3rdGenCunarder

Wow, that's worse than I've ever seen it so early! I would be tempted to just walk along the line, scooping up everything and dumping it on the last "claimed" loungers. Let the pigs sort out their stuff.

I was shivering one night in MDR on Zaandam last month!

And moi as well. And I probably never will, as I don't gamble and I don't buy expensive jewelry onboard. I think EFFY may have some allotment of cruises to give away because a couple on my recent cruise had a free cabin (and they added CO to get to choose their cabin, still an inside). They sort of grumbled that they had to pay that extra to choose. Well, [insert string of expletives here], I paid a lot more to get to choose my cabin! Sorry (not sorry?) for the rant/digression. They did not gamble, and I don't think they were big drinkers--never saw them have wine at dinner. And they never talked about excursions. BUT she spent big on jewelry, including a few things at the EFFY auction. So I'm guessing that EFFY or shops onboard were the source of their freebie. I've done 16 cruises on HAL, so they probably figure they don't need to entice me. Right now, I don't have anything booked with HAL and no plans to. My next cruises are all on Cunard. So, HAL, entice me back?

I agree. Plus isn't there some rule about when they have to finalize the passenger manifest?

I don't know about any specific hotels, but a lot of swanky hotels had uniformed "bell staff" or "bell persons," as we say now. They still do, although the uniforms vary a lot. Cunard still dresses some staff in old-fashioned bellboy livery to stand at the entrance on embarkation day. If you're in the very top suite, one of them will escort you to your suite. The term bellboy comes from the practice of the front desk ringing a bell (the kind you hit to make it chime) to summon help for a guest. According to Wikipedia, the first term was bellhop (going back to 1897) because he was supposed to hop to it when the bell rang. "Call for Phillip Morris" refers to the way guests were paged in a hotel lobby when a call came in for them. You see this as a ruse in a lot of old detective movies when the detective wants to know if his quarry is in the hotel.

Yes. I fear those of us who "liked" this post are [ahem] of a certain age, as cigarette ads were banned from TV a long time ago.

I tried getting my drink before dinner on Zaandam. A few minutes to five and the guy in Mix was "setting up" and couldn't serve me (he should have been open an our before that). Ocean bar was busy and I waited 10 minutes after ordering and then just gave up. (I had HIA, so the charge didn't matter.) Bar service on Zaandam was terrible, so I never tried that again.

I look at a transatlantic as transportation with benefits. Most of our TAs were westbound after time in the UK. Once DH retired, we could fly over, spend the time in the UK, and enjoy the extra week (once upon a time it was 5 days on QE2) sailing. But I do TAs on Cunard, where there's lots to do, and "getting there is half the fun," as their old ad campaign used to say. Because Cunard does so many TAs, it's possible to do a B2B, and a lot of people do that to enjoy the sea days. Friends who are still working and have limited time off have done several crossings. Fly over one day before and then sail home. Seven relaxing days at sea. That isn't for me. For all the times I've been to the UK, I can't say been there done that and just get on a ship to go home. I need a week there, at least.

Most of the times I've been at a table with someone who had specific dietary needs, it was handled very smoothly. At the end of the meal, the waiter brought out the menus and the person made choices. Unless you've got a diva who obsesses over every detail, this shouldn't take up too much time, especially in fixed dining when it's at the end of service. Organization could be part of it, but on my recent Zaandam cruise it just seemed to be sloppiness. I've done kitchen tours and seen the pictures of how a meal should look. But three people could order the same meal and one plate had a little sauce under the meat and another had the sauce drowning the meat and the whole plate. It's like they don't care. Just throw the food on the plate and let the waiter figure it out. @cruisemom42, I don't remember all of what you describe, but I do remember the vegetable service at the table. That's one of my complaints about dinner on HAL. The tiny veg "portions" are not how i like to eat. In the past, DH and I would ask for extra veg and we would get a bowl/plate of whatever veggies were on offer that night. After 2 or 3 days, our waiter just automatically brought extra veggies. Considering how little attention was paid to special orders, I didn't try that this time.

No goofy costume on Zaandam recently, but she was at the exit of the MDR on "dressy" nights, offering little mints and I forget what else.

What a hodgepodge of an answer you got from HAL!!!

I don't know about the R HAL ships, but I've been on the deck under the promenade deck on Queen Mary 2 and never had any noise issues from joggers. MANY years ago, we were under promenade deck on Veendam and I don't recall any noise from joggers then, either.

There should be a special place in hell for the escalator blockers!!!! I don't recall seeing a "no jogging" sign on Zaadam recently. I saw plenty of people walking, but I don't recall joggers.

Nice deal! And interesting that they offered options to upgrade.

Yes, you have to be willing to take whatever they give you. That, I think I could live with. It's the tight timing that I don't like.

I'm a city girl, so I haven't encountered hiking issues. But pedestrians holding hands and walking with extra space between them drive me crazy. I get it, they're relaxed and on vacation, but some of us have somewhere to go. Don't take up more trail/sidewalk/deck space than you really need. (Is this becoming a hogging thread?) At least they aren't stopping abruptly to take selfies. Times Square in NY actually has signs telling people to keep moving. Not that anyone obeys it...

3 days notice isn't bad if you live a reasonable distance from the port. But 24 hours is too tight for most people.

As the old Amex commercial said, don't leave home without it!

I think I know who you mean when you say tiara and sparkly shoes. There was a woman who called herself the Queen of Cunard or some such thing. She liked to sing and wrote a book about her travels on QE2. She lived in a town near me. I saw her in a supermarket one time, and she was wearing the tiara! In addition to a few small movie roles and his TV work (excellent US accent in "The Good Wife"), he has done a fair amount of stage work. He was the emcee in Cabaret in the late 90s. And, appropriately enough, a production of the "Scottish Play."

At first I thought it was a bathrobe, but on closer look it appears to be a long coat. I think he enjoys a rather outré style. And plaids. He was across the aisle from me on a flight from Vancouver and he was wearing red plaid trousers (or pajama bottoms) with orange socks.

July. Cruise leaves on the 11th, but I'm flying out a few days early. I'm flying home the day we get back to Vancouver because Air Canada (codeshare with United) has a flight that leaves at 2 PM.

I just booked my flights for my Alaska cruise. Cunard's price for business class was double the price on the United website. So it pays to do your research before you call Cunard. Sometimes their price is better, but today it wasn't.

I went to the flower arranging demo on my cruise and I learned that they call those vases "bow vases" because they're shaped like the bow of a ship.

I think mine took 4 or 5 days to arrive.

I think itinerary is the most important factor. Checking how many other ships you're with is a good idea. Even if it doesn't affect the choice of cruise, it can help you to plan if you have a sense of how crowded a port will be. This is usually a reliable source of info. 2024 Schedules | Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska (claalaska.com)