tiamar

On 3/14/2020 at 6:50 AM, waterbug123 said:

 

Seriously?  You want to argue that cruise ship employees are paid better because they are contract employees?  Why do you think most of them are foreigners?  Because that's the only way they can staff their ships for the rates they pay.   And this isn't like a normal contract ending.  This is sudden and unprecedented.   Surely you can see the difference?

Couldn't agree more  Unfortunately, it's not as simple as bring a contract worker. Working on a ship means you are completely on a need to know basis. No one is giving them specifics as to when they will or if they will leave. And if you think they're going to get paid for when they're not there, you've got that wrong as well. And what about if they can't enter their country or if they can but there's a quarantine? They'll have to foot those bills as well.

Many work on ships to support their families. Now they'll have less pay and more bills than before they left. The sad part is that they have very little rights AND they know that the line of applicants is huge and someone will gladly take their job even before they've finished complaining. 

Hi - Definitely consider the Seaport District where I now live. I am so lucky to be able to watch the cruise ships sail in and out and I can also see the planes landing and taking off.

One of the newest hotels in the area is YOTEL Boston, which has phenomenal rates for the area. This clean and bright hotel is so convenient, you actually catch the Silver Line in the basement of the building! Personally, time is money and the time you'd have to spend getting to and from downtown to enjoy anything when you're staying farther out just doesn't make sense to me, but to each his/her own.

From the airport, take SL1 to Courthouse station and like that - you're there. From the airport you don't even have to pay for using the Silver Line. When you go back, you do, but make sure you jump back on the SL1 service. The MBTA is one of the easiest to use - especially with all the signage. It used to be a nightmare trying to figure things out, but they've really made it quite easy now.

There's plenty of restaurants in the area from Rosa Mexicano and Casa di Pedro for Mexican and Latin American to Legal Seafoods and Legal Test Kitchen among others for seafood to Shake Shack, Starbucks, and even by Chloe for vegan food. For convenience sake, there's a CVS nearby. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Marian

You are going to get a AMAZING view of Venice at sail out from your balcony. No where else on the ship will match it so stay put and enjoy your bubbly!

Sounds like a perfect plan! Thanks again! Off to finish the last of the packing and to buy my Istanbul museum pass.

Katgoesonholiday - loved your entire post!!! Extremely thoughtful and well presented and the pics, well they just made the whole thing come together perfectly.

I'm going to be on the Preziosa on Saturday (23 Aug) and guess which cabin I'm going to be in? That's right - 16029! Small world, huh? I'll also be in New Zealand in January, but that's another story altogether. :)

If you click on my user profile you'll see a link to my blog. You definitely have a knack for writing and you shouldn't hesitate to have a blog and promote it whatsoever. Not everyone can or should do it, but there are exceptions like yourself.

Quick question: The Muze site for Istanbul: The card is 85TL and individual attractions can be purchased with an e-ticket but that is not currently operational. Is there another way to get the tickets without queuing once there? Is it worth spending the extra money for the card to avoid this?

Thanks!

We sailed out of Sydney last October and I just completed the editing of my sail away video on the Celebrity Solstice. The sail away time was about 45 minutes but I turned it into a time-lapse video and it's all of about 11 minutes now. I was on the helipad for the sail away and ended up a little more to the port side than I expected. My video camera was on a Gorillapod tripod and I had my cameras ready to go so I could walk around and take pictures. If you'd like to see it, you can check it out on YouTube here: http://ow.ly/zSH5O or search YouTube for Time-lapse Video of Sail Away Out of Sydney Harbour on Celebrity Solstice - 23 Oct 2013 .

Marian

We had our cruise planned, which included a stop in St. Kitts for November 26 on the Summit. I had procrastinated and contacted Beulah only a few short days before leaving for our cruise and she was not only quick to respond, but even arranged a tour for us despite my last minute timing. She met us in the port and had everything planned out perfectly. Beulah has everything planned out so perfectly that I had no concern whatsoever, and it takes a lot for me to even consider saying something like that, that I would not hesitate in one second to use her again or to recommend her. She more than met my expectations of a wonderful day: She exceeded them!

I was at Buck Island last December and wrote about it in my blog if you want to read about it and see plenty of pics: http://travelshopgirl.blogspot.com/2012/01/buck-island-half-day-sail-st-croix-usvi.html