The Intelligent Cruiser

Leaving for My Carnival Victory Cruise

T.I. Cruiser — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:04:28 +0000

Well, its about 5 am and its time for me to get moving. I’m not much of a coffee drinker but this morning it seems to be the cure for what ails me. My plane leaves in about three hours and I still have to drop off the car, so I guess it would be in my best interest to get going. I made a little video so that you all can get a glimmer of my pre-cruise ritual, let me know what you think.

All my bags are packed I’m ready to go,
I’m standing here outside your door,
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye,
But the dawn is a breakin’ its early morn,
The taxi’s waitin he’s blowin his horn,
Already I’m so lonesome I could die,

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Leaving for My Carnival Victory Cruise

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Over 300 Cruise Passengers Fall Ill

T.I. Cruiser — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:00:00 +0000

What happens when 400 passengers on a cruise ship catches Norovirus. The short answer would be, the cruise ship’s septic system gets one hell of a workout. The longer answer involve things like a CDC (center for disease control) investigation, additional medical personnel and a hot tub that I would not be visiting.

When passengers boarded the Celebrity Mercury for an 11 day cruise heading out of Charleston, South Carolina they were expecting a dream vacation. Instead, many of them (over 300) ended up with getting sick. No, it wasn’t due to rough seas or anything that mundane, it looks to be a full blown outbreak of what may be Norovirus.

Standard procedures during these outbreaks dictate that affected passengers are quarantined, although I am not sure how you quarantine 20% of the passengers. The good news is it has been reported that passengers are responding favorably to over the counter medications being given onboard. Those passengers will be compensated in the form of on-board credit for the number of days they were locked-up. The better news is that this norovirus outbreak will not effect the next sailing of the Mercury.

The Center for Disease control will be launching an investigation into this outbreak, standard procedure for any outbreak of more than 2 percent of a cruise. The reason for this investigation is to determine if it was indeed a Norovirus outbreak or just something mimicing Noro. The Mercury is due back into Charleston this Friday and it doesn’t look as if the next sailing will be affected. However if you are cruising any time soon or are just curious this may be a good time to familiarize yourself with Norovirus. Here is a post I wrote last year about Norovirus. The post includes a description of what Norovirus is and ways to help prevent contracting Noro.

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Over 300 Cruise Passengers Fall Ill

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Stay Connected With Royal Connect

T.I. Cruiser — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:00:32 +0000

When the crown jewel of the Royal Caribbean fleet Oasis of the Seas set sail one of the cool new features it contained was a service that would help parents keep track of their children. The “Royal Connect” service combined the use of a specially modified Apple Iphone with a track-able electronic wristband. For the low cost of 17.50, parents could strap this low jack around their child’s wrist and be able to see in real time the exact location of the child (cheap at twice the price). Additionally, passengers who enrolled in the service would be able to call and text each other, make calls to cabins, arrange spa and restaurant reservations and read about the latest on-board activities (saving paper and reducing wastes).

Not Just For Adults

A parent can also rent a phone not only for themselves but also for their child since there is no age restriction on who can use one. Sounds like a pretty good idea doesn’t it. However if you are going to rent for either yourself or anyone else in your party make sure they are handled responsibly, passengers not returning the “Royal Connect” iPhone will be charged 1,000 dollars. That is unless you happen to have an iPhone.

An App for Everything

Passengers who have an iPhone will now be able to use the Royal Connect service on their personal phone through the use of the “Royal Connect” Iphone app (the 17.50 fee does still apply). Through the use of the 1000 wi-fi hotspot locations on-board the Oasis of the Seas, passengers with an iPhone can now enjoy the same benefits of those using the Royal Caribbean phones. Although the idea of losing a 400 dollar iPhone isn’t exactly comforting it does allow you to enjoy the benefits of Royal Connect without the specter of a 1000 dollar lost phone fee hanging over their heads.

Since I don’t usually travel with more than one or two other people I don’t really have a need for this type of technology so to me it would just be a waste of money, still I can understand the merits of the “Royal Connect” system. Paying 35.00 dollars would just be a waste when traveling with only my girlfriend, but when traveling in groups of 4 or more the costs are more justified (especially on board a ship as massive as the Oasis of the Seas).

Some of the best instances when a phone would be useful uses for this service would be during a family reunion, on-board wedding or some other big gathering a people when coordination is crucial or where teens would be more inclined to travel in packs. All that would be needed is for one member of the pack such as one responsible child to carry the phone allowing effortless coordination of plans or tracking of children while keeping costs to a minimum.

Although I (and many others) try to disconnect myself from technology and the burden of gadgets as much as possible while on vacation I do consider this a great use of technology. Currently this is only available on the Oasis of the Seas however Royal Caribbean has stated that it may retrofit more of its fleet with the “Royal Connect” service.

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Stay Connected With Royal Connect

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Those Who Are Cruising Right Now Are Truly Blessed

T.I. Cruiser — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 11:00:07 +0000

Well, it looks like I survived our second snowstorm in a week. The first which occurred this past weekend came roaring in like a hungry lion devouring everything in sight. The entire region was crippled as two feet of beautiful, picture perfect, fluffy white devil dandruff was dumped on us at an unbelievable rate. Roads were closed, power was lost, and worst of all lives were lost. The Carnival Pride which is based out of Baltimore which is about an hour south of here sailed on as scheduled. Powered by a hunger akin to a drug addict desperately seeking out its next fix, only 100 passengers would allow the blizzard to keep them from their date with a daiquiri.

Those lucky enough to be on cruises this week not only dodged a bullet by being able to board their ships, but were also spared having to dig out from the second wave of snow. At first forecasts were for only a minor snowfall (3-6 inches) however, as the storm neared the projections grew until we were facing another two feet of snow. I honestly thought the meteorologists had gotten this one wrong. The snow was supposed to start at four or so in the afternoon, I even snuck out of work early to avoid all of the carnage. When the clock struck six and there was nary a flake in sight I was convinced I was wrong about the origin of famed Philadelphia weatherman Glenn “Hurricane” Schwartz’s moniker (maybe he was actually named after a favorite drink).

Once seven o’clock rolled around it all went down hill very fast. First the freezing rain started fall, encasing in ice the two feet of snow we already had piled into mountains. This lasted about an hour after which more snow started to fall. This snow was different than the last. It wasn’t going to be the pretty white fluffy stuff. This snow was the thick, wet, heavy stuff. The type of snow that was perfect to make those hard, compact snowballs my older brothers used to pelt me with in my youth. This stuff would fall through the night and most of Wednesday. Occasionally it would switch back over to the freezing rain, but mostly it was the thick wet snow. All told another 19 inches would fall in my area, it was a complete mess. Here are some pictures to may give you some insight into just how much I am looking forward to my next cruise.

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Those Who Are Cruising Right Now Are Truly Blessed

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This Weekend Was Proof That You Need a Plan B

T.I. Cruiser — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:00:19 +0000

So, if you live in the Northeastern United States (like I do) you spent most of the weekend digging out from its aftermath. We ended up with a total of nearly thirty inches and let me tell you, it shut everything down. The Carnival Pride which sails out of the Port of Baltimore reportedly had only 100 no-shows which is remarkable considering they too had to dig out from under two feet of snow. Although, I have to admit that if my cruise ship was docked down the street I’d have found a way to get there as well. A storm of this type underlines the need to have a plan in place in case of severe whether. That plan can be in the form of trip insurance, flying out early or only sailing out of ports you can drive to at certain times of the year.

Now just when you thought the snow was through here comes another news report saying that we are going to get another foot of snow Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. The good news is with it being in the middle of the week it won’t impact anyone flying out to catch a ship this weekend. Just the same if this is a sign of things to come the rest of the winter is going to be one wild ride.

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This Weekend Was Proof That You Need a Plan B

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