Fairgarth

In the US, everyone must be treated in an emergency by law, regardless of ability to pay. This is the case in all 50 states. Most hospitals will attempt to bill insurance before billing the patient. You will never be asked for payment up front here.

Thanks for the clarification. On re-reading my earlier post, that didn't come out quite right. Yes, I'm fully aware that Ft. Lauderdale is not in Minnesota. I was making two separate points. We have a family member who works in a Minnesota hospital so that's where I was getting my information. Thank you, Stella.

Goodness, this surely depends on where you are and where you are from. Two examples: if you show up at Emergency in the U.S. they are reqired by law to treat you and argue about it afterwards. (This doesn't mean they will keep treating you for the next six months.) Don't know if that is Federal or just Minnesota law. My dear M-in-L had a major accident in Ft. Lauderdale and got wonderful care in Broward intensive care right away. On the second day they gently raised the subject of whether she had any insurance. She did. OTOH, we had an elderly visitor from England who had to go to Emergency in Canada. This system that we are so proud of would not touch her until she produced her visa card. No, no, she said, I have insurance. Never mind that, they said, we want your visa. Having seen off Hitler, she was not about to give in to this nonsense and didn't.

Would a formal kilt count as formal wear?

"Full highland dress" would do the trick methinks. I have worn mine on other cruise lines for formal evenings but not - yet - on Cunard. That's coming up and I need to lose a couple of pounds or it won't fit. My psychiatrist friend would say that was "attention-seeking behaviour". Aye, maybe. It sure is a great conversation opener. And on one occasion I was plied all evening with single malts. That should have put me off right there. Slow learner. I noticed very recently that Cunard bans a number of items which you cannot bring on board. That includes your skean dhu. Peasants!

Walk out of the port, turn right on the main drag and keep going till you come to the bus station on your right. Can't miss it. Five minutes, give or take.

Oh boy!! There's some foul-up somewhere that is entirely not your fault. They have asked you to approve the change. What happens if you don't? Since a change of date is critical and you can't approve, surely you can get a full refund? Then start again.

Don't use Kayak. They tend to refer you to some other oddball website and - gee, how did that happen? - the fare you were looking at is no longer available. I much prefer to go straight to the airline's own website. When something does go wrong then you are their customer and they can't divert you somewhere else. Certainly use Kayak for research, or Google flights or any other website to find out what your options are.

Feasible? Certainly. Risky? Quite a bit. The are no bus schedules. Buses are minivans, owned by the driver, and he leaves when he feels like it i.e. when there's enough passengers to make it worth while. So your return trip cannot be predicted. You could take a bus one way and taxi back. Lots of taxis available there.

There's only one way - taxi. Should be about 40 minutes at most.

Lucky you! Most cruise ships dock in the middle of St.John's and in vary rare cases, anchor off English Harbour. There is no dock at English Harbour so it's a tender port. I would have said St. John's is 30 minutes away but you don't want to be there anyway. Hey - saves you the taxi fare!

 

The way Celebrity went was just no longer the way I like to spent my money on. Loud music all over the place.

We had the same problem, Germancruiser. We were on Celebrity Constellation. Four of us wanted a quiet drink in the martini bar but the music was too loud. Later, we had dinner in the speciality Italian restaurant. Again, the music was too loud and not even Italian. We complained on a comment card and then got a call from the Cruise Director to apologise for the noise. "Nothing we can do, Miami makes us do it."

Ha. It sounds much better in Scots than Latin. Oh and I should really stop relying on my memory these days - impune and lacessit in the wrong order, a real schoolboy error.

Don't know about you, my dear Sir, but my schoolboy days are long since gone. Wrong order is not considered a transgression any more. I hope.

It was many years later that I came to hear of a Latin phrase that summed up the attitude of the crew – Nemo me lacessit impune – so be warned if you feel like behaving like an idiot on board.

"Nemo me impune lacessit" is the motto of three Scottish regiments in the British army. Freely translated into Scots it comes out as "Wha daur meddle wi' me?" We have got annoyed when we see fellow passengers being rude to the staff and we have intervened with the Maitre d' on occasion. Thanks for that - in addition, we will just quietly smile to ourselves!

Tit for tat....some years ago, friends of ours were on a South America cruise which sailed into Rio. There were TV News helicopters buzzing around and they only found out later why that was. The U.S. had imposed new rules on Brazilian visitors - photos and finger prints. The Brazilians had just decided to impose the same on U.S. visitors only, much to the disgust of the those passengers. Our Canadian friends were slightly embarrassed that they were enjoying this a bit too much.

I think the disappearing beach might be typical. It comes back. I have seen Dickensen beach so narrow the water was up to the wall at Sandals. The sand gets sucked out, but not very far. It gets blown back again with the right weather.

Beachlimerz is on Ft. James beach - right beside Ft. James. It's probably the closest beach to the cruise port.

Thanks for reporting back, I need to plan a trip to London for this.

Make your trip before September. I believe the exhibition moves to the new V & A in Dundee in September. Or else - jings! - go and see it in Dundee.....

If you have an older car, it will start. New ones have so much going on, even while parked, that the battery is being run down all the time. I have seen cases where two weeks will flatten the battery.

Clamato was originally produced in New York. And I can get it at the grocery store here at home. So almost impossible is not true here in Washington state.

Another good reason to like Washington State, thank you for that. We'll enjoy on our next visit.

What is clamato????

England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 asking!

You make a bloody Mary with tomato juice. A bloody Caesar is the same thing but with clamato juice instead (i.e. tomato juice with added clam juice). Usually abbreviated to a 'Caesar'. With Tabasco and Lea & Perrins, of course. Clamato seems to be a Canadian invention, almost impossible to find outside of Canada. And you thought we were boring and dull and nice?

I currently have a couple of Air Canada flights pending in EZ Air through Princess. When are you able to make a seat selection? I haven't ever flown with them before, but they were the best price on our flight to Vancouver in April and our flight to Budapest in August.

It may depend on the fare you paid. Don't know about Air Canada but I have been on airlines where you cannot select a seat. Even at check-in. You had to go to the gate and got a seat 45 mins before departure.

Montreal to Casablanca is an A330. It has full Business Class (lie flat) plus Premium Economy and regular economy. You can check the actual seat plan on SeatGuru.

Ha! Told ya. I'm delighted. Enjoy the trip.

Antigua............. Where does Royal Princess Dock?

Cruise ships tie up right in St.John's. Check Google maps and you'll see Heritage Quay and Redcliffe Quay side by side. Satellite view shows a cruise ship in port.

That's a bit of an apples and oranges comparison. Service and amenities are often different, even within the same airline, for domestic vs. transoceanic flights. Thus, it's a little unfair to compare DL and WN domestic flights to an AC transoceanic one. ;)

Good point. I think that's true of all airlines, short haul and long haul can be very different once you're in the air.

Main attractions in town? None. Get out of town. I did the sting rays when I was on island for a couple of weeks. Entrance fee was $50. You also have to get there and it's on the opposite side of the island from the port. I really enjoyed it. You might find a taxi driver who would take you there, wait a couple of hours and bring you back. Trips to see the sting rays depart at specific times e.g. 11:00am and you should book in advance. You'll be back in two hours. Sting Ray City would be about 40 minutes from the port. The other big non-beach attraction in Antigua is Nelson's Dockyard - a UNESCO site. You can look it up. Again, a cab ride since it is on the south coast.

Is it possible & safe to walk to Fort James Beach from the pier? Thanks!

I know Antigua really well. It's possible but don't try. You'll get lost. The roads are narrow and have no sidewalks so it's not that safe. The locals are friendly, that's not the issue.