Sister ship Allure has been in service for about nine months now, which means all the kinks should be worked out, especially with the experience Royal Caribbean has in operating Oasis. I expected this cruise to run like a Swiss watch.

Just like my Oasis of the Seas cruise, the pier operation was crisp and efficient; we were processed in less than ten minutes. How can they do it so quickly? Enough space and staff for dozens of check-in desks and several employees stationed all along the way to keep guests moving. Plus the terminal is huge which means no crowding or traffic jams. Sometimes the answer to a problem really is to just throw more people at it, provided you have a good methodology. It was apparent to me that everyone was extremely well-trained and able react quickly. They were also unfailingly courteous and upbeat.

So what does Allure of the Seas offer? Is it a ship that really is a destination of its own? Can someone become bored on a ship with so many things to do, places to eat, and shows to attend?

The Entertainment

Much has been said about Royal Caribbean raising the bar on the shows they offer aboard Allure and Oasis. We attended four big shows and were quite pleased by them.

DreamWorks was on full display with costumed characters like Shrek roaming the ship, special breakfasts for the kids, 3-D movies, and shows at the AquaTheater. I noted that none of it was intrusive and unless you were really looking for it, you might not even notice the DreamWorks activities. The 3-D movies were not heavily promoted and many didn’t even realize they were being shown. I did hear the 3-D glasses were popular souvenirs, evidenced by notices in the Cruise Compass for movie goers to please drop glasses in designated containers when exiting the theater.

“Chicago, the Musical” is one of the featured showtime productions. I am not a fan of the show but the talent and production were excellent. I had the opportunity to meet the entertainers and was not surprised to learn some had been in the Broadway and touring troupes of the show. They had to audition for both Royal Caribbean and the producers of Chicago in order to maintain the Broadway production standards on the ship and then they all had to sign 11 month contracts. Something that many passengers were not expecting is the length of the show. At 90 minutes it is much longer than a typical cruise ship revue (about 50 minutes) and I noticed people leaving after an hour as well as lots of fidgeting in nearby seats.

OceanAria is the main show in the AquaTheater and we enjoyed it. There isn’t much of a theme except for the comedy relief character who starts the show and periodically reappears. It is primarily a display of amazing acrobatic strength in and around the main pool, plus diving. The underwater platforms in the AquaTheaters have known problems which can leave shows shortened or cancelled all together. Happily, we had no such issues and saw the full program. The high dives were just as breathtaking as those I saw on Oasis in 2009. As you might expect, many of these performers have Olympic-level backgrounds in gymnastics and diving. One acrobat told us he had done extensive training at a circus acrobatic school.

The ice show we saw was called “Ice Games.” They also presented How to Train Your Dragon, another part of the DreamWorks affiliation. Ice Games draws on famous video and board games for the theme. As with the water show, the physical and artistic talent of the skaters is more important than a story line. You’d think that after 12 years – the first ice shows were done on Voyager of the Seas in 1999 – that Royal Caribbean ice shows would have lost their luster and become less popular with repeat cruisers, but our show was packed and it wasn’t all first time cruisers – even at 5pm on a beautiful sea day! It was quite thrilling and well done. I never get tired of seeing skaters doing jumps and spins on those smaller than Olympic-sized ice rinks. They are remarkable; and as with every ice show I’ve attended, several standing ovations were delivered.

Saving the best for last, if you sail Allure of the Seas do not miss Blue Planet. It was absolutely wonderful, with acrobatics, dancing, beautiful singing and great production values. As the title implies, this show has a new-age theme and includes popular songs that flow along seamlessly. The audience was enthralled. We recognized many of the same performers from Chicago and OceanAria. During my Q &A with the performers I learned that Blue Planet combines members of the other shows although one performer jokingly claimed he was not aware that was in his contract until he was already at sea on his first cruise. They put this show together with just 9 days of rehearsal and many of the performers said they liked it as much as the main shows they were hired to perform.

Culinary Delights

We ate dinner in the main dining room four times and had excellent service. While I enjoyed the beef and seafood entrees, the desserts were not as especially flavorful as they looked. I ordered a calzone entree and it was utterly tasteless and told my wife a frozen pizza would be a big improvement. Still, the service was good and the staff was very gracious.

I was quite excited about our dinner at Samba Grill, the Brazilian Churrascaria that replaces the Solarium Bistro on Oasis. I love churrascaria and I expected it to be packed each night. But we always got a table, and we were even called one morning with an offer to dine there that evening for half price (regularly $25 dinner, $15 lunch). Like the traditional Brazilian method, salads and appetizers are buffet style while bowls of vegetables such as corn-on-the-cob and fried plantain are delivered to the table. The main attraction is the variety of spit skewered meats like lamb, chicken, beef and pork delivered to your table almost non-stop if you fail to click your table light from green to red. Trust me, they do not skimp and all the meat is delicious. This is definitely not a meal for light eaters or vegans. Just know that the venue itself is something like glassed-in greenhouse and I suggest you wear light clothing.

Lunch at Giovanni’s Table was excellent and may be my favorite eatery on the ship. I loved the antipasti platter and the fried seafood appetizer. Toss in a steak with gorgonzola butter, a plate of pasta and then a dreamy tiramisu and espresso, and you have a memorable meal. This is another big win for Royal Caribbean and I see they are now putting Giovanni’s Table on some of their older ships as well.

The Boardwalk Dog Haus is another popular venue that it is also part of the Royal Enhancement upgrades for older ships. There never were more than a few people in line and quite often you could walk right up and order. It was a good fast lunch or snack, and the special baguettes they use for most of the sausages are delicious.

The nearby carousel was popular early in the cruise but it seemed to be less so towards the end. Rita’s Cantina struck me as noisy and cramped, and although our waitress said it serves ‘authentic’ Mexican food the menu is typical Tex-Mex. Our cover charge included three courses but they have four courses on the menu. So you either skip one course or pay extra for it. Our booth was roomier than the narrow tables in the center but not by much. Still, it is a fun place to choose from several different margaritas to accompany a plate of nachos.

Probably the most popular place for no extra charge dining was the Park Cafe. This is the deli patterned on “Tavern on the Green” and it was always packed for its excellent sandwiches.

Thoughts on the Ship and Cruise

As the largest cruise ship in the world the Allure can be intimidating at first. People can get confused or even lost. But by day four the ship seemed smaller and most people no longer needed the touch-enabled navigation screens located by the elevators – which are excellent tools by the way. You can access the Cruise Compass, check on restaurant table availability and read menus; all in several languages. Our cruise had many non-English speaking passengers, which speaks well for Oasis and Allure’s ability to attract people from all over the world.

We had the full spectrum of ages aboard our sailing – from babes in arms to senior citizens like 85-year old Manny whose family was aboard for his birthday cruise. All were obviously having the times of their lives. It would be easy to say the primary reason was all the activities, shows, sports attractions like the zip line and flowriders or the myriad bars and lounges, but in my mind it still comes down to the crew. They can make or break a cruise.

Allure has an exceptional crew, and the key is that they all seem to enjoy and have fun with their jobs. There was Captain Johnnie tooling around on his motorcycle posing for pictures on the Boardwalk and cruise director Ken Rush shaving his head for charity, but all of the 2000+ crewmembers I saw were always smiling, helpful, quick to laugh and simply put – just fun people to be around.

So what about that Swiss watch expectation I had at the beginning of the cruise? In the end I can say my expectations were not only met but exceeded on this wonderful cruise. Allure really is a well-oiled machine where everything runs as well as I could ever expect. When we wanted to relax we could find a place for it. When we wanted excitement it was there. Every night was filled with great music and marvelous shows. Food was plentiful, varied, and tasty. We had the quintessential family cruise and a memorable vacation. What more can a cruise ship offer?

Related posts:

1. Royal Caribbean International and DreamWorks Strategic Alliance
2. Oasis of the Seas? Kuki is ALL WET!
3. Is Oasis of the Seas Going To Ruin the Cruise Industry?

What I wrote then still holds true and now in a more significant way.   And, to be clear, Carnival has checked the emergency fire systems on ALL of their ships within the past few days and everything works within the design specifications.  Please do not fear cruising with Carnival.

The source for the new information is the United States Coast Guard, which issued two safety alerts last week that generically discuss “critical concerns uncovered during an ongoing marine casualty investigation.”  Although the Carnival Splendor is not named in either report, a reading of them shows they are obviously referring to the Carnival Splendor because of the subject matter and the timeline.  Other published reports also say the safety alerts are about the Splendor.

The reports are troubling to me.  When an official report uses words such as “critical concerns” it ought to make you sit up and pay attention.  They don’t toss those words around lightly.

The Coast Guard safety alerts reveal many problems existed on the Carnival Splendor, ranging from incorrect system operation manuals to the operational failure of a major fire suppression system – namely the CO2 deluge system which Captain Cupisti ordered to be activated on that fateful morning.  This would have flooded the affected spaces with CO2 and smothered the fire.  We now know that the CO2 system didn’t work.  Efforts to manually initiate it were not successful.

Here are the facts as delineated in the Coast Guard reports:

- The CO2 system test procedure used by ship builder Fincantieri has many differences with the ship’s Firefighting Instruction Manual (FIM).

- The shipyard test procedure says to select the desired CO2 discharge line prior to activating the system, yet the FIM has no such prerequisite.   The FIM references a system control panel of one design but the actual control panel has an almost totally different layout.

- The FIM states that the CO2 Release station is on the starboard side but it is actually located on the port side.

- The FIM says to “pull” the valve control switches but you actually have to “turn” the switches to operate the valves remotely.

- It would be laughable if it weren’t so serious but the FIM had butchered English with “once the fire has been extinguished make sure that the temperature has decreased before investigate the area same time is needed to wait hours.”  That is an exact quote from the Coast Guard report.  What that is supposed to mean escapes me.

- There were some examples of incorrect signage on the CO2 stations aboard the ship and missing schematic diagrams (sometimes called mimic boards) which were referenced in the FIM as being posted at the stations but in fact were not.

- The engineering diagrams used by the shipyard differed with the physical installation of the CO2 system on the vessel.  In other words the blueprint shows things are supposed to be one way, yet they were installed in a different way.  This is quite significant since it could indicate that 1) system installation was not performed in accordance with the approved design, and 2) once installed, systems were not verified as being in compliance with the design specifications.

- Valve actuators are devices which are used to either automatically or manually operate valves.  The actuators on the CO2 system failed to work and were held in place by small machine screws.  A machine screw is appropriate for attaching the arm rest to your car doors.  They are completely unsatisfactory for use on control valves for an emergency system.  The actuator arm for the valve they needed to open literally fell off when the system was activated remotely and efforts to manually open it were not successful.

- CO2 system valves leaked excessively and many fittings continued to leak even after being tightened.

- System design allowed for low points where moisture accumulated and caused corrosion, which may have affected system operability.

And now the very disturbing bottom line – the CO2 system aboard the Carnival Splendor had been recently serviced and inspected by an approved vendor.

As I said in my initial blog about this event, there are many similarities to things I experienced in my career at a commercial nuclear power plant.  Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant was ordered to shut down in 1985 by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for many reasons, chief of which was the plant systems actually didn’t match the approved design diagrams.

I suspect the reason Carnival recently canceled additional cruises for the Splendor has to do with some fairly significant design changes they are having to do on the ship.  In other words they are having to make the ship look like the engineers said it was supposed to look.  They are also likely having to do a complete review of all the operating procedures for the ship and ensure they match the actual layout of the ship.  In nuclear power we call it procedural compliance.  You follow the procedure as written, and if you can’t then you don’t wing it or use tribal knowledge to make something work.  You stop and get things fixed so everything matches.

The Coast Guard has sent a signal about the tone Carnival can expect in the final incident report.  I predict it will be ugly.   But in the end we should all take heart in the absolute fact that the ultimate firewall – the crew of Carnival Splendor – saved the day.

Related posts:

1. Fire At Sea – Every Sailors Worst Nightmare
2. Does this Carnival Fire Mean Future Bargains?
3. Carnival Splendor Lawsuits?

Let me begin with my opinion: I think the TSA has exceeded the bounds of reasonability,  continuing to march down a one dimensional corridor with their security doctrine.  But I also do not condone efforts to disrupt the TSA screeners,  such as the National Opt-Out Day or other individual forms on malicious compliance – most of which are sophomoric.   That only makes it worse for everyone.  I don’t like the new rules but I will comply with them.  That is where I stand.  Now let’s move on to what I think.

I do not attend the daily threat assessment briefing at the White House, but  I have held security clearances based on my need to know, and undergone countless background investigations during my military career and subsequent career in commercial nuclear power.  So far I’ve been deemed trustworthy and they haven’t put me away.  I am also regarded by my peers as a decent analytical thinker.

When I peruse the protocols and policy changes implemented by TSA it is apparent to me that they are fixated on responding to yesterday’s threat in a predictable fashion, at least when it comes to processing people at airports.   To the public, TSA is reactive and not pro-active.   But that is only part of the problem.

Despite their bureaucratic approach to screening travelers – treating everyone like a suspect instead of digging deeper to identify those more likely to need secondary screening – TSA is also a public relations disaster area.  Press announcements don’t seem to be vetted before release, requiring backtracking and Jackie Gleason excuseplanations, “Hamina hamina hamina…”  and the resultant loss of confidence in the reliability of the information.  One TSA person says one thing while another says something different.  I was reading the TSA blog and they had some “myth vs. truth” malarkey posted.  The blogger claims pat-downs are not intrusive while at the same time his boss, TSA director John Pistole,  is telling Congress and the TV news outlets that they are intrusive.

I know TSA has a thankless job and was given a hopeless charter by Congress: that being to eliminate all risk.  However TSA doesn’t help their public image when they allow unprofessional conduct by some of their 67,000 employees (yes, that is correct – 67,000).  While the vast majority of TSA screeners I’ve encountered have treated me with respect there have been a few who ought to be glad I am not their supervisor.  As we’ve always heard, it only takes one rotten apple to spoil the barrel.  The (albeit rare) thefts of personal property, playing mind games with travelers, planting faux-narcotics in carry-on luggage, well, we’ve all read the many regrettable reports.

We’ve all also heard ‘the barker’ at the entrance to the screening area who constantly yells out instructions.  Some are better at it than others.  I suggest TSA look at it as an interpersonal skill and get those who come across like East German border guards moved to another assignment.  This sets the stage for compliance and a better attitude among the passengers.  Feeling like I am crossing through Checkpoint Charlie isn’t going to make me want to help TSA do their job.

Another area in which TSA seems adrift in the sea of incompetence has to do with ‘change management’.  How often have you heard reports about TSA suddenly changing something, and yet a month later X airport was doing it the new way, Y airport was still doing it the old way, and Z airport was sort of doing it the new way but with their own interpretation of it?  It happens with disappointing regularity and is indicative of an organization with a pervasive communications failure from the top to the bottom.  If they are relying on an official blog to sooth the angry masses with their blogger’s explanation of the rules, they are being stunningly foolish.  They’d be better off hiring some people from McDonald’s corporate office and getting some insights on consistency.

With regard to those x-ray backscatter AIT machines; as someone who has worked in applied radiation protection for over 30 years I do know something about this topic.  Yes the dose rates are low.  However I can also tell you that any radiation exposure, no matter how low, does carry some risk.  There is a probability – however minuscule – that the general public could see increased health problems as a result of using these backscatter devices.  I am not afraid to use one, but I would prefer the millimeter wave imaging devices that are also in use.  Frankly TSA could eliminate a lot of their grief if the ditched the x-ray machines and went 100% with the millimeter wave units.

I believe the enhanced pat-downs violate the 4th Amendment protections of the U.S. Constitution.  No doubt I’ll hear from some who will trot out the ‘if it makes me feel safer’ argument as a reason for allowing a stranger to give me the Full Monty with their rubber-gloved hands.  All I can say is we all agree on the need for security.  It’s the line at which it becomes too much that we are really arguing about. The truth is you are never, ever going to be 100% safe.

According to TSA Director Pistole, “TSA is really the last line of defense for the US government in trying to keep the traveling public safe.” So when the terrorist with the bomb in his rectum gets through, and the true last line of defense – the passengers – subdues him or her as they’ve done in every instance since the creation of the TSA, will those who support the current policy then be okay with body cavity searches?  Given their past decisions that is where TSA would want to go. When do you say enough?  You can say my tolerance for the risk is too low.  But I think some people are too willing to accept any level of intrusiveness if it makes them feel safer.  And by the way, ‘feeling safe’ isn’t the same as ‘being safe’.

Meanwhile, reports indicate the terrorists are looking more at bombs inside cargo than they are bombs inside people.  And yet with 67,000 federal employees in the TSA, our Homeland Security Secretary says she doesn’t have the resources to increase cargo screening.

In the end, I will comply if I want to fly.  Although they apparently kept it a little known tidbit, after the “don’t touch my junk” spectacle we learned that TSA can fine a person $11,000 if they enter the checkpoint and don’t go through the whole experience – even if they decide not to fly.   There’s that brilliant public relations apparatus again.  ‘Oh, you mean you didn’t know about the fines?’

Given the choices I’ll use one of the new machines and hope they then don’t want to still check me for a hernia when I’m done.  The pat-down will always be my last choice.  But I’ll also tell you my cruise port driving radius just got a lot larger.

That is my opinion on the subject.  What do you think?

Related posts:

1. TSA – A Love Story
2. Are Cruise Line Bar Prices Too High?
3. Holland America Cruise Line Returns to Bermuda After 27 Years

We’ve all been following the saga of the Carnival Splendor fire and subsequent journey home at 4 miles per hour.  Thankfully nobody was injured and the worst things were toilet problems, boredom, and cold food.  I thought this would be a good time to take a look at fires at sea, and provide some insight on what I think is #1 on every Captain’s list of bad things that can likely happen.   I rate a fire higher than sinking because of probability.

There have been many fires aboard passenger vessels over the years.  Many have never heard of the SS Yarmouth Castle and it’s horrific fire and sinking in 1965.  90 people died and there was gross incompetence and charges of cowardice among the crew (along with some displays of courage).  No drills were done.  None of the fire fighting systems worked properly.  The ship was built with a lot of wood.  Lately, I think of the Star Princess fire in 2006 where substantial damage was done and port side balconies essentially melted down.  One passenger died from smoke inhalation.  These and other events provided impetus for changes in safety protocols, as well as drastic improvements to SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) requirements.

I’ve personally been involved in fires at sea.  I’ll use one example.  This was during my Navy life when I was assigned to the nuclear powered cruiser USS Texas (CGN-39).

I was a “nuke”, meaning I was one of the people who operated the two nuclear propulsion plants on the ship.  While transiting the north Atlantic, alone and around 0200 hours (2am), a fire developed in a 400 Hz motor-generator room near my berthing area.  We had heard the fire announced and frankly we figured it was a probably a false alarm and we went back to our bunks.  A few minutes later a Chief Petty Officer entered and told us to evacuate to the mess deck.  He told us the fire was not under control and the Captain was considering bringing the ship to general quarters.  In other words, battle stations.  We all looked at each other with a “this is not good” expression on our faces.

When a naval vessel goes to general quarters a process called “setting material condition Zebra” is performed.  This puts the ship in a maximum state of compartmentalization.  Its purpose is to break the ship up into little zones such that flooding or fire can be contained to smaller areas.   In our case we didn’t get that far since the fire party was able to extinguish the blaze.  There was still a great deal of smoke and burned electrical odor, which filled the interior of the ship.  But we were safe and the ship was still combat ready.

Much like military vessels, cruise ships have their equivalent of material condition Zebra.  These are fire zones.  We’ve all probably seen the fire doors, which are normally retracted into the walls as we walk down passageways on cruise ships.  You may have seen them closed, such as during a crew drill or even on embarkation day when the crew needs to keep passengers out of selected areas.  These doors are used to establish containment and minimize the impact of a fire or flood.

I’ve been reading the compelling blog posts of John Heald, who is the Cruise Director aboard Carnival Splendor and also the senior Cruise Director for Carnival Cruise Line.  John was given free rein by CEO Gerry Cahill to tell the story with warts and all.  Thus far, my opinion is that the crew performed admirably during and after the emergency.  The Captain and his officers displayed a high level of professionalism and calm in the face of an unfolding drama that could have quickly become a catastrophe. John Heald, Carnival’s top cruise director, was cited by many passengers as a thoroughly professional, calming voice that guided them through the fear and turned the situation into an experience many people ultimately described as “an adventure” and not the “cruise from hell,” the favorite media phrase.

But what about the fire parties who were face-to-face with the smoke and fire?

Again I’ll use my Navy experiences for perspective.  All sailors must complete training and qualification to be a shipboard fire fighter.  No matter your rank or job description, everyone has to be able to work on a fire team.  The Navy training is quite thorough, including giving sailors a real taste of fire – inside a burning ship mock-up.  Two hose teams are assembled, you are wearing a breathing device, and then they set the ship on fire with oil burners.  They let the hatches get red hot, and then they tell you to put the fire out.  Nothing has ever given me more anxiety than that first time I crouched and walked into that blaze – I couldn’t see anything but flames and smoke.  Otherwise it was dark and hot, and I was scared.  But we put out an oil fire with water.  Most people don’t think it can be done, but the goal is to get the oil temperature below its flash point.  Cruise ship firefighters receive similar training and go through refresher courses and routine drills to maintain these skills.

Given the above, I can appreciate what the crew aboard Carnival Splendor faced.  They were in an engine room and totally blinded by smoke.  They didn’t know where the fire was or it’s extent.  Electrical power was off and the ship was adrift.  These are moments where seconds seem like minutes.  This is when a crew’s training faces its toughest test.  When teamwork is key.  The ship has drills and the Coast Guard conducts inspections and their own drills, but they never come close to the real thing.

Aboard the Carnival Splendor, Captain Cupisti had no other choice than to evacuate the affected area and activate the CO2 deluge system.  He had to stop the event from getting any worse and went for the ultimate weapon at his disposal.  This completely fills the space with CO2 and starves any fire since the oxygen is displaced.  It also would kill anyone still in the area who wasn’t wearing a self-contained breathing apparatus.   Oftentimes, in the confusion of the moment, someone can get separated from the group.  Obviously this was a key consideration for the Captain since he required that everyone be accounted for twice before giving the order for the CO2 system to be be activated.  It had to be a great relief to Captain Cupisti when the team re-entered the affected space and reported no casualties.

The facts of the Carnival Splendor fire will trickle out over the next several weeks and months.  I’ll be anxiously awaiting them.  My background is in nuclear power and electrical generation.  It is apparent that this fire got into the electrical distribution system enough to make it impossible for the engineering crew to cross-connect systems and route power from other diesel generators to the ships electrical grid and propulsion azipods.  Ships have redundant systems that are supposed to prevent this type of thing from happening.

Electrical cables are routed on what we call cable trays.  If the insulation and bulkhead fire seals are insufficient, a small fire can race down a cable tray and disable numerous systems.   I spent my entire civilian career at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant.  You can read about the infamous Unit 1 fire we had in 1975 here.  It was started by a worker using a candle to check for air leaks.  It almost caused a major nuclear accident.  I’m not saying this is what happened aboard Carnival Splendor.  I use the example to show how a small fire can do incredible damage.

The how’s and why’s of this incident will make for some interesting reading.  I fully expect that ship builder Fincantieri will be asked some very probing questions.  The other ships of this design (Costa’s Concordia class) will also need to be evaluated to see if there is some commonality to whatever flaws are uncovered.

In the meantime, remember that the crewmember you see painting a fitting or scrubbing the sides of the ship has a collateral duty.  He or she could very well be on the ship’s firefighting team.  It is a job that requires much training, a lot of their time,  and a high level of teamwork and professionalism.

Given what I’ve heard and read so far, I’d sail with the crew of Carnival Splendor anytime, anywhere.

Related posts:

1. Carnival Splendor Fire: Troubling Revelations
2. Does this Carnival Fire Mean Future Bargains?
3. Carnival Splendor Returns to Service

I forgot to list the Howl At The Moon dueling piano show,  the Martini bar pianist, evening atrium band and movies, and also jumbled the “Legends In Concert” name.  I also overlooked some show times.  I have corrected the original article to show the proper information.   I appreciate NCL contacting me to clarify things.  I strive for accuracy, fairness, and honesty at all times.  I will also let my readers know when I have erred, and I can assure you those errors will never be deliberate.

Despite the omissions I have to stick to the premise in the original Epic article – that the Norwegian Epic cannot really be called a “freestyle” ship, at least as when compared to the other ships in the NCL fleet.  Even if a passenger attends every featured show presented during the weeklong cruise, they will not have done so on the fly.  They will have done it by adhering to their schedule of reservations.

Readers of last week’s article have responded by saying there indeed are lines for shows, confusion when the doors open, and pre-booked reservations are somehow still vanishing from the records.  It’s important to note that I am merely reporting what readers are telling me about their experiences aboard Epic.  I wish these problems weren’t happening but it seems they are.  Too many people are reporting the same problems.  One or two instances can be classified as isolated events.  When it’s more than that you have an adverse trend.

NCL told me “Our concierge will assist suite guests with their entertainment reservations, but we would never bump any guest that is already booked.”  Over the weekend I received reports that the concierge escorts suite guests into the venues via crew entrances before the main door is open for the other passengers.  So it would seem suite guests get their choice of  seats but they do need a reservation, and the concierge isn’t always able to find open seats.

The irony of the matter is the Epic entertainment is perhaps the best ever presented at sea.  It isn’t a bunch of cookie-cutter cruise ship musical revues and itinerant rock bands we are talking about here.  NCL spent a lot of time and money developing the entertainment for the Epic.  It even has it’s own Entertainment Director apart from but on par with the Cruise Director.  Hence the passengers are snapping up all available reservations and vying for the best seats.  Nobody wants to miss anything, but not everyone can see everything.

By and large, if passengers heed our advice by verifying their reservations once aboard, showing up early at the door, and not assuming they can get standby seating, they will likely not have a problem.  The shows are worth it but the passengers have to accept that they are not cruising in a “freestyle” way.

Related posts:

1. Norwegian Epic – The Most “Un-Freestyle” Ship?
2. Norwegian Epic Already Making Changes
3. Cruise News & Rumor Update

All of the media activities were pre-reserved and the passenger load was less than half of the ship’s full capacity. In fact, with a few exceptions like CruiseMates’ Paul Motter who made sure he was onboard for the first full 7-day cruise, the rest of the U.S. media reporters really had very little ability to assess the reservations system or how the ship handles with a ship full of passengers.

After a year of bragging about the vast number of entertainment and dining options, an innovative cabin design and referring to Epic as “F3” the pinnacle of “Freestyle cruising,” it was surprising that so few details about the ship came out during the first few weeks she was in service.

Now that we are eight weeks into regular service it appears there is an Epic problem that NCL does not really want to discuss. The question is whether Epic is capable of handling full passenger loads without significant crowd control issues in the dining and entertainment venues.

We have received letters and have been reading the early passenger reviews. While not everyone is negative about the ship, a significant number of people are encountering onboard problems. As of this writing the ship has completed nine 7-night cruises and while that isn’t many, it isn’t unreasonable to expect that some issues reported early on would be ironed out by now.

NCL touted Norwegian Epic as a high-energy entertainment destination for months before she debuted and we agree the array of shows offered on the ship is impressive.  However, having what is perhaps the best entertainment at sea loses its allure when passengers can’t get seats for the shows.  As I see it, the two biggest problems are the reservations system for the onboard entertainment and an inability to seat all passengers in the various venues during the weeklong cruises.

Among the complaints we are receiving are claims that guests’ who made show reservations online before their cruise are finding their reservations have been changed without their knowledge once they get aboard the ship. As a result, people are finding that the list of reservations they brought onboard is no longer accurate, and that the cabin iTV reservations system continues to have problems, as first revealed by CruiseMates Editor Paul Motter on the transatlantic voyage of the Epic in June.

Given the small size of the venues aboard, if a guest does not have a working reservation and misses a show there is very little chance of getting another reservation. Most shows are fully reserved up to the 80% pre-show limit within the first hour of boarding passengers on the ship.

Basically, Epic was touted as the pinnacle of Freestyle ships, where a person was “free to do… whatever” at anytime during the cruise. In fact, what Epic guests are finding is that while there are many excellent shows offered onboard, if one doesn’t have a reservation for most of the shows the chance of seeing one is severely limited to people who are willing to wait in line for as long as an hour or more.

Here are the best-case scenarios: Norwegian Epic has a full passenger capacity of 5183 passengers. The popular Blue Man Group is presented eight times per cruise in the main theater that holds 681 guests. With 5448 seats this is the only show that everyone onboard is guaranteed a chance to see.

Another popular show, Legends in Concert, runs twice per night on three nights in the main theater, the biggest venue onboard, which means a total seating capacity of 4086 people.  The Legends Unplugged show is done  3 times per cruise in the 600 seat Manhattan Room.

The Spiegel Tent shows the highly touted Cirque Dreams and Dinner show 12 times per cruise, but the theater only seats 237 guests. This means there are only 2844 seats. This same room shows what many people have said is the best show on the ship, – a comic magician. This show is presented twice per cruise in the Spiegel Tent and another two times in the Epic Theater.  Thus 1836 passengers can see the magician.

Another venue that requires reservations is the Headliner’s Lounge, home to Second City. This comic troupe performs here 12 times per cruise with a few different show titles (every show is improvisational, so unique by definition), but each performance can only hold 280 guests. These shows were bulging at the doors even when the ship was only filled to just over ½ of its capacity.  Second City is also featured in the Murder Mystery Lunch, but this is not free and has a $15 cover charge.

One reviewer told us that she had booked seven shows and dinners on-line prior to her cruise aboard the Norwegian Epic.  Taking our advice she brought along a printout of her reservations.  At her first reserved dinner she was told the restaurant had no reservation for her, but since they found her a table she didn’t foresee a problem.  Later, when they were denied entry to a pre-reserved show, she says she went to guest relations and was told that of the seven reservations they had made at home, six of them were now different.  According to this passenger, Guest Relations told her that her reservations were likely changed to accommodate suite guests.  In a follow up email I was told by an NCL spokesperson that NCL would never bump anyone with an existing reservation.  “Our concierge will assist suite guests with their entertainment reservations, but we would never bump any guest that is already booked,” according to the spokesperson.  In any case, regardless of the reason for this reservation mix-up, there were more problems coming.

When our complainant’s party arrived on the ship their cabin carpets were all soaked due to faulty plumbing. They were moved to a new stateroom.  As an apology for having to change cabins the front desk arranged reservations for the SpongeBob SquarePants breakfast with their kids. However, even the reservations for this goodwill gesture went awry.

Although the guest relations desk had reserved this show for our reviewer’s family they were denied entry on both the first and second mornings they arrived to see it. The TV reservation system in their cabin did not work properly for the first two days of the cruise (a problem commonly reported about Epic) so they were going on faith that the reservation had been made.

Both mornings as they were denied entrance to the show by the box office staff they returned to inform guest relations and new reservations were made.

But here is where it gets even worse – our complainant told me that a box office attendant actually seemed to enjoy taunting her to “get out of my line” each of those two mornings. When they were denied entry for the third frustrating time she went back to guest relations and asked the person who had arranged the reservation to go to her cabin TV where the reservation did appear. They proceeded to the box office together where a heated exchange occurred between the box office attendant and the guest relations employee.  Finally, a waitress from the show who had seen all these events unfolding day after day intervened; she came out of the Spiegel Tent and personally escorted these guests to a table.

What really happened in this case is still a mystery to us, but the bottom line is that Norwegian Epic is severely limited in its ability to accommodate guests in its showrooms. Add in the failure of the system to maintain non-conflicting reservation schedules between the pre-cruise web site, the front desk, the in cabin television system and the box office and you have a potential nightmare for many people hoping to see all of Epic’s great entertainment.

In fact, we have seen a number of readers who have been on Epic recommend that everyone, even people with reservations, get in line at least an hour early. If you have a reservation it only guarantees entrance, not a specific seat, so people who want to sit close are lining up as much as 90 minutes early – even with reservations. The people on “standby” have to line up just as early just to get a seat in the back. Remember that only 20% of the seats are left unreserved for people who want to “Freestyle” their entertainment options.

I’ve also read comments from forum members about passengers pushing and shoving to gain an advantage for seats once the doors open. This is not only unseemly; it is dangerous on a ship with non-attached seating. If one of the tall, top-heavy stools in Headliners toppled over someone could easily become seriously hurt.

By the end of the cruise our reviewer was only able to see Blue Man Group on the last night of the cruise by waiting in the standby line (remember our math) and Second City, which was the one reservation that had not been changed. They were not able to see any other shows.

As she told me “What good are all these entertainment options if some passengers can’t see them? If you forget or lose your reservation time or even if you are just late you will miss the show. There are too few vacant seats, too many people onboard and the venues are too small.”

Another reviewer told us “If you don’t jump on a reservation early, you may miss a major performance. I did not see the Cirque Dreams & Dinner performance since it was already sold out by the time I boarded.”

The size of the show rooms is a boilerplate issue that can’t be easily fixed.  So the balancing act between available seats and the number of passengers has very little leeway. Long lines for both reserved guests and standbys create crowding outside of showrooms, long periods of uncomfortable standing and inevitably a fair amount of jostling and jockeying for good seats once the doors are open. It also leads to very frustrated employees who are just trying to keep everyone happy.

This all leads to the question, just how “freestyle” is the Norwegian Epic?  The promise was freedom from scheduling, that guests are “free to … ‘whatever’”.

When you have to create your own reservations schedule far before you even see the ship, keep track of daily reservations, maintain awareness of last minute changes made to show times by the ship, and then ensure that you are not late but in fact early enough to get a good seat, can it really be called “freestyle”?

And what happens when you miss a show? The optional nightly entertainment is Fat Cats blue’s bar, a pianist in the Martini bar, themed parties in Spice H2O, and the Bliss Ultra Lounge.  On four nights Howl at the Moon is presented from 9 pm to midnight (no reservations necessary) in the Headliners Lounge.  There are also movies and a band in the atrium.  This sounds like a lot but then most of it is in a bar atmosphere which doesn’t appeal to all passengers, especially those with children.

Have you ever heard of a cruise ship where you need a reservation every night just to see a show? Regular cruise ships offer a different show every night for everyone. When was the last time you heard anyone say they couldn’t see a show on any ship due to the theater being filled to capacity every night?

But on Norwegian Epic shows are repeated night after night just so people have a chance to see them one time. If you don’t happen to get into a show on any given night your options are fairly limited. You won’t see any real stage entertainment without a reservation unless you get in a standby line very early and get lucky – with the exception of the “Legends Unplugged” show held in the Manhattan Supper Club.

Epic does indeed offer Epic entertainment, but it also seems an Epic passenger is more of a schedule slave than even on other NCL ships or any non-“Freestyle” ship.

You know, those commercials where they make fun of people nervously eyeing their watches, waiting in lines and marching in lock step?  Welcome aboard Norwegian Epic.

Related posts:

1. Norwegian Epic “Un-Freestyle” Update
2. Norwegian Epic Already Making Changes
3. Why Will It Be A CruiseMates Group Cruise of Epic Proportions?

All of the cruise line websites have quirks and annoyances, but I get more complaints about the Royal Caribbean website than any other.  Most are little things where the user can’t find something and they have to jump through hoops to locate the information.  A lot of this has to with the seemingly endless penchant to tweak the websites, change how things are accessed, or where things are located.  To be fair, this need to tweak is not the exclusive territory of Royal Caribbean.  They all do it and quite often it doesn’t seem to improve things from a user-friendly point of view.  Carnival recently changed their website for the worse and the Norwegian Cruise Line website is a disaster area.  But regardless, when it comes to gripes Royal Caribbean leads the list.

A major source of angst over the past few years has been the Crown & Anchor portion of the RCI website.  For the longest time, cruise credits either didn’t show up in the user’s account, or were exceedingly slow in appearing.  Sometimes several months would pass between a cruise ending and the credit appearing.  While the cruise credits were indeed in the member’s Crown & Anchor account, they were not transferring to the website.  People like to see their cruise history and thus the frustration sets in when their account is fraught with errors.

Within the past year my experience has been that this cruise credit problem had been fixed.  My account has been promptly updated and I’ve had no problems.  However while checking the Royal Caribbean website to research the reader’s complaint – that her cruise history kept vanishing – I discovered that my account was now screwed up too.  My cruise history was gone and I was getting messages saying my name didn’t match the Crown & Anchor records.

I got error messages such as “The last name or surname you entered does not match the last name or surname that we currently have on file for the Crown & Anchor number you entered. Please contact the Crown & Anchor Loyalty Desk.”

I decided to test Royal Caribbean’s ability to respond to messages sent to them from within their website, so I sent them a note detailing the problem.  I immediately got an e-mail automatic response which said “Thank you for contacting us. This is an automated confirmation that your email has been received. Our representatives will reply to your inquiry in the order in which it was received. Please reply only if you need to provide additional information related to your original email. Follow-up emails regarding the status of your query may further delay your response.  We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to service your request.”  Providing additional information may delay their response?

Six days elapsed before I received a personal reply, which came in an e-mail which said “Thank you for your e-mail.  We apologize for any delay in our response.  While we would be more than happy to assist you with the error you are receiving, we are unable to troubleshoot issues with the website through an e-mail response.”

Paul recently told me that, these days, too many people have a fear of picking up the phone but it is the fastest way to clear up a problem.  One ten minute call can resolve what days worth of e-mails can’t.  He is absolutely correct on that.  Too bad Royal Caribbean can’t simply say call them if the problem is related to their website.  Instead we accomplished absolutely nothing and it only took six days.   And so I called them and the problem was resolved in less than 10 minutes.

The problem?  My online profile had somehow been changed from “David Beers” to “Mr. David Beers”.  The pulldown menu for “title” went from saying “select one” to “Mr.”  I am not kidding.

For the readers….have you had problems with cruise line websites?  Which ones do you think are best or worst?

Related posts:

1. Royal Caribbean International and DreamWorks Strategic Alliance
2. Why are You Picking on Royal Caribbean?
3. Is Royal Caribbean Trying to Swim Upstream?

I have long been bothered by the misuse and misunderstanding of the word “upgrade”.  It rarely means what it implies, yet too many cruisers go through various stages of rapture when told they received an upgrade.  Someone receives an e-mail from the cruise line which touts special savings with upgrades and people will take the hook and book.  They either fail to read the fine print, or even bother to look at the cabin category descriptions.

“Book a category 6A and automatically get upgraded to a category 6C”.  Sounds nice doesn’t it?  But what is it really? In most cases, that upgrade is merely a move to an identical cabin on a different deck.  Using Carnival as an example, getting an upgrade can mean booking a 6A cabin on the Riviera Deck of the Fantasy and being moved to a 6C cabin directly above you on the Main Deck.  But the cabins are internally identical.  185 square feet.  Same beds.  Same bathroom.  Same everything except for the category assignment.  Oh, but they do charge more for the 6C so therein lays the shell game aspect of the upgrade.  The cruise line can look you straight in the eye and say you were upgraded to a more expensive cabin.

The prospective cruiser who thinks they can book an inside cabin and will be immediately upgraded to a balcony cabin is dreaming.  Those you encounter on a ship who brag that they get huge upgrades all the time, and in fact they were upgraded from an inside cabin to an owners suite this time, are lying and need to go back to their inside cabin and rethink their lives.

The typical upgrade is going to remain within basic categories and will rarely be a genuine upgrade.  Standard inside cabin to another standard inside cabin, standard balcony cabin to another standard balcony cabin, etc.  One of the forum moderators calls it being “updecked”, and that in many cases is a more accurate description although you can also be “downdecked” too since some ships  have more expensive categories spread all over the place.  You see, there is a reason why cruise lines have so many categories.  The more of something you have, the more likely it will confuse.  Not to pick on Carnival, but recently they changed many of their cabin category names, and split previous categories up into more categories.  Princess, NCL, and Royal Caribbean are also infamous for their seemingly endless categories.  The Caribbean Princess has 35 cabin categories.  The new Norwegian Epic has 38.  The Oasis Of The Seas has 37.

A true upgrade to me means going to a cabin which offers something you don’t have in your original cabin.  Gaining more space.  Getting a balcony.  Getting a bathtub.  Those are upgrades.  And, they do happen.  All cruise lines have tightened up on upgrades over the past couple of years, and they often require approval from a surprisingly high level of management.

The best chances of getting a real upgrade are to either be a high end member of the cruise line loyalty club, or to book a cabin category guarantee.  I know a person who had done close to 40 cruises with Royal Caribbean before he finally got upgraded.  In his case he was moved from a standard balcony cabin to a Grand Suite.  Pretty nice upgrade.  But then, look at all the money he’d spent with the cruise line over the years.

Those who book a guarantee will get at least the category they booked, but do have a better chance of moving to truly better category.  Another option is the “upsell”, which seems to be more frequently used by NCL than other lines.  With the upsell, you are offered a nicer cabin for an extra fee.  This can often be far less than if you booked the better cabin outright, and thus an upsell is often a good deal.

My advice to those who booked a specific cabin category, with an assigned cabin number, is to not get fixated on getting an upgrade.  It likely isn’t going to happen or be meaningful.  It is wise to remember that cruise lines do things for monetary reasons and are not in business to be philanthropic.  If they were, I wouldn’t own stock in them.

I don’t play the upgrade game.  I pick a specific cabin, by number, and book it.  If the cruise line approaches me about moving, I’ll entertain their proposal if it truly offers me something worthwhile.  Otherwise, I prefer to stay put.

Do you like playing the upgrade game, or is picking a specific cabin and sticking with it your approach?

Related posts:

1. Complimentary Upgrades – The Good, The Bad, The Confusion
2. Cruising In A Suite Is Sweet
3. Become a CruiseMates “Alluretian” And Be Eligible To Win a FREE cruise!

One of the top questions asked on any cruise website is about drink prices on cruise ships.  This usually leads to questions about sneaking alcoholic beverages aboard, with two main camps being predominant.  One side claims the cruise line prices are not affordable for them and even buying a couple drinks per day would stress their budget.  The other side simply wants to drink heavily and do it as cheaply as possible.  There is also a smaller faction, who say they simply want to have a bottle in their cabin for pre-dinner drinks.

I really don’t want to get into the smuggling debate.  I am an “obey the rules” kind of guy so I don’t break cruise line rules regarding bringing personal beverages aboard.  If you do, then you do so at your own peril.  It’s between you, the cruise line, and perhaps your conscience.   I just wouldn’t run around telling everyone about it if I did sneak booze aboard.

Anyway, after my last cruise I got to thinking about the bar prices and decided to look at them over the past few years and how they have increased.   Bar and large, drink prices are the same across the mainstream cruise lines.  Variances are not significant.

Gimme A Beer

I’ll only talk about domestic brands of beer.  When I first started paying attention to cruise ship bar prices, a 12 ounce can of beer was sold for around $3.  This price stayed pretty much stagnant for several years, maybe increasing 25 cents every two or three years.   Since the 15% tip is standard across most lines, I’ll exclude it so things don’t get confusing.  Thus when I bought a can of Budweiser on a ship in 2001 it was $3.00 and when I bought one in 2006 it was $3.75.   Not exactly cheap, but in line with typical hotel or resort prices.

Enter The 16 Ounce Bottle

A few years ago cruise lines threw a new variable into the beer equation.  16 ounce plastic and aluminum bottles started showing up more and more at cruise ship bars, along with much higher prices.  Was it a convenient way to jack up prices, by muddling things with a larger serving? Let’s look.

16 ounce prices have more variation than did the 12 ounce cans.  On my recent Carnival cruise, Anheuser-Busch products sold for $5.75 a serving, whereas those in plastic bottles such as Miller Lite and Coors were $4.95.  Given that a couple brands still sold in 12 ounce cans were $4.50 the Coors and Miller Lite were comparatively good deals.  But in reality even the $5.75 bottle of Bud was cheaper per ounce than that in the 12 ounce can.  The can is 38 cents per ounce.  The larger bottles ranged from 31 to 36 cents per ounce.  But then, do most people really want a larger serving?  Order a bucket of four 16 ounce bottles and you get $2 off, so for $21 you get a half-gallon of beer.  Party time!

I live in Alabama which has some of the highest prices for alcoholic beverages in the nation.  It isn’t scientific, but let’s say that as Alabama prices go, so goes the rest of the country.  For at least the past 20 years, a case of Budweiser has cost pretty much the same at local stores.  It was $16 dollars in 1990 and in today’s newpaper ads I can get that case of Bud for $17 at the Piggly Wiggly grocery store.  So is it safe to say that wholesale prices have been similarly steady?  I think so.

Mixed Drinks & Wine

My favorite drink is a Barcardi & Coke, and when I’m feeling noble I like a martini.  That rum and Coke currently goes for $5.75, and the martini can run from $6.50 to $10 depending on which gin or vodka you want.  These prices don’t seem to have risen as much over the years, at least when compared to those cruise ship beers.  As I recall, that rum and Coke cost me $4.25 in 2005, and the martini was $5.25.   Meanwhile, at the Alabama ABC Store (we have ridiculously ancient liquor laws) the state charges me $22 for a 1.75 liter bottle of Barcardi light rum.

Wine prices on ships are similar to liquor, at least by the glass.  It can be hard to swallow paying $30 for a bottle of chardonnay on a ship that sells for $10 at my local Texaco station (a surprising selection of wines).  But you can get a nice glass of wine on a ship for $7 to $10.  These seem much the same as what I paid in 2004 at the wine bar on the Mariner Of The Seas.

Bottom Line

Cruise lines have quietly raised bar prices over the past few years when I think their wholesale prices have not changed much.  If my retail prices haven’t changed in years, why should I think the cruise lines are paying more for their stock?  Thus they are getting more profit out of each beer or cocktail they sell.   Was this a reaction to cruise fares being flat, and having to find income someplace else?  Perhaps.

However there is a limit to what people will pay for a drink.  When I add the 15% tip into that $5.75 Bud, it is $6.61.  That is getting into uncomfortable territory for many cruisers.  My observations are that cruise line bar prices are now increasing every year, and sometimes more than once during a year.

My view is if this trend continues it cannot be sustained by the typical passenger on many mainstream lines.  I don’t see how drink prices can increase much further without it becoming a deal breaker for many people.  It has already led to increased smuggling, a market for specialized smuggling containers, all of which leads to more draconian rules and luggage inspections by cruise lines.  Many passengers will only be squeezed so far and at some point the cruise lines will have to look at other ways to generate revenue.

Related posts:

1. River Cruises Raising The Bar
2. Has The TSA Crossed The Line?
3. What Complaints Do You See That Make You Ask… What were they thinking?

According to the reviewer, the cruise line told him all he needed for his closed loop voyage was a photo ID for adults, and just a birth certificate for minors.   And so off he went to Miami for a cruise aboard Majesty Of The Seas, where he was denied boarding for not having both a photo ID and proof of citizenship such as his birth certificate.

Now, I do not know what was said in his phone call with the cruise line.  He claims that at the port, cruise line employees told him the requirement for a birth certificate was only company policy.  However, that is not correct.  The Closed Loop Exemption to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requires those without a passport or it’s equivalent to show both a government issued photo ID and proof of citizenship such as the birth certificate.  Thus, the cruise line would be breaking the law to allow him to board.   This is clearly communicated both on the Customs & Border Protection website, and on the Royal Caribbean website.

But here we have a disappointed and angry man who lost his money and his cruise, since no refunds were offered because he failed to comply with the rules (at least in Royal Caribbean’s opinion).  And while it is apparent he failed to use an agent, or consult cruise websites for guidance, he nontheless was hosed because he didn’t understand the “Closed Loop” exemption.

The Closed Loop exemption was issued to appease those who whined about having to get passports, and in my opinion it was a mistake.  When you start making exceptions you open the barn doors for problems.

A Closed Loop voyage must start and end at the same U.S. port, and can only visit designated countries within the Western Hemisphere.  Even if a voyage starts at one U.S. port, but ends at another U.S. port, it is not a closed loop voyage and therefore passports are required.  Mobile to Mobile is a closed loop cruise.  Miami to Miami is also a closed loop cruise.  New York to Miami is not.  Leaving from Vancouver and ending in Anchorage?  Sorry, you’ll need a passport.

The bottom line is you don’t need to play games when it comes to providing adequate documentation for a cruise.  My strong advice is to get and maintain a book-type passport.  Don’t waste time with a passport card.  Only the book passport is valid for air travel, and who knows when you’ll have to leave a cruise early and fly home?

A passport is good for 10 years.  I know the initial cost isn’t cheap – especially for a family – but the stark truth is it is the price of wanting to travel in today’s world and you might as well get used to it and stop the protestations and procrastination.

Related posts:

1. Royal Caribbean Website Woes: Trials & Tribulations Of A Frustrated Crown & Anchor Member
2. Royal Caribbean International and DreamWorks Strategic Alliance
3. Most Important Things To Bring on a Cruise