taxmantoo

10 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Might be the a contender for dumbest idea HAL has had in a long time. 

I am really resisting the urge to start a new thread 🤣

1 hour ago, chrysalis said:

The more that the tour guide reminds us to tip, the less I do....on one recent one, she must  have mentioned it at least 10 times during the relatively short bus ride to and from the destination. Small tip.

 

One guide in St Vincent handed out comment cards, and when we he collected them, proceeded to read each one....not very polite.

I've always said that anyone who asks for a tip really does not deserve one. 

On a recent cruise, after eating at a speciaty restaurant, the server handed us the bill in a leather binder.  She opened up the binder and procedeed to instruct me on where to write the tip amount on the bill I was to sign.  The meal was complimentary for us as a loyalkty perk from the cruise line so the total bill was $0.  I proceded to tip her exactly 100% of that amount 🙂 

2 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

 

BTW, If I required a perfect meal, I'd starve to death. 

 

It does not have to be perfect, as meals rarely are, but it should at least look a bit like what was listed in the menu.  If you were happy, good for you... that is all that counts in the end.

14 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

Well.. I'm sorry to say our dinner in PG tonight was not delightful. Does this look like broiled lobster?

 

 

DH had the halibut and it was dry. Our baked potatoes tasted wet if that makes sense.

 

We requested a cappuccino and passed on dessert.. left as soon as possible. 

Why did you accept it?  You should have said something the instant it was brought to the table!

After all these posts where cruisers are blaming the cruise companies for "nickel and diming" them, does anyone else find it revealing to see posts where cruisers are suggesting "nickel and diming" the cruise line??? It's a $6.00 cocktail folks, get over it 😏

17 minutes ago, CHOPPERTESTER said:

Depends on the class of ship. Is it Pinnacle (Rotterdam, NA, NS) or Vista (Noordam, Zuiderdam, Westerdam, Oosterdam) class. Vista class vista suites are better than the Pinnacle class.

There are NO Vista Suites on Vista class ships.  They have Neptune Suites and Signature Suites.

For those of you on Facebook, Stryker has posted the video of last night on his Facebook page. 

22 minutes ago, USN59-79 said:

In case you are wondering about the split, I was told that Indonesians are forbidden by their religion (Muslim) from handling alcohol,  thus those jobs go to the Filipinos.

Ray

Muslims account for approximately 85% of the Indonesian population.  They would be prohibited by the religion to drink alcohol, assuming they follow the rules.  The remaining 15% are divided into many other religions and are free to partake if they wish.  

17 hours ago, crystalspin said:

While I agree with the above answers, I will mention we had a French waiter in the Pinnacle. Luck of the draw, he served us twice! He appeared to think he was superior (perhaps even to us!), but in fact his level of service was inferior to the average Indonesian/Filipino steward.

Pinnacle does have quite a few nationalities as waiters and managers.  We have encountered many Eastern European servers and managers.  Their attitude and personalities are quite different than the Filipino we are used to and prefer. 

The dining rooms serving personnel is mostly Indonesian, as are the room stewards.  The bar staff and servers are Filipino.

22 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

Maybe the first step in eliminating the Medallion program?

 

I hope not. A lot of people appreciate it and like getting the medallion and an opportunity to have a photo taken with the officers.  They have to find a way to make it meaningful for everyone, including the recipients of the first bronze medallion.  Delivering medallions to the room shows a lack of imagination, a lack of effort and a lack of class. 

A lot of folks see the new process of handing out medallions as a cutback to save money.  Really?  All HAL is saving is maybe a few bottles of cheap Prosecco and a few photos.  I see it as a "cutback" in class on their part in showing genuine and sincere appreciation for their returning passengers.  😟  They talk the talk but have a difficulty walking the walk since the restart of operations after COVID.

1 hour ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

I always say that I am blessed with a dull palate.  I can enjoy a $9 bottle of Chianti as much as a $30 bottle.

Enjoying a bottle of wine has nothing to do with its price.  As a certified sommelier, I can enjoy a $9 bottle as well as a $30 bottle, as well as a $100 bottle.  I get enjoyment out of all of them for what they are.  But allow me to let you in on a secret, the $100 bottle will be a much better wine every time. 🙂

All these rumors, innuendos, conjectures and opinions seem pretty "fishy" to me 🤣 Will just wait and see.

12 hours ago, POA1 said:

The best specialty experience was the Le Cirque pop up in the Pinnacle Grill in our opinion. Luckily for us, it is in the past and no one can mess with it now. 😋

Le Cirque was nice but more of a very traditional fine dining experience.  We found De Librije to be a much more innovative, modern and interesting evening in terms of food preparation, presentation and wine pairings.  To each his own ...

12 minutes ago, Bruinboy said:

In 2016 or so we did a Riedel wine tasting on a Princess cruise from Buenos Aires to Santiago. I recall tasting each wine in a standard glass and a Riedel glass. Big difference. I don’t recall if they used Riedel glasses beyond this. 

You are right.  I do recall seeing some on board pre-pandemic.  Since the restart, I have not seen any.  They do have some better quality glasses at Vines and the Crown Grill and some special dinners but the main dining rooms have all gone to a much lower quality of very thick and small wine glass.  We actually get two crystal glasses at Vines on the first day and have them kept in the dining room for us and return them to Vines on the last day.

1 hour ago, iluvzbeach said:

I’m surprised to read that HAL doesn’t use Riedel glasses for wine & champagne/prosecco. We were on Princess in September and every glass we received was Riedel. 

I'm a bit confused here.  I don't know which Princess ship you were on but we have been on four different Princess ships since the end of the pandemic and we have not seen ONE Riedel glass.  I am a certified sommelier and I do know a Riedel glass when I see one 😉  We have not seen a Riedel glass in any dining room, nor at Vines, nor at the Chef's Table nor at the Winemaker's dinners.

Rudi's is now becoming more present on Princess ships under the banner "The Catch by Rudi" with a menu slightly better and more diversified than on HAL. 

9 hours ago, memoak said:

And so how will this apply to first dinner embarkation night for full suites ?

0 X 18% = 0   Simple Math! 

10 minutes ago, POA1 said:

Is there any benefit to booking on board? We have always gotten FCDs, but waited to book until we got home.

That's the way we have always done it.  Although we are in Canada, we call our long-time travel agent in Orlando and simply tell her what ship we want to go on, what date and the category of cabin we want.  That's it!  She takes over from that point on, books the cruise, applies the FCC, gets the Welcome Back Credit, requests our dining times, special dietary needs, etc and we are set to go.  If a price reduction occurs before final payment, we let her know and she contacts the cruise company for us.

p.s. Forgot to add ... not a commercial here but we always get a much better price than what they can do onboard.  

3 minutes ago, POA1 said:

I thought you got a kicker when you booked on the ship. You don't?

Nope ... same OBC for both.  I have found over the years that, in general, the onboard cruise consultants are the least knowledgeable folks onboard, whether it is for booking a cruise or anything about cruising.  I have even seen some of them spend more time at the bar than at their desk! 🙂

37 minutes ago, POA1 said:

The book on board and welcome back are two promos in the same family. You get the higher value for booking on board and the lower value welcome back for booking when you get home.

They are actually the same promo, with the same perks, and the same amount of onboard credit.  You can apply either one to a cruise but not both.

26 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

Exactly, we’ve had some really good singers but also had a few cruises were they were just horrible.

Also our experience.  It seems that the Billboard Onboard performers' age is quite a bit less in general than the previous performers in the old Piano Bar.  The older piano players obviously had more experience in "traditional" piano bars and seemed better at interacting with the people and accepting requests for three or four hours straight.

We have seen some very good performers in Billboard Onboard and the majority are quite good at the part of the show where they play the set lists provided to them by Billboard which they have had time to practice.  For a lot of them, the "all request" part of the show seems a lot more difficult and we have heard "I don't play that one" or "I don't know that one" or "Never heard of that one" more than I care to remember.  They also play only 45 minutes and then take a 45 minute break and then another 45 minute set.  The older players would usually go from 8 pm to well past midnight, most often without taking a break.  And they did not get a night off every 6 or 7 days!  Just our experience ...

9 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

Oh that's right, I read (on Cruise Critic) that you weren't supposed to take the whole bottle to bars or lounges... 

What you read on Cruise Critic is not the gospel 🙂 We have very often, when buying a package, had a few bottles delivered to our room, a few bottles delivered to Billboard Onboard bar, and the rest kept in the dining room.  The bottles sent to our room we have then taken to the Sea View Pool or the Lido Pool without ever being questioned by anyone.