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The manner in which the question is asked makes the automatic assumption that cruising is the best type of vacation. The are reasons cruises are desirable and reasons they are not but they are not automatically the "best." It depends on personal tastes and what you prefer to do on vacation.

It isn't.

$24USD per year is worth every Lincoln cent. With NEXUS/Global Entry I avoid the imbecile line at airport security, go through YYZ pre-clearance in minutes, breeze through at land crossings and avoid the horror show of customs and immigration when entering the U.S. from another country.

The people who would do that are cruisers who know nothing about what they are buying and fail to realize that when they step off the big boat they are marks, walking ATM machines, who are there to be fleeced in every possibly manner. You don't find many reputable art dealers at dockside. Caveat emptor.

It's one thing if you know what you are buying is made elsewhere. No doubt there are cruisers in for a shock should they try and sell what they believed was genuine indigenous art from the Arctic and for which they paid full price.

Might want to check the name on the bottom. You may have bought a fake. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-alaska-philippines-made-indigenous-art/ "The stone carving depicted a bear grasping a fish in its mouth, its supposed authenticity sealed with the engraved name of its Tlingit artist, Kilit. It was sold at a shop in Ketchikan that catered to the millions of cruise ship tourists who pass through this coastal town eager to bring home a piece of coastal Alaska. The price: US$3,200. But Kilit did not exist, and the carving did not originate in Alaska. It was made in the Philippines, as part of a sophisticated operation that, for many years, stocked two shops in Ketchikan with humpbacks, bears, dolphins and eagles sculpted 10,000 kilometres away."

I bring prescription medications in the bottle with the label but not those medications I can buy over the counter.

If you are a Street Foodie you may never see the inside of a Michelin Starred Restaurant. Amazing street food in Tokyo.

I've been to both cities. Sydney as described above is certainly more user friendly which is to be expected in any place where everyone speaks English and you can read the signs. Otherwise it's just another English-speaking city among many. But if you've never been to Japan and have an interest then I would definitely take that option. It is a fascinating city, with a very different culture, history and things to see and do. I have zero interest in going back to Sydney but would return to Tokyo.

I have no quarrel with vegetarian food and eat it often but one taste of a Beyond burger and I was off the program. It is perplexing that the vegetarian movement seems committed to promoting food stuffs and look like and sort of taste like meat if you are sufficiently intoxicated.

As you are not certain you will need cash I would suggest waiting until you are there and decide. ATMs are very common in Japan and consider any transactions fees as the cost of convenience. In the greater scheme of things the difference between a good deal and a bad deal on currency exchange is not that significant or worth jumping through hoops over.

"Best vegetarian burger" falls into the category of damning with faint praise. The reason you probably couldn't get one last year is lack of demand. If you know anyone in the casual/QSR dining space they will candidly admit these offerings are there more for political reasons. Despite the media hype they aren't as big sellers as the vegetarian mafia would have you believe.

Very helpful link. To make a drink package pay I'd have to drink more than I typically would. My wife would have to pay for the package too because we're in the same cabin and she drinks less than me.

Not only tough but frequently self-righteous and smug. Ask a question even remotely related to casinos and you are certain to get a disdainful lecture about gaming. Playing in a casino is entertainment and fun. Dropping a few hundred at the tables is little different than the cost of a good pair of tickets to professional sporting event, a hit theater show, premium concert tickets or a gourmet meal. The difference is in the casino there's always the chance you won't spend as much, break even or win a few dollars.

Comps are given by casino companies to frequent gamblers so they will come back to their casino and not play elsewhere. It is no different than a cruise line offering incentives for return customers.

The owners also have every right to allow people to film on their property. It is entirely possible a vlogger has the approval of the cruise line and may even be subsidized, in whole or in part, in return for a favorable review. The prospect of my image appearing on someone's blog doesn't trouble me if the video is taken in a place with public access. If the filming becomes intrusive or irritating then complaints should be made to the cruise staff.

I'd accept poor food on a cruise for a desired destination where a cruise was the best way to visit as opposed the most magnificent ship with the very best food that puddled around the Caribbean visiting one dreary island port after another.

Some people however sweat the small stuff. For people with a rigid and authoritarian outlook not following the dress code annoys them greatly and they are annoyed equally at the line and the passengers who do not share their unbending adherence to guidelines. A rule that is not enforced nor carries consequences falls somewhere between a request and a recommendation and if the people who wrote the rules don't think they are important enough to enforce then they are not important enough for me to follow.

You are far from alone. We cruise for the itinerary and when a cruise makes sense due to distances, logistics, availability and qualify of tourism amenities, etc. Alaska, a Tahiti cruise that included the Marquesas, a repositioning transatlantic, a Panama Canal passage, Easter Island, Antarctica are examples that come to mind. There are also sites where a cruise offers a better degree of security in unstable regions. A tourist who wanted to see the Great Pyramids of Egypt, for example, would better off taking a cruise instead of attempting a land-based visit. Otherwise, cruising does not have that much to offer and ship board life is often tedious.

I cruised on HAL in 2018 on a cruise that was longer than ten days. No one wore a tux, about half the men wore jackets and the rest of us wore collared shirts and trousers.

The UK solved the discrimination issue by putting the pay gate at the entrance to the toilet.

Pay toilets were quite common in the U.S.A until the 1970's when they were either banned by legislation or removed under social pressure. The argument was that they were discriminatory to women.

If there is no consequence to walking past the handwashing area then it is not a rule but a request.

The impact however is generalized and not equally shared. Is handwashing before entering the buffet a rule, a recommendation or a request? Is a stop at the handwashing station mandatory for admission and has a cruiser ever been denied access for refusing or is this "rule" similar to not using the same cup or plate more than once?

If you know London well enough you can do the same but there are still pay toilets in the capital city. Change isn't always required. There is one on the south bank of the Thames not far from the London Eye that takes credit cards. Tap and go!