ew101

23 minutes ago, Airbear232 said:

Barcelona not welcoming?  I just came back, it’s pretty much my favourite city.  Amazingly friendly people.  Seriously, what Barcelona are you talking about?

'We need quality tourism': Barcelona brings in rules to limit cruise ships (inews.co.uk)

The Med cruise market is not the best lately.  MSC has deep pockets.  Barcelona seems unwelcoming to ships and tourists.  

I have never been to India, but we do enjoy "North Indian" food very much.  (An Indian cookbook says a lot of the dishes we see in the US were popularized near New Delhi).  The corner of the buffet on NCL with a few Indian items is helpful when the school cafeteria pizza (not hand tossed) is not getting the job done.  More than once (a day) I have thought- I wonder if there is decent Indian (or Indonesian) in the crew galley?   Maybe the chef down there does one dish for the passenger buffet with a little sign?   The comment that the passengers want mainstream, bland "Americanized" food is largely true, but once you have had Pizza in Naples or Carbonara in Rome, the modified, watered down food is not up to standard.  All of this (i.e. menu adjustments) requires Corporate to get involved I think.  Good luck with that.  

19 minutes ago, bortman23 said:

 

 I don't think chlorinated water makes much difference

 

 

According to Legionella - Wikipedia the bacteria is semi common in nature and is killed by chlorinated water.  It says healthy people are not much at risk, and the illness is not known to spread person to person.  This sounds very isolated and rare, given the number of shower heads in the world not to mention the cruise ship fleet.      

The American Chemistry Council says plastic water bottles are safe- even those with BPA- which I find hilarious.  Bisphenol A (americanchemistry.com)

Lovely review, food and port photos.  The Four Seasons on Nevis looks lovely.  Did you see people dancing in any of the onboard venues?  Based on your daily programs, it looks possible?

I do think that based on recent events, the idea of a "day of departure" cruise flight package provided by a line should be considered a defective product (or game of chance) and not allowed to be sold or carry a warning (would anyone read it?).   You might get away with say Atlanta to Tampa - usually, maybe, possibly.   Buit then the issue is what about hotels and meals, increases the cost, more days off needed etc.   Which would lead to complaints out here 🙂

3 hours ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Generally speaking, it is best to arrive a couple days early to your port city.  NCL Air program does allow flight deviations where you arrive 2 days early but you have to request it at least 75 days out way before you get your flights.

Two days early is the new one day early.   If there is a bad storm and they close the airport(s), you cannot blame or easily sue the cruise line.    This is similar to connecting flights - the systems/rules might allow/ book you on a 45 minute connection- but who in their right mind would even consider the idea?    And then think long and hard about the possibility of lost luggage on close in flights.  

Are there any signs or hints of ballroom dancing aboard?  

On 12/21/2022 at 4:50 AM, chengkp75 said:

Cruise ships are lucky to get 2 weeks every 5 years out of service.  This is why there is more redundancy built into the ships, and I can guarantee that there are at least a dozen cruise ships worldwide currently sailing with an engine taken down for major overhaul (scheduled every 12,000 running hours) that no one onboard is aware of.  And, if this is an azipod issue, I don't know what the failure type is, but the azipods are new technology, as it relates to maritime propulsion (200 years and tens of thousands of ships as data points, versus 20 years and a couple of hundred ships), so whether this is a maintenance issue or a manufacturer issue is up for question.  I seem to recall the Navy having lots of issues when they were developing the gas turbines for ships.

Surely someone aboard can sniff out the actual issue? 

As a long time student /fan club member of @chengkp75can we look at Wikipedia and try to make a list of possibilities?

Installed power:   
2 ×  Wärtsilä 12V46F (2 × 14,400 kW) (Hotel?)
2 ×  Wärtsilä 16V46F (2 × 19,200 kW) (Propulsion?) 
2 ×  Cat 3516C HD (2 × 2,500 kW) (Emergency?) 
Propulsion    
Diesel-electric
2 ×  ABB Azipod XO thrusters (2 × 20.5 MW)
4 ×  3,500 kW (4,694 hp) Brunvoll FU115 bow thrusters
Speed    22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)

It would seem that the vessel has two engine rooms, two big azipods and two propulsion-focused diesel generators.  So if there is one big engine offline, would they be down to (currently making) 18 knots?  If there is one Azipod out or limping with a bearing problem the same?  I remember some older ships having more engines, so the loss of one was not so noticeable?   Can all the engines ( +hotel)  pool the power for the azipods?  

The cruise industry has made a business decision to move away from well proven shafts to azipods.  A fair number of ports have been missed (and vacations ruined), but as far as I can remember, no lives or ships have been lost as a result.   I think I would feel safer on a ship with azipods turning in a fast current docking on a river vs one with fixed shafts.  It is all trade offs.  07 Feb 1953 - Queen Mary beats N.Y. wharf strike - Trove (nla.gov.au)

Another deck plan question- how far around does the "jogging track" go?  It seems blocked at the stern certainly.  

3 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

1) You must really, really, really love Cozumel and Costa Maya

 

2) You must live on Galveston Island or let's say; Texas City

 

This is funny.  B to B aka Consecutive is one way to get there.  Transatlantics are/can be cheap- but return air can be pricey.  What about those getting comped players cruises (though one must consider losses there I suppose).  

Does anyone know on this ship class if it is a connecting oceanview cabin, like 3620, does the couch shrink down to a chair to make room for the door?  We saw this on Vision class with an inside cabin.  

Empty cabins are by far the worst case.  Many cruise ship costs are fixed.  Staff, fuel, the mortgage on the ship.  Except for actual drinks poured are 100% variable, and maybe frozen steaks thawed and cooked.    Several of us are baffled by the RU1 promotion.  Is the idea to fill an empty cabin, or convert a guest to a regular Cheers buyer?  Or both?  Cheers is a lovely revenue stream I'm sure.  

This is probably a good @chengkp75 topic.  I learned something recently on another line.  I brought up a problem I was having with sticky drawer slides.  Like 15% were very hard to open.  I called one in and realized I did not want to have my naps interrupted, etc.  The officer I spoke with said there are two maintenance departments on board.  Ship and hull is one department- they report to the Chief Engineer, Staff Captain, etc.   So engines, bottom paint, fuel tanks, propellers.  The other department handles hotel maintenance.  They report someplace in the Hotel Department.  They fix the vanity, drawers, chairs, etc. 

A guess is that in all the cutbacks and shutdowns, the ship repairs were continued, as required by Class, insurance, US Coast Guard, etc.   The hotel stuff, arguably mostly cosmetic, was perhaps not as much.  Rust on balconies has become an issue out here, I'm not sure why.  That is presumably in the ship department vs hotel.  

On 10/27/2022 at 8:21 PM, pcur said:

No obvious COVID protocols anymore.  I've cruised multiple times since January, and the protocols have eased over that period of time.  I stick to my own protocol, and several of the people I cruise with do, too. 

 

We don't get on crowded elevators, and if we are on and it gets crowded, we get off.

 

I wear a mask on elevators, the theater, and in the Windjammer except when I'm eating.  I also use my own and the ship's hand sanitizer frequently.  You're basically on your own for health protocols.  I'm on day 8 of a 9 night cruise, and I tested myself today.  Negative results, so no infection from airports, restaurants, hotel, shuttle, and ship.

Yes you can very much manage your own risk profile here.  I personally find it reassuring to be wearing an N95 mask in a packed elevator or in crowds.    The lines will by default seat you at large shared tables in the MDR- you can ask to be moved.  For some reason the MDR /MTD is utterly mobbed early the first night- tables for two are in short supply- but usually sorts itself out after that.  If it all feels too crowded, you can usually grab a meal in the buffet and find a table on the pool deck.  Some ships offer more outdoor dining choices- possibly not the best on a chilly ocean crossing but ideal when bobbing off of Mexico 🙂 

I would deliver it from your cabin if the Wi-Fi there is solid.  Put out the do not disturb magnet.  Try to schedule it off peak -not on a sea day afternoon or evening- in port is good also.  Buy the streaming upgrade and put the software in low bandwidth (not HD) mode.  I had to attend a board meeting via Zoom - had the middle package - in a few places things slowed down - got dropped maybe once.  

Lovely review.  I hope you feel better.  I love these longer trips- you get relaxed enough to read books and get all calmed down and grounded.  Three questions- is the library quiet, can you walk all the way around on the promenade, and have you seen any indications of ballroom dancing?   

42 minutes ago, asalligo said:

Carnival is in a really tough spot and I would no longer bet on the company staying afloat. Last two quarters they sailed at average capacity of 67% and 78% despite everyone on this board thinking they have been sailing at full capacity and most of those fares were discounted deeply. They cannot raise prices much because the intelligent cruiser will jump to another line. They cannot compete with lines like Royal at the same price and MSC is working really hard at stealing their market. They need to gamble at this point and saturate the market with ad campaigns and drop all testing. For some reason an idiot at Carnival spent big money on ad campaigns last year when 40% of their market base could not even step on a cruise.

According to this, US Coronavirus vaccine tracker | USAFacts 68% of the US population is fully vaccinated, not that it matters on a cruise any more now 🙂

The new 10-Q says Carnival was at 84% occupancy in the quarter ending 8/21/22.  This may not consider ships still offline in shipyards, etc.  Form 10-Q for Carnival Corp filed 09/29/2022

Carnival faces formidable competition - one thing they can fully control is customer service which seems to be a strength.  The key right now is occupancy - the fleet is there - the berths need to be filled.  

31 minutes ago, ray98 said:

Well....considering they are denying them left and right for casino or 'discounted' rates it seems finances are playing a role.

Filling the ships is important.  But if the fare is around or below breakeven, then not.  And if in the US, if you give a $100 credit on top of free casino cruise, or $25 fare, you could likely sell the same cabin for $499.  (Check the fares on US departures a week before they sail- not a not cheap cabins are left these days).  The idea of the credit is to get people to decide to cruise (at average prices) vs drive to Disney and stay on CCL vs Royal or the like.  

11 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Revenues have been dropping the last few months, so the cash flow out will increase.  

I finally read the 3Q22 summary.  CARNIVAL CORPORATION & PLC PROVIDES THIRD QUARTER 2022 BUSINESS UPDATE | Carnival Corporation & plc   

• U.S. GAAP net loss of $770 million and adjusted net loss of $688 million for the third quarter of 2022.
• Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2022 was over $300 million, turning positive for the first time since the resumption of guest cruise operations and marking a significant milestone.
• Revenue increased by nearly 80% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to second quarter 2022, reflecting continued sequential improvement.
• Occupancy in the third quarter of 2022 increased 15 percentage points from the prior quarter.
• Since the announcement of the company's relaxed protocols in mid-August, aligning the company towards land-based vacation alternatives, booking volumes for all future sailings are considerably higher than strong 2019 levels.
• Third quarter 2022 ended with $7.4 billion of liquidity, including cash and borrowings available under the company's revolving credit facility.

So they still had open cabins to fill.  One other number we can all see- revenue per Passenger Cruise Day is down vs. 2019.  This is likely part of the discount to fill pricing on the shorter voyages.  The $300M in EBITDA says they are almost able to pay the interest bill of $400M with cash flow.  There is still some capacity offline and some markets/lines are performing poorly.  My guesses are Costa and Cunard.   

The big question- if they get all the ships up and running and full, will the whole operation turn cash flow positive?   It would seem it may- in 2023.  Barring some natural or manmade disaster.    

If the stock price falls far enough some raider could buy it.    

The best supply of Fun Times listings is here:  Fun Times - Saint Greg's Travels (saintgregtravel.com)

Port Canaveral is a weekly port stop for the southbound NJ/NY trips that then go on to the Bahamas.  

For the Miami port stop (we've done it), there was a free (crew) shuttle to downtown- we asked at the Excursions Desk about it.   I was in the mood for Peruvian shrimp soup- Chupe  de Camarones

8 hours ago, kwokpot said:

In Porto you MUST Go to Livraria Lelo, an amazing historical bookstore. Make online reservations prior to getting there. At Bilbao you must go to the Guggenheim museum m also make advance online reservations. 

The bookstore has a Harry Potter flavor to it- and there can be a line.  There is a city bus also (#500/507) to Porto from a stop a few blocks outside the Lexioes port entrance, where the internal port shuttle drops you off.  The Porto city center bus stop is in front of an amazing coffee shop/bakery.  I check the excursion desk on port mornings to see if any city center shuttles are offered.  Porto is similar to Lisbon- both are good destinations.    

Thank You.  I did find the Snapseed app was good for making sure each photo was not upside down for uploading.