3rdGenCunarder

YES!!!! I would love to see that. I don't need to be online 24/7. I check email, check to see if there's any change in an independent tour I might have booked. Check weather in the next port. On a TA, all I did was a quick email check and then I was done. I don't know how many minutes I've left behind on TAs over the years. As much as I'd love to see the $5/2hour plan, I don't think it would happen. A minute or hour plan requires accounting. It's much easier for the system to go day by day.

Is it just me (and the TV choices I make), but does it seem to anyone else that ACL is suddenly increasing their advertising? Maybe hoping to pick up passengers from AQV?

My first time on QE2 and second on HAL were standby cruises. Both were advertised in the local newspaper. I still remember the HAL one was "Bermuda on Impulse!" I called HAL right away and got a booking, probably 2-3 weeks out. Remember, this was early 80s, so pre-internet, no dynamic pricing. The QE2 one was 1988. Fly one way sail the other. I called to get on the waitlist. I was working in NYC at the time so I kept calling the NY Cunard office to see if I made the cut. I think the guy may have given me the cabin to stop me calling! I think I had 2 weeks notice on that. But now with internet bookings up to the last minute, HAL isn't motivated to put standbys on early. Even with a sailing from NYC, I wouldn't pack and go to the pier "just in case," although I've heard stories of people getting on cruises way back when that when.

For 24 hours to work you have to live VERY close to the port. I had thought about standby for a Canada cruise out of Boston, but 24 hours is too tight. 48 hours, yes, I can grab a seat on an Acela.

If you like craft beer, walk through the Havensight mall to Leatherback Brewing. Not good views, but an amazing variety of excellent beers. They had about a dozen, maybe more, beers available. They do flights of 4 or 6, plus the usual larger glasses.

Don't go with Cay Tours!!!! I just had the tour from hell with them. We left a half hour late because the bus was late. They combined our tour to St Pedro Thomas and the Botanical Gardens with the cave group. We passed both of our sites where we could have been dropped off, but instead he went to the caves. There, we had to wait for guides to be arranged because Cay told the Caves the wrong number. Then we FINALLY backtracked to the gardens, where we had half the time we should have. When we got to St Pedro Thomas, same kerfuffle about guides and scheduling. I wouldn't trust them again. I'm sorry now I didn't just suck it up and arrange a guide or taxi to the gardens. I was solo, so I didn't want to have to drive without a navigator and I didn't know how the satnav would be on my phone. Plus there's the whole driving on the left thing...

The photographer on Sea Cow offered me a ride back to the ship since they were going that way. But I wanted to stroll the seafront, so I declined. Bonaire is a friendly island!

@lynncarol, I had the same good experience with Sea Cow, with one exception. There were only 8 of us total. All experienced snorkelers. The drift was wonderful. Without the need to swim, the group just floated along, no frantic kicking to keep up. I have never seen so many fish on a snorkel trip before! We did see one stingray, but no turtles. The guide did as you described. She told us the only rule was not to get ahead of her. When she stopped to explain something, she could see all of us. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and windy, so it was choppy. Not too rough to feel safe, but with me bobbing up and down and the fish swimming around, my little underwater camera didn't get good shots. Fortunately, there was a photographer on board. She had a good camera in a casing, and she had a light. She could freedive for a minute or more, so she got great pictures, including some of the snorkelers in action. She put them on a tablet to show us. I bought them for $40. I take a lot of pictures and I don't usually buy any, but these were too good to pass up. They sent a link, and I was able to download them, although the signal on the ship had me worried. But there were no hiccups and I have fantastic pictures to remember this by. I took a taxi to the marina but walked back along the seafront. It was fine until the sun came out and then it was hot! Still, it was a nice walk. I was ready to go back to Bonaire the next day and do it all again. But the ship had other plans...

Alaska is expensive. I suggest saving the money to put towards excursions.

Cunard is wonderful for solos. Definitely ask for a large table at dinner. Last year on QV (to Norway), I was at a table for 10. All solos except for one couple, ages ranging from mid-40s to 80, five different countries. I don't know how Cunard puts people together, but this disparate group had a fabulous time. We were way at the back, and a good thing, too because we were the rowdy table, always laughing. I think the key is that solos who ask for a large table are open to meeting new people, especially on Cunard. Cunard usually has solo get-togethers, another way to meet people. Enjoy Iceland, it's stunningly beautiful!

As I said, probably wishful/nostalgic thinking. Considering how shabbily NCL treated Norway in her later years, it's probably for the best that this didn't happen.

At the time, NCL also had the Norway. There was a rumor that, with the two other "old" ships, they were going to run a sister line of vintage cruise ships. Wishful thinking, I guess.

The menu function is a great part of Navigator. I use it as you describe, especially to check out the desserts at lunch. If I think something may run out, I get dessert first and then the rest of my lunch. I wonder if a lot of people are using that part of the app because I didn't see a lot of people wandering the Lido to see what was there. Of course, Zaandam had fewer stations, so it was easier to figure things out.

I was on Zaandam last week, and the MDR food was good but not great. Pinnacle and Canaletto were excellent. Dinner mains always had too little vegetables. Two tiny asparagus are a garnish, not what I consider a portion. OTOH, vegetarian options looked delicious. A woman at my dinner table was vegetarian, so she got the next night's menu plus the vegetarian menu to choose for the next day. Sometimes she went with the vegetarian on the main menu, other times she chose from the vegetarian menu (same choices every day). The grilled portobello mushroom with zucchini "spaghetti" on top looked delicious. I tried asking for something without the sauce and the sauce came anyway. I think they plate what they plate and no hope of asking for something not cookie-cutter. Sometimes I wondered how long ago the meal had been plated. Sole meuniere, one of my favorite fish dishes should be LIGHTLY sauteed in butter. It was sitting in a pool of butter, soggy. Beef was seldom cooked as ordered. I asked for rare and the closest I got was pink. Another person at the table had steak nearly every night and it was usually rarer than he preferred. I don't remember any stand-out great MDR meals. Nothing terrible, but nothing fantastic, either. One night the shrimp on the shrimp cocktail had no taste. Blindfolded, I might not have known what it was. Another night, it was delicious. Variety and quality of dinner rolls wasn't great. This was a good thing, as it kept me from eating them. The salad bar was excellent, as always. That's my usual lunch. Plus dessert, usually a fruit tart or a piece of cake. There were always 3 kinds of cookies. The double chocolate cookies were so good I wished they had made those every day. The did the "cake me away" thing. The line stretched way back, but even after those people got their cake, there was plenty left.

Thanks for posting the links. How does the auction work? Do they auction one ship at a time? I can't believe anyone will bid on Navigator and Voyager for anything more than scrap, given the problems they've had.

My pass did 2 weeks ago (paper pass). I am 4 star and had CO. The pass said PRIORITY BOARDING PASS and it had the 4-star logo. it also had an orange border. I don't know if that's because HAL is into the whole Orange thing or because I had CO. But it didn't matter. Zaandam was at Miami. I got to the ship around 11:15, there was a person at each kiosk, so dealing with the passport scan and facial recognition was fast. Then I was told that boarding had already started, so I headed to the ship. It all happened so fast, I didn't think to check my watch when I got to my cabin.

Wow! I haven't stayed there in a few years so that's a surprise. I've seen large groups pre-cruise, but they don't stay up late and party because they want to be up early to get to their ship. Is it even legal for the front desk to be selling alcohol??? That's what the bar is for. I would not have been happy, either.

My heating system (hot air) has a humidifier on it, and I have to be careful about the setting when it's at or below freezing because I get condensation on the inside of the windows. But I'm not asking for tropical humidity on a ship, just not the Sahara!

Or, as the server sets down your drink, quietly offer the tip. Question about tipping, if you add an extra tip to the charge slip, does it go specifically to the server or to the general pool? At the end of a cruise, if we had gone to the same bar often and had good service, we would say thank you and tip in cash at the end. (and remember the name for the survey!)

I was just on Zaandam, and I had the same reaction. The ship was fully booked, but it didn't feel that way. I was nearly always the only one in an elevator. The longest Lido line I saw (except for "cake me away") was five people at a salad station. I eat most breakfasts and lunches at the Lido. I like to eat out by the pool. I was always able to find a table out there. Sometimes, even one by the windows. Yes, loungers at the Lido pool were claimed and guarded all day on sea days, but tables were never full. Deck chairs on Promenade were usually full too, although I was able to get one and camp out on it on one of our sea days. Walking around inside, I saw plenty of places to just sit and look out the window or read. Near Mix, there are 3 or 4 pairs of chairs by the windows, and I never saw more than two people there. The library was busy and the recliners facing the window were claimed early and guarded all day. Ironically, there were more people congregating and talking in the library than in other indoor areas. One surprising thing is how many tables were available at early fixed dining. That's usually a desirable time, but I never saw upstairs full then. Perhaps moving it up to 5:00 has driven people to open dining.

A humidifier in the cabin would be a blessing. I use a nasal spray to ward of nasal/sinus infections, but overnight, I'm not waking up to respray my nose. Cunard provides kettles, which I love. On my last Cunard cruise (Norway in November), the air was dry in the ship and outside. I tried boiling water and leaving the kettle open while I walked around the room to add a little moisture to the air, but it didn't help. I guess the dehumidifier in the system was working harder than the kettle.

They explain the process pretty well, but I wonder how long it will take for people to get their refunds. I would send the request as hard copy, FedEx or some other service that gives you confirmation of delivery. Request a signature. Something to establish when your request was received (when you got in line for your claim). I feel bad for people who have lost their cruises and will have to go through this process and wait for their money. Perhaps the legal rules for bankruptcy will make payments happen faster than we've seen in the past.

The noisy men I referred to were VERY obvious about it. The server gave them their drinks, then went to another table, and then as she walked past them again, one man held a couple of bills up at his shoulder as she walked behind him and she took them. Maybe he didn't have the money out when she delivered the tips, or maybe he likes to look like a big spender. It was crass.

I just looked at their site. It looks normal. I didn't explore too much, but I did a search for cruises and then clicked "book now." Any "book now" took me to this.

I agree that Riverside is nice if you're going to be spending more than the pre-cruise night in Fort Lauderdale. If it's just one night, I stay at the Embassy Suites, which is in the same general area as the Hyatt. There's a Holiday Inn Express in that area. I haven't stayed in that one so I don't know what it's like. I'm not a fan of hotel shuttles. You can end up in a van that goes to multiple places at the port. If you're at any of these 17th Street hotels, just get an Uber. You'll have it all to yourself and it's faster. Probably cheaper than the van if there are two of you.