Beachdude

Wouldn't it just be easier to sail a different cruise line?

Burt

We had a man overboard (call it what you want makes you happy) from our ship around 7:30 PM on the last day of a 7 day Caribbean Cruise. We were in the MDR when an emergency code was announced. The waiting staff immediately started grabbing plates as the ship suddenly started to slow and turn. Nobody knew what the code was, but we guessed it was man overboard from the way the ship was acting.

The person who fell was a drunk father showing off in front of his wife, young kids and in-laws. He survived the fall with only bruises and was escorted off the ship by the Ft. Lauderdale police the next morning after we docked. This information came from a family member who was a member of this forum.

What was interesting is that even though the crew reacted immediately, the ship still ended up a couple miles away before it was turned around. We were told that had it happen at night, the odds of finding him would have been cut in half even with the quick reaction. The folks on deck who watch the whole thing said that even when they knew kind of where he fell, he was very difficult to see in the prop wash. I don’t know, but the experience was sobering to how low the odds are of survival even under good circumstances.

Burt

Honestly I'm surprised there aren't more over boards or injuries. Potentially add booze, drugs or a poor mental state of mind and things could happen quickly. A lot of people expect 2nd changes after mistakes, I'm pretty sure this is one time people rarely get a 2nd chance.

Probably more than you think. There were three on one of our cruises on three different ships including our own. Our ship was part of the search for most of one day on one of the overboards. Two of the three were never found, but the one on our ship was saved because it was day and several people were around. He was a drunk dad showing off in front of the family and went over. It was the last day of the cruise and several passengers saw the Ft. Launderdale police escort him off the ship in handcuffs early the next morning. The Curise lines don't take this lightly. Grandma was on this forum and eventually told the story. The whole family was very embarrased. I think the kids were around 8 to 10 years old.

Burt

We booked Princess and am very happy we did. Something new is very nice. Just the newness to look forward to is nice.

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It always surprises me that folks don't try other lines just for this reason alone. I'ts not like Carnival won't let passengers come back.

Burt

We always rent a car as well. We like the independence.

Burt

Cruising for my family is about the ports, time away with my family, good food and having lots of food and entertainment options. That way I don't have to worry about who is hungry, where we're going to eat and what we are doing for fun. I like the robes (don't have to pack mine if I get cold), I adore turn down service (yes, I do it myself at home but like the pampering) and can't remember if I eat the chocolates or not! So far Carnival has the ports I want at a price that I want. My husband REALLY hates crowds so we get a suite for VIP boarding (and FTTF is a new "perk" that can fill that need for me) - and I like balconies. For our next cruise I did check other lines in addition to Carnival but didn't find anything that I liked and was willing to pay for except for Carnival.

DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT get a suite on different cruise line because even though they cost more, you will never come back.:cool:

OK, back to your regular schedule program.

Burt

If, in your life, you are a complainer, you will always find something to be upset about.

This is a common passive aggressive attempt to intimidate folks away from making apposing comments. It shows lack of emotional maturity to accept that not everyone thinks like them.

This thread got me thinking because I didn't think we would ever say we have left Carnival. But when I look back on it, we haven't cruised Carnival for over five years because their cuts were taking away from our expectations of what we like about cruising. So maybe we have left.

To add to the conversation, while we liked Carnival because it made cruising affordable, I realize that we are willing to pay for the kind cruise experience Carnival was changing away from. I think we have cruise seven or eight times in the last five years on other lines. Cost is important, but so it the expectation of the experience. Sally thinks it might be time to give Carnival another chance, but she hasn’t been reading the forums. I am a slave to my wife, so we will likely try Carnival again, but I’m not looking forward to it.

Burt

Christ alive, I wish I'd never mentioned this now!

Probably 95% of passengers have at one time or another saved a table for the intention of eating there with another person or group. So finding a sympathetic reader may be difficult.

Saving a table is a logical action to keeping the group together in an efficient manner. While it could be argued that the couple minutes the table is clear of food is wasted for someone else ready to sit and eat, it is also reasonable to consider that saving a table may actually save time overall because each member of the group isn’t wasting time wandering around to find their table mate or group. In fact, saving tables my actually speed up time the table is being used by each group.

And sadly, the fast food mentality has caught up with the cheaper cruise lines, so eating and moving on to the next activity has replaced the relaxing beginning of the day with a pleasant meal while socializing with family and friends. It is for that reason Sally and I eat breakfast more often on our balcony and in the MDR. Still, the breakfast and lunch service in the MDR has been cut back so much that we have had more bad experiences than good the past couple of years.

Yes, I know what some of you folks are thinking, if I want to get better than cattle hauler style service, I need to pay more for the better cruise line. I’ve been saying that for a few years, but I think Sally is finally starting to agree.

Burt

We enjoy Day Sails at St. Thomas. If you aren't into snorkling, swiming and sailing, then Day Sales in town for the shopping can be fun.

We like to shop in the morning at St. Martin while it is still cool, then eat lunch and hit the beach in the afternoon. They have a lot of nice beaches.

Burt

It's beem a few years since we cruised Alaska, but seems to me that June and July were better months for sighting whales.

Burt

Don't see what the big deal is.

Ummmm, you need to read the post. It's not a big deal in this discussion.

Burt

May should be warm enough for the pools.

You don't really need walky-talkys if you meet up for meals and have a general idea of what each other is doing. Everyone seems to have a routine by they 3rd day. Also, kids tend to over use them driving parents nuts. Seems they disappear by the 3rd day. ;)

We were told when we did the Bermuda cruise that it is typically a rougher ride, but it's the luck of the draw as it was one of our smoothest.

Are you staying in NYC a couple days? It's a great bonus to a family trip.

Have a great trip, the Bermuda sail is one of our favorite cruises. The Bermuda locals are by far the friendliest we have ever met.

Burt

We have only sailed with Carnival. We have never had anything but great experiences. Some people like to complain...

Some people like to compare. Cruisers who have not broadened their cruising experience with another cruise line don't have any firsthand knowledge for contributing a comparison.

Complaining is your negative perspective of opinions that you don't agree. But Cruise lines do read forums to learn how their customers feel about their product. Trends are a positive feedback to use for improving the product.

Burt

I found out about sizers last year on Air Canada. At the time they were cracking down on carry on bags. Not only were they using their sizers they also at times were weighing bags.

We ran into this with Hawaiian Airline Island-to-Island flights. I never thought about weight, be we had to pay extra for our overweight carry on.

Burt

We also leave our table with the dishes stacked and any mess wiped up. There was a thread about doing that (stacking), some people said 'no way in h$#@ would I clean up the table, I'm on vacation, I paid for someone to do that, I'm too good for that, blah, blah, blah'.:rolleyes:

While I admit this comes under good manners, is not stacking the dishes on a cruise considered bad etiquette?:confused:

Burt

I guess that is a new one to me. I never would have considered doing this as rude.

Me neither. I get annoyed with book readers who aren't eating, but holding a table for family and friends is within proper etiquette if for no other reason than knowing where to meet once everyone gets their tray.

Burt

Bought it once, tried it once, threw it out. Worst coffee I've ever tasted. I'll take my Trader Joe's Bay Blend any day over Blue Mountain.

Interesting, this post has nothing to do with the OPs question. :rolleyes:

Burt

I would not agree with the above. Although I have used self serve laundries on ships in the past, I have never used more than one machine, but if someone needs more than one machine, it is no big deal. No one is preventing others from doing their laundry although they may have to wait for a few minutes.:eek:

LOL, get a room near the laundry and I am sure you would change your mind. Mom bringing eight loads at one time is more common then you

think. AND, she goes out on deck after she starts the machines.:rolleyes:

Burt

Lol

burt

Seriously, if you'd read the thread, you'd see that no one moves anything from someone who's using the chair or actually just gone for twenty minutes and no one is standing around with a stop watch.

I read the thread and don't know what to think other than I wouldn't want to meet some of the posters here in a dark ally. It becomes very clear that you folks are very passionate and emotional of the subject, which is interesting to me because Sally never has a problem getting us chairs or holding mine while I go workout in the gym. Maybe its location? You imply the thread is clear, but there are some questionable suggestions of retaliation.

A better response might be explaining the rules instead of implying that those who are questioning the discussion are likely the main contributers to the problem. That doesn't help your cause.

Burt

This cruise we are participating in the elegant nights, DH and I are cruising with my 3 best friends from HS and their SO's, and formal nights will be a wonderful opportunity to get dressed up and take fun pictures.

Everyone wearing sunglasses is always a popular picture with our friends. Something about sunglasses and formal dress.

Burt

Yes, it is worth the price.

Burt

Never done that one. I'm not interested in causing someone to pay 20 bucks for something they didn't get, BUT I would imagine if that happened often enough people may stop "saving" loungers, too. ...or they'd just plop a white towel on the lounger because that's how they roll... :rolleyes:

So Carnival holds the passengers responsible for the towels in the room, I see.

One of the most entertaining discussions on the forums is the Rum Runner discussions. I wonder why the moral police on those discussions don't hold the towel stealers accountible? It would make for more entertaining threads. :D

Burt

I I really do wonder why people have the misperception (is that even a word, lol!) about Carnival without having firsthand experience!

Carnival originally marketed themselves as the party cruise and the experience lived up to the marketing. The line progressed on to family friendly cruising a long time ago, but has never been able to shake that party boat reputation. Add the incidents a couple years ago and Carnival ends up with an unsafe party boat reputation. We have a close Travel Agent friend and she said that her new cruiser Carnival bookings almost dropped to zero after those incidents. They are starting to pick up a little, but not to the level they were at four years ago.

Burt

I've seen people make this claim often on here.

Do you care to share a photo of this for us??

 

 

:rolleyes:

I'm curious about this myself. How can a Carnival towel be taken off the ship without being purchased in the ship store? If they are personal towels, isn't that wrong? We haven't been on Carnival in a while, so I must be missing something.

Burt