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Queen Elizabeth Visits QE2

For the third time since Queen Elizabeth II’s maiden voyage, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited the ship for the last time prior to the ship’s final departure from Southampton, England. The QE2 will make its final voyage in October, after which it will become a floating resort in Dubai. As part of the visit, a private reception of 300 guests was held. Also, the ship’s newest crewmember, Jennifer Haynes, was present to sound the ship’s whistle. This was done to salute the Queen Mary 2, which was also in port at the time.

While I’ve never sailed on Cunard, it’s sad to see such a famous ship nearing its end. It was very fitting, however, for The Queen to visit her before her final voyage. Her Majesty was also present before the QE2’s maiden voyage as well. So it seems it has come full-circle.

New Cruisers Tip #2: Dining Requests

Another common misconception for new cruisers is with dining requests. I’m not sure if this applies to all cruise lines, but it does with the ones I’ve been on. When you book your cruise, you can specify if you want “early” or “late” seating. The cruise lines call these “requests.” And there is a good reason for this. That’s all what these specifications are. They are simply requests, nothing more.

The reason I bring this up is because I’ve seen too many new cruisers get upset because they requested one seating and got the other. The cruise lines do everything they can to fulfill your requests, but this is not always possible. If everyone on the ship requested early seating, clearly this wouldn’t be possible. Of course this doesn’t happen. But if enough people request a certain seating, someone’s going to have to be turned down.

So what do you do if this happens to you? When you embark, you will receive your room key, which should have your dining room, table, and time listed on it. If the time is not what you requested, go to the Maitre’d and ask to have your seating time changed. You can try slipping him some money to help “get something done.” Even if you slip him a 20, there’s still no guarantee you will get your requested seating. But if you don’t at least ask, nothing will change. I suppose you could also try going to the purser’s desk and putting in the request there as well if the maitre’d cannot help you. We’ve never done this, so I’m not sure if it would work. Has anyone had any experience doing this?

I must also stress that it seems that medical excuses don’t expedite the process either. I read a story online of a family who had a diabetic and needed to eat at a certain time. They were placed at the other seating, and requested a change. They were never moved. So they ended up at the buffet every night since the diabetic passenger had to eat around a certain time. This might have been a fluke. Who knows. Of course, I would assume medical excuses would be given priority, but that might not be the case, based on stories like this.

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Similarly, you can request a table change as well from the maitre’d. Let’s say you’re a family of four, two adults and two kids. You requested a booth, but was put at a table for 8 with two older couples. This isn’t ideal for anyone. You don’t feel comfortable sitting with these older people, and they don’t feel comfortable with your younger kids. If this happens, you can go to the maitre’d and ask for a table change. This change might happen in several ways, if at all. First, you might just be moved to a different table. You could also be moved to the other dining room, if the ship has two main dining rooms. You might also be moved to a different seating as well. Or any combination of the above. So when you make your request, try to be as specific as possible. “Can we get moved to a booth, this seating, please?” or “I don’t care where/when we are moved, we need to have a booth.”

So when you’re booking your next (or first) cruise, be sure to specify your seating arrangements (time, table type/size) when you make your reservation. And keep in mind, it’s only a request, not a guarantee.

Why the Hate?

Being active on several cruise forums, there is one complaint I’ll never understand. The complaint is when the person complains about children being on the cruise. First, let me explain why I don’t understand this complaint. Okay, first of all, one thing I don’t get is why these complainers cruise on family-oriented lines. Carnival for example. Or even RCCL. If you’re going on a cruise on one of these lines and expecting to get away from kids, you’re dead wrong, even in the school season. These cruise lines cater to families, hence their cheaper prices and plentiful kids’ programs/areas. If someone doesn’t like kids, then I believe a cruise line like Cunard or Crystal is for them. Their response: they’re too expensive.  Well then, it looks like cruising isn’t for you! If you’re not willing to pay a premium to get away from kids, you can’t complain about them.

Another thing, they are fully paid guests as well. They have just as much right to be on the ship as the complainer does. “They’re kids, they probably won’t even remember the cruise!” That’s a typical argument from one of these complainers. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter whether the kids remember the cruise or not. The parents are taking the kids because they want them there. It’s their (the parents’) memory. That’s what counts.

Finally, if you’re that up tight that you let some kids ruin your entire vacation, you definitely have problems. You either absolutely hate kids, or you let even the smallest things get to you. These are the same people who will vow never to go on a particular cruise line again because the room steward forgot to put mints on their pillows each night… These people are nuts.

Now, I will have to agree with the complainers on a couple points. Kids can be annoying when they run up and down the hallway all night. When they sit (literally) in the elevators and ride them all day. Even worse, when they push all the buttons. Even worse then that, when it’s a group of them and they talk about you or try to make you uncomfortable during the ride. Or when they cut in line at the buffet. Or when they do stupid things like throw deck chairs overboard. Even from someone as tolerant toward kids as I am, these things can get annoying. So I can see where these complainers are coming from.

But even still, there are much worse things on a cruise. Toward the top of the list: drunk adults. Here we go, the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Personally, I can’t stand drunk adults. Perhaps that’s because I’m not a drinker and I don’t understand the purpose of getting completely trashed, but either way they’re still annoying to be around. Let’s see. I’d say most of the man-overboard cases we see in the news each year are alcohol related, whether directly (jumping off after getting drunk) or indirectly (marital spat after becoming intoxicated). Or how about the loud ones that you just want to punch in the face? They’re pretty annoying. Or the ones at the comedy shows that literally laugh at every word the comedian says. I can’t stand that. Yes, they’re funny, but not that funny!

Okay, I know I’m sounding like a complainer myself, but I just wanted to say this because it’s something I just don’t understand. If someone could explain this to me, it would be greatly appreciated!

Countdown…

Went on Carnival.com for the first time in a few days and saw this:

Soon enough…

(Then once it does come I’ll have to hope time goes by really slowly!)

 

Carnival Dream – First Renderings

The first renderings of Carnival’s future Fun Ship, the Carnival Dream, have been released. It takes the same basic look of the Destiny & Conquest classes, but with a few changes. Probably the most noticable change is the front of the ship. I’m not really sure how to describe it, but it’s different than before. The only way I can describe it, is that the new front make it look like a big speedboat. (That could also be due to the fact that the water seems to be quickly displaced in the image.) Another change which isn’t quite as obvious is the funnel, which has been streamlined, looking more fluid than the previous clunky funnels. It still retains the basic shape though. Finally, there are a few more decks, so it is taller than previous ships. Overall, I like the new outer design. If you click on the image, you can see a full-size image of the Dream. I’m looking forward to see some “inside” pictures or even some deck plans so we can see all the amenities that will be available. Carnival has said to expect a “unique interior design” as well as “a host of innovative facilities and features.” This should definitely be interesting.

Also announced was that Carnival Dream will be based at Ft. Lauderdale when it debuts in Fall 2009. There are no details yet on its itinerary. Its sister ship, Carnival Magic, will debut two years later, in June 2011. Unfortunately, these will probably be the last new Carnival ships for a while, including the new Carnival Splendor. A couple weeks ago, Carnival said that, due to rising costs, there will be no more new ships being ordered for a little while.

Where Are the Cameras?

The cruise is getting closer, so I’ve gotten back into the mood of writing about cruising. I wish I could cruise more often. All my family is going on cruises and I’m only going on one a year. Granted I’m not old enough to go alone and I don’t pay for the ones I do go on, but I’d gladly pay my own way if I could go on more. When I turn 21, I will start to do this.

Anyway, one thing I was thinking about was things we have done on our past cruises. On our last cruise (or was it the one before that?), we went to the front of the ship to try to get on camera. You know, the camera view that they show on the cabin TVs. What we did was, we would look on TV to see where the cameras were shooting, and then we’d stand in that spot and wave to the camera. The only problem was, we weren’t seen on TV. My mom and sister stayed in the cabin to watch for us, but they never saw us. There’s a deck right below that bridge that can be seen on the camera, and we walked the length of that deck, and they never saw us. Looking on the TV, it seemed like we should have been seen. They said they would see our head pop out and then disappear. It was really quite strange.

And when we were on the deck, we’d look into the bridge to see if we could see the camera(s). We thought we saw them, but I guess not. I thought I saw what looked like a camera pointing right at me, but I was never seen on TV. Perhaps the images are delayed? I guess that’s a possibility we never thought of. Well, on our next cruise maybe we’ll try again.

Oasis of the Seas

It’s official, Royal Caribbean has named their two “Genesis” ships. They will be named Oasis of the Seas, which will be the namesake of the class, and Allure of the Seas. Given the amenities that have been presented thus far, including parks with real trees and grass, the names seem to fit quite well. When I think of an “oasis”, I usually think of a green island in the middle of the sea. That is essentially what these two ships will be: floating islands in the middle of the sea. Who’s looking forward to going on these two mammoth ships?

NCL Fined $1 Million

As I’m sure you might have seen in the news, Norwegian Cruise Line has been fined by the US government $1 million for an explosion that took place in Miami on their now-defunct Norway ship. The explosion killed eight crew members and injured 10 more. No passengers were hurt. NCL pleaded guilty to gross negligence. $13.75 million has also been paid to the victims’ families.

First Update in a While

I know, I haven’t updated in quite a while. I got busy with the start of the semester and I guess I forgot about this. Well, I think it’s time to begin updating again. To start with, I’m happy to say there are only 93 more days until our cruise! It’s coming quickly. Unfortunately, it will be over even more quickly. (I’m pessimistic, I know).

Anyway, there’s something I’d like to talk about. I read online that Carnival is talking about displaying ads (with sound) on their big-screen TVs on deck. I find this very distasteful. People spend their hard-earned money to go on vacation to get away from crap like that. And they’re actually considering doing that? I find it hard to believe. Nothing has been set in stone yet, and this is still just a rumor. I’m interested in seeing how this develops. I guarantee that if this happens, I will submit multiple comment cards on every Carnival cruise I am on, even if the ship I’m on doesn’t have these TVs. Carnival says they read every single one of their comment cards. Let’s see if they really do. I’m sure I won’t be the only one doing this, if these ads really do start appearing. I love Carnival as much as the next guy, but I am disgusted over this rumor.