3rdGenCunarder

I don't know that I've seen Broadway Rocks, but I remember a Broadway themed show from many years ago (anyone remember the "Broadway Bound" troupe?). It annoyed me because in a few places, the song chosen was one that had been added to the movie and had NEVER been sung on Broadway. If someone is putting together a musical show, shouldn't he/she/they know something about musicals????

The color themes are pretty easy because they're colors people are likely to have. For the red and gold, some women wear a red dress, not a red-and-gold dress. Close enough for the theme. I found that, in Alaska, the "ice white" (actually, white or blue or silver) was followed more than I had expected. On that cruise, I'd say possibly as many as 30% were dressed for Roaring Twenties. Of course, for men it's easy, they can get away with a tux. But I saw some beautiful '20s dresses on that cruise. I love mine. It's easy to pack and fun to wear. The masquerade theme is meant to be more of a masked ball (think feathered mardi gras mask), not a costume party. As @BigMac1953 said, the people who follow it most are the people who are going to the Queens room to dance or watch the dancing. That said, do people wear costumes if the masquerade night is on Halloween?

My impression was that some hallways to cabinis on K'dam were narrower than on other ships. I saw a man on a scooter having a hard time making one of the turns. It wasn't an excessively large scooter, but it barely got around the corner without hitting a wall.

LC is not the same agency as Billboard, but it's still an outside entity determining the sets. I didn't mind them repeating the sets. I can listen to a good performance more than once. I wonder if the sets have changed with the loss of one of the violins. They never did the movie theme set on my cruise this winter. They did repeat some sets, so it wasn't like they didn't have a spot for it.

If the display lasts long enough (assuming there is one!) I will probably play with settings. Supposedly, the full moon can give opportunities to have near objects (people) lighted instead of silhouetted in front of the aurora.

I don't think I can do one second handheld, even with stabilization. I need to go outside at night and practice! I really don't want to drag along a tripod, but I'm thinking about a monopod.

It's nice that they're having their photographers do some teaching. I don't think I've seen workshops before. It should be something they offer on every cruise, even if it's pretty basic stuff. I'm amazed at how little some people know about their cameras. I did the "whale watch and photo safari" in Juneau, and the camera expert gave some hints during the bus ride to the boat. Then he went to each person to see if they needed help. A lot of people had expensive DSLRs and no idea how to use any of the settings. They had spent a lot of money for a camera they were using like a point-and-shoot that would have cost a lot less. I listened to him, and he was a good teacher. Most people had Canon or Nikon. He got to me and looked at my Leica, and looked at me with his eyebrows raised. I smiled and said, "I'm fine. I've had a camera since I was 8." He teased the two German passengers on the tour that the only German camera wasn't in their hands.

Sets are determined by the agency that places them. On one of my cruises, on sea days they performed solo or in twos, as "recitals," for which they chose the music. Pre-determined sets are better than some of the musical groups I've seen where they confer between sets. "What should we play next?" discussions on stage are unprofessional. Billboard has pre-determined sets, too. The CD on Eurodam did interviews with the various musical groups, and the Billboard duo said they have to learn and play the arrangements as given. And, while they enjoyed playing all of the sets, they really loved the "request nights," when they were off the leash, so to speak.

Yes, the first two times I saw LC on K'dam, there were five musicians. This past winter in Eurodam, I was surprised that they had cut down to four. I agree that chamber music is not best enjoyed in a large space like the World Stage. But LC had some non-classical sets, like movie music and Beatles that would have been good in World Stage, if seating was restricted/encouraged to be near the musicians. But if HAL puts them in World Stage and amplifies them, I'm out. One of the worst musical acts I've heard on a cruise was electric violin. No, no, no, that's just wrong. Whatever it was, it didn't sound like a violin. I've also heard a grand piano amplified to the point of sounding tinny, like a child's toy. I wouldn't have thought it possible to destroy the sound of a good piano if I hadn't heard it for myself.

I have an expensive digital camera, but there are times, especially bright daylight when my phone does better capturing colors--and my phone is not one with a fabulous camera, like the newer iphones. I suspect it's because I forget to adjust settings on the "good" camera when I'm in a hurry. But the camera has a cool function for hand-held night shots. It takes a burst of pictures and "assembles" the best bits. Someone recently told me that even if the lights aren't great, keep taking pictures because the camera will see more than your eyes do. I plan to go out at night and play with the camera settings to see what works best. I will follow your example and have clothes ready if the call comes to see the lights. I'm glad they're using the bridge cam channel. At least the light of the TV won't keep me awake!

Thank you! That helps a lot! I think I'm on the train going up because my calendar on the website says 8:30. My booking confirmation says 9:30, so maybe they moved me to the earlier time. Or the schedule changed. But it makes sense to have the bus go up later, as the train makes photo op stops along the way (according to their website)

Thank you! I'll be traveling around full moon, too. The next cruise is new moon, but the timing of the cruise didn't work for me. I'll be going in November, which is less likely to be as cold and snowy as the reports of the March cruises have been. Daytimie temps in town are above freezing and night lows just barely under it. So even going out of town shouldn't be too bad. When I was riding, we went all winter unless it was bitter, so I have all sorts of warm layers, including silk liners, which are miraculous.

Thanks for the info. How nice to have two full days and evenings. My cruise has an 'overnight' that leaves at 1:30 AM. So it's really one day with a late departure. What was the northern lights bus tour like? Was it a large coach? Were you happy with the amount of time outside? I'll be there in November, and sunset is a bit before 3 PM. None of the tours appeals to me because of the way they combine sites, so I think I'll wander around in the city. I'm thinking about taking the shuttle to the city, then the bus to the cablecar in time to see sunset from up there. And maybe a photo stop at the Arctic Cathedral on the way back if there's a good stop on the return route.

I know, but I still feel guilty. The first time I got a HC room in a hotel, I called the front desk to make sure they didn't need it for someone else.

I have done some research on the Ports of Call boards, but I have a few questions that are about how Cunard handles some things. I'm hoping someone who has done the Northern Lights cruise on a Cunard ship can help. In Tromso, I was hoping that we would dock right in town, but we're at an industrial dock about 2 miles outside the town. I guess QV is too long for the close dock. Was there a shuttle bus into town and what hours did it run? We're there from 9 AM to 1:30 AM. (I just love how Cunard pretends leaving at that hour makes the second day a "port day") If we were docked right in town, I'd consider taking the bus to the cable car to look for northern lights on my own. But with us being so far out, that seems iffy. Similar question about Narvik. We're a little less than a mile out of town, so it seems walkable. I've never been to Narvik. I'm doing the Ofoten train, and the station looks farther from the port that I want to walk. The post I saw on Ports of Call was about a Fred Olsen cruise, and they chartered the whole train. Cunard says we will be on a train with other people, and it's train one way, bus the other way. Has anyone had experience with Cunard's version of the train excursion? I'm concerned that all the window seats will have been taken by the time we get there. Finally, if the lights are spotted while we're at sea, is there an announcement?

I know that a business doesn't want to leave a cabin or hotel room sitting empty, but I always feel guilty when I get a HC room in a hotel, like I'm taking it away from someone who needs it. A friend got reassigned to a HC cabin on a cruise last fall when ships were still holding blocks of cabins for covid quarantine. Her original cabin was in that block, so they found her something else.

I don't know, but perhaps they block the HC cabins on the website so you can only book through a TA or PCC. It's tricky because they can't ask for proof of need (hipaa rules), but they can ask you what accessibile features you need. I remember years ago seeing posts like "I scored a BIG room by booking a HC cabin!" from people who admitted they didn't NEED it, just wanted the space. Boy, did that get some angry responses, and rightly so. Perhaps HAL has realized that they should control the HC inventory more closely. Please note, I have no reference or data to site for this comment. Only that I haven't seen anyone brag about booking a HC cabin without any need for it.

So, problem solved. You've got a cruise booked. And since you like Celebrity better than HAL, it sounds like a good solution, even with the Uber.

This discussion is all semantics. Booking a guarantee is almost always less expensive than choosing a cabin, any way you say it. I just did a dummy booking for a week in the Caribbean on NS in 2024. The only category that did not have a difference between the guarantee price and the lowest fare to choose a cabin was obstructed verandah, probably because there are so few of them. The difference in price increased with the cabin grade. ($30 to $385) I can't see the advantage fare, but I chose the cruise only, no HIA. I selected verandah, "from $1014" pp. From, as in $1014 or higher. A regular balcony (not obstructed or spa or aft), was $1114 pp. When I chose that price, I had two options. If I let HAL choose my cabin, it would be $1114. If I wanted to choose, it was $1174. You can see that $60 difference as a fee to choose. That gets you choices forward or aft. For another fee ($180) you can choose something midships. For another fee ($60 or $120), you can choose midships on a different deck. OR, you can see it as HAL's pricing structure. They charge more for a cabin in what is considered a better location. I've seen the same thing in hotels. In my example, if I want to be in a midships cabin on what HAL considers the best deck (5, Gershwin), it's going to cost me$1354 pp. If that's more than I want to pay, I can choose a different deck and save $60. Or go forward and save more. Or take the guarantee verandah and sail for $1114.

(I think Hank's comment was sarcasm, not a real suggestion.) And opera isn't amplified!! That's one of the joys of opera, no tech between the singers and the audience. Just trained voices and a space with good acoustics. I think LC were the only musicians on board not amplified.

I hadn't thought about it, but you do see new faces every day that way. I subbed for two years while I was going for my masters, and then I was glad to go back to regular teaching where I had my "usual suspects" every day.

Yes, you have to check the deck plans carefully because HAL has so many different ships. I don't think there's a bad Neptune on a Vista ship. But moving above that, you have the risk of getting the SQ. I think HAL is calling some of those forward cabins with small balconies "spa cabins" to make them sound better than they actually are.

Ugh! Thank you SOOO much for dredging up a memory I thought I had truly buried in the back of my mind!!! The HAL Cats did what a lot of rock and rock-ish groups do, substitute volume for quality.

Another vote for HAL. HAL has the better itinerary. Not a fair comparison, since it's a longer cruise. But getting to see Montreal and Quebec City as well as Saguenay make that itinerary a winner. Another consideration is NCL's stop at Bar Harbor will likely be a no-go for Mom. It's a tender port. And the walking is difficult--uphill with narrow sidewalks.

@shippmates, I'm sorry for your loss. I lost my husband five years ago tomorrow after 46 years of marriage. We all know it gets better, but it never gets completely okay. Cunard does a good job of arranging tables for solos. Twice, I've been at a table with other solos. Once there were four of us. Last time, it was 8. I don't know how HAL organizes tables, but I've always been lucky with table mates. Last time I was with two couples who loved theater and art museums. HAL couldn't possibly have known that when they seated us together, but it worked out beautifully. @Loreto, go into the fixed dining with an open mind. If nothing else, a shared enjoyment of cruising is a good start for conversations.