Mailbag Monday: January 23, 2012 Edition

From time to time I like post answers to questions that I feel may help readers of the blog, I call it Mailbag Monday.  On this Mailbag Monday we talk about shore excursions, RCI dining and Bermuda cruises.  Hopefully, these questions will help not only the person who asked it but also others who may be reading.  Remember if you have any questions that you want answered feel free to use the contact form to send me an email.  If for some reason you don’t want your question used for Mailbag Monday just put it in the subject line or at the end of your email.

Shore Excursions to Book or Not to Book?

I will be going on a Caribbean Cruise in April.  When I looked at the cruise line website there are like 100 shore excursions that that can be booked ahead of time.  The cruises cost from 30-200$ a person which seems pretty staggering.  So really I have a couple different questions for you.

• Do you need to book excursions in advance or can you book them on the cruise?
• Is it worth booking these excursions is there enough stuff do and without having to pay for extras?

Okay, about excursions first let me tackle the question about when to book them.  First, yes you can book shore excursions after you board the ship but the more important question is if you should.  On the occasions where I book excursions through the cruise line I wait until I am actually on the ship unless, it is something I anticipate to be in high demand. Usually there is no real upside or downside to the timing of when you book an excursion but if there is an excursion you absolutely must have, book it now.  There is no point in taking a chance that a must have excursion gets filled up.

The answer to your second question of is there enough to do without having to go on an excursion is a resounding yes.  However, if this is your first cruise I would say you will probably want to book shore excursions through the cruise line. Later on, as you gain more experience cruising you will probably book ship sponsored excursions less frequently.  When you are new to a port sometimes it’s nice to let the excursion provider do the worrying for you but over time you will visit many of these ports multiple times.  Once you have been to St. Thomas a few times and have seen many of the sights you kind of find your own grove.

Necessity of Foreign Currency on a Cruise

I’ll be going on a cruise to the Western Caribbean.  We are visiting Cozumel, Roatan, Cost Maya and Belize do I need foreign currencies in those countries?

No you won’t need foreign currency in any of those countries on your cruise itinerary.  Every merchant you encounter in those countries will be more than happy to take good old United States legal tender.  Smaller merchants will be cash only but more established brick and mortar stores should also accept credit cards.  Just be forewarned that when paying in cash you will probably get your change back in local currency.  So, you will want to make sure you have small bills so that you can lessen the amount of change you have since they will be little more than souvenirs once you leave that country.

Dinner with Strangers

We are traveling on Royal Caribbean is it mandatory that you sit with strangers at dinner?

One of the best things about taking a cruise is nothing (other than the muster drill) is mandatory.  It’s your cruise so you can do whatever you want.  Now if you book traditional dining (early or late) seating your options for a table for two may be limited.  However, if you choose the option of “Anytime Dining” you will be able to eat whenever you want and with whomever you want (as long as they are complicit with you forcing yourself upon them).

Cruising From New York to Bermuda

I am planning a NY to Bermuda cruise for April but have a question about the weather.  I know the weather in New York can be hit or miss but what about the weather in Bermuda and also on the way to Bermuda?  This price is right but I don’t really want to book it if the weather isn’t going to be nice.

Well you already know how that time of year can be in New York, anywhere between 20 degrees and blizzard-like conditions and a perfect 80 degree day.  The weather in Bermuda is slightly more predictable with the average temperature being 71 degrees with an expected 4 inches of precipitation.  The sea in between those two ports will obviously be a mix of both but you all have to take into account the winds.  I have never sailed that trip at that time of year so I can’t speak from first-hand experience but I’d say things will be a little on the chilly side.  I would also expect the water temperature to be kind of cold in Bermuda.  My best approximation would be comparable to the water temperature of the NJ/DE/MD area in the early summer, mid to upper sixties.

Did a Captain’s Showboating Cause the Costa Concordia to Sink

So as you all know, a cruise ship, the Costa Concordia ran aground over the weekend.  While the term ran aground is the technically correct way to state what happened the end result was the sinking of the ship.  The reason I think it is important to use the word “sink” is because it’s a term that leaves no room for interpretation. In total the lives of 4200 people, both passenger and crew, were put in jeopardy.  Thus far 5 people have been confirmed dead with more than a dozen still missing.

While I could go into details about what actually happened I figure this video will do a far better job of explaining the events than I ever could

Now the question still remains, why did the Costa Concordia “run aground”?

According to the cruise line, the cause of the accident falls squarely on the shoulders of the Costa Concordia’s Captain Francesco Schettino.   According to the cruise line the accident happened because of an unauthorized deviation from the ships programmed course. This deviation caused the ship to hit the dangerous reef which lies off the Southern tip of the island which.  This collision with the reef then ripped a 160 foot gash in the hull of the ship.

While we won’t know the exact events of what happened on the bridge of the Costa Concordia until the contents of the ships black box are released.  There is already wide spread speculation that alludes to “showboating” as a reason for the accident.  More specifically there have been rumors the captain, in an effort to entertain passengers and islanders, sailed closer to shore than what is permissible. In fact, residents of the small fishing village of Giglio said that even though the Costa Concordia makes weekly passes off the Tuscan coast they had never seen the ship so close to the reef area near the island.

Although the Cruise Line is providing legal assistance to the captain, he has been disassociated from Costa and the cruise line publicly has stated “the captain broke all of the rules and regulations”. Since the accident, CEO Pier Luigi Foschi said in his first public comments, “Capt. Schettino took an initiative of his own will which is contrary to our written rules of conduct”.  Foschi then goes on to explain how all of the routes are preprogrammed with alarms that sound if the ship deviates from its course.  However, those alarms become disabled if the ships course is manually altered.

In regards to the possible “showboating”, Foschi says that only once before had the company approved any “fly by” of this sort.  That particular “fly by” occurred last year on the night of Aug. 9-10. However, in that instance both the port and the company had approved it.

Clearly that means any deviation from the programmed course didn’t have the authorization of the cruise line.  In fact, Foschi goes on to state “This route was put in correctly upon departure from Civitavecchia,” the port outside Rome. “The fact that it left from this course is due solely to a maneuver by the commander that was unapproved, unauthorized and unknown to Costa.”

A few hours after the incident, Captain Schettino was arrested and jailed.  Prosecutors are currently investigating Schettino for manslaughter, abandoning the ship and causing a shipwreck.  It is expected that on Tuesday a judge will decide if the Captain is to remain in jail.

Prosecutor Francesco Verusio told reporters, “We are struck by the unscrupulousness of the reckless maneuver that the commander of the Costa Concordia made near the island of Giglio,” “It was inexcusable.”

Dateline NBC to Air an Update to “Man Overboard” Update January 6

On July 5th 2005, sometime around 4:30am George Allen Smith IV went missing from Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas. It was supposed to be a honeymoon cruise for him and his wife Jennifer Hagel who had been married in late June.  Instead of being a week of celebrating the start of a new union this Mediterranean cruise onboard the Brilliance would be their final days together.

It has already been the subject of an episode of NBC Dateline, a basis of a Lifetime movie and a book entitled “Man Overboard: Inside the Honeymoon Cruise Murder“, written by Joan Lownds and the catalyst to the reformation of cruise industry safety standards.  I dare say the coverage this happening received was one of the most important moments in recent cruise line history.

Although all of the details of the investigation aren’t vivid in my mind I can tell you this was one of the highest profile instances of cruise crime ever.  As newlywed Jennifer Hagel lay unconscious in a stairwell of one area of the ship, her husband George went overboard never to be found.  To this day no one knows for certain whether it was the result of an accident or foul play.

I don’t want to butcher the story by providing incorrect details but I do recall it involved lots of money, alcohol, 3 Russian nationals and an ominous looking blood smear.  Even more sadly it also involved a business entity who seemingly did not care.  Tune in to NBC Dateline tonight to see an update of the story that ran 5 years ago complete with new evidence and never before aired photos.