land lover

Gambling, people, Gambling there is no Gambling on most river cruises...

and pax...not many on a river cruise our largest 170 smallest 90.

The intimacy of a river cruise can't be beat.

......a comparison of dollar and cents but that is as far as I think it can go, I don't even think they are comparable, but I do think Wayne did a good job of breaking things down and a good job on food comparison. Food is not important to me, so I would not have included that and I always forget this is a make and break with so many people on vacation. However on river cruises there is alot more ethnic cusine, also local beers and wines..which I enjoy rather then the same old menus again, and again and again.....

I did my first Viking cruise to China in 2007...positive: hotel stay on both ends..cultural experience out weighs any ocean cruise. Next river cruise was Russia..again hotel stays on both sides then a Christmas Market cruise...River Cruising is just a total different experience for me.....

I still love land vacations BEST. For me Ocean Cruises are either transportation or entertainment depending on my selection of itinerary. River cruises are a cultural and educational experience. And land trips are discovery.......I still like discovery the best........but I also like gambling.....

so glad we have so many options......

The Jones Act has little to do with this as it applies to cabotage, commercial shipping and crew members.

 

What you are referring to is the Passenger Vessel Services Act. Here's a brief summary:

 

1. If you embark and disembark at the same US port, regardless of how many B2Bs, you must have gone to a NEAR foreign port. Near is defined as North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

 

2. If you embark at one US port and disembark at a different US port, regardless of how many B2Bs, you must have gone to a FAR foreign port. The closest "far" foreign ports to the US are South America and Aruba.

 

So even though your cruise goes to Vancouver, it's illegal unless the itinerary includes a stop in South America.

 

You can change ships or stay overnight in a hotel in Vancouver to avoid violating the PVSA. The fine is $300 and any ship or cruise line cannot knowingly allow you to board and violate the PVSA.

I have first hand experience with this as my friend had to pay the $300, a few years back...on a 4 day RCI out of LA. She became very sea sick the first night(visited doctor had shot, etc) but wanted to disembark...the next day in San Diego, the next Port was Catalina, she was concerned about getting stuck on the island...so demanded to get off...it was lots of paper work and a pain in the butt as I handled the whole thing......So if one is thnking about not telling them and just getting off, be prepared for road blocks and paying the $300.

Glad to see you had a wonderful time despite "life." Keep your great attitude and sail in a balcony whenever possible. Mom dose look stylish!

Thank u everyone...you have answered my question, that I should be able to get off in the first walk off group, if I do some pre-planning.

On a 7 day cruise out of Houston, are elite pax first walk off? Is it easy to be put in the following walk off group?

We were at the Money Bar two days ago..Perfect place to do your own snorkeling..The snorkel tour boats come here..

 

 

 

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love the photos, how the the salsa taste?

Very few boats go over to the East side to dive or snorkel... reason is the cost of gas. It is a long long way from the westside boat caletas (where the boats are docked at night). That is not saying you couldn't get a boat to take you there, but it would cost $$$.

 

The reefs on the westside of the island are fantastic, but getting out to them will take a boat. As a diver who goes to Cozumel for a week each year average for 14 years, I love the reefs. That said, I have never snorkeled them from a boat. Several GREAT reefs come right up to within a few feet of the surface, those would be great to snorkel. The only one close in is Paradise Reef which is just south of the cruise ship dock Puerto Maya. It is a great reef to snorkel or dive.

 

I was just there diving Cozumel in May, and I have some videos of what the reefs look like if you are interested. My latest Cozumel videos are here:

 

the 2 shore diving videos from this trip will give you an excellent idea what can be seen in Cozumel snorkeling from shore. The coastline areas are all coral rubble, not pretty reef, but there are TONS of fish.

Love the V's and music...thanks

Trying to decide if I should go to the ruins or snorkeling.....going on princess to Belize, Roatan and C......12-7

My rule of thumb expensive cruise book with TA, inexpensive, book with princess.

Children under the age of 18 will have a blue card no matter how many previous Princess cruises they have taken.

 

Persons sailing under the Princess "friends and family" plan (very high discounts) may be given a blue card also even if there were previous cruises.

 

If a previous cruiser booked without telling the agent their Captain's Circle number, they will be considered a new cruiser and given a blue card.

Interesting.....

Is the Friends and family plan, friends and family of princess staff?

He edited out past cruises along with his name. (Did you know the A next to the number of past cruises signifies Adult? Found that out when we sailed with our teenage kids.)

That's the card we got on the Royal a couple of weeks ago.

I still can't figure out why anyone cares about this.

As long as I get my internet, laundry and in-cabin set up I could care less about my card. :confused:

I just learned a few weeks ago the card showed my cruise pts and now I learn what the A is for.....

This thread has got me smiling......I have always noticed card color, but what I find is funny is when I am talking to someone which I notice has a blue card and I ask if they have cruised Princess before and they say yes......is that possible?

Will be intersted to find out what Princess says.

Someone mentioned Target...made me think back, I have had fraud on a credit card twice after giving it to Princess...now this was over 5 years ago. But it was a card that I only used for on board spending. I was boarding in foreign ports...so it does happened. Use one card for traveling only.

Due to Texas law only alcohol bought from distributors in Texas can be served on the ship while in Texas waters. This is the same for ships leaving Galveston too. In attempt to keep cost down the cruise lines buy minimal amounts to serve why in territorial waters. They also add tax to drinks once in Texas.

 

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Very interesting, first time I have heard this, but makes sense.

So if you have driven to the port, they won't let you take it back to your car?

Military OBC began in November 2010 but we are getting off topic which is about abuse of the Laundry perk.

 

Mike:)

I am aware of that, but that happened long b4 my recent question;).

Sometimes its worth asking a question on an existing thread than making a new one.

Thanks for answering my question.

There were two formal nights - one the first sea day and the second on the sea day after Belize. Most men wore suits with ties and there were several sports jackets. I did not see any tuxes. I did see a few men with open neck sport shirts with no coat and even a couple with t-shirts. One man dressed in a US flag shirt with a stars and stripes stovepipe hat - looked a lot like Uncle Sam. I know little about women's fashion, but will say that they all looked very well-dressed, anywhere from long gowns to stylish dinner dresses or pant suits. Lots of jewelry.

Very useful information.....thank you

if one read my issues (unhappy crew' date=' ship design, un-entertaining entertainment, too many people, some boorish passengers, no officer engagement, smoking policy, etc.) even a Princess PR type or blind loyalist would realize that the issues are not fixable by crew regardless of level. Princess product is not for me.[/quote']

 

I bet if an itinerary looks good to you u might take another chance.

 

One experience shouldn't make or break a deal.

 

BTW..princess is not my favorite crusie line.

Loved the review and appreciated Sailin' shoes different view.

Happy to learn about the Marriott connection.

I have been eyeing this itinerary...and reading about a lot of disappointment.

To me the number one thing that makes a cruise is W E A T H E R.

# 2 is itinerary and making ports.

#3 is cost...now if I pay top dollar for a suite or travel on a LUX line I expect more, alot more.

Do I think Princess is the consumate host......? Sometimes. But when I have had a problem they have addressed it.

Usually my expectations are met on mass crusie lines simply because they started out pretty low.....and I don't mean that as sarcasm, just a fact.

CCL and RCL did flip flop in the combinable perks / not combinable perks at about the same time. CCL has been much less profitable than RCL in recent years though the Costa Concordia and numerous Carnival ship problems have not helped CCL shares.

 

We did three cruises on Celebrity for a change over the last year and a half but many different things including the combinable OBCs with Princess have brought us back to Princess full time just as we have retired and are ramping up our cruising even more.

 

I hope we get to enjoy the benefits for awhile at least, including the Elite benefit which we will enjoy for the first time beginning April 23.

 

Terry

Thats what I thought Terry....it was like RCI was taking away and Princess was picking up the slack.

Thanks for responding to my query.

You're wrong. Perks for stock ownership began in 2000.

But were they combinable? Combinable with what I don't know.:o

But, there was a reason why I didn't purchase stock back in the early 2000s trying to remember why.

When did the Military OBC start?

Thanks for your input, PIA.

I predict changes along the lines of the Celebrity Elite Laundry system coming soon! One bag of free laundry per cruise per passenger and double that if the cruise is 12 days or longer.

 

The force that will bring the change has been mentioned here over and over...out of control laundry on a recent transatlantic combined with "outraged passengers" both Elite and non Elite. Combine that with people wearing everything in their wardrobe only once before it is off to the ships laundry and ensuring that everything they brought with them is clean and ready to put away once home.

 

It happened in the past when unlimited free internet became limited free internet and it happened when free internet was taken away from suites.

 

I also think there will be changes to the shareholder benefit inevitably as well. It was fine when a few people owned shares but now large numbers buy shares just for the OBC and almost everyone only buy the minimum 100 shares. Then when the department that adds the OBC to accounts gets back logged people are yelling, one poster in a related thread said "we pay good money for these shares....they need to get their act together". Really.

 

Just look at Celebrity over the last year or so. Endless reductions in benefits, OBC and slower progression to Elite now. And Celebrity wasn't even as generous as Princess was before they started cutting back. There were endless comments in the Celebrity CC area that there were getting to be way too many Elites for some cruises to keep up with the benefits. Exactly what is being described here on Princess.

 

My 2 cents worth....

 

Terry

I don't think the laundry will go it is a cheap perk as others have stated it is just the cost of doing business and Princess has been know for that perk in the industry for years...that is why X started offering it.

What concerns me is the OBC as you stated...all this combining ...I have not been on the Princess main board in about 3 years and posters are sounding like the RCI boards did in 2010, right before they took that privilege away.

and correct me you die hard princess cruisers if I am wrong, but I thought that was around the time that Princess started giving perks for stock ownership..or let it be combinable.

L:)ri

I know we all have our theories on why unlimited internet went away.

Most of us have seen the progression of the internet on ships...from a few computers to a computer room with a staff member. And we know how our personal computing arsenal has grown.

Bottom line in MHO..it is the bucks and easy bucks..for the ship to make. With all the personal on-line devices they can draw money from every stateroom without having to be involved with any hardware.

So simply stated one reason the ship stopped free internet so they could make more $$.

They were in the same boat, so to speak. Everyone was treated the same: poorly. The stewards were first in line for the complaints and took a lot of abuse from angry passengers.

LOL.....well I hope Princess learned from the experience, but I am sure the complaints spoke louder.

In a situation with so many elites I suggest they have the guests take their laundry to a dedicated area with hours for pick up and drop off and elimate the room attendants involvement all together. Set it up like your local dry cleaners lol. This way they can regulate the flow and elimiate some of the excess.

Princess was fully aware that a third of the passengers were elite & they would have problems handling all of the laundry. They compounded the problem by not being proactive & notifying us of the situation until it was too late. Towards the end of the cruise they finally sent a letter about the delays which they should have done during embarkation. They could have made some sort of limit to reduce the problems so they share some of the blame for it taking a week or more. :(

I have found this discussion very interesting.....and totally agree Princess

could have dedicated more staff to handle the situation.

What happened to the guests that were paying did they have to wait a week?

Before they eliminated free internet for suites, they took away unlimited internet from Platinum and allowed a dollar amount dependent on length of the cruise. Maybe they should have a dollar amount for free laundry dependent on the length of the cruise and how many Elites in the cabin. That might be difficult because one would use more laundry in warm/humid climates than in cooler climates. Maybe denying the privilege to the abusers is the best solution.

The cruise lines have taken away alot of things thru the years, and more and more people feel they are entitled...for everyone that abuses... not one uses..so....for example I have seldom used the internet on princess but I do remember how people were up in arms when the unlimited was removed and the couldn't conduct their business via it, when on a cruise.

I have come back to Princess after not cruising her for 3 years. The get-aways brought me back not because of the promos, I booked prior. I am so surpised how the boards have changed, people seem to be so status hungry......what happened? I know the cruise lines love to drive this....but why do we let them ?....Sorry just had to vent.

To me a limit of one bag is unreasonable.

 

I always send it out in two bags, one for the "laundry" and one for the "cleaning." This prevents the items that need the "cleaning" process from getting mixed in with the other stuff.

I do this as well when we have a suite...and write in big letters on the items must be Dry Cleaned.