rkacruiser

The lack of those things are a negative for the Royal Class ships of Princess.

I like a variety of juices for breakfast. I really like Florida's Natural OJ with the most pulp, but, switching to V-8 and to Cranberry Juice is a welcome change on some mornings. Would also drink Grapefruit Juice, if one of my medicines would allow that.

Reading this is another indictment of the entertainment department's leadership and decisions that have been made, now for more than a decade, that have resulted in substandard entertainment that many expect. Excellent entertainment has been provided for a venue. Only to be substituted with either no entertainment for a venue or disappointment after disappointment.

Regret to learning this. I hope you will quickly recover. There was only one HAL cruise that I left disappointed and I posted about that on CC and let Seattle know what I thought. Your photos and commentary prove your statement and I appreciate very much your efforts to do so. The menus so often sound inviting. The presentation and appearance of the food served is very good. Thanks for your efforts. Your complimentary comments about this tour supports the recommendations that I have made since I experienced it. Miss this? One has missed something that is very important to Alaska in the 21st Century.

Why would one drink a bottled Heineken when one could drink a draft Heineken? Particularly, at the same price?

Thank you. I am aware of this and was aware of it when I visited Labrador. Please forgive my inaccuracy in my posting. I have visited both and enjoyed both and appreciated where I was.

Maybe it's time to sell and begin the initiation of my strategy. Thanks for posting this. I was aware of the after hours drop, but, not aware of the reason.

And, why is this? The way our country has handled this disease has been inept from the start. Its ineptness, along with a severe dismissal of what science has taught has (i.e. have a swig of Lysol; that's the remedy), has led us to these questions and uncertainty as to whom to believe, what to believe. No, it's not hard to make sense of this. We, the People, are through with the restrictions that were rightfully imposed when the pandemic started. But, when the vaccines arrived on the scene and could have been mandated to have been accepted just as vaccines have been for decades, our political Statesmen/women blinked in the face of opposition to require vaccinations. (I was not aware that invertebrates met the qualifications to be elected to office. I keep learning.) So, we the seeds sowed have now produced the situation we are in: our New Covid Normal. Is there any other choice than to live with this virus, accept it will keep changing, just as the flu yearly changes, and continue to live that, personally, wants to live? Choose to wear a mask for the rest of your life when you encounter others? Please do. Choose to not allow a grandchild to hug you for fear that the child may pass a variant on to you? Please do. Those are not my choices.

Other than the 4x4 driver (whom I was sitting next to), no one else said a peep. I got out of the mini-bus back to Port Stanley, headed for the tender dock and tendered back to the ship without the few guests around me on the tender or the crew as I boarded the ship saying anything. This experience was probably the most embarrassing thing that I have experienced during a cruise.

For me, the best deal that I can find for them is when the grocery has a "buy one, get one free". That's becoming increasingly rare, however, recently. I have wondered about freezing them. Do you put them in another package or just their original packaging? When you are ready to use a package, do you thaw in your refrigerator the package or just the muffins you are going to use? I like their seasonal flavors like Cranberry as a change from the "regulars". Their Cinnamon Raisin is good, but Thomas' Cinnamon Raisin Bread is even better, I think.

When I sailed from Miami, no reservations were needed or even available. There will be plenty of parking places. If one is concerned about that, arriving in the 10:45-11:45 time frame will allow time for the previous week's cruisers to have departed and will allow for lots of choices as to where in the garage to park. (I recommend a spot as close to an elevator as possible.)

When your ship is in the Lower Bay (beyond the Bridge), you may be able to see Coney Island. The ship will gain speed and proceed on out to sea, further away from land. Won't be much to see at that point.

Thank you. Wikipedia knows it all!

Didn't Carnival once tried to do something like this? I recall a Carnival Airlines whose flights might have been charter flights to their cruises.

Thanks for posting this. This may be a change since the last time I sailed on Princess which was the Summer of 2019. I don''t recall reading anything like that last paragraph. I don't care for what it says. Particularly if the crew member receiving an extra gratuity is required to put it into the pool. I'd like to say you are correct, but, the "policy" does not read that way. What would be the goal of Princess in establishing such a policy as it seems to be written in that last paragraph? To end any additional gratuities to the staff? And, if so, why?

Seward would be my preference as well. But, sailing out of Whittier was something different for me and I did like it. I have wondered, too, why Hubbard does not appear on either Princess' or HAL's Northbound itineraries.

I have shared a breakfast table with many cruisers and have had interesting breakfast conversations. During an Alaskan cruise on the Western, I had a table for two and was close to finishing my breakfast. A lady was seated at a table for two near mine and, for some reason after she had ordered, she asked me if she could join me. Even though I was near ready to leave, I agreed. We enjoyed a pleasant conversation throughout her breakfast and my coffee refills. (Her Steward was a different person than mine and that did provide some "blips" until the Stewards could work it out.) Breakfast at home: my Butler/Chef is ME. It's pleasant to be seated in the MDR and be served with a Breakfast that is superior to whatever Chef RKA could prepare.

My Thomas English Muffins texture and taste seems to differ from what store I buy them. Different bakeries of the Company produce a slightly different product and supply different grocers? That's the only thing that I can think to explain the difference. Or, it's another "supply chain issue of some type"? 🙂

Want to try an angry sea? Try a crossing of the North Pacific in late September in the lee of a typhoon. Waves going over the top of the Crow's Nest when I was in the Volendam's Crow's Nest.

The return of some of these items to the once always offered fare on HAL like Bitterballen would be most welcome to the realization that "what was old is now new" and can be enjoyed by a new generation of cruisers.

I am disappointed in your response. The discussion has not been informative for you and others? As can I.

I am disappointed in your response. The discussion has not been informative for you and others? As can I.

The best place to see Penguins is from the deck of a HAL ship as it sails by Antarctica. Good binoculars help. But, even, without, your can see them. One even came out to greet the Zaandam as she sailed by. One bird was swimming by the ship as we were sailing. Thank goodness, I was at the right spot and and time to witness it. I booked an excursion in the Falklands to see some colonies. Don't remember where. But, it took a 4x4 to get there and was worth the experience. Be aware when you walk around the colony that the ground is very--very--soft. I was not careful enough and fell into the muck. After the staff retrieved me and I returned Port Stanley, the 4x4 driver told me: "You smell." When I got back aboard the Zaandam, everything I was wearing went to the laundry and I went into the shower. All turned out well. It was another memorable travel experience.

I appreciate seeing your photos and reading about your experiences. This surprises me because of my experience on the Nieuw Statendam when I sailed her in the Caribbean soon after she started sailing. As to the over-hyped World Stage, I hope the person who devised that has found employment in his/her McDonald's. Your photos of Flam and the train trip returned good memories. It's a great tour regardless of other issues that sometimes occur.

The walk was not a long one (as one other poster asked) as I recall and it is a walk that I would like to do again. On my tour, we had to battle wind with horizontal rain as we made that walk. I needed windshield wipers on my glasses with one hand on my hat throughout the walk. But, it was worth the experience when one realized "where I am and what I was seeing". I remember that plant. Most impressive and, one more site on such a tour, where I wished I could have spent more time to read the displays and absorb what I was seeing/learning.