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I don't know about everyone else but I can't afford to eat out everyday so this is special to me.
Yup!! I think the better question might be... Do you appreciate how lucky you are to be able to take a cruise vacation, and everything that goes along with that?
Amen!! I never had the experience of a vacation as a child, then as a young adult, I didn't get paid if I didn't work... no paid sick days, no vacations or paid holidays, no insurance benefits or retirement benefits. When I began my career in law enforcement, as a govern,emt employee, I began to receive those paid sick days, insurance and retirement benefits, overtime pay and... paid vacations! I was in Heaven and I am very thankful to have these opportunities now. I appreciate the pampering form the dining room to the shows to the excursions. You don't know what your have missed if you never have experienced it. If I hadn't made a career change, I woudl still be stuck in that dull world.
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Michael
Cruised more times than I can remember.
Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
Courage and perserverance have a magical talisman; before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into the air.
Pick your company wisely! Hang around people who are going to help you become all God created you to be.
I think like everyone else...getting all gussied up and going out to dinner to be served it just a part of the wonderful world of cruising.
Being with friends and family to sit and talk in those beautiful settings, is just special. The table captains, waiters and the staff treat you like royality. Your glass will never be empty and I love to watch the waiter use his crumb cleaner thingy.
I LIKE IT!!!! I wouldn't trade it for anything..
When we leave the ship for excursions, we make sure we get back in time to shower, do hair and make up...
That is what we told all the "Newbies" who will be with us this cruise...
Having a meal served to me in the dining room is one of the highlights of cruising for me. I would also not wish that to happen, have many great memories of tablemates/food, etc...I just don't see that happening. Its still your choice to have meals in the buffet if you wish, another great feature of cruising, you can do what you want, when you want.
I agree with you. Dining is a big part of the experience for me too. And, as someone who sails solo on many of my cruises, I really like the traditional dining format, where I get to meet a group of people and form a sort of bond with them over the course of the cruise. I have many wonderful memories of cruise ship dining experiences that came about not necessarily because of the food or service, but rather because of the people I've met and the relationships I've formed over the course of a couple of weeks worth of shared dinners.
The Lido is okay once in a while ... like maybe after a long day in port where one just doesn't feel like sitting down for a two-hour long meal. But I wouldn't want to eat dinner in the Lido every night. It's just not, to me, what a cruise is all about. The Lido is great, though, for breakfast, and I actually prefer it to room service.
Part of the experience of cruising is to meet other people; a great way to do this is to converse with the people at your table. When we pick a size for the table of our cruise, we opt for one that seats eight or ten people; this way, we have the chance to talk to more people. On one of our cruises, to Alaska, several years ago, we got friendly with one couple from Vancouver. After they had heard about Hurricane Isabel, which had done a lot of destruction to the Tidewater area of Virginia, this couple offered for us to stay in their home if we could not fly back!
Hi guys,
Sorry didnt need to make anyone mad, it was just a thought, it wont happen again.
Gottacruz
We aren't mad at you. I love a good discussion. Venice remember the gas stations in the old days of full service.
You are old enough to remember that? When I started driving, gasoline was 0.15cents per gallon, and that was without the gas wars? Remember the gas wars? The stations also gave stamps that could be redeemed for gifts (how any remember the stamps?), and they would give drinking glasses and all kinds of trinkets to get you in to their stations.
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Michael
Cruised more times than I can remember.
Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
Courage and perserverance have a magical talisman; before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into the air.
Pick your company wisely! Hang around people who are going to help you become all God created you to be.
Boy I remember waiting in line for gas in the late 1970's and this "wasn't a picnic!" I felt that the gas companies did this to scare the american public. Funny, but when this fiasco was all over with, there was plenty of gas to be had, and guess what, no lines at the gas pump!
Just wondering if the new cruise ships that are coming out, they should eliminate the dining rooms and install cabins, that way nobody has to rush back from shore excursions, get showered, changed to rush to dinner in the dining room, just have the buffet open, so one can run in and eat and get on with their life, no need for maitre'd or the waiters either, as they are a waste of time. What are your thoughts of this subject?
I don't know if you intended this post to be tongue in cheek or not, but interestingly, I see just this sort of thing coming in the future. I'd be willing to bet that with all the cost-cutting taking place with the cruise lines today, and the need to generate more revenue, that maybe five years from now you will have to PAY for a seat in the formal dining room. Yes, your base cruise fare will still entitle you to all the food you can eat onboard, but that food will only consist of the offerings at the buffet. There will be a premium to dine elsewhere, including both the specialty restaurants and the regular dining room.
That's my prediction anyway.
And, do I like it? No.
Blue skies ...
--rita
This is already done with Star Cruises (NCL Parent Company) in Asia. Depending on the category of your cabin, certain dining options are included. If you want to eat in a formal dining room you pay extra, specialty restaurant, you pay extra. I wouldn't be surprised to see this happening in the not too distant future. I love having an Open Seating concept to dining but there are limitations and I want a good, multi course meal that is professionally served to me and in a somewhat elegant atmosphere.
Having said that, if it does happen I will become an ex-cruiser. I don't really want to see ships becoming "Old Country Buffet of the Seas" or "Luby's Legend".
Take care,
Mike
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
Or like at some resorts, you could buy your cruise fare at different price increments. The fare would include the ability to dine free, according to your level, silver, gold, platinum
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Trip, with her book & tea!
Chat Hostess & Board Moderator
If enough past and future cruisers let the cruise lines know what they want and how it may change the fact that they may not cruise, they may reconsider????
I sent a few emails to Carnival telling them how much we like the formal nights and it should stay as formal...."dress up"
Dear Redwitch 13,
I'm with you; any good business, if they want to remain in business, must listen to their customers. Word of mouth is the best advertising for any business.
Oh, I seriously hope not - our lives are waaaaay to casual now and
to dress nicely for dinner and be waited on makes me feel like a queen.
A VERY nice change from making dinner most nites and doing dishes. We
are soooooooo missing out on all the glamour and niceties of years ago
when ladies wore hats to church, no shopping on Sundays, family dinners
were the norm, etc. Let's try to slow our lives down a bit (and cruising does that for me and DH) and enjoy the scenery while we can.
Sherrie:
I can't agree with you more. I love the fancy dinner nights. We live in a casual world. I don't like the jeans worn to church, but at least they are attending. That is a whole new topic.
2 nights can't be asking too much can it? Ok...maybe not a tux or even a suit...but come on...why not a jacket with a nice pair of pants and a shirt with a tie? Take it off after dinner...2 hours tops.
There is a saying, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Part of any experience is to be a "team player". Society is too casual today and to dress up for two nights, on most cruises, is not asking much. If one does not care to dress up, they can always go to the buffet!
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