Tin can

3 hours ago, Tatka said:

 

 Somehow I suspect issue was not with a pin, but with " the tightest trunks I have ever seen anyone wear".

 

  Am I correct?

 
A bit of both, why would you pin the badge right at the front in the ‘business’ area. Hey if your pinnacle you’ve earned it I guess so do as you want I just found it a bit unusual.

On 5/1/2024 at 9:46 PM, martincath said:

Then I'll keep it simple with mostly some bar/pub reccos - best patio for views of the North Shore mountains on a sunny day is at Tap & Barrel's convention centre branch; the whole T&B chain offers better-than-it-has-to-be-at-the-price pub grub, a wide range of local beers and wines (including several custom made for them, cannot get anywhere else).

 

Thanks for the tips in this post. Could I ask please what are the rules in Canada regarding children in bars. We have been to the States many times and they are very strict about this which is fine.... when in Rome and all that.

Here in the UK this is all very relaxed so I was just wondering what to expect when we stay in Vancouver pre cruise. 

3 hours ago, BND said:

We're 33 points from Pinnacle and will only wear those when attending an event.  We've always joked that some wear them on their pjs and swimsuits.  

Its no joke, I have had the misfortune to catch a glimpse of the bright gold pinnacle badge right on the front of the tightest trunks I have ever seen anyone wear.

It was on the tiered suite sun deck of Adventure out of Cape Liberty. Still haunts me….

Blacklane are an intermediary booking service connecting customers with drivers.

I have had them provided for me on business trips but personally I would rather be dealing directly with the driver or a company directly.

What we did was a taxi from the cruise port to Kowloon Station where there was a left luggage facility and spent the day exploring Hong Kong on our own which is very easy on the metro. Then back to Kowloon for the express train direct to the airport.

English is obviously widely spoken and it was perfectly safe walking about, if you haven't been before HK is great.

13 hours ago, willing292 said:

Beware of the many pickpockets!  Leave your good jewellery at home.  Do not put nothing in your back pockets.  

Excellent point, Barcelona and Rome especially.

I wouldn't be so concerned about wearing jewellery as any risk will be from opportunist pickpockets. We have been to both many times with no issues and with very simple precautions you will be fine.  

I applaud anyone who travels to a cruise with no checked luggage, three of us flying to New York from the UK this summer for 9 nights on Liberty and three checked bags. 

Thank you all for your comments, you pretty much confirmed what I have learnt elsewhere that it can be a bit of a lottery.

Plenty to think about I think as the cruise we are looking at only stops at the one Japanese port so the thought of being stuck on the ship for hours doesn't really appeal 😐

I think you will find that your fellow passengers on a European cruise will be a really varied mix of nationalities which can be great fun. I would expect it to be a bit more formal dress wise, and as others have mentioned, as it will be port intensive the vibe around the ship will be different to the Caribbean. Not better or worse just different.

Depending on when you are going the Euro 2024 football tournament is being held in Germany, if your dates coincide expect any bar with a television to be packed and if it interests you at all the mix of Europeans on board will create a fantastic atmosphere.

Hi all

We are looking at a cruise from Shanghai which has one stop in Japan. I've done a bit of research and it seems that Japanese customs are sometime ill prepared for the number of passengers getting off a cruise ship and some people have reported waiting hours to be called to be cleared.

I was looking for some opinions on this please if anyone has any experience with this.

Thanks

7 hours ago, djvcr said:

Not the answer you want but this is partly why all the machines have verbiage like "malfunctions voids all plays and pays"

 

 

Even playing online you are signing up to this very loose t & c. The house will nearly always win.....

The only stress for us with RoyalUp is despite a number of minimum, average and a fair few maximum bids we have not had a sniff of anything 😐

1 hour ago, BND said:

It's improved a lot since restart when supply issues were a major problem.  We just got off Vision and while, it has changed over the years, it's better than even 6 months ago.

Yes, have to agree it is much improved since restart.

I actually like it, I’m on a cruise and on holiday so I don’t necessarily want dinner to be like an experience I would have at a restaurant at home.

4 hours ago, vwlmember said:

I just booked an 8-night on the Spectrum in April '26 out of Shanghai. Price was very reasonable for an aft verandah.  

Yes the same reason we are looking into Spectrum from Shanghai, the prices are very reasonable.

3 hours ago, mattR said:

But what is the daily cost to buy it on the ship itself? 

You won't know this until onboard, the price will be dynamic based on online sales already made.

Your son may get lucky buying on day 3 and save some money but I have never seen on board package prices anywhere near some of the online sale prices.

6 hours ago, DbPA said:

Why are the cruises to Japan only 4 or 5 days RT to Shanghai?  Rather than longer cruises. 

There are a few 8 nights dotted around the schedule and a good looking 7 night which goes to Yokohama (Tokyo), Kyoto and Osaka which we are looking at.

I wasn’t keen on the manufactured port area. After a lot of persuading of the security guards I took a walk into Falmouth. Right outside the gate was chaos and whilst there isn’t much in Falmouth itself, it was interesting enough for an hour.

I got the impression that unless on a tour not many people go for a wander in Falmouth.

We have always had priority boarding with a JS.

We are though looking at a cruise out of Vancouver as you are taking and my general impression is that boarding is very chaotic and no one seems to get priority…. only 2-3 hour waits in various queues.

7 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

That, and they might make it revenue-based like the airlines.

 

Right now a point is a point whether you spend under $100 a night on an inside or over $300 on a prime balcony. And two points are two points whether you book the cheapest JS or the most expensive suite. So some earn elite status for far less than others. 
 

I could see them changing to, say, one point per $200 spent. And extend it to include cruise planner & on-board spend.

 

 

 

Yes I agree, I can see big changes coming along those lines and a revenue based system. I may be way off the mark with this but I can also foresee a combined single RCI Group loyalty scheme with the ability to earn points across RCI, Celebrity, Silversea and whatever that Tui/Hapag German line is.

51 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

I’ve never understood why there’s no requirement to sail at once a year (or two or even three) to keep your status. 
 

I'd be amazed if this doesn't happen at some point in the near future.

On 4/5/2024 at 12:34 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

If you miss the final payment date your booking is automatically cancelled, you would lose your deposit as you are now in the penalty phase.

 

Reminder notifications are hit or miss but at the end of the day it is your responsibility to make sure you keep track of the date.

Our only experience when we didn't make final payment and let a booking expire (UK cruisers so you can't transfer) resulted in a call from Miami HQ.

We are just D+ so nothing special and he couldn't have been more helpful asking if we had forgotten to pay and was there anything he could do to assist. This was over two weeks past payment date

All very strange, perhaps they got us mixed up with a high rolling Pinnacle 😀

On 4/4/2024 at 3:05 AM, Mary Louise said:

Hi, 

I noticed in one of your previous post you had cabin 6664. Do you have any pictures of the room? Can you please tell me the good, bad and ugly of the room?  Thank you 

Yes we were in 6664, the room was great. The best part about deck 6 is that it is so convenient to get to the room from the Esplenade and it was a short walk down the corridor to a door that go you into the upstairs of 270.

We had no issue with the obstructed view, stood up you could see the sea below, sat down you could look out at a distance. We heard no noise from the promenade deck below.

We have stayed again on deck 6 (can’t recall the number for that one) as the saving in cost and convenience for deck 5 is a winner for us.

We are cruising from Vancouver in 2025 and I'm just starting to look into things. From what I have read there are two sets of customs to clear and it can be extremely busy so if you have got 10am, which I would imagine is the first time slot, you have done well.

The Pan Pacific hotel you mention looks great, that's the hotel we are planning on staying at.

I don't know how good or bad Blacklane are but they are just a booking website connecting  customers with independent drivers.

Personally I would be looking into booking with a company directly.