FlaParrotHead
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Posts posted by FlaParrotHead
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While both are excellent, I would definitely recommend Sea Cow. The crew and excursion is excellent with great service.
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An ask to all cruisers renting Golf Carts. PLEASE be considerate and pull off to the side for car traffic behind you. The roads are very narrow while I understand the carts are good for your seeing the island, please give way to the cars and trucks when possible.
Thanks!
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With the winter cruise season now getting into full swing, I wanted to pass along a strong 5⭐️ recommendation for VIP Diving on a Bonaire. They are one of the most custom and personal operators on the island and will treat you right.
https://vipdiving.com/guided-dives/cruise-ship-dive-package/
enjoy the paradise of the best shore diving in the Caribbean.
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The increase in the tips in fine, they deserve it, what I do not like is the disclosure of the ASP which is funded partially from gratuities. It shows that 100% of your gratuities do not go directly to the staff on your particular sailing.
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21 minutes ago, Schoifmom said:
It seems that your "understanding" has been flawed. If you pay less, then the employee will receive less. How is that helpful? You can't specifically state that "I don't want to pay into the ASP pool." Also, the only way to not pay the bar gratuities is to not make any bar purchases.
100% of additional gratuities do go to the employees.
BTW, these employees work under contract and those contracts specifically state what percentage of the gratuities they get to keep and what percentage is placed into the ASP pool (which is for their benefit, so it does go to them).
That ASP pool provides additional payment during times when the employees are not receiving gratuities (think extra days or down days during hurricane season).
I have no problem with there being an ASP pool, but until this letter was released, I do not believe that the general sailing public was 1) aware of it and 2) more importantly that a portion of their gratuities was used to fund it.
Show me ANY Cruise Critic post or thread from the past that has disclosed this, I’m sure I’ve missed many in the 17 years I’ve been on board here.
Generally, passengers have assumed that their gratuities, pre-paid, post paid, cash, whatever, went 100% directly to the specific crew members on their sailing that made their vacation so enjoyable.
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32 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:
Malarkey. What part of the ASP pool ISN'T going the employees.
Here is the point. Gratuities, Tips, whatever you want to call them have always been for the service we receive on our cruise. The ASP is different, per this letter, and that is fact. Having sailed for 25 years and a member here for over 15 years, I do not think anyone was ever made aware of this fund or how it is partially funded by our tips. Sorry .... but this pool should be funded by our cruise fares (100%) and tips or gratuities be directly given to the employees working on a passengers specific voyage ...
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So, here is the part of this I do not like, per the letter;
“... From this 3% increase, 1.5% will go to server and remaining 1.5% will go into the ASP pool. As you know the ASP pool funds employee compensation and benefit programs that you receive; including bar level pay, itinerary stipend pay, as well as free uniform and return airline tickets...”
I, and other, have always been under the assumption that 100% of the gratuities go to the staff, apparently, not directly per this letter.
if 100% does not go directly to the staff, then maybe it’s time to rethink what, when, and how much to pay.
we should not be subsidizing this ASP pool with gratuities.
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Does anyone know if there is an alternative to cruisett.com that shows all ships, for all lines, large and small, in ports. This site, which has been around for about 10 years is missing many smaller cruiselines somis not a complete list but they offer no way to contact them and their domain registration has no usable contact information. . . Hopefully there is a more complete site out there somewhere.
thnaks. B&BonB
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Quick report from the Crown Princess. Easy attachment into HDMI2 port on the side of the TV. Use of manual joystick-like controller on the underside of the set to change the input to HDMI2. Input automatically went back to TV input when powered off/on. Remember to take a power strip or cord if extra plugs behind the TV are needed for your particular device.
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Thanks, I put a lot of thought into it and I'm glad it's a help! I actually have a new and better version, check this one out http://tropicofdestiny.com/cruise
I appreciate your kind comments
Wishing... on your next update, check out JB’s Bar B Que on the road to Sorobon and maybe add them. I recently mentioned them here as well. Absolutely the best Carolina pulled pork in the Caribbean. . .
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That’s not too far from the Hilma Hooker wreck - sounds like a good place for a post-dive lunch!
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Absolutely... it’s close enough from the main road (only a few 100yards) to be a great post-dive bite after any of the southern entries, the hooker included. When we want a guided dive we usually use the team at VIP Diving and I guarantee they’d stop by the tent if asked .... on the way back to your ship.
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Want something different and a taste from home?
Any cruisers loving Eastern Carolina Pulled Pork sandwiches, we found a small outfit on island that does it right! They are only open Tues-Fri from 11-3 and that’s all they do, pulled pork sandwiches, slaw, chips, and a beverage. The owners are from NE South Carolina and setup a tent in front of their home... and personally having Carolina salt water in my blood, they know what they’re doing.
They are on the road to Sorobon just East of Bachelors Beach, a short taxi or golf cart ride from port.
Search “JB’s Bar B Que” for details... it’s something different that I’d never have thought to find on the island.
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There are a couple of problems with this. You are holding two seats each at the same time, which could delay other diners. It's not as much a problem with late seating, since that usually doesn't have a waiting list.
Are you a party of two or a larger party? We were in Club Class with a party of eight and it was perfect for us. It had all of the advantages of traditional dining without the set time. Since we were the only party of eight in Club Class during that cruise, we had the same table and same waiters every night, but we could arrive whenever we wanted.
If you are a party of two and you would like to eat with others, then Club Class doesn't work very well. In Club Class, you might not have exactly the same waiters every night, but you would have some from a small group and you would get to know them all - especially since you would have the same waiters for lunch (sea days) and breakfast also.
If you are a party of two who would like to eat with the same people at a large table every night, then traditional would be the way to go. In that case, you need to start out in traditional to get to know your tablemates. If you decide you don't want to continue with the same tablemates, you can then tell the head waiter to change you to anytime and start eating in Club Class. I don't think it would be fair to your assigned tablemates who also requested the large table to ignore them the first couple of nights.
If you change to anytime dining, you can still eat in the main anytime dining room some nights when you want to share a large table. On a couple of nights, DW was not hungry and ate only a small snack from International Café. On those nights, I ate in the main anytime dining room so that I would not be eating by myself.
You can share a table with others in Club Class if you want - and if there is anyone else who wants to share who arrives around the same time. However, because of the small size of Club Class, we usually didn't have anyone else to share with.
Excellent and thorough explanation. Thanks so much.
B&B
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So, we are Club Class but currently have a confirmed late seating at a large (8+) table since that’s what we’ve always enjoyed. Any issues with trying club class dining a couple nights, and giving our MDR waiter a courtesy notification ahead of time, so no one waits for us? Thanks.
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I wonder if the junior suites on the Crown have these sets or a similar capability .... I’ll find out soon.
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Thanks for this review. My DW and I now live on Bonaire and see the Monarch in town from time to time and have considered sailing her (although Bonaire is not an embarcación option) - we’d probably fly over to Curaçao. I need to spend time seeing what other lines have options for non-US embarcaciones.
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Did finally get it... some garbage about machine not able to do it though it took my money fine
Still I’d try them again-very nice and kept trying for us until it was made right
Just back from 10 days on Cayman Brac... spectacular diving
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Excellent. You are right, Cayman Brac (all of Cayman) has wonderful dives ... just not the shore entries we have here. Love the Caymans.
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I'd love the grocery stores added back! That's where I often head first to get local foods to bring home. (And the best deals on local spirits too!)
The absolute best spirit for rum lovers is Rom Rincon. You can get it in town or at the local stores, prices should be the same everywhere. Also, don’t forget some of our local sea salt for your table.
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Several years ago we saw a new one (for us anyhow) a couple had made a tent card for a well paced table inside the lido, right near the buffet. Very official, complete with Carnival graphics that said —- Table Reserved for Mr. And Mrs. Whomever They Were. Needless to say, we would sit there whenever it was open and return their card (shredded into many pieces) to them when they arrived (they never argued just fumed off)... the next day, they’d have a new card on the table, or one near by, which also mysteriously was shredded.
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Hi all, I created a map of Bonaire for my guests and I shared it with this group and got terrific comments. The problem with my map was that it included things like dive sites and grocery stores, so I created a filtered map with points of interest that are appropriate for cruisers. I also added the police department location. I'd like feedback from this group, what would you like to see added? Adding something is as easy as adding a row in an excel spreadsheet, so feel free to comment. I have churches on my main map for my guests, but I didn't include them for the cruisers. Do cruisers want to know where the churches are? Thanks for your help! ~Jeyna
As a cruiser who now lives full-time on island, this a very good list ... well done!
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I have seen amazing reviews for both of these companies, I can book Woodwind directly or Sea Cow through the cruise ship. They both look really great, any opinions from those who have experienced one of these tours would be welcome! Also thinking about renting a golf cart for the other half of our day, we have over 12 hours in port.
Absolutely Sea Cow.... Pierre and the entire team are excellent and will give you a great time.
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Just off the Magic Saturday. Took my grandson to the arcade for the first time. One of the games was called Zombie Killer using an automatic toy rifle you try to shot zombies if you hit one,the blood shoots out and he falls. I think this is a terrible game to have on a family base ship, With all the real shootings happening kids don't need this
My wife and I love the alien and zombie hunter arcade games and play them after the Piano Bar closes often as late at 2am... hiding games like these from kids isn’t the cause or the answer to what’s happening in the US.
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Sailing her (our first on Princess) in September so following everything with interest.... enjoy her.
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****CARNIVAL CRUISERS: HOW ARE THINGS WHERE YOU LIVE???
in Carnival Cruise Lines
Posted · Edited by FlaParrotHead
So, living on a port island now as I do, things are maybe a bit different than for those stateside. As with so many other islands, we are locked down from all outside visitors. No ships, planes, or anything with pax allowed, only cargo. Stores are well stocked and limiting entrance by number and also only one family member allowed in at a time.
All resorts are closed as are many businesses and restaurants, delivery and take away are still available and a few are open with 1/2 the tables for social distancing.
We have just had our first confirmed + cases this week (now at three).
What I can tell people is that while islands like ours need tourists back, it will be AT LEAST several more months and it will start with guests who fly on island and stay in hotels, resorts, and private homes. These guests generate significantly more revenue than the cruise ships and it’s all going to be about that revenue. One this happens safely, only then do I expect to see ships back in port and likely with far more restrictions.
Only time will tell for sure ....