3rdGenCunarder

I agree. I've brought a bottle or two of wine if we visited a winery or a few bottles of a local beer. Maybe a bottle of fizz for a balcony sailaway. But I found it odd that there was no ginger ale. They used to have the Fever Tree, which was excellent.

I rarely take wine onboard, and I don't bother with water or soft drinks. But last fall on QV, there was no ginger ale, and that's my go-to remedy if things get a bit bouncy. Am I allowed to bring on soft drinks?

Well, considering my favorite version runs 6 hours, it would definitely need multiple nights!

I have to say, Cunard is kinder to solos than other lines. Until you get up to the Grills cabins, a solo pays 175% of double occupancy. And they've had single cabins, going back to the days of QE2. They were small, but fine for one. I don' t know how many people who booked them realized that they did cost more than half of a comparable double. But they still were less than being a solo paying 175% or 200% in a double cabin.

Interesting math. (I hate algebra so I didn't go through all of it, but I think you only looked at revenue and forgot to "credit" singles their $14 per day cost for food) But it doesn't support the two examples above of cruise lines gouging singles by hiking their price 3 or even 5 times the per person double occupancy price.

I use "whats in port," too. If it links to a city's own website you might see the actual arrival and departure times instead of Cunard's vague "morning" and "afternoon." I also look at googlemaps to get a sense of where the dock is in relation to the port city or nearby major city. Tripadvisor now has a category of "shore excursions," which can give you an idea of what your ship is likely to offer. I hate that there's no way to see the actual list before you book.

If crew numbers are lower than "full," then passengers shouldn't be so much higher than "full."

What excursions are you doing?

Maybe HAL needs to look at the true max passenger count and allow their system to book some triples for one or two passengers. Somewhere in the previous pages, there was a question about signature suites. What if every SS is a triple or quad? So that means no couple or single can book it, even if it's unlikely (or over the max count) to have every one of them occupied by four people? We have cruised with family and never thought of sharing a cabin. When good friends wanted to go on their first cruise, they asked us to come along and "teach us how to cruise." We must have done a good job because they were our cruising buddies for many years. For their first cruise, they debated between a large cabin for them and 2 teen daughters, or two smaller cabins. I said "One cabin, one bathroom. Two cabins, two bathrooms." So we booked three OV cabins in a row and put the girls in the middle cabin. I've looked at some of the pics on halfacts and with that sofa bed opened there is very little space. A lot of hotel rooms have a king bed and a sofa bed with room to spare. I wonder how many people have booked a triple or quad thinking it would be like that, not the condensed version that a ship offers.

That's outrageous!!! I understand the argument for the supplement--I don't like paying it, but I understand. They could have two people in a cabin, and they don't expect a solo to buy as many drinks or excursions as a couple would. But we also use less water, fewer towels, fewer dishes. We eat less and we take up less waitstaff time. What happens when a solo wants a cabin on a two-for-one offer?

Maybe not deeper pockets, if there's a kids or 3rd/4th sail free promo.

Best ship tote bag EVER! Mini sea bag from the 1990s on QE2. This one is well traveled.

That sounds like a good reason to pamper yourself. Enjoy it, and good luck with the transplant!

I doubt it would. Booked cabins are taken out of inventory. I think the bumping is more likely to happen if someone--passenger or TA--calls HAL and asks for a triple or quad when they can't see what they want online.

I would hope that, if you're bumped, you would get a call and could make a new choice with a live person, and not get the computer's "best guess." A good TA or PCC might be able to get you a decent upgrade, or you could just be talking to someone at a call center. Until we hear from people who have been bumped, we won't know.

I suspect the hahas were directed at your comment about HAL's system being sophisticated enough to find a reasonable new location. I must admit, I didn't know if you were being sarcastic with that remark and almost added my haha, too.

I would be more concerned that they DO make it on the ship and the ship gets more crowded. I'm feeling better and better that my Alaska trip this summer is on Cunard. They do have triples and a few quads, but they don't run the "kids sail free" or "3rd and 4th persons sail free."

Nobody has reported this happening yet, so we don't know what happens to the bumped passengers. I looked at the deck plans and you're right. Except for two Sig suites way forward on 5, all the SS are in the same area and all are quads. I would hope if someone tries to book a triple or quad online, they would see what's available and not be able to grab yours. But if they call, I would hope that HAL would say, Sorry no Signatures, but we do have Vista Suites and Verandahs that will take 3 or 4 people.

Yes, I got savor the journey when I was in a Neptune when CO was new. The steward said something about the new bags hadn't arrived so I would get the regular one. The "regular one" was nice enough and I didn't think about what the CO one would be. The previous year I was in a Neptune and didn't get a special bag. Can't remember what that year's bag was like.

I've had one like that for a few years. I got a new one on my recent cruise. I didn't realize it says Club Orange until after I read your post and checked the new one. I like the one in your picture better. (I hope mentioning that I have two isn't like bragging about how many stars I have)

Cloth with a nylon or polyester lining. Mesh and solid outside pockets. Zip top. I'm sure @POA1 can elaborate on the wonders of it. 😀

That occurred to me, too. If I can be bumped from the cabin I PAID several hundred dollars to select, where are they going to put me? Upgrade? Downgrade? And as much as I hate to see people use the C word, what sort of Compensation do you get if you're bumped? I think the upcharge to select should be refunded, because you've essentially got a guarantee cabin.

I don't see a lot of kids on a long cruise like VOV. But when they do kids sail free promos, it could happen. And remember that HAL does guarantees, so those are people who could be put anywhere depending on what's available. That gives HAL flexibility in booking triples and quads.

I doubt it. They get the full fare from a single anyhow. But a single in a quad might be bumped before a couple, on the idea that fewer people would be affected.

Your post made me curious, so I checked. Westy has a lot of triples and quads, but not most cabins. The OV seem to have a lot of triples, but very few cabins on 7 and 8 are triples and no quads there. But all verandahs on 10 are quads.