AncientWanderer

Overheard in Napa about 30 years ago: "This wine is too big for my mouth." DH and I still pull that one out when we think a wine tastes good. 🤣 😂

To further your research (or confuse you) here’s the Tournedos Rossini — NY Eve on Koningsdam. It’s an elaborate dish. Don’t ask me what all the different parts are. We both really enjoyed it.

I love it when they get the pairings just right: "Take a bite of the yellow cheese and then take a sip. Do you taste the apricots?" Some of the sommeliers really nail it. Not all, but when they do, it's fun.

I think some people just prefer the denser types of fish -- like halibut. I always prefer the lighter, more delicate types of fish and agree, the Dover sole in Rudi's is as good as it gets in that category -- buttery and crisped around the edges. Wish I had a cruise planned on a Pinnacle-class ship to enjoy a Rudi's dinner. Will have to make do with some of that excellent schnitzel. 😉

You may have been unlucky with it. The sole must be tricky to prepare. I order it a lot and it’s about 50-50 whether it will meet expectations. When it’s done right, it’s seriously delicious — for one who enjoys seafood. Kind of expensive to take a chance, though. DH says I’ll never learn. 🤷‍♀️

@luvteachingKaren, sincere condolences to you on the loss of your Phil. The love you shared really did shine through here on the Daily. Thinking of you and your family and saying prayers during this sad time. Maxine

I think the narrative here is that when booking a suite, one is paying for the square footage and not entitled to one whit more than that square footage. That idea will have to stand on its own legs.

@dfishand @Cruising-along, the grandkids are a great joy as well as a challenge. We have four of them under age five within seven minutes of our house. That's a large part of why I can't post more or keep up with the Daily. (I skim and keep in prayer those who are struggling.) There is a constant whirlwind around here. People tend to wait longer to start families, so we grandparents are that much older. It's not easy to keep up. I step back and have rest days myself to regroup. The littlekins don't seem to need any rest!

Doesn't the pricing vary depending on how many of a certain type of cabin is on a ship? The old supply and demand? I have a friend who will not book on a vista-class because she pays single supplement and there aren't many ocean-views on those ships? Same with scarcity of insides. They are relatively expensive. Yet there are some classes of ships that have more suites, and so upsell offers are more likely. Trying to distill it down to price per square foot seems...unlikely. Maybe that shoe fits some cabins going head to head on some ships, but not all categories and not on all ships.

I get it that CO can be a special thing on the new ships, with the special restaurant. But it is kinda strange that on the other ships one has to join the club to get access to speedy customer service, quick seating in the MDR, spiffy disembarkation on port days. All those things should just be status quo. It's like they had to throw in the room upgrade just to make it beyond regular good customer service. Whatever...can't always fight city hall. We add CO to make our cruises nicer.

Gosh, it's late now back East, but still... Happy Birthday, @rafinmdRoy, and many returns of the day!

Well, I agree. I think some here aren't fishermen. It's like a lot of sports -- skiing, scuba diving -- you pay your money and cross your fingers for that magical day where everything comes together.

I miss those days when one would see show performers about the ship doing other functions -- greeting and helping disembarkation in ports, etc. etc. It harkens back to the days of small ships and even the "showboat" tradition. Someone recently posted on a thread here that they are experiencing that on a small-ship cruise right now. It brings a smile.

Right? I showed it to DH and he's all in. He loves fishing in Alaska -- and eating fresh fish. I hope they keep the program.

I'm sorry -- my post wasn't clear. What I meant was book the B2B and then call Mariner Society to let them know you will be bumping up for the second booking and ask them to put a note on the booking to that effect. They did do this for us. I'd still go to the service desk onboard toward the end of the first cruise to get them going on it. Nowadays everyone is new -- everywhere -- and gotta get them all trained. lol

We’ve been in just your situation. We booked B2B going from 3 stars to 4 — had all the 4 star benefits for the second leg. We went from 4 stars to 5 during another long cruise booked as a single cruise. They wouldn’t give us 5 star benefits. They said I’d get my pin and new benefits the next time I sail. (I did ask.) As others suggested, give Mariner Society a call before you embark. Probably not necessary, but just to have ducks in a row. Have a great cruise!

Oh, darn. Couldn't hurt to ask. It's funny, I think sometimes the coaches bring teams out here because they want some summer vacation in San Diego. The Surf Cup is a really pleasant tournament. They play on polo fields at Rancho Santa Fe, which is a beautiful area. But sounds like Ren has plenty of exciting things coming up. Go Ren!!

As usual, I'm reading the Daily from back to front. Life seems to be very upside down here lately! But anyhow, will Ren's team come play in San Diego Surf Cup this July? It's a good tournament that draws top teams. If he's here, we'll go over and cheer him on! La Jolla Nomads Thanksgiving Tournament is a biggie, too. DS was a Nomad and then was a captain at University of Pennsylvania. He always played center mid.

Sorry for the thread drift, but we all love good food so here goes... Last week, DD's Peruvian babysitter brought them some "Peruvian chicken" and DD said it was the best chicken she's ever eaten. Seeing mention of Peruvian chicken here in the same light was a nice coincidence. Time to search out some recipes. DD couldn't pry the secret out of her babysitter. She said we don't have the same kind of chiles and things. Bet we could come close, though. 😉

I know what you're talking about, having experienced that on some ships on aft decks. But we sailed San Diego to Buenos Aries on Zaandam and never noticed soot on that ship. (We spend a lot of time on the Lido aft deck, dining and sunning, so probably would have noticed.) Perhaps on our itinerary we left the ship most port days, but still, your question surprised me and I would venture to say this won't be a problem for you on Zaandam.

Early on, the signature suites were a really great value. But now they are popular and prices went up. It doesn't seem like the extra square footage is worth the big bump in price. Like you say, there aren't any other perks. Just my opinion.

Right? Dang our cruises are expensive. Still waiting for our awesomeness to be acknowledged. 🤷‍♀️

Do officers still mingle with guests on other cruise lines? I thought access to the bridge and officer mingling went the way of the dodo because of Covid.

Remember that suite guests do get the Club Orange dining room for dinner on the new ships. That's a cool new amenity.