September 17, 2006 - 11 Night Southern Caribbean Part 2

[winotracy]

I only have 1 day left of work too! But I don't leave until next Friday!
Oh but wait I am going to WY for the weekend-who invited me????

Dan

Hmmmmm..... who could that be

Scott, the cheese has been ordered Will be on its way to Leslie on Monday. Should arrive on Wednesday. Joe, there's some Smoked Gouda for you and a little treat for the three of you

 

[Dopeylover54]

I just read this on another thread and thought all of us (myself included) will have a most WONDERful cruise if we just think before we speak or do.

Christie and I are SOOOOOOO looking forward to cruising with all of our old friends and especially excited about meeting all of our NEW DISfriends.

See you all real soon,
Ken

10 cruise etiquette tips

Let us forswear the role of Ugly American and start to mind our manners. These 10 tips were developed after a week on the high seas, but they are equally applicable to a land-based vacation or business trip. Read them and resolve to restore some civility to the art of travel.

1. Don’t expect perfection. With today’s ships carrying three and four thousand people at a time, trust me, the experience is not going to be perfect for everyone. Your toilet may clog. The handle may fall off the sliding door. Your table mates may sometimes be rude (my own children come to mind). Have a good attitude and your cruise will go a lot more smoothly.

2. Get some exercise. Fact: The elevators are going to be crowded around dinner and show times. A bunch of crabby people waiting for the elevators will only stir each other up even more; I saw it happen time and again. If you are physically able, why not walk off that crème brûlée and take the stairs — or maybe do a lap on the Promenade Deck.

3. Shut up. It is not necessary to slam your cabin door each time you enter and exit the cabin, and it is rude to do so at 3 a.m.(some passengers actually sleep — at night! — on a cruise). Close the door slowly and preserve some of the peace. Never been on a cruise? There are probably a hundred cabins within earshot of each slammed door.

4. Practice moderation. OK, it’s your vacation: Have fun and party on. But know your limits. No one likes a sloppy drunk, and the last thing you want to do is spend a night in the medical facility because you planted your *** through the glass coffee table. No one will convince me that excessive drinking is not a huge factor in all the recent “crimes” at sea.

5. Be discreet. Aboard ship, we are all equals. I don’t need to see your Rolex watch, or that 10-carat diamond. No need to flash a wad of cash in the casino either. For one thing, you could be asking for trouble; for another (listen carefully): No one really cares! And another thing, while the ship is your home away from home, it isn’t actually your home, so if you feel the need to wander the hallways, please do so wearing street clothes not your curlers and nightie — or less!

6. Remember that you are a world traveler. You may hear others speaking a different or unfamiliar language. (No, it is not a foreign language; it may be foreign to you, but it is not foreign to millions of perfectly competent speakers). If an announcement needs to be made, it will likely be made in several languages; after all, people who speak a language other than yours have the same right to safety and information as you do. Do not demand that people accommodate you. It is all about compromise.

7. Be a good audience member. If you are tired, don’t sit in the front row. How demeaning is it to a performer who is giving his or her all to look out and see an audience member nodding off mid-performance? Now imagine the reaction if there is also a line of drool dribbling from the corner of your mouth. Not a pretty sight, although the photograph I took is a good conversation piece!

8. Stop whining. If something has gone wrong or you are unhappy, there is no need to drag a few thousand other people into your mess. There is a simple solution: Ask management to correct the problem. Whining just brings everyone down and — who knows? — your expectations may be way out of line. And another thing: There’s not much anyone can do about a cloudy day.

9. Dress for public view. If you wouldn’t walk into Wal-Mart wearing short shorts and a tube top, you probably shouldn’t wear them on vacation, either. Same with a thong. People come in all shapes and sizes, but most of us are not looking to become acquainted with your every bulge and curve.

10. Be generous. Tip. Our waitress on the Freedom of the Seas is paid $50 a month. Yes, you read that correctly! The rest of her income comes from gratuities. To the family in the cabins across from me: I heard you all making plans to order room service for 16 on the last night of the cruise so you could avoid having to tip in the dining room. Shame on you!

Fortunately, rude passengers were a minority on this cruise. For now I will step off my soapbox (endless ranting isn’t polite either, even for a good cause).

John Frenaye is the president of JVE Group, Inc., a diversified company based in Annapolis, Md. With a background in business management, he writes about the travel industry as an insider with an outsider's perspective.

 

[dan and scott]

I guess I forgot to tell you all but apparently Disney has decided not to offer the unlimited internet for the 10 or 11 day cruises. I found this out about a week ago and forgot to post.

dan

 

[captaincrash]

I guess I forgot to tell you all but apparently Disney has decided not to offer the unlimited internet for the 10 or 11 day cruises. I found this out about a week ago and forgot to post.

dan

RATS...

But I am not surprised. Not as if any of us were chattin much about it either. I think I might buy a little time though just to get business communications.

Hmmmm.....

 

[winotracy]

I guess I forgot to tell you all but apparently Disney has decided not to offer the unlimited internet for the 10 or 11 day cruises. I found this out about a week ago and forgot to post.

dan

Great. My firm approved paying for the unlimited package so I can work from the ship. I sure hope it doesn't cost more than the unlimited package for me to do my work. Otherwise it's coming out of my pocket since I won't be at work again to get more authorization.

 

[papa]

Saw this on the BBC news site Speeding Mike

 

[captaincrash]

I just read this on another thread and thought all of us (myself included) will have a most WONDERful cruise if we just think before we speak or do.

Christie and I are SOOOOOOO looking forward to cruising with all of our old friends and especially excited about meeting all of our NEW DISfriends.

See you all real soon,
Ken

10 cruise etiquette tips <EDITED>



10. Be generous. Tip. Our waitress on the Freedom of the Seas is paid $50 a month. Yes, you read that correctly! The rest of her income comes from gratuities. To the family in the cabins across from me: I heard you all making plans to order room service for 16 on the last night of the cruise so you could avoid having to tip in the dining room. Shame on you!
.

I used to wonder about that. I guess anything is possible and the worst would be a cabin or several that not leave ANY gratuity for staff. AND to think it makes it any better to skip dining on the last nite just to avoid seeing the staff. Truly ugly... after folks have enjoied service for several days apparently under false pretense. FALSE PRETENSE.

This carries over to other issues I imagine. But this list is otherwise a decent thing to share - applicable to some potentially - but not as likely in our "perfect" DiS crowd gathered here, eh? I for one try to practice decent conduct and much more when abroad or otherwise. And by the same token I don't take inconsiderate treatment lightly either. As is to be expected of most.

Fortunately we don't have a casino to flash cash - nor do we have an "elitist" mind-set on the sailing - as I've read about for certain cruise lines. I don't fit in well with the likes of those sort anyways. At K-school I saw a Mom drive up in a new Ferrari the other day - and I thought - hmmm, how charming. Being from Southern California my spouse and I see all sorts of materialism - my neighbor 3 doors down has a slightly older Ferrari in his garage (almost never drives it) and we just nod and say - nice - but means little to us, really. I drive an 8 year old car and keep an 11 year old one as a spare. I loan it out to visiting family or really I'm just waiting for an excuse to get rid of it. And as such - we comfortably embrace the vast majority of what I skimmed from your 10 point posting.

I'm watching Star Wars episode 3 and Yoda just flicked his wrists and slammed back the two red guards at the door and is now about to confront the evil emporer in his office. It gets good now so I'm gonna watch the end of the flick. I love this HD stuff when it's sharp. SO much other HD stuff is NOT sharp material.

Cheers! and thanks for encouraging decent conduct with your 10 point list! It is noble and well conceived... except the casino and wads of cash. Now - leaving wads of cash on the fish extender might have been more appropriate - and if anyone feels compelled to make the cash in the fish extender gesture - be sure to PM me so I can keep a watchful eye on your exhibitionism...

In fact - I'm prepared to hire this off duty K-9 poodle to guard your exhibitionist fish extender... the rates for hire are "RIGHT"... just get her a twice daily run through Tritons and she's well compensated! Now as for bribing the Wonders' captain to sign off on this special security - that's another issue entirely....

 

[Cindi0511]

Great reminder, Ken! Thanks!

 

[DisneyPinDiva]

I guess I forgot to tell you all but apparently Disney has decided not to offer the unlimited internet for the 10 or 11 day cruises. I found this out about a week ago and forgot to post.

dan

What's up with THAT??? Not really fair that they offer it/don't offer it when it suits them!! Probably because there are too many adults and it will be crowded like crazy similar to the May Repo. BUMMER! Guess they would rather I spend my money on the internet cafe's in port........

 

[webray]

Great. My firm approved paying for the unlimited package so I can work from the ship. I sure hope it doesn't cost more than the unlimited package for me to do my work. Otherwise it's coming out of my pocket since I won't be at work again to get more authorization.

And I thought Bob was going to be the only one working on the ship.

Has anyone tried the wireless areas on the ship?

 

[101DalmFan]

HI EVERYONE! Add two more to the cruise

I'm a first-time-ever cruiser, while my girlfriend is an old hand at this (although it's her first Disney cruise). We're leavin' our hubbies behind and it's just us gals for rest and relaxation and fun!

We booked late so we're not sure our docs will arrive before we leave, but I gather that's happened to others, so we're trying not to stress about it. We are SO looking forward to this. And as I've never cruised before, I'm sooooo excited about the whole shebang. We're both big Disney fans -- me especially

(I wanna dalmatians bouncey smiley!!! )

 

[webray]

HI EVERYONE! Add two more to the cruise

I'm a first-time-ever cruiser, while my girlfriend is an old hand at this (although it's her first Disney cruise). We're leavin' our hubbies behind and it's just us gals for rest and relaxation and fun!

We booked late so we're not sure our docs will arrive before we leave, but I gather that's happened to others, so we're trying not to stress about it. We are SO looking forward to this. And as I've never cruised before, I'm sooooo excited about the whole shebang. We're both big Disney fans -- me especially

(I wanna dalmatians bouncey smiley!!! )

Welcome aboard! Don't worry about the docs, you can fill them out online, or fill them out at the port. No worries, we have done it both ways!

 

[webray]

HI EVERYONE! Add two more to the cruise

I'm a first-time-ever cruiser, while my girlfriend is an old hand at this (although it's her first Disney cruise). We're leavin' our hubbies behind and it's just us gals for rest and relaxation and fun!

We booked late so we're not sure our docs will arrive before we leave, but I gather that's happened to others, so we're trying not to stress about it. We are SO looking forward to this. And as I've never cruised before, I'm sooooo excited about the whole shebang. We're both big Disney fans -- me especially

(I wanna dalmatians bouncey smiley!!! )

OH, and don't forget to check out P1 P5 of this thread for everything going on.

 

[scrappy910]

OK..will I be the only Jags fan watching the game??

I'll be with you. My kids were asking what I wanted for my birthday and I told them I needed a new Jag shirt for the cruise.

Carol

 

[captaincrash]

HI EVERYONE! Add two more to the cruise

I'm a first-time-ever cruiser, while my girlfriend is an old hand at this (although it's her first Disney cruise). We're leavin' our hubbies behind and it's just us gals for rest and relaxation and fun!

We booked late so we're not sure our docs will arrive before we leave, but I gather that's happened to others, so we're trying not to stress about it. We are SO looking forward to this. And as I've never cruised before, I'm sooooo excited about the whole shebang. We're both big Disney fans -- me especially

(I wanna dalmatians bouncey smiley!!! )

Welcome aboard ladies!

And I assume you've already seen the previous references to page one posting #5 where all the DIS activity references are consolidated. Get on the roster and take a gander at the line up of optional diversions! We've got well in excess of 250-270 (I think) DIS people on the sailing... or so I thought I read somewhere recently. SO ... it should be great fun beyond the norm without the DIS in company!

Cheers!

 

[webray]

I'll be with you. My kids were asking what I wanted for my birthday and I told them I needed a new Jag shirt for the cruise.

Carol

Yeah...I need some help against all those steeler fans!

 

[winotracy]

And I thought Bob was going to be the only one working on the ship.

Has anyone tried the wireless areas on the ship?

I have and it worked fine, just was a pain going back to the cabin to get the computer, drag it to an access point, go online, drag it back to the cabin every time I wanted to go online. At least they have some decent packages for both wireless and regular internet. $105 for 300 minutes. I used up my first 300 last year in the first week, but Peter's on this cruise so I won't need as many minutes right?

 

[winotracy]

HI EVERYONE! Add two more to the cruise

I'm a first-time-ever cruiser, while my girlfriend is an old hand at this (although it's her first Disney cruise). We're leavin' our hubbies behind and it's just us gals for rest and relaxation and fun!

We booked late so we're not sure our docs will arrive before we leave, but I gather that's happened to others, so we're trying not to stress about it. We are SO looking forward to this. And as I've never cruised before, I'm sooooo excited about the whole shebang. We're both big Disney fans -- me especially

(I wanna dalmatians bouncey smiley!!! )

Welcome!!!!

 

[mickeymom923]

Hi everyone,

For everyone leaving for vacation, hope you have a safe and WONDERful time. Looking forward to meeting everyone on the ship.

I just realized that I didn't register on-line yet. Also, I was so busy trying to get stuff washed to repack that I haven't even thought about what excursions I wanted to do. I got so sunburnt on Castaway Cay two weeks ago and now I'm peeling, so I don't think I'm going to be staying on any beaches for too long; although I would like to see them. I'm scared of snorkeling or scuba diving but want to do something on each island. I want to have fun and this seems like a really fun group of people. Any suggestions for excursions? Can we join some of you?

Thanks,

Bev

 

[aphoenix]

Sorry Tony....I didn't realize it would be easy to update....

Why are you sorry? I didn't tell you it would be!