room010

"Do you feel lucky?" (C. Eastwood) ;)

Go to the first evening meeting and ask if anyone else would prefer to meet at a different, more convenient time and agree to hook up the next day at the new time. The meetings are very informal and the cruiseline really doesn't get more involved than making the venue available and letting people know when/where it will be. You only need two people.....

HALs cost cutting is now beginning seriously to compromise its overall product. Whether the issues being raised here are valid or not (and I believe they are) HAL is facing a PR disaster if they don't do something to address the concerns and be seen to be doing something. The word is out that HAL is sailing into very troubled waters and no longer provides the high standards they used to be justly proud of. It's a slippery slope......

Oh I'm not concerned about the germs as much as the puddles of "water" :eek: I have to wonder if people leave their bathrooms at home in such a disgusting state.

After many years of long flights to/from Oz I am convinced that bad jet lag is mostly caused by dehydration. Drink LOTS of water before/during/after your flight. Also, try to slip into your destination time zone as quickly as possible - tough out tiredness with a brisk walk, and don't think about what time it is "back home".

ALWAYS wear shoes (not socks) when visiting the WC on the plane, especially after breakfast :eek:

I envy those people who seem able to fall fast asleep on long flights. I'm lucky if I get an hour of fitful dozing. Good earplugs help, but not much. Bad luck if you are near the galley :mad:

Well I hope he does a better job than the ship in the zero budget movie "Titanic 2". It's so bad it's good. The ship they use is the permanently berthed Queen Mary in Long Beach with a cast of about 12 extras recruited from the homeless shelters of LA, a few washed up porno actresses and special effects my 7 yr old could do better. It really is awesome :D

It's true that Regents single supplement is usually 100% :eek: but the overall experience makes it worthwhile IMO. There were several gentleman hosts who were much in demand as dance partners. They also sat at a 'solos' breakfast table (called something else, I forget) in La Veranda along with entertainers, CD sometimes and other 'front of house' crew members.

Overall the luxury lines offer more oe less the same 'product' so as usual it boils down to itinerary for me.

Shame on Princess if they aren't providing adequate hand sanitizing equipment. I know it's not a foolproof way to prevent the spread of these gastro bugs but it's better than nothing, especially as so many people are so slack about hand washing in general. HAL and Regent provide automatic sanitizer dispensers in elevators, entrances/exits to ALL public areas, washrooms of course, top and bottom of gangways - the list goes on and from my observation if the facility is provided then most people will use it, even if they are guilted into doing so by seeing others doing the right thing.

The reason your salted nut snacks were withdrawn is because the person who dipped their fingers into the bowl before you could well have been the person who didn't wash their hands after using the WC or maybe just touching handrails or elevator buttons.

I understand your frustration but I think you'd be telling a different story if you'd been unlucky enough to fall victim to noro and spent a happy 48 hours trapped in your bathroom no doubt cursing the person who'd passed it on.

When all's said and done this is yet another High Protein-Low/No Carb diet just like Atkins, South Beach, BodyTrim, etc etc and it certainly works. Only you know if you'll be able to sustain it in the longer term but it's a quick and relatively painless way of losing some pre-cruise pounds. Good luck!

Agree. If you know you are prone to motion sickness then start taking the meds BEFORE you need them. It's too late once the nausea sets in and then it can become a vicious cycle - if you think you are going to get seasick then you almost certainly will. Unfortunately there are very few over the counter meds available in Australia and certainly no Dramamine, Bonine, etc. TravaCalm (ORIGINAL) can be effective although they do cause 'dry mouth'. Also try ginger tablets or capsules - available from healthshops - but take them every day. Some people swear by green apples and crackers or those accupressure wrist bands. I'm afraid it's trial and error but I'm sure there's something out there that will do the trick. Did you have a cabin with a window/view or an interior? Not having a view of the horizon can make a huge difference.

As others have said, if you can stretch your budget then go for longer cruises on the luxury lines - Crystal, Regent, Seabourn, Silversea, etc which tend to offer fewer "family" facilities, kids clubs, etc and therefore attract fewer people with young kids. Obviously avoid the major holidays and school vacation times. We sailed from Sydney to Beijing in Feb/Apr (Regent) and there was only one child on board. Can't have been much fun for her.

Would you consider giving her an early birthday present and going just before school starts? The last couple of weeks in August actually have some pretty good prices. Our son will be going with us on the Valor on the week before his classes (sophomore) begin. The only bad part is that on disembarkation day I will have to drive him up to school immediately after getting home from the cruise.

This would seem the most common sense and obvious solution? Sure it will mean missing The Big Day at sea but, seriously, she's an adult; I'm sure she will deal with it. It won't be long before she's happy to quietly forget ALL birthdays ;)

As for the Teen Club - most college students I know wouldn't be seen DEAD in there. It's so, like, totally High School.

No use to you (but maybe to others), there's a couple of great little places in Skagway just off the main street - the Changing Threads and the Rushin Tailor. Both on Google for more info.

Depends on how you define "cold" !! September this year has been cooler than usual with temps around 16C (61F) but there have been much colder days when those bitter southwest winds blast in from Antarctica! But this time last year we'd already had a couple of 30C (86F) days. You just never know. It's early spring so temps do tend to fluctuate - think "April showers". You will certainly notice a difference between the southern and northern sectors but any cool days will be more than compensated for once you get up to Queensland and the top end where the weather should be just about perfect.

Surely it all boils down to using some street smarts and common sense. If you walk around a city, any city, festooned with expensive cameras and/or jewellery and/or a wallet full of credit cards you are making yourself a target. It's a shame that we have to be paranoid about pickpockets but it's better than being naive about the risks. Sad but true.

I happened to see The World docked in Melbourne today and agree with others; it's much smaller than I imagined, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

You could put up a 10ft neon sign saying "Reserved Seats" and someone would make a point of ignoring it :mad: Having to ask people not to sit in "my" chair, even if they are genuinely unaware that it's reserved, would be enough to ruin my trip alone. And then I'd probably feel guilty for being so possessive about "my" chair in the first place! However, my main concern with the whole lanai concept is the fact that my cabin opens directly onto a public deck and the privacy/security issues involved. I enjoy laying on the bed reading or watching TV in the evenings or eating breakfast in bed with a view outside. With people wandering around out there (as they are completely entitled to do) would probably force me to keep the curtains closed. I know they probably can't see in, but I'd still be uncomfortable and I challenge anyone taking a stroll along the deck to say they wouldn't at least be tempted to take a peek inside, especially if the doors are open.

If I want to be around other people I can find them in any number of public areas. But my cabin is my sanctuary away from other people and having them walking/sitting right outside the window is a dealbreaker for me.

Most taxis will take credit cards but if you plan to use your AmEx then ask the driver first as it's not so widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard (this applies in shops and restaurants too).

If someone gives you really good service then by all means say "thank you" with a small tip but it's not expected and you won't cause any offence if you don't.

Re: ESTA

This is effectively an online US visa application and I used it to obtain one before my trip to Alaska from Vancouver. I printed off the necessary document and presented it to US immigration prior to boarding as my ship (Zuiderdam) was considered US territory even though we were actually in Canada. All went well until I was told that the ESTA computers were down so I had to fill out all the forms all over again manually there and then and re-submit them :p It wasn't a problem but it did delay us getting on board.

I really can't understand why the question of whether or not to renew an almost expired passport is causing so much angst. Just do it.

If you just want a celebration party then I don't see why not. If you want the actual ceremony on board I guess you'd have to ask your rabbi if it's possible to do so elsewhere than a synagogue.