3rdGenCunarder

I think most countries that successfully made a change from paper to coin discontinued the paper so people had no choice. As long as we print dollar bills, people won't want the coins.

So am I, but I wouldn't try it now.

It's a balance. Do you make a fuss and sustain the aggravation, or do you let it go for the sake of your blood pressure. I would not have wanted to be in the cabana with a noisy crowded group there. A "retreat" is not a playground. I might have tried a few times more before giving up. And then what? Definitely complain. But how often do you want to go to the front desk to fight the good fight? At some point you have to let go, if only to salvage your vacation and not upset yourself. It isn't fair to have your vacation impacted because some people are rude and inconsiderate. Nobody has the right to flaunt the rules and interfere with another passenger's enjoyment of a vacation. But, sadly, some do.

I did a similar upgrade on Zaandam. This is a rare time solos get a good deal. The upgrade from lowest Vista to highest Vista for a 2-week cruise would have been almost $3000 because my fare would be for two people. But I only had to pay for CO for me, and that cost $350 IIRC.

Thanks for being a brave guinea pig! I'm used to cruise lines that have an "already booked" page where you can see your booking, update information, etc. Because AQV doesn't do that, I forgot to enter personal details. They sent a reminder to my TA who forwarded it to me. Their electronic "letterhead" was still for Victory cruise line. Ummm, shouldn't they know that their own name has changed?????

I think It's getting close to time for you to leave for this cruise. I hope the cruise turns out to be better than the planning. Please come back and share your experience. And have a wonderful time!!!

When I heard 500 kids, I wondered about capacity and safety. How many triples and quads does HAL have? The kids sail free only if they're 3rd or 4th passengers in a cabin, so I doubt there were many bookings with one adult and one kid. Never gonna happen. They won't enforce the chair hogging rules. No way is some crew member going to face the wrath of a parent who is told his/her precious perfect darling is doing something unacceptable. HAL would need to increase security staffing.

DH and I used to joke about "cream of yesterday's vegetable" soup. As long as it hasn't gone out of the kitchen on a plate or to buffet station, excess food should be considered usable for some other dish.

Oh, I can just see that! The list also had the usual turn off cell phone and please unwrap candies. I saw nathan Lane in a play last month, and he broke character to call out two people in the FRONT ROW who were eating peanuts out of a very crinkly noisy bag. "I'm sorry, I just can't take this any more. Do you know how distracting that is? And my God, that bag must be from Costco!" And he went on from there. As he went back to his position, he got quite a round of applause. Later, but not when Lane was onstage, the woman had her cell phone on. What is WRONG with some people????

I made that comment recently, and the friend to whom I said it told me that I was insulting wolves!

I've seen posts where people were told it was too late to add gratuities because accounts had been sent to shoreside already. So don't wait until the last minute. "On Deck for a Cause" is usually late in a cruise. There's a minimum ($25 IIRC) to get the shirt and the wristband to walk (or just get the shirt and not walk). The donation is a minimum, not a maximum, so that's another way to use extra OBC.

There is an unnamed bar across from the Golden Lion and another across from the casino. From the artist's renderings I've seen on Bright Lights, I'd guess it's the one across from Golden Lion. I don't expect the theater on QA to be equipped to do planetarium shows. There are no planetarium shows on QE or QV.

Perhaps HAL should have sent that message to the parents sailing with children. Sure, parents want their kids to have a good time. But that good time should not happen at the expense of someone else's good time. Manners have reached such a low point that the Playbill for the show I saw in NYC yesterday contained a letter from the President and Chairman of Playbill. There was a list of theater etiquette items, most of which civilized people should already know. Here are a few excerpts: --Always cooperate with the ushers and front of house staff... --Be respectful of the people around you and do not make disruptive comments. --Do not engage with the actors or musicians working in the show, and do not distract them --Stop drinking alcohol immediately if you feel tipsy. Drink some water. --Be patient with restroom lines. We know they're long and space is tight. But do not become pushy or rude. Everyone will get their turn. And the one that should be printed in bold: Do not sing along with the actors. It distracts your fellow theatregoers and is not thoughtful. Amen to that! I did not spend a couple hundred bucks to hear someone drone on tunelessly next to me!!!!!!

I don't think so. In the past, they seated priority passengers in rows as they arrived, without checking the basis for priority. then they boarded by row. In FLL this past winter, when I checked in, a lot of people were already there (11:30 or so), and non-priority sitting area was full. When I went to get my boarding card, they were up to number 19 cards for the non-priority passengers. As a 4*, I got a Priority 2 card. I didn't see any priority 1 cards, so I think those cards had all been given out. When I got to the second level, the priority passengers had been called to board, do I don't know if they were distinguishing between groups in any way. The one priority group that always goes first is passengers needing assistance.

I was very disappointed in K'dam's "promenade" deck. It's hard to have a pleasant stroll when you're turning so many corners and walking though narrow industrial-looking passages.

How wonderful to luck into local festivities! You're forgiven for the pic of partially consumed food. I might have licked the plate before I thought to take a photo. Yes, those bittersweet moments come out of nowhere. Focus on the sweet and think of it as him wishing you a good trip.

You may not need to worry about priority if you go later. When people arrive before the ship is ready, they have to stand/sit around and wait. But if you go toward the end of the boarding time, they will have boarded and you won't have to wait. I don't know about Amsterdam specifically, but usually if you have priority and your group has already boarded, you should be able to board right away.

Gastineau may be contracted with the cruise line. Read the descriptions for the ship tours and then read descriptions on Gastineau's site. Cruise lines often pick up the text directly, so you can figure out the vendors fairly easily. Contact Gastineau and see if they're doing anything with your cruise. I've done the whale watch and hike (I agree, it's a walk in the woods, not a strenuous hike) and I've done the photo safari. That one is expensive, but it's a very small group and the photographer on my trip was excellent. There were 3 or 4 people who had a "good" camera and had no idea how to use it as anything but an automatic point-and-shoot. He was really helpful with those folks, explainign shutter speed, depth-of-field, etc. I've had a camera since I was 8, so I didn't need lessons on basic photography, but I picked up some good tips on settings to choose for various situations.

I did Columbia and Snake Rivers with a different line about 10 years ago. I recall it being very port-intensive. I looked at some of the HoHo bus tours for the Columbia-Snake itinerary, and the sites they include are some distance apart. I'm on a Great Lakes cruise this summer, and some of the HoHo bus routes are not worth waiting for the bus, they're so walkable. But your ports will be small towns, and the places to see are a ride away. Highlights I remember from my trip were the Pendleton Underground tour, Bonneville Dam tour, and Multnoma Falls. Don't miss meeting the floozies at the Dalles! I don't know how AQV does for daytime activities. But for cruising days, just sit on deck and watch the scenery. River cruising is more about the river, the passing coastline, and the places you visit than the ship.

Congratulations on traveling so far solo! Flying business class is great for a solo. You don't feel crammed in so close to a stranger. Have fun exploring the ship and indulge in all the goodies you want!

If you didn't do whale watching on your previous trip, do that in Juneau. Look for a vendor with small boats, not the double-deckers that are crammed with people. Gastineau Guiding is excellent. Sometimes the ship offers good options. Don't rule out all ship tours, just choose carefully.

I have never tipped a musician on a ship, although I do praise them on the survey. But when we used to go to brunch where there was music, we would tip if we enjoyed the band. One hint is if there's a jar on the piano with a few "starter" bills in it, yes, tips are welcome.

The larger the ship, the longer the walk.

That's what I did when I had a bottle left. I ordered the fizz (prosecco, probably) that was in my package so that my table could have a goodbye toast.

I remember that road. Somewhere along the way, they do a photo op so you can get a picture of your ship in the fjord. When we did the tour, a woman asked to get off at that point because she was too afraid to continue. She figured she could probably get a taxi back down from the nearby hotel. The turns up to that point were nothing compared to what we had farther along the way, so she made a good call. One of my favorite pictures of DH and me is at that stop, with QE2 and the fjord in the background. I agree that the drivers are great. So are the guides. As the roads get twistier, the jokes come faster and faster to keep people distracted.