chadci

15 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

Having your cabin available as soon as you boarded used to be the benefit of FTTF. Now gone. You used to be able to disregard arrival appointments and show up to the pier whenever you wanted with FTTF. Now gone.

 

I don't see why anybody would buy it anymore at any price - I mean how long is the line at guest services generally? - but each to their own.

We never did buy it, just never saw the value.  We just always got to the port early and when we cruised, I think you boarded in order of arrival, not check in. Same with next week, even with Platinum, we still have a 10:30 arrival time. 

Just to follow up, I did get "the email" and it states that we can go to our room to drop bags. 

They can let security.

10 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

The only crew by doors are the ones directing you to Lido.  The ones on Muster duty aren't there to police who can go the the rooms and those are only on muster decks

I'm probably wrong, but I think they just meant at the Diamond and Platinum party. 

Perfect, thank you! 

True, but the bigger the ships get and the fewer staff... I work in a busy downtown hospital, and our patient count is always high and seems like we operate on a skeleton crew... so I get why, but on a paid vacation losing even little things does stand out. 

You got that right!

And the DP party is nice, hopefully they just check cards better in the future and turn the others away. 

I still miss the last night party. I can't drink like that anymore, but wow...

When did you get the email? I did our check in this morning, but still have a few weeks until we sail.

The booking summary is gone from the printables too.. now it's just an informational. That part I never really kept track of anyway, just had it on my phone ( as long as phones did such things)

Gotcha. Our last was in January and that was not on the boarding pass at that time ( looking at it now).

I understand and thank you for clarifying. We don't go as many as some, but have seen heaps of changes over the years.... and that's one thing I expect to stay the same. be well. 

That's disappointing, but just another kick I guess.

I guess we're back to lugging around our 12 packs and bottles of wine.... hopefully they don't take that away too. 

Yeah, we just drop and run, but in the past it's not had that verbage so I was curious.

Have a great day!

I did my check in this morning for a cruise coming up soon and it says we can't access our rooms until 1:30 even Diamond, Platinum and FTTF. Are we going back to that, or is it ship / port dependent? I really appreicate being able to take my bags to the room.

What I've found as an option from Union Station to LBX Downtown is take the Metro A line and then we can walk the few blocks or uber to where we plan to stay which is near the convention center and gives us access to Vons grocery store. Website looks to be a decent enough place - found on google maps. 

Hi, I assume I have a bit of a unique situation and am seeking a little guidance. 

We'll be arriving in Los Angeles by Amtrak on a Friday afternoon (around 2:35) for a Saturday cruise. I need some ideas on where to stay to be best positioned to get to the port Saturday morning as easily as possible. Will this be an Uber / Lyft scenario or is there convenient public transit to look into? It'll be myself, my wife and our 10 year old. We'll each have a backpack and a carryon. I'm prepared to pay $50-75 to get there, but would love not to!

I'm sure by the time we get to the hotel ( assuming at least another hour or so) we'll be ready to grab some dinner and relax for the evening after a long travel day, so we don't HAVE to be near lots of things to see and do... however having a market within walking distance would be handy to grab some soda / wine to take with us.

I appreicate any advice!

That's what I had assumed. We'll likely be coming down 5 from the Fresno area. Then either stay on 5 or take the 405. The only reason I see that I'd WANT to take the 405 is Santa Monica Pier, my wife's never been.

In October we're doing a westward road trip from Indiana. We have stops planned in or around Moab, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, the cruise. On the way home we won't have as much time, but hope to make a few stops ( Joshua Tree and Hoover Dam to name a few). 

The reason for the post: our Cruise is a Saturday - Saturday out of Long Beach. For those that know the area, Would we be better off driving in to Long Beach Friday evening, staying somehwere local then heading to the port Saturday morning OR staying an hour or so away and then driving in that morning?  Is the port parking pretty easy to navigate? We're platinuim and usually arrive as early as possible, so hopefully no issue finding a parking space in their lot / garage. In Miami we usually stay at a hotel with a Park / Sleep package. It's been a few years though, so I'm not sure if that exists anymore. I know the price was getting pretty high and making it more cost effective to stay somewhere less expensive and park at the port. I think Long Beach is around $25 a day?

Thoughts? other options? I just want to make it as relaxing as we possibly can, which I know it will be wild in and around Los Angeles. 

Was on the Splendor in Alaska in May. Awesome cruise and the Splendor was the perfect ship for it. Top tip, when you’re in Tracy Arm, climb to the top of the water slide down the best views…. And yes, there will be a few crazy people using the slide. 

I rarely had service. We use Verizon and unless my feet were on the ground, I didn’t have it and even then it was spotty sometimes. Places like Icy Strait was especially bad. I needed to check on kids and things. I think it was decent in Juneau and Ketchikan.  

I'm scared to visit Seattle.... mainly because I won't want to leave.

11 hours ago, arctickitty said:

I think I would characterize it as radio friendly middle American.  There was a violin duo that seemed to play pop, alternative, and rock, and never classical.  There was a signer/songwriter style duo (Lilli Duo) that was my favorite as I loved the vocalist’s voice.  There was another duo that I didn’t care for and then a solo singer/guitarist who was bleh (these folks seemed like they were half off key or something).  There was also Alter Idem, a cover band.  At night it seemed like there was live music everywhere after 5/6 pm.  But on sea days, they didn’t start earlier.  In general all the music groups played a lot of country, rock, and pop.  I recognized a lot of the pop and alternative and kept saying, “Hey, that’s another song amazon suggested I try” and people were always seen singing along to classic rock, country, 80s, etc.

Thank you! I've been curious about that for a long time!

What kind of music is played in Alaska on the ship? I can’t quite imagine the usual Caribbean calypso. 

I’ve had it a time or two, just to check in on things at home. I got the Social package, had anybody I needed to communicate with DM me on Twitter and it worked well enough. I can’t imagine having it on all the time though. 

23 minutes ago, arctickitty said:

 

 

In love with Masala Tiger already.

 

Whoa! Need more info. Is that a daily thing or? The last Indian I had (besides the MDR) was the good spot the Breeze had. I ate it daily. Their chutney was next level. RIP Indian place on the Breeze. 

On 2/20/2022 at 1:29 PM, groundloop said:

 

I don't see this as being much different than leaving kids in daycare while parents go to work, nobody is claiming that's frowned upon.  Plus, if it's a Carnival excursion the ship's not leaving without you.

 

 

We've left our little one onboard during an excursion and I've been on these boards for over 10 years and this is the first time I've heard it being an controversial.