kazu

I thin she is. I told her to use Let Us Know

I would probably be doing the same. And taking it as far as I could go. I told her to be sure to write Seattle. I’ts not the money that bothers her so much as to bending told “;she could afford it”.

Apparently not. She hadn’t even signed. the bill was charged to her account when she came out. They can’t reverse a spa or casino charge. Separate entities. She was happy with the reversal of the service charge which HAL can do as it means the masseuse got stiffed. I heard a similar horror story so this is not a one off. Several of us think she was targeted - obviously older and disabled on the scooter. She has lots of OBC, true - but that’s not the point. She’s on sharp lady and very assertive if needed. I have had several conversations with her and have confidence in what she told me.

I had originally considered using the spa. No way, Jose 😡 Fair warning to anyone considering using the spa on the ship now that I have heard the resolution to the story. True story - there is a lovely lady on the cruise. She is older (like I’m young) and on a scooter and had booked a massage. The masseuse was trying to sell her all these creams to go on and she said NO, No, NO, NO emphatically. When she was done she was handed a bill for over $300 already charged to her account (more than twice the money than the actual massage cost). No opportunity to sign, argue, etc. She had been charged for the oils, etc she had refused. Worse, as she kept saying no, the masseuse kept saying she could afford it. She was told that numerous times. She went to Guest Services to complain about the attitude, pushing selling and “you can afford it” (which is beyond rude IMO). She got a heartfelt apology however since the Spa is run separately, Guest Services could do zip for her. They did take off the service charge (tip) so that at least she was refunded for that and will have a meeting with the spa staff but it’s amazing they are not in any way responsible. She told 6 people - we told 6 people, etc. Be VERY careful about using the spa while it is the same group on this ship. This did NOT happen on the Oosterdam when we sailed (my sister got a massage).

Absolutely correct. It’s in orange on the CO menu. We’ve had a few of them. Our waiter has been good at either giving us the menu or letting us know the special.

Thanks. Very much Vanessa @JazzyV for remembering the day 💔 and thanks everyone for the very kind words. It’s a mixed bag of emotions today. 2nd anniversary of Jose’s death and the first anniversary of Ivan’s “Gotcha” day. it’s sadder than happier though. Thanks again.

I hope you enjoy your first HAL cruise and have a great celebration on board 🙂 Happy to add it for you 🙂

Thanks - I’ll get the Noordam removed for you and glad you found a replacement cruise 🙂. Happy to add it for you.

Hi Karen, We’re doing our best to have a good time 😉 That itinerary does sound unique, indeed. Happy to add you 🙂

We are constantly amazed by the people who arrive at the Lido before breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s amazing how people are lined up so early when they just ate a few hours ago. I guess I shouldn’t talk sine we are going to lunch in the PG today LOL - but we did eat a very light breakfast. Does that excuse us? LOL 😂

Last night’s dinner was good but I hit a shocking surprise. Deb started with the orange shrimp and I the watermelon and feta salad (so good). salad (yes we had TWO appetizers last night) Deb had the veal parmesan - very good. And I had the3 jambalaya It WOULD have been good if dimwit me had realized that it was a hot chili on top. I took a bite and YIKES. My mouth was burning for a few minutes. Oka said it was a poblano chili but if it was I’ll eat my hat. It was way too hot for a Poblano. And for dessert we both had…. you guessed it - the peach crisp.

Here is our menu from the night before last. What would you have wanted? I knew what I was getting - and it turned out Deb did the same. Peruvian chicken. I had the port to plate starter and Deb the cauliflower soup. She was concerned it would be too spicy but it wasn’t and she said it was very good. And we both had the Peruvian chicken. One was a small plate & the other the regular. Posting both so you can see the difference. first is the small plate. A bit too close, sorry. it was mine. 2nd is the regular one. We both had the crisp for dessert. I believe Deb is a crisp convert. I am really corrupting her. first it was the casino and now it’s the crisps. Maybe it’s anything that starts with a C? 😂

Good morning from the Gulf of St. Lawrence. No whales yet (right whales are pretty rare - endangered species). Scenery would be beautiful if the sun was out. Just realized I haven’t taken pics of our room and must do that today to send them to halfacts.com. Speaking of our room, there is a huge standing fan in it. A few nights ago we came back to a weltering room. think sauna heat. turned the temp down as low as it would go and the heat continued to pour out. Called maintenance and they came up lickety split with a fan and offered to send people up. Uh no - not at that time. We managed to get some sleep and spoke to the concierge who said they were already working on it. I was told it was adjusted and to give the cabin an hour. So I did and went back and said nope. It’s still as hot as Hades. Adjusted again. Nope. Concierge came to the cabin and agreed. Success on the 3rd adjustment. People we were chatting with complained about the cold. We told them it was because all the heat was going to our room. LOL. It was fixed by 2 PM but we decided to hang onto the fan “in case”. So far, so good.

Name correction - Westin. It is truly colder on this cruise than at home. It’s around 4 degrees on the St. Lawrence.

Oops sorry - I didn’t see the typo (auto correct). The Westin. Just the little restaurant off the lobby.