momofmeg

Don't many lines still have soft serve ice cream? :confused: I have been on Celebrity and HAL and seen it on both.

 

Jim, I am puzzled by your suggestion that midnight buffets went away in 1995. They have had them on the two cruises I have been on. Is it that they are not as lavish as before?

 

And I am pretty sure people still get to dine with the captain...my in-laws were chosen for that on Maasdam and I have heard about it happening on other trips too. I guess because there are more people (like Sthitch said) it is no longer as likely that you get that opportunity, though.

I think he means the gala buffets- but they real still around back when I took my first cruise, 1998 and until 9/11 there was one on every cruise-now some cruiselines have them-some don't. I don't really miss them though-they were for looking at more then actually eating as we had ate all day. To me they were a massive waste. I would much rather have better quality food a tdinner-then that to gawk at.

Wow! It amazes me to think that there are some people that just can't take a little sex talk. And I'm 55 by the way and female. It's really too bad. Oh, well. But, my next cruise in June will be our first with a balcony and I never hesitated in thinking what we would be trying out on our balcony. It's just another club to join, those of you mile higher's will know what I'm talking about........lol! And, I'm not apologizing to anybody. If you look onto some else's balcony, then you should expect to be seeing something. Believe me, you may turn red upon seeing me, but I'll just stand tall and proud and thanking God that I'm still able to enjoy it!

I have no problem with sex talk-I just want others to know they could possibly be seen -some people want that to be private-they do not want to be exhibitionists-and first time crusiers may not be aware that blaconies are not really private-that is all-and no-I don't go out on my balcony looking- and if I did accidently see something-I would turn away-not because I am ashamed or embarrased-I just think peeping would not be polite.

The only time I was embarassed looking out on my balcony is when I stretched out looking over the open sea early one moerning and my next door neighbor was doing the same-we both laughed and we BOTH were embarrassed-neither of us were spying on the other. I had no idea he was out there-and I am sure he had not idea I was either.

BTW guys if you can spring for a penthouse on HAL you get a hot tub on your balcony.

The one and only time we had a balcony, I caught my next door balcony neighbors. I had fallen asleep out there, and around 1 am, I wake up and happen t see my neighbors going at it. The entire rest of the cruise, they would turn beet red whenever they saw me.

LOL! I bet they WISHed they were just smoking!

I remember sailing on SeaEscape's Scandinavian Saga in 1989. She ran 4 night Cruise from Tampa to Cozumel every 28 days. If your expectations were at the appropriate level you could have a good time. I think she was a converted ferry from Europe.

 

We ran into a cold front dipping South into the Gulf on the return trip in December 1989. It was quite a rough ride. I had not seen so many green people since they colorized the Munsters:D . The ship was decorated for Christmas and by the time we made it back to Tampa, most of the Christmas trees and other decorations had hit the deck. I would say overall it was fun trip. A nice and "cheap" getaway. I think the fare was $350 for two people if I remember correctly.

We wanted to do that cruise but it was booked up like a year ahead- and we did not have much money back then so Carnival was too expensive for us. so We took the Scandanavin Sun out of Ft. lauderdale in 1989 to Freeport and stayed in Freeport 2 or 3 days and then crusied back. Okay trip but it certainly did not hook us on crusing-we did not take areal cruise until 1998 on the Carnival Tropicale which went to Cozumel and key West-the ship considered the worst at it's time-but tons better the Seaescape!

Hey I don't even count that as a cruise-since it was ferry service to Freeport-nothing better. My first cruise was in 1998 not 1989.

Ncl35 didn't quite get it right.

Carnival purchased HAL 18 years ago, just before HAL was about to declare bankruptcy.

HAL instituted the new gratuity policy just 3 years ago.

 

Carnival Corp has almost nothing to do with the operational designs of the lines under it's umbrella.

 

HAL was forced to change it's tipping policy in order to stop losing all their well-trained crew to the other cruise lines.

 

HAL's "No Tipping Required" policy was being interpreted by far too many cruisers as "No Tipping Allowed". Their crew were earning far less at HAL than they could at just about any other line. So many of them left and went to work elsewhere. HAL had to do something to stop this bleeding and so joined the other mass market lines with the auto-tip that makes it more difficult for the more "frugal" passengers to avoid tipping the service staff.

 

Over the past 3 years, with the new tipping policy in place, crew turnover at HAL has returned to it's original low numbers.

 

Luxury Lines like Seabourn have a "No tipping" policy that really is NO TIPPING.

They pay a rather high salary to their specially trained crew. Those high salaries are possible due to the fact that Seabourn has a very hig per diem that seriously discourages "Frugal" cruisers.

 

One shouldn't expect to see any tipping policy on Seabourn any time soon. But then, those who bother to complain about tipping policies are never going to be able to afford to sail on Seabourn anyway.

LOL! You last line is TOO funny!

Actually I am glad. We had no idea what to tip on our previous HAL cruise in 2001 and since we were told HAL paid their staff better then other lines and it was not necessary to tip- we tipped less. If we had known this was not true we would have tipped more.

I am sure we will also slip our waiters and steward a lettle extra over the automatic tipping.

Yes, coffee in the AMs on the balcony!!! And most always, the doors stay open at night so we can listen to the waves!!

I love both of those things! We also loved being in the middle of the Atlantic an dout on our balcony last Sept. We saw nothing but water for days!

jeeez i hope your joking also ...cause i'm sure everyone realizes this is all in good fun... I don't feel anyone has been x-rated with our comments... I held back from a few funny things I could have said and i'm sure glad i did... If your upset about the .."send me your email " comment you might have had me banned from cruisecritic and possibly a few of the cruiselines as well...:eek: live .. laugh... love...

He wasn't joking he really does have his e-mail posted if you click on his profile. but no I will not be e-mailing him. Somehow I don't think my hubby would appreciate it- I doubt his wife would either- my guess she has had to deal with this already - poor woman-but at least she has no worries from me.

I love to sit on the balcony at night with my DB and have a cocktail and a cigarette. I would smoke in the room to spare all you *non* smokers but that is banned now also. The man and the rules :( Pretty soon we won't be able to make love on the balcony!!! JEEEEZZZZ :p Oh sorry...am I talking porn now?? (running and ducking...LOL)

No-only if you offer to send me pictures if I e-mail you. That is what offended me about that other post-he said he would send me pictures so I would know how to have sex standing.

You know, if you want to have sex on your balcony I could care less. Just realize you may be seen-and If I snicker and can't keep a staright face when I run into you around ship you will know why.

As far as smoking on the balcony-that does not bother me. thankyou for smoking there instead of ging into an ensclosed restroom to smoke-now that bothers me as there is no place for the smoke leave.

Little people in a big world( Matt and Amy Rolloff) no kids. Freedom of the Seas last Sept.

They were on my October 2005 Mariner of the Seas cruise along with about 300 more LP. This was before their show debuted but I had recognized them from a documentary, just a one time show, that they had done about twins and genetics on TLC.

I actually went up and asked them had I seen them on TV. I embarrased my hubby to death but they said yes and told me about their show coming up so I am glad I did!

So I guess them and the almost Charlie Sheen guy are all the celebs I have seen on a cruise.

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel when I was on the QE2 as a kid

One of my dinnermates on my last cruise-he was around 30 or so-said he sailed that ship as a kid and "hung out" with the son and daughter of Carly simon and James Taylor.

I guess Cunard attracts celebrities.

Once on Canrival Inspiration (2003) we ate lunch with a guy who looked just like Charlie Sheen-I told him that and his wife just laughed and said he was told that all the time. BTW-she looked like the average 30 something gal and not charlie's exwife who he was still married to at the time.

I would have sworn it was him too except I figured with his money he would pick something better then an aging (even in 2003) Carnival ship.

Oh, mom, lighten up. lol This topic of conversation hardly makes this a "porn site." As careful as everyone is being to use polite words and oblique references it doesn't even make it an "R-rated" site. PG maybe. And, besides, why single me out? I didn't start this line of "balcony intimacy" posts! I'd actually be too afraid to be seen in the reflection of the glass or by kids next door peeking through the space. But then again I didn't mean to offend you either. In any case, you can have the thread back if it means that much to you, and I apologize if I offended your sensitivities.

 

By the way, mom, I'm 57 and got married when I was 20 so it's not likely you know a lot more tricks than me. Come to think of it, you weren't even around when I was in diapers. :-)

 

Oh, and I agree about the smoke drifting next door too. I can't complain though since I guess I annoyed people that way when I used to smoke. What goes around comes around I suppose. (Oops...sorry, I shouldn't have used the "c" word here.)

I did not say this was a pron site I said I was not interested in YOUR porn.

I assumed form your posts you were a kid because you came off sounding like a kid. That is all.

I am an early riser and enjoy sitting on the balcony and watching the sun rise while everyone else sleeps. It is also nice to sit on the balcony and enjoy a glass of wine before bed.

 

63galaxie I like your idea about the fan. Last cruise we had smokers on both sides and below us,:eek: might as well not have had a balcony.

Thanks for bring back the tread to what the OP meant- for all of you who want the thread to be x rated-there is already one in the Floataway Lounge for you.

Trust me, there is a better way to do it on the balcony if you are both in good enough shape to stand up for a little while. ;) Send me an email if you need specific guidance. lol

I am 53 years old and hav e been married 25 years and I am sure I know more tricks then you do-since I was "doing it" when you were in diapers. I have no need or interest in your porn site

I read this thread, and I have one question...How do you do it on the balcony if you do not have a chase lounge. The past two balconies we have had only had two chairs are you guys doing it on the hard floor??? It sounds kinda fun though, my fiance and i are going on a cruise for our honeymoon that might be a fun way to spice things up a little bit :)

Drag your mattress out there-or better yet just leave your balcony door open-so you hear all the sounds-that way you do not expose yourself to your neighbors or have to drag your matres out to the balcony to be comfortable.

Or book a suite, so you get a bigger balcony and chaise lounge. but honestly, I doubt a chaise lounge would be comfortable either, may as well get on the floor.

well we spend most the time in our room nude, so what do you thing we do on the deck

Why did you feel the need to tell us that? Are you sure it is on deck or did you mean on your balcony? Either way it doesn't matter- I am sure you have been seen by others.

That sounds like an interesting situation! If my wife and I were the "catching" couple, she would be red faced every night at dinner thinking about what we saw! And like you said, the "caught" couple would be oblivious. I would be having soooo much fun with the suggestive remarks. :p

There was another post wher a gal would sunbathe topless-then one day she felt ice fall on her. It was two men on the balcony above her throwing ice at her-then when they knew she realized they were there they just starting laughing.

She said after that-no more topless sunbathing.

With so many couples and so much nookie on the balcony I have a question..... this may be naive as I have not yet been on a cruise, so have not been in a balcony room, but.. erm, is it a bit uncomfortable, I mean the loungers in the pictures do not look very sturdy!

I agree with you and I know some talk about having chaise lounges on their balconies but I assume that is if you book a suite- as we have had only chairs-and we have had balconies on four differant lines, Carnival, Disney, Princess, and Celebrity.

I did read one post of a couple who drug their mattress out to the balcony-to me that is a lot of trouble-why not just leave the door open to the room if you want to hear the sound of the ocean while you nookie. after all, what else would be the draw-UNLESS people get off on the idea that they kight be seen.

There is a thread in the "ask a cruise question" section here-one person said he did not care as long as he did not end up on "youtube". My reply was he could not complain if he did end up on youtube as he knows balconies are not that private.

Never been in a balcony cabin so I don't know. Are they private enough for a shy, but quiet wife?:p

nope-and obviously you have not read many posts here-just do a search on balconies and you would be surprised. Many, many times people have caught their neighbors making whoopee.

One post was so funny as their neighbors were also their dinner tablemates-they said they could hardly keep a straight face at dinner after discovering them one night-but the neighbors never even knew they had caught them.

One funny story I read here at cruisecritic of people who were out on their balcony docked in port. A ship was docked next to them and they said from the corner balcony on the back of the neighbor ship they saw an older man come outside completely nude and put his swimsuit on the railing to dry.

They said obviously he thought he could not be seen as his balcony was the back corner of his ship and facing the ocean- but their balcony being up above his a little and across the way, they could.

We were on the Sun Princess a few years ago and they were filming the pilot episode of the new "Love Boat" . Robert Urich was the captain. They were filming all over the ship for the whole 7 days. My daughter was a extra and appears in the pilot in the attrium of the Sun Princess. Sadly, Robert Urick passed away at age 55 of cancer a couple of years ago.

I believe it was around 2000 when he died.

So you go out in your pj's......so what ! Do you have something that no one else has ???? :confused:

 

 

 

 

there's no such thing as a private balcony, there's cameras everywhere in the world, where have you been ? :rolleyes:

 

 

 

CIAO,

Oh I would go out in my pj's-they are the old grandma well covered ones that you seen teen girls wearing inthe grocery store! If someone wants to post that on youtube I don't give a flip. ( now I might wonder why in the world WHY anyone would want to) But no I would not go out nude.

Now if my wife knew I had posted that.........whew!!! No more balcony love for me.............lol lol lol

I bet she knows but also everyone else knew your cruise dates so I am willing to bet you had an audience. You do realize those balconies are not so private right?

May I drive my big old Mack truck through the opening you have left?

Or your volkswagon with the two flat tires.

I see you like the not so Newly Wed game also-just beware-same questions every cruise-no matter the line.

Eh, I figure that anybody monitoring balcony cameras has seen it all before and will see it again. Until you start seeing the videos on YouTube, I wouldn't worry about it. :)

I guess that depends on the person. I don't care if they have "seen it all"-I still do not want them to see me-so no I will not stand around nude or have sex on my balcony- and as far as youtube-if a person is stupid enough to expose themselves then they should not complain it was posted on youtube. They put themselves in that situation.

Only if a person was filmed by hidden camera and they had no knowlege would they have a right to complain.

I know that the ships camera's are all over the place, however, I now hear that they can see you on you private balcony. Is this true? I guess its not that private but it is your own for the week. Are they able to see you? Anyone know? I go out in my pj's etc, I don't want to be watched lol....not a pretty site:D

I don't know but I have seen posts of people who had seen their neghbors making whoopee, you know like the balcony below them etc.

I certainly would do nothing I wanted to be private on a balcony.

I do know some people do not care if they are seen.