camNaud

Hello,

 

Just wondering if I should wear a fanny pack while in each port. I'd like to keep things (passport card, other ID, $$, etc.) in one centralized location rather than my wallet. Any suggestions, or just stick with the wallet?

 

Thanks in advance

fanny pack / bum bag call it what you want they all scream ........ 'here are my valuables in one place... feel free to rob me as I'm a stupid tourist'.......

I used to think I was really cheap. That I was a horrible tipper even though I tipped extra. Then I started reading these boards. Now I feel better. I always tip the suggested and then more on the top. I usually tip the waiter $100 extra, the room steward $100 and the assistant water $75. These 3 people make the difference to me about my cruise experience. It's not that much in the scheme of things and I'd always felt it worth it. There has only been 1 cruise where I didn't tip my room steward extra.

This is turning into a bit of a pissing contest me thinks lol

I think unless you have horriable service people shouldn't be able to remove tips

What is classed as horrible service to one person might be okay to another person and what is classed as excellent service to one person might be average to another.

Tip's should be based upon the how the tipper rates the service and what he deems to the service to be worth.

I guess it depends on the ship you sail on

I have not had that experience with the auto tip policy

Agree and it can also depend upon the crew assigned to the ship at the time you sail as well. I have been on the same ship for different cruises a couple of years apart, and found the service to vary greatly as well.

First time round service was good, second time round service was found to be a bit lacking at times.

What you tip is your business and your business alone - pay what you think is fair.

I will add that tipping has got way out of hand especially in the USA - I am well aware that tips make up the wages in some countries but if you pay people a decent living wage in the first place they don't have to rely on tips.

I notice when I'm in the USA that when eating out waiting staff often try way too hard to try and please - almost to point of annoyance. Why ask me 3 or 4 times if everything is to my liking? If it was not good I would say. I also find it irritating when waiting staff hover waiting to pull the plate from under my nose the minute I finish. The fussing actually borders on fake - much like the 'have a nice day' people robotically bleat out with a fake smile every place you shop or eat out. I don't like to be fussed over when eating out - i prefer some light hearted chat with waiting staff - maybe a recommendation if I'm struggling to choose something from the menu, and I also insist on clean cutlery and crockery. Tick those boxes and I'm more than happy to tip.

Another point of note I will make;

The ships where an automatic service charge has been added to my account - have in general had the worst service - compared with the ships where tipping / service charges are not added automatically. Perhaps the auto tipping make the staff onboard these ship try a little less hard knowing most of the tips are in the bag before they even start.

Tesco Clubcard Mastercard is great - I spend spend spend on it and collect club card points - which can be spend and pretty much anything. You can double up offers and point to......... my cash back equivalent last year was 4.65%. So in effect they are paying 4.65% to spend using their card.

We visited Dakar in 2008 when we were on HAL Rotterdam - we took the trip to The Pink Lake at Retba. Three coach loads of pax from the ship were transported with police escort through Dakar ... much to the amusement of the locals - they said the escort was to clear the traffic.

On arrival at Retba we all were allocated to jeeps and driven in smaller groups round the lake and through the sand dunes to the Atlantic coast. Great scenery and our driver was very informative. During the jeep drive we stopped off at a Fulani tribal village and met some of the villagers. this included tours of some of the villagers homes which we found interesting. Once this part of the tour was over we were taken back to Dakar.

For shopping a large group of traders had set up a market in the port area - where we purchased some nice wood carved statues and masks. Overall we enjoyed this port.

glasgow is a great city - wonderful victorian buildings- very walkable.Not boring atall!!!

I don't disagree - I suppose it all depends on what you want to see - I was just suggesting something that I'd thought visitors to our wonderful country would want to see.

Can anyone recommend things to do in Glasgow?

Yes - avoid Glasgow and take a tour north to Loch Lomond or The Trossachs.... much nicer.

I have read a lot of 'funnies' on CC, but this was the first time that I LOL!!!:D

 

john

funny now when I look back .... I can still see the Mad Mullah's face yet - he was the first Arab I have ever met who did not want my money :p he was not a happy chappy....... I suppose what we did was could have been considered blasphemous :eek:

Wow!! This one is really weird. You guys are probably lucky that it was just the Mullah and not a bunch of radicals.:eek:

I think things might have gotten out of hand if we had hung around.... that's why the guide got us out of there double quick.... :eek:

My other embarrassing moment was on a shore excursion to Marrakesh in Morrocco a few years back. We were returning to our ship which was docked in Casablanca when the coach pulled into a roadway 'service station'. Time to stretch the legs and take a call of nature I thought. Looking for the washrooms / gents we asked one local who pointed a small group of us from the coach to go round the rear of the cafeteria. We found a couple of buildings with doors and on examination we found the gents. The urinal was the most weird one I had ever saw in my life - it was a large communal trough against the wall that was quite wide with taps along the wall - as we all lined up to take our calls of nature - one guy from the coach joked perhaps they water their camels here too ..... next thing there was a bit of commotion as an older Morrocan guy in traditional clothing started bawling / shouting etc. thinking no more of it we all finished washed our hands and started handing the old guy some money - thinking that what he was the attendant and that he wanted paying for using the gents. However he shouted more and more and actually refused the money. Next thing our guide appearred and managed to calm the old Morrocan guy down a bit. He asked us all to move along quickly and just return to the bus asap before things got out of hand. We returned to the bus and the guide went on to explain the err of our ways - we had not used the toilets but in fact it was part of the service station mosque and the room was in fact where all the men washed their feet before entering the mosque. The old Morrocan was in fact the Mullah or Holy Man of the Mosque........ and not the toliet attendant as we had thought...... you live and learn. ;)

On my first ever cruise there was a particularly wild day at sea - wind was howling, sea was choppy. We decided to do a circut or two of the promenade deck despite the weather - however the wind was way to strong and at one point we decided to retreat. I was about to push open a door when my DW shouted 'No - that says no entry' ..... too late I'd pushed hard against the door and went through.... next thing I knew there was chaos as a huge gust of wind blew in behind ...... to my horror the door was actually a service door which led directly behind one of the atrium bars..... napkins, menus, and other things went flying everywhere and people screamed as the wind howled through the bar ........ :o sheepishly I apolgised and made a sharp exit......

Getting stung with 'The Welcome Aboard Cocktail'..... you know that nice one many people think is free when the waiter with the tray of nice drinks approaches you prior to sailaway and your just finding you way round.

'Welcome Aboard Cocktail Mam / Sir'...... Oh yes please - how wonderful .... how nice ....... 'Sign here please Mam / Sir'...... ouch too late you've taken a large sip through the straw..... $6.95 plus tip ..... make that times 2 as your better half has done likewise.....

we used the secret door a number of time - last time of The Crown. The view is excellent plus you get some great photos of the ship and everyone waving from their balconies at sailaway time.

There is also one of these secret doors on The Crown Princess too ;)

You're not going to scare me away! I live in Minnesota- the mosquito is our state bird!! and we have midges too we call them no see ums.:D

I will get some Avon before I come!!

No real need to be scared - 'the wee blighters' shouldn't be so bad this summer - following what has been the coldest winter in Scotland for decades......

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article7044805.ece

The tiny Scottish midge, Culicoides Impuctatus, appears between mid May and early September. Each year is different depending on the previous year’s weather conditions. Generally they are only a problem in June through to August (basically when there are no over night frosts) and even then there are a number of strategies which should mean you can enjoy your walking regardless of the midges. Midges prefer damp, overcast, and windless days and are most active early in the morning and around sunset. The midge cannot fly in even a small breeze and therefore you can often get away from them on walks especially coastal and hill walks. They also hate direct sunshine and are attracted to dark clothing and pools of water. So avoid taking breaks in the shade or sitting next to pools and wear light coloured clothing to deter them.

Only the female midge bites, as she needs a meal of blood to feed her eggs. Midges have the ability to detect carbon dioxide which may account for the fact that you can’t seem to out walk them as more are attracted the harder you breathe.

When a midge has bitten it releases a chemical signal which attracts other females to the all you can eat buffet. Most people only have a very mild reaction to the bites, it tends to be the tingle on the skin and irritation of them buzzing that drives people to distraction.

People are divided over the best midge repellents. There is no doubt that a net midge hood will stop the midges biting if the mesh is fine enough but it will also stop you eating, communicating and seeing properly. In our experience midge hoods are best for sitting around when camping or fishing rather than walking. There are a number of chemical repellents available, most effective are the ones containing deet, although these do smell bad and not everyone wants to slather such a strong chemical on their skin. Some people swear by the natural repellents containing bog myrtle or citronella and the citronella-based coils that you burn can be effective when camping or having a picnic. Avon’s Skin so Soft is also on sale in many outdoor shops and chemists on Skye. It has a pleasant smell and if you don’t mind the slippery sheen left on your skin, it does work for many people. Other people swear by ingesting copious amounts of whisky, garlic or marmite!

Hope this link helps....

http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/skye/attractions_portree.shtml

Well thats my case now packed for our cruise which sets sail from Rio on Friday.

Five formals nights mean a bit of mixing n matching shirts, hoses, jackets, belts, waistcoat, ties with my kilt.

N.B. waistcoat should not be worn with belt

Night 1: Full formal - Kilt, Rampant Lion Kilt Pin, Cream Hose with flashes, Ghillie Brogues, Sgian Dubh (dummy one for cruising - real one stays at home), Sporran, white wing collar shirt, black bow tie, Black Prince Charlie Jacket and Waistcoat.

Night 2: Modern - as night one but with Black Hose with flashes, Black Shirt, Tie (in tartan to match my kilt), Belt, Jacket. (no waistcoat)

Night 3: Jocobean - as night one but swap with White lace up shirt, Dark Blue Gillet Jacket, and Belt.

Night 4: Full Formal - as night one but normal white shirt is worn with silk tartan crevate tie.

Night 5: Formal - as night one but with black hose, black shirt and tartan bow tie.

I will post some photos on my return.

Happyscot - Jings crivens help ma boab - em richt gled yi geed thon line in sassanach - cuz thid nae ken fit wir spikin abit

HappyScot, ohmigoodness that is the funniest post I've read on Cruise Critic!!! Thank you so much!

:p Wayhey Happy Scot is back !!

Guid tae see yi loon.;) an howz yir bidee in daen

CP if you think that post was funny - you should have read the post he started last year - pish yir drarrz stuff it wiz :D

One of my Scottish cruising friends, who enjoys wearing his kilts on formal nights, usually has to pay excess baggage allowance because of the weight of his kilt and accessories.

My local shop where I buy my kilts and accessories from, are able to provide lightweight and medium weight kilts which are ideal for travel.

I purchased the medium weight version and not only is it good for avoiding excess baggage charges, but it's also far more comfortable for wearing in warmer climates.

No, I'm not taking your comments as disrespectful. I'm in North America, so kilts are not part of day to day life here, though. I guess what I really meant was if the "ceremony" warrants it, then a kilt is fine. But it is terribly hard to pull off wearing a kilt and look as though one is supposed to BE wearing a kilt. One only need look at the linked pics to see that :) And "kilt = bagpipes" really was an overstatement on my part. IMHO, I probably should have said kilt = ceremony, and when ceremony is absent, then the kilt looks out of place. JMHO/YMMV

thanks for being so understanding :)

being in Scotland we get to wear our kilts on numerous occassions through out the year both formal and informal'

Weddings, Dinner / Dances, Sporting Events (Internationals / Finals), awards ceremonies, highland games, Burn's Night and more... it's all down to wearing the correct accessories for the occasion.

The kilt is just a garment - it is what you wear with it that makes it formal or informal.

go for it Repsol - if you need any more advice give me a shout - im always in here when I'm not cruisin. :)