AV8rix

Lenda, best of luck to you and Steve. In the coming months I'm hopeful to hear news of the regression/reversal of symptoms that the shunt should accomplish. Wish my dearly-departed love had opted for the shunt but, oh well. Can't change history.

Yeah, I don't know why they're renaming stuff. One of my favorites was Spaghetti Alla Vongole (on the old menu). Now it's the same dish but on the new menu it is called "Spaghetti with Shrimp and Clams". Anyone doubts this, just check out the ingredients on BOTH menus.

Well, I wasn't gonna say anything but that is true. I'm a (displaced) Texan and it's against the law. You can be prosecuted for that if anyone finds out. But I happen to like red beans in my chili and so I'm happy to be living in the Seattle metroplex -- where I can invite friends to join me when I make it. Back home I had to eat it alone. 😉 And apologies for thread drift.

Thanks for posting that, @TCUJeep. You see, on the revised daily menu that they implemented this month they deleted the carpaccio and lamb chops that had ALWAYS been available previously. So now we have to pay a premium to enjoy them on just that evening? I'll be on a Pinnacle-class ship for the holidays. Think I'll skip Canaletto on Christmas eve.

Right. That's me. See post #38 on this thread. Again, search keywords "Carnival" and "Capgemini".

Well, it's just a bit different on the Pinnacle-class ships and the Signature Sisters. On Pinnacle-class ships Nami is actually a separate (although within Tamarind) sushi bar in the sense that, like on sushi bars on land, you can sit at the bar itself, talk to the sushi chefs and watch them do their thing. On the Signature Sisters there is not a separate sushi bar but there are sushi chefs and the Nami menu is identical to the one for the Pinnacle-class ships. But you sit in the main Tamarind space. Hope this helps.

I got a bizarre offer on the first of this month: "Book your Cruise for 2024 and save with Casino Insider Rates" (red bold underlined text mine). I don't have anything planned yet for next year so was eager to explore this offer. WRONG! The overwhelming majority of the cruises offered are for fall/winter this year. There were barely a handful of cruises for 2024 included in this offer.

That is my married name, and my ex-husband's folks were all from the Florida panhandle -- no connection to Texas at all. In fact I didn't move there until 1970, back when Dallas (although already a big city) was like a charming small town with actual neighborhoods. I had one of those bumper stickers "I wasn't born in Texas but I got here as soon as I could". And in my mind it'll ALWAYS be my home!

Lenda, that's why I miss Texas so much. Up here it just "mizzles" (mists and drizzles) all the time. And we NEVER get thunderstorms -- at least we don't here west of the Cascades. I think that eastern Washington does have them. Back home in Dallas I could sit for hours watching the spectacular lightning. Umm, well I'm not too fond of the oddly-colored lightning that precedes a tornado ☹️.

Most of the old R-class and S-class ships were "themed". Ryndam was my favorite as I was a sailboat racer and she was the nautical-themed ship. Her atrium centerpiece was an old ship's bowsprit figurehead. She had many beautiful displays of old navigational instruments, sailing ship models, etc. Including an inappropriately-labeled ship model. The model was a gaff-rigged ketch on display in the deck 3 atrium. It was labeled as a schooner. This bothered me terribly, as it wouldn't surprise me to see an error like that on a Carnival or RCI ship (although I don't sail on those) but you'd think that the curators of the Holland America art and artifacts would do their due diligence on the labeling. Whatever. Anyway, I got all teary-eyed watching her final departure from Tampa. And @sambamama, you need to watch your spellchecker suggestions before posting. We never had a ship named "Duncan" and the aft-deck butchering was done on Veendam, not "Verandah". Jus' sayin' 😉😉😉.

This is a HAL board, so probably the majority of us know nothing about NCL. Do they not have an app to be used on board? How do you schedule your specialty dining, see the menus for the various dining venues, communicate with other passengers and, yes, let the powers that be know if you had a GREAT experience with a staffer -- or had a problem? IMO the most USEFUL feature of our Navigator app is the ability to message back and forth with your friends. It's educational and interesting to hear how other lines operate so glad you're here and looking forward to your reply.

(former UT alumna and Dallasite)

Not disputing what you were told 10 years ago. However, here's what the procedure is now: If you leave auto-charged grats ("crew incentive") in place the folks you tip (housekeeping stewards, F&B personnel, etc) are permitted to pocket the tips. However, if you remove those grats, then any individual cash tips must be pooled. Sorry, I can't quote the source but there have been MANY threads on this in the past with RELIABLE sources quoted. And I certainly agree with all posters about entering praise about individuals in the Navigator app. I have been profusely thanked by all who I have praised via the app.

<sigh> Well I've posted quite a few comments about this before, but late 2016 CCL (corporate) outsourced IT to offshore Capgemini. Just google keywords "Capgemini Carnival" for the whole story. And it's been downhill ever since.

Also note that, at least on the Pinnacle-class ships, the Orange Party is ***LOUD***! Just noting this because I don't like loud music and I know that there are others that also don't like it. You (OP) may be okay with it. But I wear my orange on that evening anyway 😃.

I'm unhappy because in the new menu they have discontinued both the carpaccio and the lamb chops. I believe that there are also other changes but the two that I have mentioned are the ones that really displease me.

Jennifer isn't a "guest relations" person, she's the Mariner Society rep. Cool lady. I've sailed with her a few times. Anyway, tell her that Susan Kennedy says hi (if you remember). Thanks. Anyway, glad you're doing this blog and happy to be following along with you.

I'm a long-time HAL cruiser, just blackjack. To be honest, haven't paid rack rate for a stateroom in over 10 years. Many, many free interiors (can be upgraded to better category relatively cheaply) and when not actually free, generally 30% off rack rate. Have a nice 30%-off coming up soon with $750 in free play.

From your lips to G*ds ears.🙂

Carolyn, what fire? I can't find any info about it. No sirens or anything. The Anchor Pub fire yesterday is just 1 mile from my house. Maybe your neighbor has old news?

Oooh, Hubbard! On one of my first HAL cruises in 2010 (can't remember which ship, think it was Statendam) we went to Hubbard. We watched the relatively small chunks calving for a while. Then there was a sound like the loudest thunder I've ever heard and seemed like the WHOLE FACE of the glacier fell off, causing an ENORMOUS wave! Captain shouted over the PA "Everyone grab a hand rail. That tsunami (yeah, he really used that term) will hit us". And it did. Really rocked the ship. Been up there many times since...most recently last week...but have never observed a repeat of that phenomenon.

Ewww, that's an AWFUL one! I've been on a few as a preliminary segment to Hawaii, et al. They are booze cruises for the Seattle HAL office folk, who all get drunk and loud and make everyone else miserable. On the last couple of them, I just stayed in my stateroom 'til they all disembarked. It's only one night, so it's certainly tolerable (to me).

Unfortunately, you are correct for Vancouver. All other ports -- including San Diego, which can also be bad at times -- definitely honor the Mariner status/CO/suite priority boarding. But have a great cruise anyway. Once you're aboard, your suite status will be honored.

Actually the Vancouver train station is right across the park from the SkyTrain Expo Line station (with elevator for your luggage). I generally use that, although in bad weather I've taken a taxi -- about $12 Canadian to the port.

Hi, neighbor (I'm in Snohomish County)! I've driven up for cruises there. Canada Place parking is OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive. So what I have done in the past is stay one night at the Radisson. They have (or used to have) a "parking package" for folks on cruises. Nice indoor garage. And they're right across the street from a SkyTrain terminal (SkyTrain is Vancouver's excellent mass transit). However, I just checked their site and no longer see the parking package listed. So you might want to give them a call and see if it is still offered. (236) 305-5339. But more often, I just take the Amtrak Cascade train up and back. Business Class is just about $150 from SnoCo round trip. Probably a bit more from downtown. Train always full of cruisers.