cruisellama

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

This is slightly different subject but somewhat aligned, so I will use this opportunity to brag on my wondiferous Travel Agent yet one more time !!!  @michelle has once again proven that she is the TOP TOP of the heap (no disrespect intended.  It's a FABULOUS heap) for customer service - especially since she has been working for 6 months on a DAILY (and often more than that) basis for us for $-0-...

I have read, from time-to-time, people ask whether or not they can "swap" cabins with a family member or another reservation. It's not a super common question, but I have heard it asked before.  @michelledid it for me yesterday.  Of course, the primary requirement is that she (the TA) must hold control of both sets of reservations.  If the other party had been booked with someone else, she would not have been able to affect the swap.  I learned that someone in our unofficial group cruise wanted to switch their suite to a different one that had suddenly become available and I desperately wanted THEIR suite.  I knew that if I let that suite go back into general inventory, my chances of snagging it were minimal.  So, when I found out that Michelle was going to be making a change on their reservation, I asked if there was any way she could immediately change OUR reservation so that we could jump into their recently-vacated suite without having to put that suite back into inventory, first.  To be completely honest, I fully expected to hear "no", I cannot do it that way.  But, as usual, I was wrong.  Within minutes, Michelle had transferred the other reservation to the suite that they wanted and moved Dan and I into their vacated suite.  I had to pay the prevailing rate, of course, but I didn't care.  I was so happy to get the suite we really wanted...and the other couple got the suite they really wanted.  Win-win.

Here's the real lesson in this story (and why this is slightly aligned with the thread topic).  The Star Loft Suite that we vacated never came back into inventory on the website.  Michelle said that there was probably someone on a waitlist for a SLS so that when we vacated it, they snatched it up automatically.  THAT is precisely what would have happened to the other suite had Michelle not been there to affect the swap herself.  It would have never shown as "available" and I would not have been able to snag it.

So kudos to @michelleAGAIN and to all of the other TAs who are working so hard for nothing right now.

Saw exactly your example on a previous family cruise.

Steak is good, the service is better than the MDR.  I felt a more relaxed dining experience. it costs extra --  but its a vacation.

Aids the island resort casinos at least.  The port businesses will still be hurting.

We'll have to see what the health panel comes up with, but betting line controlled excursions are going to be the rule when things first start up.  Ports/destinations will probably have a large say in what the line can do, and most likely would have to agree to the cruise line's excursion risk mitigation plan.   For now, I have no issue as its best to walk before running.  We sail the Caribbean most of the time, so staying on the ship is fine.  For other sailing localities I would pay for the cruise line sponsored excursion and respect the rules.

1 hour ago, sk8erguy1978 said:

Testing: I'll gladly do it, even if it's a direct cost to me. My only issue is false negatives & positives. I get the percentage is low, but it's still there. A small percentage of healthy people will be denied & a small percentage of sick people will not. That is a crappy fact we have to face, especially if we are one of them.

Ditto

Carnival dropped their South American cruises for rest of year; however, are becoming more bullish on Caribbean restart in Nov.   I believe they submitted their plan to CDC.  Royal hasn't yet, but they also just hired a new gov't relationship executive who will probably walk it over to them.

On 7/23/2020 at 9:48 AM, coneyraven said:

Yeah, that was Monarch ..... and them applauding as it stopped ---- then you hear the words "Turn the engines off"

The captains probably bet on who can drive the ship up on the shore the farthest

On 9/10/2020 at 5:42 PM, Shari3 said:

I have never seen pricing this high for Oasis Sept. 2021 sailing. I’m so glad I already purchased it at $79 pp. I hope this is not a sign of future pricing trends. 

Must have hired someone from Disney to set pricing 

1 hour ago, twangster said:

I'm not sure how many PowerUp points I'll get from this but something tells me I'll be 1 point shy of an important milestone at some point in the future.

That's great -  it will improve your tier loyalty position.     I thought the line should  consider a Power Up point award for amount spent on-board  to increase on-board revenue.    (Maybe 1 pt for every $1K spent).   Thinking it could be an attractive way to increase on-board revenue for those on the cusp of a new loyalty tier.  I think people would spend more if there is a bonus at the end.  Some airlines let you buy points, why not a cruise line?

56 minutes ago, twangster said:

Not sure.  Lifeboats can be very specific to the SOLAS plan approved for that ship.  Borrowing one that is completely different may have complications.  With only Majesty sailing it's not clear how big a market there would be for a 20 year old lifeboat.  They aren't the most driveable vessels, in fact if you watch the lifeboat drills it's like they've been drinking.  They get the job done in an emergency but I'm not sure there is a line of recreational boaters lining up to buy one.

Seems like a better project platform than a oil drum raft with an outboard.   Could be a fun project, but would cost more to relocate the thing than its worth.

Anyone know if they sell off the life boat/tenders or re-use them on other ships?   Could be repurposed into a small house boat recreational purposes.

On 9/7/2020 at 8:17 PM, Fox said:

My friend and I are taking our first cruise in June of 2021. We're stopping at Labadee, Haiti, Falmouth, Jamaica, and George Town, Grand Cayman. We're looking for ideas for shore excursions. I know we're casting a wide net here, but what are some ideas for first time cruisers? Tours? Snorkeling? Just wander the port?

Labadee  has a pretty impressive zip line (add'l charge).  Plenty of beach space.  If you like cabanas, you can rent those also.  Also water toys - big inflatables in the bay.  It can be a relaxing or active experience depending upon what you like.   The most discussed excursion in  Jamaica is Dunns falls.   Have friends that enjoyed it.  Cayman - beach and water activities.  The Stingray city is a good draw.  You can book long or short excursions to go feed the stingrays.   Also side trips to the turtle farm may be added.  Its also a very good place for scuba and snorkeling if the water is calm.   If you want the beach, you can find transportation to the 7 mile beach. 

1 hour ago, kittysoul said:

I am trying to decide where I would like to be on the ship (once I decide between two different cruises).  I love the Solarium and will either be on Symphony or Allure.  Can anyone tell me for sure if there is access door into the Solarium from the hallways...it looks like there is... but i am not sure.  If so, is it on both ships and on both sides of the ship that have a door going out into the solarium at the end of the hallway (where the rooms are).   I think that easy access to the solarium is my priority and so was thinking that to stay towards the front of the ship, on the 14th floor, would give me the easiest direct access...  thoughts?

Here's a link to a really nice tool to explore decks for many ships.  You can also use to see what's above and below your cabin.

https://cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/index.php

17 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

I think it just takes a long time for them to get around to processing them. The current points opportunity requires completing the quiz with all answers correct by Sept 15, and I think there's something like a 30- or 60-day processing window after that. I'm showing 2 CC points, and if I remember right I've now done 3 of the surveys for 1 CC point (10 PowerUp Points) and just yesterday did the latest game where you complete the quiz on the new ports to get 2 CC points.

I believe the point we received was from the first survey.   We did the photo & post with your favorite drink, which was worth 2, but haven't seen the fruit from that exercise yet.    Did the quiz yesterday.  Also had a flight by Celebrity booking that should be worth a point.   Did not do the cruise booking solicitation (as I already have 4 in the queue).

On 8/19/2020 at 3:49 PM, twangster said:

I've done a couple that didn't involve booking or posting to social media.  I think I'm up 3 points.

Interesting to see that Celebrity and Azamara have merged the loyalty programs and points are earned within a common platform.  My previous Celebrity cruises shows up in my Azamara account as a previous cruise and my Azamara points equal my Celebrity points including my 3 Celebrity PowerUp points.  It also reflects "Discoverer" status based on Elite on Celebrity based on my C&A status.  

The reciprocity between the three major lines in the group is the reason we've zoned in on the RCL family.   When we started cruising, we tried a number of different lines.  But really like Celebrity/Royal ships so have stayed.  Hope to try Azamara down the road.  We've been playing the Power Up game, but only seen 1 awarded for participating in 4 games.  So not sure why the others were not awarded.

On 9/8/2020 at 4:02 PM, twangster said:

Kill it?  No.  Just put it to bed for a while.  

It will be back.  

The ship will right itself

Betting the AM times will be suspended for now.  We checked into our Thankgiving cruise and the earliest boarding time was 1:30p so took it.   I think the lines will need to provide a lot of messaging to mitigate the usual swarming of the terminal area on embarkation day.     Also curious how it might affect the special suite lounges in the newer terminals.

Would like to be an early cruise just for the experience of lower capacity.   Expect service would be really good.

Ever since the on-board app was deployed I've carried my phone because it keeps the activities calendarized and you can use your phone as a key (on some ships).  But its a mixed bag, at the same time I don't like lugging a phone  BUT I do need to lug around a camera so guess its a fair trade.   Some on-board trivia games are also be piped to phones which can also add to their usefulness on-board.

Ever since the on-board app was deployed I've carried my phone because it keeps the activities calendarized and you can use your phone as a key (on some ships).  But its a mixed bag, at the same time I don't like lugging a phone  BUT I do need to lug around a camera so guess its a fair trade.   Some on-board trivia games are also be piped to phones which can also add to their usefulness on-board.

On 9/4/2020 at 1:44 PM, Jolly Ogre said:

This is a non concern. 

The Covid-19 has a very low surface contact viability rate. I have not read or heard of any surface sample being able to be cultured at all.

Do not worry about this. 

 

This is not the same as a Noro virus.

If I remember my biology, Virus' need to be grown in/on a living thing, as they're really just partial RNA strands that require life to replicate.  When I read/hear culture,  I believe that pertains bacteria grown in petrie dish medium.  I recall fertilized chicken eggs being used to grow live virus for vaccine.  Virus can remain dormant on a surface for a period of time, but once its sequence is interrupted by chemicals or radiation (UV etc) of some sort, it won't be able to replicate.   Effectively dead - but they really aren't alive to begin with.  

No, but always watching.  Had 2 reprices on my "scheduled" Nov cruise (in Feb this year) which we saved about $400pp+upgrade, but unfortunately it will most likely cancel and we'll miss our good deal.

May have the answer - Just read the Costa health procedures and port disembarkation is only permitted under a Costa run excursion.  Appears no visiting the port shopping area (perhaps they created an approved escorted tour for this)

https://www.costacruises.com/cruising-soon-again/safety-above-all.html

As early cruising will most likely require cruise line sponsored/operated excursions, will visiting the port  tourist shopping areas be off limits as a condition of disembarking?