Hlitner

You can order any drink, at any bar, as long as the bar tenders have the necessary product. Although we have seldom seen a problem with typical cocktails, there can be outages (at various bars) of certain brands of spirits (especially the premium items. Also keep in mind that if you order something that costs more than what might be allowed on a particular beverage package, you should only be charged the difference between your beverage package allowance the cost of the specific drink That being said, on our recent 42 day cruise we were overcharged 11 times (some of these overcharges were in excess of $10). On HAL we think it is wise to check your onboard account on a daily basis as their system does seem to have problems. In about 600 days of HAL cruising, we have never been undercharged for anything. Overcharges have been an ongoing issue which seems to happen with beverage packages and alternative restaurant charges. Hank

I guess you and I can agree to disagree on this little topic. Having spent months in Provence (with rentals in both Avignon and St Remy) we have grown quite fond of this part of France. No question that staying in a port (for cruisers) is generally the easiest and least costly option. One could go to Civitavecchia and simply stay there (why go to Rome) or go to Livorno and stay there (why go to Florence) or go to Marseille and stay in Marseille. We will stick to our opinion that there are many more charming places, in Provence, than Marseille. Hank

I do not want to rain on anyone's parade so gave some thought to posting a comment about Chateau d'If. Having been to the port many times, there was one day when we decided to stay in Marseille (we usually head north into Provence) and have a local day. We grabbed a local bus and explored some of the better suburbs. We also took the ferry boat over to Chateau d"if to explore and were not impressed. Yes, you can walk through parts of the Chateau (more like a castle) and we actually had fun. But we have long through that the only "best thing" about Marseille is Bouillabaisse and nothing has ever changed that opinion. I will also add that even the French do not seem to very fond of Marseille which is considered the most dangers, crime ridden cities, in all of France. We had no problem with crime, but remain unimpressed with Marseille...especially when considered to so many fantastic places that are throughout Provence. Hank

Our issue is less about the fee but more about what you get for that fee.

We really like the Yacht Club and think it’s one of the best values in the cruise world

WOW , So many differences, not just among the lines and ships but also between the cabin categories. And much would depend on your own likes/dislikes. For example, on those Celebrity ships you have the so-called "Retreat suites" which come with an array of ship within a ship benefits. Personally, we have zero interest in the Celebrity "infinity balcony cabins" which I like to call French Balconies or faux balconies. As to NCL, we consider this a budget line unless you are willing to book one of the Haven Suites, in which case it becomes a completely different kind of higher end product. As to the Blight of the Seas...oops meant Icon of the Seas, if you think big is better than that might be for you. I like to point out to folks that none of the true luxury lines have huge ships. There is a reason that the best luxury ships tend to carry fewer than 1000 passengers. Hank

Renting a car, to go to Giverny (and other places) is a good option if you are comfortable driving. We have rented cars in Le Havre, a few times, to explore various parts of Normandy. The biggest hassle can be getting from the port to a rental car agency (it can be a long walk or the problem of finding a taxi for the relatively short local fare). There is one rental car agency at the port (at least they used to be at the port) which is rentacar.fr. In the past, we have generally not used this agency because we had some issues with their pricing and insurance options. Hank

Perhaps the new topic to be avoided is Taylor Swift :).

Tough call because of that early departure. I assume you must be back onboard by 2:30 and you need to leave some cushion. I will make the assumption that your TBL guide will take you to Osaka Castle (a must see). Personally, I would not want to miss Nara, but with that short day you might be wise to do it with a cruise line excursion (if offered). I say this even though DW and I truly dislike overcrowded overpriced cruise line excursions. Going to Nara, on your own, would take some planning, an early start, and would leave you no margin for error. Last year, when DW and I were in Kyoto (6 nights) we did spend much of one day in Nara (we had a JR Rail Pass so went on our own) and enjoyed the sites. A "must see" would depend on your own wants, but we would count it as very desirable place to visit. Hank

LOL, that is because Canadians just love taxes :). That being said, we enjoy visiting BC. In fact, we are planning a driving trip from Vancouver to Calgary for next year. That gives me enough time to save my pennies (we still have them in the USA) to pay for gas :). Hank

It apparently depends on one's particular home country/culture, For example, most Americans are used to handling questions about work, but we have found that many Europeans are uncomfortable discussing that topic with strangers. After 50+ years of extensive travel we have learned not to bring-up work-related questions until we get to know the person. When we started cruising on the small ship luxury lines (where most passengers obviously have some money/success) we often found that we spent many hours chatting with others before anyone brought up work. On Princess we once made friends with another couple and hung out with them for several evenings before we ever talked about work. It turned out that our new friend was a retired Police Officer who told us he had learned to not talk about it since it made some folks uncomfortable. On another cruise we met an active FBI Special Agent who told us that many folks were scared-off when they found out his profession :). By the way, I once had some fun on Seabourn when another asked what kind of work I did and I responded, "garbage man." He turned out to be a Hollywood Producer and we became quite friendly on the long cruise. On one cruise, shortly after we retired, an obviously intoxicated passenger asked DW what "she did." Without missing a beat she responded "I play." That answer got a lot of laughs from others :). Hank

Many of those ports primarily have a single docking area (such as Le Havre and Bilbao). You can get lots of information right here on CC by simply asking about various ports. For example, in Le Havre you could rent a car and drive yourself to the various D-Day beaches, take a taxi or local bus over to Honfleur, head over to the train station (about 1 1/2 miles from the port) and take a train to Rouen or even Paris. For those of us who have spent many years as Do It Yourself (DIY) travelers, these ports are not difficult as much as some might be seen as a "challenge." Some ports have multiple docking locations (such as Lisbon) but one simply adjusts to the exact location. Other ports such as Bordeaux are problematic when the cruise line does not specify where the ship will actually dock. Some ships will actually go all the way up the river and dock in downtown Bordeaux while others might be docked in Le Verndon which is actually not even close to the city of Bordeaux. And yet some cruise lines will mislead passengers by calling Le Verndon- Bordeaux, or Civitavecchia - Rome, or perhaps Livorno will be called Florence. For those that take cruise line excursions the locations may not be important, but for folks who prefer DIY it can be a shocker if folks do not do their pre-cruise homework. By the way, we have found Hamburg to be a relatively easy port for a DIYer. One can access public transportation from the port. It is the same in many ports around Europe and Asia although there might be a long walk from ship to the bus stop or metro stop. Hank

DW and I truly adored the old Marco Polo (especially when she was with Orient Lines). One of our best cruises, ever, was on that ship when she did a fantastic Asian itinerary to Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysa and some other countries. A large majority of the passengers were Brits and we made some wonderful friends (who later visited us in the US).

Funny that you mention Fred O. About 2 hours ago, while I was out on my morning walk here in Puerto Vallarta, I watched Fred O's Borealis dock for a visit. Ironically that ship used to be HAL's Rotterdam. Hank

We are used to many museums that are free :). 30 Euros (for a couple) is real money for this guy :). If we were impressed with the art, it would be worth the money. DWs reaction to their permanent display was the spent most of their money on the building (which is impressive) and had little left to purchase real art. My favorite "work of art" is a video (constantly playing on a loop) of a man's naked behind blowing out all kinds of farts. And that was one of the better works :). Hank

We are talking about a HAL cruise. On that line, most are in bed before 10 :). Hank

The best way is to simply ask your cruise line (they may or may not give you the info). Another method is to look online for the web site of the port (the official site if it exists) where the Port may publish their port schedule including docking locations (if known). Another method, which is not always reliable, is to look us the port schedule on a 3rd party site such as Cruisemapper.com Even if you try all available methods, you still might not know until the day before (or sometimes the actual day) you arrive at a port. There are lots of factors which can impact docking locations and the port authorities do have the ability to make last minute changes. Hank Hank

When we booked the Westerdam (for last year) in Japan, I could not imagine just spending 1 day in Osaka and Kyoto! Having lived in Japan as a young man (in our military) I understood that flying all the way to Japan for just a single day in Kyoto and/or Tokyo made little sense. So we flew into Haneda, spent 4 days in Tokyo, took the bullet train to Kyoto, spent 6 nights in that city, and than took the train up to Yokohama to join our cruise. We could have done Kyoto in 3-4 full days, but did enjoy the extra time (took the train down to Hiroshima on one of those days). While I understand that most folks have time constraints, the cost of getting to/from Japan is considerable. Somehow finding the time and money for extra pre/post cruise days is simply taking advantage of the opportunity. To be honest, if asked to help somebody plan a single port day in Kyoto..we would be at a complete loss. It is simply not enough time for what this part of Japan has to offer. We are now working with some friends who will be going to Japan (next year) for their first visit. They do have the time and means, but at this point are thinking of just a few weeks on a high-end luxury cruise ship. My task is to convince them to fly over at least 1-2 weeks pre-cruise and enjoy some of what makes Japan such a fascinating country. After our 2 weeks in Japan and another month cruising around the islands, I was delighted when DW asked me (last week) to book another triip/cruise to Japan for next year. I cannot wait to return as Japan has long held some kind of spell on me since living there 2 years in the late 60s. Hank

We did not say it and have not cruised on RCI for nearly 20 years (at one time it was our favorite cruise line). We do agree that the MSC YC is a good value for high quality short Caribbean cruises. Love the Med and still think it is one of the best places in the world for shorter (less than 14 day) cruises. Hank

Funny thing is we really do like the smaller YC venue on the Divina. It is a bit of a pain since the YC dining room is all the way aft, but we still enjoyed our two cruises on the Divina. We it agree that the MSC Caribbean itineraries are near awful, but having cruised on those waters for 50 years (and also spent time on the islands) the itinerary is not a deal breaker. But with SS not only offering a better itinerary (with islands like Guadeloupe and Martinique) but having a true 14 day cruise (with no wasted turn-around day at Miami) it was a done deal once I spotted the cruise. The thing about MSC is that they have done little to improve their Caribbean offerings since they first started cruising in those waters. The only attraction for us is Ocean Cay, since DW and I are happy to have a simple beach day. Hank

At one time dog was also popular in Korean cuisine. Popularity does not necessarily make good cuisine. Hank

I cannot answer your question since our upcoming SS cruise will be our first with that line. But, we are regular Seabourn cruisers and are very comfortable with the smaller luxury line vessels. For many years we had booked 14-21 days in MSC Yacht Club between our Thanksgiving and Christmas. These are all MSC 7 day cruises (back to backs or back to back to backs) to the usual Caribbean ports...most of which we do not even bother to get off the ship. But this year when we looked at the pricing of MSCs 14 day cruise (to the same old places where we have little interest) we noticed that the Silver Shadow had a true 14 day cruise (not a back to back) for less money. That is a no-brainer. What don't we embrace in MSC's Yacht Club is the cuisine...which we find good but nothing special. That being said, we still like the YC and will likely be back sometime in the future. Meanwhile we look forward to being on a SS ship with fewer than 400 passengers as opposed to 4000+ on MSC. Hank

We think the entire duel piano thing (on HAL) was completely flawed. Nothing new about the format as those of us who used to enjoy Pat O'Brians (back in the 70s) would line up to get into the huge bar to see the duel piano players/singers. But those folks were the cream of the crop, the crowd was lively as they downed their "Hurricanes" and the atmosphere was electric. None of this fits HAL. Then we have the later dueling piano formats (lots of fun) which apparently was rejected by HAL. HAL's two piano player formats never made sense to me. Actually, they could have simply used both players to provide non-stop entertainment from 7-12 which would have made more sense. And by the way, those of use who really like Barry from Boston can tell stories how Barry Rocklin would play for 3 hours, without a break, simply because he was having fun with the audience. Over the years HAL had found several excellent piano bar entertainers, and than for reasons that defy normal thinking, ditched the format! As to HAL's duel piano venue being full, it was likely because there was not another acceptable option. The BB King (or Rolling Stone Group) was often too loud for the sensitive ears of many HAL cruisers who consider Glenn Miller to be representative of contemporary music. Yes, I do undersand that some fellow HAL cruisers want to dance the Foxtrot, but most folks these days probably consider that a fast moving wild fox! I am old and I fit right into the age group that one finds on longer HAL cruises. But I also like to stay awake after 10pm, and have a few options for live music including classical (Lincoln Center Stage), rock, and perhaps a jazz trip/quartet. I also expect that to be an option until after 11pm. This does exist on many cruise lines....but not HAL. I get that not all folks have the same taste in music. The answer is to give them options! Hank

Just love Ben and Jerrys flavors. That being said, we have never seen that on any cruise line. Hank

The last time we flew to Singapore, we used a cruise line deal (a CCL company) with China Airlines (Business Class) from JFK to Taipai and later on to Singapore. The flight was excellent and our Business Class deal was very reasonable. We are also fans of Turkish Air, which has excellent Business Class and also allows a multi-day stopover in Istanbul with the airline providing free hotel vouchers (I think its 2 nights for Business Class) in a 5* Hotel. It is a good deal since Istanbul is a terrific city...especially when you pay no extra for air or a hotel :). I am not sure, but I think the free hotel deal is only on flights booked through Turkish Air. They may not honor that deal with a cruise/air booking. While we do really like Singapore Air, that airline usually comes at a premium vs some other options. Hank