3rdGenCunarder

It isn't a direct replacement. Manitoulin is out, and Escanaba has been added, but not on the same day. So the itinerary is getting reworked. Day 1 is Chicago hotel Day 2 is boarding the ship in Chicago Day 3 is cruising Day 4 is Escanaba (formerly Mackinac Island) Day 5 is Sault Ste Marie Day 6 is Mackinac Island (formerly Manitoulin) Day 7 and onward remains the same It's a sensible change, as the old Interary would be US-Canada-US-Canada. Now there's only one border crossing, when we get to Port Colborne (for Niagara Falls). Fewer logistics, and probably less expensive in fees for the cruse line. I guess the Toronto to Chicago will be the same but in reverse.

How lovely that your return to travel grew to be a group event. I'm grateful that I had a chance to develop my solo travel skills before Covid hit. Staying home all the time might have become a comfortable habit.

If it's a recent port change, they may still be sorting out the tours. I've never been to either of those ports, so I have no idea what could be offered there.

I do use the ship laundry, and I've never had to resort to the bathtub to wash anything large. However, I have often used the sink for washing, especially if I've spilled something and need to wash the item right away before a stain sets. I had no idea that was a weird thing to do. To get back to beverage questions, I didn't see the coffee mug on my recent cruise, but I wasn't looking for one. I get a 4-star discount on coffees, and I doubt they'd give me another 25% off. On Eurodam, I got my special coffee in the Pinnacle bar and asked for it in a china cup and saucer because a good coffee deserves a proper cup, and I didn't mind drinking my coffee there, by a window.

You're right about Geiranger. It's incredible. And the trip up the mountain gives you a chance to get a picture of your ship in a gorgeous setting. One of my favorite vacation pics is DH and me with the fjord and QE2 in the background. One warning--if you're not good about twisty roads or heights, you might not want to do the excursion up the mountain. We did an excursion up to see a glacier at the top of the mountain. LOTS of switchbacks on the road. On the way up, after just a few turns, we had a photo op stop at a hotel. One woman on our tour said she was done and would get a taxi back down to the ship! IIRC, there's now a museum in Geiranger. On our second time there, we were with friends, and she was NOT a good bus rider, so we didn't do the steep excursion. Instead, we walked around a bit and I think we went to a museum.

I don't recall ever seeing any. Maybe when they get the arts and crafts program going, they'll offer them through that.

Lately it seems that the "crew appreciation/service charge/tips" (the name keeps changing, maybe it's crew incentive now?) are included in HIA only when it's an early booking bonus. I had HIA (without the crew appreciation) on my recent cruise and I guess I came out near to even. I would have come out ahead if HAL hadn't cancelled a shorex I couldn't replace with another. Once I was on board, I remembered that I get 50% off specialty dining and the fancy coffees, so that made HIA a bit less valuable to me. Since it wasn't a big winner for me, I decided not to get it on the next cruise I booked, for next winter. Then I booked a cruise for next summer with the early booking bonus, and that extra amount (about $15 per day in a vista suite) made HIA definitely worth it, still at $50 per day. And now that internet prices are going up and Canaletto prices are going up, maybe HIA will look better to me.

What's next, three-card Monte?????

I did a chat with AQV this morning. I was told by a shorex agent that the Development Team should have the new Escanaba excursions ready to book "mid-March." I hope they send out an email updating everyone on the itinerary changes instead of leaving us to stumble on it ourselves.

I would say of all the themes, masquerade gets the least attention. Nobody wears a costume. People bring masks to wear for dancing in the Queen's Room--think Mardi Gras, not Halloween. I do dress for the themes because I have dresses that fit the colors. I bought a flapper dress when this theme first started because I was excited to have a "Miss Fisher" (PBS-Australian mystery series) dress. I love wearing it. It just makes me smile and feel festive. I was surprised at how many women do dress for the 1920s. But not all, and as long as you dress up to the regular gala dress code, nobody will be bothered about it. The 1920's theme is easier for a man, wing collar shirt with the tux and they look very Gatsby.

Of course. The whale watch was a gray day, but I still got some good pics. I went with Baranoff Tours.

The suitcases are physical, not electronic. The cards are physical, not electronic. A computer does not control the suitcase, or the cards, or what the contestant chooses. So everything about it is not computer controlled. So where is this computer and what is it really controlling? OP implied that a computer was somehow manipulating things so people couldn't win much. If the TV game had a computer behind the scenes controlling (rigging) everything, the game would be shut down and the producers would be in prison. How has the ship taken the TV game and used a computer to make it harder to win anything? I think that the "rip-off" in this game is that the odds are terrible, not that anything is being manipulated. There probably are more card values than suitcase values. So perhaps there are 20 suitcases, 20 different values to be matched. But there could be 100 different values on the cards, meaning 80 percent of the cards could never be a match. Is that what you mean by "the computer knows how many matches there are"?

Stavanger is a lovely town. We went to the sardine canning museum. BF and I were skeptical, but our husbands were adamant about going. Our guide was great, and funny, and we had a good time. Somewhere, I still have the plastic sardine I bought in the gift shop.

Juneau is great for whale watching, but the port is getting ridiculous. Last fall our ship had to tender because there were so many ships in port, 5 or 6 including us. Tours were cancelled because vendors were overbooked. Ketchikan can be too crowded, too. Of the three "touristy" ports, I like Skagway best. It's a nice town to walk around in, and it celebrates its gold rush history well. I love Sitka. It's a real town. No Diamonds International, no Del Sol, no Effy. They have an independent bookshop! How often do you see that? A drugstore with counter service for ice cream treats. A food truck with fabulous fish and chips. Interesting places to see. An excellent raptor center that does good work rehabbing injured birds. I did a small-boat whale watch in Sitka and it was good. We did see a whale breach and a few others dive. We also saw a sea otter colony. so cute!!! I've done whale watching at Icy Strait Point, too. We saw humpback whales and orcas. Glacier Bay is a big deal because it's limited and you get the park ranger. Hubbard is good, too. I did an excursion there on a boat that got closer to the glacier than the ship did. Hubbard is an active calver, so that can be exciting. I've been to Tracy Arm, but the up-close boat ride was not offered on any of my cruises.

So the card you buy is electronic, on an app?

I still don't understand how it's controlled by a computer. I can see that the odds of winning anything are terrible if you have to get 4 matches. How many suitcases get opened in one show?

I think I saw cabins like that on Eurodam, too.

They tend to charge more than the actual port charge "just in case," I guess. And then any extra is always refunded.

Yes, I know. I want to know what the onboard charge is now. I don't really need premium. Everything I do online works with Surf.

Although renting a car in port always made DH nervous, I convinced him to rent one on PEI so we could go to our own selection of places. I had read and loved Anne when I was about her age, so I wanted to see Green Gables. We got there just as the morning buses were leaving and left just as the afternoon buses were arriving. We had the place to ourselves. Anne was a drama queen, as most girls that age are, and I wondered if I would still love Anne, or if she would annoy me (I had taught that age 😱). I reread the first book before the cruise. It shows how well the characters were written that I still loved the book. And having reread it, I appreciated seeing so many details from the story, like the fainting couch and the bottle of raspberry cordial. I also found a biography of the author in the ship's library, and reading that enhanced my visit, too. I'll pass on the poutine. (Did you mean Chez Ashton?) But if you want a patisserie in Quebec City, it's worth the walk up to Paillard. (I did say I research food sources!) Brioche so sweet it needed nothing more than to be eaten. And gateau opera, my favorite.

This was posted last summer, and AFAIK, it was correct until the recent price hike. I just looked at my reservation for 21 days, and the pre-purchase price premium plan is 291.99 I don't know what it was a week ago. If anyone currently on board is following this thread, please let us know if onboard prices for social and surf have gone up.

What do you like to do when you travel? History? Museums? nature? Gardens? Special local foods? Start by reading the ship's excursions. that will give you an idea of typical tours, and there may be some reviews you can read. Try tripadvisor. Their site isn't as easy to use since they've become a seller of tours (it's hard to find tours and attractions that they aren't selling), but you can find out about attractions in each of the ports. Another research tool I use is googlemaps. I use them to see what's in the port city itself. I like to search for bakeries, ice cream, or bars with local beer in addition to the usual tourist things.

Oh, that is sad to hear. I loved Lincoln Center. I guess the drydock was a break in contracts so it was easy to make the change then. Is there still a lonely piano in the Ocean Bar? It's a reminder of what HAL used to have. I suppose you've seen the Crow's Nest/Explorations Cafe? Those walls with the cube shelves are what is supposed to replace a library. Sigh. Thanks for reporting on the ship, even if it's less than happy news.

So I would get the upgrade for the price of one CO? That's worth doing, except on a Pinnacle because I don't like CO for dinner. I have had CO only once and that was in a Neptune suite on the K when CO was brand new, and so was solo cruising for me. As a solo, I looked at all those 2s and 4s, and figured I would end up eating dinner alone, because what were the odds that people would ask for a large table in a dining room that caters to the idea of private dining. I asked to go back to my original confirmation of a large table early fixed dining in the MDR, where I had lovely dinner companions and felt comfortable. Breakfast alone in CO was fine. Yes, back then it was $50pp. Not worth that price to me, especially since I'm 4-star and already get the priority boarding and tenders.

No, you don't pay double port charges or gratuities. I think the 100% supplement is unfair. One person eats less food, uses fewer towels and less water than two people do. We should get a little break. Cunard's supplement is 75% until you get up to the Grills Level, and then it's 100%. Once in a while they do a sale with a reduced single supplement.