Magicat

I am considering working on the ship.  Not because I am indispensable to the companies wellbeing.  Au contraire, I receive a finite amount of vacation time each year.  Would be nice to extend that time by working a few sea days from time to time.  But who am I kidding, I'm not that motivated of an employee to follow through with my plan. LOL

3 hours ago, Tulsacoker said:

This bring up a point I've not thought much about. The SL concierge? are they in any part of the suite gratuities? I generally tip the concierge if I have they do anything specific and only a few time not tip of I really had no interaction with them. That being said what I have asked from them is typically what is listed as a part of the suite amenities. 

 

i.e. on our last cruise Romana (sp?) on Quantum was the best concierge we have ever had.  

Perhaps you are referring to Romina.  I believe she was from Romania, slender with long black hair?  I had heard she became a Genie.  If it is the same woman then yes, she was the best ever.

On 10/10/2022 at 3:03 PM, klfhngr said:

Hmmm, guess I'll wait for more replies, but thanks all, so far!

When cruising started up last year and the crew could not get off, we had a couple of Mexican waiters and servers.  We asked them if they wanted us to bring anything back on board for them on our stop in Cozumel.  Thinking they might want a certain brand of shampoo or other toiletry.  Nope, they asked for corn tortillas, chicharon and taco meat.  So we got off, went to a Pueblito restaurant and picked up a kilo of meat and some tortillas with salsa.  Chicharons got those at 7-11.  Everything got on board and we had the best service every after delivery.  We considered this our tip to them. 

We have also brought meats and cheeses from various Spanish ports without an issue. 

Back in the day we carried the Lonely Planet's translation book and communicated from Austria to Spain with no issues.  Living in Mexico and having some French language skills, GT was very useful in conveying what I was trying to say.  As posted above, cultural or regional words and phrases especially of food items do not to work well, however searching the item on Google works. 

I have found through out my travels that even attempting to communicate in the native language you will get a lot of help.  Imagine someone walking up to you and speaking Polish to you.  However the same person comes up and says "Is Toilet where".  You would be more willing to help this fellow out. Just try, you'll be fine.

I sleep with my TA.  The perks are unbelievable.  🤩

Thanks broberts, I wish I could remember what the warning message stated when I turned my phone on in Boston and Chicago.  I see from Bell's network map that both areas have 5G/4GLTE networks.  I'll do a little more digging before I give Bell Support a call.  Again thanks for your assistance.

On 10/8/2022 at 6:22 PM, broberts said:

 

The Key 2 should work. You may have to change a phone setting. Call Bell support.

Thanks, I'll do that before traveling to the US in November.  But I fear I will be in a Catch 22 scenario.  My phone doesn't work so I have to call Bell Support, but I can't call Bell Support because my phone is not working.  Roger Roger 😂

So something interesting happened during our recent visits to the US (Boston, Chicago and Cedar Rapids).  When I turned my phone on I got a message stating that the cell network has been upgraded and older phones may not work using a 3G or LTE service.  Sure enough my phone (Blackberry Key2) did not work.  I purchased this phone 3 years ago.  So looks like I will need to upgrade my phone when traveling in the US.  Data still worked just calling did not.  I did have roaming on too. 

Not sure if anyone else has experienced this or not.  

They kicked us off at 9am as we were staying the night and flying out the next day.

Just ask for earlier luggage tags.

Do you still need to input your declaration on those machines in the customs hall?  If so and this app does not save any time then I will be deleting it. 

If you can get off by 8 you should make it no problem.

There is a company I think called Special Needs at Sea.  You can contact them and they will arrange to have what you need in your room on the ship.  We used them a couple of times for my MIL on a couple of cruise.  Highly dependable.

We recently travelled Toronto to Copenhagen and found our jet lag symptoms very mild.  We think it was because the flight was late (10pm) and we were able to get about 4 hours of sleep.  When we landed it was around 11am local time.  We checked into the hotel, wandered about for 6 hours then chilled at the lobby bar until around 8:30 and went to bed.  Woke up around 7:30ish and off we went.  

20 hours ago, ShopperfiendTO said:

 

I'm sorry, are you saying that by the day of your outbound flight, you're waking up 6-7 hours earlier than you normally do?

 

There's also this that might be helpful: https://sleepopolis.com/calculators/jet-lag/

Usually about 3 or 4 but we find it helps

Usually the week before, DW and I shift our regular sleep pattern where we go to bed an hour earlier each day and wake up an hour earlier.  We feel it lessens the affects of jetlag when we land.  Then make sure you get plenty of sunlight and try to get back to a regular sleep cycle.  

We've stayed at the Hotel St Denis.  Very nice accomodations.  About 15 minute walk to Place Jacques Cartier.  I think the 747 bus stop is close by too if coming from the airport.

Ok here is a thought.  Instead of trying to figure out how to work on the ship, how about just enjoying vacation away from work?

So can you not set the Dishy out by the pool deck and work from there?  Place it on the sundeck above the Sky Bar and you can work from the seats at the bar.  Problem solved.

You can get a stainless steel straw and use that.  I'm sure you can find a fancy holder for it.

If you can take an uber or cab to Rene Levesque and Rue Saint Laurent there is a bus called the 747 that goes directly to the airport.  I believe the cost was $5 but could be more now.

I seem to remember we were able to book in the US site in USD while in Canada.  Although I could remember it wrong as I lost a lot of brain cells during the open bar times in the Diamond lounge.

One time we were almost denied boarding because the immigration officer at the airport stamped our Canadian passports with a C1 visa instead of a B2 visa.  The check in clerk said we were not allowed to board because of this mix up of the CBP officer's mistake.  A supervisor came and checked us in like she was doing something shady.

Another time my wife was given a hard time because the agent didn't know how to handle her Canadian passport.  It was like it was the first time he encountered one.  Both times this happened in Galveston.

Now that you mention it, no.  Been on 4 cruise since last year and don't think they had Quest.  I know they have a scavenger hunt on the pool deck, it's kind of Questish.

I don't see how Arrivecan speeds up your entry into the country.  Even after filling your information in the app, you still need to go and input your declaration into the machines in the customs hall.  You still need to see a customs officer so he/she can review your slip.  Then you still need to hand that slip in after you collect your baggage and exit.  Where is the time savings?

Now if you could scan your QR code and either get a green light to proceed to the exit or a red light to talk to a customs agent, that would be an improvement and save time.

A friend of ours was checking into a hotel in Italy and had a piece of luggage taken from right behind him.