alc13

Hilarious!

I didn't get one either. I guess I'm saved a few points rise in blood pressure because I would hate the freezes and keystroke issues.

Yes, good luck to all those in the path of Idalia. Mr ALC's two sisters are here visiting us from the Sarasota FL area. They were due to fly home Wednesday, but the Tampa airport has been closed and isn't expected to reopen until Thursday. Here in Maine we depend on generators because of frequent power outages (forests and elevated power lines don't mix well). Can't say enough in favor of them.

Call them back and ask for clarification. Their definition of "comparable" may be different from yours. And good luck!

Okay! At least I'm not missing something. Thanks for the help.

Ah, other way around. The person who made the referral saw the credit posted on his/her end. I figured because I was new to the Seabourn website I just wasn't looking in the right place.

Thanks for replying! I wondered about the OBC from the travel agent, too, but she said it would only be on the invoice at the moment. I'm actually asking about the friend's referral award. Thought someone on this thread might know how it works on the receiver's end.

Sorry if this is a doofus question, but I just don't see the credit anywhere. Hoping someone can help me out. I suppose worst case there will be some record once on board?

Do these appear somewhere in My Account on the Seabourn website?

On the subject of language, Google Translate has an image reader in it, so you can translate signs and menus when you need to. The first time I visited Japan, about 20 years ago, I had a paper map to help me navigate the town I was in. I put my finger on the map location when I started and traced the route as I walked, so I wouldn’t get lost. Google is a big help these days.

Absolutely, a Suica or Pasmo card is a must. Another invaluable item that we used throughout the trip was a pocket Wi-Fi. We got ours from Ninja, who have a storefront in Haneda so we could pick it up when we arrived in Japan. And incidentally, Haneda is much closer to Tokyo and Yokohama than Narita.

We planned to take a train from Yokohama to Tokyo after our Apr Japan cruise, but ended up being unsure about finding a train that would also take our luggage. I’m sure if we’d gone to the station an agent would have helped us sort it out but we decided to do the easy thing and took a taxi instead. Once in Tokyo, the subways and buses take you anywhere you need to go. But it is an incredibly complex system and a navigation app is invaluable. We found Google maps to be terrific - it even identifies the number of the exit to take at the destination.

Really, now I want to know how it's decided. On our Japan trip in April we thought we might get a window, based on stateroom grade and loyalty status. But we were seated one table in from the window. Then it turned out that the couple next to the window were continuing on the 2nd leg of a longer cruise; they asked to be moved to a window table after the first leg and were accommodated. So asking sometimes works.

Exceedingly well said!

I'm sorry the OP had a bad experience. For what it's worth, we've had a couple of disappointing experiences in QG - one with a butler and one with a maitre d'. Fortunately both experiences were one-offs, and didn't lessen our preference for Cunard over the other lines we've tried.

@ceilidh1 - fabulous review, wonderful photos. We were on QE in April so it was fun to see so many pictures of the ship. A small point, but it has the most gorgeous carpets of any public space I've seen! The Irish duo were on board then, too. Mr ALC loved them so we saw them several times. Lots of fun. Sorry you had such bad drinks service. We always look forward to cocktails on Cunard. Some great bars on those ships.

I'm coming to the same conclusion. They want a different demographic. Unless people in their 30s-50s start embracing formal wear, the existing ships might be enough to satisfy those of us who like to dress for dinner. How they will differentiate themselves from HAL etc remains to be seen. Or maybe the market for that kind of experience is far from saturated, in which case a new and pretty ship with plenty of dining options and good itineraries will sell itself easily.

I have the same question. Does anyone know?

We booked some refundable fares recently on American Airlines, and discovered that it doesn't mean they return your money. Instead they give you certificates for future flights (and separate certificates for each traveler, regardless of who booked and paid for them). Very misleading, and not really the meaning of the word "refundable." Anyway, be careful how that term is used when if/when you book those flights.

That's crystal clear, thanks for the link! This is a fair policy, in my opinion. I gather there are reasons having to do with income tax laws around the world for distinguishing between service charge income and salary/wage income. The important thing is that the staff are adequately compensated. Discarding the term "gratuities" is helpful, too.

Off topic, sorry - but would we expect it to be even less formal than this in the Caribbean? We are booked on a Dec cruise and were going to bring a long dress for me and suit for him, but might forgo it.

Our estimable Host Hattie has removed a rude comment from someone trolling the board, and thank goodness for that. My comment about returning to regular programming followed that post, and was most definitely not in response to our regular gang.

Back to our regular programming... We've had a beaver problem this summer. A family of beavers lives in a marsh that drains through a culvert under our driveway, and starting in June they dammed the culvert nearly every day for over a month. Trapping is only a temporary solution (also, ugh), and we wanted something permanent. So we hired a guy to build a flow device, AKA a beaver deceiver, that would protect the entrance to the culvert. Here is a picture of the architect and his masterpiece: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I think it is lovely.

Good point.

Seabourn seems to be a good value compared to other high-end cruise lines based on what we're paying for a Caribbean cruise this December. It is far less expensive, anyway. As far as land travel, I guess it depends on what you're comparing Seabourn's prices against. Looking at @JPH814's breakdown, $300 for a room buys luxury accommodations in some cities, but not most. Meals prices are again reasonable in some parts of the world, but low in others. $200 for transportation is downright cheap almost anywhere in the world (I assume you are taking a 7-night cruise). I guess my expectations for food quality are a bit lower after reading this forum. But that's not why we booked this cruise.