Sarge6870

"Princess Knows How To Treat Their Passengers." Click here to view the cruise review

I know it's been awhile since I visited the site but had to comment on the lack of activity. The last update on the Facebook page was July 14th. The "New Content" link is a dead link. The only activity is welcoming new members and the Daily Blog. The reason I post here was because I took the time, MY time on my cruise when we visited Cozumel last year and got Paradise Beach to purchase ad space on the site yet the foot traffic to the site is lacking. What caused the site to hit the brakes all of a sudden? People are joining but that seems to be the only viable activity here! This site at one time was a strong asset to cruisers but now seems non-competitive with the many other cruise sites on the web. I don't want to seem to be coming off on a negative note here but where is the support? What can we do to get CruiseCrazies kick started?

I am happy to announce that our own "Paradise Beach" in Cozumel Mexico has been voted #9 out of the top 10 beaches by TripAdvisor. Paradise Beach is a Sponsor and member of the CruiseCrazies site. I have been there many times (as many of you know) and they can't be beat. Here's a link to the TripAdvisor with some pics.... http://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Beaches-cTop-g150768

This character seems to blaming everyone EXCEPT the person the blame falls on, himself!! He abandoned the ship BEFORE all his passengers and his crew then REFUSED to return to the vessel to coordinate evacuation procedures when ordered to do so by the Commander of the Italian Coast Guard. Here's what it comes down to, he has claimed from the beginning that he was "ordered" by Costa to perform the maneuver. As Commander of the Concordia, he has the total responsibility of his passengers, the vessel THEN the company in his hands. He could have rejected the orders at any time out of an abundance of safety (if his claims he was ordered to do the maneuver as he states are true). If he felt the "performance" was unsafe for ANY reason, he had EVERY right to refuse the order. Sure, he may have lost his job for failing to follow orders but the lost soles would still be alive, the Concordia would still be sailing and Giglio would still be a viable cruise port.

Correct me if I'm wrong Jan, But isn't it necessary to have the marriage license prior to the ceremony on the ship? I was always led to believe that you must because in International waters, no state will recognize the license endorsed by the ship or her Captain. I remember being told that the ceremony performed on the ship is post licensing and is more of a celebration than a complete marriage ceremony. The Captain can still do a ceremony onboard but it is more for show than anything. Times change, I could be wrong

There are two area's I would like to cover regarding this story. The first is the fact that there may be many Triumph passengers that were mentally affected by this cruise. I could not imagine being stranded at sea without the comforts I expected to receive on a cruise or normal comfort at that. I also commend the crew for going above and beyond their own comforts to do the best they could with what they had to work with, which was little. What concerns me about this suit is just how many of the passengers involved in the suit actually WERE affected and how many are just out for a quick buck. I also wonder who, in the event they loose the case, are going to have to pay the attorneys for their services. Let's be honest fellow Crazies, how many stories have we read of lawsuits against cruise lines ranging from "no outside view from an inside cabin", "the sea moving too much" and my favorite, " I booked a cruise for the warmth like the advertisements show, why was it so cold on my Alaska cruise?". These are ALL true lawsuits!! I believe that some of the claims of the Triumph passengers may be true, but could have Carnival done better in the Triumph incident? That leads me to my second area......... On my last cruise on the RCCL "Brilliance of the Seas", my wife and I attended the "Captains Briefing" where ranking members of the ship have an informal meeting with passengers in the main theater to talk about the vessel. A very informative gathering about the ship your sailing on with many facts you may be unaware of. At the meeting were the Captain, the head of hotel operations and the Chief Engineer. After the meeting, the passengers in attendance were allowed to meet with these officers. I posed a scenerio to the Chief Engineer of my thoughts on what Carnival could have done to evacuate the passengers from the Triumph. My thoughts I expressed to him were this, "Because another Carnival ship was able to get close enough and had been able to deliver needed supplies to the Triumph, I felt that there was no viable reason the Triumph couldn't be evacuated via their lifeboats and transferred to that vessel. I also expressed how I was aware that those with disabilities may have been a factor in total evacuation but at least many could leave the ship to safety." His response to me, in a low kind of secretive voice was " You and I both wonder". There have been many explanations of as to why passengers couldn't be evacuated from the ship, such as safety since it was in the ocean. But for Carnival to not at least have a plan for an "ocean" evacuation in a situation like this goes beyond my realm of common sense when you are talking about 3000+ souls onboard. To expect these souls to endure these conditions for all the days they did also is inexcusable. Don't get me wrong, I am and always will be a Carnival passenger. I just feel they failed in this situation. Carnival should have had a plan.

....a criminal always returns to the scene of their crime.......

...and a big one Jan.........arrive to the port ON TIME!!! I have had many an occasion when my balcony cabin overlooked the gangway and watched as people frantically bungled to drag their luggage onboard at or a few minutes after we were due to leave the port. You have at least a 5 hour window to be onboard. "Be there or be square"...we'll send ya' a postcard!!!

When I first started cruising back in 1990, there was no such thing as Specialty Restaurants. All there was was the main dining room(s), maybe a pizza place onboard and the buffet. Back then, every cruise I had taken had immaculate food quality and service in the MDR. Once specialty dining was introduced, and this can be confirmed just by reading reviews of past cruises on various lines and vessels, the MDR quality has gone down. Slow delivery of orders, incorrect orders, poor presentation and cold orders are just some of the complaints that can be found.I would like to see the cruise lines, ALL of the cruise lines concentrate on bringing back fine dining to the MDR's on their ships. I have eaten in some specialty restaurants onboard different ships and could only remember back to when that same quality and attention was offered in the MDR of cruises past.

We sailed the Jewel of the Seas on our first RCCL cruise May of 2013. We weren't impressed or "Wow"'d. Then we sailed the Brilliance of the Seas November 2013. Much better but still didn't get the "WOW" we expected from RCCL. So this will be our last try with RCCL for our December cruise aboard the Enchantment of the Seas with a bunch of friends we met on our Brilliance cruise. After nine previous cruises (prior to the RCCL cruises) aboard Carnival, Celebrity, Norwegian and Princess, we were hoping that RCCL would give us that "WOW" factor they advertise. To this point, they haven't. This will be their final chance. Got a great deal for a five day from Canaveral......hope they "WOW" me this time.........

At one time Gina, when cruise docs were actually mailed to you, when we received them we got that feeling. That feeling that the many months wait for our cruise was a reality. But now, with the "printing" of your docs when final payment is made kinda took the waa-hoo away. It just seems to us to be more of part of the process now than the payoff (if you know what I mean). Getting that big envelope in the mail with the cruise boarding pass, the luggage tags and other docs were the "Waaa-Hoo" moment for us. But I guess now, just getting onboard has to be enough....DARN!!! :)

The Carnival Valor rescued five people from a sinking yacht off St. Maarten on Saturday, Dec. 21. The ship, which was sailing to a port call on the island, responded to a radio distress call from the craft, which was sinking in stormy weather. The Valor lowered a lifeboat to rescue the sailors, two women and three men. They were brought aboard the ship and given medical evaluations, along with food and water. The cruise line said in a statement that two deck officers received minor injuries during the rescue. After the rescue, the ship continued to St. Maarten, its next scheduled port. The San Juan-based Valor was on the last leg of a seven-day Southern Caribbean sailing that had departed on Dec. 15. Copyright repost via USA Today Cruiselog.

Hmmm...this story sounds familiar..........OH...that's right...I reported it on Sunday night!!!

As someone that works in an "ALF"(Assisted Living Facility) where we have residents with Dementia and Alzheimer's, I would like to reply to this. First off, Dementia or Alzheimer's does not happen overnight. Both diseases are of a very slow progression. The husband had to be aware of his wife's condition. Can you imagine being taken on a cruise if you were blind and not familiar with your surroundings? This is what these diseases impose on their victim. The afflicted are not familiar with their surroundings and panic. Depending on the level of progression his wife was in, there may have been a reason for them to have an escort for their cruise to care for the wife ESPECIALLY if the husband planned on leaving her alone on the ship and in the cabin. Why would a couple on a cruise not venture together especially if one is of failing health? I can absolve the cruise line completely of their approach to this situation. She wasn't sailing alone and they had no reason to question as to the safety of the wife. Because they decided to take the cruise was their own discretion with the health issue being what it was. It is NOT the cruise lines responsibility to correct a poor mistake made by it's passengers. Cruise lines are NOT babysitters! If you or someone you are sailing with is ill, it is YOUR responsibility to make a rational decision. God forbid the ship had to be evacuated. It seems that the husband would have been as helpless as his wife since his reasoning if not commonsense is faulty. Just IMHO!!

The Celebrity Constellation was do to depart from Key West today at 5pm EST but shortly after leaving dock, developed gas turbine engine problems and had to re-dock. Currently, it is re-docked at the Key West Navy yard and will be there until (reported) tomorrow to allow repairs to take place. Passengers report they were allowed to leave the ship after re-dock from 6:30pm till 12am EST. It is unknown at the time of this report how or if this event will affect the Constellations itinerary.

I have found that if you wait until the near end of the cruise (last 2 or 3 days), you will get better discounts. What we do is go into the shops at the beginning of the cruise, pick out what we want and wait to the end of the cruise to see if it goes on sale. And they usually do.

As you know, back in May I conducted a "Live Chat" for our CruiseCrazies website from Paradise Beach in Cozumel, MX when we sailed the Jewel of the Seas. It was our first time visiting Paradise and we absolutely fell in love with the amenities and the staff that work there. We also had the pleasure of visiting there again this past November when we sailed the Brilliance of the Seas. There is currently a poll being conducted on the x website pitting Paradise Beach against Mr. Sanchos and I am asking all my fellow Crazies cast a vote for them by going to the link below. Let's show those folks on the Critic site what taste is when it comes to a great beach day in Cozumel. I have also posted links to the Paradise Beach Facebook page (feel free to "friend" them) and their individual website if you would like more info about Paradise. And remember, Paradise Beach is a supporter of the CruiseCrazies website and we are ALWAYS more than welcomed there!!! NOTE: Voting is open till end of business on December 10th. Paradise Beach Website: http://www.paradise-beach-cozumel.com/ Paradise Beach Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paradise-Beach-Cozumel/134429792637?id=134429792637&sk=info Link To x Page To Vote: http://boards./showthread.php?t=1950744

"A beautiful, revamped vessel" Click here to view the cruise review

@Jan...Good advice. Yet in 9 cruises never concerned myself with something like this happening but will from now on!! @D&J, It wasn't really an investigation as much as it was making sure I had a place to park on Saturday. The way the story sounded in the post, "valets weren't paid" concerned me. Didn't need any last minute cruise blockades!!! :)

"Some passengers said they had heard that some valets were upset because they had not been paid and had intentionally misplaced keys." Just to clear things up, I spoke to someone at Premier Parking this morning following an email I had sent to them regarding this issue. We have a reservation at their Port of Tampa facility this weekend for our Brilliance cruise and I wanted piece of mind (didn't want any last minute issues on cruise day). The associate that called me said the reason this happened in Miami was because one of the valets was fired and the other valets supposedly scattered the keys to protest for the valet being fired. It was NOT because the valets weren't paid. But, I bet that their actions will get the rest of them fired now as well!!! I guess it's true, you can't fix stupid!!!!

Actually, I booked the BOS cruise about one year ago. I kinda snuk in the Jewel cruise in May as a last minute thing Gonna be nice having all my OBC's to use on this cruise. Can you believe this is the first time in 10 cruises we actually HAD OBC's!!!

Well thank you :) You know, we just got off the Jewel in May, this is the 1st time in our past 9 cruises that we have done 2 cruises in one year and with all that has been going on in our personal life, were STILL trying to get pumped over the Brilliance. Jan's insight really helped me since she was the 1st Crazies member to sail on the BOS since she was refurbished (The Brilliance...NOT JAN!!! ) We have $325 of OBC to use on the BOS thanks to the letters to my CA and RCCL about our Jewel cruise. We have a Starboard balcony cabin (8550). Our ports are Tampa, Key West, Grand Caymen, Honduras and Cozumel then back to Tampa. We will be visiting Paradise Beach while in Cozumel (when you find a winner, stick with it I always say). I have discovered that our cruise is almost completely sold out!! Rest assured fellow Crazies, I will follow up with a full review of the cruise when we return.