rkacruiser

I will make a guess that the Florida/Cuba implications have something to do with the distance from Port Everglades and whatever the site is in the middle of Florida. Maybe Orlando? If so, why? As to the hangi description, maybe this was something that he attended on an island during the cruise? But, something like that is not what I would ordinarily associate with a Caribbean island.

Have not done the Alcatraz tour, but have done the Bay Cruise which I enjoyed very much. I bought my ticket online directly from the company.

ACCESS is not right! Thanks for the photo and I am glad to see that the previous types of seating has been ditched. Sitting on a sofa with a coffee table in front of me and trying to eat a Lobster Roll wasn't quite what a YC dining experience ought to be.

Hlitner's thoughts on this subject mirror mine. One person on the YC team who may be overlooked is the Assistant Butler. Mine was a 'she" and she acted more as a Stateroom Stewardess who actually took care of my suite. The Butler seemed to be more in charge of whatever "extras" that a Cabin Steward/Stewardess would not be expected to do. I did not offer any additional gratuities to the YC Restaurant's Stewards. I had too many varied ones and the quality of their service did differ (which, I think, was due to their experience). The Maitre d's, however, did receive an additional gratuity which was well deserved.

The burgers are not the same in the MDR as at Dive-in. The Fries are different as well. The Lasagna also differs in the MDR as compared to Canaletto.

I like hearing the foghorn wherever on the ship I am. I don't hear that when I am at a hotel on the beach in Florida.

I have never used a lanyard. I have a shirt pocket sized leather case that has two sides in its interior. I used one side for the key card and the other for the Beverage Card that I bought on board. This is the third of that type that I have had. The previous two were vinyl. The current one was provided for being a Grand World Cruise guest by HAL.

Thanks for thinking of doing this! What I have read has been interesting and want to research the "English Breakfast Society". Didn't ever realize that the Bacon we usually eat in the US was called "streaky bacon". Makes sense, though. Heidi13 mentioned keeping some cans of British Beans on his shelf. What are British Beans? He mentioned the HP brand. More searching needed. Henderson Relish? That does sound like a bit of that added to Baked Beans might add a different flavor. Maybe adding some Worcestershire Sauce to my next patch of Baked Beans might prove interesting. I will continue to follow this thread and see what else I can learn.

I continue to learn! Some of the variations, I know. But, there are more that are new to me. Eggs Chesapeake is one. I have relatives in Maryland and have vacationed in that area as well as in the Tidewater area. Never saw that offered on a menu. Eggs Benedict with Crab? Yes. With a crab cake? No. Thanks for the list!

When do you sail?

I have not experienced that. I do enjoy the ability of an omelet made to my specifications. One advantage of observing the cook at the omelet station. "Add more of that, please."

Remember the old Wendy's commercials that featured the charming older lady saying "Where's the Beef"? As one's tummy becomes less agreeable of holding "more" than it once did, "less" is "more" when faced with a multi-course menu.

Agree. That's the type of cooperation one would expect. I wonder, however, will there be bill in the mail from HAL to NCL? 😀

I have a better idea than having an IT executive aboard. Get rid of this "wonderful improvement in guest service" and return to what is known to work reliably.

I agree. If there are some "big wigs" aboard, the service staff will be "more on their toes" maybe more than usual. On HAL, I have experienced this when CCL CEO Arnold Donald was aboard.

My gosh CGT! If it isn't one thing, it is something else! I am rather like you, I know what my daily issues are, but, what's going on within me and with my body's chemistry? Frequently, I do get a bit concerned. I have my annual physical next week and am looking forward to learning its results, particularly from the blood work that will be done.

One of the things that I have learned during Behind the Scenes Tours (not just galley tours) is that there are very serious efforts made to reduce that waste. Seems to be much "just in time" preparation for the orders that are taken. Every such tour that I have taken, the Executive Chef has said that the advance preparation of everything is made with a historical perspective of the number of orders for those items. Sometimes, they underestimate what the number of orders for an item will be which will cause a delay in dining service as more is prepared (if possible).

The steak looks delicious and is so large. What was the "goat cheese fondue"? The sauces on either side of the plate? That isn't what I would have expected either.

I arrived in Fort Lauderdale on the Silver Meteor and the train was running late. There were a few taxis already at the station when I got off the train. I had to retrieve my checked baggage which took a few minutes. By then, all of the taxis were gone. A scattered few came by and there were times when none would appear. I had anticipated this and is one reason why I bought my first cell phone. I had taken with me the phone numbers of 2 or 3 taxi companies (Yellow Cab is the largest, I believe). I decided to call Yellow Cab. One cab appeared, but, someone else flagged it down before it got to me. Then, another one appeared and I was able to flag it down. I suggest you have a Plan B and Plan C. Plan B might be having the Amtrak agent(s), maybe two agents, call for a taxi. Plan C? If you decide on getting a phone that can be used in the US, I am a customer of Consumer Cellular. They have some inexpensive plans and an inexpensive flip phone. Mine cannot be used outside the US, but, I have never investigated with them as to whether it could be.

Much food for thought for the OP has been posted! I suggest a world cruise and/or putting segments of a world cruise b2b or a Grand Voyage. Entertainment will vary; menus ought to vary while popular items will re-appear frequently; segments of a long cruise may provide for some guest/crew changes that could prove interesting for a person. The idea of taking b2b cruises with a short break between them and another series of cruises, on the same line or ship, is what I have done. A Christmas/New Year's cruise of about 20 days followed by a 7 day cruise on a different ship and line in a different type of accommodation, then, a 3 day break in a port and another 11 day cruise on a different ship in another different type of accommodation. There was a bit of overlap of some of the ports (this was in the Caribbean), but, the overlap ports were ones that I enjoy visiting.

I disagree. What would help would be the enforcing of dress codes that currently exist.

Cruisers review/comment on all kinds of things. So, having a review and comparisons of Apple Strudel in different ports could be important information for some. 😁 As Heidi13 said, a world cruise is a different kind of cruise experience; I realized at the start I didn't need to over do it when I ordered meals. I tended to eat a continental type breakfast, sometimes "splurging" with a full MDR breakfast. More often than not, I would skip lunch at lunch time (and most of the time when I did eat a MDR lunch, it would be with my trivia team members or others whom I met on the cruise), usually would go to the Lido Restaurant in mid-afternoon for a snack, always ate the snacks/canapes provides during HH, and had a nice dinner of 3 or 4 courses. I used the stairs frequently and did daily laps around the Promenade Deck. When in port and on tours, there often was much walking needed. I returned home with everything fitting, although my tux pants were a bit more snug than they had been, yet still comfortable. Really didn't gain more than 3-5 pounds.

That is smart on the part of your server. Once, fortunately, I was seated at a table with very pleasant people. But, one lady would order multiple items in each menu category. She would eat very small amounts of each and never completed any of them.. The waste that she produced was disgusting. And, my table's dining times were longer than they needed to be.

Experienced this prior to a VOV on Rotterdam VI. Arriving at the port, tripped over some luggage outside the terminal. Long story that involved someone calling 911, a fire truck arriving that couldn't deal with whatever issue someone thought there was, then an EMT who took me to Tufts Hospital (along with a port agency staff member who stayed with me throughout this "adventure"--many thanks!), a CAT scan of my head (yes, there really is a Brain there and it's OK), a Tuft's doctor's clearance and a return to the terminal for me to embark. Then, the Rotterdam's doctor was not satisfied with the clearance paperwork for me to sail from the Tuft's doctor, phone calls/e-mails between the two finally cleared for me to embark. Trying to check in, I wasn't able to do because the overly cautious Rotterdam doctor had not released me to be allowed to embark. Another of the Port Agent's staff members was able to finally get that resolved and I made it to my stateroom, in a wheelchair which was totally unneeded, about 7 hours after I arrived at the pier. Thank goodness the ship didn't sail until late at night! I can not say enough about the staff members of the Port of Boston's HAL agents that were on duty that day. Were it not for there help and concern, I would never have embarked in Boston on my VOV cruise. If at all.

🤣 Me too! I have only changed the setting back to its original once since I took delivery of my Buick. That was because one of the dealer's employees changed the seat's position to fit him and did not restore it to its original setting (which is what the dealer's service department is expected to have their employees do). Truly "small potatoes"!