3rdGenCunarder

(bold is mine) House bands work hard. Cunard's has to back a variety of guest performers, often with just the afternoon to meet the performer and rehearse before the evening's performances. There's no shame in using sheet music or tablets for such short prep time.

Tamarind menu looks great! So many good choices, how did you decide?!? And the food porn has my mouth watering.

Nooo! Not Deluxe! For years, before they changed to vista/signature/neptune suites, they had "superior" and "deluxe." To this day, I can't remember which was the higher grade.

If it's any consolation, a Vista suite is larger than a Verandah.

Not sure why you posted this. Do you have questions about suite catergories? HAL applies the term "suite" liberally. Only Neptune Suites and Pinnacle Suites have "suite privileges" like access to the Neptune Lounge or a special restaurant (Club Orange on K'dam). Vista and Signature "Suites" get that name because they're larger than standard verandah cabins. They do get double mariner points, but I don't think there are any other special privileges. I believe Category B is Vista Suite.

Only four musicians? There used to be five.

When I was on Zuiderdam, Lincoln Center was full to overflowing. Granted, it's a smaller space (Explorer Lounge) than on the Pinnacle ships. Their space filled on K'dam, too, even with the awkward time slots. (Sharing with BBKing meant BBK had the space at night.) On one of my cruises, LC started offering additional performances as "recitals," with just one or two of the musicians. I hope that they have some choice in what they play at these performances.

Last post was that they were still trying to get someone at guest services to talk to them, so they weren't even at a negotiation point. That is a "front desk" strategy--they won't let you talk to "the man behind the curtain," hoping you'll just go away. Given some of the humorous (snarky?) posts, I doubt OP will be back.

I haven't noticed a lot of up-and-down prices on pre-purchased items, but I haven't made a study of it. I've never seen an advance discount on the Thermal Suite pass. IIRC, being able to pre-buy that is fairly recent. (or maybe I'm confused with another line on this.) The only special I've seen on the Thermal Suite pass is "couples discount" the first day on board. It doesn't have to be a couple. It can be any two people who sign up together, so if only one person in a couple wants the pass, if you know someone else on the cruise (maybe someone from the roll call) you can get the couple discount. You don't have to use the spa together, it's just signing up that requires two people. This info is pre-covid, so the couple discount may no longer be offered, especially if they're keeping numbers low. As a single, I'm used to the single supplement, and I understand the reasoning behind it for cruise fares. But there is no good reason to charge me more per person just because I'm on my own. I complained about this to no avail. No, I wasn't being charged more per person. I just didn't qualify for the discount. 🙄

I know what you mean. The first Christmas is the hardest. The loss is there, whether you're in the same surroundings or somewhere different. But a temporary distraction helps a little. Christmas morning was a ritual for us--champagne, cookies, opening Christmas stockings. I still start the day with fizz and cookies, even if I am by myself. as I am this year (Covid in the family cancelled our get-together). But my DD DH was with me in my heart as I remembered past Christmasses. And I know Jose is with you. So raise a glass to his memory and share the day's festivities virtually with him.

I have seen the testing on Cunard. Everyone has to show they can step over the distance. One time they had a mat on the floor that was the distance to be stepped across. People had no idea why it was there. Some walked around it, and some just stepped on it in stride on their way to get tender tickets. Then crew would have to explain and make them try again. Jacqui, I love your response to the lecture about tenders. Sometimes staff can get condescending and need to be reminded that some passengers actually have a clue!

Thanks, but I think a balcony, even if it isn't aft, works better for me. I like being able to step out for fresh air first thing in the morning and last thing at night. I don't want to be roaming the halls in my robe for that early morning weather check!

Thanks!

Just thought of another question. Is there a smoking area by the seaview pool? And if so, which side?

Until covid, I did a Caribbean cruise every winter just for a warm break. I choose a cruise to be on a ship, and it's HAL because I don't want to be on a mega and I balk at the price to be a single on a smaller all-inclusive where I won't make a lot of use of the included items. Even though I've been to most of HAL's ports multiple times, I look for a new excursion or just grab my camera and go out to explore. I look for somewhere local to spend money on a snack or a drink. For repeat ports that I know have little to interest me, I enjoy the quiet of the ship.

Thanks for the answers! A band that's a little "jazzy" and a classical duo would make me happy.

It's five years since I've been on an R or S ship. I'm thinking about Zaandam in 2024. Sadly, there are no wake-view cabins, but I am looking at something aft, as most mid-ship Vista "suites" are booked. Any issues with vibration toward the back? Up on deck 6, I should be high enough not to be bothered, but thought I'd ask. Also, there appear to be aft deck areas on 6 and 7. Do the hallways have doors to those little deck spaces? And are there any chairs? I'll have a balcony, but sometimes I want to watch the wake. When is the next drydock/upgrade? I've been seeing confusing comments about the state of the TVs, and hope that in a year there will be new ones. Given HAL's meager entertainments on the small ships, I may want to just watch a movie some evenings. On the subject of entertainment, I know there's no Lincoln Center. Is there any classical quartet/trio/duo? And a piano and/or band of some sort in a bar at night?

The B2B are usually also sold as individual 7-day cruises, so at the end of the first week, some people will disembark and others will embark at the start of their week. US rules require a "zero count," which means all passengers must get off so that there are no passengers on board. Then in-transit passengers can get back on without the full check-in/embarkation process. I have read that sometimes the in-transit passengers are "processed" in the theater or another large space and held, rather than made to get off the ship, until the zero count is done. But any time I've been in this situation, I had to get off the ship.

Did anyone else receive this email about QA? So is this just another bar/lounge, or is it some special advance-reservation thing? Introducing the Bright Lights Society. Experience a Cunard® first on board Queen Anne® with our brand new Bright Lights Society. Approaching the entrance to this new show bar is akin to the anticipation of entering a secret club. Inside, warmly‑lit chandeliers wrap a room of soft cobalt seating, pulling your eyes directly to the stage. Here you are invited to share an evening of intimate entertainment as corks pop and champagne flows, with excitement in the air. Bright Lights Society doesn't shy away from extravagance, it electrifies it.

Ha! Didn't work smoothly for me. In Sept, I was on QM2 for the 2-week Canada cruise. The OBC didn't show up. Stupidly, I forgot to take hard copy with me--I should have known, as Cunard has screwed up this before. I used an online fax service, since the directions discouraged email as "not secure." Front desk kept asking me to forward my email. I explained that I hadn't emailed, but I had a confirmation email from the fax service. It took four or five visits to the front desk before I could get to someone above the desk clerks. I could get a statement, but it wasn't blacked out, so there was no way I was going to give them that. Finally, someone listened, emailed shoreside, and I got my OBC an hour and a half later. So today, I used email (despite Carnival's warning that it isn't secure) to get my OBC from HAL. In five minutes, I received an automatic confirmation that the email was received and two minutes after that, an email from a person saying the OBC would be in my account. HAL has never got it wrong. I would estimate that Cunard has been about 50% going back over all the years I've had the stock. I try not to think about the share price. I thought it was low when I bought it, and it was comparatively low to what it had been before. But the price was definitely higher than it is now.

It's 8:00 -3:00 on Jan 16 (Eurodam)

I remember dpcking at Port Everglades at the end of a cruise and watching HUGE shrink-wrapped boats (yachts?) go by on a freighter, headed for the boat show. Fortunately, we were going directly to the train to go home, so we did not get caught in the high hotel prices.

I, too, still have my hearing and am protective of it. The fact that you saw lots of people watching the dancers shows that HAL's entertainment is not limited to the Music Walk. Sadly, there was more non-deafening music before they started the Music Walk, but at least there's some. I don't like the Music Walk, so I avoid it. If others enjoy it, then it's there for them.

I wonder if there's less interest in the lunch than there used to be. I usually go in the morning, swim or snorkel, and go back to the ship for lunch. My last time there, just before the covid shut down, I went early, did the horse ride, and hoped to do the afternoon snorkel by boat. The afternoon tour was cancelled because of too few people. So maybe people are skipping lunch and afternoon activities on the island. I do think shortening the day reduces the value of renting a cabana or villa. Has the price gone down at all?

The HMC stop has ended earlier and earlier over the years, but 2 PM is ridiculous when you consider everyone has to tender. Even using the island tenders, people don't get to stay on the island until 2:00.