DCThunder

When I was on Island this fall in the eastern Med, for part of the cruise, they listed a strip steak as one of the "Princess Favorites" available every night along with grilled chicken and a salmon dish. I had it once and it was a NY Strip, about 3/4" thick, and was quite tasty. No surcharge for it. The second half of the cruise (the TA part), that strip steak was no longer offered, only the upcharged steak you mention.

Thanks.

Rather than start a new thread, I'll ask this question here. I've booked a standard balcony cabin. Am I "allowed" to walk through the Queens Grill or other haunts of those booked in the fancy parts of the ship? Or are there barred doors, a la Titanic to keep the hoi polloi at bay?😉

There are many topics that are a constant across all of the Cruise Critic message boards. These include: indoor smoking, chair hogs, tipping/gratuities, and many others. But one absolute constant topic is proper dress for that particular line. Cunard, HAL, Princess, Celebrity, you name the line, there will be long discussions about what's proper and improper to wear on "their" line. All of this is a long way of saying that I have found the posts on this topic very enlightening and will help guide my packing for Alaska. I asked the question and got honest answers. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

I never said it did. The thread is entirely dependent on contributions from passengers sailing on Princess ships and providing information to keep the list up-to-date. The impression I got earlier in this thread is that HAL had discouraged people from doing the same thing on this board. Is that a mistaken impression?

This is an interesting rationale given that there's an extensive thread on the Princess board that lists the captain, CD, ED, and DOR on each ship and has been going on since approximately 2012. I guess Princess doesn't care about the privacy or safety of their senior staff.

Thanks @NE John. I appreciate your comments. I've been looking at "pre-owned" tuxes and have seen several that would fit the bill without breaking the bank. I also just tried on the jacket of the only dark suit I have and looks like I'd need to go shopping either way as I've bulked up a bit through the shoulders and chest. I've got a 30 day cruise to the Amazon River upcoming, so I'll be revisiting the tux shopping in mid-March when I get home from that. I likewise look forward to meeting you aboard QE.

I don't own a tux and I think the last time I wore a dark suit was to a funeral when I lived outside DC. I've lived in a fairly laid back beach community in North Carolina for the last six years. I'm not averse to getting dressed up, but a blue blazer and a nice pair of khaki pants is about all that I've needed on other cruises. It sounds like said blazer and khakis are about what I'd need to wear on a non-formal evening, even in Alaska.

Somewhere in that picture is a joke about "junk in the trunk", Honky Tonk Badonkadonk, butt implants, and videos of well-endowed ladies in micro-bikinis on yachts on the Miami River, but I'm not sure exactly what that joke is or if it could be told on this board. 🍹

Thanks for sharing this information. My question was more is Alaska less formal than a TA on QM2 or a Mediterranean cruise given that Alaska is the "Last Frontier" and all that.

I have wanted to try Cunard and got what I think is a good deal on a Queen Elizabeth Alaska cruise for late June 2024. I've been reading threads on these boards about how guests on Cunard tend to be more dressy than on either HAL or Princess. Does this extend to the Alaska cruises as well? I want to make sure I pack the right type of clothes for the formal/gala evening.

If the couples started changing cabins, that might be a problem unless they had upside down pineapples outside the doors. 😈

It is pretty clear that the AARP OBC is only available for new bookings made after you verify that you are an AARP member. I was also told by a HAL CVP that the AARP agreement dated to July 1, 2023 and so any booking made before then wouldn't be eligible, even if you were able to get them to try to give it to you.

There's one duck (who doesn't wear pants) that Disney definitely allows on board. And maybe his nephews and his uncle who swims in a huge pile of golden coins. 🦆

No it doesn't quite work that way. If on your 14 day cruise you buy two FCDs, the OBC you would get would be on the new cruise that you book and use the FCD to make the deposit. There's no impact on the cruise you're on when you purchase the FCDs. If while on the cruise, you went to the Future Cruise Desk and booked a 7 day Alaska cruise for this summer, nd used the FCDs for the deposit, you'd get the appropriate amount of OBC on the Alaska cruise.

You are allowed to select seats if the class of service you book allows it. Once the booking is made, you get a record locator and can go to the airline website and do all the same things you could if booking directly with the airline. The only difference is the flight isn't ticketed until 30-45 days before departure and you don't have to pay for the flight until final payment for the cruise. is made. This is, of course, depending on how far in advance you make the flight booking.

Yes, I got there, but then when I created an account and put in my information for the Zaandam cruise, I got a message from the site: "Can't find schedule for specified parameters". I was using the Brave browser. On MS Edge, I couldn't even get that far. Oh well, I'll be talking to them on the ship about luggage direct.

I tried to follow the links in that website and they seem to be very glitchy.

I'm doing the Amazon River cruise RT from FLL (actually we leave from Miami, but return to Port Everglades) in two weeks on Zaandam. I hope that we will have the Luggage Direct service for our American flight from FLL. I don't know if Zaandam counts as a "regular" since it's often out on the wild blue sea.

Why don't you check out Miami or Atlanta? And frankly I'm surprised that there aren't good flights to MCO from European cities. Don't Euros want to come see The Mouse?

While I agree with you generally (especially the point about domestic flights) I was trying to find the lowest cost business class seat from Sydney to LAX. I ended up booking Fiji Airways (with a stop in Fiji) for about 40% less than the best SYD>LAX flight I could find through EZAir. I also considered flights through Seoul on Asiana or booking on Qantas directly, as all those options were less than EZAir. When I looked at flights all the way home to Charlotte, the EZAir flights had crazy routings. Unfortunately, although Charlotte is an American Airlines hub, it doesn't have the same flight options as you have in LAX

I always check the prices offered through EZAir for international flights, but also check the fares posted by the airlines themselves. Sometimes EZAir has good prices, sometimes not as much. You can't use any airline or credit card points to pay for EZAir fights, although you don't have to pay for them until final payment for the cruise. EZAir routings can sometimes be convoluted with multiple stops. You also have to be careful with connection times, as they sometimes propose short times to make the next flight. Oveall, I'm positive on EZAir, but you can find all sorts of horror stories around these boards. Do your homework before booking anything.

From New Orleans.

Being from the South, I consume large quantities of iced tea. Since Earl Grey or English Breakfast make horrible iced tea, I bring Luzianne tea bags with me and make my own. Hot water, a tea bag, and ice in an insulated cup and it's almost like I'm back home!

There's a thread over on the HAL boards about the re-routing of their 2024 WC as well: HAL reschedules the GWV to avoid the Red Sea - Holland America Line - Cruise Critic Community