JYDCruise

The plural of anecdote (not even plural in this case, just the same one repeated ad nauseam) is not data.

Not commenting about De Laurentis specifically but being a media superstar chef definitely does not preclude someone from having "sufficient credentials". Just because "Oh! I've heard of . . .", for example Emeril "Bam!" Legasse or Gordon "F!$k" Ramsey doesn't mean they don't have very legitimate cooking chops, because they most certainly do. IMO either would have been good choices for culinary advisors regardless of their popularity. And Jacque Pepin - what problem does he have? Pepin had/has quite the culinary background before becoming a media star, really before chefs became media stars at all. Sufficient credentials, indeed.

Did someone force you to eat that pizza?? For me, luxury is the ability to eat what I feel like, not what my inner accountant claims I should. Sometimes that's bar en croute, and sometimes that's (hope you're sitting down) . . . a pizza. I know from experience that after a few nights straight of Michelin-starred dinners (to which I'm not equating the Oceania food, decent as it is), I want a break. Having the option to eat what many say is a pretty decent pizza (or burger, or butter chicken, or . . . ) when you feel like it is part of a luxury offering.

Yes. See my post above - the collar was the key to entry into the GDR.

We had completely forgotten about the GDR dress code when on the Marina a couple of weeks ago, and my son was wearing a (very nice, clean, no logo) T-shirt when we went there for dinner. The maître d' gently reminded us that my son needed a collared shirt, so he changed into a polo shirt. No problem, no muss, no fuss, though I suspect the T shirt was nicer/higher quality than the polo.

At first, I was wondering how you watched a game (SDSU - UConn) that hasn't been played yet, and then remembered last year's final. Quite a coincidence that they're matched up again!

Sigh . . . really? OK, what happened exactly is that the server wheeled up the tray with the fish and immediately* started portioning it out. I would have expected and hoped that he would have given us the opportunity to admire the effort that went into creating the puff pastry fish before cutting it apart. I would have also appreciated being served a bit of the leftover puff pastry, but I'm greedy that way. The fish was properly cooked and quite tasty regardless. *I'll concede that it was not truly "immediate" in Planck time terms.

EJ's goal in handling this should be leaving you, the customer, feeling good about the resolution. I worked briefly helping a sizable company create and roll out a loyalty program. As a new program, there were some issues but management made it clear that the customers were to be taken care of, to the point were they were more than satisfied. In your case, were I EJ, as an absolute minimum I would have offered you a 10% refund (as the cruise was shortened by 10%) and your choice of either a couple of nights hotel stay pre-cruise (if you stay with your original flights) or compensation for changing your flights. That's the make-whole part, but I'd also offer you something else, OBC or FCC, to leave you feeling "hey, this all worked out well".

We just got off of Marina, and Jacques was my favorite among the specialties. The service missed on a couple of points (no amuse? and the tableside presentation of the Bar en Croûte lasted about 1/4 second before the server started cutting into the beautiful puff pastry), but the dishes were well conceived, well executed and flavorful. Is it "authentic" French? Not really, but to me that's not a problem.

It was the butler, of course. That's why Sthrngary's coffee was late.

Off topic, but this can be a problem for me with tasting menus - even small portions add up when there are enough of them. At an absolutely marvelous kaiseki dinner in Japan, at one point I found myself thinking "I hope that there aren't any more courses".

Well, I learn something new every day. Thanks! Increasing antibiotic resistance is a massive concern, though, but I assume that's part of the calculus in their recommendation. We went to the travel medicine group of our medical provider before our very recent trip to South America, and got an encyclopedia's worth of warnings (and, eventually, Yellow Fever and Hep A vaccines) but I don't recall any discussion about pre-prescribing antibiotics.

That's the point. The poster to whom I was responding is arming him/herself with antibiotic "just in case", and apparently will self-diagnose as to whether they have a viral or bacterial infection, or something else, and then pop pills (or not). That's not a good plan, IMO, in any jurisdiction, and is part of why bacteria develop resistance so quickly to the few new antibiotics being developed.

IANAD, but am extremely surprised that a doctor would prescribe an antibiotic to be taken at the patient's discretion on a cruise. Is the plan that in event of a problem, you confirm the need for an antibiotic with the ship's medical personnel, and then have the mediation already at hand? Overuse of antibiotics is a major world health issue, and part of why antibiotics lose their effectiveness over time.

Darn! I would have really enjoyed renting a 1931 Austin 7 Swallow!