alfaeric

Every cruise we've been on, one lifeboat was lowered into the water at some port. So to say that lowering it more than once is a recipe for a disaster, that disaster has been cooking for decades. My point is to use that drill to work with a small part of the crew- like that specific muster station working to lower the specific boat. What I'm hearing here is that the biggest issue with the e-muster isn't the passengers, it's the crew. Why can't they do specific drills once a week to make up for that? I don't get it. That's what training is exactly for. If this isn't about the passengers, then deal with the people it's about.

To me, the regular muster isn't that real- while everyone is there, the action isn't close to what would be happening. Some show up really early, then they trickle in, and then a handful go after the 7-1 warning. And it's the latter who happen to be the most realistic. Let alone, hardly anyone is using the emergency paths which is normal for people in the forward or aft and are a long way from the stairs. As for the other tasks- why can't that be regularly practiced? They lower lifeboats every single week, so doing the reporting can be done at the same time. There are constantly drills where the passengers are not part of, but happen all over the ship. Do it then. Can even do it more rigorous and direct people onto their own life boat that gets lowered into the sea.

Does it, though? We are all told to pay attention, not drink, and not use our phones. I've never seen that ever enforced. People are talking on phones, whining about being there, and just being annoying. As for the search function- the crew that do that are the cabin stewards in my experience. Seems pretty easy to fit that into a normal schedule for them to focus on that task every cruise once. I'm betting that the procedure is to walk through a cabin in a very specific way before putting the red tag in the card slot. I struggle to understand why the key parts can't be replicated every day while working. Just like a plane check list. So what's left is the herding of the passengers by the crew. And they can certainly be stationed on the stairways to remind people to go and do their check in.

Maybe I'm missing something that they show us, but in the many cruises that I've been on, the only thing they ever have shown us is 1) where your muster station is and 2) how to put on a life preserver. Other than that, there is nothing else being demonstrated. The muster station location is part of the e-muster process that you have to actually do, so that's done. What's left is to make sure everyone knows how to put on a life preserver. And while it's easy to claim that the e-muster does not get enough eyes, to honestly check- you have to compare in person muster to the e-muster to know how many people paid attention. Given how people are piled deep into the personal muster and how so many people are clearly not paying attention- the personal muster isn't that great- so you can't assume 100% for that. They do make sure the minors have a band- but that can be done for the emuster check in. And spend time to tell people to wash their hands and understand the basic rules- which has nothing to do with the mustering. And if I'm missing something that it supposed to be demonstrated at the muster event, then something else is wrong.

As I see it, Galveston and Port Canaveral are very similar. And Oasis ships have been sailing PC for a long time. Uness people have already forgotten the Challenger disaster, which was due to a below freezing event in the area. So it seems that what happened in Galveston was rare enough that they can deal with it. Besides, they really don't need heaters- just do what we do up north for a freeze warning- cover the plants. Perhaps they can't cover them all with spare sheets, but you can get enough to survive. Or just keep spraying them with water- that's commonly done, too.

So apparently, attendance is mandatory?

You don't want to see Spectra's, right? So why worry about it? The other two shows, The Gift and We Will Rock You, don't require reservations. Just show up. That has been the direct experience of us as well as other posters- it's not hard to understand (using your words). And why Spectra's is the only show that is in your planner- even though you can't make reservations. There is nothing you need to do. Just accept that and move on.

Sorry, but if you pretend that pool coverups are ok, then bath robes are as well. You remind me of a Cracked or Mad magazine cartoon back at least 40 years ago- where a women comes out to her friends pool thanking her for the amazing bikini. Her friend replied that they were underwear, and she panicked and ran back in the house embarrassed. The only difference between a robe and a coverup is that the robe is heavier. Otherwise, they are exactly the same garment. So whatever issue there is for robes being worn outside of the cabin is yours, not the wearer's.

On our cruise, BT wasn't there, but Wild Turkey 101 was.

It's $65 here in Michigan. If you can ever find it.

So at the pool, a flimsy cover up is ok, but a fluffy robe is not? Sorry if that doesn't make any sense. Heck, you see a bunch of people wearing their towels going back to their rooms- wouldn't a robe that is basically a large towel be a better solution? I honestly don't see the distaste for robes being worn outside of the room. It's not as if it's underwear vs a swimsuit- which are mostly the same thing anyway.

On the Anthem- check all the bars. Not sure how it happened, but in 270, there was a bottle of Balcones bourbon (not sure which one). And then it was done. Later, I saw a Balcones rye in Schooner Bar. This was over the first two weeks of December. So there may be surprises on board. As for the stores in St Maarten- we found ones that let you have a try of many bottles. Which included a few of the Blantons versions. Good luck!

Repeat this, since the question about the tags hasn't been brought up. Even though we carry everything on board, we also tag everything just in case they don't let us (which has happened once over a lot of cruises). The other suggestion, even though you *should* be able to get a elevator given the time you board- you may need to walk a little to find the low traffic elevator. This happens 1 out of 5 cruises or so for us.

Funny when I read the title of this thread- not the actual ship Quantum, but quantum physics, so there's a bed that exists that has multiple states that can be changed with energy input.

oops

We've been carrying on an Anker 4 port USB charging plug for many years- I think I got that when we first got iPhones back in 2014. Never an issue.

We looked into parking at a hotel, but they were more expensive than parking at the port. Not sure why, but it was $30/day instead of $25. Add to that the shuttle as you leave- the math didn't work for us. So we've parked twice at the port- no problem.

First one has more ports- we'd do that one. Travelling is a little more complicated, but still doable.

If you like to wander around small town north America- they are ok. The Market area in St John is nice. But if that's not enough, you will have to take an excursion. Neither are particularly tourist centric cities.

To us, one of the best cities to visit is Quebec City. We stayed there for 3 nights before our cruise. And it will also include Boston on the way down, let alone a stop in New Brunswick. It's a longer cruise, but a really good one.

There are a few options... Quebec to New York- small ship for sure (Jewel has been doing it now), and you get to see some ports in the St. Lawrence that can only be gotten on that itierary. Baltimore north- small ship due to home port. New York north- variable ships we were on Anthem many years ago, but it's now a second ship Boston north- used to be a smaller ship, but we were just on the Voyager - which I guess is small these days. The itineraries are all the same, though- Portland, Halifax, Sidney, St John. The cruises from New York and Baltimore may stop in Boston, too. No more Bar Harbor.

Get a collapsible bottle that you can cap. We've been using them for running for quite a while, and they are easily small enough to travel with. Then you can fill them with a can of water, or by using a glass at a public water dispenser. (we travel light, too- with carry on only bags)

There's not a requirement to cruise, too. You can have perfectly fine vacations that don't require cruising. All of this is voluntary. If you JUST want to go on a cruise, fine. But what are the odds that you just want to do one closed loop cruise for the next decade? BTW, the requirement to have a passport on closed loop cruises is an agreement between our government and the governments of the islands in the Caribbean. It's not a one sided thing. Just like Canada is ok with people driving across the border w/o a full passport, but they do require it for flying in.

By that measure of "special", there's also nothing REALLY "special" in the US, as well. Just stay in your county and vacation at home. If one thinks NYC and Paris are the equal, or Dallas and London are the equal, or Chicago and Rome are the equal, well... why cruise at all? It's a lot cheaper and easier to go to the many beaches on the Gulf Coast than CocoCay. I'm sure one can find a dolphin encounter on the coast somewhere. If a passport is that much of a financial burden, I've tent camped for a song along the many beaches along the Gulf Coast and East Coast. By your measure, there's nothing special on a cruise vs driving to stuff in the US. In terms of closed loop cruises, that's also kind of restrictive, too. But if all one wants is to visit the islands on the closed loop cruises out of the US, find the same beaches along the thousands of miles of coastline found in the US. There's a lot of world out there that isn't the US. But if people just want to encounter themselves, that's fine....

No thoughts on going outside of the country other than a closed loop cruise?