john watson

There is a good video on YouTube called "Princess Cruises Safety Video 2021" It explains clearly a lot about security and the muster drill which will happen when on board. It is a very good general guide and some details may have changed slightly. Viewing it wont count towards needing to see the video once onboard but you will have a much better understanding of the whole process. Regards John

The situation is exacerbated if your mother in law or other family members are in the adjoining cabin. They make noise just the same but also want to come through the door to see if you are all right. Lol John

I have only worked at a travel agents and not on ships. My experience of how different age group children behave is based on taking my daughter on cruises at least once a year from 2 years old to seventeen and the kid's clubs. Daughter is now 23 and is an Elite passenger. When many reach teenage years particularly the later years they tend to think of themselves more as adults and sophisticated and therefore not really children. The kid's club is for children and older teens tend to avoid using it as a venue to remain within. Princess can track absolutely everyone carrying a medallion every second of the day and night. They also have a mobile "Youth Security" team, usually a man and woman with a radio to chase up on reported infringements of bad behaviour reported in to staff. Regards John.

In reality all the muster stations are going to be used for another purpose, not just the casino. When a genuine muster is called the official response passengers should make is to return to cabins to collect life jackets, the warm clothing and medication. There are special arrangements for children's clubs. Next stage is to go down to the muster station and be counted. This will disrupt whatever people are doing initially, eating dinner, playing bingo etc. All facilities, bars etc. close down and stop selling drinks because the crew need to muster and take up new roles. Remember the signal is not the signal that an abandon ship situation is taking place. It could be a possible man overboard scenario and a full count of all passengers and crew might prove it to be a very strong yet false alarm. Accounting for everybody will save a lot of wasted time. Regards John

I did say "general rule" and common sense would dictate this in order to minimise people trying to get past one another. We have always booked extremely far forward or on the stern and never been allocated a mid ship muster station. In fact by booking in this manner we have have on occasions when the physical muster used to take place ended up descending crew stairs as per in a genuine emergency. That would be aft down the leg which holds the Skywalkers nightclub aloft and forward there is a set of crew stairs by the forward facing cabins. The stations being theater or the night cabaret lounge right on the stern. Regards John

I think the issue is that to link bookings party one might wish to link with party two. It does not always follow that party two wants to link with party one. In order to ensure both parties wish to be linked it has to be done mutually. I believe this can be done on the app. I should imagine that the kids are being dealt with as a separate entity who wants to decide their own things. Regards John

As a general rule the location of the muster station is often on the promenade deck except where the theatre is involved which has an upper and lower section over two decks. The allocation is roughly divided on how far forward, midships or aft your cabin is located. The most forward cabins typically have the theatre as muster station A. Whereas extreme aft cabins might be allocated F (if there are six station) and be located at the lounge which is nearest the stern. All the other allocations are in between to try and make a mass move to stations most efficient with the minimum of lateral travel with streams of people walking past each other. I think your muster station is likely below where your cabin is situated. Is the Captain's Circle loyalty area consistent with this? Regards John

Teenagers tend to befriend each other early on. Once they have buddied up they often just use the teens club as a meeting point then the group goes off about the ship. These days it is possible to track the family and other parties if they consent to this. If you have a four up cabin in my opinion, being fairly close to a public washroom is a good idea because some people tend to hog the shower when you want to use other facilities therein. Regards John

The thing is that whilst cruises have changed since I started cruising and they have changed radically since 1964. The passengers have changed just as much if not more in my opinion, some are extra ordinarily fragile. Social media has a lot to answer for inasmuch as people taking photographs of everything right down to the minutia, posting them in public domains leaving others traumatised that their entire cruise experience was ruined by a substandard ice cream dessert. Regards John

I laugh about whoever has to suit up and become the persona of Stanley Bear etc. under the corporate banner. It cannot be a popular task for a member of staff to be allocated. We have a brand of chain restaurant in the UK called Brewers Fayre and their mascot is Brewster Bear typically for children's parties a member of staff has to suit up in a bear costume and befriend the children. I am wondering how well it would go down with that guy to find out that a Stag Party had been booked by the local Rugby Club for their members and they had insisted Brewster Bear will be in attendance. Lol John

I think there is a lot of misconceptions about carnivores. A number of vegetarians refer to non-vegetarians as carnivores but in reality they are actually omnivores. Regards John

All cruise lines have cut back on things and gone down market to some extent. The pandemic was an expensive hit for them and they are coming back as best as they can. If you cruised with Princess prior to 2017 it is worthwhile phoning Carnival House and speaking to the Princess Captains Loyalty Team and find out your status as P&O cruises were also included in their tally prior to 2017. In my opinion Princess have not gone as far down market as other lines. Regards John

Hurtigruten are very small ships and sail areas where the sea can be rough. I think you would be a lot different on Cunard. Regards John

Holiday Inn Herbert Walker Avenue do a cruise and stay deal. I believe they also do parking only with ticket machines in the foyer where you opt for different lengths. Check with hotel beforehand. Regards John.

I think some gentlemen get around this rule by just having the handle. Regards John

I saw two gentlemen wearing kilts on a formal night with, I assume were their wives chatting to the side a little way away. Meanwhile a few drinks waitresses seemed to be taking selfies with the gentlemen. Regards John

Interesting, were they weighing everyone? Regards John

If you disembark as late as possible you can get a taxi to the next berth. You could just sit in the foyer of any of the big local hotels and get drinks at the bar to kill time if you are running too early for the next ship, Regards John

Logically they should post one to you. Do you have local travel agents that have them on the shelf? That would be my plan B. Regards John

I suspect the excursion operator weighs up the danger associated with the activity and how it might affect its smooth continuation. If a lot of physical activity were involved and someone became breathless and had chest pains medical intervention might be required. If you were on a small craft twenty minutes and a third of the way to the objective and they were forced to turn about it could be alleged that someone outside the stated age limits was negligent in booking and culpable for the disruption. Regards John

After forty years of cruising I thought I had completely got over sea sickness. Then I did a Transatlantic with Star Clippers 2,000 ton ship bobbing about. During a particular storm heavy seas at night the bed was going up and down about a metre plus all night. I got up three times. Lol John

Men's underpants look very similar and quite often identical. There should be a difference in appearance from the original photograph's condition. If they had a line up in security.... Regards John

You can take things off and on cruise ships. In this respect you could purchase a suitcase ashore if you needed to take home your purchases from ports of call. Therefore if you take a suitcase off why can you not bring it back. The only problem I see is they might think you are prematurely disembarking. I should think the best plan is to ask the cruise line if they have a problem with your plan. They scan all thing brought on board at every port. Regards John

Surely not every item? Regards John

I read a post on here the other day where someone had booked a minimum guarantee inside cabin but had been upgraded to ocean view. When checking the details the upgrade was an adapted cabin which they did not need but they were happy with it. It seems to me cruise lines routine follow this practice but without bookings made on the basis of having an adapted cabin or not sailing they are stuck in a chicken and egg situation in respect of booking in the final few passengers which they effectively put anywhere. We need a booking category where you book an adapted cabin where none remain and wait but if none come up you do not sail whereas if one comes up you get notified and sail. Probably need a seven day period prior to sailing and a refundable deposit system. Regards John