duquephart

No cheese needs to be dyed. It's an aesthetics and consistency thing. Whether or not it makes any sense a great many people simply think it looks better. Good quality cheese can be dyed and often is. Visit Wisconsin - see for yourself.

Dyed cheddar is very common, maybe even the norm, and certainly not necessarily an indication of poor quality. A great many people think cheese should be that color and the manufacturers accommodate that view. The list of excellent Wisconsin cheddars that are colored is quite long.

Colloquialisms and slang are part of any language. Always have been - always will be. And --- if you look closely you will discover that it was someone else who wrote "Duh."

Google is, or can be, your friend: variant spelling of no (exclamation), representing a dialect or nonstandard pronunciation. "“Want some toast?” “Naw.”"

Naw ----- just know how to use the language correctly. A dying art.

Like I said.

If it is true that there are drinks you will have to pay for (above a given threshold in price) then it is not true that "you do not pay for any drinks, anytime on the ship" - as I said. I think think correct information is preferable to the other kind.

Only replaced - not added to.

"you do not pay for any drinks, anytime on the ship" Not true.

Anyone who has ever eaten in a classic Italian restaurant knows that what Viking calls "Bistecca Fiorentina" is a farce.

In my experience only one whiskey (scotch) and then rum. Never seen bourbon in a Viking mini-bar. And a "few" beers = two.

Prepaid gratuities do not appear on your final account since you have already, well, paid them.

It's not prepaid if you're already on the cruise.

Consider the Pulpit Rock cruise out of Stavanger. Book with Rodne.

Are you on Homelands?

Strongly advise looking in to local tour operators. There are quite a few and easy to research and (I assume) all very well versed. You will have no problem beating Viking's mark-up.

Either way you must choose to pay for it.

Watch out for bogus cocktails - see "Mai Tai."

It's like the bad old days at the car dealership before the Monroney label. You would agree on a price and then the dealer would lean back in his chair and say: Good! It's a deal! Now, would you like a steering wheel with that?"

Indeed! Some would even call it fraud.

One of the isues with "tips" Is: At what point in the booking process does the new customer learn that they will incur a charge for "gratuities"? Is this extra charge made known upfront or sprung on the customer later on? If you pay an agreed upon fare and then find out at some point later on that you are expected to pay a fee in addition to that agreed upon - what do you call that?

In Bergen it is either raining, just stopped raining, or about to start raining.

Nordstrom would take back stuff they didn't even sell. My wife worked for the Dayton Hudson Corp. and has lots of stories. One involved a woman who routinely got several new pairs of shoes a year. She would return once a year with what she got last year and state that they were not fitting the bill or some other lame excuse and get all new. It got to the point where they would just tell her go pick out how ever many new pairs and call it a day.

Unless you drink at least a cocktail or two apiece the SSP is probably overkill. Without the package, however, they may well just pour whatever they have - assuming that's what you want. If you wish to see a list to choose from make that known up front.

I got a 1L bottle of Gordon's aboard Jupiter in a jr. "suite" - which isn't really a suite. Steward said they had run out of little bottles.