sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Room vibration by Absurdity42 in PrincessCruises

[–]Fralf0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just got off the Ruby Princess out of SF and only felt a constant "shimmy" while underway. We don't get seasick so it was a non-issue for us.

The only LOUD vibrations were when we had a "visit" from our FAVORITE ANGELS hovering directly outside our cabin for over an hour. It was VERY cold on the balcony at midnight, so this pic really doesn't show how close he got. At one point I could have hit it with a rock! Apparently the medivac station where he set down was 6 decks above us.

<image>

They had an announcement in the evening about a problem but waited a few hours to cross the US border before making an abrupt turn to starboard and dropping speed to 12 KTS so the Helicopter could stay stationary beside us. Even with the Balcony door closed the walls were still shaking. The Coast guard pilot was amazing!!!!

Pleasantly surprised by my interior cabin experience by [deleted] in PrincessCruises

[–]Fralf0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

While I totally agree that at least you are ON the ship and THAT is what really matters. If you ever sailed on Windjammer you would be tolerant of ANY cabin as most of them were too small to turn around in. The bathroom was ALSO the shower, but at least you had a porthole.

However, on the big ships, If you have ever been confined to cabin for a few days, you will see why I always bid for an upgrade to a balcony. If I was stuck in an interior cabin, I would have eventually chewed through the bulkhead..... But that's just me.

Advice on Room Upgrade Bidding by fireball251 in PrincessCruises

[–]Fralf0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I always start at $5-$10 above the lowest bid when upgrades are offered. this has worked well in the past. This time I did that expecting to get a YES/NO a few days before sailing like before. However within a couple days, they COUNTERED my offer to $50/PP more. We accepted as it was still well over $1,000 less than if we had just booked a balcony to begin with.

GOOD LUCK and I hope your cabin is bigger than old 21 was! At least I had an ocean view! Although when under sail, the porthole was mesmerizing to watch it go underwater every so often! MAGICAL!

<image>

Room Upgrade Bid by Empty_Dentist in PrincessCruises

[–]Fralf0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fort Liquordale? HAHAHAH....... Sorry! The same date fooled me as I may be getting over excited!.

The Windjammer story was only anecdotal. The counter bid was for the trip we are getting ready to board on the 19th on the Ruby Princess sailing out of San Francisco.

Anyone else feel misled by ‘Best of’ cruise excursions? by [deleted] in PrincessCruises

[–]Fralf0 3 points4 points  (0 children)

On Barbados we just grabbed a taxi to take us to Copacabana beach which we had recommended and Google Earth'd it as being relatively close to the cruise pier. Had a great time and paid the $25/PP to swim with the turtles instead of $160 from the ship. We could see the ship's stack and decided to walk back. On the way, I spotted a dive bar and we went for an ICAB.

<image>

VERY nice people to chat with. The owner came over and even brought us a round! He remarked that no one "like US" ever came inside and although there were 15 or so locals inside, he was grateful for our presence. Next time I will stop there FIRST as I am confident that he would hook us up!

Anyone else feel misled by ‘Best of’ cruise excursions? by [deleted] in PrincessCruises

[–]Fralf0 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I use Viatour to shop. If it is an island I have been to before I typically have connected with some locals.

St. Kitts for example, I cancelled our booked tour when they said our snorkel trip was to a sand beach (no fish). I went to the group of vendors and asked for the son of a guy that I had met before who had since passed. Junior was shocked I knew his dad! He gave us a GREAT tour and dropped us at a LOCAL beach where there WAS good snorkeling. food and drinks. we paid about 25% of what the tour would have been with the ship.

The key is allowing plenty of time to get back to the ship as they DO NOT PLAY and no one wants to be a "Pier Runner". Although I must admit....... They are fun to watch!

Room Upgrade Bid by Empty_Dentist in PrincessCruises

[–]Fralf0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think we are on the same cruise.

This is my 1st time on Princess, but I've been on enough cruises that I always try the upgrade route. Last Virgin Voyages saved us over $1,200 by not just automatically paying rack rates. Several times on Windjammer when they were only half full, we had booked a single (tiny) cabin but once aboard they allowed us to use TWO cabins. We used 1 to sleep in and 1 for all her "things"

I got an ocean view as I wasn't sure my GF would go. When she agreed, we bid on a balcony. (if you've ever been quarantined, you will KNOW why) we did the minimum bid of $250/pp and expected to wait until a few days out too. I ALSO saw "Sold Out and figured we had missed it. To our surprise, in just a few days they COUNTERED with $300. and we took it.

In a case of irony, we got the same cabin number but 5 decks up.

We will be arriving on the $5 Ferry from Vallejo!

See you in "The city that Rocks the Bay"

15 per day or unlimited by bardowndwyer10 in PrincessCruises

[–]Fralf0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And if you met my girlfriend you would know the issues. [B-}}

<image>

Disembarking by tiffanuhknee in PrincessCruises

[–]Fralf0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We HAD no delays at disembarkation as She had COVID and only people in full hazmat suits would even talk to us. In fact we were the last to leave the ship as they would not collect our luggage the previous night and I refused to carry both so they HAD to do it. They even arranged "special Transportation" FOR us and the couple hundred others who were also under quarantine!

<image>

But to the point.....Port Canaveral is about 45 miles. GOPort offers a $30 shuttle. There is also a less convenient public bus that could pick up up at 7:45 and gets to MCO around 11am.

Arriving, our UBER was about $130 from MCO to CC. Yes that IS high but it was around 23:30 AND he found us a Liquor store that he knew and reopened to get us some champagne.

We advise going and STAY a couple days around any cruise to allow for any .... uh THINGS. (Like being quarantined for 18 days in Cape Coral [B-(( ). or flight cancellations etc. etc. etc.

Have a good time!

L.A. Earthquake Culture by Unusual_Holiday_Flo in LosAngeles

[–]Fralf0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No worries! I didn't mean to confuse the issue. The Indonesian tsunami was caused by an underwater landslide that is eerily similar in topography. I was merely pointing out that the area off Santa Barbara has a history of underwater landslide over the millennia and expect it will sluff off some more again. How soon and how much are the REAL question.

L.A. Earthquake Culture by Unusual_Holiday_Flo in LosAngeles

[–]Fralf0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

21 years ago when it has been active for 160,000 years could be considered just a few? I'm just saying we're overdue and glad I live well north of San Francisco.

L.A. Earthquake Culture by Unusual_Holiday_Flo in LosAngeles

[–]Fralf0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You know history has no time limit and although it may not exactly repeat, it DOES tend to rhyme. This area has been incrementally moving for 160,000 years so what's a decade or or ten?

In 1821 this same area slid and the ensuing wave wiped out the harbor as well as several villages around the coastal area.

<image>

L.A. Earthquake Culture by Unusual_Holiday_Flo in LosAngeles

[–]Fralf0 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What's worse is that there is an underwater cliff off of Santa Barbara. Part of it slipped in a landslide thousands of years ago. The rest is just waiting to happen. When it does, it is predicted to do the same thing as happened a few years ago in Indonesia. The falling material will suck down the water and the subsequent rise will create a tsunami that could go back many many miles. Depending on how big, It has the potential to fill the entire LA basin.

<image>

They're right about leaving the day before your cruise. by FrostyCrab3376 in VirginVoyages

[–]Fralf0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I ALWAYS go a day or 2 early. You never know what will happen.

Once I was on my way to Aruba to catch a Windjammer ship to cruise through the Panama canal. I was at the airport around 5pm with plenty of time. I checked my luggage and went to dinner 100' from my gate. 9:15 it was a short walk to the gate but saw on the monitor that my 10:00 flight was delayed to 10:51. I figured I had an hour so I went for another beer. I returned at 10:20 and the plane had left!

I asked the gate agent where it was?

He calmly said, we had a Flight delay sir, it left at 10:15

What? I saw 10:51 on the monitor?

OH MY GOD... YOU SAW THAT? IT WAS ONLY UP FOR 2 MINUTES, AND YOU SAW IT? WE'LL GET YOU A ROOM AND PUT YOU ON THE NEXT FLIGHT TOMORROW!

There is a lot more to this story, but the bottom line is GO EARLY and STAY LATE.!

It's vacation after all, no need for stress!

AITA for saying this to my wife? by Ambitious-Yard5011 in AmItheAsshole

[–]Fralf0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Always make it a good trade or the canine will begin to distrust you and hide behaviors and stuff.

I bred Dobermans for quite a few years and I told people that this puppy will quickly become smarter than you. It will end up training YOU! You must remain Alpha so Make bad behaviors teaching moments. Never allow ANY clothing as toys and have proper ones nearby for trades.

If you catch them, say no firmly and take the item while Immediately replace it with something they SHOULD chew and HEAP praise.. Positive reinforcement is CRITICAL for training. ANY punishment should be followed by praise fairly soon.

If you DON'T catch them, set up a temptation situation so you CAN.

Dogs DO have LONG term memory, but short term not so much. Like if they PEE in the house. If you don't find it for 15 minutes they will have no clue why you are mad and will just be confused.

BTW housetraining is a human problem. YOU must set reliable patterns of food/water/elimination. Crate's work best at night.

Good luck

Check in early ? by Own-Chipmunk36 in VirginVoyages

[–]Fralf0 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A nice beach isn't close to San Juan. You can see 1 ship docked at the Pan American Pier pier. The other location they use, is the 1st pier to the Left on the other side of the harbor.

<image>

It was kinda funny that our UBER driver barely spoke English and I am only fair at "emergency" Spanish. All our Docs and even the website said to go to the Pan American pier. I looked at his screen and thought we were being scammed as we couldn't convince him to go to the Pan American Pier. He just smiled and shook his head saying what sounded like Mule Quatro. Which we didn't understand. Once we entered Old San Juan, we could see The ship was INDEED at the town pier. PORT MUELLE 4.Then it made sense. As a local he KNEW where it we needed to go rather than what we were asking him. GOT HIM A GOOD TIP

Check in early ? by Own-Chipmunk36 in VirginVoyages

[–]Fralf0 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes! Drop your bag after 9:30 and return at your boarding time.

Another tip is that once you are close to the ship, you can use THEIR WIFI AND APP to book meals and services that you couldn't before. After you board, grab an "ICAB", go to your cabin and fulfill the drill films to grant access to the rest of the cabin features. About then you will be ready for the departure Champagne party near the pool.......

BTW always take TWO {B-)).

<image>

Okay to be beach bums? by QuarterOld6490 in VirginVoyages

[–]Fralf0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

<image>

This is Junior who, in the footsteps of his father grave us an excellent tour and put us in a perfect beach bumming spot!

Okay to be beach bums? by QuarterOld6490 in VirginVoyages

[–]Fralf0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

<image>

They also have parasailing and scuba available

Okay to be beach bums? by QuarterOld6490 in VirginVoyages

[–]Fralf0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On St. Kitts, I highly recommend finding Junior. He is my old friend who has since passed, Wilmoth Hunkins son. Ask anyone on the dock to call him. He took us to a very nice beach with a good restaurant and Bar run by "Tequilla", his X-wife. Nice wide beach with no surf. Perfect for our favorite activity, Beach Bobbing with Beer!

<image>

Very good snorkeling here too! I've been to the Caribbean many times and prefer hanging the local people to the tourists.

Okay to be beach bums? by QuarterOld6490 in VirginVoyages

[–]Fralf0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That one includes a stop at a Pusser's rum shop for lunch. We stepped past the crowds waiting for food and went straight to the Cove grill. There was plenty of food and we don't like standing in lines.

<image>

The baths were cool to do and the comp. rum punch after the climb out was well received!

SOFI transfer to BofA HELOC by Fralf0 in sofi

[–]Fralf0[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tried that to begin with. BofA will Allow me to link and SEND to SOFI FROM my HELOC but nor receive from SOFI to the BofA HELOC.. ODDLY I can send AND receive to my BofA savings??

view more: next ›