jaygatsby27

3 hours ago, lstone19 said:

 

AFAIK, parking lot and porters (baggage handlers) are port employees, not cruise line employees. Even the check-in employees may be port employees who are just wearing the appropriate uniform for whatever line they're working. For those that are port employees, they may be full-time employees who will get a few hours handling bags rather than handling cargo.

A few years ago, I was on a cruise that had to reverse the order of two ports due to weather. It was no big deal - the dock workers got new assignments for the day and the tour operators changed their schedule to accommodate. 

This is correct.

On 3/26/2024 at 12:33 PM, PelicanBill said:

Reports are questioning the timing of the mayday now and whether the bridge was really closed  before the ship hit - maybe one side closed - because 7 vehicles drive up and off and the pothole crew on the bridge got no warning.

 

I agree the anchor drag could be found to have made this worse. 

 

Imagine of one of the cruise ships had been in port - trapped for weeks. This is a lot of steel and debris to remove.

 

Due to the span size, and the old design, this will take years to replace. They will need new piers and a suspension design. I bet similar to the Cuomo bridge as the main span of each is 1200'. I bet the design of that bridge could be adapted quickly... but consider how long it took to put that bridge up even without the side parts of the bridge.

Tappan Zee was more fun to say. 

4 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

I tried some searching and possibly American Constitution is coming in now; a small ship but still 170 guest capacity. Maybe a good test for managing the upcoming CCL and RCI sailings at an alternative port. Logistical nightmare but probably doable.

It will likely be cancelled.  Washington DC does not have a suitable port, the water there is not as deep as the Chesapeake. That's why Baltimore is the primary harbor used. It still has to be dredged from time to time. 

1 hour ago, sammee said:

That would be my guess too, they used this port with hurricane changes  some years back. At least to get everybody back home or back to Baltimore for car pickups.

 

If Norfolk is unavailable then NJ would be the next best option. 

6 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

Probably assuming available. If not may cooperate with RCI for Bayonne.

Norfolk is the most likely destination with buses taking people to their final destination. 

7 hours ago, PC 462 said:

Unbelievable!

 

I've passed under it many times on Carnival Legend and Carnival Pride.

Well as a Marylander i've driven over it many times. I am wondering how long it will be before the Port of Baltimore will host cruises again. 

3 minutes ago, Joanne G. said:

Actually, Celebrity offers just such a post-cruise tour in Rome for my September cruise.  Separate options are offered for ending the tour, after visiting the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, at the Ostiense train station, the airport, or a particular hotel if the passenger booked that hotel through Celebrity.   Granted, Celebrity options don't help the OP if he is sailing on Royal Caribbean, but clearly this type of tour does exist for some cruisers.  I assume the OP has checked what Royal offers, and if nothing like this is available, then the advice to arrange transfer only to their hotel, drop off baggage, and then start sightseeing on their own sounds like a good choice.  

I guess I picked the wrong cruise line. 😞

I know the difference, i am just asking about options from Royal Caribbean. It doesn't have to be populated with Trump-adoring Republicans for Royal Caribbean to offer transfers with tours.  I will look in to those tour groups and see if I can find some other cruisers interested in the same tour. I don't want to spend 600 euro for a port transfer. 

8 minutes ago, marazul said:

It isn't clear want you want. Do you want to tour as part of your transfer to your hotel?  Are you looking for a bus tour rather than a private transfer that includes a tour?  Rome in Limo and Stefano's Rome Cabs both offer transfer options with sightseeing.  There might be ship's excursion that include a bus transfer and tour.  But you are staying in Rome for three days.  A transfer with an included tour that does a drive-by of major sites or stops at places outside of Rome could make sense, but paying the driver to stay with the car while you go into venues does not.  Certainly not to go in to the Vatican which can take at least two hours.  

 

You have a better option. Book whichever transfer to your hotel is available to you.  Drop off your bags at the hotel and go sightseeing while your room is getting ready. There are lots of suggestions on this board for sightseeing in Rome.

 

I'd like to go from cruise port to vatican city, have a tour whiile my luggage sits in the bus then get dropped off at my hotel.  Royal Caribbean does these in Florida all the time. Is there such a thing in Rome?

1 hour ago, Missmelisk said:

Oh shoot - you're right! Sorry I missed that! 

 

Yes, a private operator, i assume, would be quite prohibitive. 

Does anything like this exist? We will be in Rome for three days after our cruise and since the ship arrives so early in the morning, it would be nice to get to tour some of Rome before the transfer drops us off in central Rome, where our hotel will not be ready for us.  Is anything like this available outside of hiring a private tour guide?

On 10/28/2022 at 7:58 PM, ckrobyn said:

Low key freaking out!

I sail in 9 days, on the Explorer. Just found out today I won my bid!

my bid was $30 over the minimum.

I was in an ocean view balcony and now I’m in a Grand Suite 🎉

I did not bid on a Junior Suite.

Miracles DO happen!

 

That's great.  I have never been in a grand suite, just a junior suite a couple of times.  That should be a lot of fun. 

On 11/28/2022 at 3:45 PM, oldmom said:

Guess I have not been paying attention to this. We normally cruise once a year or every other year or so on RCCL. We are Diamond- finally in 2019. I have been able to get a balcony room for 7 nights on a Oasis ship at a "great price" , for years now. We go off season-early December -early May, etc. We got a great price in May 2022 ( also tested positive for COVID 2 days after) on Harmony. We have been busy with a family member passing away and having to pack up their house and all the stuff that goes along with that. SO-finally started looking for cruises for 2023.WOW! The "great price" is at least $1000-$1500 more than I have ever paid for the cheapest sailing week!! I knew inflation was bad-but I did not expect this much an increase from 2022. These are for 7 day cruises on an Oasis ships. I know the other ships are cheaper-but ? Wondering if this price will continue? We have done interiors to save money before-but these are pricey also now. Just sort of bummed.

september out of new york is dirt cheap.  consider other options, maybe?

On 9/29/2022 at 12:02 PM, grandgeezer said:

I own more stocks, and mutual funds than anyone my age should even consider having. It made it possible to retire at 55 and live the life of Riley. 
I don’t need a lecture on the free market economy, I’ve lived it for many, many years. 
I don’t expect businesses to break even or lose money, myself included.

I’m stunned that people pay the absurd amounts for the things they do. I don’t, and never will. No matter how much money I have, I”ll only pay what I think it’s worth, hence no cruising in over three years and 0 onboard spending in the previous three years.

They are $25,000,000,000 in debt and they had to pay junk bond rates of 11% to get money to pay off their loans coming due. I haven’t had any debt since 1984, 804 credit score so I wouldn’t have trouble getting money if needed. Although my equity holdings have dropped, my positive cash flow has increased considerably since the pandemic.

Thanks for the unrequested lecture, and advice, it was worth every penny I paid, which was 0.

 

 

 

I'm glad you have done well for yourself.  See you onboard. 

On 9/28/2022 at 4:29 PM, rudeney said:

 

A friend called it "phantom COVID".  So now we have a disease that we can't easily detect, is about as bad as a common cold, but maybe more contagious.  I can live with that!

I hope that is the case.  a few thousand Americans are still dying every week, that's over 100k a year.  

On 9/8/2022 at 11:04 PM, rudeney said:

 

True, but I was thinking of people who I am not married to - my wife signed up for better or worse  🙂.  Ironically, when I had original recipe COVID back in Nov. 2020 (which was just a cold for me except for long-COVID olfactory issues), my wife never got sick with it.  Of course that doesn't mean she didn't get it.  She is one of the few people who seems to have a stronger immune system than me.  Our kid had no symptoms, either, but we're pretty sure she had it earlier in the year while in school in Georgia. 

 

Over the last two weeks, all three of us have had a typical cold/sinus infection.  The kid came home with it the previous Monday,  I woke up with it on Saturday, and my wife woke up with it this Tuesday.  We've been COVID testing daily, and there have been no positives.  It seems to last about 4-5 days.  The kid was fine by this weekend, I'm good today except for remnants of a cough, and my wife is right in the middle of it, so hopefully by Sunday she'll be over it. 

 

Honestly, I think it's Omicron despite the negative tests.  From what I've read,  the rapid antigen tests can be negative for vaccinated people who also have natural immunity and a strong immune systems.  The cold symptoms are our body doing its job to fight the virus, and it's doing such a good job that there is not enough of a viral load for an antigen test to detect.  I will not be unhappy if it is Omicron.  I'm OK with spending a few days with a cold to continue to build a stronger immune system.

China was referring to BA4 as the ghost variant because of the difficulty to test for it. 

On 9/8/2022 at 9:28 AM, Joseph2017China said:

Why would you test positive on the cruise?  Is testing still a thing?

 

if you were crazy enough to tell someone you werent feeling well.  I recommend everyone bring their own tests and if they arent feeling well, test themselves and self isolate.   my wife and i were so poorly treated in quarantine, its not worth letting anyone know. 

On 9/12/2022 at 4:28 PM, Bushdog said:

Apparently that is the case. Effectively they have decided they don't care (is my impression, I do not know that as fact).

It was clear to me during the covid outbreak on our 11 day cruise in April that they never really cared and that they understand that by the time most folks find out they are sick after a typical 7 day cruise they will be off the ship.  

22 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

Oasis is getting the hardware in October.  It will take a few weeks before it is up and running.

 

oh good thats my next cruise in december. 

On 9/6/2022 at 9:55 AM, OCSC Mike said:

I haven't seen a timeline but there are reports (with pictures) from onboard Indy that it is already being installed.

 

I don't see why it wouldn't still be operational on Freedom. No reason to install all those dishes just to remove them.

yes, its been in use for 6 months. 

15 hours ago, Radio said:

I am on the same ship, and that is exactly how the process was for me as well.

 

Radio

 

Well enjoy.  Our Oasis cruise last week was the final one without unvaccinated adults on it and testing>  I hope we don't hear about a bunch of sick people onboard or they may have to reassess. 

Believe or not we cancelled our snorkeling excursion in Nassau today on oasis. 

2 hours ago, time4u2go said:

Existing thread on this topic:

 

 

There are a lot of threads on this topic i noticed.  it makes sense they would start on their premium cruise brand. 

3 hours ago, Wineaux007 said:

Maybe, or maybe not.  On an upcoming 15-night sailing, Royal is charging $1049.85 for their 4-device crappy surf & stream package.  What are they going to charge once Starlink comes on board.

I would guess a 20% hike in premiums, but again I would assume they will go surf, surf and stream and some sort of high stream at that higher price point. 

2 hours ago, figment9999 said:

Thx for the great info.

 

Question; which nights do they present the CATS show?

i think its the last 3 days including an afternoon show on day 7.