Artemis908

As a Platinum myself I find it annoying. I feel bad for them that they had a bad time but Platinum perks are a little much. Especially since most will never cruise Carnival again.

My thought process was just of a way to say, "Hey we know we screwed up but if you continue cruising with us we will make it worth your while." Even if it were just a one level jump from where you were.

I agree with everything you say except getting the Platinum status.

Do you think Platinum perks are too much? Seemed like something Carnival could do that's relatively inexpensive. Especially if people don't cruise more than once a year. It would only be really annoying for current Platinum and Diamond members.

Your poll is wrong. They are asking for 5K a YEAR for life.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/10/usa-carnival-lawsuit-idUSL1N0M41VJ20140310

"(Reuters) - A group of passengers suing Carnival cruise lines for damages after an engine fire left their ship adrift for days are asking the company to pay $5,000 a month for the rest of their lives for medical bills and mental anguish."

I would say...

- Free cruise on any of the sister cruise lines (like Princess) since I don't think I'd ever want to go on Carnival again, but would maybe try a different line.

- Platinum level membership for the VIFP Club.

- Refunds for related flights

Also, did they pay for related medical expenses?

In the end, it was a bad, inconvenient experience. For the most part, I don't think anyone's life was in danger, no one really got hurt. I don't really think they deserve money, but I think they should add some special things to show they care and that they value them as customers.

None of that $5,000 a month crap. Essentially they want Carnival to pay their salaries for life so they will never have to work again. That's RIDICULOUS!

As for his attorney, the U.S. is not the only country that guarantees an attorney for a criminal defendant. You can't pick and choose which defendants get one. Sixth Amendment and Miranda vs. Arizona.

Yeah for every guilty person who can't afford an attorney there is at least 1 non-guilty one. Everyone deserves representation in the courts. He'll get punished... I mean he admitted what he did to the FBI. I wonder if he's pleading non-guilty due to insanity or something.

Take a taxi, don't take the cruise bus. The airport is very close to the ship too. I had a similar experience before out of Cape Canaveral and it completely stressed me out, the cruise ship people would give me a look when I told them my flight was at 10:30 and I couldn't do a thing about it. We got there on time though, it just would have been a problem if we were delayed.

If you do take ginger, be careful. I got terrible heartburn from it (http://www.livestrong.com/article/478715-does-ginger-cause-heartburn/)

The prices look about the same as the Starbucks right around the corner from my house in suburban Philadelphia!

Yep, I was thinking the same thing! Looks like what I pay when I pick up my morning coffee in Center City >_<

Right now in Ohio it is 19 degrees with a wind chill of 7...so I could take the "cold" of the 60's right about now! ;-)

Haha yeah it's about 25 degrees here, so quite cold too! But if it's in the 60s I don't know if I'd want to be on the beach.

We don't live too far from NY - but I thought Quantum was leaving out of NJ? I want to be invited! haha >_<

So it's just an event on the ship? Did it say it cost anything or was there a way to reserve?

Has anyone ever been on either of these excursions? We are cruising with Royal Caribbean and there are two shore excursions we are interested in.

One is swimming with sting rays, I believe it's called "Everyone loves rays". I've been swimming with sting rays before but it was almost 20 years and we went to Sting Ray City. This excursion seems short, I think it was 3 or 4 hours. There was no meal included but I read on a forum that a Margaritaville free drink voucher was included? I liked that it seemed the excursion was close without extensive traveling by boat or bus. I also like that you can touch them.

The other is swimming with Turtles, I think called "Sea turtle snorkel". This one was further away, required a boat ride. That concerned me a bit since I get sea sick (would need to take pills). It was a longer excursion, but also included lunch and time on the beach. It was also twice the amount of money as the sting ray excursion. You also can't touch the turtles, so just wondering to myself if it's worth it.

Does anyone know how often the menus change? And does anyone have pictures of both menus? I did a search and was only able to find one recent menu.

Looking so forward to more! How was the weather while you were there? I saw on the Day 1 compass that it was in high 60s, seems a bit cold!

I am practically planning my cruise activities around your review so thank you!!

For those of you who have been on Oasis, what is your favorite spot for lunch on the first day? I know they say Windjammers is packed. Was even considering Giovanni's or Johnny Rocket's.

Great post, I have a few additional questions in to RCCL that I sent on Monday (how long did it take you to get a reply?) re things like doubles, upcharges and bottled water. I'll post the answers in the same manner. THANKS!

It actually took about a week. She apologize profusely about the delay though, said they have been really backed up and that e-mail has been the most popular way to communicate lately.

Do you still tip the dockside porters? Their base pay is between $40-$50/hr.

Holy @#$%, really?!? You know... I am honestly afraid NOT to tip them because they are handling something so important to me and could easily "lose" it...

Same price before or on board the cruise. However, if you wait until you are on board, you do have the option of purchasing for the remainder of the cruise. In other words, they will let you purchase after day 1, as long as there are at least 4 days left, and you purchase until the end of the cruise.

That's interesting, I didn't realize that. So you could potentially wait and only do the drink package for half of the cruise? I wish there was a way to get the package daily, but I guess the cruise line wants you to pay more. I just can't see myself drinking that heavily every single day!

Good example using airline attendants. I'd never thought of tipping them. Even when having the unlikely pleasure of going first class. I had an instance the other day where I actually tipped a gas station guy. He came our, pumped my gas, cleaned front and back windows, and was super friendly. I couldn't help myself, and, as you say, he didn't refuse the extra couple of bucks.

 

I don't know what makes one service industry tip-worthy and another not. Many of us fly to our cruises and I wonder what the demographic is of people who tip on planes. I've never seen anyone do it. Yet on a cruise ship it is so expected that people get angry at each other if someone does it later in the cruise rather than before the service is rendered.

 

I know some friends who are airline attendants (not sure what they are called to be PC these days) and they are not over paid so far as I can tell. Could be better than a cruise room attendant though.

 

Tom

A flight attendant is there for your safety and although he or she may serve you, that is not their real function, especially on US-based airlines.

There are a lot of comparisons you could make, who do you and don't you tip? Your hair stylist? The repair man? The food delivery person? The cashier at Boston Market? The hotel room maid? The cleaning person at your home? The dog groomer?

The list just goes on and on... I typically try to go off of whatever I believe the person's base pay is... like waiters get paid below minimum wage. I also don't pay the owner.

I am not really clear though how much they get paid on the ship and how room/board/food is handled.

I reached out to Royal Caribbean because I felt some posts on here were giving conflicting information about the drinks package and what is included, so here is what she had to say:

We will be happy to provide some information on our beverage packages. They can be confusing. The Royal Replenish Beverage Package contains:

 

• Premium coffee – Starbuck’s brand from dining venues not from Starbuck’s Kiosk

• Premium tea

• Bottled water: Sparkling (375ml) or Still (500ml)

• Fresh squeezed orange juice

• Non-alcoholic cocktails

• Fountain soda with Coca Cola® souvenir cup

 

Milkshakes are not included in any of the beverage packages, which is too bad because we do have great milkshakes at our Johnny Rockets 50’s style diner. Frozen (non-alcoholic) cocktails are not included in the Royal Replenish package but are included in the Premium Beverage Package. Smoothies are not included in any of our Beverage Packages. Room service drinks are the same as dining room drinks in terms of pricing (see beverage package for what is included).

 

The coffee choices can be a bit confusing, so here goes. The regular coffee served in the main dining room and throughout the ship is Seattle’s Best Coffee. This coffee is complementary and, as such, is included in the price of your cruise vacation.

 

Additionally, we offer Starbuck’s coffee onboard. Starbuck’s coffee is included in two of our beverage packages, the Royal Replenish and the Ultimate Beverage Packages. Here you can order basic specialty coffee drinks like Mochas and Cappuccinos (subject to availability).

 

Some of our ships also have an onboard Starbuck’s kiosks where guests can order all of their favorite fancy specialty coffee drinks (like Frappuccinos, etc.) for an additional fee. Starbuck’s specialty coffee from the Starbucks kiosk is not included in any beverage package.

 

Nina Birchwood

Customer Service Representative

Do we even know that the SOB comment was directed at him?

I was thinking the SAME EXACT THING! There is a big difference between "One second, SOB!" and "One second. SOB". I think it's easy to confuse the two, especially if the person is in another room and English isn't your first language.

All in all though, I have never been on HAL, but this incident wouldn't stop me from cruising with them. I think they did all they could for the situation, I think they handled it well. It's an incredibly sad and disturbing thing to happen, but that's the kind of world we live in.

I know very little about where he comes from besides what I read here and that he is Indonesian. But I know in some countries violence against women is a common occurrence. People would pay no mind if a man killed a woman for talking back to him and insulting him. Just look at the news headlines of the violence against women happening in India and it's enough to make me thank God I was born in the US.

Have any of the reports mentioned if she was traveling alone?

Thanks guys! I am looking through the sites you guys recommended and do see some cute stuff!

I think it should go further than just discontinuing friendship.....you could physically hurt them, or maybe somehow cause them to contract noro on the cruise...or maybe, just maybe......

 

JK of course, but there is nothing more you can do than communicate your opinion....maybe even a little fun teasing about it during the trip...."you removed your gratuities so you better be careful with what the dining staff brings you to eat".....

Haha yeah or... be careful you look at the tub before you step into it. That's not yellow water! ("IT Crowd" reference :P)

In addition to giving gratuity, does anyone know if there is a sort of note of recognition you can give them for being particularly awesome? I can't remember if I had heard of this on RC or DCL, but I remember hearing that you could give cards out to staff and it would help them be recognized by their superiors. Again, that may have been something I heard on DCL though, it sounds like a great idea!

Oasis of the Seas departs Port Everglades Sept 1 for her drydock in Rotterdam. She will do some European sailings before she gets to the shipyard. She makes her return 13 night voyage on Oct 14 originating in Rotterdam and arrives in Fort Lauderdale on Oct 27/14

 

She will do a 5 night sailing to Caribbean to get her back on her Saturday to Saturday schedule.

Is there a website or page I can look at that talks about what they'll be doing to the Oasis while she's in dry dock?