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#41
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Just returned from cruise - don't get it...
*bicker* wrote in news:40f17a19.103272625
@news.comcast.giganews.com: A Sun, 11 Jul 2004 09:59:53 -0400, *bicker* escribió: Does the term "required" appears anywhere in Celebrity's information? Their web site was down earlier. It's back up now. Here's what they say: "For the formal nights, including the Captain's Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party, dinner on the second night, and the Captain's Farewell Dinner held the next-to-last night of the cruise; both men and women MAY PREFER more dressy attire, such as an evening gown for women and a tuxedo or dress suit for men." [Emphasis added.] So, again, the issue is a matter of passenger preference, not any requirement. -- bicker® http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/D...ry_040602.html What a change from seven years ago when the Maitre D was the clothing police on board ready to bounce offending parties from the dining room for failure to wear the required dark suit or tux. |
#42
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Just returned from cruise - don't get it...
Am I alone here?
Well . . . given that this is a newsgroup full of avid cruise fans, you may or may not be. My husband and I had avoided cruising for many years although we are enthusiastic travelers. Our reasons were good ones: (1) we both tend to get seasick easily (2) we don't eat much but when we do eat we do so on our own schedule. (3) we like to immerse ourselves in the culture of places we visit, explore them thoroughly and sample the local cuisine. (4) we like to be off on our own, just the two of us, rather than participate in group activities or have to make small talk with others. With lots of kids at home we go on vacation to be alone, lol! Nevertheless, we finally took the plunge because cruising can be an excellent vacation for a family with children of different ages and interests and we wanted to do something different and memorable, being "Disneyed out". We chose our first cruise very carefully (Bermuda) with all of the above reservations in mind. We figured if we hated it there'd be little lost since so much of the trip is spent in port. We also chose NCL because you eat when you feel like it, not on a fixed schedule. Bermuda is also not a destination that makes you feel you're missing anything along the lines of exotic native cuisine by dining on the ship. To make a long post shorter, every member of our family was very pleased to thrilled with the cruise (even though we did get seasick despite taking all known precautions) and we do plan to do it again, both as a family and as a couple without the kids. We are not total converts and will still definitely prefer land vacations when visiting places we want to see in depth. But, there is much that is special about cruising. The key for us is to choose an intinerary that will satisfy rather than frustrate and know what we want to see in each port in advance. We found cruising very relaxing and I don't quite get the need for an entire new wardrobe. Surely, you don't go around in rags when not cruising, afterall. I actually found it a great opportunity to get some additional use out of evening wear that I already owned. |
#43
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Just returned from cruise - don't get it...
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#44
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Just returned from cruise - don't get it...
"Tom & Linda" wrote in message et... "deedee_tv" wrote in message . .. Vacations are a time to relax and unwind. I wasn't able to begin to unwind on this trip. I'm curious. Why couldn't you unwind? Would you have preferred more quiet days at sea? Or more time in ports? I'm not the OP, but I know on a land vacation I sleep in, and know breakfast will still be somewhere when I wake up. If I want to head out and see waterfalls, or whatever I leave when I'm ready. If I don't get back until late I eat out near where I am. I don't have to worry that the hotel will be gone if I'm out late. Also, the size of the ships make it harder to get away from people. The size of the pool deck is small compared to the pool deck at a resort. People are closer to you, so if you are like me, having people in close proximity make it harder to relax, then it's harder to relax on a cruise. (So sea days actually make it worse, it's harder to get away from people on sea days.) --Tom |
#45
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Just returned from cruise - don't get it...
A Sun, 11 Jul 2004 13:48:13 -0400, Charles
escribió: In article , *bicker* wrote: So, again, the issue is a matter of passenger preference, not any requirement. I get the impression you don't get it. You'd be mistaken then. As a many time Celebrity cruiser I think you should know that while they don't say required, they really do mean that you should wear what they request. "I get the impression you don't get it." Marketing people are often very smart, and professionals typically recognize when the market has changed, and adjust their offerings as a result. -- bicker® http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/D...ry_040602.html |
#46
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Just returned from cruise - don't get it...
"Charles" wrote in message d... :: I get the impression you don't get it. As a many time Celebrity cruiser : I think you should know that while they don't say required, they really : do mean that you should wear what they request. And on Celebrity in : particular, you don't see people who are not wearing the suggested : attire on formal night. On Celebrity, I seen a many, althought not a majority who were not "dressed" up. |
#47
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Just returned from cruise - don't get it...
In article O6iIc.73757$WB5.605@pd7tw2no, Sam
wrote: On Celebrity, I seen a many, althought not a majority who were not "dressed" up. I have never seen very many who were not dressed up on a formal evening on Celebrity. I have seen it break down from dress up on the informal evenings, particularly the second and third one. -- Charles |
#48
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Just returned from cruise - don't get it...
Rosalie B. wrote: That's true - that's one of the downsides of cruising. If you don't want to see the port, you might as well go on a cruise to no-where. If they had a seven day cruise to nowhere and it sailed in the carribean, I would gladly book it. sue |
#49
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Just returned from cruise - don't get it...
"deedee_tv" wrote in message
. .. I just returned from a 7 day western Caribbean cruise on Celebrity Century. I guess it is me but I don't get it. Although this was my first cruise, I have traveled extensively (25+ European trips, 5 trips to Far East, Hawaii...). I really did not enjoy the cruise. The food was OK but seemed to emphasize quantity over quality. I saw people ordering 3 shrimp cocktails each dinner even though it wasn't a menu option. I definitely do not care for the "all you can eat" mentality. I had to start thinking about wardrobe options about a month prior and needed $700 worth of clothes to fulfill the requirements of the evening dress code. I followed the guidelines but was in the top 5-10% in terms of actually wearing what was "required". The port destinations were far too short to accomplish anything. All ports (Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozamel and Key West) left you in the most touristy areas which gave little ability to get to see the country. I ended up with the $3000+ cruise price plus an additional $1600 spend on board for shore excursions, drinks, spa treatments, bingo and very light gambling. I don't need that much structure to relax. I know people who rave about cruising but give me a condo on just about any beach and the ability to pick which restaurant I eat at in the evening and I will save thousands and be much happier. Am I alone here? No, you are not alone. Inver understood Caribbean cruises, either. Cruising is a great way to relax -- if that is what you want. For this, an ocean crossing is great. It is also an excellent way to see certain areas (Fiords, South Pacific Islands, etc.) If I wanted a Caribean vacation, I'd hop a plane to St. Marteen. Paul |
#50
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Just returned from cruise - don't get it...
E.k.R. wrote:
You are not alone. My partner is not a fan of cruises. He goes with me now and then to appease me, but he doesn't get it either. He feels the shows are repetitive (on all ships), cabins small (compared to a hotel), food mediocre (compared to restaurants on shore), and time spent in port too short. In short he finds a cruise boring. He has valid points to be certain, especially concerning the cruise industry today. The experience has become too homogenized on ships that are far too much alike one another. I guess that is what happens when a product is opened up to the masses. It becomes affordable but there are trade-offs to be certain. So I can understand where he is coming from, but I am still fascinated by the physical aspect of ships and being at sea. I love the sea and the closer I am to it the happier I am. As of late I have become a bit turned off to the entire "cruise experience", but I will continue to choose them as my main form of vacation so long as I still find ships interesting and they offer a good value. I actually like the structured environment as I don't want to worry about what to wear or where I'm going to eat that night. That is how I can relax on vacation, by having those decisions made for me. My partner is just the opposite. He wants to fly to a city, pick his hotel, have a rental car, decide what to wear on a whim, and choose from thousands of great restaurants. I find that a lot of work! I fly for a major airline for a living and the last thing I want to do is fly to a city and stay at another hotel. That's all I do week after week. A cruise is really something different for me, but if cruise lines don't get beyond the mass-market mentality of nickel and diming, declining food and service, typical evening shows, declining overall quality, etc. I will be forced to look at other options. I guess I'm one of the few who would rather pay a few more dollars for the cruise ticket rather then have the onboard product decline any further. At the very least I will have to consider the luxury cruise lines more so in the future which will cut into my vacation dollar and translate to less cruises, or something like an all-inclusive resort (which I probably wouldn't find as interesting as a ship). So you are not alone, but don't expect too many sympathizers on a newsgroup devoted to cruise advocates. Ernie, here's what I think the problem is and I thought about being away from cruising and visiting small towns. After visiting several towns I've identified what I think the problem with the cruise lines is. This is no great revelation as it has been identified before. It's corporate, not mom and pop, not small lines from people with a vision, like Chandris. I've visited a few towns nearby, an hour or two drive from my home in New Jersey. Some towns had quaint buildings and feel, but most of their shops are what appears in malls: William Sonoma, Bombay, Foot Locker, Pottery Barn, etc., with the standard design of these establishments, so the feel inside of the stores was "standard". What is subtly different is the training of the employees, the more upscale towns have more upscale, less intrusive service, music is softer, the goods are more spread out. The other types of towns have mom and pop stores featuring goods of artists, small specialized companies, local goods from the community, with little to none of the commercial products and feel to be found. The prices of the goods are not necessarily low, but aren't necessarily out of reach for people of the middle income. The majority of the clientele are people of the middle income, middle-middle to upper-middle income, not that many low-upper, mid-upper, or upper-upper income. Some of the upper income folks may be there purchasing the more expensive items. There are towns with a mixture, some commercial establishments mixed with mom and pop stores. However, in some of these one gets a feeling that it will stay mixed, while others there is a sense that the mom and pop establishments are going to be bought out. To bring this to cruising, the problem with the cruise lines we discuss here is that they are corporate owned. Mass market you'll say, my problem is more they are corporate, but in a sense it is the same thing. Expand and standardize. I think this is fine for some of them, but not all of them. I'm quite frankly tired of being told that if I want a "different" cruise experience I have to go to expensive lines. That should not be the case and it *does not* have to be the case. What we need is not more expensive lines, but new lines that aren't corporate owned. If you want real differentiation what is needed are people who want to create something for a target clientele and aren't fueled by expansion and stockholder values (which tend to not be related to product). The income of the clientele need not be upper income but the recognition of the clientele and their size is key. Also key is the character you want in your town (town represented as a river or ocean vessel), and when making changes what basic character stays constant while some particulars change. If and when we go back to small lines being run not by big corporations, and maybe Oceania is one of them and Dielsmann another, then we'll get away from this common denominator, barely distinguishable, constantly expanding cruise type "industry" we are currently in. Ben S. Ernie |
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