PaulB

I do hope that everyone is safe from this hurricane. I haven't heard anything as of yet other than the Britannia crashing, fingers crossed the states have a painless crossover.

Well said. Never visited Hawaii. The island looks stunning and I agree with @LukeJ, I wish them all positive vibes going forward.

I've always wanted to go to Barcelona, it's really appealed to me yet never found the time to go. I always wanted to try the cable cars and see the city from up high. It looks such a relaxed place and plenty to see.

I am a huge meat eater, and look forward to seeing what ships have on board. However, I must admit, all the foods tend to be outstanding and the desserts to die for. The pasta dishes, even though I'd never have a pasta dish when im out in restaurants in the UK, I do give the pasta a try on the ships and they never disappoint.

@LukeJ yes totally right. There will always be someone that will stop a company doing this type of punishment. We all have to sit back and allow such behaviour and attitude continue from selfish people I'm afraid.

That's a good plan, best way to enjoy. And may I suggest not booking activities onboard, you can do that once you make your port of call, and booking them yourself through the companies themselves. It works out a lot cheaper.

You'd be looking to get drinking from the word go if you had the package, other than binge drinking in the evening and run the risk of not enjoying or remembering the night. And once you get port days, you'd be afraid to get off for the day in case there was no time to drink when you get back on.

@Kendall James-VargasI'm with you, it does depend on the restaurant in dining in, and im happy to try different dishes, and sometimes even order vegetarian meals if it sounds appetising on the menu. However, meat is still the best. Not only for flavour, but nutritional and protein required for your body.

I agree, it's such a devastating time for the island and I realise that there are other parts of the Island to go, but I'd attempt to stay away until it clears

@LukeJ I tend to agree. I studied photography many years ago and learnt the old tradition of film, then develop the film and print individual in a bath of chemicals. It felt amazing and you could spend hours in the darkroom working on one photo, it just felt real. There is something different about film photography that digital will never replace.

We all like a drink on vacation, that's what it's there for, but to drink the equivalent to a drink package to say that you had your monies worth, I don't think I'd even remember the vacation at all, I'd be so intoxicated 😂

@FJB I tend to agree, maybe not as severe as marooning them though, however removing them from the ship yes. And it would only take a few incidents for the whole industry leaves its mark. Any messing, then you're off. Absolutely no excuses.

I've been on vacation before, not on the cruises but whenever we witnessed unruly behaviour and parents that aren't able or won't able to control their behaviour, then the hotels would give them a warning and if continued, I've seen the hotel management kicked them out onto the streets to the fanfare of the remaining guests. When the parents complained, the answer from the hotel was your problem not ours. Maybe something like that could be introduced on the cruises. Let it be known, any unruly behaviour, I don't mean kids or people just being loud, but really unruly, then they get removed at the next port of call and let them find their own way back

Is drink packages worth it? I'm not that much of a big drinker, and I feel I would struggle each day to get the full benefit of the packages.

@LukeJ thank you. I plan to and the wife is already excited about the onshore excursions and trips.

Is this done so that the cruise line are guaranteed a full house then? Double book each time and once it's full, then offer to move and you're guaranteed that the quieter sailings are fully booked as well. Be impressive thinking by the cruise line despite it being frustrating for the passenger.

They make a great backdrop for photographs that's for sure. And a great character for horror films.

@Wendy Joseph, Able Seaman what a fantastic idea. Yes that would be appreciated by anybody that is affected at the moment. It goes to show wherever people are in the world, and whatever differences there are, everyone will always come together when they need it the most.

Lighthouses also make fantastic photographs of anyone is keen and into photography. I'm glad they don't start pulling them down, I know they are all obsolete now but they are such beautiful things to keep hold of.

Appreciate it @Robert Mcgillivray. Some people may treat the cruise as booking to see a west end show and once they saw the musical, it gave them an incentive to book.

Do you believe that people may wait for the return of Beetlejuice musical to book their trips? As trivial as it sounds, some may look forward to seeing shows like this and decide to wait for it.

@LukeJ to be honest, I wouldn't know anymore, I hardly go to duty free now. I just go and do my vacation and happily miss all that.

The other option is that they pile high their first plate in order to prevent seconds.

I agree that something needs to be done as there have been a few instances recently with the same problems. On those occasions the gangway ended up in the water as the wind pushed the ship away, and as @Cornelis has rightly said, there could have been passengers on that and that doesn't bear thinking about. I am surprised in today's age, that there hasn't been anything designed or put in place to prevent this from happening. I would like to see the invention that you've described because in the health and safety mad world we live in now, that could be invaluable.

@rindybar I agree with you on the surcharge. It doesn't sit well with people that after all the costs you have paid out already, an extra fee is disappointing and feels cheated out of you in some sense. My only guess is that they are trying to do so to prevent food waste maybe, stopping people go up for unnecessary seconds when they won't eat it, but on the other hand, guests have paid for that food when booking. I can't see it being for cost of food going up because to me that feels very sly as the cost of the cruise should reflect the uprising costs, and take that into consideration.