sparks1093

It's a nice sit down meal. I greatly enjoyed the filet mignon and eggs. The banana cream pie was some of the best I've had.

Maybe @Ferry_Watcher can confirm, but I think even with the watermark it would have been acceptable for a cruise. Thank you for the update and it sure does suck the way this all turned out.

I wouldn't eat dead bugs either, unless I was in a pure survival situation, but I also like to try different things- especially if they are included in the fare. I'm less adventurous if I am paying for the meal, though.

You've accidently hit on the method used by cruisers for years and it is routinely used to get unused OBC back. Unfortunately DW doesn't know the definition of "unused". 😉

It's what the market bears in that economy, not a question of right or wrong.

I've done it both ways and service was great regardless of whether we added extra or not.

Applicable state and local taxes will be charged to the guest folio when this program is used within US waters. The tax is based on the state's tax structure and the cost of the individual drink purchased (not the daily program rate). For example: if the drink price is $5 and the tax is 10%, the guest's Sail & Sign card will be charged $0.50 for tax. This applies to all US ports (embarkation home ports and ports-of-call). And the package goes into effect on the second day for sailing from Texas and NY.

I've read the story a couple of times and still love it!

Normalcy achieved!!!

Since only 4 or 5 states even license TA's and who knows if they even require any formal training to do so it seems that it's a complete crapshoot, but I agree- competent should be the minimum (and that goes for many professions as well).

Indeed, with the operative word being "competent".

I think so and you think so, but "basic information" could be insufficient if a traveler's situation were complex. The basic information could also be provided in the small print. I guess this is why lawyers have jobs 🙂.

Probably not because the ultimate responsibility to have the correct documentation is the traveler's.

Nice! We have a bit to go before we're that close.

I was on a nuclear powered ship in the Navy and we always had to anchor out further away than most ships because of it. We never had less than a 30 minute boat ride to get into port and sometimes longer.

This is usually the result of an S trap in the plumbing drying out. Once water is returned to the trap the smell dissipates. If this is in your cabin look for the floor drain in the bathroom and pour a cup of water down it.

Actually every policy that I've read (and I do note that I haven't read them all) do provide coverage for lost and stolen IDs. What they don't cover is a passenger completely lacking the documentation to board and being denied boarding (it's a very fine line and as always the facts and circumstances are going to control the outcome).

This is one thing that I look for in a policy- reimbursement if travel documents are lost or stolen (and many policies do provide that coverage). Having a back-up ID is all well and good but to spend $300+ for two people for that back-up isn't something that I would choose to do. If I have decided to cruise without a passport, then I've already accepted the risk of something happening to the documents I have.

And obviously in this case I didn't (I think I did read the last two posts or so because I came to the thread late and when I clicked on it that is where it took me). The point that I made in my response is still valid (from my point of view)- we do enough laundry at home and I'm not going to fuss with it on a cruise ship.

Most excellent point to keep in mind.

Even in the US Navy mustering the ship is done to ensure everyone is accounted for, primarily for a man overboard.

Three ships worth, yes.

In my case I wasn't going to read through two pages before commenting. Since I don't use the self-service I hardly care if a ship has one or not.

I figure we do enough laundry at home, we can splurge to have the cruise line do it for us. Some lines also have self-serve laundry facilities on some of their ships, but I've never been tempted to use one of those, either. We've done at least a bag of laundry on each cruise and in all that time- one lost set of skivvies. (And as noted we don't put anything in the laundry that is super delicate.)

Thanks for the review, can't wait to try Mardi Gras ourselves!