3rdGenCunarder

Nooo! That sounds terrible. What sort of plastic hats? And I still can't think of a "roaring 20's" justification for the sequined jacket. It's been fun and glamorous the times I've experienced it, the last being June 2022. I hope it will have a bit more class when I'm on QV in October.

I had booked a cruise in a Neptune Suite before HAL started CO. I had requested early fixed dining. Then CO started. Maybe it's because it was only my second solo cruise, less than a year after DH died--the booking had originally been for both of us. I took one look at CO and I saw nearly all 2's and 4's, (only two tables for 6 IIRC) and imagined dinner alone in a room full of couples. Or worse, being at a four-top with a couple who didn't want company--we'd had a few past experiences with being sat with people who didn't really want "extras" at the table. At least then we were a couple and had each other to talk to. But I did NOT want to deal with that solo. It might have turned out to be fine, but I wasn't ready to deal with the possible negatives, especially since the Lounge cocktail party was not a mingling sort of group, other than one woman who seemed to be planning to drink her way through the cruise. So I asked to go back to the MDR for dinner but had breakfast in CO. I like a quiet breakfast, so that was nice, and the cooked to order waffles were delicious! I had the best of both worlds because I ended up at a lively table for 6 in the MDR. One couple went to trivia before dinner, so they would tell us some of the interesting questions. Now, five years (and 6 cruises) later, would I do the same thing? I don't know. It may be moot, because I don't like the Pinnacle ships, so it would take a must-do itinerary to make me sail on one again.

CO will get you what you think is the best cabin. That might not be the highest grade, depending on where you want to be on the ship. But you don't have to select the highest grade. Check the deck plans and have them open when you call.

I should hope so!

I think that's window cleaning machinery.

I hope you're enjoying the sunshine! Yes, that is a lovely old building. If you ignore the lighting, you can almost imagine it full of passengers and their trunks in a bygone time.

Thanks for posting your comments. Glad you didn't have trouble making your connection. I think all the cabins except the "suites" are small. I traveled alone, so I was okay with it. But I didn't like that the only places to sit in the room were the bed and the desk chair. No comfy chair. I rarely saw anyone sitting on the "Verandah" chairs on my cruise, and I was out and about watching the scenery a lot. That might have been because it was Mayfly season and they were EVERYWHERE! I agree about the lack of places to sit around the ship. I wish they hadn't had the piped-in music in the tavern. That annoyed me, so I didn't sit there. We had a Road Scholar group, too, but not as large as the one on your cruise. Still, that meant times when the lounge wasn't quiet. And I agree about the cookies. They were good, but not enough variety. I would rate the food higher than 3.5. Plus 1 point for perfect Opera Cake. -0.5 point for sugar-free grape jelly with the scone at afternoon tea! I don't remember a lot of crab dishes, and never tried the few I recall seeing, so I wasn't aware it was pseudocrab. We had a different ShoreEx manager. Glad you had a good one.

Makes sense. It's easier to start with large needles. I can't work with small needles. The project doesn't "grow" quickly enough.

What sort of materials do they provide?

@uktog, this was disembarkation day for this direction, so they were trying to get people off and onto further travel as quickly as they could. @Cyberchomp, I am so sorry the hear this. What an awful end to the cruise! I hope there were some good parts of it before the bad ending. Have you posted any questions about this on the board for questions for the president of AQV? I would love to see her response. I think they knew more about the ships' problems than they let on. We had diver inspections on the Voyager in June in two ports. I spoke to one and he said it was a routine propellor inspection. So at 5 AM the ship was stuck in Lock 1. Were you in the lock, or had they towed the ship out? That's a single lock, so the authorities wouldn't have been pleased to have it blocked. Sorry, I know it isn't the passengers' first concern, but I'm a curious ship nut. The position of the ship also affects disembarkation. If you were still in the lock, they couldn't get luggage off. Unless you had been late going through the canal, you were probably stuck in/near the lock for a while. I can understand them holding off on the announcement so people could sleep, but they should have made the decision early enough to get people to the airport on time. The buses would have been in Toronto ready to go to the pier, so that's an hour or more drive to the lock. Then time to load, then an hour or more to the Airport. Even if they had waited until 5 AM to call the bus company, it seems to me that it should not have taken 5 hours. People with late flights were probably okay for making it, although I'm sure they were stressed--I would have been a lunatic with worry even with a late flight! But people who had planned their flights closer to disembarkation time would have missed their flights. I can understand why AQV didn't do well with this. The excursion manager, who I think would have been part of the response team for this, was useless. As for your last comment, yes, no wonder they're for sale. But given the issues with these ships and the newer competitors on this run, I doubt anyone will want to buy them.

OMG! I was on that cruise! There was a Titanic history group on board. One of them was near my cabin. I met him when he dashed out into the hallway with his little tape recorder to record some announcement being made. He said he wanted to capture EVERY moment of the cruise. My father's last cruise was on QE2, her last Caribbean Christmas cruise. He was one voyage away from Platinum. He had been on Mauretania as a troop ship at the end of WWII, so he called and asked if they would count that. And they did! He loved swanking on with us as a Platinum passenger, even though they would have let him come through with us anyway.

I think they told us on QE2 in 1990, it was around $100,000

The times I've ordered dinner from the MDR menu, the window to order was the first hour (or earlier in the day through the concierge when we were in a Neptune Suite), although you could specify any time within the MDR open hours.

We had that on K'dam. Random slap bang noises in "following seas." In all my aft cabin cruises, I've never had anything that bad.

I had an aft cabin on Eurodam, the other Signature class ship, and had no issues with vibration or other noises.

There is a very long thread on the HAL board about learning to sail solo. Lots of encouraging stories and tips. And a few complaints, like the "single supplement."

And there are 3 for the 12 night Norway this October-November. My first thought to reply to the title question was "Not enough."

I've sailed the K twice, and it's my least favorite HAL ship, too. It always felt more crowded, and while the staff were good, they seemed to have a bit more work than they should have--a few more cabins, one more table in MDR. It didn't have the "happy ship" vibe that I've experienced on other HAL ships. And the lack of a wide promenade deck with chairs was disappointing. I find the youtube comment about running out of food surprising. As others have said, it might mean one or two specific things. But I always saw plenty to eat. Because of the size, the Lido has a greater variety of foods than the smaller ships, even Eurodam. Plus there are the extra venues around the pool. Really good pizza! And the K has Tamarind! As for poor entertainment, well that's been discussed here a lot. It depends on what you like and which ship you're on.

I tried to use the UK site, but I couldn't set up an account because I don't have a UK postcode.

The canal really is amazing, especially the water management. On one of my canal transits, I was on promenade deck watching the mules when a woman near me said, "It isn't very pretty, is it?" What was she expecting, the canals of Venice???? (I'm a tech geek, I think it's gorgeous!)

Congratulations on the upgrade! The location of PG on the Vistas is so much nicer than on QM2. The first time I set foot on QE, something in me said "home." She pushed QM2 down a slot as my favorite ship. The layout of the Vistas is easier than QM2. No little sneaky hard-to-find hallways. I think the thermal suite is a lot nicer, too. Don't miss the display of Cunard memorabilia near the Queens Room. Have a wonderful cruise!!!

Good idea. This kind of information is lacking on many cruises, and not just on HAL. It may not be available at the time the cruise is listed, especially if there are multiple berths. But at some point, the cruise line should know and be able to give out that information.

So were you asking about a shuttle for embarkation? IIRC, on another thread you were asking about going from one ship to another. This answer sounds like one-way directions from one pier to another. Is this also the shuttle to take passengers to and from town?

There isn't one central terminal. Berths 21 and 22 share the terminal along the St Lawrence River, below the old town area. Berth 30 is not near there. It's along the river that flows into the St Lawrence, and is not an easy walk into the city. Berth 30 has its own, very new terminal right at the berth. It was built to handle larger ships, especially for embarkation rather than just a port stop. Look at Roy's post #2 for a link to port information.

The opening blurb sounds like it's fancy dress, with the mention of elaborate costumes. Then the information that follows does not describe costumes at all. What movies did they show to go with the theme?