CILCIANRQTS

Are you a self-appointed social influencer?
There are no rules for social influencers, ‘cuz they’re “special”. 😉

Bad guys can get the names of contacts from your email inbox. They then email or phone you using that contact name as the sender, so you’ll answer.

I’ve gotten spam emails from a friend who’s been dead for a number of years, but old emails are still in my inbox.

”Trust no one.”

The distance is 1km if you’re docked at the chain bridge.

56 minutes ago, MILLERVILE said:

We are scheduled to go to Bonaire on 1/27/2025 how do I see if our ship was canceled? The Emerald princess

Still scheduled. 👍

https://www.cruisetimetables.com/kralendijk-bonaire-cruise-ship-schedule-2025.html

On 8/25/2024 at 7:17 PM, Redtravel said:

It’s hard to pass up free air. It can be a good incentive. Be ready to fly some crazy routes.  We have used Viking Air several times.  You may get lucky and get nonstops.  if you run into an air problem, Viking will help. 

Which is why we use Air Plus - every time.

42 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

I read somewhere in the CC that Bonaire is building 2nd dock, perhaps that is why they’re limiting the ships … maybe the tender dock isn’t available???

 

 

Where cruise ships dock in Bonaire

Cruise ships dock in one of two piers on a wide bay on the Southern part of the West coast of the island of Bonaire, right by Kralendijk the main city and capital of the island known as:

• Southern Pier
• Northern Pier

The two piers are suited to moor up to three cruise ships, although only very seldom this happens. If there are two cruise ships docking, the larger one will always moor on the Southern Pier and the smaller on the Northern Pier.

Northern pier

The northern pier is perpendicular to the coast, just over 200 feet long, with the exit gates opening directly into a pedestrian street right in front of the Wilhelmina Park. This pier is next to the Old Fort and very close to the Sea Promenade (a long and beautiful street along the coast) and Kaya Grandi one block behind, which is the main shopping street of Kralendijk.

Southern pier and terminal

The Southern Pier aka New Pier is parallel to the coast and to get to the main street the cruise traveler will have to walk through a well maintained, small cruise terminal.

This open-air shopping complex is known as Harborside Mall. Naturally, it is always a delight to walk down the gangway right into the city center but even when docked at the Southern Pier the cruise passenger is at less than 300 feet (100 meters) from the start of the Plaza Wilhelmina and the Sea Promenade officially known as Kaya J. N. E. Craane.

On 7/22/2024 at 7:55 PM, Breckski said:

Just give it a go even if you don't think you'll like the meal.  I'm a somewhat picky eater, but have never had a bad meal at CT.  Obviously, we have our favorites.  But I don't think we've had a menu where we thought we'd rather be in the World Cafe or Restaurant.  I think we've tried 12 menus.

Not possible, since we don’t eat lamb or veal, and my wife doesn’t eat seafood. We wait until we’re onboard.

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

I don't mind if others do exactly as you describe, and some of my great Cruise Critic friends do exactly as you mention! 

 

I prefer tip for service provided. On every cruise I've found a delightful server (or honestly, several). I don't promise them a tip at the end. I don't give them tips during the cruise. On the last day of the cruise, I seek them out, say thank you, and give them a tip for the entirety of this cruise. I've never had a bad server onboard, but I have found three to four that were exceptional and truly added to my cruise experience. 

 

That's just how I roll. Your method works great, I'm sure! It's just not the right one for me.

We also use the “find a good server” technique on crowded cruises, where the wait time at the bar was 15 minutes or more!
We tipped as we went, and she always rushed over when we sat down and took our order. She even got to know the names of all the spouses and asked about them if they weren’t present. Got to know her very well over the course of the cruise!

Agree, tipping is a very personal issue, but some still take issue with my approach. ✌️

1 hour ago, Luv2bcruising56 said:

When is your cruise?  We’re going to Bonaire in April 2025, haven’t heard differently. 

https://www.cruisetimetables.com/kralendijk-bonaire-cruise-ship-schedule-2025.html

Are the benefits per tier level available on all sailings?

Bonaire now only lets in one cruise ship a day.

They were early into the limiting cruising game.

https://infobonaire.com/bonaires-one-cruise-ship-policy/#:~:text=In a recent press conference,are being made for Bonaire.

2 hours ago, PasadenaDave said:

I pulled out a book which I have not read for a few years and look what I found.  Sadly this was a wrapper from a chocolate from a refrigerator in a Viking cabin.  I guess I know where I was the last time I read this book.

In the Living Room, no doubt! 😁

7 hours ago, Red-Sol said:

 

Hi Jim,

 

I'm in a similar situation as you with regards to cruise pricing. NCL has always been our favorite cruise line and we have always made generous donations in the casino knowing CAS would take care  of us with our next booking. Their last offer to us though was an insult and we seriously started looking around. We have never sailed on Carnival but they have a program where you can upload other casino cards you might have and they will determine what they might offer you. In our case they offered us a Balcony Comp on pretty much any sailings they have (remember we have never sailed on Carnival) So we chose a 10 day cruise on the Venezia out of NYC in October. For us the total cost will be about ~$500.00 each. I'm not sure I can even stay home for that amount! 🤣

For anyone interested their casino match program is here:

https://www.carnival.com/Registration/Promotions/casino-funmatch

 

And I know may people will poo poo Carnival (I was one of them even without having sailed) but this ship appears to be something we would like It was originally built for Costa:
 

Anyways I will very much enjoy following you on your Gem journey. Maybe some day we can all sail together again on some ship somewhere! 🙂

Now picture it with drunks, fights and pax getting sick in the halls…

On 8/22/2024 at 3:08 PM, cruiseny4life said:

Nothing at all! In fact, I give the bartenders I establish a great relationship with a $20 or two at the end of the cruise. 

Start the great relationship early!
IF you have a favorite go-to bar ( for me it’s Maltings for bourbon), tip the head bartender at that bar $20 on embarkation day. He/she and their staff will immediately recognize you as a “good guy” and be quick to pour your favorite drink. Tipping per drink reinforces the bond. After all, you paid $10k for the cruise, so you certainly can afford a few bucks for the crew.

This may come as a surprise to some, but they work for tips folks!🥃

1 hour ago, Baron Barracuda said:

Not sure Tor attracted many new customers last night.  Said Viking was for old folks with money who are tired of sailing with their kids and grandkids.  Judge for yourself:

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/22/viking-ceo-explains-the-cruise-companys-baby-boomer-niche.html

He certainly could have been a bit more diplomatic, but he obviously knows his market.

On 7/21/2024 at 3:19 PM, FlyerTalker said:

 

At any time you wish.  I've had multiple passports renewed years before expiration -- all due to lack of unused visa pages.  Most recent one was only used for six years, the one before for five.  And since you can no longer get pages added after the fact, I highly recommend everyone get the book with the max pages, just to be on the safe side.

 

 

Stamps will no longer be used in the EU.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2024/08/20/european-union-entry-exit-system-passport-stamp/74872344007/#

12 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Best possum I ever had on a ship.🚢🍹

Had to be frozen - ain’t no way to gather road kill on a cruise ship!!🦡

6 hours ago, gizfish said:

The people not included in the tip pool are butlers, concierge staff and children's counselors.  Don't feel pressured by people who love to tell you how much they tip.  Tipping is obviously a personal choice, and just because someone says it on the internet doesn't make it true.

Tipping the butler per day makes absolutely no sense to me, as it is in no way related to the services rendered.

We tipped per service, as it occurred so butler would be available for future requests.

We’ve done the Rhine trip a number of times - mainly because different groups of friends have wanted to tag along.

We’ve also done the Grand European twice, since it has such a good mix of port calls - big city and small town.

Also, we would do Trade Routes of the Middle Ages again - many countries and interesting ports.

18 hours ago, bluesea777 said:

Are you going back to Qaqortoq tomorrow?

 

As per Cruisemapper.com

 

 

Sounds like a great place to get a t-shirt!! 😁

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

I have strong feelings about this subject - not jeans, but dress code in general.

 

We don't sail on ships - traditionally - that have formal nights.  If we did, I guarantee you that we will be in the buffet on those nights in our normal evening "elegant casual" dress. I am just not going to pack a suit, dinner jacket, or ties for a cruise.

 

We do like to shower and dress for dinner.  It is more of an event for us and just feels good.

 

I was also raised in a family that we put on a suit to go to the theatre - symphony, ballet, opera, or stage production.  We dressed when we went out to eat.  We were not allowed to wear shorts to a restaurant or heaven forbid a hat or baseball cap.  Some of how I feel is upbringing.  But, we all have different upbringing backgrounds.

 

But, I start to think as I continue to read this thread, and ask myself, how does this impact my personal enjoyment?  It does not.  I do what I want to do. which is clean up and dress up. Does what someone else wears impact how my food tastes?  No.  Why do we let this bother us?

It doesn’t impact how your food tastes, it impacts the ambiance of the venue, which is important to most restaurants (except the food trough buffet chains).

4 hours ago, longterm said:

 Having fixed menus in the CT limits diners' options, which discourages people like us from eating there; it would be great if CT were changed to a different type of restaurant, with menu choices instead of fixed fare.

 

Could not agree more with this.

My wife (can you even say “wife” on CC vs.DW??😉) does not eat seafood and neither of us eats veal or lamb, so we’re usually left with the 2 beef rotations, if they come up. 
CT was a great concept initially to offer a unique dining option, but it’s gotten a bit old. YMMV.

11 hours ago, ericosmith said:

Why is it that jeans always end up with the longest threads (other than perhaps tipping)?

Good pun!!
jeans…threads. 😉😎

3 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

When my kids were young they used to watch a show called "Lamb Chops Play-a-Long" by puppeteer Shari Lewis.  Their favorite song was "The Song that Never Ends"---it just keeps repeating itself ad infinitum, driving parents crazy!

 

This thread could be retitled "The Thread That Never Ends".....

 

IIRC, I jokingly renamed it the Zombie Blue JEans Dress Code Thread, as it refused to die, a few pages ago.

Lock it up, lock it up, lock it up!! 😎

1 hour ago, Hanoj said:

Riveting!

Sorry, no rivets - just stitched jeans.