3rdGenCunarder

As I said, probably wishful/nostalgic thinking. Considering how shabbily NCL treated Norway in her later years, it's probably for the best that this didn't happen.

At the time, NCL also had the Norway. There was a rumor that, with the two other "old" ships, they were going to run a sister line of vintage cruise ships. Wishful thinking, I guess.

The menu function is a great part of Navigator. I use it as you describe, especially to check out the desserts at lunch. If I think something may run out, I get dessert first and then the rest of my lunch. I wonder if a lot of people are using that part of the app because I didn't see a lot of people wandering the Lido to see what was there. Of course, Zaandam had fewer stations, so it was easier to figure things out.

I was on Zaandam last week, and the MDR food was good but not great. Pinnacle and Canaletto were excellent. Dinner mains always had too little vegetables. Two tiny asparagus are a garnish, not what I consider a portion. OTOH, vegetarian options looked delicious. A woman at my dinner table was vegetarian, so she got the next night's menu plus the vegetarian menu to choose for the next day. Sometimes she went with the vegetarian on the main menu, other times she chose from the vegetarian menu (same choices every day). The grilled portobello mushroom with zucchini "spaghetti" on top looked delicious. I tried asking for something without the sauce and the sauce came anyway. I think they plate what they plate and no hope of asking for something not cookie-cutter. Sometimes I wondered how long ago the meal had been plated. Sole meuniere, one of my favorite fish dishes should be LIGHTLY sauteed in butter. It was sitting in a pool of butter, soggy. Beef was seldom cooked as ordered. I asked for rare and the closest I got was pink. Another person at the table had steak nearly every night and it was usually rarer than he preferred. I don't remember any stand-out great MDR meals. Nothing terrible, but nothing fantastic, either. One night the shrimp on the shrimp cocktail had no taste. Blindfolded, I might not have known what it was. Another night, it was delicious. Variety and quality of dinner rolls wasn't great. This was a good thing, as it kept me from eating them. The salad bar was excellent, as always. That's my usual lunch. Plus dessert, usually a fruit tart or a piece of cake. There were always 3 kinds of cookies. The double chocolate cookies were so good I wished they had made those every day. The did the "cake me away" thing. The line stretched way back, but even after those people got their cake, there was plenty left.

Thanks for posting the links. How does the auction work? Do they auction one ship at a time? I can't believe anyone will bid on Navigator and Voyager for anything more than scrap, given the problems they've had.

My pass did 2 weeks ago (paper pass). I am 4 star and had CO. The pass said PRIORITY BOARDING PASS and it had the 4-star logo. it also had an orange border. I don't know if that's because HAL is into the whole Orange thing or because I had CO. But it didn't matter. Zaandam was at Miami. I got to the ship around 11:15, there was a person at each kiosk, so dealing with the passport scan and facial recognition was fast. Then I was told that boarding had already started, so I headed to the ship. It all happened so fast, I didn't think to check my watch when I got to my cabin.

Wow! I haven't stayed there in a few years so that's a surprise. I've seen large groups pre-cruise, but they don't stay up late and party because they want to be up early to get to their ship. Is it even legal for the front desk to be selling alcohol??? That's what the bar is for. I would not have been happy, either.

My heating system (hot air) has a humidifier on it, and I have to be careful about the setting when it's at or below freezing because I get condensation on the inside of the windows. But I'm not asking for tropical humidity on a ship, just not the Sahara!

Or, as the server sets down your drink, quietly offer the tip. Question about tipping, if you add an extra tip to the charge slip, does it go specifically to the server or to the general pool? At the end of a cruise, if we had gone to the same bar often and had good service, we would say thank you and tip in cash at the end. (and remember the name for the survey!)

I was just on Zaandam, and I had the same reaction. The ship was fully booked, but it didn't feel that way. I was nearly always the only one in an elevator. The longest Lido line I saw (except for "cake me away") was five people at a salad station. I eat most breakfasts and lunches at the Lido. I like to eat out by the pool. I was always able to find a table out there. Sometimes, even one by the windows. Yes, loungers at the Lido pool were claimed and guarded all day on sea days, but tables were never full. Deck chairs on Promenade were usually full too, although I was able to get one and camp out on it on one of our sea days. Walking around inside, I saw plenty of places to just sit and look out the window or read. Near Mix, there are 3 or 4 pairs of chairs by the windows, and I never saw more than two people there. The library was busy and the recliners facing the window were claimed early and guarded all day. Ironically, there were more people congregating and talking in the library than in other indoor areas. One surprising thing is how many tables were available at early fixed dining. That's usually a desirable time, but I never saw upstairs full then. Perhaps moving it up to 5:00 has driven people to open dining.

A humidifier in the cabin would be a blessing. I use a nasal spray to ward of nasal/sinus infections, but overnight, I'm not waking up to respray my nose. Cunard provides kettles, which I love. On my last Cunard cruise (Norway in November), the air was dry in the ship and outside. I tried boiling water and leaving the kettle open while I walked around the room to add a little moisture to the air, but it didn't help. I guess the dehumidifier in the system was working harder than the kettle.

They explain the process pretty well, but I wonder how long it will take for people to get their refunds. I would send the request as hard copy, FedEx or some other service that gives you confirmation of delivery. Request a signature. Something to establish when your request was received (when you got in line for your claim). I feel bad for people who have lost their cruises and will have to go through this process and wait for their money. Perhaps the legal rules for bankruptcy will make payments happen faster than we've seen in the past.

The noisy men I referred to were VERY obvious about it. The server gave them their drinks, then went to another table, and then as she walked past them again, one man held a couple of bills up at his shoulder as she walked behind him and she took them. Maybe he didn't have the money out when she delivered the tips, or maybe he likes to look like a big spender. It was crass.

I just looked at their site. It looks normal. I didn't explore too much, but I did a search for cruises and then clicked "book now." Any "book now" took me to this.

I agree that Riverside is nice if you're going to be spending more than the pre-cruise night in Fort Lauderdale. If it's just one night, I stay at the Embassy Suites, which is in the same general area as the Hyatt. There's a Holiday Inn Express in that area. I haven't stayed in that one so I don't know what it's like. I'm not a fan of hotel shuttles. You can end up in a van that goes to multiple places at the port. If you're at any of these 17th Street hotels, just get an Uber. You'll have it all to yourself and it's faster. Probably cheaper than the van if there are two of you.

Our duo was also a married couple. Fortunately for the audience, they had no dramas to play out for use to see.

Classical Duo. On Zaandam last week, it was piano and cello. They were very good and had several different programs, but with only two instruments there wasn't the variety of pieces/styles that we heard when the ships had LC.

Vista suite. Look at all those closets!!!!!

A few comments on the cruise. Cabin stewards were excellent, as always. Dining room waiters not as good. Guest services were very helpful. Shorex staff a little off the mark at times. Flowers I bought in my room (and won!) and arrangements around the ship were beautiful. The triangular vase is called a "bow vase," for the shape of the bow of a ship. Entertainment is improving. The Ocean Bar band were great, and I really enjoyed the Cocktail Pianist in Ocean bar. World Stage had two different comedians, each doing 2 shows. A ventriloquist, one show. The saxophonist, and a singer another night. So at least they weren't relying on videos. Food was good, not great. Pinnacle and Canaletto were excellent. My main complaint about the MDR was that they couldn't get beef to the requested doneness. I always ask for rare, and usually got barely pink. A man at the table ordered steak every night and his was usually rarer than he wanted. Vegetables? Two tiny asparagus are NOT a portion, they're a garnish. Anything lobster was an upcharge. Surf and turf was steak and two grilled shrimp. Actually, I don't mind. I don't get excited about a lobster tail that's been frozen. Nobody at my table bothered with any of the lobster upsell opportunities. There seemed to be more menu choices than I recall from a year ago. Three gala menus in 14 nights, blue, silver, gold. I had CO but only ordered the special item once. It was supposed to be veal cutlet. But it was a huge chop. I've never seen veal chop that big, and frankly, it tasted like beef, not veal. It was smothered in gravy so it was hard to navigate around the large bone. And, sadly, the excellent risotto was buried under the meat and ruined by the intrusion of the gravy. I was tempted to turn vegetarian at dinner. One woman at the table is vegetarian (not vegan) and some of her options looked delicious. So if you're vegetarian, you'll have lots of good choices. My usual lunch was the salad bar. That continues to be excellent. And Zaandam has a taco bar!!! So I embellished my salad with some guac and chips. As the cruise went on, the embellishments increased... It's just so tempting. Navigator worked well for me on my phone. And I did learn a workaround for my laptop. One annoying thing is that it doesn't know that you signed out of your other device. I would sign out on the laptop and turn it off. But when I used the phone, it would tell me I had reached my limit of devices and did I want to disconnect the other one. A small annoyance, but it seemed odd that the system thought it was still connected to a computer that was turned off. I liked being able to check my statement. I found two errors. First, I went to the Mariner wine tasting and they billed me for it. I went to Guest Services and it was corrected. Second, I splurged on a glass of wine that was $11.50. I was billed the full amount, although the previous night I was only billed for the extra 50 cents (plus service charge on 50 cents). That got fixed, too. So, "trust but verify." Also, two excursions I booked onboard initially showed as $0 HIA credit. But I had used that credit with tours I'd booked before the cruise. They sorted that out at the end of the cruise and I did get billed for the extra tours. I guess they figure with cancellations and changes, it's easier to wait until you've "spent" all of your HIA credit before they work out the charges for tours over the credit amount. The math looked correct to me. One last thing. I hate to be the whining solo woman, but it's true. We can be invisible. Bar service by the pool and at Ocean Bar was so bad I started timing it. I sat for 10 minutes in Ocean Bar and nobody came by. I was in the main bar area, not out in the atrium. They weren't full. I finally went up to the bar to get my drink, and even then, people who walked up after me got served ahead of me. I got the impression that the way to get attention is to go there first day, introduce yourself, and tip big. Be a "regular." Or be a man. A man sits down, and a server shows up. One night when Ocean bar was busy, I asked to share a table with a man who was on his own. Server checked on his drink, so I was able to ask for a drink. Server checked back on him several times. Some loud men at a nearby table were tipping quite obviously, and that server was very attentive. Service at the pool bar was even worse. I never did figure out where to sit that I would be in the path of a server I could accost to order a drink. I don't like to get my lunch and then have to leave it while I wait at the bar to get my drink. I don't always remember to bring a book or some other "marker" to hold my table.

February 16 Key West I didn't want to go back to the ship. I just wandered around and took pictures and ate. My idea of a good day in port. I started with the pilgrimage to the Marker. But twice I got off track to look at something else and got turned around and went the wrong way. Honestly, it's a straight line down Whitehead street, how hard should that be? My sense of direction is usually better than that. But it I did make it to the southernmost point, and my diversions gave me interesting things to see. It's been many years since I've been to Key West. I remember liking it well enough, but this time all I could think was how soon I could come back. I saw big resorts, cute B&Bs, a hotel in a gorgeous Victorian house (probably very expensive), a few mid-century motels that could be funky in a cool way--or maybe a not so cool way. Definitely need to do some research! I want to just eat my way through all the interesting restaurants! I had swoon-worthy coffee and key lime cookies at a French bakery. I had barely finished the cookies when I saw an ice cream store that claimed to make their product right there on site. Ohhh, so good! And I saw four more ice cream stores, plus more cafes, and of course, key lime bakeries. I know the thing to do on Key West is a bar crawl. Forget that, I want a carb crawl!!!! So that's the end of the cruise. because we did Immigration at Key West (face-to-face, not kiosks but it was smooth and fast), all I had to do on the pier was grab my suitcase and roll out of the building. I was concerned about so many ships and people, but everything was easy. And now I'm home and doing laundry and sorting mail. It already feels like the trip was long ago.

February 15. Sea day, thank goodness. I needed to unwind, and I did. I went to the City at Sea presentation, which was good, if a little hokey with the Cruise Director interacting with the video. My favorite part was the interview of a few of the Guest Services staff. What kinds of things do passengers lose or leave behind. Phone chargers, reading glasses, sunglasses, teeth. Wait! What? Teeth?!?!? Yes, a passenger went to Guest Services and said she had lost her teeth. What do passengers forget to pack? Toiletries, like toothpaste. Underwear. Who forgets to pack underwear???? In the last afternoon, I was just gazing out at the sea, and noticed something in the water, like maybe a dark log? And then I saw the puff! Marine mammal sighting!!! Based on the size, fin, and the way it swam my best guess is minke whale. Maybe two. It/they swam in the opposite direction, so I didn't have a lot of opportunities to get pictures. (That's two pictures, but it's hard to see where one ends and the other begins)

February 14 It's Valentine's Day but I am NOT in love with Grand Cayman. My first look at it was not impressive. It looks flat and soulless. And it is. Georgetown may have the densest concentration of jewelry stores and designer clothing stores (punctuated by the usual souvenir t-shirt stores) I have seen in the Caribbean except maybe St Thomas. I can usually find something offbeat or charming to photograph, but nothing got my attention. It was all downhill from there. I wanted to see the Queen Elizabeth II Gardens, home to the blue iguanas. The ship didn't offer a tour there, so I booked one through one of those booking agencies like Tripadvisor. The tour company was Cay Tours. NO NOT EVER TAKE ONE OF THEIR TOURS!!!! I was supposed to be there at noon. They gave me bad instructions. Thank goodness my phone's roaming worked, because instead of coming to meet me as they said, she told me where to walk to. Okay, five minutes, no biggie. I checked in on time. And then we waited for a half hour because the bus was late. This was a three-hour tour (uh-oh, isn't that what they said about the Minnow????) When I booked it, I figured that it would be easy to make the last tender at 4:30. But most of that cushion was destroyed by Cay's incompetence. They put people from THREE different tours on the bus. Three of us from Zaandam had booked the St Pedro Thomas House and Botanical Gardens tour. Two people from Something of the Seas had booked the "East End Tour," which was the same plus a stop to see the blow holes where waves splash up through rocks. Another 12-14 people had booked an entirely different tour, to see caves. We set out a half hour late. The bus drove right by the house and the botanical gardens and to the caves. We wasted time there while they sorted out confusion about the number of guests and available guides. Despite the presence of many "safari vehicles" to take people to the start of the cave tour, our driver took us all there on the bus, at least five minutes each way on a bumpy road. The cave group were told another driver would come to get them. Ohhh, I hope that turned out to be true. It would have been a long taxi ride! And then we backtracked to the gardens. The gardens are lovely. They have little themed areas, like color gardens and orchid walk. There's a charming pond with a bench to sit and enjoy the calm. Well, because of the late departure and another half hour with the diversion to the caves (If anyone had a brain, they could have dropped us at the garden and then gone to the caves with the others), our hour there was cut to 30 minutes, so I was anything but calm. I grabbed some pictures, figuring I would see the park virtually later. I wanted to see the blue iguana conservation area, which meant a long walk. I power walked in 80-something degrees for 20 minutes! My only stops were when I came upon iguanas and photographed them. They warn you not to touch or get close because the iguanas bite. But one big one was right across my path. Nooo, Mr/Ms Iguana, please let me pass! I approached and took a picture. It walked on. I walked on. Eventually, it moved to the side of the path and I resumed my fast walk. I did see the conservation center, but had no time to do more than glance at signs. I couldn't talk to anyone there. As it was, I got back to the visitor center one minute late. The driver was waiting for me. I thought, honey, if you say ANYTHING, you are going to get my entire vocabulary of expletives, which I must confess is rather extensive. He said nothing, so not as stupid as I thought he was. Back on the bus, the others were impressed with how much ground I covered. I think I was the only one who saw the iguanas. This historic house was nice, but we saw very little of it as there was more confusion about timing of the intro film and availability of guides. And then we went back to the port. We saw about half of what we paid for. The people from Something of the Seas missed their third stop at the blowhole entirely. The driver was worried about getting the three of us from Zaandam back in time. As he should have been--it was his fault we got the late start!!! We made it back in time. People here talk about good experiences with independents and not to worry, they get you back in time. I have done some excellent independent tours, but not in the Caribbean. I forgot how "casual" the Caribbean is about details. This is not Alaska. This is not Canada. This is not Europe. Combining tours wasted time in Puerto Plata, too. Yes, Cay did get us back in time, but it was way too stressful. But I did get to see a blue iguana and two orchids, so I suppose that's a good day's tour.

And while I'm thinking of it, a nice note about Pinnacle. I sat at a table that was banquette on one side and chair on the other. There were three in a row, but the other two weren't occupied. I sat on the banquette, and when the waiter removed the other place setting, he moved the vase, candle, and s/p shakers from the side of the table where they're normally squeezed together to the corner and spread them out a bit, so I wasn't looking at half of the table being empty. Nice gesture.

Ocean Band played in Crows Nest for the Orange Party. And they were on stage last night, backing the saxophonist. But mostly they're in Ocean Bar. Some nights they alternate sets with the pianist. Some nights it's all the band and other nights all pianist. Oh! I my recitation of entertainment I forgot the Classical Duo. Not was wonderful as LC, but they're only 2 musicians instead of 4 or 5, so arrangements are more limited.

I'm on Zaandam now, and on the way to the ship, I got a look at Icon. How can that thing ride well in rough weather with so much superstructure? What's the draught of a ship like that??? The cruise is supposedly sold out, yet the ship doesn't feel crowded. The early show in World Stage is nearly full, but there are some seats available when the show starts. The Lido hasn't been crazy busy, even on port days with a lot of early tours. Loungers by the pool get claimed early, but that's everywhere. The six recliners in the library are ever empty. But other areas have plenty of seating. I tend to eat lunch around 12-1, and I like to sit out by the pool. I don't remember a day I couldn't find somewhere to sit and eat, I'm used to the Vistas and my last HALcruise was on Eurodam, so Zaandam does feel small. I'm always surprised at how quickly I get somewhere. Short walk or just a flight or two of stairs.