rkacruiser

This intrigues me. Where on the ship might that be? Maybe forward on Deck 5 which is an open deck that is open only on the Master's discretion. It's the best open deck on the ships that have it and is very, very underused. Have a good cruise! I will be following.

OMG! That's been my dilemma. Try something new or not? Thanks! Another cruise with your wife and you would be enjoyable. Nothing on the radar so far, but, maybe a pipe dream, considering trying to pull together a family cruise (with a family that lives in Maryland and Alaska). The children's ages (as well as my interest in "trying something different") indicates a Disney cruise.

It may depend upon the ship and its availability to access TV feeds. Those ships that have the interactive TVs may have more news channels than those that do not. CNN and Fox News are the channels that I recall are the most frequently accessible.

The Main Dining Room is where I would prefer. My second choice on the Nieuw Amsterdam, since there is no Grand Dutch Cafe, would be the Lido Restaurant. My third choice would be Dive-in.

The consistency of the product is a turn off for me. Tomato Rice Soup and Lake Superior Whitefish are memory makers for me. First encounters with these dishes was in the Dining Car of Chicago & North Western Railways Dakota 400 from Chicago to Rochester, Minnesota. I was a young boy and, for several years, visited Rochester with my Mother. Not always on the menu, but, these two items often were. Whenever I have them now, I remember those interesting days.

If I may insert myself into this discussion, Hank's description of what the YC experience is like is exactly what I found that I enjoyed. On HAL, the crew who served me knew me, knew my preferences, and went out of their way when it was needed to provide me with the "Signature of Excellence" that I expected. As a solo cruiser, I did find the value that made whatever I paid worth it. In comparison with a Neptune Suite guest in an aft suite, far removed from the Neptune Lounge, the value was there only because of a reasonable upgrade offer that I accepted. As a regularly priced Neptune Suite--in that location--no, the value would not have been there. My first encounter with this was a TA on QE2. I was a Tourist Class guest paying more per day than I had paid for a 21 day TA/North Cape Cruise on Royal Viking Sky. Exploring the ship, I encountered First Class areas where I wasn't supposed to be. The same was true exploring where the Grill Suites, Lounge, and Restaurant was. Such encounters were "off-putting", but, I understood the reasoning for this. Sailing on QM2, I did not have the same feeling, but, my reasoning remained the same when I wandered into "Suite country" (I discovered I could not avoid doing so when I booked the Todd English Restaurant.) It was a choice those guests made. So what? What area of the ship that they were using that I could not use would make any difference to me? I have long come to terms with the value equation as it relates to solos. Like it? No. Do I like "deals" that sometimes occur? Well, of course. I am at a point where if I want to take the cruise, if I want to book the type of accommodation that I prefer for that particular cruise, if I can afford it, I will book it. I think the "cruising model" still works for me and am very comfortable moving from a Carnival to a HAL to a MSC to whatever I decide to book. Yet, I am ready to try to sail on a Silversea or Seabourn or another YC sailing. Reading the Seabourn and Silversea Message Boards for months, I detect that there are the same kind of cruisers whom I have met during my past cruises. I detected a very small number who post on those Message Boards whom, I think, I would classify with the small number I encountered on my HAL world cruise as folks I would prefer not to cruise with again. (And, those folks might well feel the same about me.)

Thank you for responding. (I didn't read your signature; sorry.) That will be a wonderful trip as well as your October cruise!

I enjoy Delta One and have experience with the 767-400. I have not flown on a refurbished plane as the video shows. No experience with Virgin Atlantic.

My experience was on a Singapore Airlines flight in Business Class: Singapore-continuing after a stop in Hong Kong-San Francisco. The system had to be rebooted during our fueling stop in Hong Kong. After take-off, it worked for awhile and then did a repeat performance of the problem. The Flight Attendant was able to get it to the flight information page (showing where we were, etc.) and, since I really ought to get some sleep, I didn't "bother" the system again.

At AMS, my traveling companion and I had 3 pieces of checked luggage and two carry-ons. The Porter who was helping us took us to the taxi line where the taxi driver insisted he couldn't get all of the luggage and us in his cab. The Porter "pushed" back against his claim and--lo and behold--everything fit. Having arrived with wet luggage (thank you very much Delta's ATL ground crew for leaving the bags exposed to rain) and the encounter with the taxi driver, it was not a great "first few hours" in Amsterdam. But, once we got to the hotel, and the rest of the day and evening, it was good, memorable first day.

You too? On one flight, the screen worked well initially, but, then froze. The Flight Attendant was able to get to work again. After a few more minutes, it froze again and she was unable to get it to work again.

For those solo cruisers who have gone to pre-scheduled activities either just for solos or for anyone and no one else came, I understand your disappointment. Once, I arranged for an informal M&G (not enough interest before the cruise to ask the cruise line for a formal one). Despite the "interest" that was expressed on the cruise's Roll Call, no one showed. So, what? I waited in the area for about 30 minutes; then, left and enjoyed the rest of the day. My best tip for solo cruisers, if you wish to have a conversation with someone, is to sit at the bar. It is almost impossible not to be able to have a conversation with other guests and/or the bartenders.

I applaud NCLH's shareholders for being attentive enough to do this. Are the shareholders of CCL and RCL that attentive? Please tell me of a company whose CEO and/or Chairman does not earn a salary, in whatever form, that is far in excess of what that company's "worker bees" earn. Is such "deserved"? Is such "earned"? My, what a debate we could have!

A very interesting comment; thanks for making it. I never considered his "energy" and pleasantness was anything less than a "joy of serving and assisting his guests" that he had. I never felt that he expected a tip for what he did for me. And, on the last evening before arriving in Miami, he was not on duty in the YC Restaurant. I had two envelopes. One had Luis' name on it which he received. The other envelope had Arthur's name on it which he did not receive. Am I being naive about what I perceived in Arthur's service that I experienced?

🤣

Fred, if I cruise on HAL again, and the ship has the stand alone Sel de Mer, I may opt for Open Seating and make a couple or more visits to Sel De Mer in order to try other items on the menu. While I prefer fixed seating, my most recent cruise (Eurodam, January, 2020) was Open Seating because I wanted to be able to dine with some friends who had such reservations. That gave me the flexibility of trying some different combinations of dining venues. The cruise started with a Pinnacle Grill dinner; a first for me. It was an excellent dining experience (and I am usually not a PG fan).

I have dined in the stand alone on Nieuw Statendam as well as at three pop-ups. The Dover Sole have been perfect each time. The experience does not vary from ship to ship. How Chef Rudi's has been able to achieve this, I don't know. But, the consistency of the cruise experience has been a hallmark of Holland America Line in years past. With the growth of the fleet and the micro-management by the executives, that distinction for the Line has been lost. Does Chef Rudi have some "management skills" that the Seattle executives lack?

Now, noticing that my JD degree was awarded by the esteemed Timbucktu University's Law School, I think the "Contract of Carriage" would be honored before any "strongly worded e-mail" from the President of HAL in a United States court.

Now, noticing that my JD degree was awarded by the esteemed Timbucktu University's Law School, I think the "Contract of Carriage" would be honored before any "strongly worded e-mail" from the President of HAL.

Good idea! I had not thought of that.

I am in agreement with you. Having been a HAL Neptune Suite guest, I was interested in what else I might experience. That was one of my reasons for booking Yacht Club on MSC Meraviglia. I was not disappointed! My bucket list now includes another YC experience and/or a sailing on Silversea or Seabourn. But, I will be perfectly happy, I expect, if my next cruise is a proposed family cruise on a Disney ship (although a dinner at their adult restaurant will be on the "to do" list). Or, another cruise on HAL or Princess as a suite guest or not. A 1957 visit to Queen Mary on sailing day as a 13 year old provided vivid memories that I still have. Pier 90 was as hectic, but, I would not call it as chaotic as it sometimes is on sailing day now. Four gangways: one for each of the Classes and one for us visitors. And, there were many. Didn't see any of the check-in areas, but, the excitement of those sailing on Queen Mary has always stuck in my mind. That differs a bit today, I think, because of the hoops we have to jump through to even get to the gangway. Today, I think, while we are happy to be at that point, it's almost like "we made it".

Wow! That will be quite a trip. What ship? What itinerary (detail of all the ports not needed)?

Friends loved their Voyages of Discovery cruises as well as those on Swan Hellenic.

My experience as well. I find the entertainment systems on any aircraft less than intuitive and easy to use at times. Maybe if I was more of a "techie", it would help.

My Brother was a Band Director and a chaperone for a High School band that was flying to Europe for some concerts. The other chaperones and he chose window seats on the right side of the plane for the purpose of trying to observe the loading of luggage into its holds (this was before the containerized luggage containers were in wide use). They did this to try to be certain that no instruments remained behind. The instruments did arrive in London the same time they did.