3rdGenCunarder

What's next, three-card Monte?????

I did a chat with AQV this morning. I was told by a shorex agent that the Development Team should have the new Escanaba excursions ready to book "mid-March." I hope they send out an email updating everyone on the itinerary changes instead of leaving us to stumble on it ourselves.

I would say of all the themes, masquerade gets the least attention. Nobody wears a costume. People bring masks to wear for dancing in the Queen's Room--think Mardi Gras, not Halloween. I do dress for the themes because I have dresses that fit the colors. I bought a flapper dress when this theme first started because I was excited to have a "Miss Fisher" (PBS-Australian mystery series) dress. I love wearing it. It just makes me smile and feel festive. I was surprised at how many women do dress for the 1920s. But not all, and as long as you dress up to the regular gala dress code, nobody will be bothered about it. The 1920's theme is easier for a man, wing collar shirt with the tux and they look very Gatsby.

Of course. The whale watch was a gray day, but I still got some good pics. I went with Baranoff Tours.

The suitcases are physical, not electronic. The cards are physical, not electronic. A computer does not control the suitcase, or the cards, or what the contestant chooses. So everything about it is not computer controlled. So where is this computer and what is it really controlling? OP implied that a computer was somehow manipulating things so people couldn't win much. If the TV game had a computer behind the scenes controlling (rigging) everything, the game would be shut down and the producers would be in prison. How has the ship taken the TV game and used a computer to make it harder to win anything? I think that the "rip-off" in this game is that the odds are terrible, not that anything is being manipulated. There probably are more card values than suitcase values. So perhaps there are 20 suitcases, 20 different values to be matched. But there could be 100 different values on the cards, meaning 80 percent of the cards could never be a match. Is that what you mean by "the computer knows how many matches there are"?

Stavanger is a lovely town. We went to the sardine canning museum. BF and I were skeptical, but our husbands were adamant about going. Our guide was great, and funny, and we had a good time. Somewhere, I still have the plastic sardine I bought in the gift shop.

Juneau is great for whale watching, but the port is getting ridiculous. Last fall our ship had to tender because there were so many ships in port, 5 or 6 including us. Tours were cancelled because vendors were overbooked. Ketchikan can be too crowded, too. Of the three "touristy" ports, I like Skagway best. It's a nice town to walk around in, and it celebrates its gold rush history well. I love Sitka. It's a real town. No Diamonds International, no Del Sol, no Effy. They have an independent bookshop! How often do you see that? A drugstore with counter service for ice cream treats. A food truck with fabulous fish and chips. Interesting places to see. An excellent raptor center that does good work rehabbing injured birds. I did a small-boat whale watch in Sitka and it was good. We did see a whale breach and a few others dive. We also saw a sea otter colony. so cute!!! I've done whale watching at Icy Strait Point, too. We saw humpback whales and orcas. Glacier Bay is a big deal because it's limited and you get the park ranger. Hubbard is good, too. I did an excursion there on a boat that got closer to the glacier than the ship did. Hubbard is an active calver, so that can be exciting. I've been to Tracy Arm, but the up-close boat ride was not offered on any of my cruises.

So the card you buy is electronic, on an app?

I still don't understand how it's controlled by a computer. I can see that the odds of winning anything are terrible if you have to get 4 matches. How many suitcases get opened in one show?

I think I saw cabins like that on Eurodam, too.

They tend to charge more than the actual port charge "just in case," I guess. And then any extra is always refunded.

Yes, I know. I want to know what the onboard charge is now. I don't really need premium. Everything I do online works with Surf.

Although renting a car in port always made DH nervous, I convinced him to rent one on PEI so we could go to our own selection of places. I had read and loved Anne when I was about her age, so I wanted to see Green Gables. We got there just as the morning buses were leaving and left just as the afternoon buses were arriving. We had the place to ourselves. Anne was a drama queen, as most girls that age are, and I wondered if I would still love Anne, or if she would annoy me (I had taught that age 😱). I reread the first book before the cruise. It shows how well the characters were written that I still loved the book. And having reread it, I appreciated seeing so many details from the story, like the fainting couch and the bottle of raspberry cordial. I also found a biography of the author in the ship's library, and reading that enhanced my visit, too. I'll pass on the poutine. (Did you mean Chez Ashton?) But if you want a patisserie in Quebec City, it's worth the walk up to Paillard. (I did say I research food sources!) Brioche so sweet it needed nothing more than to be eaten. And gateau opera, my favorite.

This was posted last summer, and AFAIK, it was correct until the recent price hike. I just looked at my reservation for 21 days, and the pre-purchase price premium plan is 291.99 I don't know what it was a week ago. If anyone currently on board is following this thread, please let us know if onboard prices for social and surf have gone up.

What do you like to do when you travel? History? Museums? nature? Gardens? Special local foods? Start by reading the ship's excursions. that will give you an idea of typical tours, and there may be some reviews you can read. Try tripadvisor. Their site isn't as easy to use since they've become a seller of tours (it's hard to find tours and attractions that they aren't selling), but you can find out about attractions in each of the ports. Another research tool I use is googlemaps. I use them to see what's in the port city itself. I like to search for bakeries, ice cream, or bars with local beer in addition to the usual tourist things.

Oh, that is sad to hear. I loved Lincoln Center. I guess the drydock was a break in contracts so it was easy to make the change then. Is there still a lonely piano in the Ocean Bar? It's a reminder of what HAL used to have. I suppose you've seen the Crow's Nest/Explorations Cafe? Those walls with the cube shelves are what is supposed to replace a library. Sigh. Thanks for reporting on the ship, even if it's less than happy news.

So I would get the upgrade for the price of one CO? That's worth doing, except on a Pinnacle because I don't like CO for dinner. I have had CO only once and that was in a Neptune suite on the K when CO was brand new, and so was solo cruising for me. As a solo, I looked at all those 2s and 4s, and figured I would end up eating dinner alone, because what were the odds that people would ask for a large table in a dining room that caters to the idea of private dining. I asked to go back to my original confirmation of a large table early fixed dining in the MDR, where I had lovely dinner companions and felt comfortable. Breakfast alone in CO was fine. Yes, back then it was $50pp. Not worth that price to me, especially since I'm 4-star and already get the priority boarding and tenders.

No, you don't pay double port charges or gratuities. I think the 100% supplement is unfair. One person eats less food, uses fewer towels and less water than two people do. We should get a little break. Cunard's supplement is 75% until you get up to the Grills Level, and then it's 100%. Once in a while they do a sale with a reduced single supplement.

I agree that it should be less for a non-Pinnacle ship. The big deal about CO is the separate dining room. I have a question about the upgrade. You book, buy CO, and get a better cabin. That's easy to understand. For a couple, both have to buy CO. What about a single? If I buy CO, I get charged for only me, same as they do for HIA. So do I get the upgrade without paying a single supplement on CO?

I got "outed" as a CC member on Cunard 10 or more years ago We were settling in on embarkation day, and DH was talking to the man in the next cabin. DH said something about we had found out about an excursion because of me being on CC and how I was excited about some detail of it, maybe something to do with where my grandparents came from. Ihad posted about this, so the man recognized who I am. He man said, "Oh, is she 3rdgencunarder?" And DH called to me to meet the man I'd already "met" on CC. Cruising can be a surprisingly small world. I think traveling solo you meet more people (if you're outgoing enough) than if you're in a couple, just because you don't have that same person to talk to all the time.

No, my cocktail at Tamarind and wine at Pinnacle were included. I think I went over the price limit at Pinnacle, so I had a charge for $2 plus gratuity. I think the only exclusion is HMC.

I think I saw the game a few times, so I know the premise. Apparently, the maximum price was set before people bought tickets. It isn't a 50/50 raffle where the payout increases as more tickets are bought. I want to know what HAL said up front to entice people to play. I also want to know how what was "computerized" and "easily controlled." Is the OP saying it was rigged?

Wow. Just wow. As I read the first post, I kept thinking how can HAL be making such a complicated mess of something that could be simple if they had simply notified all affected passengers as soon as the decision was made. Nobody should have to "wait their turn" to be notified. HAL can send out an email blast trying to sell HIA to a zillion people. They can't contact a few thousand in a timely manner? I can understand the cancelled tour still being sold. That's a disconnect between the people who make plans and the IT department--and HAL isn't exactly covering themselves in glory in IT. That doesn't excuse it, just an explanation. BUT for a rep to be unable to comprehend that the shorter cruise, which got the notification, is part of the longer cruise... How can a line that does long cruises and segments not train their people to be aware of this???? OP, if it's any consolation (and it probably isn't), I am going through a similar sloppy situation with American Queen. Changing and rescheduling ports (per an email answering my email and also a press release), but not updating the website or sending out notifications. As for the port change, I wonder if Stavanger is joining the list of ports that are feeling overwhelmed and looking to limit the size and/or number of ships.

I wish the OP would come back and explain more about the game and what makes it a rip-off. True, lots of people didn't win anything. But aren't there people at Bingo who don't win anything? Did the ship promise someone in the audience would win $1000? Or did they say "you could win up to $1000"?

Now that's an interesting point. If it's run by the casino, would you be able to use OBC? (Can you use OBC to buy bingo cards?)