Posted on 11/27/2022 4:56:44 AM PST by V_TWIN
Brother if it were me I’d consider being rescued and EVERY day going forward a miracle!
“Falling off a cruise ship is damn near impossible without help or doing something stupid.”
***
Exactly right.
They say the world is really divided between two types of people: Those that can live in with a HOA and those who can’t!!! Same with cruises.
When I was attached to the Navy at Mare Is. we learned different techniques to survive in the water. I thinking he just relaxed, arched his back and controlled his breathing. Of course you need calm water to do that otherwise you’re using vital energy treading water.
There are many different levels of cruises....adults only for instance.
Also, I keep hearing this 3 to 4 thousand passengers number being thrown around.......I guess the ships are that big now but personally I’ve never been on one with more the 2k people and it wasn’t crowded at all.
Also, I would bet that the cuisine on a cruise ship would rival anything at a sandals resort.....possibly even surpass it.
“fell off”?
You are assuming that the sister who got him drunk ...... didn’t “help him”. :)
I believe Old Grandad was involved as well
You mean the sister that just took out a 2 million dollar life insurance policy on dude.....THAT sister? 😏
I remember that in boot camp! Wasn’t there also something about crossing your legs as you’re jumping off a sinking ship?
Yes old grandad can be a bad influence to be sure.
Not much help with decision making, controlling inhibitions or apparently in this case balance control.
Have you ever taken a cruise?
My cruse was on the USNS Mizar while it was the Naval Research Labs research ship. Earlier in its history the Mizar had been an icebreaker - round bottom. We headed toward the Bermuda Triangle. A few days out a cold front that had been working its way across country caught up with us. Not being familiar with winter cold front interaction conditions with the ocean one may think that less energy is available for storm activity. One would be wrong. At the height of the storm, our trusty ship lost power. They sent us to our bunks. I thought we would turn over, but it did not happen.
Yep and you don’t know what it’s like living in an HOA community until you’ve actually lived in one......same with cruises right? 😏
Yes, but the most specialized you get with cruises, the worse of a value it is compared to other alternatives, especially if you want at least 200 sq ft of space and an ocean view (the room I just had at Sandals was 600 sq ft with a balcony and beach front for a comparison, Fiesta Americana Cabo I was at my last beach trip was 1250 sq ft and 180 degree ocean view and cost my wife and I $1,600 for 7 nights, *everything* included). People that don't mind feeling like a sardine are more likely to like cruises as the overwhelming majority of rooms are 135 sq ft.
Also, I keep hearing this 3 to 4 thousand passengers number being thrown around.......I guess the ships are that big now but personally I’ve never been on one with more the 2k people and it wasn’t crowded at all.
I think your idea of what is and isn't crowded is probably not the same. A typical hotel has about 200 people in it. A typical large resort in the caribbean has 400 to 1,000. But most of the ships made in the last 10-15 years do hold 3-4k or more
Also, I would bet that the cuisine on a cruise ship would rival anything at a sandals resort.....possibly even surpass it.
Not even close. This would be true for the specialty restaurants on cruise ships for *most* AIs but not Sandals - however - the AIs you can do them every meal, whereas on most cruise ships the specialty restaurants are either not included (aka cost exztra) or you only get 1 per trip. Plus, I can eat whenever I want, drink whenever I want of whatever I want.
Admittedly, Sandals is harder and harder these days to get a good value as the "secret" has been out for along time now and they've become a lot better at pricing over the years, but there are lots and lots of traveling options that don't have Sandals name, although Sandals includes a lot of free stuff like unlimited Scuba Diving, glass bottom boats, snorkeling + tips etc that isn't typically included.
But that also just includes the Caribbean. You can travel domestically for a fraction of the price and with a bit of discipline and planning can get amazing deals to Europe. In 2019, my wife and I spent 10 nights in Paris and Barcelona and spent less than $2k on flights, food, hotel and tours combined and we did not skimp on food or tours at all, in fact quite the opposite.
No, I agree with Hat-Trick.
And by the way, one doesn’t need to have experienced something in order to conclude that it’s a bad idea.
Extreme rock-climbing, sky-diving, skunk-chasing, anal sex, pistol-duelling, tight-roping (with no net)…the list goes on.
I guess I might try some of them to save my life or someone else’s.… but not for kicks.
Well I say if you can’t live in a HOA you don’t want to cruise! And I can’t live in a HOA!
I like cruseing. You just have to take it for what it is. They try their hardest to keep you well fed and entertained. There is food everywhere 24 hours a day. There is always a deck somewhere that’s empty no matter how many people are on board. There is plenty of opportunity for exercise and swimming. And there is usually a magic show somewhere on board every evening. Blow off the gambling and the time-constricting formal meals and just have a good time on your own schedule. I recall on the first night out of a cruise to Halifax sitting in a steam room drinking ice water, looking out of a picture window watching the sun set over the North Atlantic, and listening to Pavorati sing Nessus Dorma - not bad for $800 for a 7 day cruise for two.
Could you point out some good ways of enjoying water based Vaca that would be more financially savvy? Pm if you prefer?
Side Note:
”Guests told CNN that they did not know at the time that a fellow passenger had gone overboard. Passenger Mike Anderson told the outlet that the ship’s guests were told there would be a delay in arriving in Mexico. (Break) A public address announcement later informed them that a man had gone overboard but the ship had been released from the search and was now able to resume its course for Cozumel.”
The less known, the smaller the TV face time, the less the price of the lawsuit. A number of years ago my wife and I were sailing on a major cruise line ship going north toward Alaska from Seattle and the first night of the cruise there were extremely rough seas as we were going basically into the wind. The water was blowing on deck and the captain closed off the outside decks for safety purposes.
As it was the first night of the cruise the captain slowed the ship down so the entertainment performance on the main ball stage could go on and the performers wouldn’t fall down with the movement of the ship. When the show was over, the captain strongly recommended everyone call it a night. They then ordered the ship back up to speed so they could make their first stop on time. Wife and I went to our room and got together in the sack with pillows at our backs to hold us in place. Long night.
When we rose the next morning, the ship was docking and everything was quiet weather wise. When we tried to get to our docking exit, we were stopped a deck short and the ship announced they were having some trouble with entering requirements from the ship to our first stop in Alaska. Some of us were a little confused as we went from one US port to another US port without any docking. Their announcement wasn’t the truth.
They had sealed up all normal entry to the passenger docking deck to move injured passenger out to medical assistance before those that made it through the night without being hurt could get off the ship. Among those that were exited first were people with broken bones on a few passengers and two heart attacks among others. It was very obvious the line was trying to protect itself from passenger problems by lying.
I think I see the same scenario here. And if they had not found the passenger, or found him dead, the second announcement and/or fessing up to the problem would never have been known by the passengers until they read a redacted news release on CNN later.
Wy69
Domestic (local) -> Domestic (further away) -> Cruises -> Lower and medium end travel to Caribbean and Europe -> Medium to higher end traveling to Caribbean and Europe -> World traveler
Some people stop along the way, either from budgeting issues, time availability, get nervous about not having your hand held during international travel, etc
But in your example - you almost certainly had to be in the entry level room with no view, drank zero/no alcohol, didn't do any off-boat tours, didn't use the internet, didn't tip much, etc, plus not including airfare + hotel on front/back end of trip by port to get to $800 (or you risk missing your cruise if flight is cancelled) - or you aren't including those in your $800 - all that needs to be added up and compared to other alternatives. Cruise ships love breaking it down this way because it gives the illusion of being cheaper than it really is
The last time I priced our a cruise - the cheapest I could find for my wife and I with 200+ sq ft, a view of the ocean, alcohol included with some internet and tips, not including air, hotel b/a, or tours off the cruise, was about $3.5k for the cheapest 7 night cruise I could find. For folks willing to stay in a 120-145 sq ft room for 7 nights and don't drink much alcohol, more power to you. I haven't been able to deal with that since I turned 30.
Lastly, yes anywhere you go you can find some privacy, but the popular areas are popular for a reason and are nearly always very busy on a cruise. Not true on most resorts.
In general though, to get some good deals on travel
1)booking very early or very late is going to be the cheapest (very late obviously could go either way so you may not even go on one - this is easier for retirees)
2) booking modestly off-peak season is great for cost and fewer tourists. If you are good going completely off-season even better.
3) flexibility on location helps a lot (eg: saying I don't care WHICH Caribbean island I go to or willing to go to any of these 12 islands will be a lot cheaper than saying I have to go to this one specific island; same for Europe - we always make a list of 10-12 cities we want to visit and then look at flights and hotel/airbnb costs for those and see if one stands out as a lot cheaper)
4) Keep a stash of hotel and airline points/miles - Look at prices in $ and in the point currency (can get a rough idea of the value at thepointguy.com or other sites). Sometimes paying cash is cheaper, sometimes redeeming miles/points is a steal.
5) Get a good credit card that gives a lot back in points/miles/$ for things you spend the most on besides mortgage/rent.
6) Look up "credit card hacking" - I don't do a lot of this anymore since my income has skyrocketed the last 7-8 years, but its a great way to get airfare in particular for very cheap.
7) More advanced but some of the re-sale timeshare with good point systems like Hilton Grand Vacations can have some spectacular deals. If you aren't a "super traveler" and fairly savvy both financially and travel I wouldn't recommend this
8) Compare options on airbnb/VRBO with hotels
9) Lastly, if you travel a decent amount it does pay to stick with one operator for airline and hotel as much as possible, as status provides a lot of freebies, more points/miles and upgrades. If you only travel once a year, this is not important, though.
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