alc13

I say do it! A beautiful jacket, and elegant.

I have a foot in the ESL world, too; I tutor adult immigrants. Many of the other tutors I've met came from the UK or Australia, and the people they tutor have no problem understanding their accents. Likewise, lots of audio material is created for British learners, and that's also useful with US learners without any apparent problem. That continues to surprise me. I guess speaking the words slowly and clearly is more important to comprehension than the accent. And to your point about American's shortening everything - I always enjoy teaching gonna, hafta, wanna, etc. And the learners have fun using them.

Clouseau's accent is irresistible for us, even here at home in Maine!

No comparisons intended, and I don't question the accuracy of other reports since it's a given that people's experiences of the same cruise can be different. As for the mental state of the crew, lack of training and/or competence can be demoralizing over time. I hope any problems get worked out quickly, for the sake of the crew, primarily.

LondonCa11ing, that reads like an honest and accurate account. What a shame that service was so mediocre. The crew on your ship was apparently very unhappy.

Baltimore is my home town, and I remember that station well. You could take the train to NYC for $17 round trip in those days, and Thursday was Ladies' Day, when the tickets were half price. The dining car had white tablecloths and that really heavy silver-plate, and I seem to recall delicious waffles. Hoo boy, are those days long gone!

Very bizarre indeed. Hope you get to a full recovery.

We've done "luxury" (Crystal and Silversea) and prefer Cunard. For about a million reasons, actually, but among them are elegant surroundings, consistently well-prepared food, live music (no electric pianos, thank you very much), some great bars, and first-class lectures. Service is on a par with those others, in the Grills, anyway. It may not be "luxury," meaning it's not all-inclusive and the ships are larger, but it sure is nice.

We need a sad-faced button! You have the full monte of symptoms. Here's hoping for a quick resolution.

I'm annoyed at having to enter a booking number to access My.Cunard every d*** time. I don't remember them and have to look them up. And then I repeat the process for a second booking. Clunky. Also, on one of our upcoming cruises, an excursion links to an error message and a request to set cookies.

No, sorry to hear it! Hope you have a quick recovery.

I loved the bar soap that Cunard used to stock. Is it still available on request? I always brought the leftovers home and savored the smell for another several months.

We also booked through Silversea, including air, and had the same experience where the "consultant" pretty much evaporated after we made final payment. There was some annoying stuff with an outbound flight that didn't exist, but that got sorted out. Then while we were on the cruise, one of our return flights was canceled with a week's notice. Silversea Air promptly rebooked --- on the same flight under a code share flight number. The consultant didn't respond when I pointed that out. Ha. Fortunately KLM was on it and booked us on new flights the next day.

Our recent cruise on Silversea originally listed Flam but it was replaced with something else (Olden, I think). I assumed it was because of the environmental issue.

On our recent Norway cruise we thought the included tours were very good. The destinations were great; buses comfortable and clean; commentary good to very good. Walking tours were more of a mixed bag and depended a lot on the guide. Overall, we were pleased and thought the included tours were a plus.

We liked Oslo a lot - if the Viking ship museum is open again when you go I wouldn't miss it (one point for Silversea). Flam was canceled on our cruise, to my regret (one point for Windstar). The Olden area is spectacularly beautiful (tie). The Geiranger fjord is supposed to be beautiful so nice that it appears on both itineraries. Don't know about the others! PS The Ports boards here on cruise critic can help you sort out the alternatives, too

W'ere just back from a Silver Whisper cruise to Norway, and we've been on Windstar several times. Both have the small ship advantage of being able to navigate small ports. The differences are apparent in the cost - larger and more comfortable staterooms on Silversea, included booze and excursions, and a bit more polish overall. The food preparation and excursions on the Whisper were a mixed bag - some excellent, some disappointing, and most somewhere in between. The included wines were acceptable but not more than that. Service was excellent. Windstar is more casual in style and dress. In our experience, the food was no better or worse than on Silversea. I believe they now offer some version of all-inclusive. Our first couple of cruises were on Windstar many years ago and they were a great place to start. Now we enjoy a bit more pampering when we're on a cruise. Mu opinion - for a healthy active couple in their 50s, Windstar could be a better fit in general. But in Norway, the included excursions on Silversea were often exactly what we would have done ourselves if we'd been on our own in port. I'd look into those when comparing itineraries, too. Good luck!

I was only a year old so I don't really remember it, but my family lived in London the year the Queen was crowned and I was told I saw some of the pageantry. I've been a huge fan for 70 years and I admire her greatly. We're back from a cruise to Norway (Silversea; nice but we won't do them again). I wondered if travel would still be so alluring after the 2 1/2 hiatus, and I can tell you I am now raring to do more. I"m already dreaming about the next trip(s). We had some FTCs remaining and booked a 2-day cruise to Hamburg in October, after which we'll go to southern Germany and see the sights by car . And then there is the 5-times rebooked QE cruise next April (Japan-Spain-Japan-Japan-Japan). And maybe the Grand Canyon, at long last?