RandyinDEN

I did a 17 day cruise through the Panama Canal without my wife. She hates the humidity and this has been a bucket list cruise for me. She was fine with me going, but I was worried that my stuff would be on the driveway when I got home. I missed her birthday and Thanksgiving but she seemed to be fine with it.

Oh good, another Oprah thread. Looking forward to this one as well.

Go to Tracy's in Juneau. You won't be disappointed.

Awesome video, thank you for sharing.

Excellent and entertaining report. Thank you for taking the time to write this.

If your only concern is a burger, you really should just stay at home. You won't be happy.

Just toss the nail clippings onto your neighbors balcony. They will take care of it for you.

I heard that they will be picking RuPaul as the next Godmother for the upcoming ship.

What I will miss most is the surly sour faces and bad attitudes of the staff at the "gallery".

My wife and I did a 2 week back to back Eastern and Western Caribbean cruise for our honeymoon on the Nieuw Amsterdam. The staff treated us with special attention the entire first week. We really loved the ship and the staff.

I give you permission to use my ship for your honeymoon as well.

The drinks are few and far between. I was told for every $1000 I spend then that entitles me to a free drink. Not exactly a welcoming atmosphere.

The longer the cruise the less you will find kids on board. Although not guaranteed, just not likely.

Turkey and ham in the MDR for dinner. For some reason there was a raw turkey sitting in a decoration at the entrance. The food was fair, but at least they tried.

Yes, especially if customs and immigration has questions about your passport. A really nice jolting alarm goes off.

I think jeans fall into the "casual" category, defiantly not "smart casual".

Booked it twice for our 16 day Panama Canal cruise. After the first time I cancelled the second evening. No fresh fish as advertised, it was frozen from 10 days ago and most of the items were not very good. We won't go again. We always enjoyed Le Cirque night and went many times, always a great meal.

I would say no problem. Cancel your transfer with the cruise line since you have to wait for the entire bus to fill up. Get a taxi yourself and get dropped right off at the door of your airline. A much safer alternative.

When we did De Librjie on the Rotterdam several years ago, they offered only beef cheeks for their beef entree. Don't know about you, but any form of meat "cheeks" (pork, lamb etc) are now officially on my do not try list. Can not get past the mooshy texture of beef cheeks.

Halibut cheeks are the best and should not be avoided. Ask any chef and they will tell you that it is the most tender and the absolutely best part of the fish.

It isn't an issue. Order distilled water before your cruise and it will be waiting for you. Since you will be at sea level, I usually don't use extra humidification. If needed, you can ask your steward for an extension cord and they will bring you one.

Does the shower door close or is it open for half of the shower?

I have a good recipe for service parrots if you would like me to share it.

Welcome to Cruise Critic..

 

But, "spared breakfast with the masses"???

 

Really? I hope you didn't mean for that to sound as supercilious as it does. ;)

I would have said "spared breakfast with the unwashed masses"

The video I got while on the Westerdam last November was of our transit.

Very doable. San Diego was very fast and efficient. Also the airport is a breeze to get through. I think there were only about 5 people ahead of me in the security line.

My wife is an RN with over 30 years ER experience. There isn't anything she hasn't seen or can handle in an emergency situation. Each cruise we always like to visit the infirmary and see what type of setup's they have, their procedures and get to know the staff if they are not busy. She always walks away impressed by the professional's that staff the ship's infirmary's and would not hesitate one minute to send a loved one there. They are all very capable and professional.

I have tried to get her to consider a contract with HAL when we retire because spouses cruise for free.