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Hi Rick, Some ships do have a tour of the public areas of the ship . These take place usually within 24 hours of embarkation. Check your daily cabin bulletin to see if the Ryndam offers this. I know Carnival and Princess do this in order to familiarise you with the ships' layout. Regards, James.

Oh dear, oh dear oh dear!!!!!!I was expecting a completely different ending.I'm exhausted after reading that! Regards, James.

Sad to say I don't own one. I think if I were to travel on the more expensive cruise lines such as Crystal, Seabourne or Cunard I would probably splash out on one. Normally I make do with a dark blue sports jacket and grey pants with white shirt and tie. What I have witnessed on formal nights in some of the dining rooms on board ships it would appear I'm well dressed!!! Regards, James.

I'm jealous too! It's not fair watching all you lucky people going whilst I have to wait for Dec:30th! The Crown Princess sounds a lovely ship. Regards, James.

That was absolutely terrific Keith and Rita. What a fabulous way to share your holiday with us and especially Donna and I as it is our favourite ship. Loved the show and the album. Well Done. That was great! Regards, James.

That was absolutely terrific Keith and Rita. What a fabulous way to share your holiday with us and especially Donna and I as it is our favourite ship. Loved the Album. Well Done. That was great! Regards, James.

This situation is always a worry. Over drinking and larking about should be curtailed by ship's security. I guess that would apply to the younger folk. But I don't understand when older folk go missing and yet sometimes not even noticed by their absence until much later. So terribly sad for the families concerned. Regards, James.

Hi Gogetter, We were on the Legend out of New York in 2004. Lovely ship with the usual Joe Farcas touch! There are urns everywhere you look on this ship but I can't remember the theme. I do remember the wonderful entertainment and the best Cruise director we have ever had. Sadly he has now retired from cruising The ship is very easy to navigate around. Met and had an early morning coffee with Captain Capusti on the Lido deck which was a huge highlight for me as there was no one else around! It was 6-45 a.m.! You will enjoy the Legend. Fort Lauderdale is well organised for cruising. If you do not want to line up to check in may I suggest you arrive at the port after 1 p.m. Regards, James.

G'morning Jason, Very interesting article. I fear in less than 10 years time there will be such a crowd of ships at sea particulary the Caribbean and Alaska that cruising may turn into a traffic jam on the water. The popular Caribbean and Alaskan ports are already overcrowded when 5 or more ships are in port There will be more and more tendering as the quaysides are no longer able to accomodate these liners. As ships get bigger intimacy no longer applies.(Unless one can afford Crystal or Seabourne) Most of us are now aware that Cruising is far from All Inclusive-VERY far. Yet travel agencies still try and sell cruises to new travellers as an all inclusive vacation. This annoys me no end. People do not always have brochures to read the fine print and rely on the travel agent for their cruise info: I will still love cruising but oh, how things have changed since I took my first cruise in 1990. Regards, James.

Sorry to hear of the Grandeur's problems and on your special week too. We haven't been on Royal Caribbean for over 12 years now. I guess it's time we went back and sampled them once again! Regards, James.

So glad you had a great time on board the CP Keith and Rita. Yes, Bert is quite a character isn't he? The CP is the only ship so far we would travel on again. Not just because of Bert, but everything else was simply great with the exception of the Main Shows. What did you think of them? Regards, James.

Yeah, great feeling Robert but what ship will you be on? Regards, James.

So we're here because we LOVE to cruise-right? Soooo why don't we put the feelers out asking people when is their best available cruising time and then block book through a reputable agency a group cruise? This has been done on other sites very successfully. It would be great to meet each other LIVE. I realise many Crazies would find this difficult. Having said that others can re-arrange their schedules to suit. As a matter of fact we will be on a New Year's Cruise in December with another Cruise Group and over 150 of the membership are on it with us. The rates given for this New Year's cruise were fantastic.But this does not have to be a holiday cruise. . Then we ask the members to name a theme for the cruise with the winner receiving a bottle of wine in their cabin at embarkation.PLease give this some thought. I can't think of a better way to meet a crowd of Crazies for one fabulous week cruising. Regards, James.

Welcome Home folks. I'm assuming you had a wonderful time on the CP. Did you meet Bert Stratton? Or see his show in the Explorer's lounge? Regards, James.

Hi Chara, You take your chances I think. Yes, you will get a balcony but which deck and which end of the ship depends on availability after all other booked cabins have been allotted. I really don't think you will be disappointed wherever you will be placed on a Princess ship, although some folks dislike the tiered levels of the Princess Grand class. I cannot say for sure if the Diamond Princess has this arrangement of decks. Regards, James.

Yes, insurance is a very good idea. However, I had to cancel a HAL cruise for next March and to me I should have received a full refund of the deposit and the paid trip insurance. Not so. The cost of the insurance (over 300 dollars) was non refundable. I guess I should have read the fine print.Originally I thought if one cancelled a cruise at least 6 months in advance all monies would be refunded. Ah well we live and learn. Regards, James.

Good Morning Jason, Yes, I read somewhere that NCL lost money in their last financial quarter. It's not surprising really when you think of the other lines on the high seas. NCL just has to catch up with the Royal Caribbean's Voyager Class ships not to mention the new Freedom Class. Then of course you have Carnival's 110,000 mega ships taking a large bite out of the cruise pie. Although NCL today appears not to be of the NCL of old I guess some people are still wary of their product and office admin: problems. I'm sure you agree that there is an awful lot of competion out there. Even this morning I received an e-mail from Princess offering 7 days on the Caribbean Princess for just 399!!I've never seen a 7 day cruise offered that cheap from a cruise line-travel agency maybe, but not a cruise line. Great for us consumers of course but not good for the cruiselines' bottom line. Regards, James.

Yes, great feeling to be a SDM. What I've read of the "Signature of Excellence" upgrades on all the HAL fleet, you are in for a treat regardless of what stateroom you are in. Have a wonderful cruise. Regards, James.

Have a wonderful cruise on the Explorer. Regards, James.

Hi Cruisergal, It was me who cancelled for the 4th March 2007. Regards, James.

Jeez, you can do without that kind of fright. I think I would have freaked out completely! Glad you got it sorted out. Regards, James.

Wow! The ships are getting bigger and bigger in the NCL fleet. Never taken a cruise with them yet due to their past reputation. However today I understand they have improved greatly (except for drink prices!!!!) Maybe one day. Regards, James.

If Costa has as much fun aboard their new ships as they had on the now scrapped Costa Riveira (early 1990's) it'll be great Regards, James.

Thanks Longboysfan. for the info re Celebrity. But as a big fan of Carnival, we would love to see them branch out into longer cruises. Regards, James.

Why do you feel so bad? I mean you and your family have spent a fair chunk of money on Royal Caribbean so it's only right they reward you in some way. Personally I would prefer a complimentary dinner for two in the speciality restraunt. If the ship doesn't have one then a couple of bottles of wine in the stateroom! Don't forget there is tremendous competition amongst the cruise lines to get your dollar so they look for any way they can to make you feel wanted and important. Perhaps the guy in line with the yellow shirt will become a Platinum member himself one day. So relax and enjoy the privelege. Regards, James