BruceMuzz

And it is also possible that Windstar will send these ice hull ships to Alaska, where there are many icebergs floating around.

In my book, meatloaf is just one step above cat food. Better to go without than eat such plebian food.

Did you know that EVERY Drive-through ATM in America has complete instructions in braille? Why buy braille ATMs for people driving cars, when they don’t need that function?

Yesterday I flew Barcelona - Doha - Tokyo on 2 different Emirates A380-800s in Business Class. 19 hours in the air. Great food, outstanding service. Great seats. Slept most of the way. Almost sorry the flight ended so soon. Had a great sleep back on the ground last night, and just woke up a few minutes ago feeling great.

Your credit card issue happened because the ship transmits the credit card charges in a “batch” at the end of the cruise. The bank that issued the card initially approved the charge as standard procedure. Then they realized the card was overdrawn and sent a message to the cruise line that the charge was not approved. This happens quite often on the mass market cruise lines. On mass market ships, an average of 10% of passengers cannot pay their bill at the end of the cruise. That is why the cruise lines want a card imprint at the beginning. They place a credit hold on your card so that they can be sure to receive at least the bulk of what you owe.

Your mobile telephone screen can be used for more than video games. It will display the name of the mobile telephone service provider. When a cruise ship is within shore-based mobile service, the ship’s system must legally be shut down. As soon as you are far enough at sea to lose the shore-based service, the ship’s system goers back online. This usually happens seamlessly, so it may switch over in the middle of a call.

The cruise lines already moved to other countries for that very reason.

If by “travel card” you are talking about the pre-paid smart cards for subways, trains, buses, taxis, ferries, and convenience stores, it is far easier to buy a travel card. If you are carrying cash and do not mind dealing with vending machines every time you go somewhere, that’s OK too.

There are plenty taxis available just outside the cruise terminal in Kushiro. How are your Japanese language skills? Taxi drivers will speak very little English. If you do your homework and print out maps in Japanese, print out - from Google Translate - Japanese requests to go to certain locations ( and back again) you can make it work.

Star Legend was re-built with an ice hull when it started as Royal Viking Queen with Royal Viking Line.

1. Fly Business or First Class 2. Do not fly a US Flag airline 3. Choose your airplane carefully. A380 is best 4. Choose your seat carefully. Forward and away from toilets and galleys. 5. Adjust your body clock a few days in advance with diet and sleep changes. 6. Lay off the free champagne during the flight

Where did you get the idea about what “cruise ships generally do”? For the 34 ships on 13 different cruise lines, I have had to clear on over 1,500 voyages, during the past 47 years, we have not “generally done that”. Which cruise lines have you been working for?

It also strokes his sense of entitlement. This is a very strong issue in North America today.

The fact that you don’t know why 2 different US Ports enforce US Fede

Imperial Hotel in Hibiya or Palace Hotel in Otemachi

There is an easier and faster way to go from Nihon-Odori Station in Yokohama to Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. Stay on the Minatomirai line until Shibuya Station. If you study the Minatomirai schedule, plan to take the Express. The cost is the same. Nihon-Odori to Shibuya Station takes 29 minutes on the Express. There, it is a very short walk to the Ginza Line. Take the Ginza Line to Ginza Station. From Ginza Station, Imperial Hotel is a 10 minute walk or a 5 minute Taxi ride.

For the first half of your 30-year career, there were far more smokers than we see today. It is only logical that there were more smoking related fires at that time. In recent years the reduced number of smokers has resulted in reduced instances of smoking-related fires. For the second half of your 30-year career, most cruise lines had stopped the traditional Baked Alaska Parades, and instead used safer means of generating the “sparkle”. By that point in time, most propane burners had also been banned for cooking in Guest Areas, and most table-side cooking had been moved back to the galleys. What little public area cooking was done primarily on induction equipment, removing open flames and unnecessary high heat.These developments significantly reduced hotel-related fire events onboard ships. Yes, many fires still occur today on passenger ships; primarily in galleys, laundries, incinerators, and engine spaces. But to answer the original question, many of the Public Area fires we experienced in “the good old days” no longer happen due to increased restrictions on Baked Alaska Parades and tableside cooking, and decreasing numbers of smokers, along with further restrictions on where one can smoke on ships today.

For the past 47 years I have managed cruise ship hotels. During that time period I have personally witnessed / been involved with around 50 cases where passengers and/or crew suffered serious burns from Baked Alaska parades, tableside cooking, etc. I could probably find another 50 “old timers” with similar numbers. We might come up with 2500 or so cases where there were serious injuries over the past 50 years. This is not “countless numbers”, but it is a significant number of injuries that should not have occurred and could be prevented. Fires started by careless smokers happen far less often. Serious injuries from those careless smokers are even more rare. The great majority of ship fires occur in the trash incinerator, the laundry, the galley, and the engine room. These fires almost never result in serious injury. If I were a cruise company lawyer, I would most likely focus on fire events that cause personal injury and lead to costly lawsuits. Those would be the Baked Alaska and tableside cooking events.

It is always a good idea to learn the correct name of a place you plan to visit.

It sounds like your friend is discriminating against you by not sharing his cabin.

It depends on the cruise line

Generally no. If you want independent tours in Japan, you must arrange them in advance of arrival.

Unfortunately JR wants cash only for the tickets. You must buy them when in Japan.

Take a taxi from Daikoku into Yokohama. You can store your bag in a locker at any train station, or leave it with the Bell Desk at any hotel. Do your Yokohama Tour. Pick up your bag and catch a shuttle or taxi to Haneda.