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Dan40

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About Dan40

Cruising

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  1. The Costa deaths account for about .00000107% of the people that cruised within the last year only. That will not amount to any LOUD wake up call. The US NHTSA admits that we have an EXTRA 2000 highway deaths per year due to lightweight fuel efficient vehicles crashing with larger vehicles. But if a kid swallows a button off a teddy bear, that company is put out of business immediately. We have odd priorities.
  2. First cruise, Cunard, on the Cunard Princess. First Carnival cruise, of 16, Marti Gras. Leaving Sunday for cruise # 53. This time on NCL Dawn.
  3. Since Carnival owns Holland America, and Princess, and Costa, and a number of smaller lines. Duplication in building new ships saves money. So the ship will be the same. Not all mega-mega ships, but generally larger. HAL's Vista class is identical to Carnival's Spirit class. Different decor, but the same structure. That duplication will continue. As the smaller ships age out of the fleet, they will go to the small lesser known lines as Carnival's older smaller ships have done. Its all about costs and profits, as it should be.
  4. This thread was started in 2006. THEN, Carnival did have FORMAL NIGHTS. Enforcement of the formal dress code was all but non-existent. About the only thing not allowed on men was shorts, and sometimes that was allowed too. Since this thread was started, Carnival has changed to "ELEGANT NIGHTS." A much more relaxed dress code which includes slacks and a collared shirt for men. NO JACKETS needed. Even this relaxed code is commonly ignored. Altho the majority still DO dress up, there can be some slovenly casual people in the dining room too. I always wore a tux for formal nights and never wore jeans on any Caribbean cruise. On jeans, prior to the advent of 'Elegant nights' Carnival NEVER in their history had ANY restriction against jeans. Jeans were NEVER mentioned in their dress code. Now they are mentioned and they are allowed.
  5. Now they have to find another BILLION PLUS for the Allure.
  6. All that letter says is, "Of all we took away, we will give you a 25% drink discount [for a few minutes] to make up for it." Hardly a reinstatement of Diamond perks. I consider my Diamond status meaningless now.
  7. IF there is a food available that I have not had before, I WILL order it. I an a very adventurous eater and have been fortunate to have traveled and dined, all over the world. And I do eat and enjoy sashimi, that is the raw fish. The 'sushi, served on cruise ships is all cooked items. None of it is raw. Some is very good. Not anywhere near the quality of a good sushi bar, but still not bad at all. SUSHI means "served with rice" It can be cooked fish or sashimi [raw fish] on top. On ships, cooked.
  8. If we were talking just a bought a meal. i would agree small differences.. but Dan what about the little things that you do in-fact lose get when traditional dining will no longer become an option.. like the traditional Baked Alaska parade! The baked Alaska parade has been a dead horse for years now. But its been gone for a long time. Dan it's been on EVERY cruise I have taken.. we love the tackiness..I will say if it's dead "the zombie dances at dinner" The baked Alaska parade on todays cruises is just a steel cup pushed down into the cake and filled with canned heat. In the old days the entire cake was covered in booze and set afire. They really flamed and that heat IS a part of the Baked Alaska process. That heat warms the icing and cake thru but they protect the ice cream from melting. The parade now is just a sham show. They also used to make Cherries Jubilee and Bananas Foster by the table in the main dining rooms. They are also gone, probably due to 'fire safety' as well. But then I have a half century of cruises and a long memory. Short memory not so good!
  9. If we were talking just a bought a meal. i would agree small differences.. but Dan what about the little things that you do in-fact lose get when traditional dining will no longer become an option.. like the traditional Baked Alaska parade! The baked Alaska parade has been a dead horse for years now. I don't know if risk management people or SOLAS put a stop to it. But its been gone for a long time. The present day with the little cups of canned heat are a joke. The old days of real FLAMING baked Alaskas were great. But they are gone. And amateurish singing and uncoordinated dancing by waiters can go today as far as I'm concerned. TRADITIONAL DINING is NOT being replaced. It WILL be kept. 'Your time' dining is ONLY an additional choice. Doing away with traditional would be following NCL. And Carnival is not going to follow a company that is barely surviving. NCL came up with Freestyle to look "different" from the other lines. They SHOULD have made it another option like the other lines have done. But they didn't. Now NCL really has nothing to say. All they have is "Freestyle" while everybody else has 'freestyle' AND traditional.
  10. In the past there was the choice of early or late dining. Now there is the choice of early, late, or anytime. Small difference, just an extra option. NOTHING being taken away. You make your choice and that is your dining arrangement for the length of the cruise, no switching from one to the other. The traditional and anytime diners are NOT mixed. In ships with one dining room, one is on the first floor, one on the second. 2 DR's and one is traditional, the other anytime. I do traditional as I enjoy the difference from dining out at home or any land restaurant. That's all anytime is, just like dining out at home. You show up when the restaurant is open, ask to be seated. Wait if there are others ahead of you. Or you make a reservation. ABSOLUTELY no difference from a land restaurant. It is not like or planned to be like NCL. They have no traditional dining. They have numerous dining venues, ALL anytime dining. Most are extra charge.
  11. The slumping economy will have a negative effect on every facet of the travel industry. So far it looks like Las Vegas is hit worst of all with the economy AND "bailed out" companies afraid to book a LV convention. I think CCl's debt load puts them in much better shape than their MAIN competitors. CCL will likely experience depressed PROFITS, while others may suffer serious LOSSES. Dan
  12. The 98 new balconies were welded onto the outside of the ship. They extend out away from the hull. That way the balconies have not taken up any of the room space. The balcony door is now where the OceanView window used to be. Also the category 12 Suites have had a balcony extension welded on the outside of the hull too. So the smooth 'slab' side of the ship is no more. But now there are balconies were there were none before and larger ones, all without losing room space. Dan
  13. I stopped reading reviews of any type some years ago. Cruise, movie, restaurant, I'll make up my own mind. But cruise reviews are why I stopped reading reviews. I read too many about cruises I had sailed where "everybody was complaining." Yet there I was having a great time and never meeting up with any of the "everybodies" that were doing all the complaining. I have also overheard screaming complaints to the Purser that were totally out of line and about nothing at all. Our philosophy is: Our last cruise is only a memory, our next cruise is only a plan, this cruise we're on is the one to enjoy! Dan
  14. Pre-paid, as someone has already said are included with the final cruise fare payment well in advance of the cruise. It seems to me that this thread is really about the automatic tips added to our on board accounts. Why this upsets some people I don't understand. It is simply a convenience for all of us. It is in no way tipping anybody anything in advance. First you may go to the Purser anytime day or night any day of the cruise. You may remove all, part, or add to the tips at your leisure. Second it is only a memo billing on your account, it is not charged to your credit card until after the cruise is over. So actually you hold onto your money a little while longer than using cash. Lastly, the employees do not receive your auto-tips until after the cruise is over and they know you can adjust or remove the tips at any time. As opposed to the old cash last nite method where more than HALF the pax were skipping the last meal top avoid tipping, the employees know the new systems results in more tips for them and I have seen better service as they work for over tips. Dan
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