bob brown

4 minutes ago, bob brown said:

I’m trying to imagine a way for a”workaround” solution for a company like Viking.  
Are there any ocean-going ships that have a shallow enough draft to navigate at least to St. Louis?

If so, they could sail to/from some place like Cancun, to satisfy PVSA.  Either one way, or they could do a round trip loop from any US river port, so long as they call at a near foreign port, correct?🤔

I realise that not many passengers would want to do such a strange itinerary, but maybe just enough to fill a smaller cruise ship.

On 5/17/2024 at 5:29 AM, chengkp75 said:

From the very beginning, Viking didn't understand the realities of operating in the PVSA trade.  They thought they could build a riverboat somewhere other than the US and operate it on the Mississippi, and they thought they could own the boats.  When they found that there were no exemptions to the US built and US owned requirements, that set them back a couple of years in rollout.  Then, they had to face the increased cost of US building, and paying the US owner, Chouest, to charter the boat.  Then there is the US crew issues.  First, US cruise crews are nowhere alike with crew that Viking is used to, in terms of guest service culture or in terms of loyalty to the company, resulting in massive turnover.  Then there is the pay rates (minimum wage levels, etc) and Social Security taxes, insurance, and the liability for wages for injured or sick crew, that foreign crew don't get.  ACL has had years of experience with these issues, and has developed a pool of active and potential crew, and the ways and means to locate, attract, and hire them, and even then they struggle with crewing issues all the time.  Then there are the customs issues.  Foreign flag ships operating in countries where they are not registered have everything that they import be duty free, from spare parts, labor from overseas technical engineers, to food and liquor.  US flag ships operating in the US don't get that duty free treatment, so if they need to import something for the ship's operation, it needs to pay duty on it.  Even repairs done to a US flag ship, if done outside the US (like a dry docking in Bahamas to lower cost) becomes dutiable at 50% duty.  And, finally taxes.  Foreign flag cruise ships, even those home ported and operating out of US ports, are exempt from all corporate taxes on revenues earned by the foreign flag vessel.  Not so for a US flag vessel.

 

US flag operations is an entirely different universe than foreign flag passenger ship operations, as NCL found out back in 2004 when they started their US flag operations, and with which they continue to have struggles.

I’m trying to imagine a way for a”workaround” solution for a company like Viking.  
Are there any ocean-going ships that have a shallow enough draft to navigate at least to St. Louis?

If so, they could sail to/from some place like Cancun, to satisfy PVSA.  Either one way, or they could do a round trip loop from any US river port, so long as they call at a near foreign port, correct?🤔

Yes…unlike some other lines, they still issue disposable plastic bottled water in cabins, as well as at gangways.

Most other lines now issue refillable water bottles, with filtered refilling stations around the boat/ship.

On 5/11/2024 at 11:45 AM, MOcruiserman said:

We greatly enjoyed our recent cruise on the ACL Serenade and are thinking of our next one.  But we're torn between the Columbia/Snake River cruise and the Great Lakes cruise on Pearl Seas, the other line in the ACL family.  I would appreciate any input from people who've had experience on both.  Thanks. 

Do both, if you can!  You will not be disappointed by either…😉

On 9/27/2024 at 1:26 PM, Triguy2009 said:

 Ours did entail some stair climbing longer walks. To see the engine room

As others have mentioned, it is the engine control room, not the actual engine room that is on the paid tour.  It’s been probably decades since the actual engine room was open for visitors.

The control room consists of banks of engine room video monitors, and computer consoles.

I’m now five days into my first Pearl Seas cruise, and am extremely pleased with the ship, the crew, and everything.  I’ll do a full CC review after the conclusion.🙂

On 2/2/2024 at 6:27 PM, RuthC said:

My most favorite cabin is on Main Deck (deck 2), number 2619

I’ll take good care of it for you, Ruth, from October 5th to 19th this year😉

I might have booked Viking, but they don’t have a cruise (or PVSA compliant combination), that would let you navigate the Great Lakes, and full St. Lawrence Seaway, together.  You can do that on the other two.

I tried working around that with their sales department, but they weren’t flexible about selling me a short segment on one of their cruises, at a prorated fare to make it possible.

i might try them on a different itinerary in the future.

Speaking of 24/7 food venues….the last time I sailed HAL, the ship “went to bed”  by 11:00, at the latest for the most part, so no burning need for one.  Similar to the Princess International Cafe, is the Promenade Cafe on RCCL, with similar items.

The one true full service 24/7 food venue at sea that I have found, is NCL’s The Local, formerly known as O’Sheehans, and before that, The Blue Lagoon…

1 minute ago, Tom47 said:

I have never been on AQV.  Didn't it recently go out of business?

Yes.  However, its original founder, John Waggoner, purchased its two former Victory coastal ships, and resurrected them as Victory Cruise Line.  Operations commence next Spring…

On 9/12/2024 at 3:01 PM, Tom47 said:

We were just on an ACL cruise this spring.   The 2 busses used to transport us were owned by ACL.  Drivers were ACL employees with ACL uniforms.   Premium excursions are free if you reach a certain level in Eagle Society. 

I haven’t been on ACL, but have been on AQV  three times.  The buses chartered for their cruises were “wrapped” in an AQV riverboat design, and the drivers or “bus captain’s” wore AQV livery, and were treated like part of the boat crew.  But, as the “legals” showed, (the small lettering on the baggage doors), the buses were owned and operated by Easton Coach Co., of Easton, PA, and the drivers were actually employed  by the same, assigned to AQV for the “season”…

31 minutes ago, SophieM said:

Yep! Except the Sirena has Red Ginger and a combined Polo/Toscana. 

Interesting that they divided it that way…

Based on just my observations of popularity on the Insignia, I would think they would leave Polo intact, and combine Toscana with Red Ginger.

We did have a few “Red Ginger” menu nights in the Terrace…

When I briefly worked as a bus driver for Holland America - Princess’s tour subsidiary in Anchorage, we were only promised a free one week long cruise on a selection of various Carnival Corporation owned cruiselines, anywhere in the world, IF we completed working two full Alaska season’s. And one more each year thereafter . We would also get employee rates (basically just a bit more than port taxes and fees), on anything beyond that.  This was in 2018.  Sounds like a better incentive now…🙂

On 8/26/2024 at 5:53 PM, willidc said:

Nautica has been our favorite R ship but not sure if it was our ports visited with her or something else.  As Billy Joel would say "She's got a way about her".

So far, I have only sailed aboard the Insignia, but aren’t all the Oceania ‘R class’ ships pretty much the same, if not identical?🤔

16 hours ago, DeanoNorthPerth said:

I'm waiting for someone to start a thread "How Long Is A Piece Of String?"

I know….it is precisely twice the distance from its center, to one end…😁

Received an email yesterday, with an attached shore excursion brochure.  The prices of the “premium” ones were not listed, nor can you pre-book anything.  All have to be done on board.  I suppose the purpose of sending the brochure was to give you time now to choose which ones you want, to expedite the selection process when on board.

There were some listed as “featured”.  I called Pearl Seas reservations, and they transferred me to customer service.  They told me the “featured” was complimentary, the “premium” ones were at extra cost, ranging from $20 to $90 per person, depending on itinerary.

All of them looked interesting.  I also asked if there was a chance that popular ones could quickly sell out, but they assured me, they would have room on all.

It’s rather different from the AQV shorex model I am familiar with, with its own fleet of chartered buses performing a complimentary “hop-on, hop-off” circuit at each port, with one or two doing a premium tour.  The geography of a Great Lakes cruise probably precludes that from being possible.

On 9/5/2024 at 7:57 PM, Jim_Iain said:

The funny thing is you generally only know the person's name as  Fido's Mom.   LOL 

🐶👍😁

12 hours ago, Lido deck main said:

My PCC wouldn’t book us if we were later going to transfer.  I booked directly with HAL customer service so that I could later transfer.

Interesting.  Makes me wonder how the HAL reservations sales system works.  Is HAL customer service different than a HAL PCC?

Are HAL customer service reps salaried Company employees, and PCC’s independent commissioned persons?

Based on the comments I have read, they would leave me to thinking that way.

So it is understandable that a PCC would not want to lose a commission for a reservation they worked on, to a travel agent…🤷‍♂️

They just emailed me a form to request 2025 brochures…

I might have taken the Chicago to Montreal that I had originally booked on AQV, but they are not ready for this Autumn season, so stuck with Pearl Seas cruise Milwaukee to Quebec, instead.  Don't know if I will ever go on Victory, but I would like to sail into Duluth some day, so who knows?🤷‍♂️

So I sent them an email, asking if they were planning to do the Autumn, Chicago to Montreal cruise, and they did answer, saying they would begin Great Lakes cruising in April, 2025.

I will keep my booked Pearl Mist cruise for this year.

the new "Victory Cruise Lines", that is...

Their web site only gives a notice "starting in July 2024, email for info..."

https://www.victorycruiselines.com/

Well after I booked this cruise, it now seems that my original ship may be doing the voyage after all, under the new Victory Cruise Lines...

I will probably stick with the Pearl Mist, though, as it is probably a sure thing, and besides, I have already booked another cruise and train travel to get me home to Florida (on HAL and VIA Rail).🤷‍♂️

7 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Yes, the inefficiencies of the steam plant are continued with having a pair of z-drives hanging under the ship, only being used when necessary.  Further, as noted in the article, steam plant boilers are not the best at responding to rapid load changes (stopping the paddlewheel), and will tend to belch black smoke at these times, not endearing the ship to environmental causes.

Maybe so, but environmentalists have long forgiven the occasional use of historic treasures like railroad steam locomotives, on fan trips, or historic regular operations…

The American Queen, due to her relatively large size (for a riverboat), besides offering a classic heritage paddlewheel steamboat experience, also can offer more on board variety of venues and activities that a smaller boat can’t.

As far as size goes, the modern design Viking Mississippi is pretty close, and is far more luxurious, so apparently there is a market for that…