DCThunder

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

I always wondered whatever happened to Andrew "Dice" Clay. The Diceman used to tell nursery rhymes too...😈

So the Curse has spread to the Great White North. Will the spread NEVER stop??? 😉

That's one of the many reasons I hate the Boston Red Sox and their fans. They unleashed the Curse of Sweet Caroline on American sporting venues across the fruited plain.

No "Sweet Caroline"?

You might be interested in this video of the complete building of a cruise ship. It's incredible how complex these machines are.

And you get to wear a cool visor/helmet!

I posted upthread about a 1 year delay in the delivery of the first guided missile frigate that Fincantieri is building for the Navy at a shipyard in Wisconsin. And that's for a ship that was originally supposed to be delivered in 2026. Methinks that Fincantieri might be a little "overextended" right now. And there are rumors that Carnival is about to announce plans to build some "Icon of the Seas" sized ships, although I don't know the shipyard that supposed to build them. Is Princess already selling cruises for Star Princess in 2025? People might want to temper their expectations on the first sailings if they are.

I'm not carrying water for Santa Clarita, but do you seriously think the wailing and gnashing of teeth would have been any less is this cruise was cancelled on January 1st? Or December 15th 2023? The lead ship of a new class is always going to be delayed. That's the way of the world. Does any massive project come in on time and under budget? I know it's impossible to compare naval warships with cruise ships, but look at the issues the USN had with getting the USS Gerald R Ford super carrier up and operating properly. Sun Princess isn't nuclear powered or have electromagnetic catapults, but LNG ships are relatively new technology, and this is the first Princess ship with Azipods not to mention all the whoop-de-do stuff for entertainment. A better question to ask is should Princess have scheduled the Inaugural Cruise on Feb. 8th or waited until March 1st or some other date to give themselves more leeway for the inevitable delays.

Land line??? What's that? Are you an 80 year old Boomer? Us 'utes don't have no land lines! 😎🍷

I totally agree with this. I'd much rather lose an hour a day than lose 5, 6, or 7 hours all at once on an eastbound flight to Europe from the East Coast of the USA, let alone 8 or more hours flying eastbound to the Middle East. I'm flying home from Sydney via Fiji and LAX next November and I'm already dreading it. Will be doing a Trans-Pac to get to Oz, but have to fly home when it's done.

Fincantieri Marinette Marine is also building new guided missile frigates for the US Navy at a shipyard in Wisconsin. It was just announced earlier this month that the delivery of the first ship the USS Constellation, will be delayed a year into 2027 because they can't hire enough welders and other shipyard workers. First Constellation Frigate Delayed At Least a Year, Schedule Assessment ‘Ongoing’ - USNI News

I meant buy the FCD on board BEFORE you talk to the Future Cruise Desk about booking something. The FCDs process in a day or so and then they're in your account. You can buy them from the app or on a paper form.

This may require cooperation from the airlines as I'm sure all the seats have been actually ticketed. That might complicate getting refunds on air as the airlines will have to refund money to Princess on ticketed seats which they almost never do. It's no different from when cruises/flights were cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid panic. They'll give credits for future flights, but a refund, fuggedaboutit.

I never ordered mine to be delivered. I opted to pick up at port from the time of order, so it was there waiting for me. If you ordered for home delivery and it didn't arrive before you left, that could account for the delay as they have to make one up from scratch.

That's the kind of bartender I like. Too bad he's not on Zaandam!

Day of sailing. Pick up at port is far preferrable. No angst about shipping!

I'd advise you to wait. Very often the Future Cruise guys on the ships can get better fares or lower deposits than through the website. Also, buy a Future Cruise Credit BEFORE you book. You can use that for the deposit and get some OBC besides.

I've gotten the medallion at the port twice. Once in Southampton and once in Civitivecchia. Each time it was smooth as silk. No delays of any type. I can't speak for Port Everglades or Seattle or other ports, but the difference between Green and Blue lanes is negligible.

I was a solo cruiser and I broke my ankle aboard Oosterdam in Buenos Aires last March. Fortunately it wasn't a bad break, but the medical staff arranged for me to see an orthopedic doctor in Montevideo to evaluate the x-rays taken on the ship. The ship arranged for a cab to/from the hospital, provided me with copies of the x-rays (although they took more at the hospital), and gave me the orthopedic boot I wore for the next 30 days. They did ask if I wanted to go home, which I declined. I had two subsequent x-rays taken on the ship and they sent them out to an orthopedic doc in Houston for a "consult". I had 3rd party travel medical insurance, and they covered everything. The docs and nurses on Oosterdam were first rate.

They usually confirm with the group the All Aboard time at the beginning of the excursion just to be safe. Usually you'll be back a good 60 minutes before that time.

I will be on Zaandam for the 28 day Amazon Adventure cruise. Any recent Zaandam passengers have any recommendations for their favorite bar and bartenders to get to know? My companion and I like to sit at the bar and chat with the bartenders for a before dinner drink or two so any suggestions as to the best one to frequent would be appreciated. When I was on Oosterdam last year I hit up the Crows Nest bar mostly, but didn't sit at the bar since I had my foot in a boot and a chair was more comfortable. The Crows Nest would be my bar of choice on Zaandam unless anyone has a better suggestion.

Similarly, can someone be buried at sea?

When I was on Island in November/December, the future cruise desk was giving the hard sell to the pre-paid packages where you paid a specific amount and got a package of nights at 4–5-star hotels pre or post cruise in various embarkation cities worldwide and then a 7- or 10-day cruise. I forget the specific name of this program. The cost was fairly high, but it seemed to be popular. I think they were offering an extended payment term or some such financing arrangement.

This whole subject has been beaten to death in the RC for the Amazon cruise leaving on Feb. 17. As I understand it, the issue is that certain countries we visit AFTER being in Brazil won't let you ashore unless you have the YF vaccine. Brazil is listed as being a country "at risk of transmission" of YF and so places such as Barbados and Dominica require the vaccine or a waiver and no one is totally sure about the waiver. So if you don't plan to go ashore in Barbados or Dominica, no issue whether or not you get the YF vax. But as was said above, those pesky Amazonian mosquitoes don't always read so good and might not know you have a waiver from getting the shots.