Cruising, oh boy!

Only been on one cruise courtesy of our boss at the time. Would love to go on the Viking or NCL line as they sound better than the Carnival one we took. Hey, it was free and a bonus for a job well done. The boss could write it off and none of us had ever been on one. We had a great time as the only requirement we had was to have dinner together each night so it could be written off as a business expense. He paid for everything and I think all of our employees were glad to have all of us gone for a week. Enjoyed it and would go again.
 

We love to cruise, but for sure it's not for everybody. We like that you get on the hotel - it takes you places and someone else does all the cooking and cleaning. We've done mostly the Caribbean and the ports don't mean that much any more. Some of the best times on the ship are when everyone else is off. We're not big party or drinking people. We like the shows and trivia games. Mostly though, we take a stack of books, camp out in a quiet spot on a deck and relax, read and watch the ocean go by. The motion doesn't bother me at all. The wife starts taking one Bonine a day the day before embarkation and she has no problems either. We started on Carnival for a couple of cruises, moved up to Royal Caribbean, until last year when we switched to Princess. We're officially retiring in January (hence my interest in this forum) and are budgeting for one or two cruises a year for as long as we are able.
 
I flew for 33 years and loved every day of it, but I know that it's a different story back in coach. This is why I encourage my friends to get an airline credit card and use it for everything that they are able to, so that they can add up points and then cash them in to get a first class ticket, preferably to an international destination. Once they do that, I am sure that they will be hooked.

The last person to do that actually bought me a bottle of Canadian Club, which is my preferred brand of sipping whiskey. My friend's wife said that she was overwhelmed with the treatment that she received. Since at least last year, they are saving their points for a free first class trip to Spain. They figure that by Christmas of this year they will have enough. They set up auto pay with their bank using their United card.
 

oldman said:
I flew for 33 years and loved every day of it, but I know that it's a different story back in coach. This is why I encourage my friends to get an airline credit card and use it for everything that they are able to, so that they can add up points and then cash them in to get a first class ticket, preferably to an international destination. Once they do that, I am sure that they will be hooked.

The last person to do that actually bought me a bottle of Canadian Club, which is my preferred brand of sipping whiskey. My friend's wife said that she was overwhelmed with the treatment that she received. Since at least last year, they are saving their points for a free first class trip to Spain. They figure that by Christmas of this year they will have enough. They set up auto pay with their bank using their United card.
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I think that sounds like a good idea, but I thought the airlines were cutting way back on that type of program and the frequent flyer miles. I've read where you might as well not even bother anymore with these types of airline programs because of all the rules and restrictions they put on now. Do all the airlines have credit cards?
 
Uptosnuff said:
I think that sounds like a good idea, but I thought the airlines were cutting way back on that type of program and the frequent flyer miles. I've read where you might as well not even bother anymore with these types of airline programs because of all the rules and restrictions they put on now. Do all the airlines have credit cards?
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Not sure how many airlines have cards, but I do know United promotes their card pretty heavily as does; American, Delta and Southwest. I get free domestic travel, so I use my points to upgrade to first class. We pay all of our bills with our card and then pay the bill when it comes in at the end of the month. Points, or miles, pile up quickly. I haven’t heard of airline cards being done away with. Southwest has no black out dates with their card.
 
Ken——-Back in the late 80’s, I had been flying over land and decided it was time for a change. I really had no desire to fly international routes, but I thought maybe Hawaii would be fun and having a plane full of passengers flying there would also be exciting as I would be part of their Hawaii experience. After doing my time in the sims (simulators), I was ready to take my qualification test on the Boeing 747 and if I passed, I would’ve flying from Chicago O’Hare to Honolulu or Lihue in Kauai.

On my first flight from O’Hare to Honolulu, I flew over the Pacific Ocean for about 6 hours. It was a beautiful sight to see, especially when I saw so many small islands in the Pacific that I never knew existed.

After I had been flying that route for about ten months, we had a female passenger that totally freaked out because she thought for sure that we would crash into the Pacific and she would drown because she didn’t know how to swim. I mean she really was a mess. When we arrived in Honolulu, we had called ahead and had her transported to the hospital. I always wondered how she made it home.
 
We took the grands on a Carnival cruise the summer before last. It was fun in many respects, but crowded and noisy, and I hated the buffet. But then DH and I took a Viking ocean cruise last summer. It was hands down fabulous. Of course, we paid a lot more for that fabulousness, but it was great. We're taking another one for sure. Viking is all about service and comfort.
 
I remember back in my early days of flying, I was asked by my supervisor if I would like to earn some extra money by flying a tour group from Ft. Lauderdale to Boston. I accepted almost immediately. From Boston, they were going to be taken to somewhere in Canada, which was their beginning point.

The group had been on a week long cruise. I can’t remember the name of the tour company or cruise line. I believe I had about a hundred passengers onboard. We had taken off on time for our planned three hour flight to Boston Logan and we were flying a Boeing 737.

We had only been in the air for about an hour when the Purser calls the cockpit and tells us that she has several sick people throwing up. I asked her how her and the other Flight Attendants (F/A) were doing. She said they were all OK. At that point, I told her to keep us informed. Meanwhile, I started thinking whether to divert or head to the closest airport. I decided to land in Charleston, SC.

In less than 15 minutes later, the Purser calls again. She tells us that half the passengers are ill. I told her to prepare the cabin for landing; that we will be in Charleston in about 20 minutes. The F/O called Jacksonville and explained the situation and asked for vectors to Charleston.

After some of the passengers were examined, it was determined that they all ate tainted shrimp just before leaving the ship in Ft. Lauderdale.
And that’s my cruise story.
 

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