Smurf2017

Thinking about it overnight, I came to a similar conclusion, but with a slightly happier ending.

You turn up at the gangway suitcases in hand and they ban you from landing, forcing you to stay onboard for the rest of your days. I could manage that if they are touring the bill

It doesn't make much sense.

Thanks so much for your reply and help!

 

I figured safety regulations are the same, but they question came up in discussing this trip with our friends.

 

We have not taken ship shore excursions in years. We do a lot of photography, so a Spanish only tour is fine since we busy taking photos rather than listening to the tour leader ;-)

The excursions seem reasonable in price, but it's more about doing what we want...when we want, that makes private or DIY excursions more enjoyable for us. It's can also be more affordable since we have another couple to split the costs.

 

Yes, I'm curious to hear about the debarkation process if anyone can answer that question?

 

:-)

Hi Ilarsen. I've had a word with my contact at Pullmantur and she says that there is no self - disembarkation. You will need to leave your luggage outside the door on the previous evening and collect it from the dockside. Not what you wanted to hear I'm sure

Thanks for trying TnTom. :cool: Staying in the dark!

I really appreciate you all trying to help, but I'll have to stay in the dark on this one, especially as I will never need the service anyway!

Now, if I understand correctly, the day before debarking, I need to find the means and a printer to check in and print my boarding pass. Then I give this to Guest Relations who will somehow produce the baggage tag with its unique barcode. It seems like a lot of hassle to me just to avoid checking your bag at the airport.

Thanks everyone. Time to move on, with my apologies to the OP for any thread drift.

wasn't offered or mentioned last week in Europe

I'm not at all surprised Roatanfans as it is unheard of here.

Sorry, but I still do not understand how it works. Your baggage tag carries a bar code unique to your piece of luggage, on a particular flight of a particular airline. Look at any tag on your bag and it will show the 3 letter code for the arrival airport, e.g. MIA for Miami. You will also find your name and flight number and other information. As your bag passes through the baggage conveyors, the barcode is read and used to direct your bag to the correct aircraft. How can Guest Services on board the shop possibly generate such a tag?

Obviously there is a way as it happens, but I'm darned if I understand it. :confused:

Hello llarsen. We are booked on Zenith for next year and a couple of your questions are also of interest to us. Meanwhile, what I have established elsewhere is:

1. I understand that announcements are also in English, but if we need anything will we have a problem explaining to crew members? I understand that crew members are able to communicate in English so you should not have any problems.

2. Does Pullmantur abide by the same safety regulations as other cruise lines such as Princess, Celebrity which also stop in USA ports? Safety regulations are applied internationally There is some interesting information here.

4. Are the excursions large groups and crowded? I'm not sure of the group sizes but I do understand that excursions are usually guided in Spanish They only offer an English speaking guide for groups of 10 or 15. Sorry but I cannot remember the exact minimum size.

I'm watching with interest as far as your debarking questions are concerned. Great questions all round.

When using Luggage Valet (if the cruise line even offers it and I don't believe MSC does) you are given your luggage airline tags to put on your luggage the night before you depart. If any baggage fees are charged by the airline, you pay those when you get the tags from Guest Relations. So, your bags are handled as if you had checked them in yourself at the airport. It's a great service (usually a $20-$25 charge for it) and you don't see your luggage until you arrive at your destination. Only available for domestic flights however.

Thank you Beth. Presumably then, this only works if you have booked your flights through the cruise line?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I am totally confused by this thread.

Perhaps it's an American thing with domestic flights, but aren't you supposed to check in your own luggage at the same time you check in? We certainly do this side of the pond, whether domestic or international. What documentation would a valet have to hand to the check-in desk? How do the baggage tags get handed to you? These would be required if your bags didn't make it to your destination.

This is intriguing to say the least.

I expect 32 is also C (~90F) as the poster is located in the UK.

Sorry! I should have made it clear that the temps I quoted were degrees C.

22.4 deg C is 72 deg F ?

Yes!

First thing I did was bookmark site. Click on the word earth to see more options. This was a snapshot of May 8,2018. Check out the many other options. Also has links to social media sites.

Click on 'Earth' then go to the fifth line down, 'Control' and then move to the right hand side and click the circle with a cross in it. You will get a display open up showing your GPS co-ords, wind direction and speed. Now go down to the line 'Overlay' and click on 'Temp' and it adds the temperature Here is where I don't understand it as it says the temp is 22.4 but it is actually 32 and that is at 10 pm! I don't know if Mike can help us with how they get the information, but at the moment we are in the grip of a heatwave and nowhere in the country is as low as 22.4 at the moment.

The numbers are what the cost would be without the premium package. In euros. If you just want water they are one or two euros for a bottle. You can get 7 large bottles of sparkling water for the cost of the upgrade. You can always get sparking or still water by the glass at no cost. They are poured out of the same bottles that you would purchase.

 

For us the regular drinks were just fine. If I really wanted an upgraded drink the cost was minimal.

 

If I you do regularly drink a good number of super premium cocktails daily then the upgrade may be for you.

 

 

 

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Thanks Gregg. I've got it now.

What an amazing site I like that you can point at a location and immediately get a readout of GPS co-ords, wind speed and direction.

Thanks for posting.

Here is a link ....https://s3.amazonaws.com/online.fliphtml5.com/tqui/hojf/index.html

 

I like the upgrade....Includes a lot more as well as bottled water. I find myself drinking a lot of water. You can get all you want for your cabin or to take off the ship...

Thanks for the link. I don't understand the numbering under the "Todo incluído" though. I get that the tick means that item is included, but what about the numbers 1 through 5? I cannot see any reference to those in the guide

TIA

We tried all of the specialty restaurants on our recent cruise on Divina which were bought as a package. After reading reviews, we thought we were saving the best until last by leaving that to the Galaxy and were bitterly disappointed. The menu was not at all to our personal liking, the service was poor and the venue packed atmosphere.

Best of all, as far as we were concerned, was the Eataly Steak House. So much so that we exchanged our night in the Italian for a second run at the steak menu.

We did that cruise on Divina this year and chose the itinerary specifically for Panama & Costa Rica. Having made a 10 hour flight to reach Miami, we would have been none to happy to have that itinerary change dumped on us.

Mention was made above about the vegan group. We joined Divina as that group were leaving and those doing a B2B mentioned how disruptive they had been. Apparently meal times were changed for many guests and some venues taken over by the group for their meetings. If that could be a problem for you, it might be worth avoiding the 3 March sailing.

Tipping those SERVING you is just the right thing to do. It’s not about what continent you are from. It’s about acceptance of that service. Wow.

 

 

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So do you tip the likes of bank clerks and shop assistants? Do you tip the flight attendant who brings your drinks? Other than the mode of travel, it's no different to the waiter on a ship. Where do you draw the line?

In Europe, people are paid a proper salary for the job they do. They are happy to have a job and do not expect to be tipped. So you can understand how your tipping culture is so alien to us.

For the record, when on your side of the pond, I accept the fact that servers are not paid a living wage and tip accordingly. I also pay the DSC but, after paying a 15, 18 or 20% gratuity to be handed a drink, I do not see any need to pay any additional tip. If that makes me cheap in your eyes, so be it, but I still sleep soundly at night.

While we are at it, can anyone explain how RCL justifies charging a gratuity on a drink served by a robot?!

Let me throw this into the mix to hopefully show why we Europeans (well this one anyway!) can get confused by your tipping culture.

After a recent meal in Miami we were presented with a bill showing food and drink itemised, together with sales tax and "15% service charge." As I would expect, the 15% was calculated on the total cost of food and drink and not inclusive of the sales tax. But it did not stop there. Underneath were suggested gratuities to be added at 15%,18% and 20% and these amounts were calculated based on the total of the bill above, i.e. food and drink, sales tax AND service charge.

So, not only were we being hit with a double charge but, in the case of the 'suggested gratuity' it was a gratuity on the service charge and sales tax. I questioned this with the server and was told, quite bluntly, that the service charge went to the kitchen and that her service was covered by the gratuity. I informed her that, whilst I was a tourist, I was not stupid. The food that arrived on dirty plates, late and so only lukewarm, was a matter that she would have to take up with the kitchen as they haggled over sharing out the 15%.

Call me cheap if you like, but in the circumstances, I think they were lucky to get the 15%.

Is that what you think it is? Bragging? Not seeing one dollar given to a single server or bar staff somehow becomes bragging instead of sad when compared to other ships sailed? All I can say is "wow" to that view of yours. I've seen bartenders on Carnival with handfuls of dollars and empty one's on MSC and people being defensive in making it that way. That's what I feel is sad. Giving a couple dollars to nice people is bragging? Sad you believe so ...... :rolleyes:

 

tallnthensome - Can I ask you to revisit my original post and then indicate where I have used the word "bragging".

 

In future, can I respectfully ask that when you quote a post, you do so in its entirety rather than a version edited to suit your own agenda.

 

Thank you.

If people pay the daily gratuities then why should they tip more? That's just double tipping. It's not being cheap, they are giving what the cruise line has asked them to give. And for context, I am British. So no, I don't subscribe to the American custom of tipping everything that moves.

+1

@deliver42 Not just envelopes. I asked at Guest Services for some single dollars and they claimed they didn't have any.

I wonder if the OP didn't witness any tips being passed over, as people were being discreet rather than flashing their money around for all to see!

I must say this whole tipping culture in the US confuses the heck out of me. I mean, where do you draw the line? Am I supposed to tip the cabin attendant that brings me an in flight drink? How about the counter staff in the likes of a fast food restaurant, Starbucks, etc?

Without wanting to break the rules... Yes! Those are the ones you're thinking of!... You'll need to be an associate to work with them though, but it is such a small nominal annuity on the likes of EUR 15. Only one in the family needs to be member. I think that being perhaps a foreigner imposes you some difficulties... They'll certainly take good care of you!... Have a nice evening!...

Thanks for that. My Portuguese girlfriend has been an associate for many years, but we don't recall seeing your cruise being offered on their regular mailouts. We'll spotted and I'm pleased you have enjoyed it.

Thanks for your reply and for the extensive review.

Hi Nunagoras. Thank you for taking the time to report back. I appreciate the rules regarding the naming of TAs but, as a fellow resident of PT I am intrigued to know who you dealt with, as it could be very useful to us The mainstream agencies here seem to be pretty useless to be honest Consequently, we often book via UK agencies.

Can I ask, is the name of your agency a six letter word starting with I and ending with L? If not, would you be kind enough to email me here and let me know who is looking after you so well. Many thanks.

Thanks Smurf 2017!

You're welcome.

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Brilliant! Thank you so much.