chengkp75

Yeah, right. Trade in a job for half the vacation days and sharing a cabin with 3 others. And, all those merchant ships are having trouble getting crew.

While Eventide is open for lunch, Scales and Street & Co open at 4-5pm.

Scales is probably at the top of seafood restaurants, both in quality and price Street & Co is another top of the line, and pricey seafood place Eventide is about the best raw bar (can't vouch, don't like oysters) And, of course, Becky's Diner (nothin' finah) for huge servings of good food for breakfast (likely see some of the fishermen there if you're there early), lunch, and dinner.

Even if you paid the dishwasher on the POA $100k/year, they would still have difficulty getting crew. As I've stated earlier in this thread, the documentation requirements are vastly different for US flag crew than for foreign crew, and this has been backlogged for over two years now. At the best of times, the documentation required 3-4 months to complete. You are correct, at one time if a waiter came back for a second contract, he/she was made up to assistant maitre 'd.

An inexperienced helmsman and an inexperienced and inattentive 3rd Mate, who was the real culprit, but who turned state's witness and got away.

Trust me, the fog horn was going. And, to a 900' cruise ship, a 40' fishing boat is a speed bump. Typically, the Captain sets his night orders, listing an "allowable CPA" (closest point of approach), but this is typically 1/2 mile if the ship is free to maneuver, a mile if constrained. And a boat doing even 10 knots will close that CPA of one mile in just 6 minutes.

Why do you think the USCG randomly escorts cruise ships out to the sea buoy using a Zodiac with a machine gun on it?

If you want the "experience", then don't go for a "tail" (you won't find many places that serve them that way, anyway). If she doesn't want to crack the bug herself, many places will shell it for you. Claw meat is the delicacy anyway. Best places, IMHO (all 5-8 minute walk or less, my ranking): Luke's Lobster Portland Lobster Co , for "in the rough" (picnic tables) Boone's Fish House & Oyster Room , pricier for real meal service, but worth it DiMillo's on the water (on a converted ferry boat, I think it's overpriced for living on its reputation for a long time) Gilbert's Chowder House (best chowder in Portland) J's Oyster These are the places that would be open for lunch, there are a whole lot more still within walking distance of the ship, and really fine dining, but generally not open for lunch, so likely won't fit a cruise ship port call. If you think you can make one of these, just google "lobster restaurants portland maine", and you'll get a fistful.

Okay, just saw this thread. The Pearl likely did see the fishing boat, but regardless of which vessel "was on the right" (as another poster said), the Pearl is a "vessel constrained by its draft" with a shoal nearby, and the fishing boat was not engaged in fishing, so it did not have the right of way. The Pearl's ECDIS showed a collision course, and they tried to contact the fishing boat. Likely the Pearl turned away at the last moment (this is what caused the heel, not the impact, as the damage to the fishing boat was minor and a boat that size would hardly be felt even if the Pearl did "run over it". As the damage to the boat was above the waterline (tip of its bow), the damage to the Pearl would also be above the waterline, and visible, to give an indication whether it was safe to sail or not. The incident was reported to the USCG, the visible damage reported, a survey for flooding also reported (I'm sure), and the USCG allowed the ship to proceed. There is also a radar "blind spot" on all ships at the bow, where the bow of the ship interferes with both the radar waves and the visibility from the bridge, and small boats will "disappear" into this zone (on the Pearl, probably 200-300 feet forward of the bow), and the bridge team will hold their breath hoping to see the boat come out the other side of the bow. Ships hid small boats, or capsize them with the bow wave, all the time. It comes about when the boat operators have no clue about the "rules of the road", and how difficult it is to stop or change course for a large ship compared to a small boat. Probably the worst are sailboaters (and I sail) who think they know the rules, and that sail "always" has right of way over power, but don't know about the inability of ships to alter course (channels, etc), and force their right of way, resulting in many crossing the bow of a freighter in the "blind zone" (which on large freighters can be up to a half mile).

Not really. You have to ask for $2 bills specifically at a bank, and I've never seen a store give them out as change. Even though they are legal tender, and are supposed to be accepted as such, many businesses hem and haw and are very reluctant to take these, as there is no slot for them in the register drawer, and they have to be bundled separately when depositing the day's proceeds. It's just like giving out the $1 coins, it's legal tender, but no one wants them, and stores avoid them like the plague. You try passing a $2 bill at a store.

Yes. It's part of the USPH/CDC vessel sanitation program, to keep pest infestations non-existent.

We've had that, too, and there is a "parts catcher" at the end of the vacuum toilet system where we found all kinds of things.

Typically, those who can't get ashore (and more back of house types are in this category than front of house), arrange with friends who can, to pick up things. There is also a very busy "flea market" on crew decks, at least twice a week, where those who went ashore sell items to those who couldn't, or barter services (laundry, tailoring, haircuts) for items. There are also ethnic "Mafias" that tend to take care of their compatriots.

I can tell you that if my plumbers responded to a call for a diamond ring dropped down the sink, and were rewarded with a "goody bag" instead of a Jackson, they wouldn't be quite so quick to respond the next time.

Well, let's take this apart. Driving on the interstate, you are already in the country, so you have cleared customs and immigration, and are undertaking "interstate" travel. Arriving on a cruise ship is "international" travel, and the people of Bar Harbor or Portland can decide if they want to have thousands of visitors enter the country in their town, much like a city can determine whether or not they allow international flights at their airport. I find this very amusing. Portland has a very large immigrant population, and when my son was in middle school in Portland, there were 65 other languages spoken as first language by the students. As for the Key West situation, first off, it depends on the particular state constitution (guess what, they are not all the same) with regards to granting powers to state or local authorities. Second, the addendum has not been challenged, since it specifically excludes the 4 or 5 largest ports in the state from this state oversight, so actually, Miami could initiate a cruise ship ban, and it would not be affected by this law. As to whether or not the city has the right to regulate things outside the city boundaries, dives into maritime law, and the fact that the Federal government regulates navigation in US territorial waters (including the waters claimed by Florida), while the state owns the "submerged land" (the seabed) and can regulate activities relating to the seabed. I have not read the Florida statute in over a year, and am not conversant with Florida coastal waters laws, but from what I remember, the state struck it down on the basis that it interfered with the "commerce of the state", not any particular region either within or without the city limits.

If they were not single serving sized bags, this can get him into trouble, as crew are not allowed to have open food in their cabins.

Well, actually you don't answer the question, either. Because they are asking whether the the port side is the even cabins, not whether the even cabins are on the port side. And, that makes a difference, as many cruise ships do not have evens on port and odds on starboard. Carnival Corp's brands tend to follow this convention, but NCL and RCI don't.

Question, since I know that NCL's past decisions have been to not have them, were the cruises in Europe or the US, and were there signs specifically allowing swim diapers, or were there just kids in diapers in the splash area. The EU's ShipSan program allows kids in swim diapers in any pool or splash area.

Cutting the patch in half will allow the medication to leak past the transdermal layer, and tend to put more in your system faster. Try placing a small, round band aid where the patch goes, and then place the patch partially over the band aid. This blocks some of the transfer surface, so less medication is delivered. If you still feel nauseous, move the patch more off the band aid. If you do not feel nauseous, but have bad side effects, move the patch more onto the band aid.

It's actually 12 miles from shore, and its done nearly every night, late at night. The ship will generate around 2-3 tons of food waste a day. It's a ship, not a boat. Sharks are only near the surface in the shallows, so you won't see them. Sea turtles are almost completely underwater, so you won't see them either. For whales, you have to be in the right location at the right time of the year. On the East Coast, the whales migrate north in spring to feed off Maine and the Canadian Maritimes, and south to the southern Caribbean to breed in the fall. Porpoises will play in the bow wave, and you can even see them in some harbors.

The problem would have been if the cruise started in Italy. EU cabotage is tricky, as a non-EU flag ship can transport passengers from one port in an EU nation to another port in that same nation, if it calls at any other nation in between. So, if your cruise had started in Rome, and you got off in Livorno, that would have been a domestic voyage in Italy, and restricted to EU flag ships (Norway is not an EU member nation, where the Viking Ocean ships are flagged). Barcelona to Livorno is fine, and then getting back on in either Naples or Corfu is also fine, as you are proceeding to another country.

What is the itinerary before you get to Livorno? Where does the cruise start? There could be cabotage issues.

You will need a certified copy of the court order granting the grandmother custody, and a notarized letter from the grandmother saying you have her permission to take the child out of the country, and also to make medical decisions for the child. His birth certificate is all he needs, but if you can, get a state ID card (typically like a DL, but not for driving, given out at DMV). Then you will need the same covid documentation as yourself. May be cutting it a bit fine on adding another person.

Regardless of whether security confiscates this product or not, please do not bring this, or any surge protected power outlet onto a cruise ship. Your perfectly good surge protector could burst into flames, even with nothing plugged into it, entirely out of your control, due to a ground fault anywhere else on the ship. Surge protectors are a major fire hazard due to the unique nature of ship's wiring, and are not used for any electronics by the ship, as they are not needed, also due to the unique nature of ship's wiring.

Not in the "good old days".