3rdGenCunarder

There was only one other ship when I disembarked at Vancouver a few years ago and I was standing in the queue for an hour. The other ship docked first and their people got out first. I think this summer I'll do a ship transfer. I don't like the transfers, but I have too much luggage to do SkyTrain.

The problem with Canada Place is once you get down into the bowels of the building to start the process, where are they going to make you wait? Or will they send early passengers back out to the street or up into the hotel? I hope they'll at least accept the luggage. When I boarded Queen Victoria in Southampton last fall, they were holding early arrivals in a queue alongside the terminal building. Priority passengers (Grills, Diamond, Platinum) got waved through, so I went right in and checked in quickly. The odd thing is that there weren't many people in the building and most of the check-in staff had nobody in front of them. It seemed like a waste of person-hours to have staff doing nothing while there were people who could be checked in. There was plenty of seating, too. But that's their rule and they stick to it.

I love aft cabins, especially on Oosterdam and the other vista class ships. I've been above the dining room and had no issues with noise. Being over an entertainment area, OTOH, is not my idea of a good location.

Isn't that always the way it is????? 🙄

Now that you mention it, I don't recall any Lido sales on Zaandam this winter.

It would be interesting to see if the other cruise lines are doing this on busy days. If HAL pax abide by this but Princess and NCL and whoever else don't, HAL's system won't make much difference.

My husband was a teacher and he always said if he had to do parent calls, which were usually about problems, he would find a kid about whom he could make a positive call. It made his day feel better, and he enjoyed the astonishment from the parent when their kid WASN'T in trouble.

I haven't done a whale watch in New England. I did one in Iceland, and Alaska was better than that. Do some research about independent whale watches and check the descriptions to see if you can figure out who the vendor is (try googling the tour title). Ship's excursions are often large boats with a lot of people. I've gone on smaller boats in Juneau (Gastineau Guiding) and Icy Strait Point (Hoonah Adventures). Because I wasn't squished at the rail by other passengers, I was able to enjoy watching and photographing the whales. As for price, Alaska is expensive and HAL has been marking up tours more than they used to. I've only seen orcas at ISP. Humpbacks, seals, eagles on both.

I don't get the combination of bean puree with lamb chops, either. I always sub potato for beans when I have the lamb in Pinnacle.

How disappointing that the creme brulee was sub-par. That's always been one of their best desserts. No comment on escargot as I don't eat that. But I never ask for a small portion when they're serving rack of lamb!!! I'm glad that was good.

Just found this thread. Have a wonderful time! I'm sure you and your friend will enjoy each other's company. Have lots of adventures but no MISadventures!!!

Thanks for coming back to give an update. It sounds like you got someone good to help you. I like that you were sent the confirmations while you were on the phone. An hour and a quarter is a good trade for getting things sorted out and not being out too much money. And another example of why travel insurance is so important.

I have a knack for getting in the gueue behind that person.

Well, there is the Pinnacle Suite...

I know they've "paid" for their ticket in art purchases, but if someone on a freebie gets something that I PAID for and can't have, that's gotta hurt. The lure of a sure large booking is too great to ignore.