chengkp75

Those grapes were not consumed without sanitizing before being added to the Veronique. Those same grapes would not be allowed for you to have in your cabin to pop in your mouth as desired. You asked for a dish, they couldn't provide the ingredients, and you asked if you could provide. Way different. And, it is a violation of the USPH VSP, but would likely never be caught.

Do not bring a surge protected device. It is a safety hazard, and the person you talked to has no idea what they are saying.

Another option for getting distilled water is to ask your cabin steward if they are friendly with the engineers. While the ship is underway, they can fill a gallon jug straight from the evaporator. Might cost a couple of bucks in tips. I believe the problem is that there is a nation-wide shortage of distilled water, if you can believe that.

Since Covid, non-passenger guests are not allowed, due to covid restrictions. Prior to that, it was allowed, strictly on a cruise line by cruise line basis, further on a ship to ship, and port to port basis. If the cruise lines security plan allowed for visitors, and the port in question security plan allowed for visitors, then if you applied in writing, in advance, and provided ID for the visitor, the Captain could allow visitors. Despite the hull of the POA being nearly completed in the US, it is not considered to be of sufficient US build to qualify for PVSA compliance, so an act of Congress gave it a waiver of the US built clause of the PVSA to allow it to be compliant. It does not need to go to Fanning Island (Republic of Kiribati) as the other NCL ships that used to do Hawaii did.

The engine manufacturer does not make the spare parts for the engines. They license the ability to build engines to companies in other areas of the world, and the license "fee" is paid by producing spare parts which are then "paid" to the manufacturer to sell to the client. Not sure how, these days, the supply chain is working for engine parts, but it was fairly bad a year ago, probably worse now. And a long lead time item like a crankshaft could put that engine out for 6 months or so. So, as I've said elsewhere, the repairs can be done underway, and are done this way routinely, every engine getting a full tear-down overhaul every 2.5 years, its just a question of part availability.

That is correct, which is why the crew store only sells the individual type bags of snacks. USPH is strict about where open food can be in galleys, why would it be different in crew cabins. Once you get pests onboard, it is extremely difficult to get rid of them. Heck, even cardboard boxes are not allowed out of the provisions area into the galleys and food prep areas. If the galley needs a case of canned tomatoes, the provisions staff will take all the cans out of the boxes and stack them on a cart for delivery, and the box goes to the refrigerated garbage room. Why? Roach eggs are commonly found in the glue that holds corrugated cardboard boxes together.

As stated, no its not okay, but many get away with it. USPH requires that all "ready to eat" food, like fruits and produce be sanitized before serving. This requires a chlorine or vinegar bath.

Crew are not allowed to have non-packaged food in their cabins, and most lines don't allow open packages (like a large bag of chips) for pest control reasons. While you may have done so, it is against USPH regulations to bring food on from "non-verified" sources, meaning your kitchen. Cut flowers can come onboard, but not potted plants, or anything in soil.

Not definite about that. Article mentions that Carnival stated "engine difficulties" and given that Vista has only 5 engines (many have 6), and is configured with 3 small engines and 2 large engines, loss of a large generator could affect speed when the itinerary calls for top speed passages. If it is an engine problem, then it would be a German, Danish, French, Indian, or Chinese problem.

I believe that Magica is too big for Havana harbor.

This may help the OP, after a quick search for "international regulations for adderall": https://istmsite.membershipsoftware.org/files/Documents/Groups/PPG/2nd Edition Carrying Medicines Database.pdf This gives specific regulations country by country, from the International Society of Travel Medicine. It appears that Italy allows a 30 day supply, with a prescription and an endorsement by the US health authorities (not sure which agency, your MD should know).

And, what he did for Carnival Corp for environmental issues was positively egregious. Notice he never mentioned environment in his interview.

No, if the ships were near the US, they took advantage of the free vaccine at the ports, for crew that had been onboard long enough for quarantine. Not sure other countries were as free with the vaccine for non-citizens. New crew have to get the vaccine on their own prior to applying for the job. All of them.

Yep. Minimum wage for any seafarer, from any nation, by law, who works 70 hour week, is about $1100-1200 per month. Average doctor's salary in Philippines is $2150/month. Minimum wage in Philippines is $10.88 per day or $326 for working 30 days straight. The average income in Philippines is $3200 per year.

Having worked with international crew on cruise ships, I can tell you that most of the lower level jobs on cruise ships provide an above median middle class income in the home countries like Indonesia, Philippines, and India, where the majority of crew come from. What happened to the crew? They were out of work for 2 years, had no "covid relief paychecks" from their governments, so they found new work. The crew started to realize that while the pay is good on cruise ships, the stability they thought was always there really isn't as their savings eroded, and decided that a lower paying, but stable job is better for their families. Those who want to come back, have issues getting vaccines (the Philippines is only since the beginning of the year reaching fully vaccinated numbers approaching the US (still in the low 60%), and the same for Indonesia and India. They are also having difficulty getting visas due to short staffing and closures of US consulates. Also, the working conditions have deteriorated, with many countries not allowing crew to go ashore, or to change out.

I have not done a ceremony personally, and not with Carnival, but when I worked for NCL, the timing is such that the ship is more than 12 miles offshore (typically a sea day), the Environmental Officer will meet with you and escort your party to the aft mooring station. He is there to ensure that nothing prohibited is thrown overboard (if you get flowers from the ship, they will not have any plastic or metal), and will leave your party alone to have a private ceremony and drop the urn over the side. In the next couple of days, you will get a certificate from the Captain listing the lattitude and longitude of the ceremony.

No, the CDC has rules about crew getting off in US ports, they have no jurisdiction over what another country does, and they never restricted crew from either getting shore leave or crew changing in foreign countries.

While Princess has the "eat your catch" excursion in Alaska, it is with a tour provider that meets the cruise line's and the USPH requirements for bringing fish onboard. All proteins brought on the ship must be from "verifiable sources" and meet all the local laws for providing protein to food service. It must also be verified to have been kept at proper temperatures the entire time, and for most fish protein, it must have been frozen. Depending on the type of fish, even "fresh sashimi" served in the US has been frozen, to kill parasites.

And I suppose that the CDC is to blame for many countries not allowing crew changes or shore leave as well? If the CDC was so onerous, why didn't the cruise lines go elsewhere and bypass US homeports? Very few did, and not with real good results. I just checked, and in the entire Caribbean area, only certain ports in the US, and Curacao allow shore leave for crew.

Given that the two viruses are transmitted in totally different methods, concentrating on one virus does not mean they are ignoring another.

Nothing on CDC website, so not above 3%. No reported GI outbreaks for 2022 at all.

In the Baltic, Finland does not allow any ship to have shore leave. Russia does not allow shore leave. Germany restricts shore leave if the ship has been to Sweden in the last 10 days.

Contrary to what most think, it was not the PVSA or Jones Act that destroyed the US shipbuilding industry. It was the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, that President Roosevelt enacted in order to prepare the US for WW2. It did exactly that, giving construction subsidies to build ships in US shipyards (and operating subsidies for flagging ships in the US). The subsidy paid for the difference in construction cost between a US shipyard and a foreign shipyard. However, the shipyards and shipowners after the war found out how to "game the system", whereby it was cheaper and more beneficial to the yards and owners to continue to build ships in the US with antiquated technology and production methods, than to invest in research that would lead to the technology that European yards have since "discovered" and which saves vast amounts of money. We gave up the US's greatest strength, our innovative nature, to allow the taxpayer to fund less productive methods. These subsidies continued until repealed by President Reagan.

Andy, does Viking have a contract for more than one ship? If so, they can do what all shipyards do in a multi-build, steal the part from the next ship, and so on until the last in class gets all the rejects or delays due to lack of equipment.

Foreign crew entering the US do so on a D visa or a C1/D visa. A D visa is for a crew member (ship or plane), and does not allow them to stay in the US if the ship/plane leaves. A C1/D visa is a combination visa that allows the crew member to "transit" the US, either joining or leaving a foreign ship/plane to travel to/from home. Both types of visa require an "assignment letter" from the employer showing what ship/plane the crew member is assigned to, and acknowledging that the company is liable for all expenses related to the crew member's time in the US. As an example, if a crew member is leaving a ship, and cannot get a flight out that same day, the company puts them up in a hotel at the company's expense. Now, say the crew goes out on a bender, and comes back and trashes the room. The company, not the crew member, is liable for the expenses. So, if a crew member is left behind in a port, the company will get fined for violating that crew member's visa conditions, and will be responsible for transiting the crew member on to the next port, or repatriating them home. And, the company will be liable for a 24 hours security guard on the crew member to ensure the crew member does not leave the hotel room, and is escorted to the plane. After that, depending on the collective bargaining agreement, or the employment contract, whether the company can recover those costs from the crew member is variable.