rattanchair

Those CDC sanitation inspections should be every time a ship visits a US port. And the CDC should be given some "Teeth" that should the ship fail its inspection it does not sail, or at least no passengers allowed to board. That might wake them up.

15 hours ago, EscapeFromConnecticut said:

 "Carnival Cruise Line’s highest responsibilities include the health and safety of our guests and crew."

     

     "At Royal Caribbean International, the safety and security of our guests and crew is our highest priority and fundamental to our operations."

     Yet ... as of April 23, the Miami Herald had the death count for Carnival & subsidiaries at 59, RCI at 10.  😲
      

I still have not forgiven nor forgotten the cruise lines for my bouts of norovirus. Their deep cleaning methods failed us time and time again. Now with a "killer" pathogen loose, the CDC and Congress has to step in "where angels fear to tread". I stopped flying after 9/11 so I have no 'beef' with the airlines. Somebody has to force somebody to clean up this mess on a beloved mode of vacationing for my sake if not for 'yours'. Your physical bodies can obviously handle  endemic ship born toxins, thus your cavalier attitudes, but wait, you too will suffer the ravages of time.  You will thank us later for bringing the cruise lines into the 21st century. Their registry in foreign lands to avoid regulation is over (I hope). Every disaster has a "silver lining". I hope this is it.

On 5/15/2020 at 12:21 PM, gooch47 said:

It is as true as I can remember. 

It was a great story. Please do not be so obsequious. I look at scurrilous posts coming from mountebanks with a whole other agenda of creating a cast of sycophants out of kind, normal people like ourselves. When they fail, they simply report and remove the 'offending' post, backed by officious cavilers.

8 minutes ago, jeremyosborne81 said:

 

Now THIS STORY, I would love more details about. Preferably from the perspective of somebody on the ship and then another version from a crew member in the know on the ship.

This inquisitor reminds me of a movie with Paul Newman as a bandito and  stagecoach passengers. When the incident was retold by all, each was a different story of the same incident. I very much enjoyed gooch's story. It helps pass the time of day and these stories help me cope with not missing anything. Like, "be careful what you wish for". Thank you gooch47.

10 minutes ago, gooch47 said:

Mine was actually before the cruise started.  March 13, 2011, on the NCL Spirit.

 

We arrived at the port in New Orleans, they took our bags, but it was very early so we went into the French Quarter.  We came back to the port.  No ship.

 

We decided to wait in the mall.  It closed at something like 4:00.  No ship.

 

We went outside the mall and there was a huge line to get into the building.  Actually several lines.  As people arrived, especially the NCL busses, they just started their own new line.  We waited and waited.  No restrooms, no place to sit, no food or water.  No ship.

 

They finally started letting individuals into the building to use the restroom but you had to surrender your passport or driver's license to claim when you came back out.  They brought out trays of sandwiches and bottles of water but those disappeared immediately.

 

I think the ship arrived at something like 7:00 p.m.  I can't really remember.  They had diverted to Key West to offload a medical emergency.  I have absolutely no problem with them doing that.

 

People were lined up on the ship to get off.  Of course it takes a while to offload the luggage.  Once people started to disembark, the line outside disintegrated.  It was a huge crush of people just trying to get as close to the entrance as possible.  We stayed back, actually afraid of being injured.

 

We finally got to the door.  We followed directions of the workers.  I think we were the only two who did.  We were told to sit in a certain area and our group would be called to check in.  They never called our group.  We finally broke rank and got in a line to check in.

 

We finally got to our cabin at midnight  Nothing to eat.  Exhausted.

 

WOW,  Did you run to the future cruise desk?

16 minutes ago, jeremyosborne81 said:

Funny how that's not a significant issue at airports.

Cruise ship passengers do not take over-night bags that go in an over-head compartment or the seat in front of you on a ship. At least prior to 9/11 when we stopped flying. Though of late I have seen more and more hoi-polloi walking on and off ship with only the clothes on their backs. Now that's "funny"!

2 minutes ago, marco said:

It made absolutely no sense! 

Well, the same thing happened to us, only we saw first hand the reason. Baggage got 'cut loose' from a passengers hands going down the escalator hitting and knocking over another passenger below. The escalator kept passengers piling up on each other, until their screams prompted a terminal employee to run over and stop the escalator. The next thing they no longer allowed the use of the escalator and we had to use the stairs or wait in a real long line for the elevators.

11 minutes ago, George C said:

Yes we are both fans of msc yacht club, I do like rccl grand suites and owners suite was even better, 

Dear GC,   In case of an emergency, brake glass !

   If this isn’t an emergency, I don’t know what is. So I created my own beach:

 We all love the beach, especially on vacation and extra specially Ocean Cay’s beaches. Last summer while on the MSC Seaside, which I was lucky enough to have snagged a YC cabin for a decent price. I noticed that the first night there was a noise keeping me from falling asleep. It sounded like an unused closet hanger was swaying back and forth hitting the wall of the closet every ‘forth’. Unfortunately, I discovered it was in the closet next door. I did not drag myself out of bed and complain to the night concierge on duty, not wanting to disturb my ‘hard of hearing’ neighbor. So, I came up with the brilliant idea (for future situations) of ordering a bedside sound machine to drown out all nefarious, noxious sounds encountered while at sea. Little did I know how wonderful this little machine has helped to enhance my ‘visualization’ in my present predicament. It has the delightful sound of the ocean waves crashing (or lapping) upon the shore.

    I read somewhere that many beaches are always closed for a myriad of reasons. Today it is Covid, but usually it is riptides, stinging tentacles of the man-o-war, noxious red tide, polluted water from fecal discharges, etc. There are many who love to lay out on the sand and some who cover themselves ‘head to foot’ beneath the sand only to find several hours later that they are bitten up, infected with, or parasitic larvae have burrowed into their skins. The UV radiation only reacts with the top few millimeters of beach sand and is the only ‘safe’ part of the beach, unless you lay in the tar floating on top.

    But ‘my’ MSC Ocean Cay oasis/garage has its own beach. I purchased the largest kitty litter tray I could find (on line) and bought a 40lb bag of sterile play box sand (from Walmart delivered). I set it in the sun just outside by my deck (driveway). When the feeling hits (generally after my afternoon lounge nap), I turn on my sound machine of the ocean surf, take a dip in my pool (foot bath), and step into my beach with “my ten fine toes to wiggle in the sand”.

   “What a revolti’ development this is !”  Chester Riley (William Bendix) You remember the “Life of Riley”?

38 minutes ago, George C said:

But if you are paying 500 a day you are in a suite and bottle water is free in suite lounge . I know you also get a large bottle on first day for rccl suites, we get liquor package which includes water . 

Dear GC,  I went back to my folders. It was a Grand Suite in 7/2017 Allure. Water package $82/24 bottles. Loved the cruise so booked OS on Allure 2018 and now got free bottled water, wine ,etc along with wifi. NCL Breakaway 6/2019 Haven H6 got free wifi and 3x specialty restaurants, but had to pay for water, wine and gratuities charged to statement account.(I always tip extra cash for good service on top of DSC). They are called perks nowadays. Switched from both these lines for different reasons to MSC YC. Water, food, second class treatment if you are not Pinnacle, etc...

  P.S. Just drink bottled water nowadays and brush our teeth in bottled water as well.

10 minutes ago, pacruise804 said:

I think most people understand that higher cruise fares will include more for the cost - like bottled water. 

What about RCL and NCL charging $237 and $168 for bottled water and we were paying $500/person/day. I would use the word "chintzy" .

Get a room.

Fishermen never grow old. We just smell that way.

18 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

That's probably because they are sitting at an angle.  

That is true. After climbing the tower everything appears to be at an angle with the vertigo  one gets, hanging on to the  inner walls for dear life and one tends to sit at an angle to compensate, thus the porta-pottie problem.

Another terrible experience was  when we were caught in a typhoon in the Tasman Sea. Got really scary when the room steward knocks on your door and says he was ordered to' batten down the hatches'. At the time we were in a cabin with a' view,' a port- hole with a metal swinging cover that he screwed closed. That night we slept in our clothes wearing our life jackets. Oh , the fun times we had in our youth ! Though at the time it was a nightmare.

6 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

Entrecote

I learned a new word today. Thanks. Should I ever be caught in France someday.

My fondest memory was the tour of the Tsingtao Brewery and at the end, the bar was set up with large plastic glasses filled with golden delight. All you could drink.. FREE. Boy, in those days could I ever drink !  (Yeh,yeh, I know,  the beer was included in the tour price). Some people just like to 'burst your bubble'.

"Will we even know?"  Will we take a chance on the hype, the "safety theatre", the dog and pony show of the new cruise line protocols, every crew member vaccinated,  'new and improved' ship sterilization  (remember noro virus eradication) ?  Suppose all the protocols work,  we are told they work (by the cruise lines, Travel Weekly, and a myriad of travel industry "theatre"). Let us say they do work..miraculously.  Then we have the problem of asymptomatic passengers, the Typhoid Mary types that fly in from all over the world, do they have to have been vaccinated as do we? Does  the vaccine  for this strain of covid good for this year  for next years or is next years strain already here from the far east? Who on these boards are going to be the first 'Guinea pigs". I guess I will be. I am booked for Nov and Dec and March,etc.. unless I keep reading here and 'chicken out'.

Here is another cruise from the 'horror zone'. In 1986, we and 2 other couples took a Caribbean cruise on a now defunct line. One afternoon lounging around the pool several deck hands raced over to the pool filling up pails of water and racing back to 'somewhere'. Presently the ship stopped moving. Power to the ship was knocked out by a fire on board. Panic  and rumors abounded. No lights in hallways, no air-conditioning ( in July). Friendly passengers turned into zombies, fighting over deck chairs to sleep on as the sun waned.  An S.O.S. was sent out and in a short time a freighter pulled up along side calming the passengers. The freighter stayed along side until the ship was able to regain power and it sailed into the sunset. Everyone got vouchers for 1/2 off a future cruise. One of us quipped that the' Repeaters' Party 'next summer would probably consist of just us 6, held in a vacant elevator with a bottle of warm "Cold Duck" and 6 straws.

Presently it is predicted that we have begun a mini ice age the next 30-50 years, though we are in a warming cycle over all.

46 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I am going to guess you are not in the agricultural industry and are not keeping up with the news in the farming world😒. 

I am talking geologic time not farmers almanac quarterly.

I found the 'rug tour' in Istanbul 'enlightening' as a one time occurrence.  Firstly, it was not part of the itinerary that we booked. We booked the Grand Bazaar. The bus stops right in front of the entrance to the rug shop, just up the street from the Grand Bazaar (within sight). Before the doors of the bus open the guide 'asked' us to please listen to the story of rugs before we enjoy the Grand Bazaar. This 'time' allowed every able bodied man in Istanbul to form a gauntlet from the bus door to the rug store door so that the passengers were 'herded' into the shop, no escaping from the linked arms of the smiling faced shop attendants hired solely for this task, because they all disappeared when the door was locked behind us. The owner/salesman asked us all to take a seat in the round on benches (boards set on hassocks/ottomans). Turkish tea is served. Then he starts on one end and asks each of us the same question "Where are you from?" From his memory he recites back to you the name of the oriental rug store in your hometown, its owners name and the street that it is on. That immediately told me he knows prices, because he sells to these guys and there is no way any of us will get a good deal here in Istanbul. At least not from him.

   As for the Grand Bazaar, shop after shop after shop, of the same gold trinkets weighed for their price in grams. A complete waste of time to walk farther than the first shop. The prices of gold/gram was the same throughout the bazaar and everyone displayed the same thing.  For this reason it is very easy to get lost in the Bazaar, there is no unusual shop to give one a landmark to guide one back to the bus.

I recommend neither a car nor the cruise line bus tour to Chichan Itza pyramids. The road was pot holed and took 3 hours to get there and 3 hours back. Take the air flight via the cruise line, only so you do not miss the ship. The cruise lines 'generally' will wait for 'their' late arrivals, but will not wait for private late arrivals. If you go it privately take your passport and the ship's agents telephone number to arrange a flight to the next port to catch the ship, and enough cash in case they will not accept AMEX.

I only book suites for the service, separate dining, balcony with 'room to dance', do not drink the included alcohol, pay for the bottled water on RCL and NCL, love included bottled water on MSC plus included wifi since May. Do not eat shellfish and do not get my 'moneys' worth' from included spa and other included amenities of the 'suite life' , but still enjoy  "la dulce vida" of cruising away from the hoi polloi.

  P.S. So drink up ! The drinks and lobster are on me !

Funny thing this "It's included in the cruise fare". Nothing is really listed in the cruise documents. The cruise lines do not guarantee you in their brochures very much. It is all hush-hush. What do you 'really' need on a cruise? Clean linens, how often? A lounge chair? Only if you wake up at 6 am and place a towel and a book on it for the rest of the day, but not guaranteed. A 'free' beach umbrella for the 'sun sensitive'? Better bring one from home that attach to your free (available) lounge chair. Tips? See the kind of service you receive when tips are included (the service providers know who you are). Then there are those that wait till the end of the cruise to have the mandatory tips removed , a real 'fun' bunch of fellow passengers that complain every cruise.. Are you really sure the upscale toiletries are not filled with Dollar Store brands? DW was served a yogurt past its expiration date ( luckily she reads everything before devouring) someone else might chock it up to norovirus (it's included in the cruise fare).

   But we love it.. We are cruise gluttons...

20 hours ago, clo said:

Not at all. I think it's just plain chintzy of the cruise line that they charge for non-alcoholic beverages.

To this I do agree.

   Yes, I understand that the desalination/ distillation of seawater/toilet water can, in these modern times, be purified to a substantial degree and I have distilled my own water in the past; I only distilled tap water. I would not mind showering in the ship  water purified, but am still squeamish about drinking ship tap water. So I do not mind paying the for bottled water. Perception is a 'funny' thing. If you 'believe' a proven innocuous something will harm you, it 'will' harm you. It will not harm someone with a different belief. The mind is a very powerful instrument. "Whatever the mind can conceive of and believe in, can be achieved" .Napoleon Hill.

 P.S. Placebos....