apples4t

For a wash cloth in the UK, try asking for a "flannel". I grew up in London and that’s what we called them.

I would second "Fun with Falcons", it was one of the most fascinating HAL tours I have done. Also very much enjoyed "Sailing on the Bras D'Or Lakes", a HAL tour out of Sydney, although I imagine an experienced sailor would find it somewhat tame.

Google "Dinner in the Sky" Restaurant, it appears to be a pop-up in various locations. Not for the faint hearted!

May I piggy-back on your post with related questions? We are doing the same cruise in September on the Rotterdam. In Charlottetown I am tempted by the "Fun with Falcons" tour. In Sydney am considering "Sailing on the Bras d'Or Lakes". Can anyone share their experience of either of these?

We are actually doing back-to-back Montreal-Boston-Montreal, so in the other direction would do a different tour in Charlottetown. Been to Sydney before so not really bothered about exploring there.

To the tune of "O Tannenbaum" ..

O Westerdam, O Prinsendam,

I wish I were aboard you.

O Zuiderdam, O Oosterdam,

I cannot quite afford you.

I’d sail away to Rotterdam!

Aboard the good ship Koningsdam.

But ‘til the day when I have cash,

On webcams I’ll applaud you!

Should clarify, we purchased it well in advance of the cruise, on the recommendation of our TA.

A week into our SA/Antarctica cruise we were reamed out by the wine steward, at the dinner table, for purchasing the Navigator package. He said this meant they did not get any tips. At the time I was too embarrassed to ask for more details or to respond, but we did document it at length in the comments at the end of the cruise. Not a pleasant experience.

There is (fizzy) soda water in the gun, although I don't know whether it is technically Club Soda.

Thanks! Fizzy water is exactly what I drink at home. Would probably save on buying bottled water every day.

Is Club Soda usually available as a fountain drink?

Thanks again everyone. I will be keeping an eye on the share prices as our next cruise is in April 2015.

Most of what I know about cruising I learned from Cruise Critic :)

Thanks for the speedy info!

Hello, I'm hoping someone is willing to answer some questions about the Carnival Shares OBC perk .. I asked the HAL online chat lady if detailed info was available on the HAL website, but the answer was "no, call this number". Which I will also do.

- Does it work for Canadians? HAL chat lady says Yes, but would love to hear from a Canadian that has done it.

- Is there a waiting period? If I buy 100 shares now, how soon could I claim the OBC?

- I think the amount of OBC depends on cruise length, but the only list of "$$ vs days" I could find was from 2005.

- Do my 100 shares allow me to claim OBC on multiple cruises and/or over multiple years, or do I have to buy more shares?

- I cruise with a friend, not related and not a couple. If we both had shares, would we both get the OBC, or is it per stateroom?

Many thanks, and thank you also for the great information on this discussion group!