lissie

Is it only from 3-4pm? Sadly if I start drinking at 3pm the rest of the night is a bit of a right off

Your logic is sound as far as I'm concerned -but I've not done a cruise on HAL yet so can't comment specifically. For the Europe part of your cruise I'm guessing your're probably in a port most days - if Cadiz is your first stop why not get either a physical SIM like Orange or an eSim like Airalo - if your phone can handle it. Once you are in the EU you can roam to any other country for no extra charge - from emmory we paid euro 20 for a month's worth of data from Orange in Spain. eSims are even cheaper - but you need an unlocked and fairly late model phone

Yeah we crossed the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean on the QE and didn't feel a thing -but I don't do NZ local waters!

Where I live ie my specific town and associated aquifers - yes there is no /few minerals in the water. And there's no lime scale as we are not in limestone country. There are a few areas of the country that do have limestone - but its not common. Re bacteria - no I don't expect bacteria in drinking water - if there was a boil water notice on our tap water obviously you wouldn't use it in a cpap . Seriously though he's been using it for about 8 months now - and no build up and the reservoir is silicon and I think gets replaced at 12 months anyways

My TA had a few spots which are probably gone by now - but they existed because I know someone who got one.

They are already hooked - Australians cruise more than Americans - per a head of population! I know someone who booked the 5 day segment from Auckland. Its not for me - I don't do rough water and the Tasman is rough. Its also if you are going to fly 1/2 way around the world to pick up a cruise then trying the cruise line out first locally makes quite a lot of sense LOL re the Gucci shop in Bali - like that's totally legit honestly!

LOL - that will be because he sells them! We have a machine provided by the our local specialist (technically its still their machine its just on long term loan) and at no point do they mention using anything but tap water (with the assumption that tap water is drinking standard). I checked the instruction book - and it says the same it. Its a Fisher and Paykel Sleep Style. It's a NZ brand - maybe the US machines are more sensitive to water?

It already is - Queen Ann is advertising 5 day segment on the inaugural world cruise from Auckland to Australia

I've had so many arguments with my partner about this -"how do people contact us in an emergency" . I'm firmly of the camp - they don't. If an emergency happens at home and you are at sea on a cruise ship - what can you do about it? Absolutely nothing. House burnt down? Someone sick or worse? Still absolutely nothing you can do about it - send me an email - I'll get it when I next connect and maybe can do something about it. If I'm in a port I can come home - can't do it in the middle of the sea. He can never give me a decent argument about why it matters. Is it just a security blanket for others? I think it sets up false expectations. Its the same when we travel independently - I set expectations - tell people they won't hear from us for a week or 2. I usually do update faster than that but it works really well. We had the opposite happen - my partner ended up in a Chinese hospital seriously ill. It was all very stressful - but at least it 2/3 days (it all blurred together) before I actually had to tell anyone outside of a couple of close family members. Took so much stress off.

I asked about travel cpaps - but apparently.they are not suitable for people with other conditions like cardiac. At least airlines don't count the bag in the normal hand luggage allowance so we can still travel carryon only

Thanks - Iwas starting to think there was something different about HAL ships as everyone seems to buy distilled water!

is there something different with the water in the tap in HAL. My partner's CPAP doesn't need distilled water - just tap water - which we used last year on Cunard with no issues. I assume the tap water is drinkable? If that's the case we'll just keep using that

I can answer some of these. Assuming that QA works the same as the other Cunard ships you don't need reservations for breakfast and lunch - never have. For dinner there is now now "open dining" but you can also choose to be assigned to a set table for early and late seatings. On the QE there is a Lido (buffet), and outside burger bar on the pool deck, pub meals in the Golden Lion pub (lunch and dinner) and daytime snacks in the Cafe. I assume QA will be similar. Oh and room service (free) . We did 55 days on Cunard last year and only checked one large bag between us. If you have a suit and tie for gala nights and a few different collared shirts/trousers for the smart nights you'll be fine. Plenty on these boards live in a Victorian past when white-tie and tails were the only options. But if you look at the actual dress code on the website its not that onerous. Nope they don't recognize other loyalty even from others in the Carnival group.

Early dining is at 17:30??? We're going on a japanese cruise next year - will make sure we're on late dining - that's crazy early

I'm curious about sailing with Reizen - they do some very interesting ports in Africa and the black sea that only uber-luxury lines do - and their prices are pretty good. Do they take non-German speakers do you think? I don't mind the language barrier - I'm sure the staff all speak English - but can you do muster drill in English for example?

Seems likely - there's 6 sea days on that itinerary - I can't imagine they ever do a gala on a port day

Covid - at the time you were supposed to be masked in the theatre

Except they don't go to any of the good places - they are banned from most of the icnonic streets - which are narrow and windy (WellingtonNZ and SF have a lot in common) . We did a private tour with an unmarked car and went to some great places including driving down the crooked street ! You'd be better off hopping on a trolley bus or cable car if you really want to see some local streets. And yes we stopped at the "painted ladies" Tour Buses Banned Around San Francisco's Famous 'Painted Ladies' - CBS San Francisco (cbsnews.com)

Deck 1 is great - very easy access to the theatre and the main atrium. We've stayed in inside cabins so I think those numbers are ocean view? Quiet and stable. We had a few days in SF before boarding QE last year. Alcatraz is basically next to where the ship docks. But book tickets in advance - this is the official website Alcatraz Tours & Tickets (Official Provider) | City Experiences Fisherman's wharf is also very close - incredibly over the top and touristy but probably worth an hour or 2.

I washed once a week. I always do when we travel so that's not any different. You don't need to wash clothes that have only been worn for a few hours at night unless you sweat all over them or spill something! The chiffon - i just rinse out in the sink. Man's shirts got washed about every 3rd wear unless he had an accident! The merino trousers can go 3 or so wears before needing a wash. Merino, Lycocell, silk, linen - all can take multiple wears before washing unless you really sweat all over them - its one of the few advantages of getting older is not sweating as much. Some things like the b& w top I'd wear clean for an evening and then a few days later I'd wear it during the day dressed down and toss it in the wash after that. The black skirt got washed once (at the end of the cruise before storage). As was the man's suit (we sent that out for dry cleaning). I will happily trade a few minutes putting clothes in and out of machines once a week for all the hassle and expense of multiple bags. In fact, our first cruise the laundries were shut because of Covid for a long stretch - but they gave us 1/2 price laundry which was great. HAL doesn't have self-serve laundries so I just budget to put a bag out once a week.

Actually the opposite - tend to lose weight when travelling - because we're moving more and snacking less. My partner was doing a bit of a "charlie chaplain" look on our last cruise because we'd stored his formal suit and travelled for 6 weeks around Europe between cruises. Hadn't lost any actual weight - but definitely cm off the waist

We usually flying from the middle of winter to somewhere warmer. So its layers so at the end of the flight so I can do I bit of strip off. I usually have my heaviest trousers on with an elastic waist. And a couple of layers on top. I wear my heaviest shoes if I'm taking any. If I'm only taking sandals (common) I will pack a pair of black socks to go with the black sandals so I'm not freezing at home and maybe on the flight. Sometimes the socks don't come home. I've been known to use a light water proof jacket as my "warm" layer if I don't need anything else for the trip - but if I'm taking my packable down jacket I wear it as it doubles as an excellent neck pillow.

Good point - intend to do that myself the next time we go through Dubai

We did 2 cruises on Cunard last year 35 days and 20 days with luggage stored in Barcelona between the 2. The stuff we stored was one not completely full case with: 1 suit 1 formal man's shoes 2 pairs dance shoes (he and me) 3/4 mans shirts inc one dress 1/2 ties waistcoat 1 long formal dress 1 dance skirt 3/4 tops mainly chiffon and very, very light jewellery (fake) scarfs (zero weight) 2 x shrugs extra shoes We took carry-on only around Europe which were are day wear which we wore on the cruise - plus a pair of beautiful merino black trousers which are comfortable enough to wear to bed , warm enough to wear in the cold and get comment when dressed up with a chiffon top on board. We had fixed dining, and never once did anyone say we were underdressed or inappropriately dressed - we danced almost night in the Queens Room. Dancing is our thing which is why we have specialist dance shoes. We are cruising HAL this year and will go carry on only as we don't need the dance shoes or the suit for him. Formal night outfits - the b&w is matched with my black dance skirt -the black & cold is full length - I spot washed that under the arms but didn't put it through the laundromat. The chiffon top in the last image goes over trousers or even a full length black dress (didn't take that this time). The first 3 pics are all gala nights. The chiffon I hand wash and hang to dry in the shower which it does overnight. Its beaded it can't go in a washing machine. His suit is nothing special - but I folded it into the large duffle bag with the shoulders inside each other (see youtube) - I thought it would need a press but it didn't . There are irons in the laundromats for the shirts. All our luggage - one small bag is a CPAP. The black day pack is full of electronics (we carry 2 laptops and I have a camera with extra lenses). We were in the Mediterranean from August to October so we had some cooler weather clothes (seen in the last pic) that we only ever needed in San Francisco and early October in Slovenia (inland). Smart attire nights men no longer need a suit jacket otherwise my partner would have needed a second jacket. Women's formal clothes can take next to no space or all the space - I choose next to no space. The shoes take more space particularly his formal shoes

We hate long flights - but being from NZ I'm an expert at this! I'd break the flight up - Sydney to Singapore/KL/Bangkok is about 8 hours. From Asia to the Middle east (Dubai, Doha) is about 6 hours and then the hop home. We are the same - dont like economy for long haul but don't want to pay for business either. Some airlines now have extra leg room (which aren't bulk heads -I don't like bulk heads because sometimes the seats don't recline and some times there are bassinets). Some fo the Asian airlines allow you to buy the seat between you - that makes a huge difference. but really if you have the time break the trip up