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TxCityKat

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Posts posted by TxCityKat

    Has the search feature changed?

    in Need Help Using the Forums? Check Here!

    Posted

    21 hours ago, bluedevil72 said:

    Thank you for your response. I’ll check that out on my laptop tomorrow. BTW, I noticed that your first two cruises were on Commodore Cruise Lines.....ours too.  On Enchanted Capri out of NOLA in 2000.  We were hooked. 

     

    You are most welcome!

     

    Yes, my first Caribbean cruise on Commodore's former transatlantic liner Caribe I out of Miami hooked me. My second cruise on Enchanted Isle was out of NOLA and reeled me in.

     

    My first ships were built in the 1950's. Those were the days when their décor consisted of acres of gorgeously polished empire hardwoods, marquetry, nickel light sconces, acid-etched glass & mirrors, teak decks (installed long before teak was exploited into endangered status) and gracious curves. When I sailed on them, they already had decades of history that spoke to the willing listener with every creak and rattle. There were no swirling water slides, vertiginous rock climbing walls, shimmering glass verandahs, triple deck showrooms, beaucoup eateries, and the usual squared off, glittering modern-day cruise ship hardware back then. They were full of old world class and charm. Excellent fine dining & impressive service was primary. I imagine 4 or 5 of those smaller-sized ships from their day would fit on one of today's boxy monoliths that are fitted out like modern hotels with store-bought furnishings and fire resistant materials.

     

    As a little bit of local fan girl info from me, my first ship was berthed at Galveston Island (where I was born) for two months starting in September 2008. At that time she was an Imperial Majesty Cruises ship and her name was Regal Empress. She served as a chartered FEMA accommodation ship for aid relief workers after Hurricane Ike flooded 75% of the island. I have numerous friends that desperately needed her and her occupants being there at that terrible time.

     

    Sadly, both my Commodore ships are now gone. Both sailed under various lines & names. Caribe I as renamed Regal Empress went to Alang, India and was broken up & sold for scrap in 2009. (1953 - 2009) Enchanted Isle as renamed New Orleans also went to the Alang breakers but in 2003. (1958 - 2003)

     

    For lots of info about Commodore Cruise Line with pictures/postcards of their ships, check out the following website: http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/CommodoreCruiseLine.html#anchor83533 

    Please note some of the info has not been updated since early 2000's.

     

    Fun Fact: The Church of Scientology ship Freewinds in the news a while back about their measles quarantine sailed previously as Commodore's Bohème.

     

    If you would like, take a trip back in time on someone's 1977 Commodore's Caribe cruise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=683&v=lsZv496S-lI

    High Tea

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, Alushar said:

    and now it doesn't matter as all cups can take the hot water! Does taste different though if milk is in first it's a but creamier as the hot water emulsifies the milk so it's water then milk, if I have it, for me 🙂

     

    And here I go getting it backwards again! 😊

     

    I prefer milk first since adding the hot beverage sort of "stirs" the mixture for me. That way, lazy me does not have to take time to pick up the spoon and mix the two. I can proceed faster to the first sip and my greatly anticipated "Ahhh that's good!" moment. ☕

    • Like 1

    High Tea

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Alushar said:

    This is right but wrong way around. The fine china could take the hot water so it was "posh" to pour water first. The "lower" classes used clay cups etc so put milk in first to cool the brew 

     

    Thanks for giving us the correct info! So sorry my "rememberer" got it backwards.

    • Like 1

    High Tea

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    IIRC, it originally depended on the quality of the tea cup. If it was a fine or more fragile china cup, milk first. Then when the hot tea was poured in, chances are it would not damage the cup. If a more sturdy china cup, it was okay for the hot tea to go in first then the milk. Since the posh folks usually had the finer china, they went milk first.

     

    Nowadays, I assume it boils down to the tea serving ritual you were raised with and who was "Mother".

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1

    What is in your travel First Aid kit?

    in Ask a Cruise Question

    Posted

    21 hours ago, XBGuy said:

     

    ... Why carry both?...

     

     

    Someone in their family or group may have some other chronic ailment or be taking another medication that makes the difference. For me, I'm 3rd stage renal failure and also taking warfarin. I can only take Tylenol and only a couple at that.

    Printing

    in Need Help Using the Forums? Check Here!

    Posted

    @pawmtweez & @Marcus305

     

    As @broberts states above, you need to contact the Community Manager from your Cruise Critic e-mail address of record with your feedback concerning the new Invision Community software vs. the old vBulletin software:

     

    LauraS

    Senior Manager, Community

    community@cruisecritic.com

     

    Questions or comments on the inner workings of Cruise Critic  should not be posted on this or any other forum on the Cruise Critic message board since that violates the Community Guidelines.

     

    ... Discussion of the management of this community is not allowed on the forums.  Your post will be removed and you may receive a Guideline Reminder.  However, we would be happy to address any concerns you have via email.   Please write to the Community Manager at:  community@cruisecritic.com...

     

    It is impossible for Management to read each post on each thread in each forum to see the questions, comments or concerns about Cruise Critic policies or site feedback. As for the Hosts/Moderators, they are not Management nor employed by Cruise Critic. They are non-paid volunteers trying to help "direct traffic" and must follow the Moderator Handbook given to them by the Community Manager.

     

    An e-mail to the Community Manager is the quickest way for all members to get their questions, comments & concerns about Cruise Critic policies or site feedback to the correct place. The Community Manager has overall control of everything that happens within the Community. The Community Manager oversees how the board is styled, what forums to create and how to organize them, what information to require from members and who to appoint as Hosts/Moderators.

     

    I sincerely hope this additional information will be helpful!

     

    Kat

    Starting a roll call - responsibilities?

    in Need Help Using the Forums? Check Here!

    Posted · Edited by TxCityKat
    Fat fingers & skinny keys!

     

    1 hour ago, s5cmh170 said:

     

    ... Beyond my first post starting the roll call - am I responsible for anything else? The discussion, responses, people's behavior on it, etc?...

     

     

    Howdy!

     

    Don't worry, we were all newbies/rookies at one time!!

     

    Nope.  Pick a few already in process, read through them, and then you will know how they usually go.

     

    Also, there will be other Cruise Critic members joining in on the one you start that will be familiar with how Roll Calls work. Basically, everyone needs to be aware of what can or cannot be discussed on the Cruise Critic message boards. Most Roll Call forums have sticky notes at the top of the forums with reminders.

     

    When you start it, make sure you title it correctly. From How To: Create A New Roll Call:

     

    ... In the Title Box, type the name of your ship, your sail date and year. 

    • When you create a new ROLL CALL topic, you MUST include the sail date in the subject line, and here's the suggested format:    Example: January 1, 2016
    • Please note the suggested date format with the month first and spelled out completely will help your new Roll Call topic appear on the Roll Call Finder tool faster...

     

    From the Community Guidelines:

     

    Roll Calls

     
    Cruise Critic's ROLL CALLS are one of the most popular features within our community. In an effort to keep them fair and as safe as possible, the following is in effect:
    • Roll Calls belong to everyone; there is no designated leader or owner. It doesn't matter who started the thread.
    • On the other hand, if you are new to a Roll Call take the time to read the thread. Learn who is doing what, who made plans for an event, etc. before jumping in and making different plans
    • If you plan an event, be sure to invite everyone!
    • Please adhere to cruise line requests regarding setting up Meet & Greets on board. In other words, if they say contact us three (or two or whatever) weeks prior to sailing, don't contact them months in advance.
    • ROLL CALLS are for people to get to know one another before their cruise; therefore, there will be all kinds of discussion!

    SHORE EXCURSIONS
    • Sharing shore excursions is fun and can help you save money.
    • Get to know the other members in a Roll Call before attempting to get them to tour with you.
    • Shore excursions should be arranged so that payment is made directly to the tour operator, do not be the collector of funds for a shore excursion.
    • Do not arrange any shore excursions/tours if you are not going to be taking them yourself. In other words NO THIRD-PARTY arrangement of shore excursions are allowed. This includes people who are not participating on the Cruise Critic ROLL CALL *for whatever reason*.
    • Travel agents may not arrange shore excursions on ROLL CALLS.
    • Anyone attempting to "fill a bus" or making money from the sharing of shore excursions on our forums runs the risk of losing their membership.
    • Do not post your email address so that someone can email you information about a shore excursion. If they have important info, they should be willing and able to post this information on the forum. We will remove posts, at our discretion, that are nothing more than requests for emails OR posts providing email addresses.
    • Do NOT arrange to collect funds for shore excursion shares at any Meet & Mingle or Meet & Greet so graciously provided by the cruise lines. In the case of Princess Cruises, they have stated you cannot solicit other passengers for any reason once you have booked your cruise. If they observe you arranging tours on board, you run the risk of being asked to debark your cruise at the next port (verified via Princess Cruises March 2013).
    Our Policy Regarding Facebook and Roll Calls
     
    Cruise Critic loves Facebook. in fact, we maintain FB pages for all of our sites (Cruise Critic, CruiseCritic.co.uk, our Australia site, etc.). We have many people who participate on both our FB page and our message boards. We have no issues with people linking their own, personal FB pages in their profiles, or on your signature on Cruise Critic forums. You understand that doing so allows our members to know your "real life" name.

    ROLL CALLS created on FB are not anonymous. Most of them are open to the public. Even if they are private groups, once you are accepted into the group everyone will know your real name. In doing so you have pretty much told all those people -- strangers -- when you will be away on vacation. The fact of the matter is most people do not understand how much personal information they are sharing.

    On Cruise Critic roll calls, everyone is anonymous. You have the ability to remain as anonymous as you'd like throughout the entire Roll Call timeframe and throughout your entire cruise if you so desire. You can be JoeCruise101 until the day you disembark. The choice is yours, you share as much or as little as YOU choose to; everyone starts out on a level playing field on Cruise Critic. Anonymous user names only.

    Also, FB Roll Calls have already proven to divide Roll Calls. People, for whatever reason, who cannot seem to get along may open a FB group and then want more people to participate, so they harvest members from the original ROLL CALL. There have been actual disruptions encouraged on FB directed towards our ROLL CALLs.

    We believe a ROLL CALL created on Cruise Critic should stay here. We've worked long and hard to create this community, and have provided a certain level of trust and privacy for our members. If they choose to participate in a FB Roll Call, they'll have to learn about it somewhere other than Cruise Critic.

    We request that you not solicit people to your Facebook page on any of our ROLL CALLS.
     

     

    Also, don't forget the Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle aka Celebrity Connections at Connections Info!

     

    Happy sails,

     

    Kat 🐱

    Cafe al Bacio without a drinks package

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    7 hours ago, helen haywood said:

    The pastries etc are free to all.  Not tied to a beverage package.  This may not be current pricing but gives you an idea.

     

    https://www.thepreismans.com/med_silhouette_menus.htm

     

    Current prices in post #127 of MR_T's Reflection March 11th 2019 - Live! 🍸😎 thread:

     

    Also, most of the menu pages state the following:

    Please enjoy our complimentary pastries & sweets

    A18% service charge is automatically added to your check

    Celebrity Epic Cruise for March 30, 2020

    in Need Help Using the Forums? Check Here!

    Posted

    It appears Mary means Celebrity Eclipse since she recently posted the following on the Celebrity Eclipse March 15, 2020 Roll Call thread:

     

    Mary,

    Since there is no Roll Call thread for the Celebrity Eclipse March 30, 2020 sail date, please feel free to create it. But first, please read the following thread for very important instructions (especially on how to show the sail date in the title):

    Hope this information will be helpful!

     

    Kat 😺

    Carnival Sunshine grand suites

    in Ask a Cruise Question

    Posted

    Howdy mvwhiten!

     

    Welcome to the Cruise Critic message boards and thank you for your first post!

     

    You have posted on a forum for general cruise questions. Your inquiry concerns a specific cruise line, Carnival. I suggest you repost on the Carnival Cruise Lines forum at https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/133-carnival-cruise-lines/.

     

    Click here for the complete list of all the forums: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/858-categories/

     

    Glad to have you aboard!

     

    Kat

    DOOR DECORATION

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    Here is the current Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle door sign: https://images.r.cruisecritic.com/community/pdfs/DoorSign.pdf 

     

    You can print it on regular printer paper. However, I printed mine on an Avery 3270 Printable Ink Jet Magnet Sheet. There were 5 sheets to a pack. I think I bought the pack at Walmart & cannot remember the price.

     

    I use it along with other tropical-style fridge magnets. The only problem is that some of the magnets grew legs & went home with strangers. Don't put anything out there that will break your heart if it decides to leave.

     

    As mentioned before, it does make it easier to find your cabin. Especially if you are in one of those loooong hallways where everything looks the same. I have had cabin neighbors knock on our door to thank us for our decorated door. It made it easier for them to find their cabin & they planned to decorate their cabin door on their next cruise.

     

    If your cabin door does not contain enough metal to hold the magnet sheet & you use another way to attach it, please make sure you remove all residue left on the door before you debark. The same for ANYTHING you use to attach any sort of decoration on your cabin door or anywhere in your cabin. Your steward will greatly appreciate your kindness!!

    • Like 3

    How to get countdown clock on Signature

    in Need Help Using the Forums? Check Here!

    Posted

    On ‎3‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 10:58 AM, Timar0807 said:

    I just went to the link for the countdown clock and created a new clock BUT I had to save the picture and then insert it in my signature section.  Voila!

     

    It wouldn't let me put in a date later than 2021.  Oh well:)

     

    I can see your two countdown clocks in your signature. However, when I refresh my screen the time stays the same on both and does not count down. They appear to be just images of what the time was at the time you saved the pictures.

     

    A Little Bit of History For All

     

    In the beginning, the Cruise Critic countdown clocks were not brought over to the new Invision Community software because of a perceived incompatibility. It was thought newly created clocks would not count down. After the switch the new software did not support the Cruise Critic countdown clocks but existing clocks still worked. Just as the old signatures with the over the new images & lines limits were grandfathered over. After a while, the old vBulletin software link https://www.cruisecritic.com/vbulletin/countdown.cfm  was allowed and the new clocks stared appearing and working correctly. However, on or about May 22, 2020 the Cruise Critic countdown clocks disappeared and only a black box with an X and some code remained.

     

    Please see the thread titled Countdown Clocks started May 23, 2020 and note the following important posts:

    It appears we all need to just be patient for the tech team to "do their thang and git 'er done." Hopefully they will be able to come to the rescue of our beloved ❤️ Cruise Critic countdown clocks. Just please hang in there, all y'all!!

     

    Kat 😺

     

    Celebrity Chefs Table - worth it ?

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    9 hours ago, jelayne said:

    ... but none that matched the the ones on Carnival for the settings and service.

     

    4 hours ago, Luckiestmanonearth said:

    ... maybe it’s not worth the +$500 for the two of us given the menu

    What a shame

     

    As we say in Texas, "Y'all are preachin' to the choir!"  I totally agree with both of you.

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