Opinions

What do you do when you have to attend a wedding, funeral or other social event that requires a suit and tie?

 

I have never been to a funeral that "requires" a suit and tie.

 

Agree with Boards that HAL should think about ALL their Psgrs, not just a one group.

 

Betty

 

Isn't that one group part of "ALL their Psgrs"?

You are the first in my memory to make reference to the concept more stewards are required in Lido with so many more cruisers having dinner there rather than MDR. I think you make a very good point. It had not occured to me in exactly that way that could be part of the reason there are fewer dining stewards in MDR.

 

Very valid point.

 

 

Perhaps if there are less people dining in the MDR than you would need less stewards there...It would make sense to me to move the extra stewards to the Lido where they may be needed.

IMO this statement is incorrect..

 

"Carnival Corp & PLC" is incorporated in both the U. S & The United Kingdom..

 

See the following: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=140690&p=irol-govhighlights

 

 

 

 

Betty

 

You are confusing the Articles of Association with the Articles of Incorporation...Actually the link you posted says under the Articles of Incorporation that the Carnival Corporation is incorporated under the laws of Panama...IMO my statement is correct.

I don't know about the cruises you have been on, but I saw almost no man in the MDR without a jacket on the formal nights. I attend 15 or 20 formal nights on Princess this year.

 

"almost"?

Your right to a safe ship arises not from the contract made with HAL under Washington state law, but rather from the law of the Netherlands.

 

 

Actually the Carnival Corporation, the owner of HAL, is incorporated under the laws of the Republic of Panama.

OP states that they did not put the "privacy sign" out .

Incident would not have occurred and this posting wouldn't exist .

 

But then we may not know how the deadbolt works!...I am thankful that this post "exists".

They must be doing something very right. :)

.

 

 

Yes, I wish I could get my taxes down to 1.1%...They are very adept at using loopholes in our tax laws...But it's obvious I am in the minority here in thinking they should pay their fair share.

As to lower profit --- How much profit can there be for a seven day cruise sold for $57 Per Day?

 

Over the last 5 years the Carnival Corporation (owners of HAL) paid corporate taxes (Fed, Local, State, Foreign) at a rate of 1.1% on 11.3 billion of profit...I think they are doing well.

Were these ships subject to U.S. labor laws, the price of the cruise would be out of the reach of a great many who now cruise. It would go back to the days of cruising was for the wealthy only.

 

There's a very good reason the ships (with a scant exception) are all registered out of the U.S.

 

Many who now cruise enjoyed U.S. wages and pensions...They could well afford to pay a little more...Why should these employees subsidize our vacations...Heaven forbid the cruiselines make a little less profit...They are certainly saving on paying taxes.

Would someone tell me why it is any of our business how stewards are paid?

 

 

 

As long as cruise ship employees are not covered by U.S. labor laws such as wage, hours, etc.. some of us will make it our business...With the automatic deduction of the hotel service charge ( gratuities) there is a concern if the employees are being treated fairly...We may never know...Obviously there are some posters who really don't want to know.

"In order to complement your fellow guests, Holland America Line asks that you observe the suggested dress code throughout the entire evening."

 

So what is the "suggested" dress code for the Lido on formal nights?

Formal night is for the WHOLE SHIP, not just the MDR, at least on HAL it still is. .

 

How about the Lido on formal night?..Isn't that part of the "WHOLE SHIP"?

So when we start to dress down the 2 nice evenings of formal ( Sunday best) attire, what incentive is there for the chefs to prepare food that is appealling to the eyes as well as the stomach?

 

I doubt that the chefs check out how we are dressed in order to have a incentive to prepare appealing food...If so then they must have had a problem on the HAL cruise where we had a Optional Formal night...Some dressed formal while others casual...I didn't see any difference in the food served to those dressed casual compared to those in formal.

Worry not; you will be dressed precisely to code on both types of nights. There are still many of us who take care about how we look, and dress for the evening. It should never be a race to the lowest common denominator.

 

On formal nights my wife now wears dress pants and a nice top...Do you feel she is racing toward "the lowest common denominator"?

Hammybee, your theory, makes no sense to me about turning the tables 3 times and they can accomodate more people.

 

It makes sense to me...With a all traditional dining ship they are limited to the number of seats available in the first and second seatings...With open seating and the ability to use some tables 3 times they are able to sell more of those 3 and 4 berth cabins...They just assign the extra people to open seating and eventually they will find a seat for them.

Maybe they'll just have to start designing their ships to accommodate both the way Princess seems to do.

 

I seem to recall that many on the Princess boards were complaining they couldn't get Traditional...If the Traditional dining room is filled than you get the open seating room...Which is fine with me but I recognize that not everyone on Princess always gets the option they prefer.

As an example, the Grand Princess has 11 dining areas. Just to name one ship.

 

Having cruised on the Star Princess I am a little familiar with the "dining areas" on this class ship...Basicly I found my options for dinner were Traditional, Anytime, and the buffet...I don't eat in extra charge restaurants...Having cruised for over 40 years I guess I am resistant to this change..Also a pizza parlor or hamburger don't appeal to me...I accept that there are those who consider these acceptable options for dinner.

 

My next cruise is on HAL...I have selected the open seating...It has worked well on the 3 cruiselines I have sailed with this option...If HAL is the cruiseline many here claim it to be I hope and expect that it will work out well.

If HAL had 6 or 10 dining options, like some Princess ships, then this would make senses.

 

 

Are you confusing NCL with Princess...I have sailed NCL and their newer ships have many dining options...I have also cruised Princess and am not aware of ony of their ships that have "6 or 10 dining options...Perhaps I've missed them...Which ships are you referring to?

There are also more serious safety concerns after one is back aboard. Martha's safety issue is valid.

 

As one who has cruised for over 40 years, the majority as a single,I certainly am aware of the worries, concerns, and dangers of crusing as a solo...I just pointed out that the cruiselines do have a system for checking on passengers who may miss the ship...By pointing this out doesn't mean that I question the validity of other concerns.

Please call HAL and speak to a supervisor. This is first and foremost a safety concern for us solo gals. Traditional dining provides a "safety net" in that someone will miss you earlier if you've had a problem in a Port & miss the ship. Otherwise, it could be Noon the next day before your cabin steward notices.

 

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If someone misses the ship it will be noticed at the check-in where cruisers reboard...That's one of the uses of the cruise cards...Hopefully it would be noticed long before dinner time.

The 6/17 sailing of the Noordam had several large groups onboard and indeed those groups were assigned to the lower level dining room and AYWD was suspended for non-group passengers. It's a two-way street and groups have and will continue to trump individual passengers on all cruise lines.

 

 

That sounds like a one-way street to me?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with offering choice as long as you can be confirmed with that choice by the time you make final payment at the very least.

 

In my opinion choice of seating should be guaranteed at time of booking...Because of pre existing conditions we must purchase most cruise policies at that time...I doubt that many insurance companies would refund our insurance fee because we cancelled because we couldn't get our preferred dining.

 

Actually HAL isn't actually offering a real choice...They have said AYWD may not be available on all cruises because they may use that space for groups.

[quote name='HeatherInFlorida'][COLOR=navy][COLOR=navy]COLOR]
[B][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy][/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]
[COLOR=navy] And if HAL is unable to guarantee our choice it means that AYW is not as popular as you would like it to be. If it were, [B]there should be plenty of room in Traditional for all of us who want it.[/B][/COLOR]
[COLOR=navy][/COLOR]
[/QUOTE]

Regardless of how popular AYW is it's taking seats away from traditional diners...It certainly seems to be attracting interest from those who haven't cruised HAL bcause of the lack of AYW dining...Logic would say that if AWD is popular there will be less room for traditional diners.

[quote name='revneal'] Chances are, with AYW being what it is, we will be seated with a group of people ... 4 or 6 people who know each other, are taking this cruise with each other, and who may not be particularly welcoming to the "odd-people" that we solos can tend to be.

[/QUOTE]

Why do you assume that you would be seated with AYW people who are not "particularly welcoming"...4 or 6 people who want to sit alone would request a table for 4 or 6...I have cruised 3 different lines with anytime dining and it's been my experience they are just as friendly as traditional diners...In fact many are even willing to sit with different people each night!..Even solos.