QuattroRomeo

Well it looks like I got the space, not sure how but will keep practising!

Thank you- I was trying to remember who posted abut Capgemini before, from months ago. As we know, there are no improvements!

I'll keep trying! Using mostly a tablet with stored photos in gallery.

Today's daily

Club Orange bag appeared this evening along with 2 canvas bags. The nicer bathrobes are in the closet. The CO breakfast room service menu also appeared. There is an invitation to Mariners reception 3,4,5 star tomorrow at 10:30.

We had mushroom soup, which was fantastic. Also shared some crab cakes. Lots of crab in them but just okay-tasting. I had the scallops entree and really enjoyed it; the cauliflower risotto under them was really good. DH had the halibut. It was a large portion, but the texture was apparently a bit mushy. Dessert for me was key lime pie- nice and tangy. DH enjoyed his cheese plate.

We had a nice dinner in Pinnacle Grill. It was quite busy and very slow service. We weren't in a rush, but it would be annoying if you are headed somewhere.

Enjoying some music by a LIVE trio in Ocean Bar, as I write this.

Free for all!

Yes, will do!

Explorations Cafe

Can someone please tell me how to get the space in between photos!

We flew into Vancouver this morning (it's a short flight!) for our Noordam 14 day cruise to Alaska. We have been on Koningsdam twice for the 7 day Inside Passage cruise, and it seemed too short, so we're giving this one a try. If you happened to read my post yesterday, titled "Your cruise has departed", then you know we had a rocky start! Today we had a painful flight experience, with a gate change to almost the furthest one, D86 out of 95..I think we walked for longer than the flight lasted! When we finally got to the gate, we were informed that the plane was changed, and that we should try our carryons in the size rack, because the plane had very small overhead bins. Sure enough, we had to check them in. Once on the plane, they announced that the coffee machines were broken, and there were no hot beverages. What ? 🤯😲🤯😲 Luckily, I had bid the lowest amount for a seat upgrade and we got it, sitting in row 1! I jokingly asked the attendant if he had iced coffee. He said, would you like a coffee? I said yes, yes I would!...he said he had a small coffee pot up front and he would make me some, but couldn't make enough for the whole plane. He served it in a china mug. A full mug. Not the little teaser cups you usually get! Great for me- things are beginning to turn around!! Once we landed it was a breeze getting through, and we grabbed a taxi out front. It cost $38 to Canada Place. There are 3 ships in port today. The worst lineup was for the security xray machine area; more walking around and around. Got onboard about 11:40. Room was ready. Grabbed a couple of burgers from Dive-in for lunch. Then did muster, finding the closest door to the outside lifeboat station. A crew member scanned our cards and told us just to find the station outside that was ours. And that was it. I took a few photos in Canada Place with DH's phone, and will post them later. DH has a foot injury and all of the walking today has pretty much done him in. We booked the cruise last August with the extra perks HIA. Also got Club Orange, so looking forward to seeing how that goes. I scoured CC in the intervening months and found only a few reviews for Noordam, so I appreciated them. Hopefully I can add to that for anyone curious about the ship. We have sailed Noordam twice before, but a looong time ago; last time was 2011. We have several ship excursions booked this time, so will include comments on them. Canaletto, Pinnacle Grill and Morimoto are also on the list, so you know there will be food pics! If you care to "cruise" along with us and would like photos of something in particular let me know and I will try to get it. I have had a couple of coffees at Explorations already, including the daily special which is Mocha Mint. Pretty nice. The pecan brownie ( she called it vegan) wasn't that great. Pistachio biscotti was good. Tonight we go to Pinnacle Grill. A few random pics from my wanderings this aft:

Well, whether HAL thinks the ship has departed or not, we are successfully on board!

Don't worry, I wasn't mean to her! I used to manage a call center, and there are things you can do to mitigate the call volume and call duration. For example, you can record messages about system problems that play while a caller is waiting; you can give scripts to the CSRs, etc. I didn't get any coherent explanation from her, which tells me that it isn't adequately addressed by management, as we all suspect. I agree that it isn't fair to the reps to have to face the ire of customers with no support. Anyway, we are still looking forward to a great cruise!🙂

Finally got through on the phone..I didn't get much of an explanation but she reassured me for the departure date and that various things I reserved are all there. I pressed a bit to see what was going on and she simply admitted that there were lots of issues with the website, that even they get error codes they can't explain to customers, and it messes with the talk-times they are supposed to adhere to...!

No kidding! Latest iterations of the online screen included: "Please complete the online check-in to avoid departure delays" ...well of course that was done ages ago, but at least the booking showed up again. Then, we get the ubiquitous :

Haven't gotten through yet...

Yes.. so here's me checking my calendar, paperwork, everything I can think of!!