Mary Ellen

I was on that cruise! It was our first cruise ever. It was, however, an east to west transit. The ship was repositioning to the west coast.

That would make sense. Logic would dictate that unless the Disney ship (the Wonder?) was built at a Pacific shipyard, or was doing an eastbound round the world cruise, she would be sailing east to west.

For those wanting more edification on Spain collecting VAT on purchases made on board cruise ships.

 

http://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Insights/On-Europe-cruises-getting-acquainted-with-VAT

What's the reasoning why some don't prefer the bed by the balcony? Just curious, I've never thought about it before. I like it there I think because it goes more "front end" room to maneuver near the closets, etc.

 

We don't like the bed by the balcony. We VASTLY prefer the sofa there to enjoy the sea views and maneuvering space getting to/from the balcony. I obviously can't speak for others, but we spend a minimal part of our day dealing with closets. ;)

We were also on a Mediterranean cruise in May (Zuiderdam) and had the same issue. We tried to pay for a HAL towel as a gift from the HAL signature shops, and was told that it was subject to 25% (if memory serves) VAT because the ship had set sail from Barcelona, Spain. The shop staff claimed that it was at the insistence of the Spanish authorities. We have cruised the Med many times on HAL and had never heard this story before. The towel, needless to say, is still in stock in the shop... (to us, it smacked of pure profiteering in a captive market). We live in Scotland, and the law is that there is NO VAT chargeable between European countries.

 

Before making unjust accusations of "pure profiteering" you might want to read up on the fact that Spain does require cruise lines to collect the VAT for them on cruises sailing from Barcelona. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1883948 There are exclusions when the itinerary includes ports outside of the EU, so that could be why your earlier cruises didn't charge the tax.

I live in Thailand half the year and personally MUCH prefer the Thai custom of a simple wai...place your hands together in front of your face in a prayer type motion and with a slight bow acknowledge the other person. A VERY civilized practice in my opinion.

 

An excellent custom. My late brother suffered greatly from arthritis. Shaking hands was extremely painful for him. What you suggest would have been a great solution for him.

May seem like a crazy question, but I know there are restrictions in foreign countries. Are there restrictions for boarding an Alaskan cruise ship in Seattle? I know we'll be stopping in Canada so just wondered.

 

We are traveling on to Oregon after the cruise and have a few things from home that I wanted to bring with us.

 

If I'm understanding this correctly, you want to bring food on the ship to have for your post-cruise time in Oregon? Won't you also have take said food off the ship at the end of the cruise? You face the same restrictions as if you'd brought the food in on a trans-Pacific or any other cruise. It will NOT matter in the least that you brought the food on in a US port. If it is an allowable food, it is fine. If it is a prohibited food (such as fruit), it will be confiscated and you very well could be fined.

Just a note as to why this occurs in NZ and Aus - which is to avoid the introduction of pests and diseases to the agricultural community here.

 

That is the exact same reason many countries have such laws. ;)

I've noticed that a number of Canadian financial institutions are now telling customers that there is no longer a requirement to notify them when travelling.

 

I don't know if this is a trend elsewhere, but it means one less item on my "to do" list prior to travelling.

 

Our US based credit cards started telling us that a few years ago. They also warned us not to take photocopies of our credit cards with us. They suggested we just have the phone numbers (for international calls) with us. They will be able to determine our credit card number from information we know anyway. Having the copies is just one more possible avenue for thieves to access our credit.

The opening sentence: "It has been mentioned elsewhere that for cruises in Europe the stores all come from the UK" doesn't limit the cruises to Cunard - or any other line. Thus myself and at least one other poster assumed it was referring to ALL European cruises.

 

Add me to those who couldn't tell the post was in reference to specifically Cunard lading stores in the UK. :confused:

Yes Mary Ellen had a bad cruise on Oceania

 

I would say food was pretty darn bad and service was HORRIBLE on our cruise. ;) I'm glad others enjoy Oceania. We boarded fully expecting Oceania to become our cruise line of choice. They failed - miserably. :eek:

So those that say once you go balcony you won't go back? That's not us.

 

Same here. We typically sail on HAL for the itineraries. However as nonsmokers we no longer book their cabins with balconies (regular or suite, we've had both) as we're not willing to pay for something we can't use.

 

On other cruise lines we run about 50-50 for booking balconies. It depends upon the itinerary. Having a balcony REALLY isn't important to us. Having a shower stall not a tub, now that is important.

When we did the train in 2012, we found outside to be better for photos (avoids reflections of the windows). We had relatively few "car-mates", and those with cameras did a phenomenal job of rotating spots on the back deck so everyone who wanted to take pictures could get any spot/angle they wanted.

 

A far nicer response than suggesting being "aggressive" to hog space. ;)

 

I agree that the left side (the ship/port area behind you) provides the best views.

We stayed at the Conrad and loved it. :D

[quote name='GUT2407']As or taxes being higher, you do know that a business gets a deduction for wages they pay out don't you.[/QUOTE]

[SIZE="3"]I'm talking about the taxes the crew will pay. :rolleyes: In order to not have a net loss of income, the crew will need to be paid more (bottom line - by the passengers of course) to make up for this.

If you want the service charge paid up front (not part of the cruise fare commissionable to TAs) there is absolutely nothing stopping one from doing this now. Other than of course, the belief that 'they' don't have to pay the crew for services provided. :rolleyes:

I keep seeing the statement along the lines of 'Well, in MY country we pay everyone a living wage...' Just where do people think this salary come from? The Money Fairy???? Good grief, it comes from what one pays for goods and services. To me it makes absolutely NO difference if I pay it up front through our TA or through our onboard account. The result is the same - it comes out of my pocket.

We follow the local customs wherever we are worldwide. [/SIZE]

[quote name='BruceMuzz']You also do not know the specifics of the agreements and requirements between the cruise lines, the manning agencies in other countries, and the tax offices of the national governments of the tipped crewmembers.

[B]Many Asian countries require the cruise lines to send a percentage of the tipped crew's salary (not their tips) back to their home country - through the manning agent - for tax purposes.
If the gratuities become part of the fare, they also become part of the crew salary. That forces the cruise lines to send a much higher percentage of the crew earnings back to their government, who then takes a much deeper cut of those earnings.
In the process, the manning agent who is handling those funds, fiddles with the exchange rates and skims a nice percentage off for himself.
[/B]
Depending on many factors, adding the gratuities to the fare can result in a net loss for the service staff.[/QUOTE]

Sorry, but most ports prohibit taking non-prepackaged foods ashore. No sandwiches. No need for condiments. ;)

I would suggest asking on the 'Disabled Cruise Travel' forum. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=190

[quote name='YubaSutter']so, you think it's the passengers responsibility to pay the employees and not the employer.[/QUOTE]
[SIZE="3"]Do you [I]REALLY[/I] think that if the full salary were paid by "the employer" it would come out of corporate profits? No. The additional costs would be included in higher cruise fares. Then the TA would get a cut because the commission would be more, middleman cuts, taxes higher.... In the end, the passengers would pay either way. The current system, while not perfect, costs passengers less. ;) [/SIZE]

I'll also recommend Princess.

 

A few years ago we were also looking for a replacement for HAL. We tried Oceania with high hopes and can't honestly recommend a cruise line to anyone that we won't sail on again. ;) The cabins were absolutely wonderful but the food and service were the worst we've ever encountered in over 30 years of cruising. While HAL isn't known for their entertainment, we were bored out of our minds on Oceania.

Oh, yes. The last night of the second E-dam cruise, several of us in a string of cabins had our hang tags changed---presumably by the kids who had been wreaking havoc up & down the passageway for the previous 10 days.

What a waste of food! Seeing as how the parents refused to reel them in all cruise, I'm not surprised at their last little display.

 

We were all up in plenty of time to go to the Lido instead, but it was still a shame that so many people worked to put up those orders, deliver them, and clean up afterwards.

 

It was (presumably) the so-called adults associated with those children who changed the hang tags. The writing wasn't that of children. The steward who brought our breakfast showed us the hang tag as he questioned it was a real breakfast order. They not only wreaked havoc up & down our passageway, but all over the ship. Remember, they used to run through the MDR during dinner service. One of the older girls would take off her shoes and run barefoot. I felt sorry for the waiters who not only had to carry the heavy trays, but dodge the little darlings. Then there were the 2 a.m. relay races among the elevators. That was when they weren't emptying the rock mulch from around the plants into the elevators...

 

Yes, they were apparently raised by wolves. But I believe it was the wolves who replaced our breakfast order cards with ones they filled out. :rolleyes:

Someone mentioned in passing in a thread about muster stations that HAL no longer requires you to wear your life jacket for mustard drill. Is that so?

 

We've sailed on HAL for over 30 years. I don't ever remember a "mustard drill". Nor do I recall a drill for any other condiments. ;)

 

Don't worry, HAL will make it abundantly clear what you need to do for the Passenger Emergency Drill. They don't expect anyone to research this before boarding a ship.

No problem at all. On our most recent HAL cruise to Japan, HAL offered more than one shore ex from Tokyo that stayed overnight ashore. We'd considered doing it ourselves but when our port changed from Yokohama to Tokyo itself, we didn't see the need. We'd planned on going to Tokyo Disney, but our arrival coincided with the beginning of Golden Week. We weren't up to dealing with the hoards at Tokyo Disney then (think Christmas at WDW :eek:).

We've had our passports stamped whenever (and however) we've entered Japan. It hasn't mattered if we've arrived by air or by sea.

 

I do suggest you get approval from from the cruise line first. Japan has cabotage laws similar to the US, but since your cruise ends in China that shouldn't be a problem. Still, if it were us, I'd get the approval from Celebrity before buying the rail pass.

Cruises embarking in Barcelona are a different situation than what we typically encounter. Spain wants the VAT collected even while 'at sea' depending upon the itinerary. From my understanding, if the cruise is a transatlantic the VAT stops being charged much sooner. If the cruise stays in the Med, the VAT could be charged the entire cruise.

 

I know I've given up trying to understand the intricacies of the Spanish VAT and just trust the ship to charge appropriately. Hopefully someone with expertise in this can clarify.

Not quite correct either. I had an experience last year where we took a 20 day Panama repo cruise followed by an Alaska cruise on the same ship. My husband paid for the first cruise and his credit card was registered for that cruise.

I was treating for the second cruise so I registered my credit card for the second cruise. (Different brand of credit cards).

 

No, you missed my point that HAL doesn't automatically put the hold on the credit card to which you charged the cruise.

 

The Front Desk seems totally incapable of handling anything remotely out of "normal". You gave them out of normal.

My understanding from what I am reading here is that they will put a hold on the credit card I booked my cruise with even if I do this if I were to sail Hal. Am I correct.

Not quite correct. HAL will only put the hold on the credit card you choose to provide when doing the online check-in. It isn't automatically the one you used to pay for your cruise. As has been stated here, you also have to option of stating that you'll rather leave a cash deposit at the Front Desk - rather than give a credit card number during the online check-in process.