Hlitner

I always was a big fan of White Castle. But when we moved to Pennsylvania (from NY) in the 50s there was no White Castle. Whenever we were back in NY (about every month) I would beg my Dad to stop at White Castle or at Nathans (Coney Island).

In 1948 McDonalds was selling burgers for 15 cents (I just found that info online). I cannot even imagine 6 cent burgers although I do remember 3 cent first class stamps :). My childhood burger joint was called Carrol's which was a regional chain known for their 15 cent burgers.

I do not understand the hatred of Ranch Dressing. Consider that it is the the #1 selling dressing in the USA, so obviously there are many who like the concoction. Personally I favor a decent blue cheese dressing (especially one made with real Roquefort) but ranch is fine. Hank

I like my burgers (and steak) medium-rare. I want to see lots of red, taste the juices, etc. These days there are only some cruise lines that will make a medium rare (or rare) burger with many only making well done (and tasteless). Princess used to keep a large book hidden under the counter and if you wanted rare or med-rare you had to sign a health waiver. Luxury lines like Seabourn will happily make a rare or med-rare burger. I am another "ole as dirt" fellow who remembers 15 cent burgers (I do not recall 10 cent burgers) and 10 cent French fries. Those were the good ole days. Hank

Just wanted to add some comments about air. Internationaal airfares are generally handled on a one-way basis so there is little to no advantage to round trip air. Also consider that certain cruise lines (Princess, Seabourn, HAL and Cunard quickly come to mind) offer some amazing air fares through their own air programs (most can now be accessed and booked online). This is especially true for international Business/First Class which can sometimes be snagged for about 1/2 their normal prices. We have an upcoming cruise that starts in Tokyo and we were able to snag an amazing Biz Class (with lay flat seats) that saved us thousands over booking directly with the airline. In fact, we have sometimes saved so much on Business class fares that the savings paid for an entire cruise versus buying that airfare directly from the airline. While this is not something we promote, we toss it out there is one more option for cruisers/travelers. Hank

We could get into a long and boring discussion (except for Economists) about "Opportunity Lost Revenue." But suffice it to say that an empty berth represents opportunity lost revenue that is lost forever! Filling that berth with a passenger who contributes just enough to cover variable costs plus a penny, is better (financially) than sailing with that empty berth. We assume that HAL has calculated that certain persons, donate enough onboard revenue (via the casinio, drinks, excursions, etc) to cover their variable costs. If you want to see a shocking number, just calculate the weekly debt service on $32 Billion at current interest rates. The problem for CCL is that they now have this huge cash drain to cover debt service, which is money that cannot be used to improve quality, services, food, etc. Hank

This is one of those personal preference issues, but we prefer Nice for many reasons. If you do go to Nice, make sure your excursion or tour includes a morning visit to their wonderful Flower Market. Hank

The first thing to know about Cannes is that it is a tender port which means spending extra time just getting ashore. Once ashore you will be at the corner of the Vieux Port (old port) from where you could walk into the heart of town in about 10 minutes (it is a nice walk with a marina on one side and some restaurants across the street). If you choose to stay in Cannes, the main tourist area is walkable (assuming you are mobile). You can also access the local train station where you can catch a regional train (no reservations) which is almost like a commuter rail line. This train spans the entire coast and if you head East you can access Antibes, Nice, Monte Carlo, etc. It is a reasonable way to get around the region for those who like DIY. Two smaller (but very popular) towns are St Paul de Vence and Eze Village. These places are more difficult to access (you would need to use train/bus combinations) unless you are part of an excursion or small tour. The more adventurous folks (including me) will sometimes rent a car and just drive to various places in the region. I should warn that traffic on the 2 lane roads, near the coast, can be brutal during the busy Spring/Summer tourist season. Hank

We do use an excellent discount cruise agency (and terrific agent) and when weohave an issue we simply send her a short e-mail and let her work her magic with any cruise line (including Princess). But last week we noticed that we could no longer login to our Princess account/booking. We asked our cruise agent to make an inquiry and she was told that agents do not have the authority to look into that kind of issue. I called Princess (twice) only to have long hold times (never got to a real person). Finally, I used the Princess online chat feature and was immediately #6 in the queue After about 15 minutes we did get a human through the online chat, and she worked for about 10 minutes to fix the problem (they had somehow added an extra letter to my name). So folks might try to use the online chat feature...assuming you can even find it on the web site. Hank

The HAL reservations staff have been told to expect a major revamping of their software "sometime this year." That begs the questions of whether any change will actually be an improvement or disaster and whether the changes will also involve the online system accessed by we customers.

We enjoy PG lunch even more than its dinners. The first day we will usually stop at their host desk, inquire what days they will offer lunch, and make some reservations. Hank

I think the dirty secret of HAL is just how many folks, on their current cruises, only paid bargain casino rates (or even free casino deals) with many others simply using future cruise credits accumulated during COVID cancelations. The question of how well the line is doing in terms of real revenue is a closely held secret (although one can find out many CCL numbers). Hank

The differences in raw products become very apparent when one cruises on a luxury line. On Seabourn, for example, they serve really terrific Prime filet mignon in the main dining room. On their beach parties, where they rent an entire shore-based facility, they will have a BBQ with unlimited steak and lobster. And, or course, the caviar is available whenever one asks. Many years ago I can recall when Celebrity would always have bowls of medium/large shrimp on their lunch salad bar. Now, if you are lucky you might find some tiny shrimp once or twice a week. As to HAL (we know there are many HAL fans with whom the line can do no wrong) the lunch buffet will routinely find lots of chicken and other lower cost items. I recall ordering a starter of mussels in a typical white wine broth only to be served 5 small mussels (with several not even open). A fan might say, wow, they have mussels. But another might say, "only 3 small opened mussels!!" Can you imagine going to any cafe in France and ordering mussels. You get a huge pot full of the things. My challenge to fellow cruisers has always been, "would you go to land based restaurant and pay for the meal you get on your cruise ship? It is rare that we have had such a meal although it has happened (in the past) in Celebrity's Murano and once on the Azamara Journey in their old Aqualina Restaurant. These days, there are a few offerings in Seabourn's Thomas Keller that are truly restaurant quality such as their tableside fileted Dover Sole. Hank

Got Pesos out of the ATM the other day (we live in Puerto Vallarta now) and only got 18.72 to the US Dollar. Last year we were getting nearly 22:1. I guess we could all say, thank you Joe and Congress.

Perhaps you are right, but then again :). We do not fit into your category nor do any of our friends. For us, variety has always been a good thing. If we cruise with the same cruise line too often we find that we have the same menus, same shows, etc. Each cruise line (and we have been on 16) has their pros and cons and the variety does keep it very fresh. While we do like reasonable prices, a majority of our cruises in the past decade have been on luxury line or on mass market lines in suites. I would say we are not "price sensitive" but are very "value sensitive" which are completely different things. That is why we have suggested that cruising on a line like Seabourn is a much better value than a Neptune Suite on HAL. As to being part of the "transient crowd," we have been cruising for over 50 years! And yes, we do fall into the category of complaining when quality falls short. Life is simply too short to cruise on a bad cruise :). Hank

We are headed over to Japan in a couple of months and will spend some time doing our own thing. But eventually we are to board a HAL cruise (which is why I know their requirement for testing). What is interesting about HAL is that they are allowing the use of self-testing (with no independent monitor) which is then to be captured in a phone photo and used for embarkation. While not a perfect solution, and could be fudged, the cruise line seems to have taken a reasonable approach to a sticky situation with this 10% rule. We have no indication if there will be further testing at the port of onboard. Another issue about Japan is that wearing masks is still the norm in that country, so that is another hassle that seems to continue forever. Hank

I am almost sorry to have started this topic. It does appear that the upgrade is limited to only certain cruises, although the list seems to be in question.

Just so folks understand there are "bar menus" and then there are the items that are actually in stock at the bar. On Princess, they are often two very different things. Perhaps it is a supply chain problem, or it could be a deliberate strategy. It is the same with many wine lists we have seen on cruise ships (including Princess) where many wines are not in stock (and some might wonder if they have ever been in stock). A good example is that on our last Princess Cruise (Enchanted) there was not a bottle of Bailey's to be found! However, they did have another brand which DW said was not nearly as rich or good. One bar tender told us she had not seen any Baily's in several cruises although the standard line for passengers was "a container did not get to the port in time." That is similar to the line you will often get when you order any kind of booze or wine that is not on the ship. So what to do? Truly, nothing. You just have to wait until you are aboard to find out what is available. In fairness to Princess, this kind of thing even happens on luxury lines. Last spring, we took a 27 day TA Seabourn cruise and they quickly ran out of every kind of bourbon except for Wild Turkey! Hank

One wonders if that 18% gratuity goes to the lobster's family.

You may not have noticed this is on a "Japan" thread :). The specific issue has to do with cruises involving Japan where there is a government edict that would oust cruise ships with more than 10% of souls having COVID, Apparently, multiple cruise lines are requiring testing to lessen the odds of having too many COVID cases, Hank

I will ignore itineraries and just speak to the two cruise lines (5* on HAL and 8 cruises on MSC). They are truly apples to oranges when doing an overall comparison. HAL is a relatively sedate cruise line that tends to attract many older (i.e. seniors) cruises. Even much of the entertainment tends to be aimed towards older cruisers be it the selection of music or shows (HAL no longer has real Production Shows). MSC, on the other hand, is truly like two different cruise lines. The normal MSC is akin to lines like Carnival and RCI, where folks are packed like sardines on the pool deck and the atmosphere is for a somewhat younger cruiser and families. The other MSC is the Yacht Club which we think is generally an amazing experience and one of the best values in the entire cruise world. Within the YC enclave (which is sealed from the rest of the ship with electronic doors) there is lots of space, amazing personal service, and an atmosphere that rivals luxury cruise lines, Hank

As a very experienced cruiser (over 50 years of extensive cruising, I have a suggestion about port intensive cruises. There is no rule that says you must get off the ship in every port. In fact, we once took a 2 week Caribbean cruise that had 9 ports and we did not bother to get off the ship at the first 8 stops. I know this sound crazy, but we think the best time on a ship can be when at a port. The ship becomes close to empty (although there are always a few others who stay aboard), there is no problem getting a well located deck chair, service at the bars and Lido are excellent, and it is a quiet relaxing time. On some of our cruises (especially in the Caribbean) we cruise for the ship, not the ports. Hank

Pre embarkation testing is not just a SS or RCI issue. HAL has also imposed a similar rule that cruisers must be tested within the 3 days prior to embarkation. Hank

That depends on your cruise line. All the cruise lines have excursions that will tender folks into the small ferry port of Athinios, where folks can access tour buses. Some cruise lines have now started selling excursions that includes busing folks back to Athinios where they catch a shore-based tender back to their ship. But, as far as we know, not all cruise lines offer this kind of excursion. So, you need to see what is offered by your cruise and if any includes the bus and tender from Athinios. Otherwise, all other excursions will end at Fira where folks need to make their way down to the tender pier via cable car, donkey, or walking. Keep in mind that if you want to avoid the donkeys and cable car, you do always have the option of walking down to the tender. That walk involves a lot of steps and dodging donkey poo, but it is an option. Hank

This question has been raised a few times over the years. We have gone from Le Havre to Paris on a couple of cruises (once on a cruise line transfer and another time using the train) and I honestly do not recommend either option. Why? It is just too much time in transit and too short of a day in Paris (DW's favorite city in the world). We do strongly recommend visiting Paris, but not for just a few hours. For those taking a European cruise, consider going to Paris pre or post cruise and spending a few days (or weeks). If Le Havre is your last stop on a cruise (and the following day you debark somewhere in England) consider debarking a day early in Le Havre and heading to Paris for at least a few days. We have done this multiple times with several cruise lines. Just keep in mind that you need to request an early debarkation pretty far in advance and each cruise line has their own procedure. As to Le Havre, it is still a terrific port even if you do not go to Paris. You can go to the D-Day beaches, visit Honfleur, take a train to Rouen, etc. Lots of reasonable options. Hank