DCThunder

One difference is that the HAL cruise on Oosterdam goes through the Canal and ends in FLL while the Sapphire goes to LA. I had booked the Princess cruise ending in LA, but canceled it as well as a LA-FLL through the Canal, in favor of the single HAL cruise. The Princess Canal cruise was on the Emerald and it couldn't go through the old locks which I think, Oosterdam can. I wanted to get a bit more bang for my buck, and thought the HAL was better. YMMV, however.

Yes, they showed The Masters in April and some NBA playoff games when the Premier/Champions League matches were done.

Given that Sky Sports is the provider of the live sports coverage, I'd say you will get your Premier League fix. I'm more interested if they'll show the Opening Week NFL games on 9/11 as well as a couple of big College Football (American style) games in the opening weeks.

It will change in the middle of a B2B, however, if it's the first cruise that puts you over the threshold. Guest services will give you an appropriate colored Medallion.

If you get disappointed by Princess, you get:

Is this a swingers cruise on HAL? 😈Hubba hubba!

My experience with most Princess bartenders is that they know how to make the drinks on the menu and not much else. And it helps if they can use a blender. They really like to blitz drinks. These are not craft cocktail type bartenders from New York, Chicago, or other big city type bars. BTW one recent cruise had a "flair bartending" demonstration. All I can say is Tom Cruise in "Cocktail" has nothing to be worried about.😉

IN THE NAVY---VILLAGE PEOPLE, Official Music Video (1979) HD - YouTube

Hey, got to get home in time to watch a Gunsmoke rerun before Wheel of Fortune starts!

It didn't last for a 36 day TA B2B2B. I needed a new Medallion at about day 25. It takes about 5 minutes in Guest Services for them to swap it out.

The character wears a costume of a female pirate. Red wig, tricorn hat, short, frilly skirt in satin or the like, boots with the tops turned down, and a plastic cutlass. Not particularly risque, but if you've ever been to a Halloween party, I'm sure you've seen a chick dressed up in a similar costume.

In a true auction, all bidders see the price that will "win" the item and can decide if they want to bid more than the current highest bidder, up to the time bidding stops and the item is called. That was how eBay worked for a long time (maybe still does, I haven't used them in years). Is this process essentially submitting a sealed envelope with the amount you want to pay for the item and the highest blind bid wins? Or do you see the price you have to "beat" to get the upgrade?

I'm a solo traveler and so pay a single supplement. I accept that. Recently I was offered an upgrade to a mini-suite on a 15 day cruise for $499 or about $33/day. Not bad, right? Then I read the fine print, and it says: for a solo, it's double, or $1,000. I passed. Will this bidding process do the same thing? And will they have a "Buy it Now" feature, like eBay?

Article from the Wall Street Journal I just saw: Biden Administration Plans for End of Covid-19 Shot, Treatment Coverage (msn.com)

I've seen some Survivor promos too. Most of the footage is from the "loved ones reunion" episodes which were omitted last year for COVID reasons, but appear to be coming back.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Of course, I saw the promo for it while watching Big Brother, so I guess my standards are low, but not THAT low. 😉

I believe, that if you are going international, a single checked bag is included in Basic Economy. That's not the case for domestic flights. Call American to be sure. I'd trust them more than HAL. If you're an AAdvantage co-branded credit cards, you get a free bag regardless.

Crooners was where the knitters and crocheters met every morning on sea days when I was on Enchanted in April/May. Others would come in and read, do Sudoku puzzles, or other quiet activities. The chairs and couches were more comfortable than those in Take Five, which was also another place you could hang out and read. As for the music on the PA system, at least they finally stopped playing "island music" when we got to Copenhagen.

The calculation that the cruise lines have to make is a big enough pool of people who are in fear of covid, BUT are willing to go on a fully "protected" cruise to make it profitable. It would seem to me that this subset of those in "fear of covid" would be pretty small. I could see designating a specific ship as the "covid free" ship and requiring the same level of protection as late 2021 and early 2022 for passengers (masks/testing/vax, etc.) and offering a limited number of bread & butter Caribbean or Hawaiian cruises, but an entire line with this sort of approach would fail spectacularly, I'd think.

TSA PreCheck or CLEAR will help with that, at least domestically.

N Amsterdam - 25-Sep-22 - 7 day Alaska---First HAL Cruise AND Oosterdam - 10-Mar-23 - 31 day South America, Inca & Panama Canal--First time Crossing the Line and first Panama Canal transit

Exactly. I was on a cruise to the Canary Islands and the ship was 95% Brits and they dressed to the nines on the formal nights. Many men with tuxedos, a few Scots in kilts and all the rest of formal wear in Scotland, and while I only saw a few women in long dresses, very dressy cocktail type outfits were prevalent. It was the North Americans who were no as well dressed (myself included and I wore a blazer and collared shirt, but no tie).

Cruises to Alaska from Vancouver will still require a test, as that's what the Canucks require.

Yet it also says this: