3rdGenCunarder

That's sad to hear. In the past when a wine in a package was not available, the substitution came from a higher package, not a low-quality wine. These seemingly random shortages do sound more like bad management (or penny-inching) than supply issues. I was lucky in January. The only thing not available that I was aware of was the new HAL tile.

I was surprised and disappointed when I was on K'dam when it was new. A nice shiny-new clean ship should not have had indoor smoking. And the smoke smell did drift down the stairs to the Music Walk.

I print the paper boarding pass because I don't want to be handling (and possibly dropping) my phone when I have my hands full with carry-on, purse, passport.

Of course you do! Just pack plenty of you-know-what. 🍫

Gorgeous pictures! I do think Norway is the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen, even edging out Alaska. Thanks for sharing your trip with us. I hope it continues to go well.

It's a stupid computer thing. The same problem exists with tours. To you, it's a 14-day cruise, but to HAL's system, it's two 7s. If you want to book a tour for your second week, don't wait until you're onboard. Just as you can't buy the second spa week during the first leg of your cruise, you can't buy tours for the second week until that leg starts.

It's a great place to relax. There is soft music playing in the room with the heated loungers (note that the two R class ships have the heated loungers in the room with the jacuzzi, not in a separate room). There are very nice loungers and chairs in the hydropool room, but I don't recall music. I love it in there when nobody is in the pool and the only sound is the gentle sloshing of the water as the ship moves.

I saw the rack of lamb and got excited, but no choice of how it's cooked? So how did they cook it? Please don't say well done. The reverse trip says we enter the canal from Port Colborne at 5 PM, so I'm hoping to see some of the lock activity before it gets dark. I love canals, so if I hear noise and bumps during the transit, I'll probably dash out on deck to see the action! I hope you enjoy your visit to Niagara Falls!

Don't give up on Alaska! It really is worth it. I don't know if you've always lived in Florida, but the difference in climate and vegetation will be an amazing change to see. (For me, living in densely populated Northeast, the open space fascinates me) There are a lot of options, maybe not all great, but doable. Fly to Vancouver, spend a night there, take the cruise, fly home (or spend a night before the flight). Fly to Seattle, spend a night, take the cruise line's shuttle to the ship. Fly to Seattle, spend a night, take Amtrak to Vancouver. The train leaves very early in the morning (7:30), but arrives around noon, in time to get to the ship. Fly to Seattle, and if you can arrive in time to catch a 7PM train, take Amtrak to Vancouver and spend a night in Vancouver. For me, getting a direct flight is most important. If you are willing to change planes, you'll have more options. I have flown directly to Vancouver once. I have flown to Seattle twice--a friend lived there at the time, so I had a nice visit and then took the train to Vancouver. Last time, I had to be in Portland the weekend before my cruise, so I flew there. Unfortunately, the train wasn't crossing the border at that time, so I had to take a little "commuter" jet, which turned out to be very nice. The flights and hotel stays do add to the cost of the trip. Think of it as part of the "cost of travel." My advice for a long flight is to get a book by an author you like. Years ago, I discovered that a Katie Fforde novel (Brit rom-com) lasts me exactly the flight from London to Newark. Three times it worked out that I started reading at wheels up, stopped to have the meal, then went back to the book and finished it on final approach.

That sure sounds like the worst of both worlds. It's disappointing to hear that. One of the things that drove me crazy on our Princess cruise was that they started the kiddie movies at noon. They were definitely loud enough to be heard over just about any noise, and we had to retreat to our tiny balcony to get some peace. The lack of quiet spaces was one of the reasons we were one and done with Princess.

When I was on K'dam (2018 and 2019 IIRC), they didn't snow movies during the day, so there wasn't an annoying soundtrack while people were relaxing by the pool. I think there may have been some nature videios, but no sound, just pictures. Movies were shown only at night. The movies and LIncoln Center were my two favorite evening entertainments.

Thank you for posting! That one sheet of paper has more information than everything I've received from AQV thus far. It sounds like keeping your reservation at the Westin turned out to be a good decision. Beautiful pictures, especially those strawberries. Food tours are so much fun! BON VOYAGE!!!

Portland's airport is small and easy to navigate. There will be taxis, which is how I got from the airport to downtown. Uber is another option, slightly less expensive. What hotel do they have you at?

There are more flight options to Vancouver from Canadian cities than US. I certainly have more choice of direct flights between Newark and Seattle. Going home from Vancouver, I had a choice of one direct flight, Air Canada.

I remember Saran Wrap around the stations back when HAL did "code orange" at the start of a cruise to break the potential cycle of infection in case anyone brought it on board at embarkation. It was funny to watch passengers who didn't know about "code orange" try to figure out how to get their breakfast when they couldn't reach for food. For a long time, the Lido had sugar, salt, and pepper in little packets to avoid things that multiple people touch. On my cruise last winter, I noticed that they were using sugar dispensers and salt and pepper shakers in order to reduce waste from all those empty packets in the trash. Have the packets come back as part of the Noro response?

Only Volendam has lanai cabins. Zaandam does not. Veendam and maybe one other had them, but those ships have left the fleet. I remember that they were sort of scattered on Veendam, but on Volendam they're all together, so it's easy to know which chairs are not reserved. Plus, look for the slider door instead of a window.

Welcome to cruising (and Cruise Critic)! Be warned, cruising can be addictive. Your screen name is one of my favorite plants!

HAL's Lido is mostly served, thank goodness. Here's a tip for areas that are not served. Get a paper napkin and use it like a potholder any time you have to use utensils. I saw a woman do that on Queen Elizabeth (I was surprised at how much of that buffet was self-serve), and thought it was brilliant.

I didn't say I wouldn't be THINKING it!!! 😜

I waited about an hour last June. There was some Humongous of the Seas also disembarking passengers and the queue was very long. First time I was sorry I didn't do the cruise line bus. Fortunately, I was staying an extra day, so I wasn't in danger of missing a flight.

I have taken an "up" elevator to go down a few times. But I prefer to shrug apologetically rather than yell at people. I've had the angry "Elevator is full" yelled at me too many times, so I can't bring myself to do it to others. I hate that system. Depending on where the check-in desk is, that can be a long drag. And IIRC, it was over a carpeted area, much harder to roll luggage than on a smooth floor.

Ohh, Stavanger. It's so lovely. We wandered the town and also went to the sardine museum--one of the best museum guides I've ever met. And Flam! another great port. If you have time, visit the museum about the building of the railway. It has excellent insights into the work that went into it. And I recall really good souvenirs, too. I hope the seas aren't too strong tonight. Are the grandkids impressed with where you're going?

From the way it appears to dissipate, I'd say it's steam. Sure hope so!

I like the Vista class. I've been on 3 of HAL's 4, plus Cunard's QE (my current favorite ship), and I'm trying QV this fall. I love the spa hydropool on the Vistas. That's the only amenity I find lacking on the R class ships.

Orange night is just a party. They encourage people to wear orange. It was in BB King's on my Jan Eurodam cruise. I didn't go because it's always crowded and very noisy in there. People at my table reported the next night that there were supposed to be some special treats but they didn't get any.