martylouie

The likely reason for not making the bands reusable is the unpredictable nature of battery life.  Rather than having the band fail (and as Murphy's Law corollary states at the worst possible moment), management chose to make them disposable.  It just wouldn't do to be sitting poolside and the server can't find you, or worse being locked out of your room and having to run down to Sailor Services in less than full attire. 

One thing to remember when trying to contact HAL is that they are in Seattle, which has been hit pretty badly by the virus.   Social separation is the least of the problems, when the Mayor and Governor are telling people to work/stay at home, and the schools are closed, the number of people to answer the phones are probably depleted.     

5 hours ago, HamOp said:

I think I've eaten there once😁

8 hours ago, Petronillus said:

It is reported that in the early days of AI, a renowned university was developing an English-to-Russian translation program. Their methodology including testing whereby they would feed the program a test sentence, have it translated into Russian, and then take the resulting sentence and re-translate it back into English. The test sentence: "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." After processing, the Russian translation came back as: "The meat is rotten but the liquor is good."

Carnival?

If you can swing it, I’d try to spend a couple of days pre or post cruise to explore Seattle.  It is a  very tourist oriented city. Lots to see and do and taste.   

No escape for sister line Costa’s Smerelda’s passengers today. ☹️

16 hours ago, leerathje said:

 

Are you sure?  On the Koningsdam last January, and I thought they were wearing in-ear monitors. Completely different than ear plugs.

 

L.

 

Yes. Most performers are switching to in-ears.  Besides keeping stage levels down and preventing feedback, many modern digital mixing boards have provisions for remote mixing by smartphones or tablets to provide custom mixes to be sent to an individual’s IEM

I’m a professional sound tech and home theater installer and perceived volume levels can be very subjective.  What may be too loud for you may be too soft for the person next to you. An example of this was when I was doing the Inkspots many years ago. On gentleman was complaining bitterly about the volume while the gentleman right next to him was telling me to turn it up.  The solution to this situation is to talk to the performers and their reps and the final say goes to the person that signs my check.  I feel no sympathy for those that sit right in front of the loudspeakers or around the dance floor and complain that it is too loud, and I also can’t feel sorry for those that sit way in the back and say it is too soft.  One other thing to think about is the content, if you like it, being loud isn’t as much a consideration than if the content is as appealing to you. A study done years ago on rock musicians found that their hearing wasn’t as impacted as badly as predicted, because they enjoyed what they listened to. 

Just stayed in a Veranda spa cabin on K'dam as the result of a guarantee upgrade.  Never went int the spa, but for us the location was great except for when we went to the aft pool. It was a bit of  problem because the fastest route there was through the World Market and it was a great temptation to graze.  Lucky for me, most items are not self serve or I'd have gained even more weight.

Just off the 1/23-2/3 cruise. The Crows Nest Bar is nice, too bad I waited until the last day to try.   If going to an 8:00 World Stage show, plan on being there at 7:00 to get a seat.  If you are going to Martinique, the Rum Distillery and cooking lesson is a great excursion. Also we found the soups were universally too salty, so let the waiters know the night before that you want low sodium versions.   It was our first HAL cruise, but probably not the last. 

Thanks

Leaving Ft. Lauderdale soon on KoningsDam on our 1st HAL cruise.  Where is a good place for Sailaway?   We have a verandah on deck 10 portside.   I'm thinking the deck above the Crow's Nest, if not our Balcony.  (I like to wave at the condos and houses, but we are the only ship that day)

I read or my TA told me that there is an observation deck atop the Crows Nest, accessible by stairs, would someone please confirm. Thanks

If you have a guarantee booking,  it might help you have an idea of where they will put you.

One sad note about this is that some of the folks calling in sick may actually BE sick.  The flu is on an uptick. Hope the ones that are truly sick go to the doctor and get a note, because there will no doubt be retribution

On 1/1/2019 at 10:51 PM, POA1 said:

 

So...No water slides? Belly flop contests?

What no Hairy Chest contests???

Princess had that on one cruise, which is one of the reasons we are migrating to Hal after being platinum on Princess.  They too are cutting back.   I want my fettuccine Alfredo in a parmesan basket!  

We had B-757 on our Ruby cruise to Hawaii a couple of years ago. I loved it. My wife not so much. I loved the wake views and the sound, my wife found the wake too loud on the balcony. She was also a bit disconcerted about the orientation of the bed being different from our other cruises. (fore and aft vs Port &Starboard). It was the most private balcony :) we have had. Covered and only one neighbor to the starboard, with the port side having a vent. The hall is also not a busy throughway either.

We had an aft on our Hawaii cruise on Ruby. I loved it my wife thought it was a bit loud. We were on Baja

Went to it on our 15 day Ruby cruise to Hawaii. We gathered on the putt putt course on top of Skywalkers where an ass't cruise director called the bridge and had many of the lights turned off. He basically used a tablet app and a script. It was kind of neat to be in topside with the lights off. Too bad so many people were around :rolleyes: as we were on our anniversary cruise.

If it is the Ruby, make sure you go to Magic To Do. It may be the best show on the 7 seas. We were on the Jan 9 sailing. Say hi to Rowena in the IC and Mia in Michelangelo. You will be among the youngest passengers aboard, but aside from Billy Hygate, the cruise director, the entertainment staff is your age, so look them up and they will find something for you to do.

That small deck would be a great nude/topless deck. Nobody really goes there. The only drawback is the skylights into Horizon Court below. Having a Naked Deck up there could cause more vomiting than an epidemic of Noro:eek:

Now we know why it is so misunderstood.

As soon as you board, go to the guest's services desk to sign up. ( Do not pass go, do not collect $200) Also bring plenty of extra space in your luggage for the goodies you will get. Be prepared for lots of walking and stairs.

Enjoy

Does anyone know about the coral? Card or quarters? Thanks.

Coral is card for tokens. Just off the 2/27 Panama Canal partial transit. We were on Caribe deck, put the laundry in, and sat out on the Deck 10 rear deck while it washed.

Thanks everybody. I'll pass along your input.:D

My son is joining us on a cruise aboard the Coral. He asked if he should get his suit cleaned and pressed at home before he flies cross country and gets on board, or should he wait and and have it done on board.

My suggestion was to have to do it at home for the following reasons. 1. Easier to pack clean clothes. 2. Probably less expensive. 3. He will be sure to have it for 1st formal night.

His reasoning. 1. It will just get it wrinkled when he packs. 2. It will be freshly pressed for Elegant Night. 3.Cost will be approximately the same. 4. (the real reason for the query I'd bet) He won't have to go to the Dry Cleaners at home.

Thoughts?