markeb

I'm going to wait for JB and others to correct me, but... If it's your first time in London, I'd tend to Waterloo. There's nothing wrong with the Blackfriars location, but the Waterloo area puts you almost on Westminster Bridge, and you'll be looking across the Thames at the Elizabeth Tower (you can't see Big Ben...). The London Eye will be to your right (from the bridge). There are Tube stops, HOHO stops, Thames boat tours (across the bridge), Whitehall, Westminster Abbey, etc. You're going to walk a lot no matter what, but there's a lot to see and do on that walk. The boat tours to the Tower and to Greenwich leave from the Embankment (actually I think they may still stop adjacent to the Eye as well?). I guess there's a touristy aspect as the Eye and several "attractions" are at County Hall, but it's a very convenient location. Nowhere in London is perfect for all attractions, but there's a lot to like about the Waterloo area

I'm looking at my cruise on Equinox, and some of those are available by the bottle. Not by the glass. There used to be some decent bottle lists online, but they look to be dated. Not by the glass...

Why does every Cruise Critic thread do this? There are 58 pages going back over 4 years. Almost all on the theater, occasionally music, and assorted restaurants. Arguments about the statistical safety of MTA are just going to result in arguments! (You can download vehicular data from the NYPD. You really don't want to drive, ride a bike, or be a pedestrian in NYC if 300 a day is a bad number!)

Yeah, but they didn't fight it when the government called it bourbon to qualify for free trade under NAFTA! 😀 As long as it's not JD, you're on!

Is Nürnberg your final destination? If you already have some euros, use a credit card or Apple Pay until you get to a Deustche Bank ATM in Nürnberg (or Munich if you have to divert). I haven't used actual euros in a city, other than Oktoberfest, in ages. Other than traveling with a group where we split the bill with cash.

Well, Texas is a whole other country... (Uncle Sam let me spend a total of close to 7 years in San Antonio.) Apparently Texas law not only taxes beer, wine, and liquor sold at retail in its territorial waters, it requires that the liquor at least have a tax stamp showing taxes have been paid in the state. Very "untouchables" like!

Yes to all the above, including the swill part. But it's distilled from 51% or more corn mash in the United States at no more than 160 proof, aged in new charred oak barrels at no more than 120 proof, bottled at greater than 80 proof (No. 7 is exactly 80 proof), and contains no flavorings or colorings. That's the definition of bourbon, and the only change for a Tennessee Whiskey is all that has to happen in Tennessee, and almost all of them (including JD) undergo charcoal filtration (the Lincoln County Process). Which doesn't add a flavoring or coloring, so it's still a bourbon... 😀

Best bet is probably to store you luggage at Schwartz. Link here: http://schwartztravel.com/ 357 W 37th St. Not far from Penn Station & Times Square and recommended here for years. That would give you the freedom to explore Midtown, got back and pick up your bags, and then check in. If you're getting in hours early, I'd head from the airport to Schwartz, to explore, then go back for my bags and catch a cab/Uber to the terminal. No idea on cruise check in time, unfortunately!

Hate to pile on, but I'd price this multiple ways. UberXL maybe 4 with luggage (depending on luggage). Some of them are large vans, but you can't count on that. But for 12 you'd need a minibus and that's a different animal altogether. Check Dial7 and Carmel for what they have, but the drivers are all private drivers, and many of them probably also take Uber calls. My last couple of times coming into Moynihan Hall I've struggled to get a cab, so we're planning Uber on our next trip. Usually cabbed out and Uber back, but we'll see in August.

Awkward, but it happens. It would be also be awkward if you were on the same long haul flight and you turned left through the door and they went right... (Been there.) It's also possible couple #3 wasn't even thinking about dinner with everyone. You're saying it's only their third cruise. It may be simpler than you think, but an early conversation is probably in order. You can still have drinks, go to shows, etc.

Yes, it is. It's also a Tennessee Whiskey. It meets all the legal definitions for a bourbon first, then goes through the Lincoln County Process. Nothing in the Lincoln County Process changes the product from meeting the legal definitions of bourbon. Tennessee Whiskey was listed as straight bourbon under NAFTA. Probably other international trade agreements. JD chooses to not call itself bourbon, unless its useful, like for international trade agreements... This is one of the oldest arguments in whiskey!

Is there a reason you don't want to use Uber? I'm assuming you're talking Penn Station? To where?

I'm pretty sure their stock is down because they've leveraged an incredible amount of debt, fuel prices are up, the general stock market is down, and much of their target audience is retired or in semi-retirement and watching their 401k/403b balance drop 15-20%. Most analysts are going to assume most people will circle the wagons on necessities. The good news is most recessions are all but over by the time they meet the criteria to be considered a recession. The bad news is you're fighting perception for a luxury good... The new variant doesn't help, but I'd be hard pressed to make a case that's driving RCG's stock prices.

If that's what's driving down their stock price. It could be their P/E ratio (they're not paying dividends), their ROE, or just as likely their Return on Debt, since they've taken on a lot of debt over the last two years. With no return to investors, all those ratios are bad. If you're looking for a short to mid term return, I don't see a cruise line as a good bet. The stockholder credit is an operational expense and likely has little or no impact on their ROD. It's also good PR, and they need that. Don't invest in RCG for the shareholder credit. If they meet your other criteria for an investment, go for it. Even though shares are pretty low right now, I wouldn't invest just to get the credit.

Isn't the stock for the Royal Caribbean Group (RCL on the NYSE). Not Celebrity? So that would be Richard Fain, not LLP...

Most sources will tell you Norway doesn't really have a tipping culture. Some guides for free walking tours only receive tips, and some higher end restaurants add a service charge. There's no such thing as a "tipped worker wage" in most of the world, so they're not making up a low salary on tips. I don't recall tipping there either on a land visit or a cruise visit. Like you say, maybe a few Krone. And since they're almost cash free, you'll have to grab the credit card machine out of their hand before they close out your tab. You have to add a tip before they run the card, not after like the US. (Again, almost the entire world except the US.) I don't know that I've ever been handed the machine to add a tip unless I've asked or offered. It's just not normal.

You're given a bill for $500 for food and beverage. You tip $100 (20%). You're done. Seriously. It's that simple. The restaurant does the rest. You don't chase down the sommelier and give them a tip. The drinks and wine were on your tab already. What happens after that is none of your business and is between the employees and their employer. In most better restaurants if you gave cash to the sommelier separately, they'd try not to give you a funny look, but they'd drop it into a tip jar/box/whatever out of sight because they pool tips. This is not rocket science nor difficult.

Serious question. How would you tip at a shoreside restaurant? I typically tip on the total bill. They can figure out how to tax me differently on alcohol versus food. I assume they have a system for distributing tips. I've never seen anyone in a Midtown restaurant tracking down a sommelier to hand them cash. I have bought a bottle of wine in Blu once, which gave me the opportunity to directly tip a very good sommelier. On shore, my understanding is their percentage is usually based on alcohol sales to the table. Distribution of gratuities on packages is (intentionally?) unclear.

The $2 bill occupies the same place in America as the $1 coin. Don't bother. If you're going to use cash, which I personally only use when I have no tab to add a tip to, give two singles instead of a $2 bill.

None of the others are. Why are you sure they are? Even Cruise Critics articles refer to them as concessions.

That's interesting. I'd assume they'd share in the pool for the drink tab. And probably have to share in the pool for the drink tab...

Not in this thread, but in the past folks have posted they did this and were thanked by their waiter/butler/cabin attendant as soon as the next day. It would appear the system notifies them, and quickly. Not the case if you do it the last night, but you're doing it to thank them, not to be thanked for tipping them... Interestingly, the form allows you to designate an individual by name. That may be the only way to be sure your additional gratuity goes to that individual. I just assume cash is pooled like it would be on land.

Pretty sure the duty free products belong to the duty free contractor, not Celebrity. Probably the same folks who run airport duty free. I've been on ships where they've had a decent match between duty free retail and bar inventory, but it's not the same source, and frequently different products. We'll see what they have in the Retreat and the WCB in 3 weeks...

I'm going to be honest (and probably unpopular). If you want some small bills for room service and excursions, do that. You can get an additional gratuity form at guest services to designate an additional gratuity to your cabin attendant and waiter which will get paid out of OBC if you have any. That solves the excess cash question, and the conversion is on your credit card with your other on board charges. People still love to carry cash, but it's all but unnecessary, and if the USD isn't your home currency, it's just a sunk cost that you likely won't recover. I think I still have SG$60 or more of the SG$100 I withdrew in Singapore two weeks ago. Didn't even drop any at duty free leaving the airport. In this day and age I certainly wouldn't pull more than that for any foreign travel...

I'm assuming Disney has stocks because they have deeper pockets and ordered bourbon even when they weren't sailing. Or they're able to divert product for export to their theme parks. I just looked and for the first time in months our local Virginia ABC store shows good stocks of Woodford Reserve. It's been hit and miss for months. After the last big "where's the bourbon" discussion on the board, I did a little extra searching and the cruise lines are able to bypass the three-tier distribution model. They order direct from the maker (probably Brown-Forman for Woodford) and the product is delivered "for export", so they apparently don't have to go through a Florida distributor. That was a bit of a surprise, and I don't remember where I found the information, but it makes sense. Whether someone like Disney is able to float their order between domestic (using a distributor) and export (distributor not required) is an interesting question. I have to assume most cruise lines dramatically reduced their orders while shut down and they're now competing with outlets who maintained demand. And for the rarer Buffalo Trace products like all the Van Winkles, you just keep buying because if you ever stop, you'll never get in line again.