OlsSalt

I think the upcoming Noordam 7-day from Vancouver to San Diego "Pacific Coast and Vineyards" wins the prize for port changes at the last minute. Take away Monetary and Santa Barbara, and substitute San Pedro and Catalina instead. Roll call is responding with gusto, trying make a silk purse out of this sow's ear. We did learn there is a very tiny vineyard on Santa Catalina Island. Not all is lost.

RE: Drugged teens on the Sintra train - they were more spaced out and just got into our own spaces - leering in and out, and just not with it. Like they were seeing things, that were not there. Not violent, no stealing. Just uncomfortable. Don't think there was any conductor on the trains. More like unattended commuter train. And it was a weekend, so the teens were out in groups. This was several years ago, so good to do a search on Portugal's current drug policies, because I see they are starting to reform their prior more lax policies. There are pick pockets galore on and around the very quaint historic trams in Lisbon, mainly because they are primarily tourist draws. Normal precautions apply. Do look for the Portuguese egg tarts in Sintra. Yum. Very recent article about Portugal's drug policy concerns - WaPo - 2023 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/07/portugal-drugs-decriminalization-heroin-crack/

Two possible ports in Lisbon, one relatively convenient to the Sintra train station; the other way out in an industrial port. So getting off the ship may not be the real issue for your planned excursion; but where you are getting off the ship. When we did this same DIY Sintra excursion we found it troubling to deal with young people high on drugs on the train. That was a problem in Portugal a few years ago. Don't know if things are better now or not.

Marine channel protections now severely restricting ship speeds too. Current Santa Barbara Channel is discussing 8-10 knots per hour. Saving the whales takes priority over "corporate" trying to save costs. Many, many, many external factors now control the cruise industry today; not just the bean-counters in headquarters nor even passenger wishes. It is a fascinating and obviously vulnerable industry subject to whim and caprice, as much as thoughtful economic planning.

Check to see how many other ships are in port and please explain most embarkation back-ups are due to the local immigration authorities and security checking for everyone, and is not anything HAL can change who are there to only offer actual check in procedures. Start a friendly lottery - have your friends pay a dollar and pick an actual embarkation time. Who gets closest wins the pot. Or whatever you want to use to barter. Who gets closest gets a drink on the house? Wins a bouquet of flowers in their cabin? That way they recognize it can be a problem but at least they can have fun at the end and celebrate with the winner.

Can't go wrong with everyone showing up at the later time, though don't expect to eat in the MDR. How many ships are also in port with you? That can give you some idea how busy it might be. Assigned times are intended to smooth out the embarkation process for everyone. So voiding that original intent, means both you and other are impacted.

...Far away places with strange sounding names ...... How else can you see Rapa Nui, Pitcairn, Henderson Island, and Fakurava...... all in one grand sweep. And that was just the last half.

They should be able to just open the window in their Seattle office and call out for help. Someone must be on the streets of Seattle holding up a sign saying "Will program for a free cruise"

Rick Steve's video on Rome -- to help you get started: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/travel-talks/rome

Thank you for this infallible reminder of what day of the week it is. Easy to lose track when retired.

My favorite webcam keeping track of reality when visiting Rome: Trevi Fountain. Watch it change over the hours of the day, day of the week, time of the year. https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/italia/lazio/roma/fontana-di-trevi.html

Good thing you have plenty of time to sort out your time in Rome. It can overwhelm so taking it in small personally selected bites is recommended. Do you want to see ancient Rome, historic Rome, Renaissance Rome, modern Rome, religious Rome, operatic Rome, movie set Rome, WWII Rome............ Answer, all of the above is just not possible. Pick maybe 3-5 must see's and concentrate on them and be open to what also opens up along the way. It is a wonderful city and will call you back. Tread carefully at first. You do have time to sort this out. So dive in. Might want to start with Rick Steve's Mediterranean Cruise Ports travel guide - he offers good suggestions how to deal with shorter visits in some of these remarkable cities.

Why the color orange is celebrated by the Dutch? Background on Holland Orange Festivals: https://veritasvisit.nl/en/2021/06/17/orange-festival-in-holland/

Orange Party is a ice-breaker. Sharing fun with other passengers about how they are wearing their Orange.

Just checked my Navigator for a Noordam departure next week - that Canaletto menu is even older than what are now seeing from other "current" official sites. It still has cassata for dessert. And no mention of freshly made pastas. But darn it, no lamb which was such a hit just last Holiday season. We shall just go and be surprised. We have two segments to this cruise - I wonder it will change mid-cruise.

I think it is good for HAL to bring back a specialty "spill over" ship into their family. Much like having the Prinsedam in the past, who wanted a little more luxury and intimacy after they had pretty much cruised out the standard larger HAL ships, but had come to love the over feel of HAL ships. Which can be the role of a HAL In-Depth ship after doing pretty much all of the HAL longer itineraries but not ready to leave HAL. Offer a dedicated creative destination-enrichment ship to act as a spillover, for those of us who still do love HAL ships but have pretty much seen all they can offer. A specialty ship inside the HAL family can still squeeze out the last HAL sailings for some of us, and add new similarly-minded passengers as well. Or just simply provide a change once in a while from the same-old, same -old. I think HAL has more "ports" in their inventory than other similar mainstream cruise lines - pre-approval and knowledge. Certainly the far away ports they put into the In-Depth cruises were remarkable. Often very low key, like what do we do here? But ultimately offering magical insights into this vast ocean going world.

Looks like we will be in for that very fun game they used to have on HAL ships- Various staff members n the Culinary showroom as in two teams, had to make a dish from the same Mystery Box of ingredients. It got pretty wild. We will just have to "pays our money and takes our chances" on the Mystery Canaletto Special. Hope it is as much fun.

After all, the "OP" did scold you once for drifting......... on your own thread. That was a classic thread moment.

Friday Special - Chicken Curry - Cipriani style - a old standard at Harry's Bar in the Venice Cipriani Hotel. Someone tried to recreate the recipe: https://www.tinytestkitchen.com/2010/09/harrys-bar-curried-chicken/

Current HAL website today for "Dining", with the disclaimer...... this is subject to change: Specials SUNDAY Chicken Parmigiana fresh buffalo mozzarella, tomato, basil roasted potato MONDAY Osso Bucco Milanese saffron risotto TUESDAY Beef Short Rib Brasato Barolo creamy polenta, roasted turnips WEDNESDAY Veal Liver Veneziana mascarpone whipped potato THURSDAY Veal Saltimbocca Alla Romano garlic spinach FRIDAY Chicken Curry - Cipriani style rice pilaf, apple, leek SATURDAY Grilled Jumbo Shrimp jumbo shrimp, olive oil, garlic, rice pilaf

Anyone have a list of the new rotating "daily specials"? Or do they change from ship to ship, cruise to cruise.

The 4/5 star mariner perk - a single day pass to the thermal suite did result in miscommunications between the spa staff and the front desk -guest relations. Print out your list of Mariner perks and be prepared for any possible confusion, if this still exists. Spa staff claimed it was available only on port days, or only for a few hours - both not true. Guest relations confirmed it was one full day pass, with no restrictions.

The bare bones Voyages of Discovery was famous in the UK for its enrichment and exotic itinerary cruises on probably one of the oldest cruise ships still out there - the former Love Boat sister ship, the Ocean Princess rechristened the Discovery.. They contracted with BBC for their speakers, as I recall. Even though they had a lot of English history references, they were superb and offered a variety of topics but also germane to where we were traveling. Still think it will be a while before anything in CCL gets back on its feet - the "covid" shut down and subsequent huge debt incursion just to keep their inventory afloat and not earning a dime of revenues was devastating.

I noticed that "15 minute" limit on my Thermal Spa reservation for the first time too - suspect it might be a warning to not spend more than 15 minutes in a hot tub, since we witnessed and heard about other hot tub medical incidents recently. As well as a reminder one should not be a heated-lounger chair hog too, which can be very dreamy. But not for those who might be waiting to use them too - and there is really no way of knowing who might be waiting for one to open up. But my guess, is this became a corporate risk-management warning, after having so many medical incidents and medical evacuations (5 or six) on just one holiday cruise last year.

Will you need a "transit" card to avoid the embarkation lines on your return?