lidojohnny

Was on QM2, 6/14 to 6/21 to NY. This was our fourth time. Admittedly the

Weather was lousy all the way, and it kept people inside. However, the

Food was horrible in that hallway food court on deck seven, and the cooking

Staff acted like they were doing you a favor.There were so many people

Jammed into this viaduct, one barely could move. This staggered time to eat

Does not work. The ship seems dingy now, as compared to other crossings

In need of Maintenance. Several deck doors had broken latches and were

Rusted. The Casino, and the hall outside the pub have deep depressions

In the carpet, which felt like a hole. The dining room was not bad, but

As usual you have the no coat or tie people on formal night, and they are

Just let in. Perhaps, they have rested on their laurels a little too long,

And still are in the 30's with bellmen wearing those little hats and white

Gloves standing for inspection. Those are my comments for good or ill.

Just back from Eclipse. Suggestion. My wife took out the deep pockets

In old pair of shorts, and sewed them inside day trousers. They were

Big enough for passports, money and ship pass. Nothing was visible

And was easy to retrieve items. Works for me.

Tipping the Maitre'd !!!!!!!That's all I need to know

Amen sister: If they know my name and am booked why can't they reflect

the info right away? And they are always working on the program or bookings

or whatever:eek:! Which brings me to: If we are booked AND PAID!!!!!

we should be able to get luggage tags etc. This is the machine age is it not?

Read about Yemen this morning, and with Tunis the same, I thought about

the following, and solicit your ideas. Could this happen in Oman, UAE, perhaps

Turkey? Of course. But could I also imagine the changes in trip insurance, and new ship requirements. Could the insurance companies charge more for

travel to certain areas of the World, not alone to certain countries? Could the

ship require you to sign a separate hold harmless for getting off the ship for

any reason? What changes in security and procedures could you envision?

Certainly, these events will have profound influence on future cruisers and

therefore the lines themselves. Many pro voyagers may scoff at this problem

and travel as usual, but I think the import of these events do not bode well

For the Worlds and other extended sailings.

Well, you have a lot to think about when the World is over. We have done

two, one on Princess and the 2014 on Amsterdam. As time goes by after the

cruise, you seem to forget the ports you were at and the tours you took. What

remains is that big hole in your bank account. Needless to say, the trip

insurance becomes a big item, the older you are the more it costs. Seeing the

same people and having the same conversations almost daily becomes quite

a tedious event. Months before the cruise you are very exited with planning

and all, but after a while, some weeks out you say "What am I doing here!"

Given all that, I must say, looking at future World Cruises starts to creep

into your mind. You can't help yourself. LOL. You reach a point where everything I said previously does not matter anymore. Show me those

ports baby, no cooking, beds made,.............sign me up again.:p

We were on the 2014 World Cruise on the Amsterdam. When we were due

to get off we would have 516 days. They had the medallion awards ceremony

and we thought we would get the Gold medal for our days. "No can do"

they said. You must have 500 days at the time of the ceremony, they said.

We were not happy but that is their rule. We have always read that bonus

points could be received by purchases of $300 for each day, which applies

to the total days, we thought. Well that seems to be bogus. We were going

to book a small cruise, to finally get the medallion. Also we talked about

taking the 2016 World. We e-mailed the Mariner Society to confirm that

we were going to get the medal. We received the following: You currently

have 462 cruise and tour days and 516 total days credits including on board

spending days and suite days. Currently, you are 38 days away from receiving

the Gold Medallion":eek: What happened to the 516 days?

It seems that you need pure sea days! Anyone have this problem?

I have read that the office issuing a visa will not accept an application for

same until 90 days out from point of entry into Russia. For my purposes that

would mean starting March 6, for a June 6, 2015 entry. What experience in

time frame may some of you had going to Russia in getting your passport

returned. We would have roughly 40 days. I am asking because I have heard

the return takes some time. What time frame have you had?

Trying to do a b to b. Can anyone tell me where the Eclipse is between

May 16 and May 30th 2015? Can not find it. Tnx

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2014/07/final-voyage-of-the-costa-concordia/100779/

I have never seen these before. Thought they were interesting

I would like to see the MDR split Ala Cunard. A really decorative wall could

be placed in the ships from floor to ceiling. A nice name like the Star room,

or Placid Sea Room would be nice. This side would be utilized by people who pay a certain price and above. Here you would find people in tuxedos, who,

as they say ,are paying through the nose. Better food and service could be

theirs. On the other side we would have Grub's, or Steinys :eek:diner etc. Here we

would have people dressing in whatever or whenever. The food of course would

be a little wanting, but they do pay less, and perhaps we would find less belly

aching therein, as such, or would we? The Tuxedo crowd (of which I am one)

gets what they want and the jeans or shorts at all costs get what they want.

Or, is the grass greener? Of course this is a farce! Today, Money, Price, Wear

with all matters. Wishing things does not make it so. It seems to me that HAL

will have to do what is necessary to stay in business or ahead of the game. Many of us do not know what that is exactly. We have been two world cruises

and all the Grand Voyages. We go for the ports and the devil can take the

rest. I'm sorry for the rant, but the same old same old can be quite boring.

Too many sea days? Too many port days? Some times you get people that

ask questions and want others to make up their minds for them. We were on

the last World Cruise, and the sea days; well, some were boring some were

exhilarating. I also felt that their were too many islands and they all looked

alike. This I will consider in the future. Experience says it all. I think one has

to experience a World Cruise or Grand Voyages to give a qualified answer

as what is too many in their opinion. If a questioner has a closed mind and

is just wanting to be convinced, well, that becomes an exercise in

wasted time. On the Grand Asia we did ten days in a row Sea to Jap. When

we docked we all said boy that stretch was pretty easy, of course after it

was over. Experience a long cruise for yourself, and see what I mean.

I like the Lido ice cream as you can see! I was told on the world cruise by

the Lido manager that the ice cream was made by a major manufacturer

but of course could not name them. I know they offer Ben and Jerry in the

Pin and Canaletto. My only problem with it is that the young lady serving has

to open the freezer so often it gets soft and liquidly. The soft Carvel stuff

I do not go for! All in all I think it is a great passenger perk, especially

coconut and coffee combined.

we were on that cruise and know what you mean about the dancing and music!

We called them the Arthur Murray dancers, because they must have gone to

some dance studio, and when they came on board they had to show their stuff.

It became very comical after awhile, because when the husbands made a

misstep, their wives gave them what for! They even formed cliques, especially

in the Ocean Bar, whereby they thought other passengers showed up just to

see them. Yes, WWII was 70 years ago. It seems that HAL thinks its still going

on with the constant Big Band Jump music. You say that was the one disappointment. I understand, however we could go into losing a second day

in Cape Town by going 11k knots for three days, and the TuTu thing, but

that's another story. But I think what really is funny is that the Arthur Murray's

entered the Dancing With The Stars, and did not come even close, but they

had flair, I can give them that.

I just have to vote for the Escargot! We were on this years World and had

those garlic beauties all the time, and dipping the bread in the oil........just

Divine.

My point was the lack of two days, after spending 113 days on the Amsterdam.

Lots of luck! We just got off the World Cruise the end of April. Me and DW

were to have a total of 498 days not counting our purchases for the gold.

We asked if we could get the Gold medallion at the mariner party, for the

lack of two days. We were told very politely. No Can Do amigo. After getting

off we now have 516 days, and still no medallion. If that is their policy, well

fine. However, I have read on other threads that some people got their

medal during their cruise. Go figure. When you look at it the added perks

from Silver to Gold they are not that much, so I guess it's no big deal having it.

I think I made a mistake. I thought I was on the Holland America pages, as

I am interested in their ships. Am I in error? What is all this Crystal Symphony

information? Can someone direct me to the correct HAL threads? Is there a

problem with is cite?

I would recommend changing the hours for the various balls being held

on the ship. We will be going on the world on Jan. 4th and I suppose the

hours will not change. The early diners get shafted so to speak, because

they are forced to wait until the late diners are finished. These balls should start at 8 P.m. not at 10:30.:eek: The early diners would not have

to wait so long and the late diners would just go in when they are free.

It has been my experience that this hour precludes many of the seniors

(not me) from enjoying a good time. Additionally, I agree with the others

about interactive television. It seems funny that when some ships go

into dry dock, they change carpet or furniture. Why not upgrade their

television systems at the same time, not to mention the internet which as we all know is soooooo slow at times.