Misconceptions

[shipgeeks]

Misconception:  I need to decorate the door of my cabin, and I need to buy and hide a bunch of little ducks.

Reality:  No, you don't need to do either.  Most people don't.

[ldubs]

Misconception:  If I don't like something, then no one should do it.  

Reality:  Different people enjoy different things. 

[BallFour4]

On 12/30/2023 at 10:25 AM, Hlitner said:

... Over 50 years of extensive cruising we have seen and met folks who simply should not be on a cruise ship...

And for the first time since cruising on the Mardi Gras in 1976 my wife and I got up from dinner and asked to be moved to a different table. We did, and the couple that took our place moved the next night. Two couples that were at the table met your criteria!
.

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, BallFour4 said:

And for the first time since cruising on the Mardi Gras in 1976 my wife and I got up from dinner and asked to be moved to a different table. We did, and the couple that took our place moved the next night. Two couples that were at the table met your criteria!
.

Oh my.  

[lisiamc]

7 hours ago, BallFour4 said:

cruising on the Mardi Gras in 1976 

You could have been on the cruise that inspired me to start cruising! The first cruise ship I ever saw was the Mardi Gras heading up the St Lawrence seaway in 1976. I was a teenager on the shore listening to their jazz band and absolutely drooling with envy at what a good time those passengers must be having. It took 16 more years to make that dream come true, but cruising is still my favourite holiday. 
 

Even if you weren’t on that exact cruise, thank you for bringing a wonderful memory to mind!

[BallFour4]

10 hours ago, lisiamc said:

You could have been on the cruise that inspired me to start cruising! The first cruise ship I ever saw was the Mardi Gras heading up the St Lawrence seaway in 1976. I was a teenager on the shore listening to their jazz band and absolutely drooling with envy at what a good time those passengers must be having. It took 16 more years to make that dream come true, but cruising is still my favourite holiday. 
 

Even if you weren’t on that exact cruise, thank you for bringing a wonderful memory to mind!

I was an 18 year old with graduation cash in my pocket. Rum is the reason pirates never ruled the world.

.

[clo]

On 1/2/2024 at 8:24 AM, Hlitner said:

Some folks seem to adapt to ship motion while others go through life with seasick issues.  When DW and I started cruising (about 50 years ago) we had our problems.  In the early years we took Dramamine, later switched to Bonine (Meclizine), and even tried the Transderm Scop patches.  Eventually we got to a point where we seldom were bothered by motion (even when in 40 foot seas) although DW will still take Boninie if things start to get rough.  I still can get car sick (especially when riding in the back of a car) but have not been seasick in far more than 1300 days on cruise ships.

 

We also know, first hand, that while some folks truly have a motion issue (we are told this is an inner ear problem) others have a mental problem.  We have actually witnessed a lady turn green (and get sick) on a ship that was tied up in a river that was completely motionless.  As soon as she stepped on any ship she would start to get quesy.  The lady was completely "psyched out" by ships.  It does happen.

 

Hank

Boo hoo. When we cross the Drake Passage on our way to Antarctica, it was the Drake Lake in both directions.

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, clo said:

Boo hoo. When we cross the Drake Passage on our way to Antarctica, it was the Drake Lake in both directions.

ROFL.  Many would certainly wish for such a horror :).  Many years ago we were in Buenos Aires when a Crystal ship (I think it was the Symphony) came into port with a missing lifeboat.  We later heard from one of the passengers that it was torn off the ship in the Drake "Lake."  While we can usually handle the rough seas, the lake would be preferred :).  And I believe it was just last year that a Viking Polaris passenger was killed in those waters.  ARGH.

 

Hank

[clo]

9 hours ago, Hlitner said:

ROFL.  Many would certainly wish for such a horror :).  Many years ago we were in Buenos Aires when a Crystal ship (I think it was the Symphony) came into port with a missing lifeboat.  We later heard from one of the passengers that it was torn off the ship in the Drake "Lake."  While we can usually handle the rough seas, the lake would be preferred :).  And I believe it was just last year that a Viking Polaris passenger was killed in those waters.  ARGH.

 

Hank

I wonder if the particular time/month has anything to do with it. We were there in early January, so pretty much midsummer. 

 

We LOVE Buenos Aires. Especially the great Italian food 🙂

[Hlitner]

1 minute ago, clo said:

I wonder if the particular time/month has anything to do with it. We were there in early January, so pretty much midsummer. 

 

We LOVE Buenos Aires. Especially the great Italian food 🙂

For us, BA is about steak and Malbec.  On one of our visits the Brazilian Real had all but collapsed and the dollar was very strong.  Went to a steak place near our hotel and ordered filet mignon and a bottle of their best malbec.  I recall that the best wine was about $16 (US) and they gave us (each) two large filets that were wonderful (and I am not a fan of filet mignon).   Italian is also good (we have found good Italian food all over the world).

 

Hank

[clo]

9 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

For us, BA is about steak and Malbec.  On one of our visits the Brazilian Real had all but collapsed and the dollar was very strong.  Went to a steak place near our hotel and ordered filet mignon and a bottle of their best malbec.  I recall that the best wine was about $16 (US) and they gave us (each) two large filets that were wonderful (and I am not a fan of filet mignon).   Italian is also good (we have found good Italian food all over the world).

 

Hank

Ah, yes, steak 🙂 Somewhere I have some photos of a dinner we had. We shared two mains - one beef of course - a bottle of wine and a dessert and IIRC it was about US$30. I didn't know until we were there that Italians settled in BA. We saw loads of fresh pasta, meats, cheeses. And THE best beef. Mmm.

[tscoffey]

On 12/19/2023 at 12:17 PM, shipgeeks said:

Misconception:  "My cabin bathroom smells bad, and I'm sure there's nothing that can be done about it".

Reality:  Find the little drain in the bathroom floor - not the one in the shower - and pour a glass or two of tap water into it.  If it dried out because no one flooded the floor recently, it can develop an odor.  We do the water trick at the start of every cruise now.

Curious if cruise ship plumbing has separate grey water/black water drainage. 

[tscoffey]

On 1/1/2024 at 1:49 PM, cruiseaholic777 said:

Most of our friends that we have brought into the world of cruising, thought that the ship is always rocking. After a  few cruises they don't even take dramamine anymore.

We had the misfortune of going thru a major storm in Alaska on our very first cruise. No ill effects to either of us. And I now consider us “inoculated “ against future seasickness!

[john watson]

20 hours ago, tscoffey said:

We had the misfortune of going thru a major storm in Alaska on our very first cruise. No ill effects to either of us. And I now consider us “inoculated “ against future seasickness!

 

After forty years of cruising I thought I had completely got over sea sickness.  Then I did a Transatlantic with Star Clippers 2,000 ton ship bobbing about.  During a particular storm heavy seas at night the bed was going up and down about a metre plus all night. I got up three times.

 

Lol John

[shipgeeks]

Misconception: The little outlet above the bathroom sink is the one to use for the hairdryer.

Reality:  That outlet is for shavers only. Using a hairdryer there could harm the hairdryer.  Use the outlet in the cabin.

[sparks1093]

9 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

Misconception: The little outlet above the bathroom sink is the one to use for the hairdryer.

Reality:  That outlet is for shavers only. Using a hairdryer there could harm the hairdryer.  Use the outlet in the cabin.

According to what I've read, the bathroom outlet is only designed for a shaver and anything bigger will cause the fuse that protects the outlet to blow. 

[donaldsc]

On 12/14/2023 at 12:01 PM, navybankerteacher said:

It is highly unlikely that you will get ANY fresh fish on most cruise ships- almost always frozen.

 

Probably mostly true but not always.  We did a HAL cruise a while back which stopped at several places in Greenland.  I know that the fish we had that night was fresh as I was on the tender coming back to the ship w kitchen staff who were bringing the fresh fish back to the ship that we were going to have for dinner that night.  Can't be more fresh than that.

 

DON

[shipgeeks]

Misconception:  "I'm going to book a balcony cabin so I can leave the balcony door open and have fresh air all the time."

Reality:  Leaving the balcony door open, even a bit, is not allowed.  It will shut off the cabin 
AC, and on some ships, the AC of neighboring cabins.

[notscb]

On 12/19/2023 at 7:44 PM, auntmeg said:

or embarking on adventures in other destinations around the world,

We all need to hope that they never start any sort of Great Lakes or St. Lawrence Seaway cruising, for all of our sakes.

[puppycanducruise]

8 hours ago, notscb said:

We all need to hope that they never start any sort of Great Lakes or St. Lawrence Seaway cruising, for all of our sakes.

There already are cruises on the Great Lakes. 

[notscb]

5 hours ago, puppycanducruise said:

There already are cruises on the Great Lakes. 

I know that- I was commenting on HAL's "fresh fish" initiative, specifically.

Nobody should consume fresh fish from the Great lakes and HAL customers better hope that HAL never starts cruising there.

[puppycanducruise]

1 hour ago, notscb said:

I know that- I was commenting on HAL's "fresh fish" initiative, specifically.

Nobody should consume fresh fish from the Great lakes and HAL customers better hope that HAL never starts cruising there.

Wow.  Lots of people around here eat fish they caught in Lake Huron, it's very tasty.

But don't worry, I think HAL ships are too big to get through the Welland Canal.

[notscb]

1 hour ago, puppycanducruise said:

But don't worry, I think HAL ships are too big to get through the Welland Canal.

I think all fish is tasty and have had fish from Lake Ontario.

The problem is that the Great Lakes (and not just Erie) fish come with a special warning. Fingers crossed HAL doesn't decide to venture into small-ship cruising

[ldubs]

On 3/31/2024 at 1:06 PM, notscb said:

I think all fish is tasty and have had fish from Lake Ontario.

The problem is that the Great Lakes (and not just Erie) fish come with a special warning. Fingers crossed HAL doesn't decide to venture into small-ship cruising

 

The issue isn't limited to the Great Lakes.  We have similar consumption advisories for our freshwater lakes (mercury).  Especially important to younger folk.  

Edited April 3 by ldubs

[omahabob]

On 3/2/2024 at 1:05 PM, tscoffey said:

Curious if cruise ship plumbing has separate grey water/black water drainage. 

The drainage in the cabin is usually separate, but the ultimate destination is not. Grey water can be dumped overboard, but there are certain sanitary standards that must be met to do this. So, most cruise ships today combine it with black water in their waste water treatment plant simply as a matter of convenience. But dumping of both grey and black water used to be common.

Edited April 10 by omahabob