cruzeluvr

Quote:

Originally Posted by LMaxwell

Using one photographer and one memory card for an event is completely unprofessional and inexcusable. That's how craigslist hacks do it. It's in just about every top 10 list of what to ask about photographers when choosing one; do they have backup shooters and/or equipment.

This is exactly right. I've shot some weddings and I operated with two to three cameras, multiple lenses, etc. And what happened here is exactly WHY I do that.

 

Why on earth wasn't the photographer checking his images as he was shooting? It takes 2 seconds to review shots as you shoot. I do this all the time to check lighting, exposure compensation, focus . . . it is incomprehensible for me to think of shooting something this important without backup media and equipment and without constantly verifying that everything is working right.

 

It's possible that the media card was exposed to some magnetic field that wiped it . . . I'd think something would still show with an evaluation of the card and the article said nothing was there.

 

I understand why they didn't accept the re-shoot. It's fake, staged. The expressions aren't the same, the moment is lost. They're called event photos for a reason - Event photos are moments, captured forever. They're memories for the short term, family history for the long term. I personally would have done the reshoot if I were one of the people getting married, but it would have been a very, very poor solution.

 

And then you think about the hair styles and makeup and the outfits and items like candles, flowers, setting . . . what a nightmare.

 

When a photographer shoots a wedding, he needs to be equipped to get it right. Period.

From my experience and observations, most of the photographers on board the ships are hardly what I would consider "professional" photographers.

Flat Fare from John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport:

For trips between (to and from) Manhattan and JFK International Airport, the flat fare is $52.00 plus any tolls using Rate Code 2 on the meter. A NY State Tax Surcharge of $.50 will be added to each trip.

If passengers request multiple stops, the flat rate of $52.00 will be collected at the first stop in either Manhattan or JFK International Airport, and the meter will be activated at Rate Code 1 (standard city rate) for the remainder of the trip. The metered fare should be collected at the last stop, from the last passenger.

All trips between JFK International Airport and New York City destinations other than Manhattan will use that standard metered rate.

I usually don't even read the dress code threads anymore, but felt like replying to this one. I don't particularly like dressing up for dinner, but to me it has always been a matter of respect for my host (Royal Caribbean) and other guests.

To quote Miss Manners, regarding someone who wants to flaunt the requested dress code:

“ 'Who he is' is someone who understands that the choice of clothing constitutes a symbolic system — but who is willing to use it only to broadcast himself, even at the cost of symbolizing disrespect for others and for a ceremonial occasion.

. . . . It is not the degree of formality that is at the core of this conflict; it is the implication about the hosts who choose the style of the occasion. The disrespect would be equally true of someone who attended a highly informal wedding deliberately dressed in formal clothes, thus implying, 'I’m proper, even if you are not.' "

Just my $.02

My husband and I will be on the inaugural cruise for Quantum of the Seas on Nov. 23, flying from Los Angeles probably on red eye on Nov.20. Any suggestions on whether to fly in NYC (JFK) or straight to NJ airport. We would like to go to NYC to do some sight seeing and see Broadway show before cruise.

 

Need hotel suggestions, transportation to port, etc. Haven't been to this area.

Thank you.

I agree with Bob, it's a good idea to check the east coast departures board for more specific ideas.

If you want to do some sightseeing and Broadway, I think for convenience you should look for a hotel in Manhattan rather than NJ. If you stay in NJ, you would have to spend time and money getting to and from Manhattan. If you stay in Manhattan, you may be able to walk to the sights you're interested in as well as Broadway theaters, or avail yourself of public transportation - bus and/or subways.

You can take a taxi or car service from a Manhattan hotel to the cruise terminal on the day of embarkation.

OP,

Sorry that you had such a poor experience.

FWIW - I have sailed Carnival 3 times, several years apart, (gave them several chances) and have had mediocre service from all departments each time. The last time, it was so bad that I went to guest services and adjusted the tips in half. I was so annoyed by the lack of service that I wanted to eliminate all the tips, but my wife convinced me to just cut them instead of removing them in the entirety. That being said, I would still consider Carnival under certain circumstances, but I would do so with much lower expectations.

Springhill Suites, Dania Beach. Walking distance to shopping and restaurants.

We've stayed at Springhill Suites and walked across the road to a shopping plaza with a couple of restaurants. They also offer a shuttle to the cruise terminal. I think the shuttle was about $10/pp

Any TA can book a cruise, but you don't know how knowledgeable they are about cruising or how much experience they have working with the cruise lines.

IMHO, if you are going to use a TA to book a cruise, you should make sure they are CLIA certified, at least as an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) or higher - Master Cruise Counselor (MCC) or Elite Cruise Counselor (ECC). These certifications require training and testing.

Over the years, we have used 3 TA's to book our cruises:

1st time - an employee of a large national travel agency (which shall remain unnamed). She was very sweet and we didn't know anything about cruising. She put us on a cruise that was really not a good fit for us. It turned out to be on the "Party Till You Puke" cruiseline (you can guess which line had that well earned reputation a couple of decades ago).

Thereafter - we have used agencies that handle only cruising, and we have worked with agents who were either ACC or MCC certified. When our agent retired, we switched to another agent at a different agency recommended by a friend. We have always appreciated their service, opinions and experience. The OBC and/or wine/gifts they send us is just the icing on the cake, not the reason we use them.

Aren't there some NCL ships where they charge for entertainment? If they can make it work I am sure other lines will follow unfortunately. :(

I believe you are correct. And coupled with "dynamic dining", which looks a lot like an NCL concept, so much for Royal's self proclaimed innovation. If RCCL starts to look and feel more like NCL . . .

But what do I know? I'm not in marketing, I'm just a long time cruiser who really enjoys the RCCL product, and I won't pay for entertainment.

Do you need reservations for the character breakfast on Allure?

Yes' date=' but at least it's free.[/color']

Has anyone done both? Which do you recommend and why?

We've done both.

First time - we did the round trip train booked through the cruise line, which we really enjoyed.

Second time - we did a train/bus combo which we booked independently through Chilkoot Charters. We really loved this trip which was a total of 8 hours and went all the way into the Yukon to Carcross (aka Caribou Crossing), with various stops along the way, including Carcross Desert - the smallest desert in the world. This excursion included a BBQ lunch at the Caribou Crossing Trading Post, and also an opportunity to take a dog sled ride while at the trading post. You can also meet and handle the Husky puppies, even if you don't book a dog sled ride. They also offer shorter train/bus combos which you can see on their website.

Given the choice, I would do the train/bus combo. There was so much to see.

LOVE John and Katrina Blair! Now they made you feel like you were guests that were welcome to sail with them. Not guests who were HONORED to be in their arrogant presence like Ken Rush!

 

I am telling you - night and day!

 

Katrina would see us all over the ship - she would smile - ask if we were enjoying ourselves. She was unassuming. We sailed with her and John twice.

Another vote here for John & Katrina! We sailed with them way back on Song of America (he was CD and she was social hostess) and thought they were fantastic. Would love to sail with them again!

Another endorsement for Nativeway

Again, I cannot definitively diagnose the causative process but I can't rule out the bedding either. It's enough to make me think long and hard about the RCI staff cutbacks and standards.

We were on the same cruise, and we commented in the survey they emailed to us about the evident understaffing. Other than the diamond breakfast and the concierge lounge, the understaffing was very obvious to those who have sailed a lot with Royal Caribbean. If this had been our first cruise, I would have been impressed with the service. However, with our long history with RCCL we know how it used to be.

It is strange that in many ways I agree with some aspects of your post, I also have stated that I would be happy to pay that little bit more to maintain high standards..........and yet..........I still find myself attracted to those cruises with the keenest prices.

 

I do find that it is about managing expectations, as long as I consider that I get value for money, then I am happy, and so far I have achieved that.

Sure I do use the speciality restaurants because of the changes in the Main Dining Room, but cruising has changed over the years, and on many occassions I pay less now than I did 15 years ago when I first started cruising. Therefore my expectations have changed, and I can live without some of the items that used to be offered but now are not.

 

However it is not only Royal that have made similar changes over the years, the market used to be a "Once in a Lifetime" holiday, and now in many ways in is an annual option for many. There are still cruise lines out there that do offer the " All singing and Dancing" options, with White Glove service and High Teas etc, but the prices charged reflect the extras that are included. I still prefer to pay as I go if I want an improved option, but do agree that basic standards need to be maintained, and if that in turn means higher prices, then I would still be cruising.

Well said! I do enjoy the Royal Caribbean experience, but I have lowered my expectations from when I started cruising regularly in 1996. I wouldn't mind paying a few hundred dollars more per person to bring back some of the things that made me fall in love with cruising. However, the nice thing about the lower prices is it allows us to take more than one vacation each year.

Being unable to cruise newer ships with dedicated lounges I usually attend the cocktail hour for discounted drinks when possible. I've read here on the newer ships that some get upgraded snacks instead of the stale nut and raisins only that you must ask for on the ships I travel on. Am I wrong in the assumption that on newer ships you're treated a bit better.

I would say yes and no!

Comparing Explorer and Allure:

On Explorer, which we have sailed on quite a few times because of the convenience, there is a nightly "Diamond Event" which does not compare to the food and drink available in the Diamond Lounge on Allure.

On the other hand, Explorer has a separate, sit down, "Diamond Breakfast" in a lounge off the MDR, which is much nicer than the fare offered for breakfast in the Diamond Lounge on Allure.

We are going to Bermuda on July 2 out of NY on the Explorer of the Seas. Since I don't have to fly I would like to bring my own beach umbrella and take it with us when we go to the beach. Am I allowed to bring that on board? Or should I just rent one in Bermuda? My only concern is if all the umbrellas are already rented by the time we get to the beach...

You don't say which beach you're planning on going to; not all beaches have umbrellas or chairs for rent. If you are going to Horseshoe Bay, they have a lot of chairs and umbrellas available. However, depending on what time you get there and how many cruise ships are in port that day I have seen them run out of chairs and umbrellas. We usually arrive around 9AM, and leave around 2-2:30 PM. The last time we were there, they ran out of chairs and umbrellas around noon. When we started gathering our stuff to leave I had several desperate people running up to me to ask for our chairs and umbrella. They offered me cash to cover the deposits plus my rental cost, and I gave them the receipts so they could get the deposits back.

Hi, just got back from Bermuda and I'm here to report about Duke Soares. A little background of him. He's an older gentleman who is a history buff. He knows his island very well. Was born in Bermuda but he has Portuguese roots and married to an English lady who mans the docks in St George's.

He was there at the pier waiting for us with our name. He asked if there are any particular places we want to see and we told him he's the boss. We went to most of the island attractions stopping at St George to look around ourselves and did a little shopping.

We are very happy we did his tour. Took 5 hours and worth every penny.

Just got back from Bermuda last week (Celebrity Summit) and we also hired Duke. He was really great and a wealth of information. DW, DS and I have been to Bermuda quite a few times, but this was the first trip for DS's fiancee. We wanted to show her as much as reasonably possible in one day. I had previously emailed him a list of things to see and do and we were able to do almost everything in an 8 hour tour. The following was my list (in no particular order):

Tour the Town of St. George,

King's Square,

replica of the ship Deliverance,

Fort St. Catherine,

St. David's Lighthouse,

Bermuda Perfumery (skipped this),

Crystal Caves (skipped this),

Tour the City of Hamilton,

Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (skipped this),

Gibbs Hill Lighthouse,

Devil's Hole,

Somerset Bridge,

Fort Scaur

quick lunch at the Swizzle Inn (the original one),

stop at a pink sand beach (went to Warwick Long Bay),

see some moongates.

We skipped the Perfumery since they no longer manufacture the perfume there.

We also skipped the Crystal Caves because of the large volume of tourists and we didn't want to spend a couple of hours waiting for a tour. Finally we decided to skip the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute and spend some extra time shopping in Hamilton.

We finished the trip in Hamilton (Wednesday night was the Harbor Night Festival) and then took the ferry back to the dockyard. Duke was really wonderful and had a running commentary as we drove around.

Quest is billed as an ADULT scavanger hunt. It is up to the parents to control the under 18 year olds. We do not blame Becky as she is a great CD. Blame your fellow guests who are willing to do these wild things.

We had Becky as CD a couple of years ago and thought she was great. We always look forward to the Quest and it is a little different every time. On some cruises it was very tame - "G rated" and on others it has gotten a little out of hand - "very R rated." I don't think it is fair to lay the blame on the CD since most of the people who participate are usually very outgoing & spontaneous. It is a given that the men will end up in their underwear, and women will be taking off their bras. If someone spontaneously goes beyond that, there isn't much the CD can do to stop it, short of ending the game right then and there.

As for the under 18 set in attendance, I could go on and on with my opinions about parenting, but that's really a whole other topic.