The Cruise Ship and Cruise Line Discussion Thread!

[larrygatorObsessive Overlord of the TPR Park Index]

I have the opportunity to take a free trip on the Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Jewel. It's a 7-day excursion in February out of NYC with stops at Port Canaveral, Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas (NCL's private island) and Nassua, Bahamas. I looked through the thread and only saw minimal references to NCL. Anyone have any experiences to share, particularly about the food and upcharge restaurants?

[robbalveySite Admin]

I personally liked the NCL ship that we did a few years ago. The upcharge restaurants were fine, and the ship seemed "nice", but the whole "freestyle" thing wasn't really for me. I actually like having a regular dining room staff that gets to know you during the week, and because this doesn't exist on the NCL ships, I found the overal service and attention to detail to be lacking.

But I will say that I enjoyed my cruise on NCL a lot more than I did Carnival and a *bit* more than Princess, but nowhere near as much as I like RCCL.

--Robb

[SharkTumsSite Admin]

^^Just remember if you hate it, you can't swear off all cruises, you still have to go with us at some point!

[Hotlanta“Fear can make a donkey attack a lion”]

We are considering a trip Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas in January. Has anybody had any personal any experiences? I know R&E speak well of RCL (which is the primary reason for picking RCL ), just was wondering if anybody can give any direct feedback.

[SharkTumsSite Admin]

Liberty was the first of the 'Big 3' (Freedom, Liberty, Independence) that we went on. We were hooked after that!

[robbalveySite Admin]

Ohhhh, Carnival....

FBI investigation of newborn baby death on cruise ship moves to Indiana
http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2011/11/fbi-cruise-ship-death-carnival/562156/1

An FBI investigation into the recent death of a newborn baby on a Carnival cruise ship has moved to Indiana, where the baby's mother resides, according to a report in the Orlando Sentinel.

The Sentinel says an FBI office in Indiana has taken charge of the investigation from an FBI office in Florida, where the Carnival ship is based. The news outlet quotes an FBI spokesman as saying the 20-year-old mother lives in the northwest part of Indiana.

The FBI is not saying whether it thinks a crime was commited, the Sentinel notes.

The dead baby was discovered in a passenger cabin aboard the 3,646-passenger Carnival Dream by a crew member on Oct. 12, the day the ship docked in St. Maarten. Carnival reported the matter to Dutch authorities on the island, who took custody of the infant's body.

An FBI evidence gathering team searched and processed two passenger cabins on the Carnival Dream after the ship returned to its home port of Port Canaveral, Fla. FBI agents also interviewed crew members and passengers.

Citing an active case, the FBI has released little information about the unnamed mother involved in the incident, other than that she had been invited on the cruise to celebrate the birthday of a close girlfriend.

A local St. Maarten news outlet, sxmislandtime.com, has reported that the mother of the dead baby allegedly told local investigators that she did not know she was pregnant, and the birth of a child came as a surprise to her.

The news outlet says an autopsy of the baby carried out in St. Maarten and information allegedly obtained by local authorities during an interview with the mother suggested the baby died after the Carnival Dream set sail from Florida on Oct. 8 but before the ship reached the island of St. Thomas on Oct. 11. The timeline suggests the baby had been dead anywhere from one to three days before it was found.

The Carnival Dream was on a seven-night cruise out of Port Canaveral that included port calls in St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Nassau in the Bahamas.

In Short - Carnival cruiser gave birth to a baby in her cabin, didn't tell anyone, newborn baby dies, left for cabin steward to discover a dead baby while person is off on shore (probably getting drunk.)

This is why we don't cruise with Carnival!

[the ghostIt all started with a donkey]

This is probably the most disturbing thing I'll read all day...

[Hilltopper39Don't make me kick you in the donkey!]

This sounds like a future episode of "I Didn't know I was pregnant" on TLC. Maybe it will air during their Spring Break Week after "Kate Plus 8 go to Disney World" and "Extreme Couponing: Kissimmee".

[BeemerBoyWDW Monorail Fanatic]

There's more than corn in Indiana. There's a little trash too.


Was this their ship that was in port when we left?

[SharkTumsSite Admin]

^No, the Dream is actually one of the bigger nicer Carnival ships. It departs on Saturday's I believe.