AstoriaPreppy

When we did this sailing on Millennium in October 2019, we departed and arrived at the Daikoku terminal on the opposite side of the bridge. Getting there was a major PITA from both Tokyo and Yokohama (no public transportation), and the terminal was more like a random tent on what we ended up calling "parking lot island." You'll have a much better sailaway from Osanbashi.

About three weeks ago, on the Venezia.

This is absolutely not true. Passengers are able to continue to order drinks and pay out of pocket once they've exceeded the 15 drinks included with Cheers. Personally speaking, I've received a 16th night cap as my comp VIFP beverage the last night of a cruise multiple times.

I can attest to this... last year I received *two* casino comp cruises out of LA on Celebrity The first one was offered when we sailed NJ-Iceland in 2022. Coming back to our cabin one afternoon, we found a letter saying we both had a casino comp for later 2022/early 2023. The letter specifically noted this was a book on board only offer. We both assumed it was a mistake, as we are very (very) low-level gamblers, but the future cruise desk confirmed the offer and we jumped at the option. Coming back from that cruise in January, we received an immediate bounce-back offer for ANOTHER cruise in the next few weeks. I ended up jumping on this offer again, as they offered me an aqua class cabin that I took as a solo cruiser (working remotely from the ship that week). The staff was very confused that I was back only two weeks later, and many remembered me by name. TBH, we also received casino comps on Carnival in 2022 which we certainly weren't qualified for (~$100 loss over the course of a 7 day cruise). As best as I can tell, this was a combination of unfilled capacity along with an algorithm trying to identify potentially new high-rollers/high-spend gamblers to receive more comps in the future.

I'm not going to speculate publicly on what this similar-name relatives did, but it's clearly bad enough to be a major red flag for the US government (not Carnival). Carnival didn't target your husband, the Department of Homeland Security did when it got the passenger manifest, your husband's name popped up, was immediately flagged, and then flagged again because of an incorrect DOB. You might as well have entered his name as "Jerry Nothingsuspicioustoseehere" on the manifest. It behoves you to make sure this doesn't happen again, not a cruise line or airline. If the government flagged your husband once, there's a good chance it could happen again on another line/flight. You're very bent out of shape over shared bus fare (on a bus that everyone else in your party used to board the cruise). If I knew I shared the same name with someone on a federal watch list, $280 in bus fare would be the furthest thing from my mind... I would be tripping over myself to make sure getting flagged by the feds didn't happen the next time I wanted to take a vacation! TBH, in the time you've spent griping on this forum, you could have instead applied for a redress number for your husband. It's likely that this might happen again on another line or flight in the future, it's completely free, and will guarantee your DOB mistakes or paperwork snafus won't ruin any vacations in the future. https://www.dhs.gov/dhs-trip

A few notes for non-New Yorkers: 1) It's illegal for a yellow cab to not use the meter. The only flat fare route in the city is JFK to Manhattan (not vice-versa). 2) It's also not legal for a yellow cab to turn down a ride if they're accepting fares. That is, the cab driver can't turn you down because they don't like the destination. Legally they have to take you, and use the meter. More details on cabs in NY here: https://www.nyc.gov/site/tlc/passengers/taxi-fare.page

There is 100% an easy solution to make sure this never happens again: get a redress number from the US Government. From what I've read, it sounds like your son and/or nephew may have 1) both the same name as your husband, and 2) some past legal issues that would get them flagged by Homeland Security or the TSA while traveling. Redress numbers exist for people in these situations: you apply, then DHS does a background check and verification to make sure person X is not person Y (who is getting flagged). They then issue person X a number to use when flying/sailing in the future to make sure they're not mistakenly flagged as person Y. In this case, you could have just given Carnival that number when checking your husband in, and all of this would have been averted.

When Oasis-class was developed, they were way too large for typical cruise ports... ie, Ocho Rios. Not in a beam/draft/length size way, but in a getting people on/off efficiently way. That's why ports like Falmouth were developed. Royal could build a massive facility to their specs, and move a lot of the typical stuff that happens when re-boarding a ship (queues, x-ray, security, etc) off the ship and onto the landside space. It's become common practice now, but when those ships were launched at the end of the 00's, it was revolutionary.

Hmmmm... maybe that's the case for us as well? I don't remember seeing details about a coach before, but it's absolutely in there now. Here's the description: --- Overview Berlin is about a 2.5- 3 hour train ride. Throughout the journey, your escort will provide you with water and light snacks, Berlin city maps, and an "emergency kit" with essential phone numbers to prepare you for your exploration activities in Berlin. Your escort will also inform you of your departure time and location in Berlin. After a day of exploring on your own, you'll take the train back to your ship. The coach will transport you from the arrival/departure train station to the city center. Highlights Explore Berlin at your own pace. Discover your own Berlin—see the Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, or browse the city’s unique boutiques and shops. Sit back and enjoy scenic views of the northern German countryside on a relaxing train ride. Important details and advisements During the transfer to/from Berlin guests will be escorted and assisted by an English-speaking host. Guests may be required to pay between 50 cents and 1 Euro to use the public toilets. Guests must be at least 18 years old to consume alcohol. Alcohol may be served, please drink responsibly. Please note that shops are normally closed on Sundays in Germany and only souvenir shops will be open. The train ride between Warnemunde and Berlin is approximately 2.5- 3 hours each way, subject to daily train traffic conditions.

Heading on a Celebrity cruise this summer, stopping in Warnemunde for the day. We’ve booked Celebrity’s Berlin on your own by train excursion, with pickup in Warnemunde on the chartered excursion train. One question: I’ve seen *multiple* reviews, comments, complaints and gripes across multiple lines, mentioning the drop off and pick up stations in Berlin being different for this excursion. However, none of these comments mention which station the train stops at on arrival and where it leaves on departure. Most of the times it’s an exasperated passenger saying “no one told us” or “we were so confused and had to take a taxi,” etc. Does anyone know specifics? It would certainly help us plot out our day in Berlin knowing what station we’ll start the day at and what station we’ll conclude.

Had the employee in question ever stopped to chat with passengers, I would have asked her 😉

We experienced this on the Gem in the Adriatic in August. Multiple nights the main theater was dark, or showed a five year old movie as the evening entertainment... meanwhile Emma was slogging though another round of Deal or No Deal in the atrium. TBH, we wondered if cruise directors have a revenue goal to hit now, so she moved the programing to the atrium to try and sell more cards? While we overall had a great trip, I will say that we found Emma to be one of the weakest cruise directors on 30+ sailings we've taken; completely disengaged from the passengers outside of her public address announcements and intros at shows. I've never seen officers sprint out of an elite guest reception faster than that sailing. It was like the 100 m at the Olympics.

If the ship arrives at 8 am, you should have no issue getting to Kyoto by 10:30... the trip to Kyoto from Osakako station takes around an hour, with two transfers. Even if you're slightly delayed arriving or disembarking, there's a lot of buffer time.

One note on tours. In early May, you'll probably have daylight until around 10 pm, which gives you a lot of opportunity to see a lot, even with a 2 pm arrival. Also, if you're a seafood fan I'd recommend the Arctic Char, which is sort an Icelandic cross between salmon and trout.

Ships dock in Reykjavik (no tenders), and you can come/go as you please. Re: tours, you have plenty of options. As mentioned below, the "Golden Circle" is the standard tour out of Reykjavik: Gulfoss, Geysir and Thingvellir, where the North American and European plates meet. Very manageable in a day. Re: a food tour... Iceland is an amazing country, but isn't really known for their food. It's expensive, limited, and largely underwhelming (despite what YT creators trolling for likes say). There's a reason Icelanders eat the most candy/chocolate/licorice per capita of any nation in the world. Current volcanic activity in Iceland is near Grindavik and the Blue Lagoon, not anywhere near the Golden Circle area.