momofmeg

15 hours ago, QuattroRomeo said:

If you are interested in a coffee/non-alcoholic drink package, this might help you; this pricing is for a 14 day cruise: 

 

 Lol so I should spend $300 just for water? No Thanks. I will buy the 12 packs for less

20 hours ago, POA1 said:

You can get distilled water for $2.95/gallon if you want water with nothing whatsoever in it. It is intended for CPAP users, but it's on the beverage preorder list. Take a reusable cup or bottle and you are all set.

 Hubby has a Cpap and lol he won't use a whole gallon for sure. Thank you.

I would like info on nonalcoholic drink packages. Specifically, bottled water and specialty coffees. We don't drink colas. My daughter has kidney disease, and she needs to drink a lot of water. Her doctor recommends she not drink too much of the treated water. Coffees are more for me.

On 3/18/2024 at 7:29 AM, CruiserBruce said:

Its not a fee, its a fine. The PVSA requires a stop in a foreign port for a roundtrip, a stop in a distant foreign port for a one way cruise from one US port to another US port. If those don't happen, it is a fine, per passenger. I have heard it is $750 each, but not sure if that is correct.

 

The NCL ship doing Hawaii is a US flagged ship, with US citizen employees and has to pay US wages. According to the law, that means the foreign port requirements don't apply.

 Thankyou. That is the word I was looking for fine. I knew fee was not the correct term, but my 70-year-old brain could not think what it was called.

On 3/18/2024 at 1:20 PM, chengkp75 said:

No, its not a fee.  Foreign flag ships must have a foreign port call.  US flag ships can cruise to US ports without a foreign port call.  What the savings for the foreign ships is;  US taxes (they pay none), labor costs (they pay well below US minimum wage, with no social security payroll tax), inspection fees (they don't have to pay for USCG inspections, nor have as many, or any, compared to US flag ships), insurance (most foreign seafarers have minimal insurance coverage (and none while off the ship), as opposed to US seafarers, customs duty (all ship's supplies brought into the US from overseas that end up on the ship are brought in with no customs duty, since it is merely in transit from a foreign country to a foreign ship, while US ships have to pay duty for the same parts and supplies if they are manufactured overseas).

 

However, smaller cruise ships will charge a higher fare, even if foreign flag, because they can not generate the "economies of scale" that large ships get.  As a very small example, a cruise ship that carries 3000 passengers only has one Captain, drawing $150k/year.  But, 5 ships carrying 600 pax, need 5 Captains drawing $150k/year.  And, that Captain's salary on the larger ship is spread over 3000 passengers, while the smaller ship Captain's salary, while the same amount, is spread out over only 600 passengers.

  I am not contradicting you and yes, I understand a smaller ship has less passengers to generate income, so they cost more for that reason. I get that, we all do. It is the same reason Amazon can beat out Mom and Pop stores on prices. I meant it is more than that. For example, we did a California coastal cruise (On Ruby Princess I think, it was Princess anyway) about 10 years ago. We left from San Francisco and went to Santa Barbara, Long Beach, San Diego, with our last port being Ensenada. One couple on the Princess board posted (they were not on our cruise but doing the same itinerary a different week) they wanted to disembark in San Diego, spend a few days there and fly home from there. They looked into it and found out the fine was more than their cruise fare.  They decided against it and spent a few says in San Francisco instead. that was the type of scenario I was referring to, there is a fine on the mass market lines if the cruise has a scheduled foreign port you skip. that is why I compared NCL cruises that are round trip Hawaii.

On 3/4/2024 at 8:39 PM, CruiserBruce said:

If you are sailing roundtrip from a US port, you MUST stop in a foreign port. So there has to be a stop in Canada.

 

The only exception would be a US flagged ship, which there are very few. In Alaska, I think there are just a couple 100-200 pax ships that MIGHT meet your needs.

They cost more too and not just because they are a smaller ship.   I don't understand exactly why but cruise ships save a big fee if they do at least one foreign port.  For example, NCL offers a Hawaii only cruise from Hawaii. It is more expensive because it does not do a foreign port. You can do a 2-week round trip cruise to Hawaii from California with a stop in Ensenada Mexico for less than the one-week trip staying in only Hawaii.

On 3/2/2024 at 10:34 AM, 9tee2Sea said:

It's been awhile, but I have stayed at The Tower Hotel, London.  It is just across The Tower Of London.  Nice stroll along the Themes (spelling) to the historical sights.  Hop On Hop Off is just across the street.  Close to a tube station.  Nice restaurants in the harbor behind the establishment.  Easy to get an uber/lyft to the airport.  And if you need Starbucks, there is one right outside the door

 My husband loved the old Roman wall by the tube station. He seemed more intrigued by that than our visit to the Tower of London.

On 2/28/2024 at 10:21 AM, navybankerteacher said:

True - but at least there are plenty of sights to see. And the fact that it is crowded is evidence that there is a reason to be there.

Every big city is overcrowded. I may love seeing the sites and the history there, but I don't like the traffic.  At least London has the tube, and it will get you to most of those historic sites.

7 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Well, maybe you Durhamites can sense things unnoticed by real 

out-of-towners, but Glasgow “…nicer than London…”?   Perhaps the next time you are in the US you should spend your time in Bridgeport, CT rather than New York City.

Lol New York city, Brooklyn, etc.  holds no fascination for me. I have cruised from there a couple of times though. Once to Bermuda, once to Canada.  Traffic was horrific, worse than Atlanta and Atlanta traffic is terrible and holds no fascination for me either. I did like visiting upstate New York out in the countryside.  I have still never been to Maine and would love to go there one day.

On 2/25/2024 at 7:11 PM, davisleel said:

Planning to spend 2 nights in London after a cruise in mid-May. We want to see the sights around Buckingham Palace and go to the Tower of London. Any advice on where to stay and transportation would be appreciated.

 This last cruise we stayed near Heathrow at a Hampton Inn that had a tube stop a block away, but London was over an hour by tube. Our first trip we stayed in Earl court and the next time near Victoria station. Victoria Station is both a tube and train station so you can take the train to get there and use the tube the next day to get around London. The tube is very easy to navigate. That is your best transportation for getting around London. if you find a hotel near a tube station it is easier to take the train from the airport to make the connections to get you to the tube station. However, maybe from the train station take a taxi or Uber. It is worth the expense not to navigate the tube with luggage. Lol! Oh, the trains have luggage racks. Needless to say, Victoria Sation is a better place to get a hotel than Earl's court. Expect Victoria Station hotels to cost more than Earl's Court and needless to say by the airport the hotels are less than half the price, they are much more expensive in London. So, whichever way, it is a tradeoff. Save money or spend more time on the tube getting into London. For more convenience obliviously, you pay more. I guess that is true anywhere.

On 2/24/2024 at 3:07 PM, lenquixote66 said:

We cruised to Canada in the Fall .There is nothing negative about the country for us.

Nor to me either. I found through doing genealogy I have many distant cousins there.  I have a pair of second great grandparents who were French Canadian.  Both of their parents relocated to New York in the 1850's.

20 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

We did an Alaska vacation ,one week land and one week sea. It was our second best vacation of all time.

We did a New England Canada cruise 5 years later and it was great.

 

Prior to booking a cruise or land vacation I researched thoroughly.

We have vacationed in Canada 17 times .We love the country.

 I loved Canada too.  It is much better choice for a cruise than the Caribbean. Lol, especially in summer.

On 2/10/2024 at 11:19 AM, homeofthehound said:

What is the closest to sailing you have booked for a last minute cruise? Did you encounter any issues that made you regret booking so close to the sailing date? We aren't big excursion people so having limited options won't bother us but I am wondering what else (if anything?) might cause us extra stress and make it frustrating? (Looking at a itinerary that leaves in 5 days and flights are not an issue)

We have done a few.  The shortest was within a week of sailing a little 3 day cruise out of Pt. Canaveral that we got for $99 a person back 2001.om RCI Sovereign of the Seas It was after 911 which was why it was so cheap. Many people had canceled their cruises. we, ourselves, enjoyed the break and getting our minds off what had happened. except in Nassau, they had armed soldiers with machine guns all over the port, I hated that, but knew it was for our safety.

 Now, Florida residents can get great last-minute deals. When we did a partial Panama Canal cruise on HAL, one dinner mate was a lawyer who had booked last minute. He lived in Ft. Lauderdale.  He said it was an inside cabin below ocean level he joked but he got it for almost nothing and he was in it solo. The ports charges were more than the fare.

Now when we booked our Celebrity cruise line Italy cruise we took in 2012, we had an ocean view stateroom which was $2000 each for the 12-day cruise. My daughter and her friend booked an inside for $1600 each. Well, that was when that Costa shop listed, and all those people died. Suddenly people were canceling the Med. cruises.  We ended up in a suite and our daughter in a balcony.

15 hours ago, clo said:

We were in Iceland in early December and it was warmer there then home in Seattle. And, of course, in winter it's dark SO much.

  You may have a point. We were told in Scotland by our guide (I think it was Stornoway?)  that winter was only slightly cooler, and their temps were more on par with Iceland. I am from Georgia, USA so it was cold to me. I needed my winter coat there in July! However, my winter coat to someone in Minnesota or northern states on the northern border or in Canada would be considered a jacket. I do have a heavy winter coat which I wear once every 2 years it seems. It has to get below 20 F for a high for me to wear it. Anyway, plus don't forget I had come from 90F temps at home the week before. Where I had found Edinburgh weather refreshing, this port was simply cold to me.  I guess it is all relative, whatever we are used to, what is cold to me may be warm to you.

On 2/20/2024 at 7:48 PM, Denbon1985 said:

The wife and I have decided we are not going on a cruise. We are going to Iceland and rent a Campervan. We are photographers and the landscape in Iceland is beautiful. Ten days in Iceland is going to great a fun time for about the same cost as a cruise. Thanks to everyone that commented.

Lol disregard my last post! That sounds wonderful too! Dress warm. We have not been there, but we were in Northern Scotland in July, and it was cold, we needed a coat and had only brought hoodie jackets. 

On 2/2/2024 at 11:07 PM, Denbon1985 said:

My wife and I are debating whether to do a cruise to Alaska or fall Canada New England cruise. We did a Alaskan cruise a couple of years ago. I did not enjoy it because about 4 weeks before we left I cracked my hip. I want to go back to Alaska but I also want to do the fall Canada New England cruise. It’s for our 40th anniversary. Which do you think we would enjoy doing? We can’t afford both it’s one or the other.

 We have done both and loved both.  Besides seeing the glaciers, Alaska has a lot of wildlife and East coast Canada was gorgeous. Especially Quebec and a water fall tour we did there. We also loved Prince Edward Island. You can't miss either way.

 I recommend you do which one this year and then do the other next year or 2. for the next big celebration. We like to on a big anniversary year take an extra nice cruise.  Now Alaska was a family trip with the in laws so not on a big anniversary, but the other big cruises were for big anniversaries ever 5 years. Our 20th was Bermuda. 25th a transatlantic, 30th was Italy cruise, 35th our east coast Canada to Quebec and Prince Edward Island. 40th was British Isles. For our 45th hubby wants to go back to Alaska or possibly Hawaii. I will be happy with either.

On 2/21/2024 at 10:39 AM, chris301up said:

Hi everyone. Thank you for your kind advice. The company I have now decided to book with provide coach service from Birmingham to Southampton direct to the ship. The train was not an option for us and is not direct service apparently? We would have to change at least once. I think we should be sorted now? Thanks again

 I am glad you found something that works for your wife. The train would be harder. I liked they had a luggage rack for our luggage, but we took our luggage on and off. The cruise line coach services do that for you so would be much better for you since I am sure you would have the burden of moving the luggage on and off the train. Happy 50th BTW!

4 hours ago, chris301up said:

Sorry. I don't know how to. It's just took me nearly an hour to post my previous question. Its quite complicated for us olds

I take it you live in the UK. Well, I don't, so it should be harder for me.  I know we once took a train from London to Dover when we spent a few days in the UK before the cruise. The last cruise we took the cruise line sponsored coach (bus) transportation from the airport. We had flown in the day before and stayed near the airport so that was simpler. That was Dover too, but I would think it would be similar. We saw other cruisers at the airport that same day that were leaving from Southampton. I have no idea though if the cruise line would offer it from the Brimingham airport. I see it is a 2-hour drive so they may would, as Dover was that far from Heathrow   Have you thought of getting a family member to drive you since your wife has mobility issues. That would be the easiest on her.

On 12/2/2022 at 2:29 PM, Nunagoras said:

As said above, officially you can't carry on any drinks aboard. At least here in Europe they'll "close their eyes" if you purchase a case of water on the duty free shops after port's security once they rely on ports authorities. A refillable bottle to use at the buffet comes also handy if you don't have a drinks package. Difficult to find anyone without at least the Easy one these days on their basic fare though. 

 You know if they offer a case of water in their duty-free shops onboard I can deal with that. My husband will carry it for me. I doubt I could. It would just be nice if it was waiting in my room.

 

On 12/2/2022 at 2:29 PM, Nunagoras said:

As said above, officially you can't carry on any drinks aboard. At least here in Europe they'll "close their eyes" if you purchase a case of water on the duty free shops after port's security once they rely on ports authorities. A refillable bottle to use at the buffet comes also handy if you don't have a drinks package. Difficult to find anyone without at least the Easy one these days on their basic fare though.

 My daughter has cystic kidney disease, and her doctor has told her to use bottled water because of the high sodium content of cruise water. The process used to de-saline sea water can't remove all of the salt content from sea water although it is safe for healthy people to drink.  Just not her.

I am not averse to tap water myself.  I only wish international health laws would allow me to fill my own water bottle, so I have enough to last for a while instead of using those glasses that only hold 8 ounces. (yes, I know people ignore the notice posted and do it anyway, I have seen it many times, but I try to follow the rules) I have to take medication 4 times a day and instruction are a full 8-ounce glass of water. You see, in spite of others talking to me as though I am a naughty 8-year-old I am actually nearly 70 with serious health conditions myself but at least not as bad as my daughter's. I did have good reason to ask.

Insp

On 11/30/2022 at 4:29 PM, mmbcater said:

You can buy 12 bottles of water on the ship and it won’t cost you $200 for the drink package. Many have suggested alternative ways for you to do  this! 

Bye now hon.  No need to reply if you can't be kind.

All I want is to be able to buy a case of water and have it delivered to my room, so I am not having to go buy water every day. It seems this is not an option.

On 11/26/2022 at 11:54 AM, yellow-submarine said:

From what I read (and YouTube videos) , drinks are free during the breakfast at the buffet. If you haven't booked your cruise yet, MSC has now a BF deal for US residents: free drinks and WiFi. I wish this deal was available for Europeans.
It is a good question how strict they are with non alcoholic drinks purchased on shore, I would like to know that.

The nonalcoholic drinks package is $200 a person and everyone in your stateroom is required to get it. (Which I get why on that as families will cheat and use one card to get all their colas) I find that awful steep that I want a couple of bottles of water a day. I do not drink colas or carbonated drinks. I go easy on juice and am fine with a little juice at the buffet at breakfast.  I just do not need that much  A case of water for the week is what I need.   I just find $600 since there are 3 of us a little step for me to get bottled water. None of us drink carbonated drinks and a glass of juice at breakfast is about it for any of us, besides a glass of tea or a coffee at mealtimes.

 so you say I can get water out of the bathroom sink and it is fine? I guess I will do that.

How hard is it to find it? Am I allowed to bring some onboard? I am now at the age where I take a lot of emds and also one med  side effect keeps me with a dry mouth, so I go through a lot of water.

2 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

The Tropicale wasn't THAT old; it was built in 1981.  Indeed, electrical gremlins and all, it survived under various owners until finally getting scrapped in 2021.  Thanks Wikipedia! >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Tropicale

 

P.S.  Don't be surprised if there's a new Tropicale in the next decade from Carnival.  It seems that they're in the business of recycling names and putting them on their newest ships.

 

 

 Don't take it personal. Carnival ditched that ship not long after that, (sold it) and it was scrap metal long before 2010.  the info is online if you don't believe me Wikipedia is not that reliable. Look here on Cruisecritic old posts about it I remember reading about it HERE because that was our first cruise so of course I paid attention. Yes, I have been on ships even older like Pacific Princess in 2002 right before Princess sold it, but it was in much better shape. (It also was scrap medal by 2010) this summer we were on Carnival Pride, and I was amazed it is in still looked like new shape. I am thinking it is 20 years old now. We were on her sister ship Carnival Miracle back 2004 when she was brand new. I guess the Pride had been recently drydocked.

Bye now. I will not reply to you again.