rwturenne48

Hilton Garden Inn, Ridgefield Park NJ. They have a cruise and stay package. Runs around $300 after taxes but includes a room, nice breakfast, parking, and shuttle to and from the port.

This sounds like a great deal. Good rate, with parking and a pier shuttle, can't beat it. And, you avoid having to drive to the pier which gets pretty ugly during disembarkation / embarkation. I say GO FOR IT, take the stress out of your trip.

I wouldn’t call I95 the open road! I avoid it whenever possible. OP, did you add on the cost for gas and tolls, too?

I-95 from just south of the DC beltway to FL is pretty wide open. Through the metro (DC through most of CT) ...ugh, not fun at all.

I didn't mean to imply the level of service had to do with the size of the ship. More to my point is the staffing pressure on RCL when bringing on a new ship. Can't sail with a full crew of basically trained staff so they need to bring on experienced staff from other ships which in turn need to add new staff which also require training. So, the level of service might suffer some on all the ships involved till everyone is up to speed. As for moral, that is also another important factor; consider being happy where you are and then transferred to another ship with new people, new surroundings, where you need to go through the learning curve again while establishing a rapport with fellow staff some of which are still in training. Our waiter Julietta from Giovanni's table described her transfer from a smaller ship. It was a big adjustment but she was a real trouper, and the best waiter ever. Lots of factors including just having a bad day.

I suspect the levels of service varies from ship to ship based on several factors including the timing of bringing a new ship online. For example, the staffing of 2000+ for Symphony for instance will not have all newbies, as many "experienced" crew members will be drawn from other ships. Their transfers will have to be sourced with new staff. Combine that with normal turnover and the net service results on all impacted ships could be a mixed bag.

A few years back we did Stingray City with an outside provider who included all the equipment we needed as well as lunch. The boat accommodated about 15 or 20 of us and the crew was great. Loved the much more "personalized" feeling rather than the many dozens of folks from the cruise ships as well as the p/p price. A lot of fun, the rays were surprisingly gentle, and we got lots of great pictures.

I'm sorry I don't remember who we used but with some some research I'm sure you can find a provider.

So, it was suggested to start a new thread for the new year (2016 - 2017)

 

What ships will be sailing where? Speculation welcome :D

I believe the Harmony of tht Seas begins it's sailing next year. It is supposed to do Europe before being deployed to Ft. Lauderdale in the U.S.

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My first cruise was on a Standard Fruit Company, the Contessa. It was a cargo/passenger vessel that sailed from New Orleans, first stop was Havana. It was in 1950!

 

My first cruise was about 15 years ago on the Carnival Ecstasy. I went with my sister, her husband, her 2 young kids, and our dad. 3 cabins, with our dad alone in one, my sister and her husband in another, and me with my neice and nephew.

 

I remember the kids doing room service breakfast of hot chocolate and danish every day before going up for a "real" breakfast! I also remember the towel animals and how much the kids (and me!) loved them. I still look forward to them.

Holland Ametica Veedam in '85 from NYC to Bermuda. Was the most relaxing vacation ever to that point but that ship was tiny compared to even modest size ships of today.

The Atlantic can be a bumpy place, particularly on a small ship. One couple from our group got sick and will never cruise again, even though we've tried to get them to join us on much larger and more sophisticated vesels of today. Their loss I guess, but none the less, it hooked me. [emoji4]

Holland Ametica Veedam in '85 from NYC to Bermuda. Was the most relaxing vacation ever to that point but that ship was tiny compared to even modest size ships of today.

Getting to meet other folks can be interesting and fun. Though, on past cruises we have traveled with friends and family which was great fun but left me missing the conversation and the sharing our experiences each day with new friends. The upcoming cruise is slightly different as a couple of twenty-something couples will be joining us and each couple has a partner who will experience their first cruise. Should be fun to hear about their escapades each day.