bitemyfly

it’s been this way for years , it has its ebb and flow .. buts it always been there .. at least from 2005 or so .. 

we were on a cruise out of Port Canaveral, on the dream .. it could have been it first sailing there ( not sure) , there was an horrendous  fight in the disco that spilled out into the surrounding area , went on for a good 30 mins, damaged to people and the ship .. two large families… CCl was totally unprepared.. there were letters and training and 20 years latter . it stills go on.. it’s the price .. 

for those who say it doesn’t happen or hearsay .. go to u tube .. 

you don’t find any where near as much Chaos on higher prices lines or itinerary’s. 
im preparing my self for a summer Carib cruise now and the young ones in are family are putting it together  , are all for ccl due to the price .. so we will go , but we completely understand what we will get . 

This was a brutal storm , effected many carriers. When i have a flight that i absolutely need to be in a certain place , i usually get there the day before , but i also book with an airline  that has agreements with other carries when these thing happen. Delta, United, American.  If one is canceled  you can go on another .. u pay more for the ticket most times  but when u need to be there its mitigates the risk

On 5/17/2022 at 9:47 AM, Homosassa said:

LOL - I just looked at the Cucina's menu and cringed.  Really meatballs? Not in Italy. Fried Calamari? Not in Italy. I don't know where these "family" recipes came from, but they aren't Italy (or from my straight off the boat grandmother and the recipes passed down).

 

I was also going to suggest Olive Garden for quasi "Italian" fare.

 

This also explains the complaints that are posted about MSC's offering.

Hi 

I agree the cucina food could be better , as other poster stated sweet sauce.

I am 2 nd gen  Brooklyn born Italian , coast .. southern italy calamari is very popular.. fritto Misto ! 

The last time out it was wahoo .. the reef is world class . So wahoo was caught  while trolling Im sure there would also be great bottom fishing too.

don’t remember the charge but nothing expensive.. 

Also hired some right outside they myan  princess 

I have fished roatan many times. But its been years . Out on the beach you will see skiffs pulled up onnsand often near dive shops .. i fished them often , they can recommend the right beach bar to cook them up  .. great fishing. Short ride to just over the reef .. never did it thru the cruise line.

Not sure if this is a coincidence,  we did a vegas trip mid December, and signed  up for both mgm rewards and mgm sports book.. had a great time in Vegas.. two weeks later I’m inundated with ccl 25 balcony , drinks offers and another email from someone / org I didn’t recognize  giving free cruises ?  Wondering if they are buying names .. I used to get casino offers from carnival but it’s been years since I have been on one 

11 hours ago, firefly333 said:

DIS is probably safer than ccl. It has the streaming and income from the parks. Streaming doing well.

 

Ccl scary. Waiting to see if this sell off is just a one day sell off. 

 

Travel stocks down overall on new variable hurting travel scare. I sure hope carnival has no cases onboard. News media just waiting. People dont want to go back to work, they signing a petition to get another stimulus and stay home. People not wanting to work could hurt fragile recovery.

 

Watching ccl today. I'm not trading either. Want to see tomorrow.

I agree dis much safer. Kust spent 4 days at the grand Floridaian , while some very large high end hotels are closed For refurb ,  annual passes still not available , reservations still needed parks the place is jumping, people smiling. , no

masks , social distancing (except on transportation) . Peopple are spending  a ton of money and doing it with smiles.

Commom issue i heard was the lack of staff , cocktails service by the pool was almost non exsistent . Bev manager daid it should come back by sept as some stipends people

been getting run out .

matching the reaorts , thier demand  with streaming dis is a good bet .. 

Something is up , was in Bimini 3 weeks ago for several days fishing .. marina and hotels all operating .. 

This nightmare is ending, we have  incredible effective vaccines developed within a year and in peoples arms who want it.

The political folk who used this for personal power and gain are being trumped by the science, law, and certainly common sense. 

Cruising is starting up, and there are options for all ..

Im heading to Europe in August and now looking forward to a nice fall cruise ..

This will change, remember just 5 weeks ago they were for wearing two masks after vaccination, they along with most central planning are just behind ..very slow to adapt to a changing environment.. 

give it weeks and will change again . 
 

9 minutes ago, stellarose said:

again, we leave late mid to late winter. things can be different then.

Much much different 

9 minutes ago, Lee Cruiser said:

I just watched the video from them. Sounds very encouraging, especially with the protocols, which may be more limited than first thought.  Hopefully, Carnival won't be far behind them in their planning.  Though it is not Carnival, I'm putting a link if anyone wants to see it.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/25087-royal-caribbean-ceo-fain-cdc-permission-coming-shortly.html?fbclid=IwAR0n79zz1dYR_Bg5AhLyYSx0haTqKZ8wDc2ct9R14sNZPOrXGEmh70izmvQ

Thank you for this

This is awesome and it really pertains to all cruising, this freakin pandemic is comping to an end and normalcy and cruising is returning.. this will continue to evolve and get Berger by the week. 
looking forward to a nice cruise this fall!

After my first cruise on carnival , all I heard was a constant sales pitch one way or another .

I learned how to drown them out .

today when they come on , all I hear blah blah blah, blah blah 

god help me if they were saying something important !

This will continue to evolve and change.

People are being vaccinated, coupled with people who have recovered deaths continue to spiral down.

Cases  with breakthrough are showing remarkable results as it relates to low death rate.

Overwhelming  of young who got COVID recovered fine.

I’m feeling great walking around without a mask, and my doc agrees .

going on a cruise for me , I could not care if they check or don’t check . I just won’t go if I need to wear masks , and limit what I do.
at this point people have choices .. and I assume the market will come with choices too. 
‘I’m looking forward to a cruise late fall 

I was in Publix yesterday, as I have done for the last 12 months , I walked in with my mask.. met a neighbor who was maskless, he let me know that they recently changed their policy on mask.. it was awesome not having it on any longer !

this nightmare is coming to an end.. 

6 hours ago, MsCruzNow said:

Wow!  You have confirmed that our 3 day post cruise stay in Venice is a good idea!  Thanks so much for sharing.  Let me know if you have any “do no miss this” spot in Venice.

I couldnt think of leaving italy without visiting venice.

if u going in summer months i suggest visting the other islands like burano during the am and miday . As venice gets bombarded with ship and bus folk

It empties by 3 , which is the official start of cicchetti. A cocktail and small bites out side of the cafe’s enjoy ! Spend a bit for a private water taxi .. 

Thank you for this tread . We go or should I say used to go to Europe often , all on land based vacations.

Euro cruises  never appealed to us before as we enjoy hotels , meals and beverage  based on local customs.along with certain tourist sites , it’s been really our favorite parts of visiting Europe . 
we are thinking of trying a cruise  to see some different places and then go back via land should we desire.

would love if the ship stayed overnight. 

2 hours ago, Homosassa said:

Just a boot on the ground observation from here in Florida on how Florida State agencies are treating the whipsawed Covid 19 policy statements that come from the state's top leadership:

 

I volunteer at a local Florida State Park. While proclamations were being made that Florida was totally open and to come on down, the reality is that for state parks, we operated under strict restrictions. All  staff and volunteers are required to wear masks and must follow strict distancing rules. This is for the outdoor operations. Indoor areas were closed. To further protect staff, volunteers, and oblivious park visitors, all programs and presentations (again outdoors) have been cancelled because too many people would attend the programs.

 

Now after the newest blustering, we are no longer allowed to say that the indoor areas are closed due to Covid 19. We instead now have renovation projects and mechanical problems that necessitate the closures. The masks and social distancing for staff and volunteers have been reemphasized (maybe the fact that one staff member died and several became ill from Covid 19 after the spring break crowds, most maskless with young disease vectors in tow, overcrowded the park has something to do with the renewed emphasize on masks).

 

I am called for jury duty next week,. Again after last week's shenanigans, I received a priority mail letter yesterday reemphasizing the Covid 19  procedures that are still in place for the courthouse and jury pool.

 

There is a obviously a divide in the state between the political blustering at the top and what state officials who have access to the realities of Covid 19 variants and cases in the state are doing to protect state staff and others who are present in volunteer capacities.

 

How does this post relate to cruising? It relates to it if for some unknown reason we have a federal judge who didn't brush up on the authority and jurisdiction of the CDC and just dismiss the case being presented today, it is going to be difficult to prove the allegations of  CDC over reach given the facts that are available to those that are capable of understandiing them. 

 

This might be true for the government workers /‘ staff at these  places, but I spent a good part of the weekend at state parks , and there are no restrictions that I saw in place as a visitor. Also caught many fish. 
we also stayed in a beach resort in st Pete beach ,  are in restaurants again no restrictions .

im vaccinated, if I go into a store that requires it I wear it, I honor it  .. but Florida Is open .  Gov. Workers and there leadership might require it, might resist. But Florida is open .

same is tru down in ft lauderdale lsat weekend .

On 5/4/2021 at 1:57 PM, firefly333 said:

Crypto stocks or currencies a whole different ball game. I was trying to stay relevant to ccl.

 

Most dont know millions are being made buying and selling virtual land and real estate. Take a look at sandbox or decentraland. Is it at a bubble as some think?

 

At the bottom you could have thrown a dart and a lot of stocks hit bottom. If you picked the exact bottom good for you.. 

 

I dont really see your plan going forward? Holding a lot of ccl or you say travel stocks?  I agree hopefully a pop when it is actually announced they will resume. Agree. What then?

 

I always have a long term reason to hold. Pays a good dividend a big one with me since I love off myndividends. You say old time analysis out the window ... but there is some going on. Charts are charts. Berkshire is conservative but listen to all input. Can follow or not. 

 

Crypto is crazy. 

It is crazy, crypto is nuts, but as stated earlier .. doge!  Cashed out .. damm that was good lol 

as long as they addresses the rust its a high improvement.

With vaccine in people arms ,availability of vaccines coupled with people who have recovered  is a game changer. July start ok , I’m sure perhaps start but back to normal it will be longer. Meanwhile today’s rules will be different by aug and September. Remember it was just 3 or so weeks ago some within gov agencies were talking wearing multiple masks .. 

it’s evolving fast ... and thank god it is 

4 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

Without a secure digital passport (not happening), even if they required 100% of guests to be vaccinated, they won't be - pure and simple. There are plenty of people who would forge the necessary documents (CDC card, attesting to it on a form,  bring a note from a Dr written on the back of a napkin, etc..).

 

Back in the day, we used Rum Runners to smuggle booze - and so did a number of others. People all have different levels of adherence to "rules". Some will comply with everything, others will find justification to do, basically, whatever. 

 

Tom

Even though I get cheers , drink on us or some sort of drink package I’m still tempted to pull out my rum runners .. 😀

Me I’m buying doge at the next dip.. ccl , I will wait on ..

Buffet and all food and. Beverage no self serve, not just for COVID , will help with other bugs.

boarding , hopefully eliminate the crowded lido deck with masses all trying to eat with luggage and carry on all over..  for me truly the only time the ship feels crowded 

Capacity - reduction would be wonderful and I expect the prices to rise .. but can imagine getting a seat by the pool or serenity if you are a late riser lol .

reservations for shows , possibly a revenue opportunity .. I would pay extra  for good seats , I hate waiting on lines.