Ombud

@Ken the cruiser & @vlin07 I'm getting off in Yokohama and hope to take a later day train to the airport. It any of you venture into the city, is Yokohama worth seeing? How far away is the train station??

6/1/23-6/17/23: I walked out of Magic to Do (focus on magic not music) and Sweet Soul which was just weird. Think: Motown done as Broadway. Proud Mary had no soul. Very stilted movement. Very polished soprano notes. Yeah weird.

Sabatinis can / does make my food without pepper (and I've sadly had to go low sodium) but it takes longer to get the dishes as everything is made just for me. Fortunately pasta doesn't normally have salt & pepper in it. Just wheat, egg, water, and a little salt )so no sodium in my sauce) @gah_cruise ASK!! Specialty Dining can do it on the fly unlike MDR

Thanks @vlin07. I was hoping to be able to roll my own sushi so I'd know exactly what's in it

In my experience...Princess kitchens (not specialty restaurants like Kai) don't know how to make sushi. To begin with, they use the wrong rice. Rice is not seasoned (at all). Unfortunately agree for the most part but the elements were there on the Diamond during Circle Japan in 2017. But don't remember Kai Sushi ....

@Ken the cruiser or @vlin07 do they have all the elements to make sushi or upon in the buffet? ALT: is vegetarian sushi available onboard?

IMHO nothing better than a pot of vanilla leaf tea

1400 flights canceled & 7200+ delayed again today ... I really hope cruisers fly in a day early and that all those in storms path stay safe https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2023/07/16/1400-flights-canceled-as-storms-pound-northeast/70418663007/

@ProfMHCYou're 90 days out. Like @cr8tiv1 said, check other airlines & other nearby destinations. There has to be something closer to a reasonable layover ... Maybe leaving from a nearby airport or arriving at a nearby one and mass transit / driving? Instead of Newark, what about JFK, La Guardia, or (worst case) Islip?? Instead of United maybe Jet Blue or SWA?? Hopefully an alternative This is why I take mass transit to the airport. If SFO won't work there's always OAK or San Jose. (Made me look at my United flights!)

Let me restate: my paying 14.5 vs 16 won't mean the crew I come in contact with will get 1.5 per day less Guess I'm just rebelling against this invasive everyone-wants-a- tip ..... counter service, a oral surgeon i saw a week ago, gardeners EVERY TIME (nope they get envelopes at the holidays and they're well pd by the company), etc.

Tons of cornstarch & maybe tapioca. Whereas I use a tablespoon (15cc?) they probably use a 1/4 cup (60cc?)

As long as we're wandering away from the buffet: IC (international cafe) has a great almond croissant & paninis

@cr8tiv1 I've been hesitant to try the cake but I will now! Was concerned it'd be like the buffet cake.

Key Lime Pot from app .... resembles meyer lemon pie not key lime pie but soooo good.

I unfortunately had to fix 100% of buffet dishes. I don't know if that's more than normal as it was my 1st foray into the buffet. MDR was great but I ordered off the vegan menu and added cheese. Lots of cheese. And omitted salt & pepper. Buffet lacked imagination. I had 'most' of the elements just not how they imagined them. EX: Add dried fruit, nuts, and granola to their yogurt parfait. How is it a yogurt parfait if there's just a drizzle or smattering on top? Get mashed potatoes add cheese sauce, grilled seasoned onions, and beer. Soup would've been better if potatoes were lumpy but oh well! Cake was inedible. So dry. And frosting was too sweet. Little things like that Am I too picky??

@Steelers36 i thought (perhaps wrongly) that those assessed gratuities were distributed throughout the fleet .... not just to the ones who I interacted with. @Mary loves to travel precisely. My 'carryon' bottle of wine lasts all week. I still have the bottle I traded my mini bar for in April in the cupboard. On port intensive itinaries even the wifi has lesser value TO ME. So it comes down to gratuities

My personalizer has the old rate. I don't mind MY waiter, HW, asst waiter, steward getting it (doing my own laundry). But it seems like it's just wage replacement these days.

On my last voyage (Emerald 6/1/23-6/17/23) there was dancercize in the piazza each morning around 9. Hula lessons in Club Fusion (Hawaiian cruise). Emerald is sister ship to Ruby

Almond croissants, mozzarella & tomato panini, vanilla leaf tea ..... but I really like the key lime pot on the app. Reminds me if Meyer lemon pie

I know they didn't bc I was next in line and they re-announced correct cash only. Fortunately another roll call member loaned me the rest of £ and I paid him back with $s onboard. I had a few £ but nowhere near enough. He was from USA so $s maybe wasn't a problem? Everyone was scrambling Now I ALWAYS carry 50 in small bills local currency (they also weren't making change) This was June 2018

Main bus terminal. There's another bus (101 or was it T1?) that also did it but stopped in Stromness to pick up / drop off. Just get there early as it's popular. Frankly I think a taxi for 2+ passengers would still be cheaper than the ship tour (1/2 hr, $45ish?)

I did the bus to & from Skara Brae. Note: you must have exact change in £. No €,¥,or $ accepted. I know this clip states USD but that was NOT accepted in 2018. Just £s there used to be other alternatives as well so Google it if interested. Weird to call pre-shutdown as olden days but a lot has changed

How do I get from the pier to: https://ticket.jorudan.co.jp/kagoshima/en/

I know .... think Thrak usually books that but maybe he'd know anyway. Are you suggesting that my gratuities might also be locked in at 14.50 a day?? Is that A$21.02?

"No show" because you didn't board or refund port fee due to missing port?