MamaFej

@Miaminice, how do you feel about your experience with Ann Tours? We will have nearly 3 months in Asia starting next month, and still have several places for which we need to plan. I see that Ann Tours is in many of the countries we will visit. I was also found reading about Ann and her family's history fascinating. Wow! Many thanks, and I hope you fully enjoy your sea day.

It may be a poor substitute, but I'll happily wave in the direction of oncoming passengers as I disembark the Journey on 22 December, 2024. 👋

On another line, we met a couple on Evening Chic night who looked like they'd just stepped out of the late 1940's. Fabulous hair, makeup, and clothes. We were a bit surprised to see them similarly attired on other nights, then back up to top notch on the next Evening Chic night. They were definitely well above the minumum every night, and having a lovely time. They seemed more than happy to enjoy conversation with folks like us, complying with the stated dress code, but certainly not attired as nicely as they were.

This is a fantastic attitude. Do your thing. Enjoy doing your thing, and be just fine with others. There is no maximum, only minimums. If you want to dress like Grant and Kerr, by all means, go for it. If I happen to see you dressed that way, I'll very likely smile.

We tried the Conundrum for the first time on the Summit in October. We enjoyed it, and it is one of the reasons we upgraded to PBP during the Black Friday sale for our upcoming cruises. Disappointing.

I'm wondering if this happened, in part, because their suite included specialty dining. I'm not saying it's right, only possible. It seems that it would have been polite for them to let the Luminae manager know when they would not be using the table, so that others could. Maybe "polite" was not a concern for them. I'm guessing that insisting on the same table each night, when it is not part of the deal paid for could be indicative of folks who don't spend much time concerning themselves with what is polite. I could definitely be wrong.

I do not claim to know for sure, but my gut feeling is that this is the goal. Suck up the concerns/complaints by past cruisers about no longer getting what they paid for, and gradually replace them with new customers who don't know the difference. Of course, in future years, those new folks will be complaining that they no longer get _______, and they will be replaced as well. I am not in any way saying this is okay, it's just what I perceive.

Unless your behavior is affecting others (like loudly streaming or video calling) it's no one else's business how much or how little time you spend online.

We were on the Eclipse for 5 cruises earlier this year. Samantha was in Blu. She is an absolute delight! Two of those cruises were in suites, and our waiter was Nitin, who was also wonderful. Our sommelier there was Bonny, who also says, "Oo la la!"

Hence the need for all the trees and plants to clean the air. 😉

We have been quite impressed with the Starlink Internet. We tend to use it to plan and book future travel on sea days. The new muster procedure is quick and easy, though I do wish they would program the bar registers not to allow drinks to be ordered until people have checked into their muster stations. That would prevent the every 45 minute announcements that get increasingly stern that people need to check in befoe we can sail. The check-in process is also smoother and more efficient in our experience (9 X cruises since the re-start, and several other cruises on other lines).

"The Boss title got downgraded, so I'm going to downgrade almost everyone's onboard experience! Muahahahaha!" -LHB, probably

Background checks are effective after someone has been caught. Before that: not so much.

Great minds think alike, and so do ours.

"I'd like a rum and Coke, hold the rum, please." 🙄 Is this a further example of X going out of its way to alienate customers, or is it a further example of incompetence? I'm hoping it's the latter. The awesome staff onboard will be the ones taking any heat generated. That's not directed at Cruisestitch, who will undoubtedly be polite and kind.