Heidi13

So true Lyle. There are many imitation recipes, but the traditional dish originates from Russia. Still recall the time we had a Russian fish boat at the shipyard and they invited us for a traditional multiple course lunch one day. Beef Stroganoff was included and it was as you describe.

Lots of variables, not the least of which include changes to Class & Port of Registry. Yes, changing the ship's livery (paint) and extensive paperwork is required, but most ship owners also modify the interior to suit their pax mix. An example would be the 2 Vista Class currently operated by Cunard, I expect have significantly different decors to the HAL Vistas. This is why 2nd hand tonnage is often drydocked by a new owner for modifications, as well as changing Class, PoR and implementing a new Safety Management System, etc.

This is nothing new and the reduction in rainfall has been speculated for many years. Unless the rain stops entirely, it will have no impact on cruise ships. Cruise ships and many container ships pay a substantial reservation fee for the canal transit on a specific day, with cruise ships paying an additional fee for a guaranteed daylight transit. The ships that are waiting are the majority of the cargo ships that turn up on spec, register upon arrival and anchor waiting for a transit slot. Ships turning up without a reservation have often waited up to a week or more for the transit.

Affirmative. The order books I can see and journals I read have no new HAL ships currently on order through 2027. Carnival Corp have severely curtailed their capital budget for newbuilding, as they haven't ordered a new ship since the onset of COVID. Once the 4 large vessels currently on order (Carnival, Cunard & Princess x2) enter service by 2025, they will have no new ships in 2026. With the order books becoming sparse, it will be interesting to see how new hull construction prices hold up and whether they will drop to encourage new orders.

Rumours of a ship being reassigned may originate from Cunard's new ship Queen Anne being a HAL Pinnacle Class. She has already floated out and is at the fitting out berth, so probably well past the time her interior could be converted from Cunard to HAL.

Fincantieri has a ship building for Princess & Cunard, but not aware that Carnival has any current order placed for HAL.

The spa pool on Dk 1 has stairs, others are ladders.

Below is the description of the included tour on Le Truck which sounds similar but doesn't look like it includes stopping at the beach or being able to stop and have a drink at Bloody Mary's. (Of course according to their website they are currently closed for renovations so this may be a moot issue). But in case they reopen, did any of you do this included tour and advice? Ride an Open-Air Truck Through Paradise -- Take in the crystalline turquoise waters, lovely small villages and abundant mountains, and learn about it all from your local guide. There are many photo stops along the way as we drive to the district of Faanui and scenic Faanui Bay. Here, you will see the ancient ceremonial site of the Faanui marae, Bora Bora’s biggest Polynesian temple, with a typical raised ahu altar. Continue your scenic drive and pause for a photo stop at one of the island’s famed restaurants. Here, you will have a chance to strike a pose in front of Bloody Mary’s Bar & Restaurant. A longtime island favorite of Hollywood royalty, it is the quintessential tiki bar with its thatched roof, open sides, white-sand floor, wooden slab tables and stools made of coconut stumps. The le truck tour in Bora Bora is definitely memorable, but for all the wrong reasons. It is aptly named, being about a 5-ton truck (chassis & cab) with a wooden box bolted to the chassis. Seat are very close together and solid wood. In 40-yrs of cruising, this was probably the most uncomfortable tour ever. If Viking's included is the Le Truck tour, it is a fairly standard tour in Bora Bora that circumnavigates the entire island, so normally stops at the public beach, as they have to drive past it.

Clay - In Saigon, you should consider that they have numerous commercial berths that can be 1/2 hr to 1.5 hrs from the city. The previous WC got one of the closer berths, but i have always docked further down the river, about 1.5 hrs drive. The docking location may impact the shuttle service and in many cases the berth is not known until the pilot boards.

A little more information would be helpful, specifically what area of Deck 4 are you considering. The noise and vibration can also vary depending on the ship's speed, sea state, tender operations and when manoeuvring.

Weather is always variable and unpredictable. The potential for all day fog is always possible, but in many cases fog can burn off late morning/early afternoon from heating by the sun and/or the development of land/sea breezes. Preference would be afternoon.

First thing that comes to mind is the operation of drones aboard cruise ships are banned by most, if not all cruise lines. Some cruise lines will even ban them from being brought aboard. Personally, I use 2 full-frame Canon bodies (R6 & 5DIII), with each body capable of taking photos and short film clips.

With the current contract, the following cruise lines have permits to visit Glacier Bay: - Princess - HAL - Viking - NCL - Cunard - Seabourn RCI were awarded, but did not complete the process. Princess & HAL have the greatest access.

Immediately fwd of the Purser's Office, on the Port side will be Hotel Dept offices. Based on the 360 degree views, they have 2 fire doors leading fwd from the Living Room fwd bulkhead, so I expect they have 2 fwd/aft alleyways with Officer/PO cabins, offices and lockers on both sides of each alleyway.

As others mentioned, at present we are clear, but that can change based on wind direction and any new fires. Assuming you depart Vancouver about 17:00, you will spend the evening cruising up Georgia Strait, with reasonable views on each side of the ship. If it is clear, you can expect a great sunset, which will be about 20:10 - 20:20, so you can expect to see about 1/2 of Georgia Strait before sunset. Depending on the tides at Seymour, by morning you should be clear of Johnston Strait and entering Queen Charlotte Sound, at the top end of Vancouver Island. Unfortunately by 29/8, sunrise isn't until about 06:30, but if you want to get up early, the scenery at the top end of Johnston strait is impressive. Once into Queen Charlotte Sound, you will see mountains on both sides, but not overly scenic, but I might be jaded having sailed these water hundreds of times. Once you clear Pine Island you head up Hecate Strait, when at best you may see the tops of mountains. Once you get to Dixon Entrance the route depends on the itinerary, so can't comment on what you will see. Haven't done a land tour, so again can't help, as I have only done R/T Vancouver or B2B Vancouver, both working and as a pax.

We used a little different terminology. For departure, we recorded it as being the last line let go, at which time the Nav Lights were lit, and the Ensign lowed at the stern and raised at the Gaff. Upon dropping the pilot and reaching open sea, we rang Full Away, which considered was full away on passage. On arrival, we had to provide 24 hrs notice of Stand-by Engines, which was considered arrival on passage. We couldn't make the first speed reduction until on S/B and if we went early it cost the Bridge a case of beer. Taking a round turn, noted by the Engineers also cost us a case of beer. F/A and S/B had to be at 0, 6, 12, 18 ...... mins, as we had to calculate the time on passage and average speed. The arrival time was as I noted previously 4&2 F/A. At that time, nav lights were extinguished, the Ensign lowered from the Gaff and raised at the stern. All fast was when we were finished securing lines, which would be 8 & 4 F and A. With P&O, especially the cadet training ship and the pax ships, the operation was very traditional, in certain respects very similar to navy ops.

In addition, the number of doors that are open can seriously impact the A/C. Does the port have shore power supplied to the ship, or are they using DG's for the hotel load?

That's also about all I use it for and the pier info is often not sufficiently detailed as it requires further research.

Sorry, that wouldn't have exempted her from the PVSA fine. Pier jumpers are expected to rejoin the ship at the next port. If they left belonging in the cabin and didn't return, the cruise line could asses a charge for packing everything and either disposing or shipping back to the pax. If the pax didn't rejoin the ship and disembark in another country it is still a PVSA violation.

Haven't cruised with P&O Australia since I worked for them and that was before they were Carnivalised. However, we have completed Australia cruises with Princess, which at the time had the same management group as P&O Australia. Shore-ex prices were similar to other cruise lines - expensive. I'll suggest you need to review the fine print for the definition of "same tour". Cruise line contracts often specify that vendors cannot sell similar tours to pax and when the ship is in port. The tender documents probably also have boilerplate language specifying the tour is specifically for the cruise line, so vendors cannot sell exactly the same tour. The first key difference on almost all shore-ex v's private tours is the start and finish. Most shore-ex start on the pier and end on the pier, whereas with private tours you generally meet them outside the port. A small difference, but still technically not the same tour.

I found Tom's port guides useful, but they covered a fairly limited number of ports and are now offline. Personally, I find whatsinport provides minimal information for my level of research. Other superior sources are readily available.

Hank - just noted this one, an excellent question and one I'll suggest is not a simple yes or no. I'll agree that cruise line shore-ex are expensive, but in determining whether they are overpriced, we need to consider the value added services they provide, and the needs of different pax. Some cruise pax just want to book a cruise and visit some ports without completing any pre-cruise research or risk analysis. For this type of pax, the cruise line is providing a value added service, as they have vetted each vendor, provided vendors with safety & security standards, regularly audit tours & vendors on an ongoing basis, provide tour descriptions (detail varies by cruise line), provide ship escorts on many tours, etc. As a pax, you will often receive a fairly reasonable standard of tour, generally not the best, but adequate. These pax do not invest any time with research, so are happy to pay the cruise line for these services. Many pax are often risk adverse, believing if the shore-ex is late that the ship will definitely wait for them. This is a misconception, as the Master will place operational concerns ahead of late returning tours. In cases the ship doesn't dock, or is delayed, many pax want the cruise line to take care of refunds onboard, rather than researching refund policy of private tours. Many consider the additional cost of shore-ex to be cheap insurance. In determining if shore-ex are overpriced, I also consider the supply and demand. Based on the demand for shore-ex, I'll suggest many pax do not consider them overpriced. This arrangement is mutually beneficial, as while many pax believe bar and/or casino is the # 1 revenue generator, in fact on many ships it is actually shore-ex, especially in Alaska. Personally, I research every port and conduct a risk assessment. Based on what we want to see, available private tour options and the associated risks, we determine the best option for us. If we elect a shore-ex, it was because I couldn't find an acceptable alternative, or the risks are unacceptably high. If the shore-ex price is not providing us with acceptable value, we will spend a quiet day onboard. Since shore-ex are selling well, I'll suggest they meet the needs of many pax, so do not consider them overpriced.

There is no definitive definition, as it depends on the type of ship, probably the company and whether considering an operational or pax perspective. For arrival time in the ship's logbook, for docking we used the time the ship was secured 4 & 2 fwd and aft. That means 4 headlines & 2 backsprings at fwd mooring and 4 sternlines & 2 fwdsprings at aft mooring. We still put out additional lines, but with 4 & 2 we were considered secure. When anchoring, when we were brought up to the anchor was considered the arrival time. From a pax perspective, I consider it the actual time I can proceed ashore. However, when a cruise line publishes a port ETA, I am always cognisant that the "E" stands for estimated, as a number of variables are present, many of which are outside the Master's control.

The number of drydockings is totally irrelevant to both issues experienced by the OP, as both these issues can be addressed while the ship is operational by engineers and contractors. Regardless, ships over 15 years old have to drydock twice in 5 yrs. Yes, when I first went to sea we drydocked annually, because that was the limit of the anti-fouling paint. Marine coatings technology in the 70's was nowhere close to what it is these days. Back when doing annual dryockings we couldn't let the anti-fouling fully dry, so if flooding was delayed, we manned hoses to keep the hull wetted. Yes, I've spent > 12 hrs manning a hose spraying the hull, not something you tend to forget. Going into drydock after 1-year in the 1970's, the hulls were in worse shape with marine growth, than my last command drydocking after 3-years. Although we may have drydocked annually, we didn't have much extra time than current ships docking 2 in 5, as the schedule had alternating 6-days and 9-days drydocks. By the time you add transit to/from drydock and the flooding/floating time, we didn't have more time than the current 12 - 14 day dockings. Therefore, even back in the days when we drydocked annually, we did not get any additional maintenance time for issues reported by the OP.

Happy birthday Lyle. Hoping you & Lynn have a great cruise.