Unusual/unpopular opinions

[momofmeg]

On 10/25/2022 at 11:04 AM, navybankerteacher said:

This is standard across all lines with which I am familiar.  At the end of the meal, if there are just lees in the bottle, it is done; If there is just enough for a small sip, I will have it; if there is enough for a full glass or more, it will be saved for you.

I was replying to a person who thought the waiters would steal his wine if he left any; but yep, although we have not cruised as much as you, we have been on like 8 different lines, and no one has ever stolen his wine. When it is him alone a bottle last 3 nights. If my daughter is with us maybe 2. I rarely drink wine.

[ldubs]

On 10/25/2022 at 12:15 PM, Drew B 58 said:

 

When I have dined with just my travel companions, it tends to be a pretty quiet meal.  We’ve already exhausted most topics of conversation earlier in the day.  And an ice breaker like “What did you do today?” isn’t going to work because you already know what they did today!  At a shared table, it’s like you get to enjoy your own cruise AND live vicariously through someone else’s!

 

We do a lot of cruises with family & friend groups. We are pretty tight knit and even though we know each other well, there is never a dull moment at our table(s).  I feel very fortunate for that dynamic.  

[ldubs]

On 10/25/2022 at 4:05 AM, DirtyDawg said:

We also usually will not finish our bottle of wine at dinner so we either have them store it for the next night or we bring it back to our cabin. Am I assuming correctly that "leave a partial bottle on the table for staff" is done as a tip? Or was it just for the staff to clean up and toss out? I must admit I have never even thought of leaving a partial bottle on the table for staff as a tip. We usually will just use cash. If it was for a tip, is this practice popular or unpopular among cruisers?  

 

I don't know.  Maybe this is an unpopular opinion.  Maybe a wrong opinion.  I just can't see leaving leftover food or drink as a tip to staff.   It just seems awkward to me. 

 

The following is not the same, but thought I would share.   We were once at a table where a guy ordered an extra serving.  When the plate was delivered to the table he said it was for the wait person.  The waiter expressed thanks, but the look on his face said something entirely different.  What the guy was thinking, I don't know.  

[navybankerteacher]

7 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I don't know.  Maybe this is an unpopular opinion.  Maybe a wrong opinion.  I just can't see leaving leftover food or drink as a tip to staff.   It just seems awkward to me. 

 

The following is not the same, but thought I would share.   We were once at a table where a guy ordered an extra serving.  When the plate was delivered to the table he said it was for the wait person.  The waiter expressed thanks, but the look on his face said something entirely different.  What the guy was thinking, I don't know.  

He was obviously an inexperienced wannabe "big man".   

[DirtyDawg]

18 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I don't know.  Maybe this is an unpopular opinion.  Maybe a wrong opinion.  I just can't see leaving leftover food or drink as a tip to staff.   It just seems awkward to me. 

 

The following is not the same, but thought I would share.   We were once at a table where a guy ordered an extra serving.  When the plate was delivered to the table he said it was for the wait person.  The waiter expressed thanks, but the look on his face said something entirely different.  What the guy was thinking, I don't know.  

 

10 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

He was obviously an inexperienced wannabe "big man".   

Or an incredibly stupid 'Good Samaritan'  thinking they don't feed the wait staff on cruise ships. (I'm assuming @ldubs was on a cruise.) In either case the guy was thinking incredibly stupid thoughts. 😵

 

On the bright side, it would have given the waiter a great story to tell afterwards! 

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by DirtyDawg

[KBs mum]

On 10/21/2022 at 1:03 AM, lenquixote66 said:

The pandemic in 1918 was gone by 1920.Now with all the scientific advancements nothing can be done .Very strange.

There were a couple of small surges after that, it's still around but newer varients are less dangerous/transmissible. It's one of the flu strains the annual vaccine protects against. 

[KBs mum]

On 10/28/2022 at 3:38 PM, Spif Barwunkel said:

A well-positioned fanny pack does the job, in more ways than one. Are we done with unusual/unpopular opinions? I can't imagine we are. 

Um, in UK English a 'fanny' is er, how to put this? A lady's 'front bottom' A fanny pack is a hygiene item

[cruisemom42]

Just thought of another unpopular opinion of mine:  Shore excursions sold by the ship should NOT include forced-shopping stops. If you want to sell me an expensive excursion, it shouldn't include an hour of shopping. 

 

I'm paying for a guided tour, so guide me. If people want to shop they should do it on their own time.

 

[ontheweb]

22 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

Just thought of another unpopular opinion of mine:  Shore excursions sold by the ship should NOT include forced-shopping stops. If you want to sell me an expensive excursion, it shouldn't include an hour of shopping. 

 

I'm paying for a guided tour, so guide me. If people want to shop they should do it on their own time.

 

I will wholeheartedly agree with that one. In Kusadasi, Turkey we took a ship's excursion because the one on the roll call specifically said not to go to the Virgin Mary's house while DW definitely wanted to go there. It was a nice excursion until we were locked in a store selling rugs.

[Mary229]

26 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I will wholeheartedly agree with that one. In Kusadasi, Turkey we took a ship's excursion because the one on the roll call specifically said not to go to the Virgin Mary's house while DW definitely wanted to go there. It was a nice excursion until we were locked in a store selling rugs.

I don’t know why it is but I rarely have a shore excursion that includes shopping stops.  Just lucky I guess and I use plenty of shore ex because I am lazy.   My parents tried to convince us to do land based tours - Tauck and Brendan and we did not like them as everyday seemed to be a shopping day or an ADC day.  A friend of mine dubbed them ADC tours - another d@@@ church, another d@@@ cemetery, another d@@@ cathedral.  Tour guides love these because there is no admission charge though i did note some churches now demanding admission not just a donation.  

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

I will wholeheartedly agree with that one. In Kusadasi, Turkey we took a ship's excursion because the one on the roll call specifically said not to go to the Virgin Mary's house while DW definitely wanted to go there. It was a nice excursion until we were locked in a store selling rugs.

 

Turkey seems to be one of the worst in this regard. We were also locked into a carpet showroom, but in Istanbul. Have also been "invited" (a.k.a. dragged) into the carpet factory, the leather factory and the ceramic factory in various tours from Kusadasi.

 

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Just thought of another unpopular opinion of mine:  Shore excursions sold by the ship should NOT include forced-shopping stops. If you want to sell me an expensive excursion, it shouldn't include an hour of shopping. 

 

I'm paying for a guided tour, so guide me. If people want to shop they should do it on their own time.

 

Completely agree.  But, of course, that is not going to change because the tour providers either own or get a kick-back from the "forced" shopping.  The biggest crock of shopping involves so-called shopping/port lecturers who recommend (or guarantee) certain shops.  They are not necessarily the best shops but you can be sure they pay a hefty fee or percentage to be "recommended."

 

On one of our first major international cruises (Princess) one of our stops was Izmir, Turkey.  We were young, stupid, and naive so booked a cruise line excursion to Ephesus.  I was our first time at the ruins (we have since returned 4 more times..mostly on our own) and our tour guide rushed our tiny group of about 60 through those ruins.  She moved so fast it was hard to keep up and she hurried us along back into the bus.  We were than taken to a "Jewelry Factory" which opened just for our group.  Once we were all inside the doors were actually locked.  The place was just a typical large jewelry story which sold mostly junk.  After a few minutes a bunch of us got angry (because we could not get out) and demanded they open a door.  Within 20 minutes nearly the entire group of 60 was back outside just sitting around (and mad) while a few ladies did their shopping.  After more then an hour we headed back to Izmir.  We later got a big apology from Princess along with a refund of the excursion cost.  That experience turned us against "excursions" and gave us an incentive to become very independent (and adventurous) travelers.  

 

Hank

[donaldsc]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I will wholeheartedly agree with that one. In Kusadasi, Turkey we took a ship's excursion because the one on the roll call specifically said not to go to the Virgin Mary's house while DW definitely wanted to go there. It was a nice excursion until we were locked in a store selling rugs.

 

The way that we handled that on our Kusadasi visit is that we booked a private tour through ToursbyLocals.  That gave us 3 advantages -

 

1) We visited the places that we wanted to visit and not the ones that paid off the cruise lines

2) We did not stop at any shopping places except for a place that sold local artist handicrafts

3) My wife walks slowly.  We walked at our pace and stopped when my wife needed a break.

 

DON

[GeezerCouple]

25 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

The way that we handled that on our Kusadasi visit is that we booked a private tour through ToursbyLocals.  That gave us 3 advantages -

 

1) We visited the places that we wanted to visit and not the ones that paid off the cruise lines

2) We did not stop at any shopping places except for a place that sold local artist handicrafts

3) My wife walks slowly.  We walked at our pace and stopped when my wife needed a break.

 

DON

 

This very nicely summarizes why we do private excursions almost exclusively.

As for "what to visit/see/do", not only can we customize this from the start, in advance, but we can make adjustments in the middle of the outing.  We realize we LOVE seeing/doing X?  Okay, let's stay here longer, and skip Y (or spend half the time there, etc.).

 

We've also had some good suggestions when we ask the guide "from what we've been discussing with you, are there any other things you'd recommend for us?"

 

Sometimes, we invite others (from our Roll Call), such as the times we've chartered a large catamaran.  We explain exactly what our plans are.  One time, it was a "regular excursion" but we hired them privately "just for us".  Another time, we just chartered the crewed catamaran, and they helped us decide where to sail.

 

GC

[cruisemom42]

Even arranging a private guide is no guarantee in some places, however. I had arranged a private tour for 9 to Ephesus (Kusadasi, Turkey) and had an entire conversation by email with the agent that we wanted NO shopping stops. Additionally, I confirmed it with the guide upon starting the tour.  Nevertheless he went behind my back and stopped at a leather factory.  One other woman on the tour was interested in shopping, the rest of us were mightily annoyed and we just walked in the front door and then back out again at the back. 

 

The guide was mighty surprised to see us all march out. He had just sat down on the patio with a cigarette, no doubt anticipating a lengthy break. 

 

I actually prefer doing things completely on my own whenever possible, using public transportation. Eliminates this issue entirely.

[wowzz]

5 hours ago, KBs mum said:

Um, in UK English a 'fanny' is er, how to put this? A lady's 'front bottom' A fanny pack is a hygiene item

See my post #124 !

[Ilovesailaway]

I don't get off the ship to buy a day pass at a resort to sit by a pool. I just don't get that logic. I have a pool on my ship with plenty of open seats. Plus I've already paid for my food and drinks. I feel pretty much the same way about taking a cab to a beach to pay for a longer. I don't get it.

 

 

 

[wowzz]

We did a private tour in Sri Lanka for seven days. 

Our driver/guide told us that as part of his contract,  he had to take us to certain stores,  in the hope that we might buy something.  So, he dropped us off, we walked into the store, said hello,  and walked out. Everyone was happy,  except the store owner! 

Which is why we avoid all cruise excursions that give you the "opportunity " to vist a craft workshop of some kind.

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Turkey seems to be one of the worst in this regard. We were also locked into a carpet showroom, but in Istanbul. Have also been "invited" (a.k.a. dragged) into the carpet factory, the leather factory and the ceramic factory in various tours from Kusadasi.

 

And to make our cruise ship line (HAL) excursion with the rug shop even worse, IIRC there was no shopping stop listed on the tour description.

[Hlitner]

55 minutes ago, Ilovesailaway said:

I don't get off the ship to buy a day pass at a resort to sit by a pool. I just don't get that logic. I have a pool on my ship with plenty of open seats. Plus I've already paid for my food and drinks. I feel pretty much the same way about taking a cab to a beach to pay for a longer. I don't get it.

 

 

 

Your post makes me smile.  We live in Puerto Vallarta for part of the year and have often helped folks on CC with suggestions.  But we are amazed at how many cruisers will say they are excited about cruising to Mexico, but their big destination is PV is Walmart or a daypass at a resort (which is as Mexican as any resort in Miami).   It is the same in many Caribbean ports where cruisers go to the places "for cruisers" rather than venturing out.   When we are thinking a nice resort day is in order we will usually stay on the ship (which is often the best resort in the region).

 

Hank

[Nebr.cruiser]

4 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Turkey seems to be one of the worst in this regard. We were also locked into a carpet showroom, but in Istanbul. Have also been "invited" (a.k.a. dragged) into the carpet factory, the leather factory and the ceramic factory in various tours from Kusadasi.

 

We actually 'got' to see two carpet showrooms in Turkey, one is Istanbul, one is the Ephesus area.  Luckily, neither one were high pressure and I kind of enjoyed them.  We weren't locked in or kept very long.  Both were independent tours with the same company and the Ephesus one included a nice meal.

[DirtyDawg]

This is how many of the local tour operators and businesses in ports view cruise passengers.

 

 

Just waiting to be plucked! 

😁

[ilikeanswers]

My unusual/unpopular opinion: I, would be happy to sail on a no frills ship. I'm not attracted to the resort style amusements of mass market cruises and I'm not too keen on the luxury of small ship cruises. I'm strongly motivated by itinerary so I don't really care too much about ship features. Simple entertainment, usually enrichment activities are enough for me. As long as the cabin is comfortable enough to sleep in, the food edible and there is at least one deck for taking in the views I wouldn't really need anything else. 

[Joebucks]

17 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Your post makes me smile.  We live in Puerto Vallarta for part of the year and have often helped folks on CC with suggestions.  But we are amazed at how many cruisers will say they are excited about cruising to Mexico, but their big destination is PV is Walmart or a daypass at a resort (which is as Mexican as any resort in Miami).   It is the same in many Caribbean ports where cruisers go to the places "for cruisers" rather than venturing out.   When we are thinking a nice resort day is in order we will usually stay on the ship (which is often the best resort in the region).

 

Hank

 

Hell yea I stopped at the Walmart in PV! We loaded up on snacks, beer, and souvenirs for under $15 that would have been 3x elsewhere. 

 

I kinda understand the resort thing, I kinda don't. In PV, we walked the Malecon then stopped at one of the beaches. We had a nice spot, cheap beer, I had some fantastic tacos. It was a great time! People are overly obsessed with "all-inclusive" while ignoring the dirt cheap prices of what you actually need, a la carte. There have been some places though where we do a pass because there are not as many affordable beach, food, and drink options nearby to enjoy yourself.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, ilikeanswers said:

My unusual/unpopular opinion: I, would be happy to sail on a no frills ship. I'm not attracted to the resort style amusements of mass market cruises and I'm not too keen on the luxury of small ship cruises. I'm strongly motivated by itinerary so I don't really care too much about ship features. Simple entertainment, usually enrichment activities are enough for me. As long as the cabin is comfortable enough to sleep in, the food edible and there is at least one deck for taking in the views I wouldn't really need anything else. 

Our TA once tried to talk us out of a sailing on an older no new frills and not many bells and whistles ship. But we liked the itinerary and also had a use it or lose it airfare discount coupon that we could use to go to the port (San Juan). And we had a lovely time meeting very nice people and enjoying the ports. Those were the important things, not the new amusement park like frills.