longer cruises not yet paid.

"Book a qualifying voyage by December 31, 2013 and 100% of the cruise fare will be available as a future cruise credit (FCC) that will be applicable to any 2013/2014 published future cruise that is 7 days or longer and can be combined with bookings not yet paid in full."