SargassoPirate

Here's another tip: Do not allow Carnival to tell you to leave your scooter in an elevator hallway or some other public access area. I have a friend who didn't know better and had his scooter placed in an access corridor. Some kids got a hold of his scooter and damaged it extensively, and they found pieces on different decks.

Any cruise line that tells you to, or allows you to, park a scooter in a corridor, an elevator or stairway lobby, or any other path of exit travel is placing your life and the lives of every other passenger in danger.

Fire codes, and SOLAS, prohibit blocking or obstructing exits and pathways to exits - including corridors and elevator/stairway lobbies.

Just think of the Oakland Warehouse fire and the poor souls who could not escape the fire because of the lack of clear exit passages.

Also, wouldn't it be great if Royal could figure out how to manage the cattle call for excursions in the theater? It's a smooth process with Princess, but every time we've tried it with Royal it's as if they've never run shore excursions before and it's a disorganized mess in the theater to wait for your group to be called.

We finally quit booking excursions through Royal and now use our big box store wholesale store travel department, starts with a C end ends with an O, and book shore excursions through them. Their excursions meet on the pier or at the tender port and we avoid the mess in the theater.

bunchesofun...if push comes to shove and you end up with a scooter that won't fit through your cabin door, as guest relations to provide valet parking for you. When you return to your cabin at the end of the day, they can send someone to drive your scooter to a safe location for the evening (hopefully not the elevator or stairway lobby or access) and then deliver it to you in the morning. Not the best option, but a workable one.

Never leave it parked in the corridor, an elevator lobby, or anywhere else it could interfere with emergency evacuation or, like xxoocruiser, I'll report it. Just remember the poor souls without a clue about fire safety who died in the Oakland warehouse fire because they couldn't exit a burning building.

Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

I too find it unreal that anyone would ask to move tables just because someone wanted to give thanks.

In mixed company, just bow your head and silently give thanks. There is no need to ask others to participate in your religious beliefs or rituals on a cruise. See Matthew 6:6 about praying in public.

As for me, I prefer 1 Timothy 5:23 :)

You'd be surprised. I doubt that Mickey Arison, as Chairman of the parent corporation had any knowledge of day to day operations, and neither would Arnold Donald the CEO of Carnival Corp. I really doubt that the President of Princess or her predecessor had any knowledge of this going on. They just don't get that far down into the nuts and bolts of the operation, and shipping lines operate "fleets" or groups of ships within a line as separate profit centers, and the managers and vice-presidents have enormous decision making power.

It is important to note, however, that while the CEO may not crawl around the engine room, the CEO and top management are responsible for the culture that fosters the actions and behaviors throughout the organization. If a cut corners whenever possible attitude is fostered and people are evaluated on how well they hold down costs, human nature being what it is, guess what will happen?

This may be completely alarmist, but I am wondering if there is another shoe to drop....

 

Are cruise lines adhering strictly to health (food and hygiene) practices on board? Any history of cruise lines fined?

I have observed sub-standard food handling practices on Princess more so that Royal Caribbean. I always report them first to the area supervisor and if nothing changes, work my way up to the hotel supervisor.

On one cruise several years ago, I observed the Horizon Court staff take a used cloth napkin to wipe down a table and reset it. I saw the coffee cups and juice glasses placed upside down with the rims resting on the table. I saw there were no hand washing facilities at the dirty dish stations and saw the same staff clear dirty dishes and then grab clean utensils to reset the tables. I saw food handlers wearing plastic/rubber gloves touching soiled and then clean surfaces without changing the gloves. In a 17 day cruise I saw no corrective actions, so I reported my observations to corporate.

Having conducted hundreds of safety and environmental audits of large and small organizations over the years, I can tell you that a corrupt culture allows such things to happen because the responsible perpetrators are comfortable in not being caught and/or punished. If the culture has made it clear, from the top down, that such misbehaviors will not be tolerated, things like this are less likely to happen.

When I would find improper or illegal environmental practices, I could tell a lot about the culture above by the reactions of those immediately responsible as well as those up the management food chain.

This whole thing smacks of a culture of deceit at Princess. The question is just how far up it went.

In the meantime, what can we as individual cruisers do? Vote with our feet, that's what. I was ready to buy a diesel Volkswagen, but changed my mind when that corrupt corporate culture was disclosed. I had four Princess cruises in my watch list for 2017 and 2018. I just deleted them.

Since She Who Must be Obeyed and I are well past the 55+ standard for posting here, well into our Social Security years, I thought I'd offer a few thoughts.

Being blessed with good health, always living below our means, and saving for retirement, getting older hasn't changed our way of travel as much as retirement did. We looked at retirement as the gift of time. We no longer set a deadline to head home when we take a road trip - last summer we drove over 7,000 miles on one trip out west from the east coast and finally headed home when we felt like it, not to punch in at work on Monday.

I have more time to ride my Harley, and two years ago did what's called a Four Corners Ride - all four corners of the lower 48 states in one trip - 48 days and 11,700 miles.

With more time on our hands, we tend to search for cruise bargains that fit our wallet and points of interest rather than being dictated by a vacation window of time from work.

On our next trip to Australia for a cruise, we are taking four flights to get there, stopping overnight in S.F, three nights in Hawaii, and one night in Sydney on the way to Perth to board the ship. Then we spend three nights in Perth before the cruise. We arrive tanned, rested, and ready instead of like the walking dead after a 25 hour flight.

We tend to buy more experiences than things - what else do we need anyway?

We are spending our kid's inheritance, and if we do a good job of it, we'll be 15 minutes late for our own funerals and the last check will bounce.

I'm finding it hard to do that now. I just don't understand if something is working why they fix it:rolleyes:

 

Theresa

That's easy...in any organization people need to justify their job by looking busy and continually fiddling with things. It's make work and busy work, and it usually ends up FUBARing something that worked just fine before the whiz kids got ahold of it.

I quit trying to book through Royal's website several years ago. Every time they "improved" it, it got more difficult.:mad:

I always book online though the travel department of my favorite big box store that starts with a C and ends with an O. I can search for specific cabins and when I do book I get some nice OBCs through them as well. Their website is also easier to use to check for price drops.

Another nice thing about C***O's website is that I can search several cruise lines at once, valuable if all you want is a transatlantic in the spring since every cruise line crossing will show up and I can comparison shop.

BTW, to see what everyone is talking about, I just tried to do a booking through Royal's website, and it is worse than ever. They should stop letting the IT kids sit at the big table and justify their jobs by making "improvements". All the IT department needs is a man and a dog. The man is there to feed the dog and the dog is there to bite the man if he tries to touch anything. ;)

I am always uncomfortable surrendering my passport to cruise line personnel, but understand the reason why - so that immigration officials can come on-board for a free lunch and stamp the passports in assembly line fashion. That process doesn't make much sense to me since they are not matching the face on the passport to the passport holder - but I guess that's their problem. I suspect the free lunch on-board is the main reason.

I have never surrendered my passport to a hotel clerk. I have been asked for it, and I have refused. If they insist I dig out one of my photocopies and tell them they can hang onto that if they want. It's worked so far.

I posted the paragraphs below on another thread and hope all cruisers using mobility devices are aware not only of the fire safety issues for other cruisers, but their own safety as well. The issue is not just hampering emergency evacuations by mobility devices being parked in paths of exit travel - but also that the cruise line knows where disabled cruisers are berthed so that extra measures can be taken to ensure their timely and safe evacuation as well.

"As a former professional firefighter, former member of the NFPA committee on life safety, and safety official for a medium-sized federal agency with responsibility for implementing the ADA requirements for a range of occupancy types and planning for emergency evacuation of those buildings, I urge all cruisers with some form of disability or impairment to read and be aware of the National Fire Protection Associations guide for such situations. The guide can be found as a free downloadable PDF document here:

http://www.nfpa.org/safety-informati...h-disabilities

Persons with disabilities or impairments need to be aware of ways to ensure they can evacuate or be evacuated safely in the event of an emergency at sea. When you book a cruise, make sure the cruise line is aware of your disability or impairment so that arrangements can be made for your safety and possible emergency evacuation. If you need assistance moving to an area of safe refuge – such as your muster station – ask the cruise line what sort of policies and practices it has in place to assist you in the event of an emergency.

All cruisers should be aware that parking mobility devices in corridors, stairway/elevator lobbies, exit access corridors, is a violation of SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) requirements and presents a hazard to other occupants. SOLAS requires that paths of exit travel be kept clear of obstructions - including corridors, stairways, stairway and elevator lobbies, fire doors, etc. There are no exceptions for only one or two scooters. Parking a scooter, a wheelchair, a walker, or even a baby buggy in a corridor or stairway/elevator lobby should not be allowed and if it is being allowed, the cruise line is being negligent regarding fire safety.

Fire safety requirements are for everyone's protection. If your cruise line is being negligent regarding your safety by allowing others to obstruct your path of safe exit travel with their improperly parked/stored personal mobility devices, it should be reported to the guest relations desk immediately and if corrective action is not forthcoming, report it to the corporate level.

As a former professional firefighter who has, on more than one occasion, zipped a fire victim into a body bag, I can safely say that it's the seemingly innocuous things that cause loss of life during fire emergencies.

Please be aware and protect yourself and others."

I love chair hogs! I take a look for "reserved" loungers on the way to breakfast and pick out the spot I want. If they are still "reserved" when I am finished with breakfast, I pick out the best equipped lounger - free sunglasses, paperback book, flip flops my size, etc and I'm all set. BTW, I'm a pretty big guy who rides motorcycles - and I look like it - so nobody has threatened me yet when they find me in "their" lounger. :D

If it's plastic, it's usually allowed...if there is metal on it, they will see it on X-ray and take it. By the way...it's not a "safety" issue...it's money issue...they allow heated hair appliances (because women wouldn't cruise if they couldn't do their hair), but the TELL you it's a safety issue so you'll pay for THEM to press your clothes.

Yeah, just like they used to say that you couldn't bring your own alcohol onboard for safety reasons.:rolleyes:

I'm looking at a cruise around Japan on Millie also and would love to hear about other travelers' experiences on the ports and excursions.

I use the travel department of a big box warehouse that starts with the third letter of the alphabet. Not only do I get some generous on-board credits from them, since they pass their commissions back to their members, but when I notice a price drop they are tenacious about getting the lower price for me. Easy Beezy.

To keep an eye on possible price drops, I always save the itinerary in my 'saved cruises" section and it only takes a click or two to see what the current pricing is.

Are Royal Cheerleaders simply rebranded "Royal Champions" from the kickback scandal that plagued Cruise Critic and Royal Caribbean several years ago? For a while, even mentioning Royal Champions in a post would get you suspended.:eek:

Thanks for your observations and comparisons. We switch back and forth between Princess and Royal and have had plenty of cruises to notice the differences between the two and what to expect. Food is a subjective topic and we are able to find something on each venue to keep body and soul together, however, when we cruise with Princess we either switch to tea or bring along some Nescafe. Princess' coffee is reconstituted from coffee concentrate and is best used to tar the ropes and patch cracks in the hull.

The glaring difference that has become a running joke with us is that every port day is a new experience for the RCI staff. They don't seem to know how to organize an orderly queue for anything. For example, for excursions, Royal has had us go to the front of the theater near the stage to get our little number sticker and then swim back upstream to find a seat. When they call the number, people jump up from all around the theater and the pushing and shoving starts. Princess on the other hand has a table set up outside the theater where you get your number. Then when you enter the theater there is a seating area for your number. When your number is called, a staff member directs one row at a time to stand up and proceed to the door. Very orderly. Just one example.

I've been on both and it's a no brainer for me - Oasis.

I had the misfortune to sail on the Norwegian prison ship the "Epic Mistake" with a group of friends a few years ago. Worst ship I've ever been on. Weird cabin design with the toilet enclosure next to the bed and the sink in the room. The sink design was such that water splashed out every time it was used so we kept a pool towel wrapped around it to catch splashes. The curved cabin walls gave is a sofa with a convex curved backrest that was uncomfortable and thus useless. Staff were uninspired and service in the MDR could hardly be called service. And this is the short list.

I wouldn't sail on the Epic Mistake again if the cruise were free.

We try to never be in a hurry or pressed for time to catch a flight home, so we'll often extend our vacation a day or more after the cruise. We self-disembark, but at our own time and try to be among the last off the ship. We vacate our cabin so as not to hold up the room steward and find a comfortable out-of-the-way spot in one of the departure lounges to wait and maybe enjoy some coffee and a good book. We've even enjoyed the pool deck while we wait on some ships. When they start announcing last call, we are ready to go. The me first groundlings are gone, the elevators are not crowded and if we are lucky, the lines at immigration and customs are short.

While many scramble to be first off, there's nothing wrong with being last off.:cool:

We are considering taking our 13 and 17 year old on their first cruise. Both of them LOVE water slides. Suggestions? Thank you.

I had the misfortune to sail on Norwegian's Epic Mistake several years ago. The ship pretty much sucked, but the waterslide was awesome, and I'm in my mid-60s.

Can you use onboard credit for excursions and the spa?

Yep. It all goes onto your seapass account and you can spend it however you want, tips, bar tab, gambling, booked-on-board excursions. Just think of it as a bank account and it doesn't matter what checks you deposit into it, it's all mingled together and available.

That's great if that works for you, but there are many of us that have found that the ship's water causes ankle swelling. Bottled spring water makes a huge difference for a lot of people.

Could be the salty/oversalted food is also causing the ankle swelling. We don't use the salt shaker at home, so when we eat out we notice how salty most restaurant or cruise ship food is. :eek:

Doesn't bother me in the least. I hardly ever drink bottled water, but prefer to carry a refillable water bottle in my luggage and use it. With very few exceptions have I ever found tap water unpalatable on land and never on-board. :)

One of us is confined to a wheelchair and he exercises every possible courtesy/caution as not to harm/injure other passengers with his wheelchair while onboard ship and/or ashore and/or at home and in his hometown when out and about.

 

On board ship though he had a few of too many close calls when an impatient passenger suddenly jumped from behind to in front of him and/or tried to squeeze past him in hallways while he and his wheelchair were in motion.

 

In short, he's very cautious and very considerate of others and only wishes that others would be the same in return.

What you have described is behavior that is not just experienced by those in wheelchairs or scooters. It is an all-too-common lack of common courtesy that we all experience. It's the me first and to heck with you attitude that seems to be increasing in prevalence, demonstrated by people who butt in line, "save" seats in the theater, and "reserve" loungers poolside, smoke on their balcony when it's prohibited, and other boorish behaviors.

I love humanity, it's people I can't stand.