PaulB

I agree, it's definitely a good idea by the company to get some incentive going to save monies with all the cost of living rising, a small gesture goes a long way.

That poolside drink do look mouth watering. I wish I was either rich or retired, and I can sail off and enjoy all the good things cruises bring

@3Sisters I've worked in Greece on a few occasions in my younger days and loved the country. I've always wanted to go to Italy and maybe one day I can explore the country but will be excited to stop off from the cruise. The Mediterranean is such a beautiful place it's something else. Maybe next time I can go further afield if you have any suggestions.

@Kendall James-Vargas yes I've sailed from Southampton. I didn't know what to expect, the time boarding wasn't as bad as I was expecting at first. It was all fairly painless and we got on in a reasonable fashion

@LukeJ that's exactly what I'm doing. Flying to Malta before boarding the ship. Stopping off in several places around the Mediterranean, such as Greece and Italy before completing the final stop off in Malta before going home.

@Cruising Caribbean I agree Greenland would be such an experience. The one thing I read years ago that you can do in Greenland is go on a whaling safari. I don't think anyone would be able to comprehend what that's like until you see that up close.

Well I'm looking forward to going to Malta. It may not sound the ideal romantic destination, but any place that is steeped in history must have some romantic feel about it. And the wife is certainly excited about the stop off.

What would happen if a cruise had to make an unscheduled stop at a location? Once it got going again, would it make its way back to its previous course or would it skip ahead to the next planned location?

And there are outstanding locations that you could go that would be romantic. Fjords mentioned in the boards would be one for any valentine's treat. Where else would you think that visiting would be construed as romantic? Apart from Paris

I wouldn't have even thought about retiring on a cruise ship but that does sound a dream idea. The price does sound fairly steep but when you consider what's involved and even care homes in UK can cost thousands per month, so in comparison if you can afford it, then that's a great plan.

@FJB it will be out this year some point. I doubt it will be a big movie as such, however may find it on Netflix or something

Reservation all day long for me

It's a dream come true to do something like that with the slide, and unfortunately @Kendall James-Vargas, I agree it goes against pool rules, and you can't break them lol. As for the glass bottomed walkway, my stomach already dipped just even thinking about walking over one of them, not for me that.

This is terrible to hear. It goes back to what was discussed on here before in regards to poor customer service and being the norm that we now face. These companies should be ashamed of themselves. Not only going on a cruise should be a treat for people, a lot of expense goes into paying to go onto ships and people deserve and quite rightly expect to be treated right, and unfortunately companies are just cutting costs so that they can make profits and it's the holiday makers or customers that always end up suffering.

@FJB I think it was the other way around she said

@FJB this is got to be something that's worth considering ha ha.

I wonder if there would be a package where you could do a Vegas type wedding on board lol.

@LukeJ I've spent a couple of decades working in the industry also and I can confirm that it's hard work. Long unsociable hours and a very stressful environment especially when the company cut hours to save money but add extra burdens and responsibilities on you.

It would be surreal to be on holidays, relaxing and enjoying knowing that evening after food, you will be entertained by a big named comedian. It would be the perfect package imo

@Woody14 thank you, that was quite surprising to hear. It's larger than I would have been expecting

@3Sisters well it's more than just a cruise I guess. It's more like a city on water. So when you think what's needed to run and put in place things for a city, then that's what's needed behind the scenes on a cruise ships. Does anyone know the number of staff that work on a ship?

When you think the cruise prices are high enough, they increase liquor prices too. I can't see myself how they charge the prices they do. Local breweries in pubs etc, charge the licencees ridiculous amount of money per firkin if you're tied to the brewery, but if you're a freehold, the cost of that firkin has now dropped at least 70%. So the brewery are actually making a profit from a drop down mark up, so shows you the profit margin they are making when it comes to charging pubs and restaurants that are leaseholds.

@Kendall James-Vargas I guess they could hide profits with bonuses for staff etc, and offset it against expenses

It would certainly be a good selling point. Ticket prices for named comedians are high anyhow, and by the time you add in travel and hotel as well as food and drink, having it all in house on a cruise ship would sound like a really good deal.

I always get travel insurance as you never know about the unexpected.