SantaFeFan

2 hours ago, pris993 said:

We always lock our luggage, if available we even wrap in plastic at the airport especially for international flights.  I guess those who don't lock theirs have never seen on TV how some folks working at airports steal from luggage... we pack generally new clothes and personal items, something have gifts for those we will visit, don't want someone stealing them.  

Oh, you mean like those tabloid type exposé shows? Yeah, THOSE are always unbiased and completely accurate. 🙄

Over 40 years of domestic and international travel and never a lock used nor ever a missing item. I will believe my experience over sensationalism any day. 

8 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

That's probably an American thing. I have never, ever, heared anyone say that I have to tip the person selling me an outfit so that they get a decent salary. (If someone did, I should defenitely try to find out how high salary someone selling clothes has.)

Don't be obtuse. No one claimed you needed to tip such a person. Sigh!!!

You know how the system works on a cruise ship. If you are a decent person, you will accept the decision the cruise line and the employees have made and stop all your tilting at windmills nonsense. 

1 hour ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I agree with most of what you say but sometimes someone say that the staff "need" the money they get from the DSC to get a decent salary. The only way to know if that is correct is to know how high their salary is. I'm sure that they are worth the extra money and for me that's what counts but do they need it to get a decent salary? I don't know because I don't know how high their salary is.

 

I personally don't care how much they earn, but hope that it's "enough", but when someone say that they "need" the extra money it is relevant how high their salary is. 

The only thing that is "relevant" is that we as responsible, compassionate customers of the cruise lines, take their word for it that the salaries and gratuities are handled in an appropriate manner and the crew is paid what they were promised. It is not your job, or any of ours, to second guess who gets paid what. This is absolutely no different than you purchasing your new outfit for your next cruise and not second guessing how much the person who designed the clothes, or assembled it, or transported it to the store, or who sold it to you, where each paid for their part of the process.

I find it offensive for anyone to think that they are so much superior than the crew that they need to constantly second guess the pay structure the crew has agreed to. And this is especially directed to those who search for whatever justification they can conjure up to try to avoid paying the suggested gratuities that are part of that compensation. Clearly, it is all about them and not about the crew.

It is none of our business how or how much the crew is paid. We should graciously accept the systems in place without passing judgment, second guessing, or looking for ways to get out  of it. 

1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said:

Like it or not, mass market cruise companies generally staff their ships with people willing to work for very low stated wages supplemented by gratuities left by passengers.  

 

Anyone who books a cruise without understanding that has be either very careless or incredibly ignorant.  We all know (or certainly should know) how staff are compensated for their efforts.  The staff seem willing to accept those conditions (perhaps because they have very few alternatives at home), and most (all, in my experience) perform their responsibilities admirably - and in my experience have always earned the additional tips I give in addition to whatever auto- gratuities I leave in place.

 

If anyone has a genuine ethical problem with the way a cruise line conducts its business, they should spend their vacation dollars elsewhere.  

I agree with all you wrote. It is no more unethical how they conduct their business than it is unethical for a burger joint to pay what they offer an first time employee on his/her first day than what a high Michelin rated restaurant would offer a long time staff member with decades of experience. It all needs to be considered in context. 

23 hours ago, jagsfan said:

The point of TSA locks is that TSA employees can open them. 

There are no TSA employees at ports. 

Therefore no keys with which to open TSA locks. 

The security people must have been dunderheads not to match the lady’s name with the name on the luggage tag. 

 

 

Those TSA keys are easily available on the internet. Anyone can get them. There are even sites where you can download a 3D file of the key and print one on a home 3D printer. 

23 hours ago, Lionesss said:

We started  locking our suitcases a few cruises back after a missing item.

 

We used Luggage Valet on the Oasis.

Put our suitcases out the night before

Delivered strait to Cleveland minus the MK sandals, now mind you do not know who would want worn sandals, but still.

 

So, somewhere along the travel chain, someone had the opportunity to open and search and take the sandals from the time the bags were placed  outside the cabin, to turnstile in Cleveland.

 

But, nothing else was taken.

 

Yup

 

 Wall mart has the locks.

 

Safe travels.

To steal only a pair of worn sandals makes zero sense. You probably forgot to pack them, especially if they were under the bed or somewhere else out of the way. 

1 hour ago, ed01106 said:

One theory.

 

Another is anything worth locking is worth stealing and a luggage lock is an advertisement that the bag contains something valuable.

 

I prefer the camo method.  Unlocked 25 year old luggage that looks like it couldn’t possibly contain anything of value.

Ditto! Thieves do not want to waste time and take risks on luggage that may contain nothing of value. Locked luggage implies that there may be something in there worth stealing. With limited time, and a chance to get caught, thieves will go for luggage that has the highest possibility of value, not the least. 

Besides, if your luggage has a zipper, a thief can open it and close it in seconds without leaving a trace, all with a pen as a tool. Here is another video on just how simple it is. 

Besides the risks - even though small, they are still real - we prefer to go several days early and extend our vacation with a few days visiting the departure city. Since all passengers typically have to be on-board by mid afternoon, there isn't much time to visit a city we may not have been to before if we arrive the same day. Some of these cities are worth visiting for their own sake, so we always give ourselves time to do so while also providing a buffer for delayed or cancelled flights. 

I bring disposable foam ear plugs that I purchase at hardware stores. They are quite effective. I use a pair for a week and simply dispose of them in the trash and grab a new pair

. 

Oops, a duplicate post!!

Another vote for at least one day early, and maybe even two. If you make it without delays, then take advantage of the early arrival date and enjoy touring Miami, which you won't be able to do on the cruise. With early arrivals scheduled, if your flight gets cancelled, immediately CALL the airline and make arrangements to be re-booked on the next available flight. If you go to the ticket counter, you will be competing with 100+ passengers for those few seats. And don't rule out booking on a different airline if you are having problems re-booking on the original airline. You will have to pay for the new flights, but at least you will get to the ship in time. It is better to take the hit on duplicate airfare than to lose out on the cruise, which would have cost much more, not to mention the value of enjoying the cruise itself rather than missing part or all of it. 

We always go in a day or two early and enjoy visiting the departure city, which you won't be able to do if you fly in just before boarding and fly out immediately at the end of the cruise. 

We used Anastasia for the two days when we did St. Petersburg a few years ago. They wanted US bills, either new or in good shape. We paid the owner directly on the morning of the 2nd day before we started touring. 

Things may have changed since then, however, but that is how we handled payment. 

8 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

That doesn't work on at least one cruise line - Disney.  Beverages must be in carry on bags, not checked.  I believe Holland America also has the same policy.

Thanks for the clarification. Our most recent experience has been on Princess.

After your reply, I did a bit of digging. Seems that only Princess will allow it in checked luggage. A few will allow it in carry on luggage, and some won't allow it at all. And those rules occasionally change, so the best option is to check directly with the cruise line for the time frame of a cruise. 

3 hours ago, Benthayer Gonbak said:

 

 

DC has a law that require ids be carried at all times.   The police supposedly could and did stop people and ask for drivers licenses.  Since I used public transportation I saw no need for a drivers license while walking to and from my job.  Fortunately, I don’t profile for a search so I never had experience a stop.  I was not alone in believing that the law wasn’t really enforceable! 

That doesn't seem to be vise. Even when walking or taking public transportation, I always have my driver's license on me in case of an accident or some incident that results in me being incapacitated where no-one knows who I am or where I live so they can contact family. Some form of ID isn't an attack on privacy. It is information that may be needed in an emergency. 

38 minutes ago, Schoifmom said:

Honestly, most people will just use bungee cords and strap the boxes to the top of their luggage, or take the cans out of the box and put them into a backpack.  It's always good to plan ahead (good for you!) as you will have to lug those around until the rooms open up.

We bring a case of 12 still in it's cardboard container. We attach a luggage tag and it is delivered to our room. 

55 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

You may want to read some books written by crew members.  They don't see themselves the way you seem to see them.  

A lot of things aren't the way he sees them. 

8 hours ago, cruise.gal said:

Arriving via shuttle from Napa to San Francisco airport.  Need transportation from airport to cruise ship...any recommendations?  The transfers via Princess depart at 11am to 12noon...so I'm told.   I arrive at SFO at 11:30 am (luggage in hand).  

 

 

 If you are coming in from Napa, is there a shuttle to the Embarcadero in San Francisco? From Napa to SFO you pass within a mile of the cruise terminal and keep going for another 15 miles to the airport, which you will have to backtrack. It's about 80 minutes to SFO from Napa and another 20 back to the cruise terminal, but only about 55 directly to the cruise terminal. 

The closest BART station is about 1-1/2 miles from the terminal. If you have several pieces of luggage, it will be a hassle getting on the train and up the escalators where you need to get off, then a walk or taxi to the terminal. 

There are better options than going all the way to SFO to take the Princess transfer.

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

My meet and greets always win at slot pulls.Slots are never a loser for me.

Yeah, right. And the Queen of England is your cruising companion. 

Like your other post regarding gambling, I call BS on this one too. 

48 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

They are valid questions, even if you don't consider them to be. The forums are all about give and take and that includes asking questions when things don't add up.

I blocked him. None of his posts offer any substance other than sarcasm, criticism, or contrarianism on this and other threads. 

8 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

First of all travel on a closed loop cruise is to a foreign country, it's just typically nearby. I typically enter the country at a land border crossing when we return from Europe because we fly out of Montreal but I am familiar with the re-entry process (and of course that type of travel actually requires a passport).

Your described situation is not at all the same as what some are talking about. Travel directly to the US from foreign countries that the current administration considers undesirable has indeed become more difficult for some people, especially if they do not look like Norwegians trying to immigrate here. 😉

16 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

Since it's a State Department website I would expect it to be at least reasonably accurate. And unless the bus steals my passport I still have that and if I'm in a coma I'm not all that worried about having it to begin with (but DW will know where it is and would be able to speak for me). (And in the absolute worse case scenario as I mentioned it's also available on the cloud, but I guess your next response is that wi-fi has gone out indefinitely in the country we are in🤣.) Finally, as I said the copy is for my personal convenience, that I might be able to use it in an extreme situation is an extra.

Maybe we should have it tattoo'd on our chests as an absolutely last resort to cover all the "what ifs"? 😉

28 minutes ago, capriccio said:

 

I'm curious as to which airline is ticketing more than 333 days in advance?   You have already booked excursions more than a year in advance that are non-refundable? 

A lot of it doesn't make sense. Why final payment almost a year in advance? Why is he out airfare so far in advance? I didn't think airlines even sold tickets that far out. Why out the cost of excursions? Aren't they are always refundable? Why out the cost of insurance? Most insurance will allow cancellation up until the departure date or at least a short "cooling off" period. And what is this "etc." cost he is losing?

So many holes in this story. 

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

You can try math games if you want, but the full amount of the passport is due and payable up front. For my family it would have added $850 for a 4 day cruise. You might think that's a good investment and that's fine, it's your money. I didn't see it as a good investment at all, especially with our uncertainty about future travel plans. 

If anyone is playing math games, it is you. It is clear you have taken many cruises, and plan to take even more. To use the excuse of "but the full amount of the passport is due and payable up front" is true, but only if you obsess over the short term, one time cruise. When considering the long term bigger picture, spread out over several cruises the cost is quite reasonable. To go on ad infinitum about the one time cost is disingenuous at best, and deflection at worst. Instead of digging in and refusing to accept the proven value of a passport, try to make it less about yourself and more about what is best for the other people you are trying so hard to push your personal agenda on. 

5 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Actually I'm a staunch supporter of people using the documentation that makes the best sense for them to use for their individual travel needs. If someone is that worried about the current political environment then they should by all means get a passport. I have read the reports of US citizens being detained and don't see the connection between those cases and someone traveling on a cruise using documentation that is legally allowed (and IIRC at least one of the individuals involved had a valid US passport and was still detained). I also don't see the current climate changing tourism related documentation.

Well, it could be argued that owning a home or car and not having insurance on it make the best sense if a person is trying to save money. How often does something happen that insurance would help with? Most of the time it is money paid for nothing, just like paying the $11 per year for a passport (about the price of a single low end alcoholic drink per year). But, when it is needed, it can be priceless.

Not having documents to protect against the unexpected is no different whether owning a home or cruising on a closed loop itinerary that visits foreign countries. It is all about how comfortable a person is with unexpected risks. 

My level of risk taking when traveling is not very high. Even though I can afford the hundred's of dollars that may be required to get back home because I chose to save a few dollars on a relatively inexpensive passport, I prefer not to. I just don't think that is fiscally responsible. 

And if you can't see the negative changes that have happened over the last two years regarding ease of entering the US, your political leaning is obvious. 

12 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

The last I heard they required such requests to be made once you disembarked and were home by filling out a form and submitting it. Not sure if they've changed that practice, but a lot of people were removing them in protest for things not related to services provided by the crew.

The one thing that NCL does better than the other lines, IMHO. Keeps the cheapskates from stiffing the crews.