Opinions: Southern Caribbean Cruise

On Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:50:30 -0500, Brian K wrote:

Stefan Patric consulted a Magic 8 Ball and declared On 2/10/2010 1:38
PM:
On Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:46:53 -0600, Stu wrote:


[snip]
Then have a look at cruise.com

I'll pass along the advice. Thanks.

Stef


Better still, a savvy travel agent specializing in cruises would be able
to tailor a cruise booking to your friends specific needs. There are
things that travel-bots can do, but so far they can't talk to you and
offer options based on a conversation with you.

They do intend to use an agent once they are ready to book the trip.
Right now, they are still doing research. I think both are a little
overwhelmed with all that's available.

Stef

On 2/10/2010 10:33 PM, Stefan Patric wrote:
On Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:50:30 -0500, Brian K wrote:

Better still, a savvy travel agent specializing in cruises would be able
to tailor a cruise booking to your friends specific needs. There are
things that travel-bots can do, but so far they can't talk to you and
offer options based on a conversation with you.

They do intend to use an agent once they are ready to book the trip.
Right now, they are still doing research. I think both are a little
overwhelmed with all that's available.

Stef

Why not use one now so they can actually talk to the agent and speak for
themselves instead of channeling through you? The agent won't charge
them for their knowledge or information so why not contact them now?

Bill

"Stefan Patric" wrote in message
...

They do intend to use an agent once they are ready to book the trip.
Right now, they are still doing research. I think both are a little
overwhelmed with all that's available.

Stef

Actually... NOW IS the time for a Good Travel Agent... WHILE doing the
research. Years ago, after our very first cruise, we visited a local cruise
only agency. When we walked into her agency with our young kids in tow, she
started saying how the kids might like Carnival... but after Linda started
telling the agent about things we liked and didn't like on the first cruise
(on the RCI Nordic Empress) the agent IMMEDIATELY switched and said we
should be looking at Celebrity. She knew her stuff... but she also way
overcharged so we never used her again, but a good agent, who actually
listens to you is invaluable. A big part of their job is to cut through the
"overwhelming" number of options, and focus you down to a few options that
are best for you, given your budget. I'd explain that to them.

--Tom

"Nonny" wrote in message
...
Be sure to also inquire about the type of shower in the cabin. Our recent
Ryndam cruise had tubs with HIGH sides, rather than a flat floor shower or
even a step-in low based shower stall. With a broken shoulder, I still had
no problem stepping over the 18" or so side for my daily shower, but Mrs.
Nonny had a lot of difficulty. Outside of the tub issue, though, the
Ryndam was very accessible otherwise.

We also were on a Carnival ship (?, George Leppla would recall) out of
Seattle a few years back and had just a regular cabin. The doors were too
narrow to permit Mrs. Nonny's scooter inside at all and necessitated me
turning it on end and dragging it in at night for charging.

Also, many of the ships have an elevated threshold for access to deck
areas, including the pool area on the Lido deck. It's not specific to any
line in particular. While ramped, the 2" or so threshold can be a barrier
to someone wheeling themselves in a manual chair or with a scooter that
has a low clearance between the wheels.

--
Nonny

Tom, that is what I found weird...we were in a cabin just 4-5 cabins away
from you on the Ryndam and had a regular shower with no tub, which I found
surprising since all the other HAL ships that we have been on always had
tubs.... It was not a handicapped cabin. It suited us fine as we prefer
showers instead of tubs.

--Jean

"Jean O'Boyle" wrote in message
...

"Nonny" wrote in message
...
Be sure to also inquire about the type of shower in the cabin.
Our recent Ryndam cruise had tubs with HIGH sides, rather than
a flat floor shower or even a step-in low based shower stall.
With a broken shoulder, I still had no problem stepping over
the 18" or so side for my daily shower, but Mrs. Nonny had a
lot of difficulty. Outside of the tub issue, though, the
Ryndam was very accessible otherwise.

We also were on a Carnival ship (?, George Leppla would recall)
out of Seattle a few years back and had just a regular cabin.
The doors were too narrow to permit Mrs. Nonny's scooter inside
at all and necessitated me turning it on end and dragging it in
at night for charging.

Also, many of the ships have an elevated threshold for access
to deck areas, including the pool area on the Lido deck. It's
not specific to any line in particular. While ramped, the 2"
or so threshold can be a barrier to someone wheeling themselves
in a manual chair or with a scooter that has a low clearance
between the wheels.

--
Nonny

Tom, that is what I found weird...we were in a cabin just 4-5
cabins away from you on the Ryndam and had a regular shower with
no tub, which I found surprising since all the other HAL ships
that we have been on always had tubs.... It was not a
handicapped cabin. It suited us fine as we prefer showers
instead of tubs.

--Jean


I wonder if it might have been part of the 2001 partial
refurbishment of the Ryndam. I can see HAL, in particular,
wanting to make the cabins more compatible with their customer
base, and the high step-over tub side was quite a problem for us.
I'm not positive, but I have the impression that Tobie and Barb
also had the tub vs. shower in their cabin as well.

FWIW, embarkation and disembarkation on both the Legend and Ryndam
were about the same. In both instances, we were allowed to board
before Noon, but were whisked to the Lido deck, which was staffed
and set out with food, giving the stewards more time to clean the
cabins.

I see a trend aboard all the cruise ships we've been on lately,
for a "scramble" type of Lido buffet, where the passenger has a
number of stations, rather than a single, continuous line. For
instance, there might be a pasta station, a Japanese station, a
dessert station, Italian station etc., and the passenger is
encouraged to cue up at the ones they want, rather than having to
pass all foods in order to collect what is wanted. On the Ryndam,
the buffet is still laid out in the older format of one long line,
but they've modernized by using posts and velvet ropes, along with
signs, to define the different stations. It's impossible to "do
the whole line" at one time, since a rope forces you out to the
traffic area, where you then line up again for a different
station. I like that, and don't hear complaints from others about
it, either.

--
Nonny

ELOQUIDIOT (n) A highly educated, sophisticated,
and articulate person who has absolutely no clue
concerning what they are talking about.
The person is typically a media commentator or politician.

Hey, Nonny

Barb and I DID have a bathtub in our room on the Ryndam. We have sailed on
HAL many times, and on many different ships, and this was the first time
that I can recall, that we had a bathtub.

There might have been one in the old days, on the Rotterdam 5 or the old
Noordam. That was before Barb had a mobility problem, so it didn't matter
to us.

Tobieon an Island in the Pacific

"Nonny" wrote in message
...

"Jean O'Boyle" wrote in message
...

"Nonny" wrote in message
...
Be sure to also inquire about the type of shower in the cabin. Our
recent Ryndam cruise had tubs with HIGH sides, rather than a flat floor
shower or even a step-in low based shower stall. With a broken shoulder,
I still had no problem stepping over the 18" or so side for my daily
shower, but Mrs. Nonny had a lot of difficulty. Outside of the tub
issue, though, the Ryndam was very accessible otherwise.

We also were on a Carnival ship (?, George Leppla would recall) out of
Seattle a few years back and had just a regular cabin. The doors were
too narrow to permit Mrs. Nonny's scooter inside at all and necessitated
me turning it on end and dragging it in at night for charging.

Also, many of the ships have an elevated threshold for access to deck
areas, including the pool area on the Lido deck. It's not specific to
any line in particular. While ramped, the 2" or so threshold can be a
barrier to someone wheeling themselves in a manual chair or with a
scooter that has a low clearance between the wheels.

--
Nonny

Tom, that is what I found weird...we were in a cabin just 4-5 cabins away
from you on the Ryndam and had a regular shower with no tub, which I
found surprising since all the other HAL ships that we have been on
always had tubs.... It was not a handicapped cabin. It suited us fine as
we prefer showers instead of tubs.

--Jean


I wonder if it might have been part of the 2001 partial refurbishment of
the Ryndam. I can see HAL, in particular, wanting to make the cabins more
compatible with their customer base, and the high step-over tub side was
quite a problem for us. I'm not positive, but I have the impression that
Tobie and Barb also had the tub vs. shower in their cabin as well.

FWIW, embarkation and disembarkation on both the Legend and Ryndam were
about the same. In both instances, we were allowed to board before Noon,
but were whisked to the Lido deck, which was staffed and set out with
food, giving the stewards more time to clean the cabins.

I see a trend aboard all the cruise ships we've been on lately, for a
"scramble" type of Lido buffet, where the passenger has a number of
stations, rather than a single, continuous line. For instance, there
might be a pasta station, a Japanese station, a dessert station, Italian
station etc., and the passenger is encouraged to cue up at the ones they
want, rather than having to pass all foods in order to collect what is
wanted. On the Ryndam, the buffet is still laid out in the older format
of one long line, but they've modernized by using posts and velvet ropes,
along with signs, to define the different stations. It's impossible to
"do the whole line" at one time, since a rope forces you out to the
traffic area, where you then line up again for a different station. I
like that, and don't hear complaints from others about it, either.

--
Nonny

ELOQUIDIOT (n) A highly educated, sophisticated,
and articulate person who has absolutely no clue
concerning what they are talking about.
The person is typically a media commentator or politician.

On Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:58:45 -0500, Bill wrote:

On 2/10/2010 10:33 PM, Stefan Patric wrote:
On Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:50:30 -0500, Brian K wrote:

Better still, a savvy travel agent specializing in cruises would be
able to tailor a cruise booking to your friends specific needs. There
are things that travel-bots can do, but so far they can't talk to you
and offer options based on a conversation with you.

They do intend to use an agent once they are ready to book the trip.
Right now, they are still doing research. I think both are a little
overwhelmed with all that's available.

Stef

Why not use one now so they can actually talk to the agent and speak for
themselves instead of channeling through you? The agent won't charge
them for their knowledge or information so why not contact them now?

I asked the same thing. They, really the future husband, whom I've know
for almost 20 years, told me he never likes to enter any situation
unprepared. Actually, I think, he doesn't trust anyone who works on
commission.

Stef

On Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:52:54 GMT, Stefan Patric
wrote:

On Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:58:45 -0500, Bill wrote:

On 2/10/2010 10:33 PM, Stefan Patric wrote:
On Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:50:30 -0500, Brian K wrote:

Better still, a savvy travel agent specializing in cruises would be
able to tailor a cruise booking to your friends specific needs. There
are things that travel-bots can do, but so far they can't talk to you
and offer options based on a conversation with you.

They do intend to use an agent once they are ready to book the trip.
Right now, they are still doing research. I think both are a little
overwhelmed with all that's available.

Stef

Why not use one now so they can actually talk to the agent and speak for
themselves instead of channeling through you? The agent won't charge
them for their knowledge or information so why not contact them now?

I asked the same thing. They, really the future husband, whom I've know
for almost 20 years, told me he never likes to enter any situation
unprepared. Actually, I think, he doesn't trust anyone who works on
commission.

Stef

Probably because they have a vested interest in the outcome, such as
their income and keeping their job by providing income for the
company.
I walk in furniture stores or electronic stores, I usually tell the
sales people right off I don't need their help. This usually because
I've done my research, and know exactually what I want.
But that's just me, others may need help.

Stu wrote:
On Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:52:54 GMT, Stefan Patric
wrote:

On Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:58:45 -0500, Bill wrote:

On 2/10/2010 10:33 PM, Stefan Patric wrote:
On Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:50:30 -0500, Brian K wrote:
Better still, a savvy travel agent specializing in cruises would be
able to tailor a cruise booking to your friends specific needs. There
are things that travel-bots can do, but so far they can't talk to you
and offer options based on a conversation with you.
They do intend to use an agent once they are ready to book the trip.
Right now, they are still doing research. I think both are a little
overwhelmed with all that's available.

Stef
Why not use one now so they can actually talk to the agent and speak for
themselves instead of channeling through you? The agent won't charge
them for their knowledge or information so why not contact them now?
I asked the same thing. They, really the future husband, whom I've know
for almost 20 years, told me he never likes to enter any situation
unprepared. Actually, I think, he doesn't trust anyone who works on
commission.

Stef

Probably because they have a vested interest in the outcome, such as
their income and keeping their job by providing income for the
company.

Except that good travel agents operate on the theory that we work for
the customer... not the cruise line. As an agent, if I am smart and
want to keep customer loyalty, I recommend a cruise line that will best
fir the customer's needs. I really don't give a rat's ass how much
money the cruise lines make when I recommend a cruise. I care about
putting someone on a good cruise and having them come back to me when
they book their next cruise.

Also, travel agents seldom "lose their position" with a cruise line.
There have been a few cases over the years where a specific cruise line
will put an agency on a "do not sell" status, but you really have to
screw up badly for that to happen. Meanwhile, if Cruise Line A drops an
agency, there are still a lot of other cruise lines to sell.


I walk in furniture stores or electronic stores, I usually tell the
sales people right off I don't need their help. This usually because
I've done my research, and know exactually what I want.
But that's just me, others may need help.

Same way with cruises. Some people know exactly what they want... ship,
sail date, cabin. Others start with "I want to go on a cruise.... what
do you recommend?" Most are somewhere in the middle. But even for
people who know exactly what they want, there are times when a travel
agent has access to various promotional prices or group space that the
non-agent can't access on the internet.

--

George Leppla

Countryside Travel http://www.CruiseMaster.com
Blog http://cruisemaster.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/CruiseMaster

When we go to our travel agent,she is glad to see us because she knows
we have all the information she will need,we know exactly what cruise we
are taking,what cruise line,what ship,what cabin,which dining time, all
she has to do is book it. We do all the work,she reaps the credit.





cruise lover(~~~~~)






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