Smitheroo

The Sun had a long panama cruise this past Spring. I had just done the Mexican cruise and wished I could have gone on this Panama Cruise. I think it might even have been 21 days and it was not that expensive. I havent seen a cruise with the Sun since then. my idea of heaven is a balcony cabin at time of year where I could enjoy it

so leaving your curtain open after dark is only a problem (for the bridge) if you have lights on

that must have been a nightmare!

yeah, he didnt worry about it too much

Definitely is an individual thing. You were a group, I was with one other person. If I got a server like you describe here and then found a good one, I'd want to keep the good one too. I really doubt that server will last long There's a wide range of styles and abilities between the above server and Daisy. I cant even remember the last time I had a server I noticed I wasnt pleased with. I'm sure only 2 in the party vs a group makes a big difference. with a group its important that the server be skilled. One thing I have experienced though when I dine alone. I get a weird feeling as if the server feels like I am an oddity, dining alone. I'm sure, in everyday dining experiences, it has a lot to do with the tip they are anticipating. I only ate one meal alone in the main dining room on the ship. I got a little bit of the weird feeling. If I had the same server every night (not by request, just the way it worked) I would feel that I should tip extra. A strange thing happened when I was on the QM2. I had an assigned table for the evening meal but ate anywhere for the other 2. I was assigned to a table with a group of 8 people, males and females, all single. It was really interesting. We had the same waiter for the entire voyage. When it came to the last night he was nowhere to be found at the end of the meal. I made a mental note that if I am in this situation again I will tip on the next to the last night.

Ok. The pictures on the website show the window over the head of the bed.

Is all of this description for the *Family* Oceanview on the Joy, deck 10 forward? If so, is the Family Oceanview the only one that has the window at the side of the bed? The ones to the side of the Family Oceanview seem to all have the window over the head of the bed

That is what my travel partner had on a recent cruise. I had my passport. We were checking in and he was told "that's fine but if anything happens to you in Mexico you wont be allowed to fly home" He wasnt too worried because he lived in California

I'm sure the OP will appreciate your understanding. I have to admit he set himself up for criticism based on the rude comments that I have received as well as others have received, on these forums so that doesnt surprise me. You're reading into his words. He didnt say he wanted a tourist experience. He didnt know *why* he had this urge. I'm sure he didnt really think he was insane.

This works for you. Me personally, a server would have to be really bad for me to even notice. I choose from whatever is on the menu (thankful there are choices), rarely make requests on how it is prepared, eat it and the server takes it away. One thing I do if I am with another travel partner we sit at the table for awhile. In a regular restaurant this is not appreciated by the server but on a ship I dont think many people tip by meal. And its hard to tip the waiter at the end if you've gone to several of the dining rooms plus a specialty. I dont think I ever had the same waiter twice.

The Manhattan is another one of the MDR on the Joy. It seemed to be quite popular when I was on the cruise to Mexico last February. We tried to have dinner there one night and were told there was a 30 minute wait so went back to either the Taste or Savory which were both fine.

I didnt know that!

I sailed on the Cunard line in 1966. Lunch and dinner always included a fish course.

I didnt realize the Cunard line had a ship by that name. They usually had names ending in "ia" like Sylvania, Carpathia, Mauritania and the Queens.

Which Cunard ship were you on? I was on the RMS Sylvania and the original Queen Mary in 1966

Ok, I apologize. But really, is it necessary to exclaim how uniformed I am? I was wrong and I accept your explanation. The conversation went off on a tangent because I was provoked by someone questioning my motives. I shouldnt have mentioned things I wasnt 100% sure of and wouldnt have if I didnt feel I needed to defend myself to this other person. Reading over my comment about the military I notice I did say that I was not really sure.

Ok, I understand better now about federal employees. I know Im right about some government, i.e. states because that was my husband's situation. He gets very little in social security payments, most of his retirement is from the program run by the state of Maine even though he was not a state employee, but an employee of the city of Portland. There's is also a difference with health insurance for the federal govt. I dont believe they take part in the Medicare system.

****** I see where my original question seemed like I intended to access health care. That is not true*****

Its not really. I asked an initial question if there was anyone who had dual citizenship with the EU and if it had been helpful to them (paraphrased) And then it morphed into something bigger. If you are not interested, all you have to do is scroll past. Unless you are a moderator. I dont think the discussion was unhelpful even if it didnt apply to cruising as it morphed. If you jumped in the middle of it you might get the impression it was not ever related to crusing.

Of course I will buy travel insurance. I think I stated that, or I might have said I wasnt going to rely on my EU citizenship which is basically saying the same thing. I have some coverage through my medicare supplement plan but it has a lifetime limit s and I'm not sure how comprehensive it is so I do plan to buy travel insurance and have been researching the various companies. I really am curious and did not mean to come across as "entitled" (I realize you didnt write that)

Did a quick internet search. Endless webites on the advantages of having EU citizenship. I didnt read them all. I looked at one "13 Must-Know Benefits of Becoming an EU Citizen". I am going to briefly summarize the points. I made a few comments in ( ) 1. It allows you to travel through out the EU countries without a visa and without time restrictions. Ditto for living and working. *Some countries have limitations regarding your ability to be financially self sustaining ( I would expect that they/some would not want you to be a burden on the society) 2. Free or reduced education, no student visa required. (I'm sure you would still need to meet the\ entrance requirements) 3. Universa Health Care across the EU. This applies whether you need medical services traveling, studying, etc. * You do need the health information card mentioned by some and I'm guessing to get that you need a residence. 4. There are "no double taxation" agreements between many countries to prevent double taxation. Dual citizens who live in the US will not need to pay taxes to the EU *unless they earn the money tthere. (makes sense) 5. Work in any EU country (assuming you meet the employer's requirements of course) This allows employers to avoid dealing with the complex permit/ work visa process 6. Consular protection outside the EU (you can access embassies using your EU passport or US passport (or your native passport) 7. Own property 8. You can vote in the country you reside in ( meeting other requirements i I'm sure but birth nationality isnt a factor, there are considerations to be aware of when voting in another country.) You can run for elected positions and work in a public service position (again, meeting the other requirements of the position) I dont intend to do any of the above except travel and even that is unlikely. I'm not looking for free benefits. I was curious. I Apologize that my post came out jumbled.

How many times did I say that I was only interested in this topic, that I didnt intend to rely upon it for healthcare? Actually my initial question was about benefits I wasnt aware of (listed over and over again on the internet) Someone else on here thinks it is wrong to ask about benefits if you are not a tax paying citizen. My initial question was better suited for someone who has dual citizenship, with one of the citizenships being from outside the EU. I dont believe my EU Passport has any advantage in the UK as they are longer part of the EU. And many were shocked when they found out that they no longer had the same priveleges to travel throughout the EU ( A woman residing in England right now told me that, she said they were told a bunch of lies but I'm going to leave it at that because its getting into politics) As I said to the person who attacked my motives I am geniuinely interested in how the world works. (not just the US, we cerrtainly dont have all the answers) That wasnt the intent of my original question but it morphed into that discussion. I checked earlier online and I dd see mention of the "health card" referred to by you and others. I had not noticed that before, mainly because I didnt intent to try to access health care in Europe. Just curious.

I dont think the military has social security. I dont know that for sure. You made it sound like you dont pay into Social Security so you dont get it. Perhaps I misconstrued that to mean that you dont have any pension plan So I said that every US legal worker must have Social Security or a *substitute plan*. I was discussing Europe not the U.S. And I was discussing health care, not pensions. Other countries have different ways of operating. And it is a fact that my father was treated for cancer in England,AT NO COST TO HIM, never worked there so never paid taxes. How do you explain that? It's true he was a resident but your argument is that citizens of those countries pay taxes for health care and therefore are entitled to that benefit. and apparently no one else is. Wrong. (in my father's case, I still dont know about what I was asking about EU citizenship)

Can someone tell me how the following is a "Second Passenger Flies Free" deal? 1 person in a single cabin- the air fare is $490 and ground transportation is $112.50 2 people in a single cabin- the air fare is $980 and ground transportation $225 Are they saying that the air fare is normally $980 each and the promo really means a 50 % reduction for each passenger? Can you choose NCL Air Fare only in one direction?