Comments for Cruise Bug Chatter http://www.cruisebugchatter.com Cruise Bug Chatter covers all aspects of cruising. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:49:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 Comment on Cruise Podcast Port Canaveral by Jeff Robertson http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/cruise-podcast-port-canaveral/#comment-390 Jeff Robertson Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:58:55 +0000 http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/?p=158#comment-390 Ships with a home port in Port Canaveral all try to accommodate special diets. I hear Royal Caribbean makes a very good effort. If you're cruising out of Port Canaveral and need tips about the area, like hotels, transportation, and of course food, start here: <a href="http://www.portcanaveralhotelsinsider.com/Restaurant_Suggestion_Near_Port_Canaveral_Hotels.html" rel="nofollow">Restaurant Suggestion Near Port Canaveral Hotels</a>. Ships with a home port in Port Canaveral all try to accommodate special diets. I hear Royal Caribbean makes a very good effort. If you’re cruising out of Port Canaveral and need tips about the area, like hotels, transportation, and of course food, start here: Restaurant Suggestion Near Port Canaveral Hotels.

]]> Comment on The Drink on NCL by Katherine Adams http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/the-drink-on-ncl/#comment-378 Katherine Adams Tue, 21 Oct 2008 05:31:54 +0000 http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/the-drink-on-ncl/#comment-378 We were on a NCL (Pearl) Alaskan cruise in summer of 2007 and they served the most wonderful peach margaritas. The main ingredient was "Sunsational Peach Drink Mix" by Vitality Foods which isn't being produced anymore. It made the margaritas & daiquiri's taste like you were drinking fresh peaches from a glass and the color was awesome. They still use the same supplier for their other flavors, but just not the peach flavor. We were on a NCL (Pearl) Alaskan cruise in summer of 2007 and they served the most wonderful peach margaritas. The main ingredient was “Sunsational Peach Drink Mix” by Vitality Foods which isn’t being produced anymore. It made the margaritas & daiquiri’s taste like you were drinking fresh peaches from a glass and the color was awesome. They still use the same supplier for their other flavors, but just not the peach flavor.

]]> Comment on Review of American Safari Explorer by Adventure Travel Australia http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/review-of-american-safari-explorer/#comment-367 Adventure Travel Australia Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:36:33 +0000 http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/?p=172#comment-367 So far so good! looking forward to hear more about this cruise, especially the adventures and your interview with the ceo. So far so good! looking forward to hear more about this cruise, especially the adventures and your interview with the ceo.

]]> Comment on More reasons for travel insurance by North Star Cruises http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/more-reasons-for-travel-insurance/#comment-269 North Star Cruises Mon, 18 Aug 2008 03:28:03 +0000 http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/?p=160#comment-269 Travel insurance should be considered a must-have before traveling - for so many reasons I'm sure I don't need to bore you with. For the small cost it can save you so much in so many ways. All the best. Travel insurance should be considered a must-have before traveling - for so many reasons I’m sure I don’t need to bore you with. For the small cost it can save you so much in so many ways. All the best.

]]> Comment on A Final Word on the MSC Lirica by Cruise Bug http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/a-final-word-on-the-msc-lirica/#comment-241 Cruise Bug Sat, 26 Jul 2008 20:45:41 +0000 http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/?p=85#comment-241 We were also apprehensive about our cruise, but being armed with knowledge in advance helped. We still tried taking it all with a grain of salt, which was lacking on the ship. I don't know if I mentioned anywhere that we were once given some very strange excuse for no salt being on the table. I don't consider myself a picky eater and there was a time in my life that I would have thought that the food was quite good. I have become jaded and now know enough to be discriminating. Having said that, I will say that the risotto and the fish(but avoid the lunch fish sandwich) were consistently good. Avoid the beef at all costs, but if you are tempted, just order it rare and it will be served medium well. I am just looking at some old menus to try to remember what I liked. I have posted some on this site. The Caesar Salad was good and that's always available. The lamb curry, breads and salads were generally good. Don't get the seafood risotto that has the ink in it unless you don't mind seeing all the sea critters with their tentacles sticking out of the rice. I am sure that you will find something from the selections. The french fries at the grill were good. They had run out of hamburgers and refused to make more so I only tried a hotdog at the grill and it was a hotdog. The Lirica itinerary is a nice one and that is why we went. In spite of the negatives, which I really mention only to give somebody a head's up, not to force them to avoid MSC; it's a cruise and how bad can that be? After all, I am in the business of selling travel, but I try to be very honest about it so that people can make an informed decision. And isn't it nice whenever you don't have to cook dinner or wash dishes? Maybe things have improved since March when we sailed. I don't know which other lines you have cruised with, but I was on several Carnival ships a few weeks after being on the Lirica and I was shocked by all the friendly staff on those ships. If you like folk music, don't miss the Trio Paraguayos. We really enjoyed them. The rooms are smaller than on some ships, but we found the size adequate and the storage decent. Be sure to look behind the mirror. The safe is there as are several shelves. Don't worry about the negatives and have a good trip. We were also apprehensive about our cruise, but being armed with knowledge in advance helped. We still tried taking it all with a grain of salt, which was lacking on the ship. I don’t know if I mentioned anywhere that we were once given some very strange excuse for no salt being on the table.
I don’t consider myself a picky eater and there was a time in my life that I would have thought that the food was quite good. I have become jaded and now know enough to be discriminating. Having said that, I will say that the risotto and the fish(but avoid the lunch fish sandwich) were consistently good. Avoid the beef at all costs, but if you are tempted, just order it rare and it will be served medium well. I am just looking at some old menus to try to remember what I liked. I have posted some on this site. The Caesar Salad was good and that’s always available. The lamb curry, breads and salads were generally good. Don’t get the seafood risotto that has the ink in it unless you don’t mind seeing all the sea critters with their tentacles sticking out of the rice.

I am sure that you will find something from the selections. The french fries at the grill were good. They had run out of hamburgers and refused to make more so I only tried a hotdog at the grill and it was a hotdog.

The Lirica itinerary is a nice one and that is why we went. In spite of the negatives, which I really mention only to give somebody a head’s up, not to force them to avoid MSC; it’s a cruise and how bad can that be? After all, I am in the business of selling travel, but I try to be very honest about it so that people can make an informed decision.

And isn’t it nice whenever you don’t have to cook dinner or wash dishes? Maybe things have improved since March when we sailed. I don’t know which other lines you have cruised with, but I was on several Carnival ships a few weeks after being on the Lirica and I was shocked by all the friendly staff on those ships.

If you like folk music, don’t miss the Trio Paraguayos. We really enjoyed them.

The rooms are smaller than on some ships, but we found the size adequate and the storage decent. Be sure to look behind the mirror. The safe is there as are several shelves.

Don’t worry about the negatives and have a good trip.

]]> Comment on A Final Word on the MSC Lirica by C Halbach http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/a-final-word-on-the-msc-lirica/#comment-240 C Halbach Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:35:08 +0000 http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/?p=85#comment-240 We are very apprehensive about our scheduled Caribbean cruise on the Lirica. Most of the negative comments center around the food. We are not picky eaters and don't expect true "gourmet", but certainly expect reasonably good meals. Also, unless you book a balcony room, all the rooms are quite small. We understand that this is a very "middle of the road" cruise, so if we go into it not expecting much, will we still be disappointed? The ports are great. We are very apprehensive about our scheduled Caribbean cruise on the Lirica. Most of the negative comments center around the food. We are not picky eaters and don’t expect true “gourmet”, but certainly expect reasonably good meals. Also, unless you book a balcony room, all the rooms are quite small. We understand that this is a very “middle of the road” cruise, so if we go into it not expecting much, will we still be disappointed? The ports are great.

]]> Comment on New Orleans and more podcast by Tony Mancusso http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/new-orleans-and-more-podcast/#comment-235 Tony Mancusso Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:51:39 +0000 http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/?p=153#comment-235 Nice podcasts -there is a web site that has a lot of cultural related podcasts called MuseumPods at http://MuseumPods.com interesting stuff. Nice podcasts -there is a web site that has a lot of cultural related podcasts called MuseumPods at http://MuseumPods.com interesting stuff.

]]> Comment on Tips for a Cruise that visits Mexico by Strategic Marine http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/tips-for-a-cruise-that-visits-mexico/#comment-234 Strategic Marine Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:52:21 +0000 http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/tips-for-a-cruise-that-visits-mexico/#comment-234 If you are a tourist and have time, try to visit the more authentic areas, not just the tourist spots, you might find this a more enjoyable experience. If you are a tourist and have time, try to visit the more authentic areas, not just the tourist spots, you might find this a more enjoyable experience.

]]> Comment on Death at Sea by cheri http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/death-at-sea/#comment-233 cheri Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:58:03 +0000 http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/?p=144#comment-233 My father went into respiratory failure while on a NCL cruise. I received a call from the medical clinic and spoke with doctor. They also rushed to the next port and evacuated to an ICU in Cozumel. I don't know if it was just NCL or other cruise lines- but understood if he had died on the ship there was a million dollar life insurance policy. Being in the medical profession I could see using life support until disembarkation to avoid this at all cost. After going through this ordeal I will never leave without trip insurance! It paid the $21,000 medivac transport back to the states. Unfortunately my father died 10 days later from pneumonia. My father went into respiratory failure while on a NCL cruise. I received a call from the medical clinic and spoke with doctor. They also rushed to the next port and evacuated to an ICU in Cozumel. I don’t know if it was just NCL or other cruise lines- but understood if he had died on the ship there was a million dollar life insurance policy. Being in the medical profession I could see using life support until disembarkation to avoid this at all cost. After going through this ordeal I will never leave without trip insurance! It paid the $21,000 medivac transport back to the states. Unfortunately my father died 10 days later from pneumonia.

]]> Comment on Tips for a Cruise that visits Mexico by Cruise Bug http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/tips-for-a-cruise-that-visits-mexico/#comment-197 Cruise Bug Sat, 24 May 2008 23:22:08 +0000 http://www.cruisebugchatter.com/tips-for-a-cruise-that-visits-mexico/#comment-197 I should have explained better. The “cantina” that I was talking about avoiding usually has the swinging double doors or no doors at all. You can’t see what is inside unless you go beyond these doors because there is usually something that blocks the view of the inside from the street. The outside of the building often has the names of different beer brands painted on it. On the other side of the coin are cantinas that are perfectly fine for women. You can go there without feeling threatened and have a wonderful margarita or two. If you went into the first type of cantina, you would immediately sense that it isn’t a place where you would be welcome. I am all for experiencing the local culture and especially enjoy typical restaurants like the one pictured above. I should have explained better. The “cantina” that I was talking about avoiding usually has the swinging double doors or no doors at all. You can’t see what is inside unless you go beyond these doors because there is usually something that blocks the view of the inside from the street. The outside of the building often has the names of different beer brands painted on it.

On the other side of the coin are cantinas that are perfectly fine for women. You can go there without feeling threatened and have a wonderful margarita or two.

If you went into the first type of cantina, you would immediately sense that it isn’t
a place where you would be welcome. I am all for experiencing the local culture and especially enjoy typical restaurants like the one pictured above.

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