POA1

I've had good luck with TP Links travel router's. There's a signal meter in the web interface to help with placement. Your client devices are good within around 50 feet provided you have line of sight. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5RCZQH/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_apa_gl_i_AJ2XJK1Y8YF3XXQ0Q06V?linkCode=ml1&tag=skysolgro-20

One connection per MAC, if I recall correctly. So you want router to WLAN and every other device to the router. Do *not* try multiple devices with a MAC address clone. It'll look like spoofing and will probably be caught quickly.

Congratulations on your Gold Medallion!

We were thinking Escargot (DW), Crab Bisque (Me) and then sharing the duck liver pâté and beef tartare to share. I didn't hold out any special hopes for true fois gras when I saw the words "duck liver" in the description.

I think it's up by $10 or so. Considering the increase in food costs, it's not awful.

In related news... Our ability to reserve specialty dining showed up yesterday (Saturday 4/29.) It wasn't there on Friday. Yesterday was 225 days before sailing. I'm not sure if that's why dining reservations came online or not. I wasn't expecting them yet. Someone in my roll call spotted them.

Does anyone happen to know if you can order an additional appetizer at Sel de Mar? I don't mind if there's a supplement or surcharge. If there is and you know the amount, please share. Thank you!

Thank you for this thread! The tips regarding Seattle to Vancouver on the train are great. Flying into YVR is not fun. We always seem to arrive concurrent with flights from the Far East.

If you have your voyage codes, a HAL employee can see the # of dressy nights on their system. The voyage code is on your paperwork in Cruise Details section on page 1 of your booking confirmation. The number of gala nights is subject to change by the ship, but 6 is a really safe bet.

Roger Jett has a good selection of menus on his site. He's been my go-to resource for years. https://rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/ He posts here as @Crew News

It should be 6 for the reasons RuthC mentioned. Your PCC or travel agent can see it on the booking, but it's not on your paperwork nor does it show when you view your booking on the HAL website

Wow! This is a really good thread John! I hadn't really been keeping up with people's ship trip reports in the past few years. (Too depressing with no sailing scheduled.) The current "Live From" game is at a higher level than ever. Thanks for taking us along.

As always, happy to help! The lovely Mrs. POA1, @Huskerchick loves the retreat cabanas. The cabana hotline is our first call after we receive our booking confirmation. I love that you can pick a cabana when you book now. In days of yore they were assigned right before boarding. (You could request your top 3 choices, but you had to email the ship's coordinator. He or she, in turn, sent your request to the ship. The ship got back to the coordinator who wrote to you with confirmation.) The new process is far better.

OK... I've finally finished solving the world's problems and had time to answer your queries. Your original post is in an attractive bluish color. I answer Back In Black (just like the easy listening song from 1980.) So, you've booked a Retreat and/or Lido cabana. Then what? For that first time (until they learn you) how do the staff know that you are allowed to be there? The cabana attendants has a manifest listing which passengers are assigned to which cabana. Do you go up on just after embarking and introduce yourselves? (Sidebar -- does the reservation rental even cover embarkation day?) They'll greet you when you arrive. The reservation starts as soon as you can get to CabanaLand. Some of the retreat areas look more sectioned off than others -- so is there a special way to access them (as in key card?). Some (I think all the non-Pinnacle ships) look like they have stair access from open deck below in addition to the same level access. Is this true or is that for staff movement only? (I'm wondering about ease of access from the retreat cabanas to the either of the Lido pools (inside or outside). Typically, you can get to the Retreat Area by a doorway from inside the ship or by the exterior stairs you referenced. On some ships, you take an elevator up to the cabana level from the deck that has the Crow's Nest to the deck where the cabanas are. (I believe this is on the Vista Class ships with cabanas only.) There is signage indicating that it's a private area. You may have the occasional person pass through, but they'll be asked to leave if they loiter. If they return, they're thrown into the brig and flogged.* I hear/read people saying they have breakfast and lunch there. Do you (can you) get food from Lido/Dive-In/Pizza and bring it up? If you do (because you have *very* particular wants/desires or just cannot make up your mind until you see the food in person at the Lido because you are very indecisive) do you get a pained look from the attendants because you bypassed them? There's a breakfast menu for the cabanas. It's very similar to the room service menu. There's a daily lunch menu from the Lido. You can also order from the Dive-In or NY Pizza. You simply tells "your guys" what you want and when you'd like it delivered. Bear in mind that things like pizza will be traveling from the aft of the ship up to the front where the cabanas are located. They'll also come up a deck or two. (This is my way of letting you know that your pizza might not be piping hot. The Dive-In food travels better. If you want to go to the Lido - say... because you want to make your own salad. - the cabana stewards won't mind. We usually just tell them that we're eating elsewhere that day. (Don't want them to worry!) If you do go the route of having them bring food and/or drinks, what can you get and from where? See above regarding food. You can also get snacks from the Explorations Cafe. You'll need to check out the selection on your way to the cabana. And how? Similar to ordering at a restaurant? Standing "orders" possible? "Timed" order, as in we are going to be there at 1 but place the lunch order earlier? How long does it take to get things (I realize that complex orders/wants might impact that as well as number of people asking for something all at the same time). I'm not sure how to answer this or what, exactly, you're asking. If you are a super-duper, cabana-planna who operates with military precision, you probably *could* place a standing order for a Bloody Mary at 10:00 AM daily. However, it would be up to you to be there at 10:00 AM daily which seems kinda non-vacationy to me. Cabanas only accommodate 2 or 4 guests. However, there are usually only 2 cabana stewards, so not everyone can have everything simultaneously. More than anything I'd love to know if you can get the afternoon tea service as they do in the MDR but at your cabana. Seriously. Doubtful. Tea service has trolleys of lil' cakes and oh-so-tiny sandwiches. If tea is your bag, (Ha! I crack myself up.) go to the MDR for tea. On the other hand, if you want hot or iced tea, that's completely do-able. Speaking of attendants, is it the same staff everyday or does it rotate? Same attendants, but there's usually a fill-in person to cover breaks. If you are on a multi-segment sailing, you might have a person swap out on turnaround day. Do you really get 20% offers on spa services? There are several things listed on the fact sheet as amenities but other forum threads seem to indicate they haven't really been available post-pandemic. The one my husband really wants to know about is the frozen grapes -- he could care less about chocolate covered strawberries but offer him frozen grapes and he is beyond heaven. Yes, to the spa services discount. You used to be able to arrange for massages up in the Retreat area, but we last sailed in 2018, so someone else may have more recent information. WRT the frozen-fruit-of-the-day: It varies. If your husband really has his heart set on frozen grapes (on a stick!) he can probably put in a standing request. Poohby Joe, enjoying a glass of bubbly and frozen grapes. While I'd never leave anything truly worth anything lying out and about anywhere outside our cabin, can you leave things in your cabana for a short time? So, bring up the bag with the daily reading/entertainment but leave it there if you pop down to the spa for an hour or such? And yes, I realize that they close up the cabanas each day so I'm not talking about leaving things overnight or for the whole trip. For this question it is really about the retreat cabanas as the lido ones definitely do not look secure. We've never had anything go missing in 38 CabanaDays, so I feel pretty confident. We've left our stuff in the cabana if we popped out for a bit. If we are going to be gone for any period of time, we simply drop our belongings in our stateroom. We're usually midship, so we're never far from home. Lastly... If you really want to make the most of your cabana experience, couple it with a beverage package. The Crow's Nest Bar and The Explorations Cafe are located nearby and you can order alcoholic, non-alcoholic, and coffee drinks to your cabana. Also alcoholic coffee drinks are a fine way to start your day. When choosing your cabana, bear in mind that the non-Pinnacle ships' cabanas that overlook the Lido Pool get some pretty good airflow. The port & starboard ones have a view but less airflow. On the Pinnacle class ships, there's a plexiglass divider that dampens the airflow to the center cabanas. We prefer the the ones overlooking the pool unless we're on the Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam, or Koningsdam. For example, we're in a starboard cabana in December on the NS. Thanks in advance! You're welcome, waaaay in arrears. *-Not really, but it would be cool.

Yes. I kept referring to it as the app-not-an-app in my last "Live From." It was basically a focused browser. The new version is more of a true application. I'll be interested to see it on the cruise. However, when it comes to the daily program, I still like the paper version. We mark it up with a pen and carry it around with us. It never runs low on battery or loses WiFi signal.

Happy to help! The Navigator app has the current Wine List and a bunch of menus loaded for our voyage in December. Interestingly (and dangerously!) you can order anything from the Dive-In 24 hours a day. The sandwich comes with Dive In Fries and can be ordered from the app for a $4.95 surcharge. That's either good or bad if you're out late and want a snack to meet you when you return o your room.

Let's try putting two photos in with captions and extra text. Some Port Everglades flags

BTW - The 2023 version of the Navigator app is far better than what we had in 2018. I have not experienced it on board yet, but I like what I see so far.

From the Navigator app right now. wine-list-202304.pdf

The readdition of the Library has got to warm the cockles of many a heart here on CC. We're big fans of using our e-readers to read books from our public library, but you can't beat the battery life of an actual paper book.

Excellent start to the report! I'm going to miss the full blown muster. It was always the highlight of my trip. I could identify the cantankerous curmudgeons and the drunks before we ever dropped lines. 😃

Great report! DW loves the Nieuw Amsterdam. It's her favorite so far.

I'm running the beta version of maps on a Pixel 7 Pro, but I think this works everywhere. When you are displaying a map, touch the left edge of the screen to hide the search box and all the info pane. (You may have already known that.) Depending on what information is showing at the bottom of the screen, you may have to swipe down on the drawer control to hide it at first. This even works from the map search.

Rich - 1 really like the Google maps screenshot of where you are each day. I'm stealing it in December - with attribution, of course

I'll try to answer this better when I'm at my computer. It's a little complicated for the phone keyboard. We just booked a cabana this morning for our cruise in December. We've had a retreat cabana on every sailing we've been on since 2014 and definitely think they're worth it. Be sure to have the diagram for your ship when you book. You'll be picking a cabana when you reserve it. Try to have your top 3 or 4 choices ready. More to follow...