nordski

From Canada yesterday morning was in contact with an Azamara agent within 5 minutes.

I hope that you have an opportunity to visit the Town Church in St. Peter Port whose beautiful interior contains a large and decorative wood screen dedicated to local boy Sir Isaac Brock, the British General appointed to defend British North America in the War of 1812. He, of course, died at the Battle of Queenston Heights and his monument there is passed by all the tourists headed to the region's wineries. It is the highlight of any visit to St. Peter Port! OK. Maybe I am the only person on social media who actually believes that. The night light is indeed a useful addition to the bathroom.

Right!… Sergeant Major!…Marching up and down the square! (Monty Python)

A change concerning Canada’s regulations will be announced today so there may be some loosening. As an aside, for those cruises using Vancouver as an embarkation port for Alaska some itineraries will require an increased level of masking including on board the ships. The issue isn’t Canadian policy but apparently concerns about the increased number of Covid cases in Alaska. Flexibility as to one’s expectations remains the order of day.

I haven’t seen such scientific evidence about the Azamara breakfast or lunch buffet either, nor, for that matter, the White Night buffet. But they weren’t the events that were being discussed. The comments referred specifically to the themed buffets held each evening in Windows. No scientific evidence there either, just what we observed. Perhaps you have seen more participants than we have. But. I am certain that management has the numbers to help carry out a rational analysis of any of the buffet experiences.

I think this is a crucial point. While it is nice to anticipate or demand the “status quo ante” on board, I think it would be poor post-Covid executive leadership that did not take this opportunity to reconsider sustainability and the inevitable Green Agenda. There seemed to be considerable waste from the evening buffets in Windows, buffets that were often sparsely attended. Cruising must change and we can all hope that is for the better.

Thanks for that reminder. Shows what we forget during our Covid Hiatus From Cruising. Although I find ITA Matrix rather clunky I do consult it to see if there are choices that I am missing.

It may well do so, but traditionally if ChoiceAir was involved one would purchase the upgrade to PE through that service. In our experience, the seat selection could then be done separately through the air line’s website, but we have also done that through ChoiceAir. Maybe ChoiceAir’s services are changing and Mackdogmolly has suggested in post #36 that there may be issues with communications and dealing with flight alterations in the present environment, But that is the minimum I would expect, that at the least ChoiceAir would clearly communicate with joyride as to why they could not intervene. It will bear monitoring if services that used to be commonplace are no longer in place.

Thanks very much for the clarification. If I understand, your TA contacted ChoiceAir and they would not intervene on your behalf. Even if, for some reason, they couldn’t then you should have received an explanation as to the policy involved. This does not match our experience with ChoiceAir which has always seemed to be helpful, and is indeed a major concern that their policies may have changed.Perhaps the difference is that we have always booked directly with ChoiceAir but it is hard to see why that would be an issue. I hope your flight goes well and you have an amazing cruise. I am certain that you are tired of thinking of and explaining this situation. All the best!

I always believed that there was a difference between buying what was sometimes called CruiseAir from various cruise lines and ChoiceAir from RCI. In fact there was quite a discussion about this some years ago. For example, ChoiceAir never seems to be “included” as sometimes happens with CruiseAir. And there were never “deviation” fees to allow you more selection. The ChoiceAir site just seemed to be a handy place to discover all the possible flights available from various airlines and also various seat categories available. Have I been wrong about this?

One of our dream itineraries would involve the venerable old port of St. John’s, Newfoundland, and then up the coast to visit some colourful fishing outports as well as L’Anse Aux Meadows, one of the earliest Viking settlements in North America. The cruise could end by visiting Greenland or Iceland, or better by sailing along the coast of Labrador to finish in Quebec City or Montreal. Perhaps sailing along the St. Lawrence there also could be some access to Saguenay Fjords National Park.

Absolutely! You will receive a nice card from Customer Relations thanking you!

I am pretty good at valuing partial altruism. My tipping decisions reflect that.

Perhaps these are two better excuses: 1/ La Banquise, which is an all night diner 2/ Ma Poule Mouilée, a grill. Both offer poutine, although the latter also offers a version “Portuguese-style”. That is certainly intriguing. Can’t stop wondering about that. Both are also near Parc La Fontaine, but I think your encounter with that Rhode Island Red suggests that you should try Ma Poule Mouilée. That incident must have been a sign! But you may need a reservation. Maybe sovilav01 who posts here, and lives in Montreal, has better suggestions,

I have been reminded that Montréal is celebrating its 380th birthday this year. Young in terms of European cities but a grand old age here in North America. That must necessitate that you make further visits.

You continue to inspire us with travel ideas!

Thanks for the sushi recommendation. We have a retired chef in the family who lives in Montreal. Perhaps he will share his selection when he looks for good poutine. That Rhode Island Red was probably confused by the change in Covid policies and increased traffic that will result. A pretty good metaphor for me at this time.

In Australia do the chickens cross in the opposite direction? Something to do with the coriolis effect? I guess we will just have to visit Australia to investigate! Not that there aren’t many better reasons.

Pourquoi un poulet a-t-il travesé la route? Is the answer the same in Québec as in Vermont? Well, not only have you introduced me to the concept of Poutineville, but I now know that it has three outlets. Amazing! Have a great time at Place des Arts tomorrow!

Thanks! And I realized after I posted this request that I really put you on the spot. I apologize for that.

My wife has similar issues. Can I use the email address to also acquire the information?

Appreciate you and Marinaro sharing your experiences.

Thanks for sharing this. It helps us keep our perspective on a return to cruising.

Certainly the experiences posted here are concerning and need to be addressed. I will reference one positive response that I benefitted from. We needed to postpone a cruise that we had booked by implementing the rewards from changing loyalty level. I enjoyed almost immediate contact with the service centre and was surprised at a change in policy that was to our benefit. The helpful agent warned us that we would need to have confirmation about said policy from a higher official. It took about three weeks, not surprising considering that they have bigger fish to fry, but our benefit was confirmed. This instance is, as I mentioned, not to question the serious issues faced by others. But I would be remiss in not mentioning an efficient and beneficial engagement. Since we are not convinced that things will soon return to “normal”, as referenced in many problems encountered, in an excess of caution we will still be staying home for a while.

Grandma Cruising Thanks so much for the delightful photos and the curious name. Here we had a covering of snow again several mornings ago, but the forecast is becoming more promising. Our local baseball team is fortunate to be playing in domed stadium that can be closed for inclement weather. I have dedicated some time to reading Peter Robinson’s Inspector Banks mysteries set ostensibly in Yorkshire. The atmosphere of Yorkshire is not particularly strong, but that may be explained by the fact that Robinson spends considerable time in the metropolis just to our south, Toronto. Right now I would much prefer being in Yorkshire.