3rdGenCunarder

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.

There was a lot of seating available that day, which is why I thought it was odd. Staff with nothing to do could have taken care of those passengers easily. Even if early arrivals had to sit, it was better than standing outside.

They held people outside when I boarded QV in October. The only people allowed to go right in were Grills, Diamond, Platinum. There were plenty of staff at their posts with nothing to do, so I don't know why they held people outside. What's Diamond Plus? The highest level I'm aware of is diamond.

I suspect the organizer is getting a discount price and then marking it up to cover their expenses. So the participants may be paying more, but that doesn't mean HAL is getting all of that money.

I've seen the Crows Nest blocked for an hour or two for a mariner event or a roll call meet & greet, but those are one-time events. And roll call events don't get the entire space. Even the art auctions are a half day once, maybe twice if the cruise is long. On one or two cruises, I've seen a lounge used for a travel agency's group. Again, a few hours one time. Okay, so no big deal. But EVRY DAY is outrageous. And your point about the fares is what makes it so annoying. You paid more than the group did, but you're getting less. I did a Great Lakes cruise last year. There was a Road Scholar group on board, and they had lectures in the lounge on sea days. It was a small ship with only one lounge and the bar area just off the lounge. Hearing the group stories here, I wondered how that was going to work out. American Queen did not close the lounge to other passengers, but instead allowed everyone to attend the lectures. Nobody in the Road Scholar group seemed to mind.

I think part of the problem in Brooklyn is that there isn't a lot of space for the in-transits to wait in the terminal, and itisn't very comfortable. Nobody is allowed back on until everybody has cleared immigration. So if one last person dawdles, the rest are left 'captive.' I've heard Vancouver can be bad, but the one time we were in transit there, we spent the day off the ship, sightseeing, and by the time we returned all the in transits and most of the newly embarking passengers had been processed. If I find myself in the in transit situation again, I'll take a tour or go out sightseeing. Except for the time an idiot took one of my suitcases, I have found luggage collection to be easy in Brookyn. The crazy thing was, the staff that are cranky handling embarkation (especially the gorgon who guards the entrance to the grills/platinum/diamond waiting area) were exceptionally kind and helpful, tracking down where my case went.