Snaefell3

Let me know when you find one that isn't squeezing each penny nowadays. 😞

Mayhaps the $6,000,000,000 (with a 'B') extra debt NCLH racked up during the shutdown? 🙄

I've a growing suspicion that the Campbells -- one of the couples who were touring independently and missed the all-aboard time -- are media-connected and busily working their contacts.

I used SSBC for a shore excursion just last month (Mar '24). Pre-boarding, even. Casino? I'm a statistician, so I wouldn't know. 😉

Kudos, indeed, but that could have gone so badly in so many ways. The officers, staff, and crew went above and beyond ...and the Master earned a lifetime supply of Maalox.

I once heard a war story about passengers who were unknowingly doing that -- the TP storage got flooded on an Antarctic voyage (so no chance of resupply) and the stewards were quietly ...load-balancing the TP in the cabins.

Pet peeve here. • "High tea" is a full meal, served in early evening, usually with fried meat. • "Afternoon tea" is what is served in Horizons, originally designed to --cough-- stave off starvation --cough-- until a late evening, formal, Downton Abbey-style dinner.

Not only that, but the ship will usually need to sail faster to arrive the next port of call on time, getting poorer mileage. The Master balances both against goodwill -- that is precisely his job. "Entitled shoppers" (still love that phrasing) deserve scorn. Prudent folks who get whacked by "black swan events" deserve sympathy. Both deserve to pay their way to rejoin if not on a ship-sponsored tour and the Master doesn't feel he should wait.

Yep. If those waiting are sitting on a bus, it's one thing. If they are wandering around the ship or sitting down to dinner as the ship sits at dock, that's another.

Uhh... We were discussing how much scorn the late folks deserved, not whether they were responsible (of course) in even the most extreme cases.

Even better... "Pardon. I need to answer the door. Be right back" Then don't come back to just hang up for 10 min. 👼

"Entitled shopper" (love that phrase)? À la lanterne! Stuck on a bus, waiting for "all clear" from a bomb squad? Not so much.

...that no one else wanted, right? 😜 Lucky you, crazy them. 😉

Uhhh... YMMV? 😉 Your answer will be different in Hamilton or Barcelona than in São Tomé. If the Port Agent is *an* agent, he will be pierside to get handed pier-runners' passports, etc.

For Antarctica, the most important difference StarLink makes is that it's satellites are in polar orbit (and actually overfly Antarctica) rather than equatorial orbit (and can't be used from high latitude) like all the other satellites used for internet-at-sea.

Just off the Vista... • I don't think Terrace pizza is baked in the Wave's oven. • Waves/evening was much better early in our voyage before word spread.

::wry smile:: There's at least one GM who disagrees.

Sheesh! Why haven't I or someone else chimed in way upthread with... Always know the Port Agent when you step ashore at a port of call! They're the folks who will be holding your passport if you've left it in your cabin safe. They're the folks who'll get cruise-sponsored tours to the next port of call. They're the folks who'll help the rest spend money to get to the next port of call.

Perhaps it's the part I left out... ...but understand whatever cabin you get, it'll be one no one else wanted. 🙄

"Guarantee" = We'll have a cabin for you, but we're waiting to see how to juggle you and others for the most profit. "Waitlist" (w/ deposit) = We already have enough customers to fill our cabins, but if folks cancel you are number X for a vacancy. "Waitlist" (w/o deposit) = We already have enough customers to fill our cabins, but understand you are interested in the voyage.

My last thought on the matter... Nevermind whose fault it is, it's still your problem.

Gonna quibble. Get the insurance coverage you need. Lots of risks are better to self-insure, and you may well find you are already insured for others.

Be aware that specific coverage varies by state and county, and I'm not in Texas. 🤷‍♂️ https://medicare.gov → [Find Medicare Health and Drug Plans] → "Enter ZIP Code" + [Continue] → "Part C" + [Find Plans], then look for plans with "Worldwide Emergency" showing a "✔", then check if the plan also includes "urgent". After all that, you'll usually have to wait for Open Enrollment, too. 😞

Uhhh... No. The ship will wait a lot longer since the Master has to figure rejoin costs into his balancing, but not "regardless". In cases of sudden civil unrest, etc, he may even have to abandon all ashore irrespective of all-aboard times.

Methinks there's *less* to the story: Folks missed the all-aboard time for various reasons, and the Campbells are blame-shifting about their miss. Little realized facts: • If notified, it's the Master's discretion whether to wait (and he wants happy pax). • Beyond that, all "cruise sponsored" gets you is ship-paid travel to rejoin. On a cruise to New Zealand, ship's tours to Queenstown chased us up a fog-bound coast for three days before rejoining at Picton. On another, we waited an extra 30 minutes for a couple not on a tour, but who called from a delayed train -- the CD made sure we knew the ship was looking out for us.