Blackduck59

Well you'll have to come up and give them a try 😉 we usually have a jar in the fridge.

I really like it. We get it in the Bicks brand sweet mixed pickles. There are a few pieces in the jar and a few onions along with mostly crinkle cut cucumbers about 12mm thick rounds.

Up to 15 drinks a day 😉😇

How much is my time worth? Hmm let me think, whether working or retired my time has been worth more than $11.00 per hour for many years. Don't give me "the principle" thing. If it was that important you probably should check your account, daily or twice a day even. Like others have said, pick your battles and use some finesse. If you really have a need to pursue your $11.00 and your next cruise seems the place to do it, then customer service on the ship is the place to try. Feel free to stand in line for the next available agent and ask them nicely to help you with your issue (demanding a bottle of wine to compensate your for your "trouble" probably won't get you far). Remember to bring your cruise statement with you so you have the error documented and see if they will give you a credit. Keep in mind you have paid how much per hour to be on that ship, enjoying your vacation.

On our only HAL cruise so far it worked the way @aussiedisneyfan suggests. The amount you pre-paid goes on your account and is drawn upon daily until it is gone, so if there is an increase then the prepaid amount would be depleted faster. I think if you have the "enhances" HIA package that includes "crew appreciation" and premium drinks etc. then you're covered because it's not a separate dollar amount it's "crew appreciation".

The HAL description states that they use "28 day wet aged USDA Prime steaks". I'm afraid it's pretty hard to tell a "Prime" steak from "Choice" once it's cooked. It is after all about marbling. Keep in mind that a poor cook can destroy even the best cuts of meat. If you have a problem with the steak the time to do something about it is after the first bite. You are paying extra for a superior meal over and above the meal you already paid for in your fare. I'm afraid Filet Mignon is a very over rated cut in my opinion, while it should be tender it is very lean so cooking it as far as medium may make for a drier steak. Remember people fat is flavour and a prime steak is all about quality marbling.

We had snags for supper. The plate fillers are beetroot, a jacket potato and some pickled cauliflower.

On our cruise aboard Zaandam in August we had dinner in Pinnacle on embarkation day. It just happened to be my birthday. Pinnacle was not busy but not empty either.

Technically it is, the whole event is owned by the ship. Do they let Mom & Dad take pictures of their kid with Santa at your local mall? No you pay for the photo from the photographer who pays a fee to be there.

You are correct

Right state. Can we narrow it down?

Sorry @MicCanberra not Big Jim.

Oops asleep at the switch.

Pretty much all of British Columbia uses water for power😉

So we are using images that are 4 years old, of a ship on fire to back up the argument that the rebels in the area are using sophisticated weapons and are controlled by some tactical geniuses far more intelligent than the naval commanders they are up against. It turns out the damage was from one of the least sophisticated anti ship munitions known to man, a limpet mine.

@BetsyS. I just thought I would point out the NHL team in Montreal is the Canadiens with an e. 😉

I'm with the "If you don't like the price, don't use the service" comparing the price of ship board spa services to that on shore is ridiculous. The price ashore varies dramatically by which spa you go to. I just bought gift certificates for my wife to have 2 special pedicures to help with diabetic neuropathy. They cost $85.00 each at her favourite spa. There are at least 2 other spas here where they would cost upwards of $150.00 each. After my wife's one and only spa experience on board a cruise ship (Celebrity) the work done was so shoddy and the pressure to spend even more money (to fix their earlier bad work) we decided that spa services at sea were not in our future.

Happy New Year everyone. I trust you all had your own celebrations last night and I hope a good time was had by all. Perhaps you will have a nice brunch or afternoon tea to mark today. We will be having a very low key evening tonight and maybe do a nice brunch tomorrow. So a Happy and Healthy New Year to all, full of great adventures and happy homecomings. Cheers, Lyle & Lynn

I think the key words are "No Host", that is a rather universal phrase. There will be many events, weddings, funerals, banquets etc. that will have a notation on the bottom "No Host Bar", that means you're paying for your own drinks.

La Fourchette Vevey Switzerland.

Best wishes for a happy New Year Les and all our other CC friends. Of course we are a day behind so we will look to the New Year tomorrow. We will ring it in, in our dreams because we will be long asleep at midnight. Cheers from Lyle & Lynn in the other Victoria.

Quick answer yes. The signature beverage package (which is usually the one in HIA) is $11.00 max per drink and a total of 15 drinks a day (alcohol and non alcohol combined). The elite package that is sometimes part of an enhanced HIA has a per drink limit of $15.00 and the limit is 15 alcoholic drinks and unlimited soft drinks including specialty coffees. Apparently there have been some recent price increases on beverages that take them over the current HIA price cap. There has been some speculation that the price cap will be raised to cover the drinks that were under the cap but aren't now.

There are several things that are well bellow the price cap on either package that are not included in the package. Items like the larger water cans with the screw caps, I don't think the 1 litre glass bottles of mineral water and several other things don't seem to be included either. Luckily for most these exclusions aren't a problem. Clearly for some it may be.

I never saw one of those at sea but one of our local grocery stores had one. It was fascinating to watch, with that one the oranges went in whole and came out the back mushed. The resulting juice was bottled and displayed on a bed of crushed ice. As I mentioned it an earlier post I tried the "fresh squeezed" orange juice once and didn't really like it so that was that.

I'll take you up on that Neil, as time gets closer we will be planning the road trip and we already had plans to accept your offer to visit your part of Oz. We will be looking for recommendations for a hotel in your area.