TouchstoneFeste

To add another language to the mix: Akron, Ohio, was dubbed "Rubber City" for its association with the tire (tyre?) industry, and the shorthand adopted by local American Sign Language users was the same nickname (so they don't have to sign A-K-R-O-N every time they mention it). Imagine the growing consternation of a visiting deaf clergyman as he was repeatedly welcomed to the city at a testimonial dinner .... until the coin dropped. (Related to me by an attendee at the event; she swears it's true.) (By the way, there is no longer any natural rubber in the thing used for removing pencil marks, nor in the thing used to evade paternity suits.)

Jack, I've been pondering whether or not I should reply. I can't comment on any specific shore excursions, but you may want to "cruise" through the Greece Ports forum https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/463-greece-ports/ where the topic of touring Santorini is discussed to exhaustion. It may give you some tips on what to look out for in excursion descriptions. It's a delightful, beautiful location - I would go back in a second - but be warned that nearly all the discussion on Greece Ports is about how there are too many tourists (so you can't enjoy the beauty) and getting around can be difficult (so you may wait literally for hours to take the cable car down from the top). @rog747's suggestion gets around the latter problem, at least.

Channel your inner James Bond.

While I would agree overall that Venice should be seen on foot, that vaporetto trip down the Grand Canal is pretty spectacular ...

Unless I've missed something, the Verandah bar area is literally the only access to the outside deck that doesn't require you to go up or down a deck. Am I right?

You might want to check how many big ships will be in port that day to judge the competition, so to speak. Over on the British Isles/Western Europe forum, this topic is covered extensively, and one piece of advice I've seen repeatedly is to book the taxi through the hotel the night before, perhaps as you check in. All that said, taxis are plentiful, and the rides are short.

Personally I was disappointed in the quality of the ceilidh we experienced in Cunard 4th class 🙂 We did the behind the scenes tour last December. We passed through the crew quarters area, but weren't allowed into any actual cabins. While passing along the Burma Road we were allowed to peek into the crew cafeteria, which seemed large and cheerful. We were told the food catered to the taste of the mostly Asian crew (so I agree with the suggestion that a "crew menu" night might be very good.)

To be fair, the ploughman was only 4' 4"

I'll respectfully disagree. :)

I agree with you in spirit - I often wear "smart" grey or black jeans with a sport coat to the theater or concerts in the U.S. - but they really do violate the letter of the law. I don't wear them in the evenings on Cunard in spite of the fact that I think I look much better in them than I do in dress trousers. I disagree with you @D&N I think the message is clear. I think the "request" is just a polite way of saying "Don't do this". And even I - a dedicated jeans guy - don't think jeans are trousers. If Cunard didn't think it mattered, they would just leave the term off the description of acceptable wear. They'd just say "we request you wear collared shirt", period.

It gets more complicated. In my part of the U.S. the generic term for "carbonated soft drink" is "pop". (I had to backtrack and replace it with "soda" in my post above.) I'm told, although I haven't experienced it myself, that "coke" does that job in the southeast (so you have to describe what kind of coke you want). "Soda" seems to be the preferred term in the northeast, so I cause confusion when I order an unflavored carbonated water in NYC.

That's odd. I can't remember the last time I was in a restaurant where a soda wasn't refilled for free so I don't know why they'd bother putting it in a smaller glass. I'll try asking for no ice next time and see what happens. I'm speaking of fountain drinks (perhaps known as draught in the UK?) of course.

The demographic mix could well have changed somewhat between the first few (overloaded with Cunard old-timers who wanted to be first) and later voyages.

The last time I was at the Met in New York, I specifically looked around to see how people were dressed. Full house, and only about 10 other men were wearing a tie. (Is that the experience at the ROH? Or do people tend to dress more formally overall?)

Of course, that's sort of the definition of "appetizer" ...