3rdGenCunarder

Shh! Don't give them ideas!

Me too. I sat in one of those chairs and my back said NO! I immediately asked to be seated at a regular height table.

Some of the single cabins on QM2 have a fainting couch. A friend had one of those cabins and said the couch was very comfortable.

I agree that the dinners aren't free. The value of HIA depends on how much you use the offers. The biggest variable is if you can drink your money's worth on the beverage plan. I'm not a big drinker, and because HAL cancelled a tour for HMC and there was nothing else good available, I'd say I didn't come out ahead. So yes, I paid for my dinners. (Ironically, when I tried to calculate the value of HIA, I forgot that my specialty dinners are half price because I'm 4*.)

Thanks for the link. This one looks good. I trust that you would know what's okay. But the description says it protects against, among other things, "over charging, over current, over voltage." That isn't some kind of surge protector? (I see similar wording for other "no surge protector" extensions)

I think Amsterdam had a similar ladies room somewhere. With the vanity tables and chairs it's like the ladies room in an elegant classic hotel or an upscale department store, like Saks. And that library!!!! Ahhh, bliss.

It's sort of like taking the training wheels off your bike. You build confidence with that extra help until you're ready to go on your own. I like your comment about being alone all day. Having adjusted to that makes solo travel easier. You learn to be good company for yourself. Enjoy your cruise!

250 titles is an improvement over a dozen books in cube shelves, I suppose. I think there was a session on coloring when I was on Eurodam. I will continue to travel with my own books and my knitting. I'm glad my next two HAL cruises will be port-intensive.

I agree that shipping a bag can be a good idea, although it gets expensive if the shipping is international. However, that is NOT what Luggage Direct is. Luggage Direct is a service that takes your luggage from the ship to the airport for you. It's offered in only a few places--Fort Lauderdale, Seattle, maybe others. The shipping service HAL uses (or at least has used in the past) is Luggage Forward. Edited to addd: oops, didn't see your correction in the second post.

Oh...I thought you meant at the terminal. Nobody asked there. I can't remember online checkin.

I'm tempted by the NY-SF leg. I wish there were a few more ports, though. But she'll have to go through the new canal (I think), so that's exciting.

Do you mean the plug that just adapts for shape (the white ones in post 25)? That's true, they do not change the voltage. But many chargers are 110-220, so the physical shape change is all that's needed. I know my laptop charges on either current, and I think my camera battery charger does, too. Not sure about my phone (that print on the plug is soooo small to read!).

I do that if it's a port I've been to often and don't really care for. I don't need to go to St Thomas again, but it's a fairly common port stop, so I give it the been there, done that treatment and stay on board. I love the peace and quiet of days like that. I can get a lounger by the pool without having to get up at 6 AM!

Fred Olson's business model is based on buying "pre-loved" ships. They've been successful for many years. Perhaps because their passengers know they'll be on an old (but well kept) ship, they don't expect too many bells and whistles. So many people want the newest and biggest with the most restaurants and amusement rides. I don't mind an older ship. I always said QE2 was the love of my traveling life, and she was nearly 40 when I said goodbye to her (and cried).

Cunard has been doing this for years, with several different options in rotation. Like Canaletto, it's in a section of the buffet that can be closed off from the rest of it. I have two long (for me) cruises on Zaandam next year. 21 days and 24 days. I would love to be able to have some version of Tamarind available.

Just a place holder???????????? If that's all it was, they should never have taken full payment. I can see doing a deposit on a cruise that might happen if it's special. Cruise lines sometimes do that for a maiden voyage when a new ship is joining the fleet. But only a deposit, and it's always refundable. You can complain to whatever agencies you want, but your best move is to dispute with your credit card. Stories like this make me nervous about my cruise in June. AQV sounds like Jeckyl and Hyde. IF your cruise goes as scheduled, it's great. IF they cancel, you have to scratch and claw to get your money back.

I didn't upload a pic. I think the kiosk took it because nobody else did.

Carnival corp has a history of re-using designs. HAL has 4 Vistas, Cunard has 2, Costa has some (sadly, minus one). I don't know how many others are out there. And the Signatures (not Pinnacles) are basically stretched Vistas, not a start-from-scratch design.

I wasn't asked about vaccinations, although I did carry my card just in case.

In my two times on the K, I was upstairs. Once at a 2-top by the railing with a view of the lower level, and once way back near the corner. The 2-top wasn't bad, but the large table at the corner was good. We could hear each other speak easily. On embarkation day, the first time I was on the K, we sat at the back on the lower level and it was too loud. It was hard to hear other people speak, so we had to talk louder. Of course, that just adds to the overall noise level...

I don't know how many times I've been to Halifax. I love the gardens and the museum and just walking around the city. But since we had been so many times, we tried the tour to Lunenberg. It was disappointing--too long on the bus, and not enough time there. You can have lunch or see their maritime museum or walk around the town. Two out of three, but not time for everything. Our guide was terrible. We did part of the drive off the faster highway so we could go by the area where Tom Selleck has a house. And when we got to Lunenberg, he recommended a restaurant where his name would get you right to a table, no waiting. I suspect he got a little something for that. I had done my research and we found a place for a quick lobster roll.

Don't make light of the dearth of GM. On my QE cruise last June, it was a scarce commodity in the bars. I think the Grills had grabbed the whole supply for making crepes suzette. It does seem a shame to burn off the alcohol, though.

Good for HAL to be so caring. This must be shattering for the other entertainers. They work so closely together and now they will have to go on without one of their group. Every time they rehearse or go on, they will feel that loss all over again.

You did well. I haven't seen anything below $50 per day. When my TA priced out cruises, the difference between advantage fare (refundable deposit but no extras) and HIA, the difference was $50 per day. The nice thing was, although the cruise fare was double for a solo, the price for HIA, either as the cruise fare or an add-on was only for one.

I asked the woman if I still needed that tiny slip of paper and she said no. Good thing I kept it handy because that's what they wanted to scan at the ship. (I'm used to showing the boarding pass I printed at home) She should have been telling everyone that. I did see people on the gangway searching pockets for that paper.