February 09, 2012 —

Best Practice Identified Through Cruise Industry Operational Safety Review

LONDON –The global cruise industry today announced a new emergency drill policy requiring mandatory muster for embarking passengers prior to departure from port. The new policy follows the industry’s announcement on January 27 of a Cruise Industry Operational Safety Review in response to the Concordia incident and as part of the industry’s continuous efforts to review and improve safety measures. The Cruise Lines International Association, European Cruise Council, and the Passenger Shipping Association put forward the new policy with the support of their member cruise lines.

The new muster policy, which has been voluntarily initiated by the associations’ members and is effective immediately, exceeds existing legal requirements by calling for the mandatory muster of all embarking passengers prior to departure from port. On rare occasions when passengers arrive after the muster has been completed, passengers will be promptly provided with individual or group safety briefings that meet the requirements for musters applicable under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). The formal policy is designed to help ensure that any mandatory musters or briefings are conducted for the benefit of all newly embarked passengers at the earliest practical opportunity.

Musters are mandatory exercises conducted on cruise ships to ensure passengers are informed of safety protocols while onboard the ship, including emergency evacuation procedures. Current legal requirements for conducting a muster of passengers can be found in SOLAS and mandate that a muster occur within 24 hours of passenger embarkation.

The Cruise Industry Operational Safety Review includes a comprehensive assessment of the critical human factors and operational aspects of maritime safety. As best practices are identified, they will be shared among cruise industry association members and any appropriate recommendations will be shared with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), European Union and other governmental authorities as appropriate. The industry’s efforts also are consistent with the framework and spirit of the International Safety Management Code. Recommendations resulting from the Review will be made on an ongoing basis.

A copy of the new muster policy can be viewed at: www.cruising.org/regulatory/cruise-industry-policies/passenger-muster-policy

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

The feature image to the left is actually a picture of me on my first cruise in the mid 70′s. I’m shaking hands with the captain as my sister in the overall turtleneck dress enters behind me followed by my Mom in a coordinated maxi skirt ensemble and my Dad in a very wide tie and collar. I chose that picture to illustrate that just as fashion has changed since the 70′s so too have cruise line dress codes. Cruises today have many more options when it comes to what they wear when they cruise.

Legitimate Reasons

First, I want to acknowledge that there are legitimate reasons for not following the dress codes. If a passenger has lost his or her luggage he or she would not have appropriate clothing unless they were able to borrow something from the ship. Also, a passenger may have some sort of health concern that would prevent them from complying with a dress code. Both of these issues could be addressed with management ahead of time so that they would not be reprimanded and the situation could easily be explained to others if they questioned the non-compliance.

Relaxation

Cruise lines have tremendously relaxed dress code minimums. Almost all cruise lines now allow jeans in the main dining room on casual nights. Carnival permits tailored shorts in the main dining room on casual nights and does not require a coat for their “Cruise Elegant” nights. With a few exceptions, (Cunard comes to mind) most cruise lines only require formal attire in the main dining room on formal nights. For example, on Celebrity, where formal attire used to be required in all public areas on formal nights, the specialty restaurants and all other public areas now require only smart casual attire even on formal nights.

Options

With so many options now available to cruisers there is really no reason, other than the a fore mentioned two, for not following dress codes. If the code for the dining room says khakis and a polo, it is insulting to the staff to show up in basketball shorts and a tank top. If a passenger doesn’t want to wear a suit and tie, tuxedo, gown or pantsuit on formal night, then it is pretty easy to choose a specialty dining venue, the casual dining area, or even in room dining for those nights. While the first of those options would be at an extra cost, the second two options are already included in the cruise fare. With so many different cruise lines appealing to so many different cruisers, it is pretty easy to find a cruise line with a dress code that makes sense to you. We keep a dress code table here at cruise talk and all cruise line publish their dress codes on their websites and brochure information. Cruisers will certainly find themselves less stressed about dress codes when they research them ahead of time and plan accordingly.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

However, this week Princess took drastic measure to insure sanitation of one of their ships.   They announced they would be ending the cruise two days early the current cruise on the Crown Princess, issuing refunds to all passengers, and assisting with accommodations and airline change fees.   Ending this voyage two days early will allow them to sanitize the ship for two days before the next group of passengers boards the ship.  However with the CDC reporting outbreaks throughout the US, it will be hard to avoid new passengers boarding the ship carrying the virus.   They do screen for carriers, but not everyone is honest when questioned about such illness because they don’t want to be denied boarding.

Most importantly cruisers need to keep in mind that Norovirus is not unique to cruise ships, but as individuals they can take steps lessen their chance of getting it while cruising.     Most cases occur on land especially in institutional  settings like schools and nursing homes.

Simply stated, Norovirus  is a stomach flu that causes vomiting and diarrhea.  Usually, the infected person feels awful for about two days and then symptoms subside.   It can result in more serious symptom or even death, especially in the extremely young, elderly, or immune compromised.  However, even after the patient has recovered, the affected person may be contagious for several more days.

Quarantine Passengers?

There in lies the problem.  Cruise ship passenger who still want to make something out out of their vacation may want to get back to regular activities once they have no symptoms but are still contagious.  The same may be true for cruise ship employees who are eager to get back to work.

This puts the cruise line in a difficult position.   If the person has reported to sick bay to seek treatment and they are now feeling better, should the cruise staff still confine them to their state room?   Are they still contagious?  Maybe, Maybe not.   If they are thoroughly washing their hands after taking care of the “bathroom business” then they are probably not a danger, but is someone going to follow them around and make sure they wash their hands for 2 minutes with soap and water every time?  If the cruise line starts restricting infected people’s activity on the ship even when they are feeling better do they run a higher risk of a PR problem than they would if a few more people got sick?

I tried to look a for a better solution and I could see the dilemma that the cruise lines must be in.   If they confine infected passengers to their cabin even when they are feeling better, those passengers won’t be happy.   If they let them have full access to the ship they risk further spread.  Would a quarantine policy exasperate the problem with fewer people reporting their illness?  Many people don’t want to be restricted to their cabins if they are only having fairly mild symptoms, so those people would be less likely report their illness to the ship’s medical staff.   This might further result in more spread.

Preventing the Spread

Most cruise ships have adopted plans that are designed to lessen the likelihood of contamination spreading.    These measures include constant sanitation of surfaces with bleach and removal of shared items like serving spoons on the buffet and salt and pepper shakers.   When an outbreak begins they require gloved staff to serve items at the buffet rather than self serve.

I wondered if a further step could be offered such as compensation packages for those who become ill and agree to stay in their cabins for 5 days.   That plan sounds like an absolutely miserable way to spend a cruise, but might allow those who need to be isolated during this cruise the opportunity to cruise again at a reduced cost.

Because the virus is not airborne, the best way for cruisers to protect themselves is to eliminate direct or indirect contact with the virus.  This can be done by thoroughly washing hands with soap and water.   The soap doesn’t kill viruses but will wash them away.    Some of the recent news reports emphasized that alcohol based hand sanitizers, like Purell, will kill bacteria like e-coli, but are not effective against viruses.

Noro Specific Hand Sanitizers

However, those same reports fail to mention the sanitizers that DO kill Noro.  Germstar manufactures a hand sanitizer specifically designed to kill Norovirus called Germstar Noro.   This is the product you will find on your cruise ships at the entrances to the buffet and to the dining rooms.  If you visit their website, at germstar.com,   you will immediately recognize their product and the dispensers used on many cruise ships.   To make sure the product is effective in killing the virus, the manufacturer directs the use the product for at least 20 seconds.  They also have the product available in 6 2 oz bottles for $18.   Cruisers will want to generously use this type product before they dine, touch food or utensils, or even touch their hands to their mouths.  A person who has been recently infected, if they are not going to stay in their rooms,  should be extra vigilant about the hand washing and sanitizing so that they don’t spread the virus.      On many of my cruises, the cruise line has assigned  their friendliest waiter to greet guests by name and give them a squirt from the squishy bag of gel.  The friendly waiter helps passengers feel more comfortable with the process and makes sure that ever passenger is  sanitizing his or her hands.   For extra caution passengers may want to even get a second squirt after they have gone through the buffet line and touched other surfaces.

Concluding Thoughts

It seems the course of containment that is most effective is the sanitation of the vessel surfaces, avoidance of contact with serving utensils and condiment containers, and disinfecting of hands with a Noro specific solution.   Following these steps will slow and avoid the spread of the virus and make cruising a better experience for all.  We invite our readers to share their experience with such outbreaks or effective measures that they have observed in the prevention of the spread of this virus.   We’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas on addressing this issue.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

Understanding Types of Reviewers

There are many different types of reviewers.   If you can recognize the type you can decide how much credibility to give the reviewer.

Cheerleaders – These people love their favorite cruise line and will write glowing reviews about every aspect.    Sometimes when they go on another cruise line they can make nothing but negative comments about the other cruise line.  Be careful about reviewers who are already in love with another cruise line, because any thing different will not meet their expectations.

Grumpmeisters – This is our nickname for people who do nothing but complain 24 hours a day about everything.   They probably do this in their every day lives, at the bank, in the grocery store, at the church meeting, at the fast food place and the finest restaurant.     When they go on a cruise, nothing meets their expectations.  They are often rude and condescending to the staff and other passengers.  Their reviews often complain about relatively small matters that they turn into major issues.

The Grudge Holder – The person had a major problem on his cruise, perhaps a mechanical problem, norovirus,  or missed port.   They often will report the same review in as many sites as possible and repeat reviews under different user names.     Often he may be a Grumpmeister who did not get his issues resolved.  Many times they did not give the cruise line a fair chance to make amends, or when then cruise line did attempt to resolve the issues they were rude and inflexible.  I’ve even seen reviews trashing a particular cruise line when the poster was obviously guilty of egregious behavior in violation of the cruise line policy, for example cursing at an employee.   Quite often the details of their review don’t seem to make sense to a logical person as they are leaving key details out of their review.

Uninformed Traveler – This is someone who doesn’t travel much and didn’t do “due diligence” before booking their cruise.   They complain about the normal procedures like  assigned dining, dress code, price of drinks, and mandatory tipping.     I read a review once from a guy who won a free cruise and then trashed the cruise line because he had to pay tips.  He said he ate in the buffet and put a do not disturb sign on his room so that he would not have to tip waiters or room stewards.   His review started out with a statement something like “Such and Such cruise line rips people off.”

The Braggart – This person’s reviews are often filled with big flowing poetic words and tons of examples of how much better things were on their last cruise or when they traveled some where else.   This person is trying to show how their superior knowledge of the world gives him the right to criticize every minute detail.   This reviewer preports to know the difference between an excellent cruise and an inferior cruise and they are going to prove it to the rest of the world through their review.  Often they list many details on both the positive and negative sides, but give the overall experience a bad review.   I’ve read just the positives from some of these reviews and thought that it would have been a wonderful cruise for me.   I then read the negatives and thought “Is he really complaining about that?”

Experienced Helpful Traveler – These types of review probably make up about 50% of online reviews.   While this reviewer might mention past travel experience or previous personal experience it is not in braggadocios tone, but rather to provide back ground and context.   The reviewer provides lots of detail and specifics.  If they are trying a different cruise line they usually point out things they liked better on one or the other but don’t disparage either one.  If they have much experience with the particular cruise lines they will often point out things that were different from their last experience, for better or for worse,  either positive or a miserable experience, this cruiser lists specific about the foods, activities and features of the ship they enjoyed or disliked.  Quite often these reviews are over-all positive, though the details about the weaknesses might point you to a different line.

Throw Out the Highs and Lows

Probably the best plan in determining if a cruise is right for you is to read the balanced reviews.   The “all positive” reviews might be a bit to “Pollyanna”, and the completely negative ones probably originate from some of the nare-do-wells mentioned above.   This is not to say that an all negative and all positive review is completely invalid, but that the more balanced reviews will really help you better in your decision making.   Balanced reviews will list many positives and negative and  give you a balanced perspective to determine if the positives out weigh the negatives.  Generally most cruise reviews tend to be on the positive side because the competition in the industry keeps the quality and value of the product very high.

Volume

I recommend websites that specialize in cruising with many different reviews from experienced cruisers.   CruiseCritic.com  has over 60,000 user reviews.   Cruisemates.com has reviews of many different cruise lines including over 1000 reviews on Carnival cruises alone.   Other general review sites like Epinions.com also have cruise reviews but they are not as numerous  and as current as the a fore mentioned specialty sites.

When comparing different cruises, ships, or lines, it is important to get a variety of opinions.   The cruise lines serving the US market provide a quality experience, but not every one’s taste and preferences are the same.   Reading lots of different opinions will give you a broad spectrum.

You can also play the game of trying to identify the above personality types in the cruise reviews.   You’ll find many reviews will fall into the Experienced Helpful Traveler category, but when you find a reviewer that obviously fits into one of the other styles, you’ll know how to put that review into perspective.

Details

Highly detailed reviews provide the information for perspective cruisers to make their own judgment about which cruise line is right for them.    For example, because everyone’s taste in food is different, dining reviews can be really subjective.  If a review simply says that the food in the the main dining room was awful, that doesn’t tell you much.   However a detail like “the food was too high brow, all I wanted was a burger and fries with ketchup” provides more insight into the type of food actually served.   When another  reviews says “I loved the food, especially since I could get escargot every night” the burger lover might steer away from that line.

Details also make a difference in describing the type of activities on board.   One review might rave about the belly flop contest and another might disparage it.   What’s important is that the reviewer gave the specific detail of the belly flop contest.     On can decide for themselves if that would make or break their cruise.

Focus on the details that are important to your over all cruise experience.  When I read reviews, I look for details on customer service and dining experience, as they are the most important aspect of a cruise for me.  Others might have specific concerns about state room amenities or spa services.   Everyone has different expectations, details that praise or disparage those aspects of the total cruise experience provide the information to perspective cruises to find the best cruise for them.

One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure

I have looked at a reviews that have trashed everything about the cruise and come away with the thought that I might have actually enjoyed that cruise.   The reason is that all people like different things, and again the things that make one person happy might ruin another’s cruise.

Carnival is know for its fun activities,atmosphere and overall value.   I picked a random Carnival Ship, the Splendor, and read the online reviews looking for details on which I might share the reviewers thought or  take a contradictory position.     On the positive side many cruiser reported meeting great people, good night life and good shows, especially the comedians.  I do enjoy nice people and a good comedian, so that would be a positive.   On the negative side, many people reported bland food and lousy entertainment.   Good food is important to me so that might be an area on which I would have to do even more research.  Another example reported   “They only played old music in the disco.”  I  like to hear old favorites, so this would be a positive.   Another reviewer mentioned 24 hour pizza but since my husband and I  try to stick to a low carb diet, that wouldn’t be a plus for me specifically.      One review mentioned the wonderful steaks in the specialty restaurant.  That detail might help me in deciding if I  want to include specialty dining in my budget.

In almost any set of online reviews one can find positives and negatives.  Most of my recent cruises have been with Celebrity.   I would probably give all of my Celebrity cruises 4 1/2 to 5 stars on a 1-5 star scale.  However, online reviewers rate Celebrity any where from 2-5 stars, with the average probably being in the 4 1/2 range.     One of the first Celebrity reviews that I read  in preparing this article complained of “too many days at sea.”  That detail is important to me, but only because I love sea days and actually look for itineraries that maximize sea days.   One review talked about how boring their transatlantic cruise was.   The writer said that poor activities and a poor cruise director made the experience very dull.  She said that there was no night life after 11 pm.    Another review of that same cruise reported it to be her best cruise ever.  The second reviewer said she loved the lectures, live cooking demonstrations and the activities that involved some of the crew.   These two reviews provide different perspectives from different cruisers on the same cruise.   If you like lectures and cooking demos, then this was a great cruise, if you prefer nightlife, then this was not the most ideal cruise.  Every cruiser has different tastes and preferences.

Making the Most of Online Reviews

In summary, online reviews can be a good resource for determining which cruise to take if you utilize them correctly.   The can be most helpful when you first identify the writing style, throw out all the extremes, and focus on the details.   Once you have done this, you can make an informed decision as to whether or not a particular cruise line is right for you.   While no cruise lines can meet everyone’s needs, most cruise lines  often offer a wide variety of accommodations, food, services and activities to please a wide variety of customers.    Online reviews can be a useful tool in the decision making process.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

When To Leave It Open

It is probably fairly obvious when to leave that option open: when you have booked the best cabin you could afford but really wanted some thing better.    For example if you have booked an inside cabin and really wanted an ocean view, or you booked an ocean view and really wanted a balcony.  Leaving that option open might result in a rare, but nice surprise a few weeks before your cruise or even when you arrive at the pier.   For example when we booked our Celebrity Infinity cruise to Hawaii, we were offered an upgrade to a balcony cabin at the pier.   We were hesitant to take it because we were cruising for the first time with our kids and the balcony cabin only had one upper birth, with the 4th bed being a sofa bed. However,  we decided that the balcony was a definite plus and took the upgrade.  Upgrades don’t happen very often, but if you leave the option open and are flexible with your cabin location then on that rare occasion you can get more than “what you paid for.”

When and How to Close The Option

There are times when you may want to close off that option .  If you have booked a particular cabin because of its location near the elevator or the center of the ship, then you may not want to risk the option of being moved to a “better” cabin in what would be a worse location for your liking.    Many people book near the elevators towards the end of the ship where they prefer to spend the most time.   Some families like to be at the same end as the kids program.   Others prefer a lower cabin near the center of the ship where they are less likely to feel the motion of the sea.    As mentioned in my above example, I had booked a cabin with-out a balcony with two upper bunks because I thought that would be the safest and most comfortable for my family.  As it turned out I was happy with the upgrade because I’m pretty flexible.

However, if you are certain that a particular cabin is the best for your circumstances, then you need to make sure that you mark you reservation “Do Not Upgrade”.   That way when certain categories are overbooked, the cruise line will skip over your reservation and offer an upgrade to another passenger for whom it might be a better fit.

Don’t Count on an Upgrade

Though they do happen, they are still pretty rare.  To avoid over booking of their lowest price cabin categories, cruise lines will sometimes offer specials on higher classes of cabin categories to encourage sales of those cabins.   They have precise reservation systems and it is very rare for cabin assignment mistakes.   If you really want a balcony, book one at the start.  Upgrades usually happen one cabin category at a time.  Examples might include inside to ocean view, ocean view to balcony, balcony to mini suite, mini suite to full suite.    It is highly unlikely that if you have booked an inside cabin that your would be upgraded to a balcony or higher.  Book the price cabin with which you’ll be happy and will meet your needs.

Plan Ahead

Perhaps the most importantly,  plan ahead when making your reservation.     Decide whether or not you would want to take a possible upgrade at the time you select your room.    That way, when you arrive at the pier the only surprises are good surprises.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

First, I want to acknowledge the extent of the tragedy. I can’t imagine the pain and suffering of the families who lost loved ones in this horrible tragedy. I believe that this incident is the largest loss of life on a modern cruise ship. (Other maritime accidents have resulted in much higher loss of of life, even into the thousands, but most of those accents occurred on older ships or ferries, not modern luxury cruise liners. Wikipedia keeps a comprehensive list of Maritime Disasters. )

Modern cruise ships have many safety and navigational measures that should have prevented this type of accident. There are definitely quite a few questionable actions on the part of the Concordia captain and the delay of the evacuation of the ship. Perhaps most tragic is the fact that people were told to return to their cabins and that everything was under control. I speculate that passengers who could have been safely evacuated might have been sent below only to become trapped by the rising waters. We will learn more as the recovery mission continues.

Cruise Ships Still Very Safe

The main reason that I will still cruise is that cruise ships are still very safe.  Here are a few of the safety facts provided by the Cruiselines International Association:

• Cruise ships are comparable to secure buildings with 24-hour security. Every person on board a cruise ship, from the captain to the cleaning staff and all guests, are placed on official manifests. When sailing to or from U.S. ports , these manifests are provided to U.S. federal law enforcement officials – prior to the ship’s departure – to compare to U.S. databases.
• Guests should be very comfortable with the security measures they see during their cruise vacation. These include the screening of 100 percent of all luggage, carry-ons and provisions coming onto our ships. Screening is done with X-ray machines, metal detectors and human and detector dog searches.
• Passengers and crew may embark or disembark only after passing through security. Once a ship is underway, access is strictly limited to documented employees and fare-paying passengers.
• Each passenger is issued an identification card which contains their digital photo and personal identification information on a magnetic strip that he or she must present when entering or leaving the ship. This technology allows the ship to know which guests and crew members are on board and which are not.
• Each cruise ship has a dedicated security officer and staff whose sole function is the security of its passenger and crew. Typically, security staff personnel have former law enforcement or military background and are trained according to international security regulations.
• Foreign crewmembers on ICCL ships are required to obtain a visa issued by the U.S. State Department for entry into the United States. This visa requires the completion of a background check. In addition, cruise ship employees are pre-screened by recruiting agencies.
• Cruise lines operate within a legal framework under which international, federal and state authorities investigate crimes on board cruise ships. Unlike most instances of shore side crime, the FBI has the authority to investigate and prosecute alleged crimes in international waters involving Americans.
• The U.S. Coast Guard has jurisdiction for inspection and enforcement of international safety and security standards for all ships calling at U.S. ports. In a 1995 study, the U.S. Coast Guard determined that cruising was one of the safest modes of transportation available.

Look at the Statistics Objectively

It can be difficult to find unbiased information on the cruise ship industry online.   Websites with safety information seem to be run by either pro cruise industry associations like the CLIA, or by Attorneys who specialize in suing the cruise ship companies.  The media and litigation attorneys tend to portray cruise ships as unseaworthy disease ridden death traps.  My personal experience tells me that that nothing could be further from the truth.

Though Noro-Virus does strike some vessels, only about 1% of passengers come down with Noro-Virus, and most cases are transmitted among land based institutions.   Yet news media outlets will wait on the dock to interview passengers departing  on a ship that has been stricken with an outbreak.   Should nursing homes and elementary schools receive the same scrutiny when someone gets stomach flu?  Maybe they should, but you rarely heard about Noro other than cruise ships.

When an unfortunate incident occurs like a passenger  falling overboard, the media often sensationalizes the story.  While I don’t diminish the anguish of families who loose a loved one in this way, those who are considering a cruise need to put those incidents in perspective.       About 12 million people will take a luxury cruise in a year.   While no death or disappearance is ever a small matter, the statistics show that people who cruise are probably safer than they would be in any land based vacation or even their every day lives.    For comparison sake, in the United States there are 12 automotive related deaths per year per 100,000 people, and approximately 33,000 deaths per year.  Another statistic that puts the number of cruise ship deaths in perspective is that in a year, approximately 18000 of the 300 million Americans die in accidents in their own homes.  That is approximately 1 death for every 16,000 people.

However,   I find that even the large media outlets tend towards the sensational when it comes to reporting tragedies on cruise lines.      The 20/20 report that aired last Friday on ABC,  states that prior to the Concordia incident,  in the past seven a years, there have been only 16 maritime accident related deaths out of  100 million passengers on cruise ships.  However, even this report sensationalized some of those tragic cruise ship incidents.  The show aired a brief report on  Costa Concordia  and then showed unrelated videos and interviews that were supposed represent the typical issues and problems with the industry as a whole, wild parties and drunken out of control passengers.   It also included interviews with people who have lost family members at sea.  This report really seems to emphasize the negatives with interviews  with only a handful of sources.    In my opinion the report is not balanced, but our readers can watch it and judge for themselves:

abc.go.com/watch/2020/SH559026/VD55165067/2020-120-cruise-ship-confidential

Cruising Will Be Safer Following This Accident

I believe that the cruising industry will be safer following this incident.   The cruise industry responds to the demands of their customers.   Passengers will no doubt more intently pay attention during their muster drills and demand more specific information from the cruise liners about their evacuation procedures.   The lines will no doubt place more strict navigational requirements and enforcement of those rules.    Passengers can be diligent about observing the behavior of senior officers and reporting any perceived inappropriate actions to the cruise line.  The cruise industry will surely be more diligent in vetting their captains and insuring that those captains put passenger safety has their highest priority.

Cruising is Still My Favorite Vacation Option

I have been cruising for vacations since I was a child.    I love the sea, the vistas, the ever changing scenery, the excellent service, and the friendly fun atmosphere on board.    I have met some of the nicest people on cruises and made lifelong friends.   I can’t say that about any other type of vacation that I have taken.  I also realize that a cruise ship is a moving vehicle and has certain risks associated with the fact that it is a mode of transportation.  However, when I take a look at the objective facts, I come to the conclusion that cruising will always be my vacation of choice.    I may be accused of being a bit of a Pollyanna because I love cruising so much, but I do believe that it is one of the best vacation experiences available today.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

Select Dining offers passengers flexible dining times rather than a fixed time and table.   Passengers can select a dining time for each night online before the cruise or make selections as they go according to what fits their schedule best for the next day.   If you have followed my blog for sometime, you know that I have been a staunch advocate for traditional dining.   I always felt that flexible dining was not necessary.   However, a few things have changed in the overall Celebrity cruise experience that have led me to abandon my old staunch ways, and try this different type of dining experience.

Celebrity Captain’s Club Elite Cocktail Hour

We were qualified for the Elite tier of the the Celebrity Captain’s Club, their passenger loyalty program, on our last cruise with Celebrity.  One of the nicest benefits of this program is the complementary cocktail hour offered for two hour on most days.  Initially, that cocktail hour ran from 4:00 to 6:00 which worked well for passengers in the earlier 6:00 dinner seating, but left a void of over 2 hours for those who had the late seating.  We considered moving to the 6:00 seating, but that schedule often requires one to miss the lovely island sail-a-ways, which offer some of the most unforgettable scenery and sunsets that we enjoy.   Hence we stayed with the late seating, which was usually 8:15.

Pushing out of Late Seating

Perhaps in order the better facilitate the Select dinners, Celebrity moved the second seating time from 8:15 to 8:45.   8:45 may be the norm for European passengers, but seems way to late for us Americans.

Prepaid Gratuities

I also had to consider if I wanted to prepay my gratuities for this cruise.   Celebrity requires prepaid gratuities for guest to utilize the Select Dining program.  That policy insures that the dining room servers receive their fair share of gratuities.    Guest must also prepay the house keeping portion of their gratuities as well, which really might be the only objection to this policy.   I have always liked to have some discretion in my tips, but since I have ended up using the auto gratuity system for my last 5 cruises, it is a rather mute point.   I repeatedly end up paying the recommended amount with some additions for a few personnel.   So,  accepting the idea of prepaid gratuities actually was pretty easy for me.

Coming to a Decision

With 6:00 seeming to early, and 8:45 seeming too late, I researched the ins and outs of Select Dining.   It was first introduced about 2 or 3 years ago.  The roll-out experienced a few hiccups, but over all I read positive reviews of the experience.   My main concern was the line outside the Select entrance to the dining room.    We love being able to walk in and sit down in our spot every night.   However, I read that many people were able to be seated right away as well in Select.   Those who did wait had no more than a 10 minute wait.   That process seemed pretty reasonable to me.   Another experienced cruiser told me that she really enjoys the Select Dining now that the Elite Cocktail hour has changed from 4-6 to 5-7.   She said it works as a natural progression to go from the cocktail hour to the Select Dining.

I also found that many times passengers can reserve the same table or the same wait staff.  Though not guaranteed, it would be nice to have that consistency in the main dining room service.

Taking all these items into account, I called my travel agent and had her make the change to my reservation.    She’ll send me a new invoice that will reflect the new dining selection and show the line item for prepaid gratuities.   Those gratuities will be due when the balance of the cruise fare comes due, 90 days before embarkation.

I’ll be sure to report back here after my the cruise to let our readers know how I enjoyed the experience.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

We also have the results of our recent survey on  the recent trend of paid behind the scenes tours. Votes were somewhat split between “Yes, interested” and “No, not interested,” but leaned towards disinterest. The combined percentage in the “No” category totaled 58%, and those in either the “Yes” or “Maybe” category totaling just 42%.

Would you pay for a behind the scenes tour or your cruise ship?

No, its just another way for the cruise lines to make a buck. (47%, 43 Votes)
Maybe, if the perks that go along with the tour make it worth while. (22%, 20 Votes)
Sure, I would be curious to learn about all aspects of the ship. (20%, 18 Votes)
No, I’d just wait till I earn a free tour through the loyalty program. (11%, 10 Votes)

Total Voters: 91

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

Behavior of the Captain

Early reports seem to indicate that the Captain, against Costa policy, ran the ship against rocks while performing a sail-by salute.  In a sail by, a ship passes closer than normal to a land mass and the captain blows the ships horn for the people on shore.   Reports indicate that the captain was making such a maneuver when the Concordia hit rocks which crated a huge 30 meter gash in the hull.  

From that point on, the ship should have been immediately evacuated, however it seems that the coordination of the orders to abandon ship were delayed and that delay resulted in panic and the inability to lower the lifeboat on the upside of the listing ship.   If the ship had been immediately and expediently evacuated, passengers would not have been stranded on the upside of the listing ship.

Reports also indicate that the captain was safely ashore while hundreds of passengers remained stranded on the ship.  This action, if reports prove true,  would be in direct violation of maritime law, punishable by up to 12 years in prison.

Training of the Crew

From passenger reports the listing of the ship seemed to be something with which the crew was not prepared to handle.    The crew on the down side was able to lower their boats, but those on the upside delayed their launch of some boats for too long, until the angle of the list prevented any launch at all.   Passengers had to scurry up an electricians ladder and climb onto the hull of the ship to then climb down a rope ladder to rescue boats. 

Costa reports in their statements “All crew members hold a BST (Basic Safety Training) certificate and are trained and prepared to emergency management and to assist passengers abandoning the ship with numerous drills.”  However, it seems that either they panicked, or that training did not properly prepare them for the unique problems of a listing ship. (Cruise Talk has published Costa’s complete statement here)

It is Cruise Talks opinion that this type of situation should receive more scrutiny by the cruise industry as a whole.  We see crew conducting life boat drills all the time during our cruises, but perhaps the areas of decision making and crowd control under times of distress need to  be addressed as part of that training.   Cruise ship carry life boats and escape rafts in excess of the number needed to safely evacuate all passengers and crew, but if they can’t be launched they don’t help much.   Another report stated that the crew was not able to safely drive the boats once they were in the water.   One passenger even reported that her driver was so short that he could not see out the driver’s window.   That same report said that boats were crashing into each other and even the dock at the safe harbor.

Muster Drill

The muster drill was scheduled for the following morning.   Perhaps if the muster had been held on the day of embarkation, passengers would not have been as confused about what to do and where to go.   The current procedure for muster drills generally call for passengers to report to an indoor muster station and then to their life boat location.    I remember a time in earlier days of cruising that passengers reported directly to their assigned life boat number.   With a ship carrying 4000 people, perhaps the procedures need to be revised for more efficient evacuation.

What You Can Do

As a frequent cruisers, I must confess I seldom think about a ship sinking.    However this disaster has put such a scenario fresh in my mind.   Usually when you are on a ship you carry no money, no identification, and no warm clothing.    Perhaps it might be a prudent to pack a small emergency bag that one could keep near their life jackets.   Within the pockets of the light jackets I would stash some cash, credit cards and identification, possibly a pass port.  Usually, emergency instruction include “Put on some warm clothing”.   If their is enough time from the sound of the alarm to grab the life jackets and coats, then I would have a few more things already ready to go if we had to abandon ship.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to know what more one could do to insure their own safe evacuation.  If other passengers are panicking, then keeping calm can be quite difficult.  A few thoughts that come to mind are taking some extra time on embarkation day to understand the lay out of the ship and the different ways to access my muster station.    I would also want to have an assigned life boat and an alternative life boat should a list prevent deployment.

What The Cruise Industry Should Do

This incident serves as a sobering reminder that travel carries with it certain risks.   It is  time for the cruise industry to look at all safety and evacuation procedures.   With ships growing ever larger and carrying more and more passengers, it may be time to re-evaluate evacuation procedures.    Customers should demand that their cruise lines of choice provide the most extensive and comprehensive safety training, above and beyond what current regulation mandate.  The cruise lines should employ very strict policies when it comes to the behavior of their captains.    If a Captain disregards regulation in small matters, then wouldn’t he be more likely to make the kind of mistake that this captain made?   Cruise lines should maintain zero tolerance policies when it comes to officers breaking procedure.

Fox News ran an interesting article linked here on picking a cruise line for safety

Condolences

As the search and rescue mission continues, our hearts go out to the families all around the world who have lost loved ones to this tragedy.   It is my hope that the industry works as a whole to prevent this type of accident from ever happening again.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

The divers and firemen have rescued three people who remained stranded on the ship. Firemen found a South Korean couple, who were on their honeymoon, when they heard cries from their state room. The couple had been trapped in their cabin, but were in good health. The rescuers also found the cabin service director who had been stranded with a broken leg.

Unfortunately, divers also found the bodies of two elderly men in the flooded area of the ship, bringing the number of confirmed dead to 5. Approximately 15 people remain missing, 9 passengers and 6 crew members.

Questions remain as to the cause of the accident in such well charted waters. The captain may face very serious charges, including man slaughter. Investigators are trying to determine if the accident resulted from a technical failure, human error, or a combination of both .

Regardless of the cause, the passengers and crew had not yet participated in a life boat, or muster drill for this voyage. On all of my cruises, passengers have usually participated in the life boat drill on the first day of embarkation, usually before the ship even leaves the port of embarkation. However, on one of my cruises back in the 70′s the muster drill took place on the first morning of the cruise. The lack of a drill, combined with the listing of the vessel led to a chaotic scene during the evacuation. The following news report highlights the chaos.

This incident certainly highlights the importance of muster drill participation and the effectiveness of the crew in safely and quickly evacuating a distressed cruise ship.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

The accident occurred on January 13, 2012, on the inaugural evening of the cruise which began in the Italian port of Civitavecchia near Rome. Some report that a bang and electrical failure occurred around 8 pm. Other reports simply state that at around 9 pm local, the ship ran aground on a reef near the island of Giglio cutting a huge gash into the hull of the ship. It is not clear at this writing whether two sequential incidents occurred, or if the ship simply ran aground.

The ship then began to list as much as 20 degrees as passengers donned life vests and began to evacuate the ship. The accident happened only a about 50 to 100 meters from shore. Amid the panic and perceived delays in launching the life vessels due to the list, some passengers jumped into the water to try to swim ashore. Reports state that three of those passengers drowned and as many as 7 sustained critical injuries. More recent reports state that the number dead could be as high as 8, with the number likely to increase as more rescue and recovery workers find more bodies. According to the associated press, as many as 70 passengers remain missing at the 12 hour mark after the accident.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

As one who has gotten too much sun while on a tropical vacation,  I can tell you that it is miserable to spend most of your holiday with a painful sunburn.  You can’t sleep. Every movement hurts, and you don’t want anyone touching you.    As a kid I took a walk down the beach one the afternoon in Gulf Shores, Alabama.  We decided to take a dip in the ocean before we turned back to walk home.   That dip washed off my sunscreen and our walk back to the beach house was to the East with the afternoon sun behind us. The result was a very bad burn on the backs of my legs that had me laying on my stomach inside the beach house for the next two days  and begging for Soloarcaine.    In 1993,  my husband and I took a trip to Mactan Island, Philippines.  On my first day there,  I decided to get just a little sun.  We were having such a nice time chatting with other guests and drinking our tropical drinks that pretty soon that little bit of sun turned into a horribly painful sunburn.   I was pretty much miserable for the rest of our trip.   Your cruise vacation is too important to let a sunburn ruin it, so I offer the following tips to keep you sunburn free.

Wear Sun Proof Clothing

After that ill fated trip to the Philippines, I realized that one of the stupidest things we do as human beings is wearing the least amount of clothing (Swimsuits) when we are in the sun for the longest amount of time (by the pool or at the beach).  Recently British Chef and TV Personality Nigella Lawson, caused quite a stir when she choose to wear a “Burkini” on Australia’s Bondi beach.   The suit covered her from ankle to head and even included a little peaked visor to keep the sun off her face.   While many in the press mocked her choice, can you blame her for wanting to protect her skin from sun burn.   She probably had a great day at the beach and only had to think about sunscreen for her face, hands and feet.

I  addressed my need to wear more protective swimwear  a few years ago when I moved to Arizona.  I noticed that even though I was wearing sun screen all the time I was still getting burns and sun damaged skin.   I did some research online and found swimwear that I could order from Australia that provided me with much more coverage than a traditional swim suit.    While not as covering as a burkini, my suit, called a C-Suit, by C Wear,  resembles a wet suit but is made of a lightweight but tightly woven fabric that provides a sun protection factor of 50 that won’t wash off.    C-Wear started making the suits to combat the high rates of skin cancer in Australia.

I don’t see to many others wearing this type of suit,  however the “Rash Guard” or “Swim Shirt” has gained popularity, especially in areas where surfing and beach life are popular.     These shirts come in long and short sleeves and provide an SPF of 50.  They are made of a lightweight material that dries quickly  and doesn’t become heavy or loose its sun protection when wet.    They often come in bold prints as well as basic solid colors.   These types of shirts can be purchased in almost any surfing wear store, sporting goods stores and at many different online outlets, including Amazon.   My teenage kids now prefer these types of shirts to be worn over their regular swim suits rather than the full C-Suit.    The best part of wearing more protective swimwear is that it doesn’t wash off, provides instant protection, and provides you with modest attire when going to or from the beach or pool.

Wear a Hat

A hat makes a big difference on how much sun you get on your face, ears, and neck.   I prefer a broad brimmed hat that not only shades my face, but also my ears and neck.    Many men prefer to wear a ball cap, but  a style with a brim all the way around like a   golf hat, fishing cap, or Panama Jack will provide more coverage.   Men and women who have thinning hair should never go out in the sun with out some sort of head covering.     I even wear my hat in the water.    Many companies market packable and or water proof sun hats that are perfect to take along on a cruise ship.    The cruise ship gift shops also carry a selection of sun hats.

Apply and Reapply Sun Screen

You can never be to generous with sun screen.   You’ll use less if you are wearing sun protective swim wear or swim shirts, but be sure to apply sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or more to any areas that are exposed.   You should re-apply about every hour whether you are swimming or not.    Be sure to apply to sometimes forgotten places like the back of the neck, tops of feet, and between the shoulder blades on the back.   Some sunscreens go on tinted and then fade as they dry so that the user gets visual confirmation that all exposed areas have been covered.

Rent a Cabana or Umbrella

Shade is your friend when you are on a cruise.    Many beaches have chair and umbrella rentals for reasonable prices.  Even the cruise ships themselves are now offering cabanas.  Some ships have free ones that are available first come first serve.  Others are also offering deluxe cabana’s that can be rented for the entire day.     If you are going to be spending much of your port day on the beach,  you may want to rent a lounger and umbrella.   Often they come with a couple of cold tropical drinks or beers.

Don’t Drink and Sun

If you have taken all of the above precautions you are probably safe to enjoy a few alcoholic beverages, but don’t even think about indulging if you haven’t.   Drinking and lying unprotected in the sun is a sure ticket to a bad sunburn.    There was an Scotsman on my Hawaiian cruise that was having a particularly  good time enjoying many activities while on the way to Hawaii.   Then on the first day at sea on the way back, he had a little too much to drink and fell asleep in the sun.    He had to spend the next few days in bed because his sunburn was so bad.   We all want to relax and have a good time, but don’t make the mistake of having those first few afternoon drinks when you haven’t properly protected yourself from the sun first.

Avoid Direct Sun Mid Day

It is best to avoid the sun between 10 am and 3 pm.   During these hours you might do better to limit your time in the sun to 30 minutes or less.  If you want to sit out by the pool you can cover up with a hat and towell or sit in a shaded area.

Remember Tropical Sun Is More Intense

If you live a a place like New York or Chicago, or even Georgia or Texas, the time it takes you to get a sunburn will be longer at those latitudes than it is in the tropical sun.   The sun rays are more direct in the tropics year round, so know that you’ll burn about twice as fast.

Don’t Think a Tan Protects You

Don’t think that a tan protects you.  Some people get a base tan at a tanning booth before they go on vacation, only to find that the intense rays of the tropics burn right through that tan.    The base tan will prematurely age skin and could lead to skin cancer.  Others choose a spray tan which dies the skin darker, but provides no protection from the rays of the sun.    The spray tan may keep you from looking ghostly pale, but be sure to apply as much sunscreen as you would to lily white skin.

Don’t try to get “just a little sun”

This is a “Learn From My Fail” kind of tip.   Every time I’ve decided to get “just a little sun” I’ve ended up with a horrible sunburn, so my advice is: don’t do it!  Either get the spray tan or learn to love you pasty skin.

Don’t Sleep in the Sun

This is another sure ticket to a burn.   If you want to take a nap either make sure you are in a shady area that won’t become sunny as the sun moves, or go to your cabin.

I hope that by following these tips you’ll avoid the pain of a sunburn and have a wonderful cruise vacation.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

I have to admit I am a little biased in recommending Mexican dance performances, as I studied and performed with a troupe in Arizona for 5 years.   During that time I probably learned more about Mexican art and culture than I have during any of my trips to Mexico.  My hope is in sharing my experience with this art form,  I can inspire you to attend one of these shows and appreciate them more thoroughly during your cruise visit to Mexico. I’ve utilized a combination of videos of my troupe’s performances and performances by other groups that exemplify the fun and energy of this art form.

Mexican Folkloric Dancing

Living in the Southwestern United States for most of my life has exposed me to the heavy influence of Mexican culture on our region.  I lived in Texas in both San Antonio and the Dallas Ft. Worth area, where Mexican food and Mariachi Music are very popular.   In the Mercado and Arneson River Theater in downtown San Antonio, tourist and locals enjoy Mexican Folkloric Dance performances.  Festivals throughout the Southwest highlight the historic cultural ties between the US and Mexico. San Diego, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, Tucson, and Phoenix all have major events that feature Mexican folkloric dancing.

In 2003, my husband and I enjoyed a spectacular Folkloric performance on the Celebrity Mercury during our evening in Acapulco.   I was enthralled with the festive music and costumes. A few years later,  I enrolled my daughter in a Ballet/Tap class at a studio in Sierra Vista, Arizona, at Alma Dolores International Dance Center.   After seeing the exciting and fun performances by dancers in the Folklorico class, my daughter and I both decided to sign up for the Mexican dance class.

Over the next 5 years our class learned dances from many different regions of Mexico.   Along the way we learned a lot about Mexican culture  and the unique traditions practiced and brought to life by each state.     Here’s a look at a few of the popular regions and their dances through the the eyes of an American dance student.

National Dance – El Jarabe Tapatio

The Mexican Hat dance is known as the National Dance of Mexico.   This was one of the first dances we learned in our classes and always performed as a finale in our group presentations.     Traditionally, the dance is a courtship dance preformed by one or more couples, but in our class we only had a few boys and young men, so we often performed the dance as a ladies’ chorus, sometimes with a few featured couples.   In a professional show, you will always see it performed by couples.    The song, El Jababe Tapatio, is a medley of popular folk songs from several different regions including Jalisco, Yucatan, and Michoacán.     In our class we performed the dance in our Jalisco dresses, but in professional companies it is usually performed in the highly adorned red, white and green China Poblana costume which is covered with sequined appliques that represent the heritage and history of Mexico, often the eagle holding the snake from the Mexican flag.   The men’s costume is usually the traditional charro costume, but sometimes you’ll see the peasant version substituted with the serape and straw sombrero.

Jalisco

The costumes and traditions of Jalisco are often generically associated with all of Mexico, and most folkloric performances, in any state include at least one dance or song from this region.   The Mariachi music, popular across Mexico originates from this region along with the charro costume worn by musicians and male dancers.    The costume features  the traditional  “Big Sombrero”, and coordinating embroidered or otherwise embellished high-waisted pants and bolero jacket.   The ladies’ costume consists of a double circle skirt trimmed with colorful ribbons topped with a ruffled prairie style top and peplum.   Popular songs performed by Mariachis and dancers include El Son de Galviancillo, Las Alazanas,  and La Negra.   All three songs and  the dances preformed to them feature high energy rhythms and percussive steps to those beats.  Here is a look at all the dancers from the littlest beginners to adults,  from my troupe performing to a medley of Jalisco songs with El Jarabe Tapatio as the finale.

These dances were among the first I learned as part of the dance troupe.  The steps include a combination of heel stomps (Co), toe taps (Ti) and whole foot stomps (Pa).   In class we’d learn the steps by calling out the names in combination and singing the rhythms out loud.   We also had to eventually combine these steps with arm and skirt movements.    As with many Mexican folk dances the ladies hold their skirts and move them along with the music.   This creates a fluid floating element that contrasts with the precised staccato steps.

Veracruz

Chances are, if you nothing about Mexican music or culture, your are familiar with one of the most popular songs from this region thanks to 1950′s pop star Ritchie Valenz and his Top 40 hit “La Bamba.” The song originates from the the Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean state of Veracruz.   The traditional Veracruz music, Son Jarocho,  combines Spanish Seguidillas and Fandangos.  The instruments include several different types of guitars  and a 39 string harp.     Cuban and other Caribbean influences can be found in the costumes which include the Guayabera (4 pocket white shirt) for men and a white dress similar to ones popular in many Caribbean countries combined with an embellished apron and Spanish fan.

If you attend a Mexican Folklorico performance in Mexico, the dancers will most likely perform the percussive La Bamba Dance. You’ll hear the influence of Spain and Cuba in this courtship dance where two of the dancers tie a ribbon together using only their feet and then display the love knot. A distinction that the Veracruz style dances have from many other regions in Mexico is that though the skirts are held by the dancers, the arm movements are much more simple and flowing. The dancers do not raise their arms higher than their shoulders and hold them extended for much of the dancing.

In our class we learned several dances from Vera Cruz during my second year.   The white lace and chiffon costume was perhaps one of my favorites that we wore.   At competition one of the Broadway dance judges mistook our performance to the Veracruz song  “Tilingo Lingo”  for Spanish Flamenco, which is pretty understandable considering the percussive rhythms and the Spanish fans.

In addition, we did learn a dance also from Vercruz featuring slow soft steps.  In “La Bruja”  we balanced lit candles on our heads as we moved slowly, “bewitchingly” around the stage.   The dance was meant to recreate women coming to the sea to meet their men returning from fishing.   Sometimes this dance is performed under a black light to simulate the glow of the moon on the white dresses.

Norteno – Mexican Polka

The music in the Norteno region, or Northern Border region of Mexico is heavily influenced by the German, Czech, and Polish settlers in Texas and other border areas.   States in the Norteno region include Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Sonora, and both Baja Californias (North and South).   Germans who came to Mexico brought their accordions, the saxophones, and bass guitars.     All these influences converged to create Mexican Polka music.   The costumes vary slightly from state to state but generally have strong “Cowboy” and “Rancher’s Daughter” influence.   Both men and women sometimes wear cowboy boots and hats for performances.  Generally the skirts are shorter, mid calf or just below the knee to allow for more freedom of movement and flexed toe style cowboy kicks.   Often the movements mimic the motions of working cowboys and kicking horses.  Though this music and dance dates back to the frontier days, social polka dancing in the Norteno region of Mexico is still very common.

We learned several of these high energy dances in our class and performed one particularly vigorous polka at a National dance competition.  The competition features traditional American dance styles like Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Lyrical, but also has a Folkloric category in which we competed.   We were the only adult group folkloric number entered, and they put our number in the middle of a 1 hour group of lyrical dance numbers.   I’ll never forget the standing ovation our group received, not so much for the quality of the dance, but more for the exciting energy of this type of dance. Norteno music seems to put everyone into a festive mood.

Chiapas

When you hear a wooden marimba, a xylophone like instrument, and see the ladies wearing a beautiful multi-colored lace dress. you are probably watching a Chiapas performance.  The dress style, very popular in tourist shops around Mexico, features a peasant style ruffled top and full lace skirt.  Both the top and the skirt are embroidered completely with 4 inch diameter flowers in an array of bright colors. Generally the dresses sold in gift shops have a more streamlined skirt, but the professional dance version is usually a double circle skirt. The dance most often associated with this dress is Chiapanecas, which is another one of those tunes that is often confused with the Mexican hat dance.   Dancers often invite the audience to join in with them on the sets of double claps in the song.

Sinaloa

When we made our most recent cruise to Mexico we were greeted at the pier in Mazatlan by a big brass “Oom-Papa” band.  I was taking Mexican dance class at the time but we had not yet studied the music and dance of Sinaloa.   I had no idea what this music was and why they were playing it in Mazatlan.   It turns out that the “Banda” music dates back to the 1800′s when Mexicans wanted to emulate the European marching bands popular at that time.   It wasn’t until the 1940′s when this music came to be commonly associated with Sinaloa.   Up until the 1970′s Sinaloa had no state form of folk dance, so choreographers took the basics of the Jalisco style and then incorporated their own twist.    The arm movements and steps are very similar to those used in  Jalisco, but the new choreography emphasizes the more percussive nature of the music. The female dancers usually weare either a double circles style skirt and peasant blouse trimmed with calico ruffles or the more modern version that features hand painted images of icons of Sinaloa. These dances are often staged as part of carnival celebrations or staged versions may include a carnival themed finale.

Nayarit

The dances we learned from Nayarit are some of my favorite dances. The music, played predominantly string instruments, is a recreation of historic songs. Though the costumes are representations of early 20th century Nayarit fashion, and men’s skill with the machete’s represents the historic agricultural significance of the area, the dances are really 1970′s theatrical creations. Our class was exhausted after only a few minutes of the intensive work with the skirts that moves beyond the shoulder height of the Jalisco dances, to all the way behind the top of the head. Another challenging element of these dances is the men’s juggling of machetes. In our class, the two young men would go outside for about half the practice time and just work on tossing the safely dulled, but real, machetes. This is a video of our troupe performing these dances. The state of Nayarit is located just north of Puerta Vallarta where a few new resort hotels have gone up in the last few years.

Other Dances You Might See:

Folkloric groups may also present some other popular dances which include traditional indigenous dances like the Yaqui Deer Dance which tells the story of the struggle between good and evil or the Aztec dances which date to pre-Columbian times. Many of the Aztec dances were performed as part of their ritual and celebrations to honor the gods.

Another folkloric “dance” you might see is the The Danza de los Voladores (Dance of the Flyers). The ritual consists of dance and the climbing of a 30 meter pole from which four of the five participants then launch themselves tied with ropes to descend to the ground. The fifth remains on top of the pole, dancing and playing a flute and drum. According to myth, the ritual was created to ask the gods to end a severe drought. Although the ritual did not originate with the Totonac people, today it is most strongly associated with them, especially those in and around Papantla. Originally a pagan ritual, many of the performers today are Catholic and perform the ritual to honor Christ or the Virgin Mary.

If your repositioning cruise or trans-Panama Canal cruise visits Oaxaca Mexico, you might choose a folklorico show that recreates the festival of La Guelaguetza. This festival boasts some of the most spectacular costumes in all of Mexico, with each costume and dance representing a different indigenous tradition. The men often wear elaborate per-columbian style headdresses, and the women wear both dresses and tunics and a variety of spectacular head pieces.

Excursions and Performances:
When booking an excursion that includes a folkloric dance performance look for the key words in excursion description such as: Mexican fiesta, Mexican Folkloric Ballet, Folkloric Performance, Folkloric Dance.

The “Papantla Flyers” perform for cruise tourist in Mazatlan, though their high wire act hails from Veracruz. We very much enjoyed this show in Mazatlan which featured La Bamba, a teen age trick roper, El Jarabe Tapatio, and the high wire spinning dare devils. Here is a link to our Gallery: Mazatlan 2006

On that same cruise the Antonio Ramirez Folklorico Spectacular came on board in Acapulco and performed one of the best folkloric presentations I have ever seen. The costumes were particularly spectacular if not always completely authentic. Here are some of the pictures from that performance.

List of some of the ports with folkloric performance excursions:
Lereto
Ensendada
Cozumel
Huatulco
Mazatlan

Ships that go to Pacific Mexico:
Carnival Inspiration
Star Princess
Crystal Symphony
Zaandam
Disney Wonder
Carnival Spirit
Sapphire Princess
Oosterdam
Carnival Inspiration

Ships that Go to Caribbean Mexico:
All major cruise lines.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

I had been taking a Flamenco dance class for about 5 years back home in AZ.  We were always ordering, making, or buying costumes for our group numbers.  Our class went to competition every year, and I had been thinking about performing a Flamenco solo number in the competition.   However, I didn’t have a suitable solo performance dress, which meant either re-purposing one of our group costumes for a solo, or borrowing one from the teacher.   I was hoping to possibly get a dress while we were in Spain, but I knew that the kind of dress I really wanted was probably about $600 in the boutique stores, which was really way over budget for something like that.

Our ship, the Celebrity Solstice arrived in Cartagena to beautiful weather and a spectacular coast line.   Since, our kids wanted to stay on board in the morning to participate in the kids program activities, just my husband and I ventured into town.   With the ship docked at the marina right in town, we just wandered off the ship and looked for the most promising area to explore.   Along the way we enjoyed seeing the lovely ornate Spanish architecture that gave the town a special charm   We found the main pedestrian shopping street right off the water front Plaza de los Héroes de Cavite.  I found a Flamenco inspired kitchen apron for my dance teacher and good quality castanets in a touristy gift shop.  Reasonably priced clothing shops, department stores and little cafes lined the narrow cobblestone street.    We walked nearly to the end of the street and then decided to veer off to the right to see what was down that way.  About a block or two off the main street we decided that we were no longer in the main shopping area and decided to head back.  We took a side street parallel to the main street and then headed back towards it on a perpendicular street.

As we headed down that street, we saw a store with all kinds of Sevillians Flamenco dresses hanging in on the doors and windows outside the store.   A Sevillians style dress typically has a dropped waist  and layers of ruffles in the skirt and the sleeves.   The ruffled skirts sometimes start at the hips and in sleeker styles start just above the knees.  Typically they are made from bright polka-dot or floral fabric and coordinating trim on each of the ruffles.   Spanish women continue to wear this historic dress for dance performances and when attending  festivals like the Feria in Seville.

Unlike tourist shops we had seen in other towns, this shop had both children and adult dresses and no two were alike.  The shop carried a variety of clothing, and a quick glance around told me that this must be a resale shop, kind of a “Goodwill” of Spain, though maybe a business rather than a charity.  In my horribly limited Spanish, I told the store proprietor that I would like to try some of the dresses on and asked how much.  The shop keeper  was glad to help me and told me the price of the dresses, which I didn’t quite get, but my husband understood.   The first couple of dresses were a little too small, so one of the guys that worked in the store went to the back and brought out several more dresses for me to try-on.   I found two that fit, but was still worried about the price, since I hadn’t quite understood what the store owner had told me.   My husband still encouraged me to select from the two dresses that fit.  When I decided on the black and orange floral dress, I again requested the price from the store owner.   He said what sounded like “veinte”, which is 20 in Spanish, and that just was not registering with me as a possibility of the price of the dress.   Seeing the obvious confusion on my face, he then pulled a 20 Euro bill from his pocket and showed it to me with the word “veinte”.  Well that was certainly the right price as 20 Euros was about $30 US.   I gladly paid 20 Euros and headed back the ship.

As we got closer to ship I began to realize that, although I was thrilled with my purchase, the new dress might take up half of a suitcase, space which we didn’t have.   We decided that once we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale we would seek out a FedEx Kinkos shop and ship the dress back home from there.   When packing our suitcases on the last day of the cruise, we packed the dress, some heavy coats, and a vase we had won at the Hot Glass Show give-away in a carry off bag.  Once we got into our hotel for our overnight in Ft. Lauderdale, I had the shuttle driver take me to the FedEx Kinkos office.   I packed up all our extraneous items and shipped them ground back home to Arizona.

Now fast forward to the next Summer.   I finally got to wear the dress for the purpose for which I bought it, the annual dance competition in Anaheim California.   I had worn it on a whim to a New Years Eve party where the host had told me to “wear whatever you want, there is no particular dress code” and to a couple of dance studio local performances, but wearing the dress for my competition Flamenco solo was the moment for which I had been waiting.   The addition of accessories including oversize earrings and, for my hair, a Spanish comb and white flowers, completed the look.   I walked out onto the stage just hoping I could get all the choreography and footwork just right.   I also knew that even if I didn’t get everything perfect, I at least looked good in my authentic dress.  I was thrilled when they announced my scores as I had earned a Platinum first place in the adult folkloric category.

That dress is definitely the most memorable, unusual, authentic and functional souvenir I have picked up in all my travels.   We invite our readers to share any of their interesting and memorable shopping experiences from their past cruises.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

The CDC provides us with the following facts about the illness:

“Viral Gastroenteritis > Norovirus > Illness Key Facts

Norovirus—the stomach bug

Norovirus is a highly contagious illness caused by infection with a virus called norovirus. It is often called by other names, such as viral gastroenteritis, stomach flu, and food poisoning.
Norovirus infection causes acute gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach and intestines); the most common symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain.
Anyone can get norovirus, and they can have the illness multiple times during their lifetime.
Norovirus is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis in the United States.

Norovirus illness can be serious

Norovirus can make people feel extremely ill and vomit or have diarrhea many times a day.
Most people get better within 1 to 2 days.
Dehydration can be a problem among some people with norovirus infection, especially the very young, the elderly, and people with other illnesses.”

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had been particularly active in improving the estimates of norovirus disease
burden. Their recent findings highlight the advances in norovirus epidemiology and suggest that the burden is similar to other
infectious diseases where immunization has become standard practice:
• Norovirus afflicts 21 million people per year in the U.S.
• The community attack rate of norovirus in the U.S. is 6.5%.
• Norovirus is responsible for 200,000 deaths annually in children • From 1999-2007 norovirus caused, on average, 797 deaths per year in the U.S., surging up to 50% during epidemic seasons.
• Norovirus is the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis in the community, and among persons seeking care in outpatient clinics or
emergency departments.
• Norovirus leads to an estimated annual mean of 71,000 hospitalizations in the U.S., surging to 100,000 during epidemic seasons.
- 18,500 to 37,000 hospitalizations per year are in children $10B in indirect loses and costs.
• Norovirus accounts for over 5 million cases (58%) of food poisoning annually, resulting in 14,600 hospitalizations.”

Promising, but not 100% effective

The company has developed two promising forms of the the vaccine, an injection form and a nasal spray. Both contain no active virus, but instead virus like particles. In testing they gave the vaccine to 47 test participants and placebo to 43 participants. They then exposed the participants orally to about 10 times the amount of the virus needed to typically infect about half of the general population. The results of the testing showed that the new vaccine is about 50% in preventing the disease and reduced the severity of the disease of those who still came down with it by 35%. Generally, most vaccine producers try to achieve an 80% to 90% effectiveness rate. However, the vaccines still needs to be tested in the “wild” as sometimes the effectiveness rate improves when subjects are casually exposed to an infectious agent rather than an intentional clinical exposure.  The immunity to the virus can last about 2 years as this is an agent that tends to mutate through genetic drift like influenza. Hence,  like the influenza vaccine, the Norovirus vaccine would need to be updated and re-administered every year or two.

LigoCyte may choose to still make the vaccine available even at the only 50% effectiveness rate as it still could benefit those in institutional settings and the elderly who are extremely vulnerable to the virus.  Cruise ships may be one of those “institutional settings” where the general population as well as the crew could benefit from the vaccine even with an only 50% effectiveness rate.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

History

In the “golden age of  pleasure cruising”, back in the 70′s, some cruise lines experimented with these types of tours.  One ship my parents cruised  offered both  an engine room tour and kitchen tour as an on board activity.   As ships got larger and started to carry more and more passengers, liability and larger numbers made offering such tours to the general populous of the ship  impractical.   However,  In order to attract and reward repeat customers, cruise lines started offering loyal customers a limited number of tours to areas like the galley and the back stage.  However, these tours are now available to any guest for a charge.   The tours include behind the scenes looks at the bridge, the galley, back stage, and other  crew areas.   Most likely the cruise lines have has enough requests for these kinds of tours that they  realized they could easily  offer  limit number of spaces and produce revenue by charging a fee.

Cruise Talk Opinion

While I have participated in these types of tours as part of my loyal customer benefits, I don’t think I would ever pay a fee.    On one cruise I enjoyed the galley tour immensely because I found it fascinating to see the how and where of creating a memorable dining experience for so many customers on a daily basis.    Other cruises included tours of the backstage area,  bridgeand a helipad sail away.   All interesting, but not  something I feel like I need to do again even for free, much less for a fee.  On the other hand, if you are on your first cruise and want to explore and learn more about the ship, and the fee seems reasonable, go for it!  Most people report that they really enjoy the experience.

What the Cruise Lines Offer:

Carnival:

Behind the Fun Tour

$95 per person

Introduce in 2009

3 1/2 hours

Includes: Captain, chief engineer, chef de cuisine and other department heads, share their vast knowledge in their particular area of expertise.  Q&A sessions with the captain and chief engineer, respectively.

Includes:

Perks:   Behind the Fun baseball cap and lanyard

Team Carnival Picture Perfect book with stunning photographs of Carnival ships and destinations taken by the line’s employees

Complimentary photos with the captain on the bridge.

Restrictions:   Capacity is limited to 16 guests per tour.   Guests must be 13 or older to participate.   No Cameras

Celebrity:

Two offerings under Inside Access Banner:

See How it’s Done Tour 

$150  per person

3 hours

Perks: Wine Pared Lunch

Restrictions: No more than 15 guests per tour. There will be least one tour per cruise if 7 nights or less and at least two tours per cruise if 8 nights or longer.  Guests must be at least 6 years old to participate in the tour.

Bridge Sail Away Experience

$75 per person

1 hour -  30 minutes prior to sailing and remain there up to 30 minutes after the ship sails.

Perks: Meet and take photos with the Captain.

Restrictions:   This tour can take place on any port day (except for embarkation day).   Scheduling is at the discretion of each Captain.   Guests must be at least 6 years old to participate in the tour.

Royal Caribbean

All Access Tour

$150 per person

3 1/2 hours

Includes:

Perks: Guided Tour

Restrictions: At least one All Access Tour will be offered on every Royal Caribbean sailing shorter than seven nights. Two tours will be offered aboard seven-night or longer voyages with additional tours added, based on demand.   15 people per tour.

Princess

NCL

Two Hour Basic

$55 per person

Tour Includes:

Perks: Meet and Greet with Captain and other officers

7 Hour Extravaganza

$150

Includes all of the above  plus extra perks

Extra Perks:  Sushi Making, Saki Tasting, Group Photo taken on the bridge, One cup of speciality coffee, Pre-dinner cocktails, Dinner with a glass of wine in Cagney’s Steakhouse

Restrictions: NCL will do the tours once per cruise on a sea day.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

Their press release provided the following details about the new suites:

“CELEBRITY’S ‘SIGNATURE SUITES’ MAKE THEIR MARK

Located in a private area of the ship’s 14th deck, Celebrity Reflection’s five Signature Suites each offer a 441-square-foot stateroom area and 118-square foot veranda, with floor-to-ceiling windows and veranda doors, all designed to maximize the stunning views of the sea. Celebrity’s Signature Suites each can accommodate up to four guests, and will offer the luxurious 24/7 butler service that is a hallmark of every suite across the Celebrity fleet.

The entire area – including the stunning new Reflection Suite – features cardkey access exclusively for guests booked in the elite group of suites, such that a family or group of up to 26 guests traveling together can enjoy a private, six-suite modern luxury vacation experience.

REFLECTING ON THE NEW ‘REFLECTION SUITE’

Nestled in the highly desirable corner location near Celebrity’s new Signature Suites, the Reflection Suite will be the brand’s first two-bedroom suite, complete with a truly distinctive sea-view bathroom extending out over the edge of the ship, a veranda tub with soothing rain shower, and panoramic views courtesy of the wraparound veranda. The 1,636-square-foot Reflection Suite with 194-square-foot veranda – complete with Celebrity’s luxurious 24/7 butler service – can accommodate up to six guests.”

Cruise Talk Opinion
What the press release doesn’t state is that these new suites are located right next to the observation lounge/night club. This location is traditionally used by Celebrity for their evening parties, karaoke, and other evening special events. Unless they have wrapped these suites in a very thick layer of sound proof insulation, the noise may be bothersome to suite goers. The balconies could also be completely unprotected the from the wind. If passengers are able to use the balcony while the ship is in motion, the noise from the disco could be a problem, even if it is not audible from the room. They are also located on one of the highest decks on the ship, right near the bow. For those who are sensitive to motion, this could also create a problem.

It looks like the real estate for the suite will be acquired from the conference rooms and the observation lounge. This takes away the 180 degree views that are currently available on all the S-Class ships. That view is one of my favorite parts of the observation lounge. Also, it will eliminate the designated smoking area in this lounge. Non-smokers will probably cheer that the observation lounge will reportedly now be completely smoke free, but quite honestly, the lounge was large enough and well ventilated enough that the few smokers in the lounge never really bothered me (a non-smoker also). I know exclusive suites with extra perks are all the rage in the cruise industry, but I’m not sure that Celebrity had the right idea in trying to retrofit an existing design of a ship with more suites. They would have done better to wait until the design and creation of a new style of ship to introduce these additional exclusive suites.

We’d love to hear from our readers on these suites. Do they sound like something you’d be anxious to book, or do you feel that they will detract from the over ambiance of observation lounge? Let us know what your are thinking.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

1. Exude a Positive Attitude

You’d be amazed at what a difference it makes to greet others with smile and a friendly attitude. Remember your ship’s crew members work long days on their feet and it can make a difference just to have someone treat them in a kind way. I’m not talking about the term “panglossianism” which describes baseless optimism, but a positive attitude based on the fact that you are on a cruise vacation where you have every reason to be excited about new experiences, meeting new people, trying new foods, enjoying old favorites, and having the opportunity to step away from the work of your every day life. This is the one week or two of your year where you should have little worry or care, so cruisers should reflect that circumstances in a positive attitude.

2.  Show a Proper Level of Respect and Appreciation for the Professionals who Work on Your Ship.

When you are back home working in your chosen profession, you work hard and expect those efforts to be appreciated by those around you. Crew members on a ship are no different.  They get up in the morning and set out to do the best they can at their chosen profession. From the cabin steward who cleans your room to the bartender who makes your drinks to the waiter that brings your food, they are professionals. The cruise lines provide them training and a certain expectation level which they must meet or they would not be allowed to continue in their job. With that in mind, I have the following “Do’s and Don’ts”

Do Show Respect for their Profession:   If there is something that would truly make your cruise experience more enjoyable don’t hesitate to ask. However, respect the fact that cruise employees are serving both you and other passengers. Making ridiculous demands will make it more difficult for them to serve the other passengers for which they are also responsible.  I have seen others talk down to crew members or indignantly berate them for minor infractions. Even though they are trained in dealing with difficult or rude customers, it is just human nature not want to offer the best service to people who are rude or indignant.

Do Use Common Courtesy: Show your appreciation with a little bit of basic manners a “Please” and “Thank You” go along way towards making the crew feel appreciated.

Do Communicate Your Appreciation:  When you have a special request, let the person who fulfilled the request know how this has made your cruise better. This appreciation might extend beyond a simple thank you to explain how much the extra effort meant to you. To you cabin steward you might say, “Oh, thank you so much for bringing that extra blanket, now I can sleep warmly while my husband has the temperature where he likes it.” Or to your wine Steward you might say “Thank you so much for recommending this wine, it is exactly what we like.” Of course you can always show your appreciation through the tipping system. If you use auto tipping or prepaid rather than individual envelopes, you can simply mention to them that you have utilized the system, that you want them to know how much appreciate their service.

Do Use a Patient and Positive Tone of Voice:  Always use a professional courteous tone when working to resolve an issue. Raising one’s voice is never necessary to resolve an issue on a cruise ship.

Quite honestly, we’ve only had two major service issues in all our years of cruising: less than desirable dining room table assignments and an over extended wine steward.

Twice we were assigned a big table when traveling with our pre-teen children, and once our table was in  a poor location behind the stairs. In all three incidences I patiently waited my turn with the maître d’  on the afternoon of embarkation day and explained to him in a calm patient way,  why I wanted a table change.   In all three incidences, the  maître d’responded courteously and made the necessary arrangements.

With the wine steward we learned from our mistake of joking about the problem and in not addressing the issue in proactive manner. Our wine steward seemed to be assigned to0 many tables. He would bring our wine out right away and place it on the table, but did not return in a timely manner to open the bottle. We had a running joke about it with our other table mates until the Head Maitre d’ came by our table one night and asked if we needed anything. We joked that we needed a cork screw, but if we had been a bit more proactive, that  Maitre d’ would have insured that we had better wine service for the rest of the cruise. I did learn my lesson from that experience and addressed the issue proactively before we even ordered our fist bottle on future cruises. We have had more than excellent wine service ever since.

Don’t Escalate Before  You Have Given Your Provider an Opportunity  to Take Corrective Action:  The first person to ask for corrective action should be  your assigned crew member.   He or she would rather have the opportunity to please  you, the customer, rather than get in trouble with their supervisor. If you have a very minor issue, for example your room not being cleaned when you are out of the room. You probably can discuss your schedule with with your cabin steward or find a way of letting him know when the room would be available for cleaning. If you are not happy with your dining room meal selections, let your waiter know right away so that he can bring something else right away.

Do Escalate When Necessary:  Working with your immediate provider will probably resolve most issues in a timely manner. However, if you have discussed a service issue with the immediate service provider and it has not been resolved, then open the line of communication with the immediate supervisor. If your issue is a legitimate one, most cruise lines, which strive for the highest level of service, will work quickly to provide the additional resources, training or assistance needed to resolve your issue. Again, exuding  a positive, professional, proactive attitude is your most effective tool in helping you to resolve your issue.

Do Address the Issue, Not the Person: Anyone who has ever taken a management course knows this rule, but it not only applies toward business but also when addressing service issues from the customer’s point of view. Discuss the specific area for improvement with out putting down person. This can be a little tricky when the person involved may be at the root of the problem, but for the most part any service issue can be addressed in this way. Just remember to be specific about the areas for improvement. For example when escalating: “I am concerned that our house keeper may not have sufficient training in the area of shower cleaning or perhaps doesn’t have the proper cleaning agents, because there is still mold in my shower after I pointed it out two days ago.” or “I believe that our wine steward may be assigned too many tables as we have to wait for our wine to be opened and are refilling our own glasses.”

Most importantly phrasing the issue in this non-confrontation way gives the opportunity for the service people to offer a solution rather than having to defend their employees or their actions.

Do Report Issues Promptly: This is particularly important in your cabin and your dining room experience. If you notice something early on in the cruise, like a cabinet that won’t stay latched, report it right way so that the crew can fix it. In the dining room, if a dish is not to your liking your waitstaff can quickly replace it with something else. Don’t cut off tips or wait to put the issue on the end of cruise comment card.

Don’t Dig in Your Heels, Be Flexible!: Digging in your heals, insisting on one thing,  when something else might be just as good (even if it wasn’t your original choice), will simply make your situation more difficult if not impossible to resolve. If your excursion gets cancelled find another one that looks nearly as good or get a refund and enjoy spending it on something else. If the kitchen runs out of your entree,  find something else that looks good, or use this problem as an opportunity to request something special a head of time for the next night. Remember that the crew will use all the resources they have available to them to resolve your issue, but because the cruise ship has somewhat limited resources, they may have to work with you to find acceptable substitutions.

A cruise is my vacation of choice mostly because of the excellent standards of service maintained by the cruise industry. Critics might say I am  a panglossianist, or Polly Anna, who just enjoys cruising so much that I don’t see the problems. However, I truly believe that excellent service and standards of the cruise industry are the main reasons for its success. We invite our readers to share their experience with service levels on different cruise lines. What techniques have you used to resolve service issues?   What mistakes have you made in handling service issues? When you had service issues how quickly and to your satisfaction were they resolved?   Have you ever run across fellow passengers or crew who definitely need an attitude adjustment?  Please share with us your thought on the issue of customer attitudes, resolution techniques and service in the cruise industry.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.

©2012 Cruise Talk Central. All Rights Reserved.