Ret MP

I'm a 20+ year active duty Army retiree. I love my fellow brother and sister vets of all services and friendly countries. Most of all, I humble myself to those that left a little or a lot of themselves behind in conflicts we've been involved in. I am a huge supporter of Gold Star families. One thing I don't do is expect any business to honor me or offer me any perks because of my service. If they do, I go out of my way to thank them for whatever they do and yes, I take advantage of it. If a business doesn't provide a veterans discount or benefit, I may or may not shop or do business there. BUT, I will not complain if they don't, I let my wallet and feet do my complaining for me if I so desire. Also, there are plenty of businesses that make money off of Vets, on a daily basis. Hell, there are businesses in VA Hospitals that make money off of Vets and at the same time proclaim that they are avid supporters of Vets. I do not feel entitled. That's not to say that I believe the OP does. This is just my own feelings about being a Vet., and what businesses do or don't do for them. Thank you Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines for recognizing those that made it possible for all of us to cruise and do so many other things that would be impossible otherwise. I'm glad I'm typing this in English!

One more point I'd like to make. How many of you frequent cruisers on RCCL have cruised with James Van Fleet on board and were treated as a celebrity? I believe I have read a few. If he's that important to the mother ship, why does he cruise as often as some have indicated on this board and others? My opinion/answer is that he's just a celeb and/or whitewash to be paraded around the public realm. I don't know Fleet, not one bit. He could be a great buy, it really isn't about him personally. It's about the position's necessity, period.

YMMV

Oh ya, I remember that. I forgot that it was called X-Ray Vision. Duh! Thanks

Last question: What the hell is X-Ray Vision? Are they issuing Dick Tracy X-Ray Vision glasses upon embarkation on certain ships, now? LOL

Kewl, I haven't been keeping up with this thread or subject.

Probably! LOL

Someone may have posted this in this thread or another, I think I saw it somewhere before. So, excuse me of it has been posted before but I'm not going through 12+ pages and a crappy search feature. Is there a spreadsheet or something somewhere that shows the ships that have completed the Starlink upgrade/process?

A little too fufu for ME! It's not bad, not at all, I just don't get it! But yes, it is a must-do experience, at least once. We go in or have delivered to our cabin some of Wonderland's desserts. They are great! I'd say go and see for yourself. You may love it, or not!

The Staff Captian

Remember this? I do: https://www.cnn.com/videos/weather/2018/09/15/weatherman-criticized-for-being-overdramatic-hurricane-florence-lc-orig.cnn

I think many folks aren't interpreting my premise on this subject correctly, as usual. First, I am really only saying that I don't disagree with Fleet's firing. Second, I don't believe he was anything more than a figurehead, celebrity, or whitewash. Third, we still have weather, if he was so important after the weather-related incidents in ~2017 - 2018 .... what ever the dates, why was he let go now, was he really that critical to the safety mission/task? Forth, is the cruise line in any more exposure to weather-related lawsuits without a weather celebrity at the Corp., weather desk? Fifth, can they provide the captains of the ships with an equal or better product by contracting a weather forecasting company? NOTE: It is reported that Fleet's salary was as high as ~$190,000.00 per year before joining RCCL. Do you think he took that job at ~$100,000.00 per year? Has RCCL announced the hiring or even advertised for a replacement? In not, why? Maybe, he wasn't that important after all. Bottom line: As I've stated, I don't support outsourcing, in general. However, this firing is, in my opinion, a good one for the company. AND, I believe outsourcing to get a great product is very doable and cost-effective if done right in this case. Oh, and I've never claimed to be a guru of corporate decisions. Carry on!

I really dislike that guy for numerous reasons!

I hope that isn't a backhanded way to say I was. I don't have a publicly stated opinion about meteorologists one way or the other. I just have an opinion about RCCL having a "Corporate Meteorologist". Obviously, I don't think they need one, at least not a celebrity one.

LOL: Costa Concordia

Yep, that's part of what I was saying, tried to say it was a show position, not a serious one.

I don't know about that. Could I go and work for the Weather Channel? NO! However, I believe I can research and find all, if not most, of the information needed to form a basic forecast, I do that on a daily basis before I go to my local park to do my daily walk/run/workout. Do I know how to put all the information together and form a commercial forecast? NO!

I totally agree. But, at about $200K a year, it's a start!

My guess, and only a guess, is that if it's available to you or me for free, it's available to them for free as well. And, I'm sure there are some "pay for use" sites that provide a lot of nice bells and whistles. I watched a couple of James Van Fleet's/RCCL's Youtube videos and his graphics don't look like anything special. It just looks like he/RCCL put some overlays over the graphics to show the positions of RCCL's ships and Ports of Call. Nothing that you or I can't do with the right software.

I know that you didn't ask me. But, I find these have a lot of flexibility and the price is right: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QSJ6Q72/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

https://ocean.weather.gov/Atl_tab.php

I've answered each point within your post so I don't miss things I want to address. I've said what I want to say. I'm not going to turn this into a 5 or 6-page debate. Again, this is my opinion and my opinion only. You're welcome to yours. I'm not a meteorologist or a lawyer. Just an old retired Army Sergeant and a few post-Army professions, with opinions, many of them.

The captain of the ship has the ultimate responsibility for the safety of the ship. He has plenty of resources at his fingertips to adjust his route to avoid weather situations. He also has support staff back at the mother ship to alert him/her to any storms ahead of him and other potential issues (civil unrest at ports of call, for example). But, I'd bet that he/she knows about them long before any alert. Hell, my local TV station shows us the building of a storm off of Africa when one builds. The Miami stations (WSVN, WPLG, WFOR, .......) do a good job of that, too. If all else fails: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/?atlc and this is interesting, too: https://www.buoyweather.com/#2.89/17.89/-29.55/SWELL As a former Corporate Human Resources Director, I'd never argue the need for this or that Corporate position, in general. I must add, I don't like outsourcing, not at all. However, there are some positions that can be eliminated without any bearing on safety and if I was still an HR guy, I'd recommend the elimination of the "IN-HOUSE" weather guy, just based upon other cheaper and probably more capable options available. Today there are just toooooooooo many resources that a captain of a cruise ship has at his fingertips. The use of a 3rd party entity could help the captain with the finer details and interpretation of some of the more technical aspects of weather forecasting and do it cheaply. Hell, I can get on this very laptop or my Android and see, in real-time, the seas (see link above), wind, ocean currents, jetstreams, ice packs, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, temperatures, rain, and get forecasts for all of those .............. I don't think there is a square inch on the planet that you, me, or anyone else, can't find some sort of weather information on. This is all my opinion, nothing more, nothing less.

Nope, can't deny the facts, that's for sure. But, like I've said, I believe that this is a result of the pinned-up cash that some/many people saved up during the COVID shutdown. That money will, eventually dry up and costs will begin to come down to reasonable. Again, it's just a believe, I have nothing to back it up with, and I could be very wrong.