Crystal Cracks Down on Smoking

Crystal Cruises is implementing a new smoking ban that prohibits smoking on private balconies. However, unlike the RCI smoking ban which takes effect this month, guests can still smoke in their cabins. This ban will start taking effect in May.

I think this is a great move. It seems the cruise lines are all starting to ban smoking in more places. Most cruise lines ban smoking in most public places, but they’re beginning to crack down even more. I hope Carnival starts implementing more bans as well. Smoking has no positive effects at all, so by banning it in more and more places, hopefully it will eventually fade out of style. I’m sure that’s one reason all these bans (not just on cruise lines, but everywhere) are taking place. It would be pretty nice to live in a smoke-free world.

Well I’m rambling, so I’ll stop now.

Medevac Teen Thanks Captains

This was from the Princess website:

SAN DIEGO – (January 6, 2008) — Just released from the hospital, 14-year-old Laura Montero (C), the teenager who was successfully airlifted off Dawn Princess for an emergency appendectomy last month, greets the Captains and Crews of Dawn Princess and the USS Ronald Reagan who helped save her life. Above, she presents Dawn Princess Captain Marco Fortezze (L) and USS Ronald Reagan Captain Terry Kraft (R) thank-you notes she wrote while recovering in the hospital. In a special ceremony hosted onboard Dawn Princess, Captain Fortezze was honored to welcome Montero back on board and meet in person for the first time the Captain and crew of the USS Ronald Reagan who came to her aid when she required emergency surgery.

Source: http://www.princess.com/news/article.jsp?newsArticleId=na926

That’s a really great story. It’s really reassuring to know that, if the need arises, it is possible to be taken off the ship for medical emergencies. If you’re close enough to shore, a Coast Guard boat will rescue you, as was the case here. If you’re far out to see, a helicopter will come out for you. So no matter where you are, it’s possible to be saved. For anyone nervous of getting sick at sea, this should be reassuring.

Not to mention, the pretty good facilities onboard the ship. My uncle had a heart attack on his cruise the day before the ship returned to New York (home port). The doctors onboard were able to take care of him until they docked in port.

So whether you’re having a heart attack or a bout of sea sickness, the doctors onboard (and if need be, the Coast Guard) are there to help you!

New Cruisers Tip #1: It’s All Free!

Being a seasoned cruiser, it’s second nature for me to know what’s free and what’s not onboard a cruise. However, when I have discussions with people who have never cruised before, I realize that it’s not so obvious to the first-time cruisers. When I mention “everything” is free on a cruise, one of the most common responses is, “awesome I can drink as much as I want?”. I then have to break the news to them that not everything is free on a cruise. So for those first-time cruisers out there, here’s a list of what’s free on a cruise. Actually, I guess I should be using the word included instead of free, since you’re paying for the cruise. So here’s what’s included in the price of the cruise:

• Buffet food
• Dining room food
• Water and juices
• Access to pools
• Weight room, sauna, steam room, etc.
• Cabin
• Shows
• Contests
• Night clubs
• Going on land at ports
• Limited TV channels
• Other food (grill, pizza, ice cream, fish ‘n chips, etc.)
• Library books and board games
• Decks of cards from the purser’s desk (you can keep these)
• Food and drinks at the cocktail parties
• Getting your photos taken on any night

I think I covered everything. If I missed something, just let me know. Anyway, here is the list of what’s not included:

• Alcohol
  • Includes frozen drinks
  • Includes non-alcoholic versions of the same drinks
• Soda
• Supper clubs and some alternative restaurants
• Casino
• Beach towels (free for use, pay to keep after cruise)
• Tips and gratuities
• Shopping (onboard and offboard)
• Excursions and transportation offboard
• In-cabin movies
• Spa, massages, and all these fancy treatments
• Water bottles in-cabin and when leaving the boat at ports
• Any drinks in the cabin refrigerator/mini-bar
• Wine tastings
• Photos
• Medical treatments at the infirmary
• Anything that is listed at an additional cost
• In addition, taxes, port charges, and fuel supplements are not included in the cost. These are added on to the price of the cruise itself.

My favorite is how first-time cruisers think the drink the servers hand out when you first walk into the deck area on the first day of the cruise is free. A lot of people take them thinking they’re free since they’re being handed out. Some get lucky and realize it’s not free before taking a sip. Others aren’t so lucky. They immediately take a sip, and the server proudly announces it’s not free. “So much for everything being free,” they probably think.

I might not have covered everything. But hopefully this helps sort things out for the first-timers out there.

Genesis

We got this month’s copy of Cruise Travel in the mail today. In it was a list of upcoming cruise ships debuting in the coming years. There are the new Disney ships, the Carnival Dream class ships (Dream and Magic), and of course, among many others, RCI’s Genesis I and Genesis II. If there were ever a dream ship of mine, this is going to be it. From what I’ve gathered, there will be a bowling alley, billiards, and more. The bowling and billiards are what I’d be most interested in.

What kind of cruise ship can house these types of amenities? A big cruise ship. I mean, a reallybig cruise ship. Weighing in at a tonnage of 220,000, these “Genesis” ships, which are currently unnamed (and most likely will not go by the name Genesis of the Seas), will be the biggest cruise ships afloat today. Bigger cruise ships also means more passengers. These monsters will be home to over 5,000 passengers on any given cruise! That’s insane. I thought the RCI Freedom class ships were huge, with a passenger capacity of over 4,000. Over 5,000 is just crazy. I hope they design the buffets really well, or else those lines will be unbearable. That’s not even to mention the wait times for embarkation and especially disembarkation. I mean, waiting a long time to get on the boat is one thing, but having to wait for 5,000 people to get off the boat will be intolerable, in my opinion. I hate waiting in lines on ships half the size. I can’t imagine what it will be like.

To get an idea of the size of this mammoth, I found an interesting comparative picture from cruisemates.com:

Comparing the size to the Voyager class really puts it in perspective for me. I was on the Explorer of the Seas, which is a Voyager class ship. That ship was the largest I’ve ever been on. And the Genesis dwarfs the Voyager. It’s like comparing the Conquest to the Holiday at Carnival. (Okay, maybe the Conquest to the Fantasy.) The only problem there is, Genesis dwarfs them too!

It seems to me that RCI always comes out with the largest ships first. I remember when Voyager of the Seas debuted, it was then the largest cruise ship in the world. Then Freedom of the Seas took the title. Now Genesis. The other cruise lines usually take several years to follow. I don’t know if Carnival still has any plans matching the Voyager class. I know their Dream class is to be 130,000 tons, but Voyager is still 140,000.

I guess the bottom line is, while I’d love the new amenities on board the Genesis, I think I might just have to pass until 200,000+ ton ships become the norm, mainly due to the long lines everywhere I’ll go onboard and off. Not to mention prices to buy cruises on these ships, especially in the beginning.

Bon Voyage!

So my sister left with her boyfriend for Florida today. They’re spending the day in Miami today. Tomorrow they leave on a three-night cruise that goes to Key West and Nassau. They’ll be sailing on the Carnival Fascination. This will be her boyfriend’s first cruise. We’ve been trying to get him to come with us the past few years but he hasn’t wanted to. This cruise will give him a taste of what it’s like.

I always have mixed feelings when people I know go on cruises. I’m excited for them, because I know of how great of an experience it will be. But at the same time, I’m also jealous. Yeah, you might say I’m selfish or greedy. I’m not. It’s just I wish I could go on a cruise every month! I can never get enough of it.

Anyway, they’ll be home next week. I’m anxious to hear how it went, and I really can’t wait to hear how he liked it.

Roberto

My last article was about the staff onboard a cruise ship. This article will focus on our waiter from our last cruise (July 2007), Roberto. Our last cruise was a seven day Exotic Western Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Legend in July of 2007. We chose the early (main) seating. On the first day, we like to walk around and explore the ship. We usually check out the dining room to see our table. This cruise we were seated at table 204, a table for four. As we entered the dining room, we peeked at the maitre’d table list. This is a drawing of the layout of the dining room, with numbered tables. We found our table on the sheet and walked over. To our surprise, our table was the only table in the entire dining room with the table number still on it. All the tables were unmarked, except ours. We felt this had to be a sign (either good or bad, we weren’t sure).

As it turns out, this was a good sign. Later that day, we entered the dining room and proceeded to our table. We were greeted by Roberto and his assistant waiter (whose name I forget). My first impression of Roberto wasn’t much. He seemed like a shy, timid fellow. I began to feel disappointed, as I was hoping for another “Mr. Kool” — see my last article for more on him! He introduced himself and we had a little conversation. We gave him our names and mentioned other facts about ourselves, simply part of the conversation. I felt that we were doing all this in vain. Our past two waiters addressed us simply by sir or madam. Roberto seemed to be just like them. Anyway, we ordered dinner and went through our meal. Roberto asked if we enjoyed our meals, and then said goodbye to us as we left.

The next night, we were greeted once again by a smiling Roberto. To my surprise, he welcomed me by my first name! “Good evening, David,” he said in his accent. As time went on, he began to address me as Mr. David. By the third night, Roberto was aware that I enjoyed the cold soups for appetizers. He would make the suggestion every time he would hand me the menu. “Mr. David, the strawberry bisque tonight is for you,” he would say. He did this with all of us. Not only was he addressing us by our first names, but he was making suggestions for us personally, not just the “I recommend…” suggestions. This added a very nice personal touch to his service. This is something I like to expect from my wait staff in the dining room. It’s probably not an easy task to memorize everyone’s names and tastes in a matter of days, so I assume only the best waiters can do this. Roberto was certainly one of them.

Anyway, one night Roberto told us about his life. He took some time out of his busy schedule to tell us what life was like for him back home, and what life was like on the ship. It was really nice to get to know him more than just where he was from. I don’t remember any specifics, but I remember the overall impression I got was quite sad. As I mentioned before, most of these workers come from poor backgrounds. It was nice when Roberto told us he was doing this so he could send money back home. This really made me feel closer to him. He wasn’t just another waiter. He had a personal life, he had a family.

One night, Roberto brought out a special dessert for my sister. It was mentioned on the first night that she had just graduated college and was starting her job as a nurse after our cruise. We didn’t think anything of it when we mentioned it to Roberto. It was just part of the conversation. But Roberto picked up on it and remember what we had said. One night he brought out a special dessert for her. This was a complete surprise and made my impression of Roberto that much higher.

Another night, my sister was sick. She left dinner early to go rest. Roberto seemed truly concerned that she would be alright. He questioned and said he hoped she would feel better by the next night. The next night, she was at dinner. Roberto was happy to see her. He asked her if she was feeling better and that he was glad to see her again.

All of these personal touches made Roberto one of my favorite waiters. He wasn’t crazy and loud like some great waiters are. He was very personable. He would learn everything he could about you, and work with what he knew about you to make your experience as great as it could be. So comparing Roberto to Mr. Kool is like comparing apples and oranges. They’re both great at what they do, but in completely different ways. I will say though, that if I ever get another waiter as great as Roberto was, I will be quite surprised.

Cruise Ship Staff

The staff on a cruise ship are what make each cruise unique from all the others. I have been on quite a few cruises, and the one thing that I usually use to distinguish one cruise from another, aside from the ship itself, is the staff. Unless you travel on the same boat twice in a row, chances are you’ll never see the same group of staff twice. This is what makes them so unique.

Most of the staff on cruise ships are from very poor backgrounds. They will leave their families for months at a time to bring home some money. They’ll often work seven-day weeks, with only a couple hours off each day to eat and sleep. Their jobs are rigorous, and their pay is low. Most of them, however, can still manage to put a smile on your face.

The staff most people get to know the most is their dinner wait staff. On most cruise lines, there is a waiter/waitress and an assistant. There are many types of personalities you’ll discover in these people. Some are subdued and very nice, like our waiter Jude on the Glory. Some are extremely outgoing and even comical. The perfect example of this type was “Mr. Kool” from our Victory cruise in 2001. He had such charisma. Another type is the one who just enjoys his job (or at least appears to), and is willing to stop and chat with you for a few minutes. Their job isn’t just about serving food. It’s also about getting to know you. This was Roberto on our Legend cruise this past summer (2007). He was one of our only waiters who knew us by name and could pretty much predict what we would order. He’d stop to talk with us, answer our questions, and even ask some of his own at dinner. If we’d see him on deck, he’d get a big smile on his face and would take time out from his busy schedule to talk some more!

I don’t drink, so I’m not sure what the bar personnel are like. But I know the drink staff that deliver drinks to you on deck are quite nice. They will learn your favorite drinks quickly and will even begin to know you by name.  Another type of staff is the casino staff. Most are very friendly and will have conversation with you, or will explain the game rules to you.

Overall, the staff onboard a cruise ship are very friendly. Considering how intense their jobs are and how little they get paid, I really do have a lot of respect for these guys.

Oh, the Food!

One of the reasons I love to cruise so much is the food. All day long, there is great food to enjoy. It starts before breakfast… We usually bring danish and coffee back to the room and we’ll enjoy it out on our balcony. This is always something nice to look forward to right after waking up. Sometimes I just want to sleep all morning, but this is something that forces me to get up. If it weren’t for this, I might just sleep right through breakfast!

Next is breakfast. Depending on what we’re feeling that morning, we’ll either go to the buffet or dining room for breakfast. I’d say this is split pretty evenly. Both places have their pros and cons as well. Eating in the dining room is nice because, well, you get served. It’s nice to sit down and enjoy a good breakfast. The bad part is you get a waiter who might not necessarily know you. Either way, it’s still nice to get served. The buffet is nice because I can get what I want, and I can choose how much I want. The second part is the kicker. In the dining room, it’s up the waiter to decide how much I get (unless I specify I want multiple orders). At the buffet, I can get more bacon if I want it, or I get another scoop of eggs if I’m in the mood. It’s all up to me. Of course, the downside is that there aren’t always tables available, and that you have to wait in line. Waiting in line is a pain. I hate it, but sometimes we just have to do it. The lines usually move fairly quickly though.

Next is the pre-lunch snack. This usually consists of an ice cream cone (or just the ice cream), and either fries, a second portion of breakfast, or a slice of pizza. This is nice because it gets you ready for lunch. You know, those two platefuls of breakfast just weren’t enough! I need to have some fries before lunch so I don’t die of starvation. </sarcasm> But seriously, it’s nice to get a little something to eat and watch the buffet to see what’s going to be served for lunch.

Now it’s lunch time. Most of the time we eat lunch at the buffet. I think I’ve eaten lunch in the dining room maybe once or twice out of all the cruises I’ve been on. For some reason I’m just not into it. From what I hear, the food is sometimes better in the dining room. But I’ve just never done it. Anyway, lunch always consists of multiple portions. If I’m at the buffet, my first course consists of a small samples of everything that looks good. The next course is a full portion of what I liked the most. Next I will get full portions of other things I really liked. Finally, I get some dessert. This will usually be a slice of cake, fruit, jello, or any combination of them. Another option for lunch is the deli. I’ll get a Reuben sandwich, that’s my favorite. After that I’ll stop by the buffet for some more food.

After lunch is the post-lunch snack. This is similar to the pre-lunch snack. I’ll either get a slice of pizza, something from the grill (usually a hot dog), or I’ll go back to the buffet for some more food.

The rest of the afternoon consists of fasting. I will not eat anything until dinner. The only time this isn’t the case is when we have late seating dinner (around 8:00). Then I’ll have a snack around 4:00. But when we have main seating dinner (around 6:00), I hold back on all food until dinner.

Dinner is always a great meal. I’ll start out with an appetizer and/or a cold soup. I always get the cold soup of the night, except the cold creamy cucumber soup. Yes, it’s as bad as it sounds. The rest of the cold soups are good. They include gazpacho, strawberry bisque, cream of lychees, and more. For salad, I get the Caesar salad, which is always very good. I always get at least one entree, depending on what’s being served. Sometimes I’ll get more than one if there are a couple things I like. Finally, there is dessert. I’ll usually get one dessert, sometimes two. I get coffee to go with dessert.

After dinner is entertainment time (casino, shows, etc.), so there’s not much eating going on then. But later on in the evening, I’ll get a slice of pizza before heading back to the room for the night.

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The food itself is almost always good. Breakfast is same every day: eggs, sausage, bacon, grits, oatmeal, pancake and/or french toast, condiments, etc.As I mentioned earlier, my favorite at the deli is the reuben sandwich. I enjoy the Chinese food as well for lunch. There is also a “taste of nations” station at the buffet, which changes daily. This gives you a chance to try international cuisine.Dinner gives me the chance to order full course meals, which I normally cannot do. There is also good food at dinner. Obviously, a lot of the food I eat at dinner is food I only get a chance to eat on a cruise. The cold soups, lobster tail, and the exotic foods are some of these.You can’t beat 24-hour pizza. The pizza (at least on Carnival) is very good too. The grill has good hot dogs, burgers, and fries. Also, some grills will also cook up a steak sandwich if you ask. Most people don’t know about this. The soft-serve ice cream is good too. And from what I hear, the frozen yogurt is good as well.Overall, I would say the food is the top reason I love cruising. Good food, at all hours of the day. You can’t beat it!Coming up next time: the wait staff and other cruise ship staff.

Welcome!

This blog will basically be about my cruising experiences, as well as my opinions and reviews on cruising topics. I have a good amount of cruises under my belt, so I think my comments should be worth something. Feel free to comment on my posts. I’ll be working on getting some pages up.