Cuervosar

I was wondering if anyone has used the Luggage Valet on Disembarkation in Seattle and remembers if there were specific times for Southwest Airline flights to use the service?

 

Also, are there any different foods that what have shown up on the menus here geared towards Alaska?

On the back end you need to leave by 4:00pm. Can’t remember the front end. Worked slicker than whale snot on an ice floe.

There are many secret areas. You just need to access platform 9 3/4.

Best to do it at a bit of a run if you’re nervous.

Was Mike there?

He is our favorite bartender. Usually in that one bar over by the place.

It seems that on this board most of the discussions are about cruising on mainstream lines. The most popular thread is all about finding the cheapest cruises.

Why not go to the oppposite extreme.

What would be your dream cruise if money was no object?

Is anyone planning to throw caution to the winds and spend up big on a cruise in the near future? Let’s hear about your upcoming ventures or even your past indulgence in luxury.

Genius thread but honestly if money were no object, I’d have something by Nordhavn, 80 feet minimum and fully crewed.

http://www.nordhavn.com/models/120/

I would like to register a complaint regarding the sexist title of this thread.

There's always someone who believes in conspiracy theories....

 

 

 

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Why is it all the conspiracy hacks can't get they're heads around "their, there, & they're?"

Their are times I don't think there even trying.

from piratesprincess.....

I think it only fair that i recount the whole experienceboth good and bad so that you can draw your own conclusion regarding whetherthis excursion meets the standards of expectations from celebrity.

The celebrity description reads as follows:

spend a day filledwith sun, fun, and gentle caribbean surf on private island. A short boat ride takes you to your tropicaloasis, where the ultimate beach day is waiting. Kick back in a beach chair with your toes into the soft sand, or checkout some of the great water sports available. Take a guided snorkeling tour around the island to view its incredible coralreefs. Paddle out into the calm waterson a kayak, or try a zayak – a surfboard you paddle with your arms thatfeatures a window into the sea. Frombeach volleyball to aquatic adventures, or doing absolutely nothing at all,your island paradise awaits on this excursion.

this excursion was the most expensive of the ones we had at$199.00 per person. Despite theinformation stating it was just a short boat ride, we boarded a bus. Turns out the bus ride was over 1.5 hours andfurther extended because our bus driver missedthe turn to the vunue. We drove severalmiles until he could find a place wide enough to turn around and go back.

This won’t be completely negative as our tour guide,geronimo, was very thorough on the whole trip explaining all about colon,panama. Additionally, the missed turnallowed us to view a fort ruin as we drove by and our bus was very nice, cool,clean and comfortable.

Sadly, aside from the above positives, the long drive canonly be described as heartbreaking. Theextent of the lack of local stewardship of what could be a tropical oasis wasvery disheartening. I understand that itis a poor country but the trash and waste along the roads was nothing shortover overwhelming . It did serve to makeme feel very grateful for the educational campaigns in my home of texas to “keeptexas beautiful”….but i digress…

the total one way drive ended up taking 2 full hours becauseof our unintentional detour. Uponarrival we were offered fresh cut pineapple and told that we should availourselves of the bathroom before we were transported over to the privateisland. No toilet paper in the bathroomswas our first clue that this venue was totally unprepared for our group. As we milled around wondering what came next,we were presented with legal waivers that we had to sign whether we were diving,snorkeling, or just going over to the island to do nothing. Everyone signed the waivers and a couple ofpeople did make arrangements to scuba.. They were assisted immediately. The rest of us were told to stand by andsomeone would pass out fins and masks for those that wanted to snorkel. After 20 minutes of nothing happening, ourgroup got frustrated and we began to complain. Only after that did they decide to just put us directly onto thelaunches that would take us over to the island that was within sight.

The launch ride was brief as promised but as we came closerto the private “tropical oasis” promised our collective jaws dropped. The beach was approximately 100 yards wide,and maybe 60 feet deep consisting of two levels. The “soft sand” was a mixture of grass and courserough white coral rock beach which required water shoes to walk on. The “beachchairs” were approximately 25 bright red plastic adirondack chairs, some ofwhich were broken and stacked to create one workable chair. The tables were discarded construction spools. At the time of arrival, there was one smallcheap umbrella stuck in a spool. We werein disbelief as we arrived. Seriouslytrying to make the best of our day, we just couldn’t fathom this was what wehad paid for. We asked if there wereadditional umbrellas….they found a few additional rusty & broken and putthem in other spools for shade. We askedabout food and beverages available and our guide geronimo made a few halfhearted jokes…at this point none of us were laughing. He sent one of the launches back to themainland and it returned a while later with styrofoam coolers with soda, two typesof beer and water. Our food for theisland consisted of packages of sugar wafers. Again…they were totally unprepared!

As most of us got settled into our plastic chairs, a bravefew decided they were going to move forward with snorkeling. They were given equipment and a launch tookthem to another location.

For those of us still remaining on the island, our guide istrying his best to be positive and encouraging. He offers kayaks and zayaks to enjoy. The zayak is nearly impossible to lay on with the required life jacketso the one person that tried gave up. I’mreally trying hard to find a way to make this a positive experience so myhusband and i agree to accompany the tour guide and one other couple on kayaksfor a look around the island. We paddleto the adjoining mangrove area. There werea couple of failed attempts to enter the mangrove area but it had been allowedto overgrow the paddle paths. Finally wefound one and ventured in… this would have been a really cool experience butone of the plastic kayaks had a leak and filled with water until it becameunstable and dumped one of the guests out right in the middle of themangrove. Mind you, we have spent daystalking about the crocodiles in the area so to say that the experience was terrifyingto witness and i wasn’t the one it happened to. To his credit, the guide got out of his kayak and attempted to empty theother kayak and assist the guest back in. I told him that it was filling with water and there was no way that thislarger gentleman was going to be able to get in. The guide relented and helped the guest (as nhrescue diver) into his kayak, then worked at clearing the leaky kayak andgetting in it himself. After 15 or moretense minutes, we were able to exit the mangrove as a group. As we returned over open water toward theisland “oasis”, the defective kayak filled again and dumped the tour guide intothe water. After multiple failed attemptsto get back in , my husband tied off the kayak and basically towed in the kayakand the swimming tour guide to shore.

By the time we returned to our “oasis” the beverages andsugar wafers had been delivered. We putour plastic chairs in the water and visited with each other and drank ourbeverages until this nightmare of an excursion could end. The snorkeling team returned to add theirstories of nothing to see. They had beentaken to an area teaming with small jellyfish and came back nursing their stings.

I am thankful that i did not need to avail myself of therestroom facilities available on the island. My husband who did described it as one toilet surrounded by a showercurtain and assured me it would not improve my experience.

Finally it was time to return to the mainland for ourlunch. Lunch was good and there wasplenty. We were told that the beveragesprovided on the island were provided at no cost but that beverages at lunchwould have to be paid for.

We returned by bus and arrived just before the deadlinegiven by the ship. Shortly after ourreturn to the ship, we made a point of stopping in to visit with our concierge,joao reis, about our experience. He tookdetailed notes and promised to look into it. In the meantime we are terrified to attempt the scheduled beachexcursion set for the following day without some assurance that someone –anyone – from celebrity had been there and could attest that the facilitieswere adequate. Joao promised to getadditional information and we agreed to meet again after dinner.

There were multiple calls to the excursion desk by ourconcierge and while i was only privy to one side of that conversation i feltour concerns and request for information regarding the next excursion werebeing blown off by whoever joao was talking to and that clearly no one on theship had ever been on that excursion.

I want to say that joao performed his duties exceptionally,never promising something he couldn’t deliver but promising to get us whateverinformation he could that would allow us to make an informed decision about thenext day’s excursion. It was made clearthat despite the horrible experience we had, we were not going to be allowed tocancel the next excursion. We were toldthat crew had been to the next location, it was nice and in fact there would beseveral members of staff going with us.

After much consideration, we decided to stay with theplanned excursion and i am very glad that we did. It was everything that the prior day shouldhave been!

I know for a fact that at least 4 other couples (nearly 1/3of the guests who participated) also complained about this excursion. Most went directly to the excursion desk andwere told they were looking into it. Onecouple was told they already knew of the problems and didn’t need any furtherinformation. After a couple of days wereceived a note that they had reimbursed us 20% of the cost of the excursionwhich still made it equal to the next most expensive excursion we booked. I personally believe that every guest who experiencedthis nightmare should be fully refunded for the cost of the excursion and thatthe excursion should be forever removed as an option. I just cannot fathom that celebrity wouldevery deem our experience as acceptable.

tlnpdr

Hi All,

 

We are sailing the northbound Alaska route, leaving on May 18. We sailed the southbound last year with friends and this year we are bringing the family. It wouldn't be my first choice to sail northbound, but needed to make sure we went early so youngest son would be available for an internship in the summer. It does happen that he will turn 21 during the cruise.

 

I will save the Compasses and try to remember to take photos of the MDR menus. We are eating at Samba one night, but hopefully I will remember to look at the menu in our stateroom or the Concierge lounge. If you want me to check on anything I will try my best to remember.

 

~Jennifer

Say “hi” to Bill the bartender for us!

http://www.wdwinfo.com/news-stories/royal-caribbean-reverses-decision-on-allowing-shorts-or-tank-tops-in-the-dining-rooms/

According to the Los Angeles Times, after outcries from Royal Caribbean International fanatics, the cruise line has reversed its decision to allow passengers to wear tank tops or shorts into the main dining rooms. With this rule reversal guests attempting to wear tank tops or shorts to the main dining rooms will be turned away.

If you overdress, you’ll have no stress.

We are planning to take a full transit Panama Canal cruise sometime within the next 2 years. Please share your thoughts on the Panama Canal ports you have visited. Your opinions will help us to determine which cruise itinerary will be the best fit for us.

 

Which ports did you find to be the most interesting and enjoyable? Also, which ports had little to offer or required traveling long distances to reach a decent destination? We don't enjoy getting off of the ship and simply browsing the port shops at the pier. We tend to enjoy taking in historical sites; so, ports that offer them would merit our consideration. Ports that ONLY offer beaches, zip lining or water activities do not interest us very much. Mobility is not an issue and walking for extended periods of time is not a hindrance for us. TIA

Congrats on going full transit. We’ve done it twice and it is amazing. We’ll do it again too.

If it stops at Grand Cayman and you’ve never been there, then there is plenty to do there.

Cartagena seems like a given stop, but it’s not bad. The fort is worth a few hours.

One of our favorite stops of all time was Huatulco, in Mexico. We had an amazing guide and did some snorkeling there. We continue to look for trips to go back but so far, no joy.

Other Mexican ports now scare us except possibly Cabo, maybe PV.

Puerto Quetzal was ok, we did a good tour there but the transit to and from was interesting.

Any stop in Costa Rica is worth a look of you can get into the rain forest.

I always thought it was odd myself. They may of been useful 30 years ago but in 2018, people use the Internet. I understand there are some people who still like their encyclopedias, guidebooks and paper maps but seriously....

There’s probably an app for that.

Just curious, we don’t have JR in the UK, how much would an equivalent meal be in a JR on land? I’m guessing that it’s kinda similar to Burger King? Over here in the UK a double whopper with bacon, fries and a drink is around the £8.95 range and that’s equivalent to $12.50 ish.

It’s an overpriced Big Mac surrounded by 50’s memorabilia. The food never was or is any good. The whole shtick is about the “atmosphere.”

They get the same suckers who go to Margaritaville.

Until now:). I don't get why someone with no interest in the topic of a post feels the need to read that post and then insult the people who are interested in it. Must live a very sad life to be so full of hate that they choose to spend their short time on earth doing that instead of enjoying the time they have. Go, Bears!! (talk about sad LOL)

I think a sadder life is a nation of people who sit on their butts watching the poorly educated but physically gifted bludgeon each other to the point they are so brain damaged they lose all sense of self and end up suicidal or trying to survive years of excruciating pain.

All of this so the obese and entitled can vicariously participate in a virtual group grope with the hope of exclamating “we won!” every week.

Not sure what your contribution to the sport is but as long as you’re comfortable with people dying for your entertainment, no worries.

TLDR. Something about a $15 charge while on vacay? $15 doesn’t even register. Who cares?

I have recently booked a family trip on Celebrity Reflection in a European itinerary and realized I'd be out of the states over 2 Sundays worth of football. This is a near-unacceptable thought. Is there absolutely anywhere on board that shows any given NFL game on Sundays? Would my Sunday Ticket account work out of the country? Do I have any options at all? Thank you in advance for any advice.

I think anyone who watches American Football should be hit in the head with a bat so they can share in the brain damage.

What a pathetic, barbaric excuse for “sports”.

Link ot track the Chinese satellite due to come down somewhere - at sea or on land - in the next few days: http://www.satview.org/?sat_id=37820U

I have prop bets on all the Carnival Ships.

we'll be spending a few days in vegas before our cruise out of san pedro in early may. Driving down on a tuesday and getting into the la area just after lunch. What would be the suggested route to get to the long beach area coming from the northeast? Looking at google maps, i'm thinking i15 to the i10 to the 605 and straight down to the lb area . We're actually dropping the rental car at lgb and taking a cab to the hotel in downtown long beach. I've seen it said that the 605 is possibly the best option for the north-south transit? And yes, i'm aware of just how bad la traffic can be. ;o)

 

thanks in advance for your thoughts, comments and suggestions.

15, 215, 91, 605, 22, 1

I noticed now that most cruiselines use the electronic bingo where the cruise staff presses a button and the computer generates the numbers. I remember when they used the ping pong balls and the machine spit out the balls. They even had someone come up to the stage to verify that all the bingo balls were there. I also remember on the last day on the cruise EVERYONE played because the Jackpot MUST go and people would win thousands of dollars. Now it seems like you have to get full card Bingo within a certain amount of balls called. Usually 45 or less. In the old fashion way, yes this is possible because it is totally random and a computer is not "calling" the balls. On my recent cruise, I noticed that a lot of the Bs Is Ns and Os were called but very few Gs were called. When it came up to the 45th ball, there were only 4Gs called which meant no Jackpot Bingo was possible. And you guessed it, yes the 46th ball it was a G and the next 5 balls after.

To me I hate how Bingos are fixed this way. I know people play for the fun of it and people do win $$ but I just feel that it is wrong to advertise and say you will give away thousands of dollars when they know no one will ever win the Jackpot. Its also sad to see them push and upsell even more and sell last minute Jackpot cards to upsell and make people think they can win.

I wonder if the people nowadays playing are first time cruisers who get suckered into this scam. My advice--better luck of winning in the casino at the table betting on red or black on roulette.lol

Bingo? Seriously?

Bingo?

Hop in the taxi, tell driver, Por r Everglades, and name of the ship you are sailing.... He or she will know. tehre is a board near the entrance to th eport that lists which p;ier each ship is at.

 

Be sure drive flips on the meter when you are seated and doors are closed. in order to have your fare measured correctly.

Also, there are only very specific cabs that are allowed to go to the ports. They pay an extra tax. You can recognize them because they have a red stripe on the doors. There will also be a “port approved” decal on the passenger side front window. If you don’t see that, don’t get in.

Just spoke with the Captain.

He said “$*%#*#*%” & %*$/#*=*#$$&()(&”

Also, “Hold my beer.”

Love the exploitive click bait press. "Horror Facial Injuries." Couple of scrapes and a minor shiner. Get over it.

But, check out my next post for the most amazing diet tips ever!

https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/03/07/10/49/cruise-ship-brawl-breaks-out-royal-caribbean-voyager-of-the-seas

 

 

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I've noticed the Americans are usually the large ones with the white shoes.

I saw a helicopter once. It was cool. It could fly in the air. Sometimes it didn't even move. It just seemed to stay in one place. That was the helicopter I saw. It was orange. It came over the water. I think some people were in it. I think that a helicopter could land in water. Then if somebody was sick they could float them to the helicopter. Then it could take off again. It could take off out of the water. That would be the best way.

I named that one Ralph.

What could we do in santa Barbara for the day?

Surf Rincon, play a little beach volley @ South Beach, Climb Gibraltar Rock.