SheehanDJ

We are doing Mexican Riviera next year, either Princess or NCL. I'd like to compare the deal I can get on either one before deciding but it appears NCL is never going to release their West coast schedule for October 2017.

I have a bit of a dilemma... We have a group mostly family members going on a cruise in September. My brothers cabin was paid for by my dad... Because they have been having a difficult time financially. Our sister-in-law doesn't like us.... At all... Lol. And we are really worried that they will back out at the last minute and it will be too late to get any money back. My brother will feel bad, but I don't think they can even afford to pay my dad back anyway.... So, my question is, would we be able to have some friends of ours pick up the reservation, switching all of the names on the reservation... But leave my brothers name (because he is one of the original guests)... And then everyone would board the ship except my brother? Please don't bash me... I don't know if this is even ok to do??? I am just trying to help my dad not lose his money for nothing...

Being a dad myself, and speaking as your dad, don't worry about how I spend my money. I'm fully aware of how your brother and SIL may or may not re-act. Just relax and let's all have a nice time.

I checked Freedom randomly and looked at their lowest which was an 86 on 11/14.

Those that are concerned about these numbers on any ship you may be sailing I'd advise you to follow the links listed above and do a bit of reading. A lot of the "violations" are paper work related. As in, "Asterisk too small on a menu", "Asterisk missing on a menu", or an opinion as in, "Pool appeared cloudy" but nothing saying the chemicals were out of spec.

There were some bad ones too, cart laying on it's side and the wheels touching food. Chicken was at 131 degrees and should be at 135.

What I wonder is if violations are weighted or is the cart with the wheels touching food the same level of violation as an asterisk being judged to be too small.

Nothing I read would stop me from cruising, just because the CDC saw the wheels touching the food doesn't mean Royal didn't and that they wouldn't have cleaned or trashed the food themselves with out being told to.

The problem with attorneys like this is they want to lead you to assume the cruise lines are trying to get away with something because said cruise lines don't care about you at all and just want your money. If it wasn't for the attorneys watching out for you then all matter of disgusting and dangerous things would be happening on purpose just to save a dime. When the reality is if that were the case a lot of people would be getting sick, the cruise line would get a reputation and quickly be out of business.

The attorneys would be the only ones who profit if a cruise line were ran this way. The last thing this guy wants is all cruise ships to have a score of 100, although he would tell you different. It's like smoking, the government says they want everyone to quit for their own good. If this were true they would simply out law cigarettes, in this day and age they could very easily as the majority of Americans don't smoke. They won't though because they would take a huge tax hit. Same with speeding, the technology exists right now to not allow a vehicle to exceed a speed on different roads or even at different times, never happen though because speeding tickets are a wonderful source of revenue. Erm, I mean they enforce the speed limits to keep us all safe.

The pre cruise night at the Marriott Waikiki was part of the NCL package. Hotel was very nice. Essentially oceanfront. Our room was spacious, clean and the balcony had a decent view of the ocean.

We stayed there when we spent a week in Hawaii, used Marriott points so it was free, excellent hotel. NCL crew members stay there for a night or sometimes two pre and post contract, we met a few of them at the pool bar, could they tell some stories.

We will be sailing on the Pride of America in October and wanted to take a Pacific Whale Foundation cruise that starts at 7am in Maui. As this is an overnight port, are we allowed to leave the ship at 6am? Has anyone been on this cruise and offer more info/review of it?

Also, we are are an Aussie family and will be travelling throughout the USA and finishing up with the POA cruise. Can I please get some advice on tipping throughout the USA? What is standard practice and what services do we tip for? I haven't been to the US since I was a teenager (20 years ago!) and I imagine things are a bit different from when I was last there!

20% of the bill at restaurants and bars, subject to lowering down to 10% dependent upon service is how I tip. Majority of meals end up in the 15-18% range.

Cabs I tip 15% unless they perform a small miracle for me, that would be getting me to the airport on time when I'm running late, or if it is raining they pull into a garage or under some type of cover to keep me dry. Then I will tip 20% or more.

Luggage valets $2-$5 depending on bags. Nothing if they suddenly appear when I'm just about done lugging my bag around. This usually happens when you call a cab, get your bags out to the curb yourself, the cab driver has popped the trunk and gotten out to help you load them, then 'POOF' luggage valet shows up and puts them in trunk. I give them a thanks, because I'm not rewarding that behavior.

It's still supply and demand. If people would stop using them, the price will go down. As long as there is a market, the price will keep going up.

This right here.

Royal did the same thing on their private island, cabana's used to be $200 with in 6 months they were going for $400. I was never lucky enough to get one, but even at $200 I thought it was high but still a price I would have paid. Even at the $400 price point though they are still selling out. I haven't checked in ages but it wouldn't surprise me if they were even higher now.

The only reason to use a TA is if they get you cheaper fares and/or money back in OBC, store credit, rebates, etc. The things to watch out for with TAs is ADDITIONAL cancellation fees (which would be moot with Trip Insurance) and processing fees, which can usually be waived. A good TA is worth their weight in gold. If the entity you are dealing with isn't giving you good service, switch. I wish we could give recommendations here, because mine is stellar.

This is the answer.

The only thing I would add is there is no rule that you can have only one TA. Some can get you great deals on Royal, but not so great on NCL and vise versa and any combination of any cruise line.

Now that's funny. Well done.

I'd never waste the money on a passport for any child below the age of the 10 year expiration cut off date.

Off the ship they are always going to be with you, your passport and their BC will (eventually) over come any immigration issues if you miss the ship.

All that being said, if they are step and the birth mom isn't on the trip (I'm a guy and this makes me unspeakably angry, but it is what it is) I'd get a passport and a letter as the "father" line on a BC is pretty much useless.

With as many cruises you have been on.

 

You should know phones are all over the ship in plane view.

 

On every cruise line.

 

What would "sanitary issues" have to do with telephones?

Telephones and remote controls are the dirtiest things we touch in our day to day lives. Much more so than any bathroom fixtures.

Glad they finally got it working, hopefully they are going to be painting it or something though.

Still waiting on Sept/Oct 2017 dates for Mexican Riviera, let along dates for 2018.

We've only sailed on Princess once. It was an older ship, the Caribbean Princess. I did not care for the food at all. We are in our 40's and were seated with all senior citizens. They were nice but we didn't have anything in common with them and dinner always took forever. It seemed most of the passengers were older. They walked slow and seemed to take up the whole walkway, so we couldn't get around them without being rude so it would take a long time to get from point A to point B. It just wasn't much fun. We may try them again in another 20 years. Our friends, about the same age as us, love them so don't avoid them just because of one opinion.

 

 

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Would never avoid them off one opinion, the problem is I'm seeing a lot of the same opinions. Great cruise, but pretty much ship seems empty after 8-9PM. Great cruise, but take the stairs everywhere because of the rascals, wheel chairs, and walkers in the elevators. Etc, etc.

Wish NCL would hurry up and release west coast October cruises.

This was our first NCL cruise. We have sailed with Carnival 6 times, Royal Caribbean once, and Princess once. I must say I was impressed with the Getaway and we didn't care for Princess at all...

We were planning on booking Princess next year for a Mexican Riviera, I know NCL does this same route, why wouldn't you do Princess?

The no unlimited drink package law was not repealed so it is still in effect.

Yes you can still drink in HI, so the "Booze Cruises" are legal as long as they charge by the drink.

Depending upon how this law is written it would be easy to circumvent. Charge someone $100 to go on a boat trip and then .01 per drink and never collect it. According to the law they would still be charging per drink. They just take that .01 and subtract it from their sailing fee and that crosses all the "i's" and dots all the "t's".

NCL could easily do the same, they would probably collect it though...

There is a charge for some deserts such as ice cream sundaes but the food menu and certain deserts are free

 

 

As an FYI they do NOT allow to go orders anymore.

No one is going to stop you from getting up and taking your food with you.

On rib night we were told we could only have the ribs if we came in and sat in the restaurant, we couldn't order them from the bar area. We found a roaming waiter tipped him a couple bucks, and Taa Daa, ribs.

Totally agree on the C&A discounts, I've never gotten to use it as the pricing is better with the sale instead of the discount. Why even have it if they are never going to let you use it.

Any more with drink packages and what not, the only benefit to being loyal is that you get to stand in a shorter line while boarding.

We mainly cruise Royal but did go on the Getaway last year and had a wonderful time. I did notice that on Royal I'd see the odd case of water and maybe a 12 pack of some type of soda on boarding day. On the NCL Getaway it seemed everyone had cases of water and multiple 12 packs of soda.

As others have said above, it probably just got to be too much. All the cruise lines make their money off drinks and gambling, at some point enough has to be enough. I think NCL just went a bit over board on the rule change, they should have removed the soda and allowed one case of water per cabin and been done with it. Or dropped the price of their bottled water to $1 per bottle, that's $24 per case that anyone can by for $2.99, still a hefty profit.

The correct answer from your TA should have been, "I can't get you any perks on NCL, but I can on insert cruise line here, I would be happy to book either for you though."

Dump this TA and find one who will say the above, or keep this one for the cruise line they are pushing and find a new one for NCL, no one says you can't have more than one TA.

When the Empress first became available to book just before Christmas there was an outstanding sale. BOGO1/2 plus $200-$300 additional off for being a Crown & Anchor member...

Of course they ended up canceling all the cruises available for sale during that time so....

No, then, I guess the answer is no.

Seriously though, we got a real nice price on Adventure this coming October during the WoW sale last October, it was nicely combinable with a deal our TA had available. So it was just one of those things that worked out.

How exactly are credit cards bad even if you pay them off? Superior fraud protection, no risk of overdraft fees if there's a mistake on your end or your bank's end, and cash back or other rewards. Plus they build up your credit score which impacts rent, mortgage, car shopping, insurance, and a whole host of other aspects. Not using a credit card as a personal decision is fine, but there's no benefit to demonizing them out right.

 

Your bank may just hide holds from you, or you may not be checking online, but there are definitely holds placed on your debit card. It's industry standard for all electronic purchases, i.e. anything that you use a card for, debit or credit. The moment your card is swiped, a hold is sent to your bank for the estimated amount of the charge, then a final amount is set, your bank confirms the transaction, and then removes the hold. Some banks may process the holds quicker than others, but they all use them.

All debt, except (some) mortgages, encourages people to live beyond their means. You as an individual, may not be currently, but the credit card companies want you to. It's how they make their money after all. The only thing worse than credit cards are loans on new cars.

If I asked you to give me $20,000 and I would give you $16,000 in return you would laugh at me. With a new car loan though your are doing exactly that the instant you sign your name.

Debt and the constant pursuit of a better credit score is what caused the most recent financial crisis, and will cause the next one.

Once upon a time credit cards and mortgages used to be an okay thing because they were handled by local banks. Now you may write your check to Chase but God only knows who is really loaning you the money. The housing crisis was created by big banks and our government working in concert, scratching each others backs. Mortgages started getting bundled into investments, this investment wasn't invented from scratch, they used how credit cards are handled as a model. Very good debt combined with a whole lot of very very bad debt and spread across so many investment vehicles no one really knows who in the end is holding the note. Saying credit cards aren't bad is like saying the mortgage crisis wasn't bad, when in reality they are one in the same.

When it all collapsed, the government slapped the bankers hands with a wink and a nod, because someone had to take the blame, and passed new regulations to stop it from ever happening again. Not on the credit cards though, just mortgages, and just for a little while. Right now if you are poor enough (yes, poor enough) you can get an FHA loan with no money down again. Just like before the collapse.

In order for your bank to stamp that MC or Visa logo on your debit card the bank HAS to agree to some of the same protections of a normal credit card, the bank MAY agree to all of the same protections. The key is finding those banks.

If I steal your credit card I can charge up to your limit, if you steal my debit card you are getting $300 no matter how much I have in the bank. Unless I change it to a higher amount.

Debt is bad, the only debt you should have is a mortgage, and you should be working toward getting it paid off early.

I've heard all the arguments on how I'm wrong, all you have to be is responsible. You know the system is rigged, but you know how to play their game and beat them at it. You will have a miserable life if you have a bad credit score, I've seen those commercials too. You are fed, and believe this line: "...your credit score which impacts rent, mortgage, car shopping, insurance, and a whole host of other aspects." You walk in with your 800 credit score and 47% income to debt ratio, and I walk in with my 320 credit score and 0% income to debt ratio see who walks out with a better deal.

Disembarked on the 19th all pending Charges finally fell away yesterday and then this morning a new charge hit ;)

Glad I did not use a debit card because at one time the pending charges hit close to $1700 vs the actual bill of $725. That is reason enough to tell anyone a Debit card would be a huge problem. But the pending a took forever and this was the RCCL Visa card thru B of A

 

 

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I only use a debit card, always have. Credit Cards are bad, doesn't matter if you "pay them off" every month, welcome to the less than 1% if you really don't ever carry a balance.

A hold like that has NEVER been placed on my debit card, pending charge or whatever you want to call it. Seems to me your post suggests that it would be reason enough to never use credit cards again.

Mostly the same ship appearance wise but named different.

Class names are determined by the first ship of the class. So Oasis class encompasses all ships that look like the Oasis.

Here are Royal's ships and their classes: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/home.do

If you check their deck plans you will notice they are all pretty much the same ship.

Sweepstakes vary drastically. A lot depends on whether a prize is purchased or donated or exchanged. I know people who have won insides and others who won suites. If you notice on wheel they say a value. That might give you an idea. A cruise last week on wheel, not NCL was valued at over $10k. I have won trips with first class air (to Australia) and coach. I will say that anything over $600 ARV you should receive a 1099 for. According to IRS what you can report is ARV. So, if you win a trip, immediately research online and print it out. Must be apples to apples though.

 

For instance, my mom won 2 cars and a diamond watch on wheel and she got to pick the cars and the value varied as you can buy a car less than sticker. Since I won cash and a rodeo drive shopping spree when I was on wheel it was a set dollar.

 

Know I got a little off track, but thought the info might be helpful to anyone who wins a prize like a cruise.

 

 

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Thanks for the info, I've always wondered that. I've seen people win trips and stuff "valued at $10K" I know I could get at a half or a third of that, so once you paid the taxes on 10K it would almost be cheaper to buy the trip yourself. Glad to see the IRS plays fair on the real value at least.

Empress has a rather unique propulsion system in that it uses 4 diesel engines coupled directly to the two propeller shafts, unlike the more common diesel electric system where the diesels generate electricity which powers electric motors on the propeller shafts.

Wow, this shocks me, diesel electric has been around for a real long time. I wonder what the thought process was behind doing this on the Empress, it's not like they don't have to use it to run the lights and etc, why not just run the drive also.