This is the view I like to see from my "cruise ship."
Posted on 12/01/2013 2:23:10 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
The cruise-line industry is a rough business.
Every time a passenger ship leaves port with a guest cabin unoccupied, that's money the cruise operators are never going to see.
Last week Micky Arison, the longtime chief executive of Carnival Corp., announced that he will be stepping down; revenues at the world's largest cruise-ship line have been falling. Arison will remain as chairman of the firm, but a new CEO will step in.
Cruise companies have always had to contend with uncertainties in the economy, which sometimes make travelers cautious about planning leisure trips, and Carnival has faced widespread unpleasant publicity in recent years. The Costa Concordia, owned by a subsidiary of the corporation, ran aground and partially sank off the coast of Italy in 2012, killing 32 people.
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The way he explained it to us, he had parted company with the corporation that employed him; we got the impression that this was not voluntary on his part. He had been given some severance.
So, he told us, he had figured out a way, for a relatively small amount of money, to live, for a while, like a king. Like a sultan at sea.
He was now, he said, residing virtually full-time on cruise ships -- eating gourmet meals, lounging in the sun, listening to music and going to stage shows at night, sleeping in freshly made-up beds with the oceans of the world lulling him to sleep.
How could he do this?
Each week, he explained, he'd get on his computer and do searches for cheap, last-minute cruise deals. There are websites that specialize in exactly that....
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Bookmarked for retirement.
We just got off holland American zandaam, buenos aires to val parasol. My second cruise. First. One carnival lots of kids running up and down even over night.
Holland was great. Professional operations. Captain took us into straights of Magellan and back out to Atlantic so we could go around the cape.
Plenty to do on board and some good ports and shore excursions. Service provided by Indonesians and Filipinos mostly. Great job and friendly people. My wife is Filipino and she must have know half the crew by voyage end.
Many ways to spend money on board or you can eat and do free activities to minimize costs.
I’m not a big cruise guy, but if I go again I’ll pick holland America.
Bon voyage.
Ps I was impressed by measures to avoid gastrointestinal viruses.
Auto hand washers at each dining room.
We didn’t help ourselves at buffet for 48 hours. Everything handed to us.
Antibacterial hand cleaner everywhere.
Railings etc bring cleaned constantly.
I like a cabin with window. On this trip saw glaciers and snow-capped mountains from rom. Picked cabin on right side of ship for more land views.
Used wifi daily but not in cabin. Had to go to library and nearby to get good connection.
Ps 2
Shouldn’t every buffet have an auto hand washer?
If you are in a special diet, the cruise line will try to accommodate you. You may have to let the line or your travel agent know your dietary needs before you cruise. However, most cruise lines offer healthy choices anyway for people watching their weight or whatever.
Cruise ships have elevators for the disabled and newer ones are being made more handicapped accessible.
As stated, there is a doctor on board. But if you are on prescription medication, you should bring an ample amount with you as it may be difficult or impossible to procure, particularly if you are cruising foreign countries.
I’ve cruised with only 3 lines — Carnival, Princess and Norwegian. I liked Princess the best. Service was outstanding — even more so than the other 2. I can’t say I ever had a bad time in any of cruises. Some were just better than others.
Took a Mediterranean cruise with Princess. One of the amenities was a basket of fruit left in the cabin for the whole cruise. One morning, we were on our way out of the cabin ad our cabin steward was coming in to clean. I happened to say to my mother that the peaches in that fruit basket were outstanding. The steward overheard because when we came back to the cabin later, the basket was filled with peaches. The last full day of the cruise, the steward made a point of apologizing. He was out of peaches.
Heck, I just wanted to be the first (fool) into battle at 17... lucky me that it didn’t happen when I was young and dumb, but the wings became the source of pride and happiness for over 20-years;)
“My idea of a vacation is to get away from the huddled masses —not be enclosed on a ship with a crowd”
Well then look into ‘Windjammer Cruises’
I crossed the Pacific six times between 1951 and 1961 on MSTS. Seattle to Yokohama. Yokohama to Seattle. Not exactly a cruise line, tho.
About 30 years ago I took two Mediterranean cruises free of charge. Unfortunately it was aboard the USS Nimitz and the accommodations were sub par. Was able to visit some interesting places though.
My wife and I go on several cruises a year. Our 16’ cruise ship fits nicely on top of the Jeep and sometimes we don't see another human for days.
Then look at their "90 Day Ticker". Prices drop as the sailing date approaches.
Mrs BN & I found an 11 day Hawaii cruise a few years back. Most Hawaii cruises are 7 days around the islands. However, US regulations require a foreign registered ship to visit a foreign port between leaving the US and returning to a US port. Norwegian Cruise lines only had a foreign registered ship available for this cruise. The closest foreign "port" was the Fanning Island ( Tabuaeran) in the republic of Kiribati, 1000 miles south of Hawaii.
So, we steamed 2 days to Fanning Is., an atoll about 5 miles by 10 miles. They launched the shuttle boats, we all went to the beach for a picnic for most of the day, rented bicycles and rode around visiting villages, then loaded back on the cruise ship for the 2 day sail back to Hawaii.
Our inside cabin was normally $559/person. We took the $50 upgrade to choose our cabin and ended up with a "handicapped" cabin, about twice the size of the regular cabin, for $599 each.
Last year we really wanted to take a last minute San Francisco to Australian, 23 day cruise with stops at several Hawaiian islands, Tahiti, Bora Bora, 5 stops in New Zealand and several in Australia. Cost for 23 days was $1995. Airfare was extra, of course.
Alas, commitments and bank accounts conspired to keep us from taking that wonderful cruise.
Generally, you can cruise for close to $100/day, if you shop and catch bargains.
| FastDeal # | Nights | Ends In | Cruise Line / Ship | Ship Rating 1-6 Stars | Brochure | Our | YOU | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting | Starting | SAVE!! | ||||||
| Price* | Price | |||||||
| #10139 Info | 14 | Guadeloupe | Costa Cruises / Costa Mediterranea | 4 | $1,629 | $390 | 76% | Military Rate! |
| #11390 Info | 10 | Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands | Costa Cruises / Costa Classica | 3 | $1,089 | $609 | 44% | |
| #17675 Info | 12 | Athens (Piraeus), Greece | Holland America / Rotterdam VI | 4.5 | $3,079 | $629 | 80% | 80% Off! |
| #22551 Info | 11 | Athens (Piraeus), Greece | Holland America / Rotterdam VI | 4.5 | $2,879 | $629 | 78% | Exclusive Offer! |
| #14881 Info | 10 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Cunard / Queen Victoria | 5 | - | $702 | Info | Balcony! |
| #16426 Info | 11 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Cunard / Queen Elizabeth | 5 | $802 | $802 | 0 | |
Floating on a tin can.
In the middle of nowhere.
With 5,000 strangers.
And germs galore.
Boy, that really sounds like fun.
I could never understand the appeal of it.
My wife and I went on our first cruise with Norwegian for our 25th anniversary. The best time we ever had! I did some math, you don’t have to keep switching to find cruise deals. You can get an inside cabin for $400/week. Don’t know if they would let you book for the entire year but that’s $20,800 and you live like a king/queen!
SFL
Anti-bacterial hand cleaner has no effect on gastrointestinal viruses.
Lots of folks here shoulda just joined the Navy or Coast Guard.
I am done floating around waiting to catch fire or sink or both.
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