mayleeman

Because of so many reported ghost increases to fully paid bookings, I periodically have gone into my app to the Manage My Cruise link and taken screenshots of the "$ 0.00 balance due" page. Ten more days to departure!

The good thing about knitting is that the utensils involved deter many complaints about any noise being made.

A free cookie.

A portable washing machine system. No power needed.

@Beth and Bailey I want to congratulate you on being the first original poster (better term would be thread initiator, please pardon the pun) I have seen in my 5 years of reading CC to carefully come back and try to respond to all the comments that your inquiry has generated. Most people do not take the time or effort and often commenters are left wondering about a situation originally described as urgent or a crisis! Please let us know what happens. Hopefully you will be able to sew this up favorably! By the way, my experience in the Persian Garden Relaxation Lounge, with about 4 people snoring and sounding like a farm at feeding time, might indicate that in there you wouldn't even be noticed sewing away to your heart's content. But probably not a good idea.

@Beth and Bailey The only issue I would see is if the sewing machine makes a big vibration that could disturb people next door or, particularly, below you. My wife's sewing machine vibrates the kitchen table, but since we are on a slab there is little resonance. It would be different on board, I think. Remember how annoyed people get under the busy areas in the buffet.

@dg33 Sounds a lot like a "beach resort" tour from The Allure we did in Jamaica. Paper cups; folding chairs lined up in long rows like an auditorium; cruddy cold empanadas; you weren't allowed to go get your "all you can drink" punch but had to wait for 1 of the 2 servers serving about 75 people; rocky beach; bar with $12 beer; 45 min bus ride each way. The real resort with the nice beach was separated from us by a big bamboo screen... Pure delight.

What I wrote is correct, but my editing (from a very lengthy initial post) did accidentally cut which law was cargo and which was passenger. I assumed by now after a few dozen threads over the 5 years I have been reading that people knew the PVSA was passengers, but I realize there are new people so your clarification is good.

@omeinv So I am guessing this is why people need to understand the differences between the PVSA (excluding PR from being restricted) and the Jones Act (PR not excluded). There was a lot of trouble and controversy over Jones Act exemptions for PR declared by Presidents Trump (hurricane Maria aid) and Biden (diesel and LNG during energy shortages). Lobbying by American shippers and longshoreman unions impelled Congress to restrict exemptions to 10 days and for military purposes. These restrictions seem very important to pretty powerful groups.

Even if someone receiving an extra tip for good service has to pool it, the most important point of tipping should be to let someone know their hard work is appreciated. They might be in a job that pools, they might not, but it is the system they have chosen to be in. They might blow it on a third set of ear buds, they might send it home, they might just give it to a down-on-their-luck crewmate. None of those possible destinations for the tip should cause a passenger to withhold giving an extra tip--you are depriving someone of knowing they made your trip better, and you are indirectly undermining another goal...to encourage that hard worker to keep doing it.

@kokopelli-az Thanks for posting that. What is the 50% surcharge at the bottom?

They could have a new person in charge of surveys/complaints/replies who has noticed a lot of pax contacts never followed up on. But chances are it is just an IT burp.

Maybe the email sat in a bag off to the side somewhere and was just discovered in the virtual world post office.

@markeb Fortunately, I wouldn't be able to recognize a shocked wine if it had an electrical cord in it and was emitting sparks! We'll bring a cheap pinot noir because my wife still sighs when she smells the aroma. The bottle we are getting is Scotch, Glenlivet 12. I think they had Jack Daniels, too, but that may have been in the set-up thing (which charges a tip).

@Jim_Iain Just a heads up that I gave you a "thanks" note in the "How far would you go?" thread. It wouldn't accept my effort to make it a link although this one worked. Sorry for off-topic, everyone, but direct messaging isn't possible.

I wish I had! Apparently the mystery about your friend's message to you is just too hard to unravel!!

Lots of comments about what strangers should do. Many of us have only one drinker in a couple. The packages require a purchase of some package by everyone. My wife for medical reasons (a-fib) cannot drink more than a sip of anything with alcohol, caffeine or artificial sweeteners. She will drink ginger ale to help with motion sickness. Me, I have diabetes so I drink only straight hard liquor to avoid raising my blood sugar, and wine if I have just one or two on a lower carb day. I also stopped drinking soda months ago, and am perfectly happy with ordinary coffee and ice tea. So, the packages would be crazy for us to buy. I bought the "gift" 1 liter of Scotch (no tip--thanks, @Jim_Iain) and we will bring a bottle of wine for our cabin. We will bring some ginger ale for my wife because getting some on board in the past has been iffy. People shouldn't generalize about others' choices...our situations may not be similar to yours.

Anyone else watch the original "Miracle on 34th Street" this Christmas. Kris Kringle as the substitute Santa at Macy's started recommending other stores if Macy's didn’t have certain toys. It became a huge news story, and Macy's got lots more business because of their honesty and great customer service. One guy wanted to fire Mr Kringle because other stores were not to be mentioned. Fill in the blanks.

2 posters seem mystified as to why OP posted this. Maybe 1) the cruiser is not a CC user, or might be trying to enjoy the cruise; or 2) the OP thought it was an interesting story about a friend's unhappy Celeb experience, and he wanted input from Celeb forum regulars (as indeed he asked for). I am mystified that anyone finds it strange to have posted it. Are we not allowed to relate other people's Celeb experiences, especially a problem that soured someone trying X out?

Feb 3 Reflection? If so, are you on roll call?

On Reflection, are the showers available for general populace to use?

@Pinboy You are correct that most of what I wrote doesn't apply directly to you, so sorry to have lumped you in. Still, since you admitted that you can't get some complaints out of your mind, do you at least understand why I used "obsessed"? 🙃 But the comment you made that raising your hand and politely asking for help "works every time" was really why I wrote the extended version. We were very frustrated, very polite, and still ignored. It happens, and not just due to staff cuts recently!

@zitsky @Pinboy Both of you serm obsessed with other people's complaints, as you constantly discuss how you would have solved the problem or you ask the posters to justify what they wrote. Here, you both responded to @NMTraveller who actually was responding to my story discussing a pre-pandemic example of bad service. I want to explain further about those incidents in direct reply to your suggestions. Like NM, I had to wait a long time for our mimosas, some 30 to 45 minutes, and they had not told us there would be a delay. They did say afterwards that they had to go to an outside bar. There were only 3 other tables occupied in Blu. We talked to another couple who had mimosas and they said they had complained to the head waiter on other days with no results, and had decided to stop somewhere else to bring their drinks in. Raising our hand to get a waiter's attention for coffee and water would have worked if we ever saw a waiter. We timed it once, and it was 15 minutes after we asked for coffee refills before we saw someone to again ask and 5 more minutes before it was brought. We, like all passengers, have had many frustrations that we don't let bother us too much, but when we relate similar experiences in response to a specific problem posted by another pax there is no reason for a plethora of "I'd have handled it better/I'd have solved the problem/You are just whining" and "Prove it" comments.

We used to call them that only when they are the undershirt version worn with jeans. With shorts or swimsuits in tropical weather they are probably more properly called tank-tops, especially if they have designs, slogans, or logos indicating they are meant to be seen. Still wouldn't be caught dead in one in a restaurant!

That was our experience in Blu in 2019 on Reflection. The service at bf was awful all 3 times we went there, including major resistance when we ordered mimosas and no offers to refill coffee or water. MDR for bf was much better.