Heartgrove

It is not every crewmember's fault if you had a bad experience. What about the crewmember running the evaporator producing the water for your shower? What about the crewmember that stacks the little white cloths in ther public? What about the security crewmember that keeps us safe? Some people! On our recent Tranatlantic we had probably two of the best cabin stewards we have ever had on HAL. Tipped them over and above what we normally do - and it was worth it! At the same time I was surprised with the MSC cruise that we also went on during the same trip. MSC does not promote separate tipping for crewmembers and in fact discourages it. Is their pay scale higher? We did leave extra for our butler though. Instead MSC has different tipping scales for where you are cruising. In the US, the amount is similar to HAL. But in Europe it is only 10 Euro per day for all cabin categories.

Thank you Rich, thank you Roy, thank you Debbie, thank you Cat Shepard, and thank you Dixie for your daily contribution! And thank you all for being here! Great quote that fits my representative. Stay Safe! - Jack

Probably not as the headboard and outlets are fixed.

@grapau27 Graham, I hope your surgery goes well tomorrow.

Thank you Rich, thank you Roy, thank you Debbie, thank you Cat Shepard, and thank you Dixie for your daily contribution! And thank you all for being here! We visited the port of the day, Djupivogur, last year on our circumnavigation cruise of Iceland on Viking Ocean. Djupivogur is a town and municipality located on the eastern end of Iceland. It is the site of an art work by Sigorour Guomundsson. "The Eggs of Merry Bay" are a replica of the 34 nesting birds that live in the area. It also has the Langabou which is one of the oldest commercial buildings still in existence in Iceland with the south wall dating back to 1790. For the cruise, it was a stepping off port for other paid excursions in the area. We chose to participate in the VO "Included Excursion" which was an hour or so walk around the town culminating with a recorded musical performance emanating from a boom box inside of a re-purposed oil tank. The accousitics were actually very good! Tendering to shore. The tender landing. Downtown Djupivogur. The Re-purposed Oil Tank on the outskirts of town. The OIl Tank ceiling. Merry Bay The Eggs of Merry Bay, or "Eggin i Gleovik" Closeup of one of the eggs. The South wall of "Langabuo" Tendering back. Stay Safe! - Jack

Depending on the stateroom category, you can tell which direction the bed will face by looking at the deck plan very carefully on the HAL site. By facing, I mean laying in bed facing your feet. Verandah and Vista (Pinnacle-class) staterooms with the couch on the same side as the bed will be opposite the door opening side. Signature and Neptune will be the same except the couch will now face the opposite. Hope I am clear and that this helps.

Not sure why. Maybe they embellished the story? But you have sailed a lot and I am sure that you have seen the waiters cleaning the utensils before being used. Right?

I find this hard to believe: 1. I have observed the waiters cleaning each utensil at their station before use. 2. Because you had soup meant that the waiter had to supply you with a soup spoon that they would have observed the condition of before placing it in your setting.

On our recent Transatlantic aboard the Oosterdam last month, the captain and hotel director had a "Cook Off" competition that was so popular it was simulcast to a packed Main Stage. Very entertaining!

Obviously a carryover in marketing from the S-class and R-class "Vista Suites" which are actually Verandah staterooms. We have sailed twice on Pinnacle-class ships in a "Vista Suite" because the VA vs A was only a few dollars more AND worth it to us for double Mariner points.

Thank you Rich, thank you Roy, thank you Debbie, thank you Cat Shepard, and thank you Dixie for your daily contribution! And thank you all for being here! Stay Safe! - Jack

Thank you Rich, thank you Roy, thank you Debbie, thank you Cat Shepard, and thank you Dixie for your daily contribution! And thank you all for being here! Stay Safe! - Jack

Could it actually have been a plantain? To use those with meals when ripe they should be almost black.

We definitely agree after sailing on the MSC Splendida in YC from Genoa. Comparing costs, the European cruises are less expensive plus visit the not so ho-hum touristy ports. In September we are sailing from Hamburg with DSIL aboard the MSC Preziosa and trying the Fantastica Experience as we wanted connecting staterooms.

You may have found this information already, but the "Cruise Gate Hamburg" website list Altona, Baakenhoft, and Steinwerder. Steinwerder is used the majority of the time though depending on the cruise date.

From the Barcelona Tourist website: The entire Barcelona Bus Turístic fleet is adapted for people with reduced mobility. However, as specified in the informative leaflets, they can only access the lower deck. I am not certain that the scooter could be steered with the person seated into the storage/seated position on the bus. A wheelchair is not as long as a scooter and is more maneuverable. I would count on using a car service.

For the December 11 cruise, Decks 11 and 12 show the midship Aurea Experience staterooms as "blank" with no number. That is different than already booked and unavailable. Are these blocked off for quarantine use?

We used "Barcelona Bus Turistic" during our two days last month in Barcelona. I doubt that those buses could accomodate an electric scooter. I believe a wheelchair user could ride on the lower level though.

Thank you Rich, thank you Roy, thank you Debbie, thank you Cat Shepard, and thank you Dixie for your daily contribution! And thank you all for being here! Prayers for the two firefighters's families and the rest of their fire company. My parents instilled a willingness to serve in myself and my siblings. That was why my brother and I served in the Coast Guard, and I also spent 13 years as a member of my local fire department in my younger years. My ex would always worry when I was paged for a Haz Mat call but I told her that we were very methodical when responding to those calls. It was the more frequent fire calls that were uncertain as to outcome. The un-official Coast Guard motto borrowed from the original U.S. Life-Saving Service is: "You have to go out, but you don't have to come back." Bravo Zulu! Stay Safe! - Jack

A new high-speed train service between Barcelona and Madrid is starting this month. It is by Trenitalia and is branded "Iryo." Brand new equipment that is very similar to their Frecciarossa 1000 trains in Italy. We rode the Intercontinental-service recently on their Frecciarossa 1000 train from Milan to Lyon, France (that continues to Paris) and I do recommend it.

Remember also that some cruises (numerous) have an earlier cancellation date (120 Days) than Final Payment date to cancel.

Thank you Rich, thank you Roy, thank you Debbie, thank you Cat Shepard, and thank you Dixie for your daily contribution! And thank you all for being here! Received a FB notification that five years ago today we were on the Nieuw Amsterdam on a short four night cruise to the Bahamas before going into drydock. I'm not sure if I would do that experience again. But it is always fun to be at sea! Stay Safe! - Jack

We did this cruise for 18 days in 2018 on the Eurodam and agree with @shipgeeks. It sounds even more inviting with the additional food choices, venues, etc. onboard the Koningsdam! The only downer was the required stop in Ensenada on the last evening. There was an Engineering Department talk daily which was well attended and even included prizes.

I'll wait for the official report.

Primary should be maintaining integrity of the ship.