techteach

@Host Hattie Yep, this is my first RCI. The 10 year old likes the bumper cars, etc. Huge ship. 4 men wearing hats last night in the MDR and they were not young men, lots of grey hair showing.

Sitting on my verandah is Sitka, Alaska. Hoping all is well with you @Essiesmom. Have a great cruise @Lanky Lad. Thanks for the book selection @NE John. I finished Sashenka @Victoria2

@Ferry_Watcher Thanks again for the information. We left our house, on the 28th, at 1:45, got to the pier at 1:55, I was on board at 2:10. It was the best embarkation I’ve ever been through. No lines, anywhere. I received multiple text reminders from RCI saying don’t show up early or you’ll just to wait. Perhaps people listened! Great Job to the workers at the pier!

Can you look out and see what the line-up of cars is like? We plan to leave our house at 1:45.

@Ferry_Watcher Thanks for your response. We should be able to self-disembark as early as possible. What time do the first people usually walk through the front door at disembarkation? We’ll eat breakfast at home!

I just logged into RCI and the full refreshment package is $94.00 per day. I know I didn’t pay that much pre-cruise because they had a 30% off sale. Then I looked at Oceania and we paid $70.00 per day.

Day games are great fun here in Seattle. Be sure you take your camera and climb to the top for beautiful views. Go Mariners!

@NE John For me the worst is when they take a current popular song and try to play it for someone to waltz to. I had to leave the QR. I leave in an hour for a cruise on RCI with grandson #1. I was looking at the app this morning and they have every possible Name That Tune competition you can think of, except classical. By era, show tunes, rock, country, ABBA, Beatles…

$90.00 is outrageous. We won’t be purchasing the plan on future cruises.

@Victoria2 Since I have a Masters Degree in Music I know Vivaldi wrote many pieces other than the 4 Seasons. I have a nice collection of Baroque music. It is why I don’t care for background music. I am always playing name that tune, or name that movement, or name that performer. This is especially true of violin or piano concertos.

@Victoria2 Yes, but when the last time you heard one played in a restaurant?

I was going to offer to run you down to Target and back! Guess I’m way too late. Enjoy!

I have a really hard time putting music in the background. If the music is live I feel like I need to react to it with applause. Obviously not in a fine dining room with live piano playing as background. When you start talking about a trio then it feels like a club and conversation becomes difficult. I agree with @rmsEtruria that the Four Seasons is greatly over played. There is a steak house in Las Vegas where the music is so loud you can’t hear the person across the table from you so we’ve removed it from our list. Perhaps turning the Verandah into a jazz club isn’t a bad idea.

There is always a way to wear diamonds, no matter the time or place.

@ronpes @Bigmike911 This really is on the bucket list and your wonderful pictures and stories just pushes it up the list.

@NE John I tried to reduce the cost of our next cruise by looking at PG and DH would have nothing of it. We have been so well cared for in QG it is amazing, and he won’t give it up. He loves looking out at the dining room filled with people dressed nicely being served formally and graciously. He loves the flambé cart and Dover Sole!

@Ferry_Watcher We are the only ship at pier 91 that day so maybe it won’t be too bad. I looked down from the Magnolia Bridge on Saturday as we headed to the market and then returned. It was mess. (Norwegian Sun is in port on the 4th but I think she’ll be downtown)

@Ferry_Watcher Monday, Sept. 4.

Homewood Suites is in an area with services for homeless people. A few blocks north on Elliott is an area I’ve seen drug deals on the street. However; it is located on a very busy intersection. Would I go walking at night in the neighborhood? Probably not, but there really isn’t anyplace to walk to. There have been no recent shootings, etc. in that area. If you’re eating on lower Queen Ann then take an Uber back to the hotel unless you’re really close like at Buckley’s.

@Ferry_Watcher I’m trying to avoid the crazy pick-up line. The port says there is a cell phone waiting area. If DH pulled in there is it a long walk for me to meet him? Would we be able to avoid the long line or would we still have to go through the terminal loading area? I looked this weekend at the parking lot by the soccer fields, but it looks like there is a gate so I couldn’t walk there from the ship. Would he be allowed in the Uber/Lyft lot?

DH has redeemed himself because he got out the Atlas showed me where Bournemouth is located @exlondoner.

@Lionesss There are two more cruise ships at Pier 91: Amsterdam and Discovery Princess.

Darn that DH finished the sports section and has disappeared before I could start the name that quote game…and you are already having fun with it! Isn’t it fun to know that we’re thousands of miles apart and still enjoying the same thing?

I would love to see loyalty across the brands. They could figure out a way to equate a night on HAL in a Verandah Suite to a Princess Grill on Cunard or something like that. You just assign points to each level on each brand. Everyone get your spreadsheets out and start plugging in those equations!

We haven’t felt the need to go to the Verandah because the QG restaurant on QM2 has always been so wonderful. Do the steaks in the Verandah come from a different place than the steaks in QG? If I have lobster in QG is it different from the lobster in the Verandah? I’ve paid enough to be in QG so why would I pay more for the same thing in the Verandah?