Qextor

I have a lanyard, but I don't wear it. I keep everything in a small backpack I wear all the the time when I'm out. It's really personal preference, so try it both ways before deciding. It's not really a good idea to wear a lanyard while off the ship, though... it screams tourist like nothing else.

I looked at my print out for my Sign and Sail from my Magic Jan 14, 2023 cruise. I paid my gratuities ahead of time and there is no indication of this on my print out. They were never charged to your Sign and Sail account, because they were paid ahead of time. So, the only payment record you would have is in the 'Guest Confirmation' email you received after booking.

No - you don't need a ticket. My Dad and I did the water shuttle over to the Arizona Memorial without tickets, for only the cost of a TheBus pass ($9 each). We set out at about 11 am, on the #20 TheBus, and got to the Park around 12:30. We had our pack lunch, and then due to a lack of planning ahead, my mom waited outside with our backpacks, because we weren't gonna pay $7 per bag at the bag check. If you have a clear plastic bag, you can take that in, but nothing else, not even a small purse or camera pouch. But we saw the museum, and the movie, and paid our respects on the Memorial. The water shuttle leaves every 15 minutes, and carries a pretty big group. On busier days (we were there mid January, not busy at all), you may need to wait a bit longer than we did (10 minutes or so) but I don't think you will be shut out completely if you don't have them. That said, reservations are helpful if you can get them. While TheBus drops you off in front of the park, you have to go out to the main road and off to your left to get TheBus back to Waikiki. I also recommend Roberts Hawaii - they are in charge of doing the optional motorcoach transportation up to The Polynesian Cultural centre, and our driver was very talkative, pointing out various landmarks, telling fun stories, and so forth.

No payments, at least I don't see any mention of payments. The money is raised by investors buying the bonds. I too am confused about what the 12 ships have to do with anything, if they aren't collateral.

Yes - given the interest investors have shown, they probably could've gotten away with 8-9% interest, and had less to pay back. But yes - it's a lot to have to pay back, even with 2-3 years to do it.

@lazydayz mentioned that the canabanas came with 6 wristbands. So it would fit both families just fine. Everybody can come and go as they please.🙂

A ship is something they want, so they will pay for it. Better customer service? As long as their ships get filled, they have other things to worry about. I remember the time when Princess stopped selling Drink packages, because of new tech they had that would deliver a drink to you wherever you were on the ship. So many pax actually cancelled their cruise, or at least threatened to, that drink packages were reinstated. That's what it takes to get through to Corporate - a big enough uprising that they have to listen or lose revenue.

Try https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/ and click on 'date and length', choosing 16+ days. Also, click on 'Destination' because there are 170 cruises that are longer than 16 days. It's easier to look at all the European criuses, then change to the Asia cruises and so forth.

Here in British Columbia, ICBC (Govt corporation; only place you can get primary car insurance) is just writing off most damaged cars, even simple fender benders, because there are no car parts available to fix these cars with. So those cars are out in some field, waiting until repair shops have the parts to repair them with, and I imagine, will be auctioned off, or something. Also, I couldn't help but notice the title of this thread: Asymptote (mathsisfun.com) Yes, I know you meant 'asymptomatic'.

Yes, I know this is an old comment, but I still wanted to post a reply. In British Columbia, we had those regulations too - restaurants paid retail price for beer/wine/spirits. It took the pandemic and the outsized effect it had on the hospitality industry to get the Govt to allow them to purchase at wholesale prices like retail stores did, in order to help reduce costs. Heck, even letting a *few* grocery stores sell bottles of wine has only been here about 5 years

That was an amazing cruise, wasn't it? I joined my parents, sharing an inside cabin (and yes, we all lived to tell the tale 😉). One highlight for me was swimming in the South Pacific ocean, watching all the fish. We also had a great time eating dinner on the Horizon Terrace one evening while cruising the Hawaiian Islands. Good times.

I read in a post one couple who said they could use iMessage without the Voom package, just the ship's wifi (no internet of course, just iMessage). Is anybody currently onboard willing to try this out?

While we were on the Quantum, not Allure, we always had breakfast at the Solarium Cafe. So nice and quiet. It had a smaller menu, but still enough for a satisfying breakfast.

It should work. Ships' tours are usually pretty punctual, so you should be back on the ship with time to find your next tour. Double check with the shore excursions desk once you're on the ship, and see what they can do for your as well. Also, eat a hearty breakfast, as there won't be time to find anything for lunch. Bring along some granola bars or other snacks in sealed pouches to eat if you get peckish.

The point of the game is seeing what funny answers people come up with. I remember a transpacific cruise we took. Our Cruise director MC'd Majority Rules, and at the beginning he said 'no answers of 'depends''. Because of the length of the cruise, most pax were retirees. One question was 'what do the Pax on this ship need the most of?' or something like that. So, course plenty of people wrote in "Depends', a brand of incontinence underwear. He had never of them, telling us off for using the word 'Depends'. Someone in the audience then explained what they were, and he did a mild 'wth' at the idea before moving on. He also asked 'what cartoon character do I most resemble?' Of course, our CD was African-British, and as most pax reached back to the cartoons they watched a as kids, the most popular answer was 'Fat Albert' from a 70's cartoon. Now, our CD was by no means overweight; it just was the name of the character, and there just weren't that many black characters of any type to choose from back then.

Try some other ships. I had a very good experience on the Quantum (no shortage of staff there). Yes, Seattle is one of the worst ports to embark from, but using a carry on suitcase and a small backpack/satchel means you can just rock on up to check-in and just carry your stuff onboard. The x-ray machines are big enough to handle carry-on suitcases, so no issues there. Usually, your keys will be in a packet on the wall, so you can start settling into your room right away. I know some people won't feel this way, and there can be other issues that make carryons impractical, but for one week, how many clothes do you really need, anyways?