Charles4515

I agree that Celebrity is responsible. Transportation companies have asked to be on the lookout for trafficking by the FBI. Where I worked we even had a one day training session on what to look for. We were told to call if we had any suspicion but we were not to take any action ourselves.

With that information you have convinced me.

OP is assuming that skin color or multiracial was the reason. I don't see proof of that.

I have had Global Entry for years and honestly it never saved me any time. I traveled often with a friend who never got it and we always got through customs and immigration at the same time. Since I have two credit card that will pay the cost I got the card but otherwise I probably would not have bothered with the fee. PreCheck with comes with Global Entry is definitly worth it for me not because it saves time but because you usually go through the metal scanner not the machine that sends waves at you and I always end up with them wanding me and touching me after going through that thing. That everyone should get a passport and use it on cruises is common sense but there have been situations that have been posted here where people wanted a passport but it either had not arrived, they could not find it, or it had expired and they had not paid attention to the date. Should we tell them not to travel when they are on an itinerary where they could with a birth certificate? The odds are they would have no issues. Millions are cruising with a birth certificate. When the regulations were being made back in 2008 CBP said they had procedures in place if citizens had an emergency on a cruise and didn't have a passport. Maybe someday they will revisit that regulation. Regulations and treatys are not forever and have been modified a bunch of times.

There may be legitimate ways but if someone has a busness it might be best to check with an accountant. I had several coworkers who played fast and loose claiming deductions. My accountant said they were living dangerously, they were not good in her opinion, so I never did it. The IRS being a bureaucracy may miss that the deductions are not copacetic but then again they might catch it. As far as I know the coworkers never got audited but they might not have told me. They also may have been exaggerating to me what they did.

Every few years someone on Cruise Critic posts some sob story about pay and conditions they heard from a crew member they befriended. I expect the ones who put on a good act get bigger tips the better they shock their mark.

Generally workers pay for their work clothes whether it is a uniform or not. Most airline workers, passenger rail workers pay for their uniforms. Pay for the cleaning too.

I doubt that RCL treats its employees worse than other mass market cruise lines. Can you prove that? If some crew member told you that, that is not proof. They might be trying to get something from you.

If a cruise line sponsors and gives a cruise they shouuld report that to the IRS. Some Youtubers have sponsors and get products to review. Most get income from subscribers and YouTube reports the income to the IRS.

The port agent knows how to get the documentation. That is part of their job. That is why the cruise line always gives out the port agent's phone number for every port. Even if you have the documentation it is going to be a hassle if you miss the ship and you still need the port agent. And having a passport my not be the be all end all if it was in your cabin safe as mne would probably be or if you had it with you and were pickpocketed.

Some people like to buy on the ship or at one of the ports because it also becomes a remembrance of their trip. Once on an Alaskan cruise I saw a hat in one of the shops in Ketchikan that I had been thinking of buying at REI. I tried it on to size it and my friend tried to convince me to buy it because I could say I bought it in Alaska. The price was 20% less at REI but to my friend that was not the point. I bought it when I got back home because I didn’t think buying a hat in Alaska made in Canada gave it more cachet than buying it in Maryland but I get the thinking. Some people like souvenirs of their trip. Makes them think of the trip. Because of that even though I bought the hat back home when I wear that hat I remember the trip because of that conversation……😀

Century, Galaxy and Mercury could not enter all the ports in Bermuda. I don’t recall them ever doing Bermuda but if they had they would have only been able to do the Dockyard. I don’t recall them ever even doing the Dockyard. I sailed all three, Century and Galaxy were great, Mercury was kind of dark. For Bermuda that did Hamilton and St.George’s we did Zenith and could have done Horizon. Century,Galaxy and Mercury were fine ships but not enough balcony's and people wanted them.

They all get home if the cruise is aborted. The CBP sends a general waiver letter.

You should have put one emoji. 😛 It is not always obvious on this subject. Some see it as black and white.

I don’t recall the cost as it was a few years ago. We walked to the visitor center as we were thinking of taking a bus up but the taxi driver who was from Poland was there and we decided to go up with him. I probably would not do it after an excursion that ends at 4 with all aboard at 6:30. I would probably be tired after the excursion and not want to worry about getting back to the ship, I would be getting a local brew. We like to have a local brew at every port.

The EDL and passport card exist for US citizens who live along the border and cross it by land for jobs, shopping, sports etc. Why would they have to fly home after driving across the border? You think they are going to leave their car or truck in Canada?

They can probably afford it but just want to spend the money on something else. Since the US allows the use of a birth certificate on closed loop cruises they probably figure there is nothing wrong with not having a passport book and they would be right. The Foder article says everyone going on a cruise should have a passport and I agree with them but there are instances where the passport has not arrived on time or has been misplaced. This seems like a difficult subject for you and for non US citizens but the vast majority using a birth certificate never have a problem.

Cats don’t set off metal detectors. As Bayley suggested the cat was likely sedated. My niece flew a couple of times with her cat and the cat was given a sedative just in case. You can travel with a cat on some airlines.

As I understand it the cabins were modules. They pulled the old modules out and installed the new ones. They were prebuilt. The cabins are new not just renovated. Public spaces were renovated except Cafe Bacio. Wonder if they ran out of time. The buffet with islands is a great improvement. As for Constellation versus Summit I preferred the Constellation as built to the Summit as built. They didn’t build them cookie cutter. I was on both when they were fairly new. I was on the third sailing of the Summit. The Revolutionized Summit is definitely better than the Constellation which unfortunately is way overdue for its redo. As for booking one over the other to book there are other factors that I take into account. Itinerary is important to me.

In the New York Post article it says they declined to name the traveler in whose cabin the cat was found. So they know who booked the cabin. Possibly the person who booked the cabin was not the person who brought the cat onboard though but someone on the booking. In any case they are not going to release a name.

Bermuda for one does it. They are are looking for drugs not cats. Many countries do it. When a ship is docked it is in the country it is docked in and subject to their laws.

Before it was revolutionized I noticed the cabin bathroom on Summit was in the worst state in the cabin. It was really worn. Tiles loose and yellowed in the shower. Sink and vanity top worn. I imagine that on Constellation the bathroom is probably in worse bad shape now. The new bathroom on Summit is what I call plasticized. It has got to be a lot easier for the crew to clean.

The decor was different. The specialty restaurant also had a different decor scheme. Not a huge difference but I preferred the Constellation.

Before Michael’s on the M class became the Retreat they were piano bars. But originally they were cigar bars.

The Oceanview Cafe is redesigned on Summit and the new design is better. Every cabin was replaced so they are better in my opinion. They added both regular outlets and USB ports. The not so good is that they added cabins which means a worse passenger to space ratio.