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klc317

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  1. Sad
    klc317 got a reaction from Jolly Ogre in How is beer served by the pool?   
    16 oz aluminum screw top bottle are what they serve for your main stream beer brands.  I bought an off brand aluminum Yeti type can cooler for the 16 oz ones and have had it on several cruises now.   Its like a taller 12 oz can Yeti but holds the odd shaped 16oz AL. bottles just fine.   Its funny because I walk up to the bar and because of that the bartenders always recognize me immediately and know I'm the guy with that can cooler and like Miller Lite...lol.    They've even asked to hold it and check it out which is fine with me.    
  2. Love
    klc317 got a reaction from WannaCruise in Brilliance or Adventure   
    We will try one of the Oasis class ships in the next few years....hopefully!
  3. Like
    klc317 reacted to WAAAYTOOO in Experienced cruiser mistake   
    Last year when we got to the night-before hotel in Baltimore, the reception desk attendant could not find our reservation.  I pulled out our confirmation and I had booked for Saturday night (the date that the cruise actually departed) vs Friday night, which was the night before.  Luckily they had room so it turned out to be a benign mistake but it's easy to do !!
  4. Like
    klc317 reacted to twangster in Oasis Crane Crash   
    The crane in the Aqua Theater is most likely a cosmetic issue with localized damage to the pool itself such as the platforms that rise up and down.  No aqua shows until repairs are made is an inconvenience but superficial relatively speaking. Damaged railings are clearly an issue but relatively speaking a "quick(er)" fix.  
    The bigger issue is the cofferdams and azipods. 
    Problem one is how the cofferdams settled once the dry dock collapsed and if they did any damage to the azipods or propellors.  Cofferdams can be cut away with underwater cutting torches assuming it settled slowly and nicely.  If they buckled or bent and damaged the azipods or propellors that is a problem.
    Problem two depends on how far they progressed preparing to access and remove the bearings.  Were they just in the process of removing the propellors or had they begun to remove the azipod housing which could now lead to sea water contamination.  If so, that's a potentially huge problem.  One that can't be fixed by divers underwater, it would require a proper dry dock all of which are in Europe.  
    It appeared that two cofferdams were in use so in theory they have one good or useable azipod.  Is that enough to limp over to Europe?  
    Problem three - how stable is the dry dock?  Can they remove the one leaning crane so that it doesn't fall on anyone?  Can they put divers in the water to survey the azipods or is the dry dock subject to shifting and therefore it's too dangerous to put divers in the water right now? 
    It's hard to see a scenario where they get it operational in mere weeks.  I think it's going to be parked there a while and even then it won't likely leave the shipyard 100%. 
    In my mind I think it's a matter of how long will it take to extricate it from it's current spot and once it's free to float away, how long to get it somewhere where repairs can be made to make it whole again?
    Hopefully I'm wrong.  
  5. Sad
    klc317 reacted to LeeMannn in Oasis Crane Crash   
    Going to be a lot of damage topside as well.  The Aqua theatre will be out of commission for some time.

  6. Wow
    klc317 reacted to twangster in Oasis Crane Crash   
    Yep, going to be some cancelled cruises.  
    I saw an account of 8 injuries but all non-life threatening.  Hoping that count holds true.  
    My transatlantic in three weeks isn't looking so good right now.  
  7. Like
    klc317 got a reaction from The Cruise Junkie in Brilliance or Adventure   
    We were on Adventure last week, our third time sailing on her in total although the previous ones were in 2006 and 2008, long time ago....some of our first ever cruises.   Great ship, easy to get around, large, and much cheaper than Oasis class.    Have never been on a Radiance class ship so I can't compare.  Next year we are preliminarily booked on Rhapsody which is fine, been on Majesty and Enchantment many times in the past.    Just depends on if you are interested in the itinerary or ship honestly.....we always have a great time on all of them, they all have their own charm.


  8. Like
    klc317 got a reaction from WannaCruise in Brilliance or Adventure   
    We were on Adventure last week, our third time sailing on her in total although the previous ones were in 2006 and 2008, long time ago....some of our first ever cruises.   Great ship, easy to get around, large, and much cheaper than Oasis class.    Have never been on a Radiance class ship so I can't compare.  Next year we are preliminarily booked on Rhapsody which is fine, been on Majesty and Enchantment many times in the past.    Just depends on if you are interested in the itinerary or ship honestly.....we always have a great time on all of them, they all have their own charm.


  9. Thanks
    klc317 got a reaction from SLJ in Stroller for a 3 and 5 yo, do I really need it?   
    Honestly I'm not sure.  That was 3 years ago and we don't have it anymore.   Cant remember the brand.  It wasn't an umbrella type.
  10. Like
    klc317 got a reaction from Matt in Fort Lauderdale area   
    We got off of Adventure last Saturday morning in Ft Lauderdale and our flight home wasn’t until evening.    We had a rental car reserved and drove around the Hollywood area on the A1A and found some fun beaches, an out of the way marine life sanctuary, and a couple dog beaches that our daughter liked especially since after a week gone we miss our dogs.   I enjoyed hanging out at Haulover inlet as well and watching the big yachts coming and going.    Really ritzy/high dollar area and you’ll see some nice exotic cars driving around you don’t usually see at home....at least for us!   And some beautiful homes.




  11. Like
    klc317 got a reaction from VolFanInGa in Fort Lauderdale area   
    Marine Environmental Education Center at the Carpenter House.   Just a small place near North Hollywood Beach area, in between the parking lots and the beach.   They have a big sea turtle there that cant be released back into the wild due to medical complications so they care for it there.    
    But yes, we've done this day long exploring on our own for several years as our flights home usually aren't until evening.   We enjoy it.  Last year one cruise was out of Tampa where we had never been before so we explored there a little and visited the Clearwater Marine Aquarium which was great.
  12. Thanks
    klc317 got a reaction from SLJ in Stroller for a 3 and 5 yo, do I really need it?   
    When our daughter was 3 on her first cruise with us we brought a compact fold up stroller.  We just gate checked it at the airport and it folded up fairly compactly in the cabin on the ship.   It came in pretty handy on the islands as a beach bag/child bag cart when we didn't need it for her.   The small wheels are completely useless to try to push through sand though.   As for the naps....we traded every day as to if myself or my wife would stay in the cabin with her for an hour or so in the afternoon.   By that point she only needed about that much time for a nap during the day.   
  13. Like
    klc317 got a reaction from BTE in Are we only ones who don't book suites?   
    Personally, we prefer interior rooms.   We don't spend much if any extra time in the room other than to sleep, shower, change clothes, whatever so even though we have been in more upgraded rooms before it just isn't worth it to us to spend the extra money.  I'd rather either save the extra cost for another cruise or use it to pay for excursions at ports.    Also, I'm one of those people who wakes up and cant sleep as soon as daylight comes so the darkness of an interior room allows me to actually enjoy sleeping in past 6:00-7:00am which is great!   We have done several ocean views in the past and once a junior suite because we were offered a reasonably priced upgrade and it was nice but I'm perfectly content with an interior cabin.
  14. Like
    klc317 reacted to nanowerx in Haïti stop replaced?   
    Walls work and Labadee is protected by them and armed guards ?
     
  15. Like
    klc317 got a reaction from accio7 in Perfect Day at Coco Cay = Nickle & Dime??   
    I agree.  I enjoy the laid back vibe and kinda do whatever I want of Coco Cay,  I more than likely wouldn't pay for the extras but for those who want that I don't have to pay for theirs.  Fine with me
  16. Like
    klc317 got a reaction from whenismynextcruise in Perfect Day at Coco Cay = Nickle & Dime??   
    I agree.  I enjoy the laid back vibe and kinda do whatever I want of Coco Cay,  I more than likely wouldn't pay for the extras but for those who want that I don't have to pay for theirs.  Fine with me
  17. Thanks
    klc317 got a reaction from Lovetocruise2002 in Fly/Stay in FLL or MIA?   
    We can get much cheaper flights to FLL than MIA from here, have Allegiant and Frontier airlines which are generally much more affordable than Delta or United.  We usually use a third party transportation company (SAS if I remember correctly) and have never had a problem getting to port of miami flying in the morning of the cruise.  The transportation company driver uses the express lane on I-95 and we usually breeze right on by even if there is some heavier traffic.  Seems like it usually takes about 35-45 minutes.
    Its funny how you can look up in the sky at FLL and see planes on their approach to MIA and think that yea, for that extra 5-10 minutes of flight time we saved over $100 a person!
  18. Like
    klc317 reacted to rjac in Bidding for an Upgrade?   
    Wouldn't be surprised at all if RCI does this and throws in an 18% gratuity fee on top of what your winning bid is! 
  19. Like
    klc317 got a reaction from Sweety in Majesty in drydock?   
    We managed to find the time to schedule a 5 night in June on Majesty out of Tampa.  That ship seems to get moved around to different ports a lot!   This will be the third time Ive been on this ship, my wifes 4th and surprisingly this will be the second time for our 6 year old daughter.    She is the main reason we have been doing shorter cruises over the past few years....just more convenient for us.    This upcoming cruise has 2 sea days which might be a bit much on this small of a ship but with our daughter with us we always seem to never get bored.
    As for Majesty, we've always had a great time.....yes, its not huge and not packed with activities and gadgets like some of the other larger ships but I was always impressed with the upkeep and cleanliness on board and the staff has always been outstanding.   Its easy to navigate and learn your way around.  Also, its much easier to meet some people to talk to since you seem to run into them several times at common spots throughout the cruise which is kinda nice.   I enjoy the ship.
  20. Like
    klc317 got a reaction from CruisingKat(Kathy) in Pillow Question.   
    We also were on the Sept 26 majesty cruise.....really got lucky with the weather this time of year, it was perfect.  I also find the pillows to be kinda lacking and my wife likes to hold one against her as she sleeps so we had no problem requesting some extras.
  21. Like
    klc317 reacted to KLA in Deal Alert!   
    I need to move near a cruise port.
  22. Like
    klc317 reacted to Matt in Choosing Stateroom   
    I agree with your husband.  Having extra space and separation from the kids is really nice
  23. Like
    klc317 got a reaction from WAAAYTOOO in Customer Service after Empress cancellation   
    Waaaytooo....I'm glad you managed to get it worked out.  I think you will have a much better time on the Freedom and won't have the worries in the back of your mind about traveling on a pile of crap that just got patched together....lol!   
  24. Like
    klc317 reacted to WAAAYTOOO in Any recent pics around of empress?   
    Matt, I wish I could be as gracious as you're trying to be with RCI on this one.  I have really lost my confidence in their corporate-level decision-making.  It's not even just Empress-Gate...there have been so many bonehead moves in the last few months.  Is Liberty still sailing without one of its slides properly operating ?  How many times have they changed their minds about whether Majesty is staying or going ?  How many upgrades have they reneged on after telling the WORLD that they were going to do them ?  Empress-Gate is the worst, but not, by ANY stretch, the only one.
     
    I'll be honest here...I'm not sure that they had ANY choice in whether or not to cancel these cruises.  I believe that they did not pass muster and that they weren't going anywhere. Period.  Would they have sailed with a sub-par situation ?  I wish I could answer "NO" with confidence, but I cannot.  Would they sail with an unsafe ship ?  To that one, I can still answer "NO".  I don't think they would do that.
     
    ...but would they have sailed if they could have ?  My gut tells me they would have.  I'm not going to be as generous as you by saying that they cancelled these last cruises out of some high sense of moral obligation.  I think they cancelled b/c they had no other choice. 
     
    I understand that all of this is pure speculation but it's based on their handling of the entire situation.  They knew their ship wasn't ready, yet they continued to take peoples' money and reservations right up until the very last f'n minute and then just dropped everyone without providing any real explanation....and with no real remorse, or recompense, as far as I can tell.  I'm sure that their attorneys are telling them to admit nothing and don't give out any information than you have to...but their underhanded handling of this does not provide us with a "warm and fuzzy" that they have done this for US.  Rather, the opposite.
  25. Like
    klc317 got a reaction from RCVoyager in Customer Service after Empress cancellation   
    RCvoyager.....I agree!
     
    I'm just glad we were able to snag a decent room for a similar price last minute on the carnival ship on the same dates. I sure won't be surprised to see quite a few people onboard who are in a similar situation, RC faithful who were forced to make the switch.
     
    Been reading off and on all morning trying to familiarize myself with carnivals world and to get some idea what the ship is like. I don't see any reason why we won't enjoy it.
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