Beachdude

Yes, money might sway the limits - but not with ship tours.

LOL, Really!. I have posted several times that I don't recommend the Zip Line at St. Kitts because of the unsafe personnel. We were on a "SHIP Tour". Our day sail captain told us he almost turned over a dingy when he ignored the weight of his passenger. He said it was lesson learned.

I think some folks here are being naive about shore tours. They are run by normal people who have the same flaws of making bad judgments and decisions as many of us. Don't assume you are in safer hands just because the cruise line uses them.

Burt

I have seen them weigh people on horseback excursions and unfortunately, I have seen the humiliation in people's faces when they are denied participating in the excursion. If you look anywhere near the 250 mark or higher, they weigh you, and they are not discreet about it. So, there could even be some embarrassment in those who are slightly under 250.

Yep, that's the risk. There are so many other things to do, I would consider plan B.

Burt

My experience is that in the Caribbean, money blurs rules and guidelines. As someone who has owned horses, 250lbs is just an arbitrary number given to keep the really large tourist from even giving it a thought. I would guess that a few pounds over would not be a deal killer, but is it worth the risk?

Burt

Alaska is our favorite, but we sail the Carribbean now and then for a cheap getaway. Sally seems to find really good deals.

Burt

Yes, alcohol makes humans do amazing things. I've told the story on this thread of the woman who pull out her right breast of her very low V-neck dress while searching for her Sail Away card that she had tucked away somewhere in there.

Burt

Please tell me you clocked him one. Doing that deserves nothing less as a response. :mad:

What!:confused:

Burt

If you can book the specialty restaurants on line, that gets you a good start. Otherwise book as soon as you board the ship.

The drink package is worth it if you drink four or more drinks a day, and/or enjoy specialty coffee drinks. The package does not work for Starbucks, but the ships other specialty coffee drinks venders are pretty good.

You can save money on some port excursions if you don't use RCI, but you really need to do research to verify they are safe and understand the ship schedules. One word of advice is take phone numbers of the ship incase you do run into an emergency and contact the crew immediately. They generally know how to deal with most situations.

Have a great time on the Voyager of the Seas, she was our first cruise on her 3rd sailing way back when.

Burt

Last time we went through customs, the only words from the agent was a complement on picking my wife's wedding ring. :cool: I guess customs agents are human too.

Burt

Hello, we just booked our first cruise (we had to cancel a Halloween cruise due to health issues) and paid extra for an aft balcony on deck 8 of the carnival magic. Just wanted opinions on whether it's worth the extra cost?

We think so, we never cruise without one. Great view leaving ports and the wake has a white noise that resembles waves on the beach.

The disadvantage for some is passengers is that the ship moves more then the center of the ship, which can be a problem for those who struggle with sea sickness. We personally find the movement relaxing, if not therapeutic.

Some of the aft balconies are extended on the Carnival ships.

Burt

An increasing percentage of cruisers can just barely afford to take a cruise.

In order to make cruising possible, some are forced to cut corners:

 

--

I think you are right. I remember once as we were walking to our taxi that was taking us to the ship, a group of elderly couples heading to the same ship were complaining about the slow hotel shuttles. Seems they had been waiting in line for at least an hour. One man pointed at me and suggested they take a taxi, but the others bulked at the expensive $10 cost. That is when it occurred to me that many passengers today are watching every nickel.

Burt

BUT, a cruise IS a vacation, if one wants to dress in tux and tie (if it's required to attend) to said function, I say, 'Good for YOU ! GO FOR IT! Have a BLAST!' Just don't look for me. I'd rather be out on the balcony, watching the stars, smelling the ocean air. To each his own, that's WHAT cruising is all about, isn't it ??

 

Mac

I fully agree. But a lot of folks counter with "how you dress doesn't bother me, it shouldn't bother you?", which is a hypocritical way of saying that they are the better person for not judging. I rather they would just agree to disagree as you suggest.

Burt

From the perspective of a great summer cruise, I always like to suggest Alaska because the ship is always so close to land that you only have to look out the window to see something new and breathtaking.

Burt

If folks could wait in their cabin, I think there would be a lot less anxiety for getting off the ship as soon as possible. We got to experience a relaxed wait once when we booked a suite. But once passengers are forced out of their cabin into crowed waiting areas, the experience is more like being part of a herd of cattle rather than a final great cruise experience. It's normal for humans to want to get away from that environment as fast as possible.

Burt

Sadly, that seems to be the attitude of most who travel today. The ' I PAID for this.. SO I CAN DO or TALK TO EVERYBODY ANY WAY, I WANNA' attitude. But, I'd bet they'd get down right furious IF someone talked to them,the same way. :( I wish these know-it-all blowhards had to work in the public or retail section for just ONE year and have others sneer at them, or treat them like dirt. It'd be a different story. They wouldn't last ONE day, much less, a year.

 

Mac

I think many folks agree. But then mention the two most hostile words in cruising "Dress Code" and you will find many of those same folks who agree with you getting down right mean.

Burt

Simple solution -

 

1 - Don't clean. A bit of dirt and even a lot of dirt almost never killed anyone. Or else see a shrink about your cleanliness issues;

 

2- Tell your family that if they want things to be done, they can do it themselves.

 

You have only yourself to blame for your vacation issues.

DON

Telling someone to stop an obsession of being clean is like telling a cruise obsessed person to stop cruising. Not very compassionate of other peoples differences.

Burt

I( So, this above remark may be the reason why it takes debarkation so long, but if you think our elected officials give a hoot about OUR needs..?? NOPE, as long as they don't have to stand in line or sit in coach, their needs will always come first. Just MHO.

 

Mac

My post does not say or imply that Customs is being purposeful in controlling the pace of debarkation. When a ship load of passengers are debarking together in a relative small period of time are required to pass through a check point manned by a very small number agents, the pace by nature will choked down.

My only point was that passengers have little power to speed up a process that is out of their control. That's all.

Burt

We do both, but generally we cruise when we need to decompress from our everyday life.

But we also typically add a couple days land vacation before or after our cruises. We spent three days in NYC before boarding our Bermuda Cruise. We enjoy two days in Boston after our fall colors cruise. We just spent two days at Disney in Orlando after our Caribbean cruise in October. We love to plan a cruise around the Wine and Food festival in Ft. Lauderdale in the spring. Three days in Puerto Rico after the cruise. I can't imagine not doing a couple days in Hawaii before or after a Hawaiian cruise. In fact, I can't remember the last cruise where we didn't add at least two days vacation on land.

Burt

It may be impossible to do .........3) not enough Customs/Immigration officials to clear the lines quickly

Bingo! The speed of debarkation is set by Customs, not the ships procedures. The best way to get out early is to get in line early. But the line isn't any faster because Customs sets the pace. Anyone who has cruised out of Puerto Rico knows exactly what I'm saying. Early or late, it's a two hour wait through customs.

Burt

Sometimes too, someone will post something as a comment or observation but others perceive it as a complaint.

I must admit that I don't get folks who are offended by criticism on this board, the name of this forum is Cruise Critic after all. Many members here take criticism of the ship or cruise line personally as if they are the owners . What they should do is learn to pass the discussions they know will upset them.

As for this discussion, we switch cruise lines to get those special things other cruises don't offer so our cruise experience will be more special. But that is becoming more challenging because as the lines cut back on services because the major cruise lines experiences are becoming more and more a like.

Burt

The problem with America is too many people are worried about everyone else other than....

 

WAIT FOR IT......

 

 

 

THEMSELVES!!!!!!

Well I guess o, but when people start talking about young people of today, the discussion generally goes toward...

Wait for It...

self-serving, rude, self involved, and no concern for others.

So maybe it's a generational thing, but the next time someone in front of you lets the door slams in your face, just remember that too many people are worried about everyone else. Of if you are on the ship, it's ok because it's their vacation.

Burt

Burt

Royal Caribbean is getting better at keeping the lines reasonable, so I don't that is much the concern as it used to be. But, since this is your first cruise, I think you should get on board as early as possible (around 11:00) because the adventure of just exploring the ship is a wonderful experience in of itself. Just driving up to the ship for the first time raises your euphoria to a level you will never forget.

It's all new and wonderful. Have a great time.

Burt

I am not sure what 9/11 has to do it but as you say the cruise lines have cut staff numbers to keep cruise fares down and that means the remaining staff have to do more.

John&LaLa explained it well, thanks.

Up to 9/11, the cruise industry was growing pretty fast with the growing American economy even under the higher prices at the time. At the time, excepting for Carnival, cruising overall was still considered a luxury experience for those with money. 9/11 hit the industry hard and the majors had to decide how to proceed. They could either cut back and try to survive with their present luxury levels of services and costs, or cut prices to attract new low price customers as well as bring back the ones they lost.

Carnival at the time was considered the bargain cruise line. They had grown as the party cruise experience and developed that reputation. What folks didn't realize at the time was the Carnival was also the primary cruise line bringing in new customers for the industry as a whole. They catered to a lower cost demographic, of which many got hooked and jumped to the higher cost lines to feed their passion. Even the general CC Forum membership was different then. After 9/11, the other major lines realized that to survive, they also needed to pull in more new customers. To do that, they cut cost; and more importantly to this discussion, they cut quality and service to save profits.

Ironically at the time, Carnival cruisers on the forum were called Walmart cruisers because they were cruising at Walmart rates in Walmart style. This discussion is kind of profound because the experiences most cruisers have today aren't even to that Walmart level of a cruising experience.

By the way, Carnival is still the leading cruise line that pulls in new customers. That is important to know because the hit they took when with the engine fire in 2013 reverberated through the whole industry. As much as the major cruise lines want to compete with Carnival, they need the line to feed in new customers.

To be fair, Carnival before 9/11 was changing away from their "party cruise" reputation by adding family cruise itineraries. We tried Carnival back then and felt they were the hidden jewel for family cruises.

I can't say if cruising would have eventually hit a bubble without 9/11 and would be forced to change to the cruising experience we have today. Who knows, but we sure enjoyed the elegance of cruising before 9/11.

Burt

Th OP has not been back for several months, but we will offer one thought anyway. Driving the aforementioned route is up to each individual, but we feel it best to do it when you have more than just an overnight on Maui, as it effectively uses up a full day of your time and your energy. Save it for when you can spend a land vacation here and do it one day at your leisure.

Umm, that is why I said "Two days, great". The OP asked about seeing the Maui sites with a rental car. Driving the Road to Hana a one day trip that I believe is a wonderful way to see some of the best of Maui.

Burt

In short, what they are trying to say is that recommending a Travel Agent is not allowed on this forum.

There are a lot (most) cruise travel agents who work specifically internet, so it is very competitive. Add that mix to a forum and discussions get contentious very quickly.

As you can already see from the few post, this can be an emotional subject.

Internet is a little difficult because there are so many resources, I would start by asking a few friends who they recommend and work your way in that direction.

Alaska is a wonderful cruise. Have a great trip.

Burt

Two days, great. I recommend spending one day driving around the island via road to Hana. We waited five years to make the drive because we kept hearing and reading the horror stories of the challenges of driving the road. The drive isn't your normal highway drive, but the fantastic views make the small challenges worth every minute. The east side of the island has some rougher road, but it is very safe when driven at a reasonable speed.

Burt