travling1

I was wondering if the Cleveland clinic was still a part of the new Crystal ?  There was a strong connection between the two in the past.  

Thanks...

The NFL.. .. ,National Football league,... has given up on daily testing.  When do you think that Princess will follow that policy?  

Maybe we need to follow what the NFL,....the football league, is doing.   They have stopped testing the vaccinated, since most of the positive tests come from the vaccinated.  Too many football schedule changes have been a problem.  The games must go on.  

"Crystal has not automatically scheduled LGBT get togethers for several years. Any passenger needs to specifically request a get together with the cruise director, and it will be scheduled and posted in Reflections in several places. We've personally asked the cruise director on several recent Crystal cruises, and it happens within 48-72 hours. But you have to ask; it is no longer automatic."

Rob is correct! I've been to 3 FOD or LGBT gatherings on the Serenity. Someone has to ask for the event to be put in Reflections. It's that simple.

I too had a problem with Princess.com for most of last week. Now,..it seems to be working well.

I always put a 3 liter box of red wine in my checked bag. No cruise line, including Princess, has ever noticed or said anything to me. We each had a box of "Delicato" wine in our checked bag in October of this year on the Crown Princess. In the cabin, we put the box in full view of the room steward. The hardest part, sometimes, is to get the room steward to give us 2 wine glasses every day. If necessary, wine glasses are easy to get from the wine tasting area. I no longer bring wine on Crystal cruises, since they are all inclusive. I did bring a box on board two Princess cruises this past year.

On Princess, I did have my handcuffs confiscated, which I got back at the end of the cruise. Settle down everyone,... .. :p It was for a Halloween cruise, and I dressed as a corrections officer. What's funny is that I had 2 sets of cuffs,..and they only found one set! I never realized that this would be a problem. So it was a surprise for me, to have to go to the naughty room to get my bag. Actually, I was happy that they had my bag, after waiting for it, for hours. The bag never showed up at my cabin, so I had to investigate...... I do not recall for sure, but, I think my box of wine was in that bag too. The wine was not a problem.

For some real fun,.. . well,. .. . at least it is interesting, take a look at this link of the historic street cars. It shows where they are along the route. I believe the new pier, where our ship is docked, looks a bit like a triangle on the map. You can see it is a bit of a walk to the Walgreens, but, it is easy enough to do for most. And, there are some interesting sights along the way.

Mike, you can even click on the 'select routes' link and check out the #39 bus route. I think I have seen up to 2 #39 buses on that route during the day.

http://www.nextmuni.com/googleMap/googleMap.jsp?a=sf-muni&r=F#

With the exception of the cable cars, you can also check out all the other Muni routes on that map ! See,.....I told you it was fun.

$15... and all day.... can get you all over town. I was here back in the 1900's and did it myself.

I think it is fairly simple. If you book "anytime" dining, you must expect to wait. Maybe you won't wait,...but sometimes you will. And we know that in advance.

With "traditional" dining, you only wait if you arrive too early, before the dining room opens its doors. Generally, you are free to choose either option, unless you make a last minute booking.

That afternoon the Blue Angels will be doing their thing. The best seats in the bay area will be on the back of the cruise ship. They usually perform mid-afternoon. That time of year is San Francisco's best weather. Because of the air show over the bay the whole Embarcadero is jammed. Almost impossible to get on the trolley that goes in front of the pier because of the huge crowds so be prepared. This will also apply to the cable cars, particularly downtown. If you want to catch it from downtown midafternoon plan on a 2 hour min. wait.

Hey,..I think the air shows are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, the 11th and 12th. We are there on Monday the 13th. The fleet week schedule shows, for Monday the 13th,..." Ship tours " and " Band Challenge ". Both were listed as " TBA ".

http://www.fleetweek.us/page_schedule_events.html

We are lucky to have a SF departure time of 11pm. Go out and enjoy... . stay out of trouble,..and remember that food is expensive in SF. You will get a much better deal in the ships Main dinning room,... or the buffet.

The historic street cars, the "F" line, stops right by the ship. As of September 1, it cost $2.25. It goes to Castro St via Market St. .. Or, walk over to Walgreens and get a transit pass for the day, which includes the pricey ( $6 per ride ) cable cars. The Walgreens is at the end of the "F" line in the Wharf area. The pass is also good for the Muni bus system as well as the other street cars, which are underground along Market St. You can hop on and off as you wish.

1 day pass - $15

3 day pass - $23

7 day pass - $29

Look this up for yourself. I could be wrong about this.. .. !!!

Just bring a box of fine wine in your checked luggage. I have never had a problem with 3 different cruise lines, including Princess. One box is usually equivalent to 4 bottles of wine. I usually sit the box of red wine on the cabin shelf, in full view of the room steward. It will last many days. I am not sure what the x-ray scan shows, but, I am sure that it will not look like a wine bottle.

I also make sure that I have a red wine glass ready for dinner every night. You may have seen me walking to dinner holding my glass of wine. I get a really good pour in my room, as opposed to just 6oz or 8oz at the bar. One glass of wine for dinner, whatever the size, and I am done.

The hardest part is getting the glasses everyday. Ask the room steward, and then pick up a few glasses yourself in the wine tasting area. It is so simple. I am NOT talking about a box of Franzia wine, or white wine which may need to be chilled. There are decent wines sold in a box. Try them at home first!

And remember to tip the box,...to get the final glass or two! When you think it's empty, there is more.... .. .. (:>

Yes,... I have had major problems with the "saved" portion of the site. I've tried deleting them and starting over,..but, still the same problem with accurate information. It's a mess.......and has been for a while......

I've done a Princess cruise solo once, with a last minute fare that was amazingly low. So the 200% penalty still put me below $110 a day for a weeks cruise.

I would recommend Crystal cruises, which charges 25% solo penalty for their lowest category. And there are NO interior cabins on Crystal! I've done many solo cruises on Crystal. As expected, you will find many other solos on Crystal. Try them once,...and you will probably be 'crystalized'. :)

Hi,

I've been on five Crystal cruises since 2005. And I have had a fantastic experience every time. With those cruises, I've traveled as a solo, with a female, and with a male partner. I sensed absolutely no problem when I was with a male partner, or any other travel combination. In fact, when traveling with a male partner, a mother-daughter pair at our dinner table was genuinely interested in our 'story'. The whole table of 8 was great. We were never uncomfortable anywhere on the ship.

The only inconsiderate cruise behavior I experienced was on an "Atlantis" cruise in January 2000 on NCL. Yet, I always manage to have a good time cruising. It does cost extra for the all gay cruises. I've decided that, for me, it's not worth it.

In the fall of 2006, I took 2 Crystal cruises, back to back. On the first segment, I attended a "Friends of Dorothy" gathering. I think it may have been one of the first on Crystal. There was a small group of gay travelers along with their gay travel agent/agency on board. ( I did not book through them. ) They requested an FOD party, and it happened! In the daily newsletter, I noticed the FOD listing to be held in the "Pulse" disco. At this FOD event, I chatted with the cruise director. He said he was going to report back to the corporate office and decide the fate of future FOD events. He asked my feelings on this and I suggested that they hold future FOD events if they are requested. It's just that simple! Also, since this happened at the end of the cruise, we suggested future FOD gatherings should be more toward the beginning of the cruise, so we could meet others sooner.

A nice Crystal touch at this FOD meeting was the male dancers from the entertainment staff! Yes!!!!!,... ..a few of the ships dancers showed up to mix and mingle with us. Oh sure,.. .. in theory, I was old enough to be their father. But it was still a nice touch. .. .. .. .. HA! I noticed that a couple other staff members ( gay ?? ) poked their head in the room to check us out.

On the second cruise segment, we also had an FOD event. This time, it was held more toward the beginning of the cruise, as was suggested on the previous segment.

Fast forward to January 2012....on Crystal. An FOD gathering was again listed in the daily newsletter. I almost missed it! This time it was held in the Palm Court, which is a much more public space than the disco. It was hosted by a gay staff member, who was exceptionally nice. So now, this seemed to be more of a routine event for Crystal. For me, it's always great to meet and greet new people,....gay or otherwise. It was a fun hour. Later in the cruise, I was invited to join a couple for dinner that I met at this event!

So, ultimately, it's what 'you' bring to the table. Crystal has been an exceptionally good cruise experience for me. It will probably be a good one for you too. I've met some amazing people on board ship, from many different worlds. Just remember that when you see a listing for an 80's party on Crystal, they are not talking about the 1980's. ;)