Woody14

56 minutes ago, 3Sisters said:

Cozumel has tons of things to do! Will this be your first time visiting Cozumel?

Been only once it was back in the 90's (on NCL) and we were docked from 4:00 pm - 11:00 pm so we only got off the ship and looked around the port and that was it.   It just seemed like a massive party going on.  

I am not really an all inclusive person and not in to the bar hopper tours so I am looking for Cozumel options.    Arriving Aug 3 on the Carnival Vista.

Not sure about NCL but it seems that Royal has a pretty loose set of rules when it comes to service animals.  On my last Royal Caribbean cruise there were several and many I would have had a difficult time identifying as a service dog.

1 hour ago, Kendall James-Vargas said:

@Woody14 These examples are great! Do you think that ship size usually dilutes its guest to crew ratio due to saving money at the bottom line? 

I think a factor that probably is overlooked is there are probably not a huge difference in the number of crew that actually operate the ship if it is big or small.   All the same stuff has to get done and they all run 24 hrs a day.     So the big difference would come on the ratio's actually dealing with guests, I am not sure if I have ever seen a detailed break down on that.

The code I least like to hear is bravo, bravo, bravo - which is for a fire

22 hours ago, PaulB said:

Does anyone know the number of staff that work on a ship?

it varies by ship and by cruise line,   some of the high end lines are nearly 1 crew member for every 2 passengers but the the main stream lines are usually in the 1 crew for every 3 or 4 crew members.   For example in the last year I was on:

Carnival Panorama which has capacity of 4008 pax (max 5,146 occupancy) and has 1,450 crew 

Celebrity Eclipse capacity 2,850 pax and crew of 1,271

Royals Voyager of the Seas capacity 3,602 (max 4,000) crew 1,200

I would not say that it is my preferred time but I am married to a school teacher so we travel with that schedule.   I would love to do a May/June or Sept/Oct Alaska but that would be with out my favourite travel partner (at least until she retires)

St Thomas was a  day we were docked so no tender worries.   We got off the ship and walked around the port but all ship excursions were cancelled, and most private tours were as well. So we went back to the ship and played games.

So far 3 cruises to Alaska and only a little rain/drizzle but I have only gone in July/August.     I have had heavy rains in the Carribean a couple times and had St Thomas totally rained out on my last cruise there (in November 2022),

11 minutes ago, 3Sisters said:

@Woody14 It's so difficult for me to imagine Alaska without snow! I also can't picture wearing shots and a t-shirt there. When packing did you know this ahead of time? I would likely be packing all of my heavy snow gear.

I think what is the weather going to be like and what to pack are the most popular questions about Alaska.   The answer is usually layers are needed.  it can go from beautifully sunny and 70 to raining and 50 in the span of an hour.     The biggest factor is what month you are going and where you are going.   If you are there in April, May, Sept or October it will be colder than July & Aug which are quite nice.    You also should remember the ports are coastal so the weather is generally a touch milder and rainier than the interior.    If you are heading to the interior like with a cruise tour add on you may need to prepare differently.     All that said never needed my heavy snow gear for an Alaskan cruise.

On 1/20/2023 at 7:34 AM, Kendall James-Vargas said:

@Woody14 That sounds like a true adventure! Were you ridding bikes in the snow? Lately, it has been very snowy where I live and riding on bikes in the snow/ice is not easy. Eagles are so majestic! I hope they let you stop off during the tour to snap some photos. Also, what was the temperature like? I'm thinking you were likely biking Juneau with gloves and a snowsuit! 

No snow for that trip.  If I remember right the temp was in the mid to upper 60's that day.   On my 3 cruises to Alaska other than on the glaciers no snow to deal with.  Rain yes but not snow.   most of the temperatures were in the 60's.   Which I think for Alaska is t-shirt and shorts weather.

11 minutes ago, Kendall James-Vargas said:

@Woody14 That's impressive! I guess you aren't the only one who really enjoys Icy Point! You are very knowledgable on this are. It almost seems like you have visited Icy Point more than once. If I ever travel to this area and visit Juneau I would love to visit a Salmon Hatchery. I always wonder what a hatchery would be like, considering it's where the food we eat derives from. There is one in Juneau called Macaulay Salmon Hatchery. Have you visited something like this before? 

I did a salmon hatchery tour many years ago.  We actually got on bikes at the port and rode to the hatchery.  It was a fun tour there were lots of eagles on it as well.   Did this i Juneau I believe (it was in the early 2000's so the memory is a bit foggy).

On 1/17/2023 at 1:10 PM, PaulB said:

I read going overboard is quite common on cruise ships. It's terrifying when you think about it

It is not really that common on cruise ships.  In fact it is pretty hard to fall off.  really you have to be doing something stupid like climbing the rails.   most of the overboard's are unfortunately from people jumping.   I recently heard the Royal Caribbean had 4.6 million guests in 2022 so the numbers when you factor all cruise lines would be more than 10 million and only a handful of people went overboard it statistically speaking is not 'quite common'

19 hours ago, Kendall James-Vargas said:

@Woody14 Thank you for informing me. Now I know Icy Point has its own docking area. I didn't realize that! Celebrity Eclipse holds up to 2,850 passengers. It seems the port has the capacity to host some pretty large cruise ships! 

in fact the day we were there it was a 3 ship day.   one was leaving a couple hours after we arrived and had to leave the dock and the passengers were then tendered out.   The main dock holds 2 ships.

21 hours ago, Kendall James-Vargas said:

@Woody14 What is your go to dessert? I definitely prefer anything with chocolate! 

With you on chocolate.

20 hours ago, Kendall James-Vargas said:

@Woody14 I had to look up where this location was. It looks like it's near Port Frederik. When you visited Icy Straight Point, did you stop in Port Frederik or Juneau? It seems you can access the area from either port pretty easily. I love quaint spots, especially if the people are great! 

This trip I was on the Celebrity Eclipse this past summer and we docked at Icy Point, Juneau & Ketchikan

On 1/13/2023 at 8:39 AM, Kendall James-Vargas said:

@FJB Well if you ever go, don't skip the chocolate lava cake!

Must admit I thought this was over-rated.   It was good but not worth all the hype in my mind.

I really enjoyed Icy Straight Point.  very undeveloped compared to Juneau, Skagway or Ketchikan.  the people were great and the whale watching was awesome.

4 hours ago, PaulB said:

@FJB so would they be operating at a loss would you think if they don't fill the ships?

most cruise companies don't say what the break even point is but when cruising restarted and they were sailing at 50% capacity they were all loosing money (just less than when they were not sailing at all) likely they need about 80-90% capacity to break even.    This is one of the reasons that the older less fuel efficient / less amenity ships are getting  phased out.   I big contributor to profits is all the things that are over and above the cruise fare (alcohol, excursions, shops, specialty dining, casino, et all).    One other note on capacity which can cause confusion, they list capacity as the double occupancy numbers (2 people per cabin) but in reality they can and most often sail at numbers above that since they have a maximum number of passengers they can have on the ship which accounts for having 3 or 4 passengers in some cabins.    Most cruise lines are striving for 105-115% capacity on all sailings.

4 minutes ago, Kendall James-Vargas said:

@Woody14 When you were in Mazatlan did you get into the ocean at all or walk the beaches?

we just did a walk along the Malacon and stuck our feet in the ocean that is it.    the hike to the light house and the heat of the day zapped a lot of the energy. 

10 minutes ago, 3Sisters said:

@Woody14 Thanks for sharing that! Do you know if the open air trucks were priced about the same? That would likely be the best option when traveling with a large group. 

they might have been a bit cheaper on a per person basis if i remember correctly.

1 minute ago, 3Sisters said:

@Woody14 I'm glad to know you felt safe. I was thinking if it would be a smart mode of transportation with children. It would likely be the most affordable option! Do you know if they allow a lap child to ride? 

I am pretty sue they did yes.   if the group was bigger you would need to use one of the open air trucks.   you can do this too with any size group as they were there and left when full,  we didn't use that service so I don't know much about how it was but it was popular as well.   

11 minutes ago, 3Sisters said:

.When I travel with a beverage package I usually let the package handle this tipping and travel the ship without cash in hand. I think I will consider tipping favorite bartenders additionally from now on. Thanks!

I do the same with a beverage package,  I usually by day 3 (at the latest) have found a favorite bar to hang out or get drinks from as well as servers I like to get me my drinks, those are the ones I tip extra at the end if I feel like there service made me feel special

5 minutes ago, 3Sisters said:

@Woody14 You can't go wrong with a good burger! I'm assuming the burgers from Guy's Burger Joint are much better than the ones at the buffet. Which taco place are you referring to? I love tacos! 

It was the blue iguana cantina.  it was open for breakfast and lunch.

only been once on carnival but Guys burgers and the pizza are stand outs to me.   the taco place for lunch is a close third.

In July we arrived around 7 am and people started getting off at 8 am ish.   But a few weeks before they were arriving most of the time around 8 or latter and people weren't getting off till closer to 9:30 am

It is interesting that you bring this topic up.   In the past year I did 3 cruises - RCL, Celebrity and Carnival.   The RCL one was the only line I noticed this.  I think Royal must have easier rules or something.