Beachdude

Another fun way to do that trip is rent a Harley. The dealership is right across the street from the dock. Take warm clothes.

We have had bad luck renting a car in Lahaina because we always seem to wait 45 minutes or more for the rental car bus. We now pay about $12 for a taxi to car rental place. It saves a ton of time if you plan on a full day.

Burt

We always get an aft balcony, so I've watched a lot of these little mooring boats in action. Anybody who has much time in these smaller boats understands they require a lot of experience to maneuver in close spaces. These boat crews (usually 2) have the added complexity of handling heavy mooring lines against the ocean current, propeller wake and wind. I've seen them hit our ship several times. Sometimes in the smaller 3rd world ports the boat pilot appears to be working with a very inexperienced crew.

Burt

We've cruised several times with our kids (2 sons, 1 daughter) from ages six 6 into late teens. Our experience is everyone will enjoy the cruise with seperate rooms.

Burt

We saw whales last year in November on our New England/Canadian cruise. I don't know if that is unusual for that time of year.

I will disagree that it's hard to see whales. There are actually the easiest of marine life to identify because of their spouts. The tall vertical streams of water and can be seen several miles away. We always keep bionoculars by the door on all our cruises so that we are ready when the opportunity presents itself.

Burt

I, as others have said, see the coming of a new dawn...FEES FOR ALL FOOD.

And more buffets

Beary

RCI services and food are not as good as Celebrity, but I would take the balcony.

Burt

Maybe its my dark humour or my sarcastic British nature but Im not sure I would be offended by that at all.

It's an American thing, the country is going through a difficult time right now. I was amazed at the number of discussions started by tourist on port tours while on our New England/Canada cruise. Even the Canadian tour operators had opinions. I also enjoy sarcastic humor, but I found it best to talk about the lobster.:cool:

Burt

I like Carnivals itinerary better. I think both their services and food are equal, but I do like RC's ships better.

Burt

Heyo,

 

Just wanted to pop in here, not really to share my etiquette experience, but to offer some perspective. Lighten up! .

Some good thoughts there evil, now may I point out something that I've learned over the years, rarely does saying "lighten up!" ever help relieve the tension. In fact it generally makes things worse because typically "lighten up or get over it" is a condescending self-righteous attempt of getting the last word. I'm not suggesting that was your motive, I'm just saying that you used the wrong phrase to make a point.

And inconvenience is in the eye of the beholder, wouldn't you say? I am so even that really didn't go ovTry helping two elderly women carry their trays full of food to another part of the ship so they can sit with their family. Inconvenience just doesn't fit for me.

I have cruised a lot and have way too many shirts to prove it, so I've been around. Honestly when this subject came up, I couldn't think of anything rude that happen to me except this one instance. So it's not as if I'm a cranky old man (my kids might disagree) using this thread as an excuse to dump. I truly think this subject actually is, or was, a productive thread. I read it trying to learn if I was crossing any lines, I am guessing that is what most readers were doing.

I am not suggesting we go on bashing posters here, I feel that it reached its conclusion until you jumped in. But it did take a few post to learn exactly what each poster was really trying to say. And honestly compared to other subjects of the past, I think most folks did handle themselves with patience and control. Now you may not agree and that's fine, but I'm suggesting as politely I can to next time use the tact or manners that you implied in this post.

Have a great cruise.

Burt

A resounding YES! I think we have a reader here who, for some reason, likes to read in a dining area.

 

I'll let your other comment go.:D

It's interesting to learn about some of the people we meet on this forum.

I've always wondered what people like jrose are thinking when we see them oblivious to their behavior. Now we know.

I'm trying not to judge, but the next time I'm walking through a crowded buffet and pass someone taking up a table with a book, I will be tempted to yell "JROSE! IS THAT YOU?".

I will try to resist and use my powers for good.:D

Burt

My vote is call your doctor and request to have it taken off early. He will know if that is possible. I personally would not want to lug a caste around on a cruise if I didn't have to.

Burt

If somebody behaves rudely about my reading in an eating area, I'll still share the table if they need a place to sit. But I'm going to stay put and continue to read until they leave (that's the counterproductive part).

Ah I see what you are getting at, your rudness doesn't excuss their rudness, so their rudness gives you the permission for you to be rude that you didn't have before.

What was the title of this subject again?

Jrose, the next time you are taking up a whole table reading and waiting for someone to be rude to you, take some notice of those folks who passed by your table twice looking for a place to relax eating a meal. It may be someone who doesn't speak a common language or a child venturing on his own. It may be an elderly person with a very quiet manner or it maybe a group of us who are just plain shy in these situations. Whoever we are, it is our vacation too.

And while you're taking up a whole table for the excuss of an opportunity to meet new people, that shouldn't be the expectation of everyone else on a cruise. A shy person shouldn't have to step out of their comfort zone as a result of your selfishness. There are plenty of very nice and appropriate places on the ship to read a book and it is much easier for someone with just a book to find those places than the a person holding a tray of food. It is the dining room, not the library. It's another place where a family should be able sit and enjoy their cruising experience together while eating.

It's pretty black and white to me, so my oppologies if I just can't see the gray of it.

Burt

We also noticed toward the end October that the vendors are starting to shut down for the winter.

Burt

I still don't see that she did anything wrong. There's no reason a larger group or some mix of singles and couples couldn't share the table with her. The only reason she would need a smaller table is if she didn't want to share.

 

But now I think I understand why this bothers some people: People lingering in the buffet probably doesn't often cause others to not sit down and eat, it just makes them share a table with strangers. Somebody that doesn't like to share could get offended by this (I sometimes get cranky too, if I don't get what I want).

Cranky? Some folks are just plain shy or need a whole table. A person taking up the whole table just reading while folks are walking around looking for places to eat is just rude. No other word for it. There are plenty of places on a ship to sit and read during meal times. I experienced this very problem last year when Sally and I took our elderly mothers on a cruise. I never noticed it before because Sally and I typically eat out doors or on the balcony. But our mothers insisted eating inside and my eyes were opened to the number of single readers holding a table.

Burt

I'm a little different with Kona. To really appreciate the Big Island, I would suggest renting a car and driving the Waimea. There is no other place in the world that looks like that part of the island. And the difference in terrain going from sea level to 2000 ft Waimea is like going from Mars to Ireland. It's a bit of a drive, but it sure helps one appreciate a volcanic island. The visit the coffee plantations if you have time.

Burt

Spend a little time a South Beach, it's a world of its own and a great place to people watch.

Burt

Well I have to say you've been here long enough to rant with the best of them. Welcome to the Cruise Crittic club Mrs Pot. :rolleyes:

Beary

There are some very nice looking fashionable swim/shorts called Hybrid shorts that are very comfortable. They are made of materials that dries quickly. You can also find some nice Hybrid style fishing shorts.

Burt

I prefer the captain to do his job, not to mingle with passengers.

I have no desire to meet the captain, but I do like a captain that mingles with passengers now and then. He is responsible for the health, safety and comfort of the passengers and mingling represents the attention he gives to the services of the ship.

Burt

>>Allow the poor guy to dress himself.<<

Burt

Sorry but when she stated she would like him to leave his hat off, she opened up the thread to just about everything.

That's not a good excuses for being rude. Seems folks have lost the art of participating in friendly discussions.

I'm also a melanoma survivor and have nasty scars to prove it, but there are many techniques for being safe in the sun including sunscreens. You didn't get cancer from using sunscreen, you got it from the lack of it.

Ignoring the main question and changing the subject is rude enough, but a poster should at least have the manners to present their opinion in a friendly tone. That way they don't discourage other thoughts and ideas like new products that can be applied on hair to protect the scalp. I am a diver and I have been wanting something like that for years. I may have just found it in this discussion.

Burt

This is a very good product for men with thinning hair as well. :)

When snorkeling, swimming, etc. there's no way to wear a hat.

LuLu

~~~

That is exactly right, I spend a lot of time snorkeling, so a burned head is a real concern. I will give this product a try.

Burt

I agree to an extent. I think part of it is that as ships have gotten increasingly larger it's become increasingly difficult to prepare anything better than the most basic of institutional banquet food to feed the masses.

The Voyager of the Seas in 1998 (99?) was the biggest ship at the time and the food was outstanding. The staff was so good that we felt like we were losing family at the end of the cruise. Increasing passengers only means increasing staff to keep up quality service. In fact, a higher staff to passenger ratio is what the higher end cruise lines brag about in their marketing. So it's logical that losing few staff raises revenue. Sadly quality suffered and still suffers today.

Ironically Royal Caribbean was the first line to make a noticeable change in food quality after 9-11. Before that, they were considered the top line of the lower end lines for quality of staff and food. After 9-11, we felt Carnival was one of the better lines for a few years. Strangely while our favorite Cruise experiences are Disney, I never felt their food was up to par with Carnival. The service was very good but not the food.

My prediction is that eventually either Carnival or RCCL will start experimenting replacing evening dinning with buffets. Today’s passengers at the lower rates aren't in to elegant dining or high end taste. They want in and they want out without changing the clothes they wore while at port. Some may laugh, but folks that sailed in 2000 would have never thought cruising would fall to what it is today. It's kind of like the frog in the pot of bowling water, if you don't really feel the change as the temperature is slowly raised, you don't realize how good you had it.

The only reason folks don't cruise for food today is they don't know how good it was. Of course that also goes for the quality of intertainment, room stewerds, butlers and pool entertainment. If they only knew. Turn up that water up another degree or two and it wont be long before suffergirl15 will be bragging about the buffet fine dinning on her last cruise. They even had cloth napkins. :D

Burt

I think once upon a time cruising was a great deal about the food but very much less so now.

 

In the days when food was excellent on the ships and dining was an event, the sort of people who cruised made luncheon and dinner their activity for social interaction and entertainment.

 

Today's cruiser wants to 'grab a burger' at lunch and many are annoyed if they are held longer than 45 minutes in the MDR at dinner.

 

Some of the change is the result of the change in who is cruising and much of it is the cut back in quality and quantity offered by cruise ships.

 

Late Night Buffets used to be an event.

Most ships don't even have them anymore.

I remember when we would go just to admire the magnificent presentations and photo ops were mandatory. It was almost impossible to not want to take out a camera and snap a photo or two.

 

Dinners were 6 or 7 courses and very graciously presented and enjoyed.

Most of us don't eat that way anymore. Society and the times have changed dramatically and cruise ships reflect some of those changes.

 

We have cruised so much and the food is of so little interest to us now, we just about never gain so much as a pound anymore. We eat to satisfy our hunger not because the food is so tempting....... to us.

Yes, this is pretty accurate and it changed in 2002 as a result 9-11. The industry took such a huge hit that food was the first casualty.

I have to kind of smile at the folks who don’t cruise for food, but to relax. They don’t cruise for the food because it’s nothing special to cruise for. They don’t know how fine dining in an elegant dining room with a well seasoned staff was an event to look forward to every night. It was hard not to impress passengers before 2002. One waiter with three assistances for two tables, service was excellent. And the food was not something that you would find at home except at 5 star restaurants.

However, the cost of cruising today is about the same as 10 years ago, so you truly get what you pay for.

Burt

Yes, sun on bald heads does feel hotter than the rest of the body because the blood passing through the brain gets hotter. The skin on the head doesn’t suffer any differently than the rest of the body, it just being fooled. But bald guys do have higher risk of heat related ailments because their brain doesn’t have any insulation protection from the sun. As a melanoma cancer survivor and an avid outdoors person, I have grown quite use to sun screens and clothing protection. What I suggest for the bald head is a non oily sunscreen that doesn’t run into the eyes with sweat. Most sports sunscreens are dry a few moments after they are applied. He will likely get much hotter than you more quickly, so eventually your husband will either want (need) to move in the shade near you (which is what I do), or cover the head.

Burt