3rdGenCunarder

I have wanted to see this for years! I try to avoid peak times, but even so, it can be confusing knowing where to line up. Another thing that makes the Lido awkward is the spae for walking. The sitting area is bordered by a low wall, but at some point in the past, more tables (for 2) were added on the walkway side of that wall. So you've got people in line, people trying to figure out what's where, and people just trying to walk through in a space that's too narrow for all that traffic. I was on Eurodam in January, and I didn't see bad behavior like that. But I eat breakfast early and lunch is usually just the salad bar, so I avoid the mail crowd. I agree about larger signs. I'm short and have to look between people who are in line. And yeah, I don't know what the deal is with butter. Sometimes I got huge amounts and other times tiny amounts. I appreciate that they're cutting down on trash by not having the wrapped butter pats, but it's one more thing to have to ask for.

@Springfield6, thank you so much for posting! I can put up with shoreside cluelessness if I know things will be good on the ship. I always book through a TA, but I don't bother her for details I can find (or should be able to find) on the cruiseline's website. I have a strong need to know, and the AQV staff were not satisfying that. Your description sounds great. I don't need a lot of entertainment. I can sit and watch the water go by. I've been to most of the ports before, but not recently. I'm on this more for the ride than the stops. I hear you and @uktog about embarkation with the vaccination and test checks. So many people didn't understand what they had to do--including the people who checked in passengers! My embarkation in Vancouver for an Alaska cruise in June was an unholy mess. I don't know how people got into Canada without the ArriveCAN app--I needed it to fly to Vancouver. And we needed it to board because we had a stop in Victoria BC. I was ready to go (despite being a boomer in her 70s), but got stuck in a queue with the 95% of passengers who hadn't done the app. I stood in line for an hour, when I should have just breezed through. The port people did an awful job of trying to help passengers who didn't understand how the app works. Cunard could have done a much better job of informing passengers that they would need to complete the app before boarding. It would have been so much better if Cunard or the port staff provided a paper with the steps involved in doing the app. So at least we don't have that to deal with. And checking in 200 people instead of 2000+ (Queen Elizabeth) should make for an easier time than I had in June. I do have 3 questions. 1. On Mackinac Island, the included tour takes us to the hotel, and the description says we can tour on our own. So does the included tour give us access to the inside of the hotel? Because it's so famous, they charge ($10, I think) to just go in and look around. It's a long time since I've been there, so I'll go in and wander if it's included, but not if I have to pay. 2. Port Colborne is the port for Niagara Falls. Do tours leave and return to Port Colborne, or does the ship transit the Welland Canal while people are off on their tours and you go back to the ship at a different point? 3. What time did they transfer people from the hotel to the ship on the direct transfer? The hotel for my cruise is supposed to be the Sheraton Grand, about a mile from the pier. I don't want to do the city tour. I'd rather spend the afternoon doing something on my own and go back to the hotel in time to get my luggage and board the bus.

Maybe. Sounds like you're remembering the Neptunes, who played in the Ocean Bar. They were wonderful. But right now, there's nothing like that on HAL, except maybe the two small R ships. When I was on Eurodam in January, the Ocean Bar still had a dance floor and there was a sad lonely piano that was never used. HAL might be bringing back a small bar band as part of the changes in their entertainment, but who knows when (if?) that will happen.

I'm so sorry you have to have this on top of losing your husband. I'm sure your mother will be glad to have you there for her.

Good point about the key swap. They put a sticker on your key card the first time you check in at the spa. That way, each time you go to use the thermal suite, they don't have to look up your account. One time, I saw a woman trying to get into the thermal pool area, but the key she had didn't work. I was headed in there, so I asked if she was having a problem. She said, "They put the sticker on my key, but it isn't working." Seriously. You can't make this stuff up.

I don' know about the updated app, but when I was on Eurodam in January, a lot of things didn't appear until embarkation day. It seemed useless, even the day before embarking. Once onboard, I could see my restaurant bookings, tours, etc. Dining room and Lido menus were only available for the current day, but that wasn't an issue for me. So maybe Navigator will come to life for you once you're on board. 🤞

Almost! We went in July. 😀

Until the blue fades back to white.

QM2 was like that on her first circumnavigation of Australia in 2012. All I could book from the US was the full circle, but people from Australia could book shorter segments. I thought this was a smart move on Cunard's part. Give people a taste of life onboard Cunard and get them hooked. When I learned about the small segments, I joked with DH that it would be like a bus, with people getting on and off at every port. But I had no problem with it, and I didn't feel it lowered standards. That may be because our table companions (all Australians) were also doing the full circle. I did meet one American woman who was on the full world cruise and complained that not everyone on the ship was doing the full three months. Then she said, in a most disapproving voice that Australia was "like being on a bus with all these people coming and going." (She also complained that a tour in Bali went to a market instead of the Gucci store we passed)

Forgot to add, there's also a sauna or steam (or both?), which I don't use. They're off the room with the thermal loungers. The only ships that don't have the hydropool are the remaining R class, Zaandam and Volendam.

Yes, it's similar on Oosterdam. I'll see if I can find a pic. Worth it depends on what you enjoy. With so many sea days, I think you'll probably get good use out of it. I like to go in the morning, when it's quiet and walk in the warm water. I walked off a mild case of sciatica in one of those pools. The spa usually is open late enough that if you have early dinner, you an go after dinner. It's often quiet then. Ta da! Found them!

Ohh, the weather forecast! So useful if you were in an inside cabin, which we were for our first cruise.

Nothing. If I tap the pinnacle on the home page, I get the prices and a description of how wonderful Pinnacle is. If I try to get the menu, it doesn't do anything.

Thanks! She does look tiny next to QM2! Sad that I had to cancel the cruise I was going to take on her, and then she was gone.

I've got the latest 4.23.1, and it does know that I have a cruise booked for next summer (2025). No specialty restaurant menus come up for me, either. But the really crazy thing is, it keeps sending me alerts. Yesterday it was a tour in Costa Rica (the one that I took in January). The day before that, it was my reservation for Pinnacle. I tried to find out if they could deliver it to my house, but no luck.

I'm looking at a Princess cruise as backup, or a land tour. But since HAL had already set up a Caribbean itinerary for the Feb 3 departure, I'm waiting to see if they do an itinerary with some of those ports to fill in the 2 weeks before the legendary amazon. I think it's sloppy on their part not having worked out the whole 6 weeks before cancelling the 3-week cruise. At this point, I'm mostly curious to see how long my booking will stay "live."

Yes!!!

Prinsendam next to QM2 would have been quite a picture!

It's fun to feel smug! Our second QE2 was a transcanal, leaving from San Diego. Since the ship was sailing late, we killed time in the morning by going to see the lighthouse at Point Loma. There were lots of people sitting around in lawn chairs and clutching binoculars and cameras. And then we realized that they were waiting to see QE2 arrive! It was only her second call there, so people were excited. I said to DH, "They can look all they want, but WE get to sail on her!" Like the other folks in the park, I got some great pictures.

So, the latest in the saga. I can't resist "poking the bear," as DH used to say. A few days ago I checked, and yes, I'm still booked. (Still booked today, too, 323 days to go!!) So out of curiosity, I went to see if I could book something. Too early for dinner reservations or tours, but I could buy a beverage package. I didn't pay for it, no point in throwing more money at this mess. But yesterday morning, HAL's computer sent me an email reminding me I have something in my cart. Nobody at HAL knows what's going on with the 6-week blank in Zaandam's schedule. Not when I called, not the person my TA called. When she goes into the reservation system, she sees nothing for those 6 weeks. We agreed that I should just let this ride, not cancel anything, in case I decide that whatever they do with Zaandam is something I would like. I'm beginning to wonder if this was a mistake. The Amazon Legendary cruise is Zaandam, Feb 2025. Did someone at HAL goof and clear Zaandam's calendar for Feb 2024 as well, by mistake, and now they're thinking @#$%^&! what should we do about this?????

@eroller, that brings back memories! My very first cruise was on Statendam to Bermuda, 1978. Back in those days, you could still have friends on board for bon voyage parties. What a great way for a cruise line to get people interested. Friends who later became our cruising buddies saw us off and she said, "Oh yeah, we're doing this some day!" Not HAL, but Home Lines memory. When I was maybe 6 or 7, we went to see friends off on a cruise. It was winter to the Caribbean for a neighbor's parents 50th anniversary, and their whole family was going. All I remember from that is being amazed that a ship could have a pool on it, and thinking it was weird to have to step over doorsills. And Mom telling Dad, "I want to go on a cruise some day!" And they did--HAL to Bermuda.

The spa on NA is more than just a jacuzzi. It's a large hydropool, very relaxing. It has jets in the water and also two shower/massagers. The pic below was taken when it wasn't bubbling. The spa pass also gets you into a room with heated ceramic loungers. They look uncomfortable, but once you settle in, they just ease away your cares. A spa pass is my favorite indulgence on a cruise. The 15 minute thing is a website bit of weirdness. In the early post-covid days, people had to book a time (at the spa onboard, not in advance) so that they could spread out use and avoid crowding. But now you may come and go as you please, more than once a day if you wish. Pics are Eurodam, but NA will be similar.

Well, the map is fixed--sort of. The new version shows a dotted line between Milwaukee and Chicago. Looking at the website, it isn't clear which cruises are embarking/disembarking in Chicago and which are using Milwaukee instead. I hate to be pedantic, but this new map, if read by someone who takes maps seriously, implies that the pre-cruise hotel is in Milwaukee and we go to Chicago from there to start the cruise. The itinerary for my Chicago to Toronto cruise says day 1 is Chicago/Milwaukee, and day 2 (embarkation) is Chicago. This matches the map, but I don't think it's what you mean. AQV needs to figure out what's going on with these itineraries and clean up the website.

I would have been asking to get out and go back to the ship!

I booked club, and there weren't a lot of cabins available. It's a long (for me) cruise with a lot of sea days, so I'm splurging on better food and service. Grills are a splurge too far on this one, alas.