Wildcatllamas

I got the Nautical Northeast booked early this morning for a client who had expressed interest in it. Just waiting to hear back from them for the deposit. If they don't go I may just keep it myself since it sounds like a great itinerary. I got names put in for the Alaska FRONTier for two of my other clients and myself. I am so glad the friend of mine, who became my agent when I stepped back from it, convinced me to get back in the saddle. Yes the MerMaidens were expensive and I expected that due to all the excitement that has swirled around Brilliant Lady. But the rest of the pricing is very competitive.

Most land based restaurants will have the disclaimer somewhere on their menu that eating meat, eggs and seafood undercooked can lead to serious illness so they can avoid the repercussions of folks eating raw food. In one of my college classes I toured a meat packing plant. That was a real eye opener on ground beef and all meat cuts and the issues of cross contamination. I will not buy hamburger in those solid package tubes. I will only buy it from stores that actually grind their own meat and now that there is a rancher that is selling direct to the public I get his hamburger. So on board a ship or even in a restaurant that doesn't grind their own meat I will order medium rare even though I definitely prefer it rare.

Congratulations!!! If there were options for an extra bed in the suites I would bid on one. I'm good friends with the folks that I travel with, but sharing a bed is definitely not an option.

I may have to check into purchasing a MNVV from someone. Mine all expire in December 2025 and my next cruise isn't until September. I would definitely try to jump on one of the 5 nights and going to do Alaska for sure.

@cantgetin before I became gluten intolerant I liked waffles just like you described. Thick, puffy, crispy on the outside with a nice moist interior. Now I have gluten free frozen waffles that will barely get by and then gluten free mix that doesn't come close and sticks to the waffle iron. So I just watch and drool when others are eating them.

@Gretchendz I will have my computer fired up and ready to go. I would love to get a shot at the cruise that would depart Seattle on May 11. Otherwise I would settle for September.

I have that marked on my calendar. Glad I came out of retirement from being a TA.

I had never been interested in doing an Alaskan cruise. But having spent a week last February in Fairbanks I changed my mind. Now I am thinking what better way to spend my birthday in 2026 then to be on Brilliant going to Alaska.

Alaska - I will definitely be looking at that one.

Nothing is showing in their booking engine at this time. May 8th it will go live.

So far nothing is showing for Alaska or Vancouver for May of 2026.

If you are able to order it without pepper let us know because I will be all over that.

I'm allergic to black pepper so I sure understand what you are saying. The first time I tried it back in December 2021 it wasn't peppery at all. At least it didn't effect me. I didn't know it was supposed to have black pepper. A friend had ordered it and gave me a some. Then on my trip this last December I was going to order it and the waitress told me I couldn't have it due to the black pepper. The folks at the table next to me chimed in and said it is horrible with black pepper. When we got to talking they said in the beginning they didn't notice the black pepper but it had gotten worse over time.

I sure hope they do something with the beds in the non-suite cabins. I finally figured out that if you have the beds laid out in the couch format that the one on the solid wall portion loses all of its cushioning from the "bedsprings" because it is resting on a solid platform. So better bedding is about the only option rather then swapping over to a traditional cruise cabin style bed.

An NCL cruise I was on had to cancel our stop in San Francisco and subbed Astoria. It was a very enjoyable time there. When we entered the Columbia river channel at 1:30 am it was high tide and let me tell you that ship was pitching and rolling. Furniture on the deck was being slammed around and it was almost impossible to walk in the cabin. That morning we went to the Maritime Museum and found out about the Columbia Breaks and what a ships graveyard it is.

I did some checking and it appears that the May 7, 2026 scheduled stop for Brilliant Lady in Astoria is gone and Grand Princess is now there. Princess has had some pretty popular cruises up and down the West coast that are advertised as Wine Country cruises. I guess we will find out on May 1st.

Gamblers are a strange breed. Our biggest promo for a couple of years was a pumpkin pie giveaway from Halloween through Thanksgiving. Put 400 points on your account in 24 hours ($1200) and get a "free" fully cooked pumpkin pie. The pie costed the casino $3 and probably ran about $6 at the grocery store but people came in almost daily to get the pumpkin pie. So @CruisingWalter is right how much is put into welcoming gamblers with open arms and making them feel special. There is no such thing as a "free Lunch" and a sucker is born every minute are so very true.

Amen to that!

@CineGraphic I saw that just after I hit submit. I've been talking with our GM and Marketing Director. They got a big kick out of those percentages. We give way more promo stuff for a whole lot less.

Oh my. Having worked in the casino industry for 25 years I will usually inquire on a cruise what the coin in is to earn a point. I know most land based casinos are at and that is in the vicinity of $3/1 point. One of the cruises I was one it was $6/1 point. I haven't been in the casinos on Virgin so I haven't asked but I would guess it would closer to the $6 then the $3. So, I could spend, let's say $15,000, to get free drinks while in the casino or $300 for a bar tab.

I also found it there but when I searched other possible ports that she might be going to I came up with nothing. She will pop up somewhere and then disappear. So it is definitely a guessing game.

@jon81uk thanks for the clarification. I did get the blue wristband. After the first day I did remove it. Everyone at the coffee shop knew me. I did move my medallion portion of my wristband to my sea blazer one because I just like purple better. Several of the employees commented on how unique it was.

That is interesting. I have the Sea Blazer wrist band that was mailed to me following my cruises in 2021. It is purple with a silver colored medallion that is engraved with SB. I wore it when I went on my cruise in December and no one said "oh gee" you go ahead of these folks. What does the Sea Rover band look like?

That's what I have done in the past and then a quick hit with wrinkle release spray and things are good.

My last cruise on Celebrity was the end of January 2020 right before everything went down hill. Everything was great on that cruise for the friends and I that all traveled together. I don't know about now but I definitely feel that Celebrity and Virgin are the closest comparisons. As to the Crown Grill - I ate there in April of 2023 and also in October of 2022. Two different ships and my steaks both times weren't cooked the way I asked for them. I like them warm rare and each time they came out medium or medium well. On my April cruise I think the chef got pissed and just slapped it on the grill, flipped and then sent it out. I shocked the waiter when I told it was great, because I will eat it that way. On the October one, it took 2 steaks to get it to at least a medium rare. At least at the Wake when I tell them I would like my steak cooked Pittsburgh style and rare they know exactly what I want and it comes out perfect.