ExpatCruise

I do not think that the family will end up paying. Unless they bend to the phone company. If they refuse to pay not much the company can do, yes they can file in court but dealing with a minor. Even if they hold the parents to pay the negative PR will be very large. It will go away if the family will not pay.

I hope Holland American Lines wake up and find a better representative to christen this ship. She brings nothing worth having to Holland American, in fact I think she will cost them business.

Royal Caribbean Cruises is now taking aim at the luxury market. It was announced today that Royal is acquiring a 66.7% stake in Silversea Cruises for $1,000,000,000 (billion) and assuming around $500,000,000 (million) in debt. The luxury cruise line will now be sealing under the Royal Flag. This seems like bad news for the other players in the luxury market that are not part of a much larger cruise group. Giving Silversea Cruises the power of a Super Cruise corporation Royal behind it (second largest in the World). While Seabourn Cruises should not be hurt by this, as they are part of Carnival the largest Cruise company in the World. Third place cruise corporation is Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings which operates Oceania Cruises. The company I see hurt in his is Crystal Cruise which is part of Genting Corporation, which while they have a large cruise group they are really a gaming company, and cannot compete with the big three.

Anyone else here on this Cruise July 4 2018 from Singapore to Hong Kong 5 day or to Taipei 7 day or the Hong Kong to Taipei 2 day cruise. Princess is again marketing multi cruises within the same cruise period. I guess that is how they are able to sail at 100% capacity. A really good cruise starting in Singapore then with two stops in Vietnam, a day in Hong Kong and on to Keelung Taiwan (port for Taipei) Ship leaves in less than three weeks, hope maybe some other members are on the cruise.

I have cruised on both and while I do like the level of service on the super luxury lines it is really a little bit a waste. My wife and I both are non drinkers so including a valuable drink package is really a waste. Also I like to do things without help, I do not need a crew member helping me with everything, Most of the super luxury lines also do many cruises longer than my wife likes. Anything over about 10 days and she wants to be home. The plus form the super luxury cruises is much better food, no cattle call feeling, better interaction with the officers, great personalized service. Also I have seen almost zero super drunk fools on the luxury lines causing problems. The main stream lines offer more things to do on the ships, shorter cruises, many more food outlet choices, much better pricing and the ability to pick and choose exactly what you want. But they do have downsides. Like the number of people on the cruise, a feeling of being cattle at times, crews that are under trained and lack knowledge. Some guest that believe they need to be super drunk and affect others. A overall lower social class of guest so can be more demanding. For my wife and I the best fit seems to be the upper end of the main stream cruise lines.

I would love to take a World Cruise, I could find the time and the money to do it but it still is not possible. I travel on a American Passport which is almost the best in the World, 160 countries without any visas ranked at number 5 on the Worldwide Passport list. Singapore is number 1 with 165 countries visa free. And yes I can get a new 48 page passport and have room for all the visas needed. My wife travels on a Philippines Passport, which is nowhere near as good at 64 counties and ranked 72nd on the World Passport list. The number of Visas she would need would be greater than the number of pages in a Philippines Passport. If you cannot present all the visas, you cannot do the trip. The other smaller issue, for her passport most Embassy will not consider a visa until 3 months before the date, which would mean booking and pay for a World Cruise without knowing if you could board. Most Americans really do not understand how powerful a US Passport really is. Guess a World Cruise is not in my future.

I'm sure it is a great ship. But like the new Royal Ship just put into service it is just two big, with two many passengers. I just do not believe they give a good all cruise vacation, unless you like cattle calls. And while it is rare in a emergency I do not believe they are safe. The strict safety standards under SOLAS for lifeboats and deploying them cannot be met by guests is a abandon ship is called for. The rules require lifeboats to be loaded and launched within 30 minutes of a signal to abandon ship. And while this maybe is possible using hand selected passengers, it can never happen on a ship with 7000 plus souls on the ship

This is one of the last crew lawsuits that will be heard in a US Court. The contracts now for the big three lines all say that crew cannot bring claims in US Courts (Unless US Citizens). The claims are handle through arbitration or in the crew members home country. So for example if she was fro the Philippines the maximum payment (without children) is US $50,000 dollars. If it had happen under the contracts now Royal would have paid and dumped her and the cost less than a single court hearing.

Yes it will be a great ship. But I would feel much better about it if the Home port was Hong Kong vs Shanghai. Cruises from mainland China are not Western Style Cruises. Most of the guest will be from mainland China, English will not be the main language spoken, and the food will be much more towards main land China. The ship will allow smoking on the balconies and most of the guest smoke. Gaming and shopping are the big draws. And with 5000 guest getting on and off will be a issue. While I sure Royal will make lots of money, it is not the style of cruise most American or European guest will enjoy. Just wait until they come over the loud speaker and say a one sale is on in the shopping area, if is like a war zone. Understand I'm not down on Asian cruises love them. I just find a much better product when starting from a non main land China port. And yes I know Hong Kong is located within main land China but it follows a special zone rules so is a very different place.

Zebra yes it is a long flight will not mislead you. Have made the flight maybe 30 times from Boston to SE Asia. If you fly east to west you need to plan two days to get here about 30 hours, and one day to get home (Because you pick up a day) Best flight I have had is about 24 hours Airport to Airport. You also now have the choice to fly west to each and stop in the Middle East, with some of the nicest airports in the World. Dubai is the best airport in the World. All the ports and places you list I have been too, lived in Thailand & Singapore before the Philippines. I really like Vietnam, so much so I have booked the same Princess Cruise & ship two times this year. First south to North and three months later North to South. The good news is once you are here all the places you listed are close to each other, about a 3 hour flight. Many smaller carries here offering low airline ticket prices, with the games played by American carriers. A idea would be to break up the trip. For Example Emirate Airlines offers no added cost layovers in Dubai, so you could fly to Dubai, take a break in the city 1 2 3 4 days, whatever you like and then finish the fly. The ticket cost US to Asia is the same with or with the extended lay off.

I live in the Philippines with my wife, we are about 2 hours north of the Port of Manila. 45 minutes from the port of Subic Bay (Past US Navy Base). Really, no cruises starting here in the Philippines except for Star cruises, tried that never again, worst cruise in history. The upside I have is about 10 minutes away from a great Airport. With great cheap flights to the cruise ports of Singapore & Hong Kong. It is a good place to live for Asian Cruises, really do not mid a short fight to start end a cruise.

Zebra, With you being located in Florida, you have the best choice of cruise lines and cruise ships in the World. Also it seems the lowest cost of cruising, with great last minute deals. My first cruise was from Florida, thirty years ago it was a easy trip to jump on a airline Boston to Florida to catch a cruise. Now time is not a problem or issue. It is more about finding cruises that fit our needs. We like to stay in Asia but it is hard with visa issues and timing. We travel with US & Philippines Passports which creates its own issues. But you are correct so many great ships, time to try them all.

Do not really have a single favorite ship. Cruising now is more about finding a Cruise Line with a itinerary that I want and the right timing, port, etc. Having cruised on everything from small luxury shies and lines to the largest ships in the World, I now have a size ship I like vs a single ship. Ships in the 70,000 to 110,000 GTW seem to work best for me. The cruises being offered by Princess here in Asia are working best for me right now. But we will see what happens in the future.

Genting Corporation (owners of Crystal, Dream, Star Cruises) also are now up charging for some shows too. I was on Star Super Virgo in March. Which by the way is the worst ship I have ever been on. They charged extra for many of the shows. But it was also the only cruise ship I know of that limits food to 1 meal per period, or up charges you. I believe we as guest will be seeing more and more fees as the cruise lines try to generte more profits.

I have a few friend in Hawaii, and have talked to them about this and the effects the volcano has had. They are at Waikiki Beach about 200 miles away and say the air has been very bad. But no deaths have been report, over 600 homes are gone and the largest fresh water lake on the Big Island is also gone. Today really the only way to tour the Volcano area is by cruise ship because the National Park is closed.

Zebra, Singapore is a great city. I live in the Philippines but visit Singapore several times a year. It is full of wonderful things to do, the food, the sites, the events, all make this a must see city. Even without a Cruise Ship stop, it is a wonderful place, very clean and safe, no problems with languages as English is widespread. My last trip to Singapore was last weekend, and I am back the end of the month before a cruise for a few days. Even after many trips I cannot do everything I would like to do around Singapore.

Singapore is a hot cruise market. Several ships per week in the season have a port call here or start/end a cruise here. Genting Corporation, Royal and Princess all have ships based here for part of the year. The market seems to be very strong. They have two cruise ship terminals, Harbor Front and Marina Bay. I have used both of them, both nice but Marina Bay is the larger of the two. Harbor Front has a mall in front of it and it also the ferry port. The MRT has a stop directly at Harbor Front, Marina Bay the MRT is a few hundred meters away. Really look forward to seeing Carnival here in Singapore.

Nice to see Carnival bring a fun ship to Australia. It is a great market that I believe will fit well within Carnival. They have been operating Princess Ships in AU and a few Holland American Ships. Bringing Carnival to Australia will give Royal Caribbean a real run and give cruisers another great option.