*Miss G*

Thank you everyone! On the HAL transfer bus. Driver went to wrong ship. Daughter texting from Pier 21. They’re holding all boarding due to a missing crew member. Lots of unhappy passengers. More later as we are about to get off the coach!

Dear Bruno, I am so very sorry to read of your loss. I know you will feel it deeply. Wishing you peace and love to get you through the coming days, and hoping that the memories you shared will bring light and comfort as you transition to the next phase.

Less than three weeks till sailing and it’s been radio silence on room assignment. I’m getting antsy! 18 days from sailing and there is another offer: Definitely will not take them up on that. “Best Available” will now be whatever’s left. We’ll take our chances with the obstructed rather than chance a disappointment. Hoping my PCC can nab the best “best available” when they give him the all-clear. Twelve days till sailing and no assignment yet. Received another offer. Now down to $109/pp. Parents received their assignment a few days ago; went from a VH obstructed to a mid-ship VA. Well done! Daughter and SIL wanted a specific suite so they already have theirs. Sis and I have decided to take our chances. 10 days from sailing and another offer. Same one as two days ago. I guess they thought I wasn’t paying attention. I am not taking your offer! Just assign the room already! 8 days from sailing and yet another offer!! At least, this time, there’s a suite involved: 7 days from sailing and we have a room assignment! We are happy. 🥰

Okay, most tasks completed and it’s time for a little break! To backtrack a bit… The day after booking, we received an upgrade offer. It is, after all, a few weeks from sailing. The offer is $199/pp to move from obstructed to unobstructed. Pass. I am hoping for a better offer. Aaaand…. you win some; you lose some. I checked the following week and it seems this ship is sailing full. No suites for you! That’s okay. I will be on a ship with my happy family and we are going places! The first place we will be going is Fort Lauderdale. More coordination. My sister flew from England to Canada so she could fly down with my parents. I flew from Washington, DC, and will meet them there. Why is the Dulles International Airport code IAD, you ask? Well, originally it was DIA but they kept getting it mixed up with DCA (aka National Airport or Ronald Reagan Airport, depending where your loyalties lie). Aoccdrnig to rscheearch, it deosn’t mttaer whcih oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, as lnog as the frsit and lsat ltteers are in the rgiht pclae, the mnid can raed the wrod as a wohle. Since both airports started with a D and ended in an A, there was trouble afoot. Much safer to boggle Dulles’ letters to prevent a whole host of problems which I’d rather not think about.

Hi everyone! I came to check which pier we were at (thank you) and it seems our sailaway is at 3:00pm. Weird. I am used to the usual 5:00pm. Had to reschedule all my plans when I saw that one in the Navigator. Glad I double-checked!

This year’s journey will be an adventure. Mum and Dad and Sis and I arrived in Fort Lauderdale a few days ago. My daughter and son-in-law flew in last night. Today, we board Holland America’s flagship, the Rotterdam VII. I am very excited to see what she’s like and we’re all really excited, in general! The stars have to align, quite precisely, in order to get here and we are very thankful. We (my sister and I) were enticed by the Private Fare, but the guarantee status on the obstructed balcony we chose had us slightly hesitant. But, not to worry, our trusted PCC came through and assigned us an unobstructed on Deck 7! Life is good. My parents have a great room on a different deck. My daughter and SIL chose a specific suite, on yet another deck, because they liked the same one on the Nieuw Statendam. Right now, I have tasks, so I shall try to get back to this thread soon!

Thank you, Jacqui! We will be taking the P&O overnight ferry from Rotterdam, and then the train. First time on P&O!

Wow. Talk about a wild ride when booking last minute! There are far too many moving pieces when trying to coordinate multiple schedules and obligations across three different countries with six different people. It’s like nailing jello to a tree! The main goal is to get to England. This TA gets us close. It’s not our first choice in itineraries but it’s a cruise and we are happy. Today is embarkation day!

Oh, for sure. I am a notorious checker of price fluctuations. Like you said… you win some; you lose some. I won this one! That makes me happy. 🥰

When the June 9th westbound TA hit a certain price point, I began monitoring it daily, along with the sailings in late May and June. When it dropped from my “I’m interested” price by 14% (two weeks ago) I decided to make my move. But then life got in the way and schedules kept sliding so I hesitated and couldn’t commit. Last week the price increased by 7% and I was a little unhappy because I have to take the single surcharge into account. I continued to monitor the same sailings and they remained static. Yesterday, I decided to book at that price but ran into a delay as I investigated locations and dealt with other commitments. This morning, the price hadn’t moved so I got all my ducks in a row to make the call about two hours after looking. When opening a window to the Cunard site, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Not only had the price dropped by another 20%… the Balcony was now lower than the price I was going to purchase the Inside for! I am now booked. 👍

I’m going to take a wander past as I explore. Will report back!

It will definitely be warm the first few days out of Florida. Mid-Atlantic will be cooler but still nice. We did a March TA in 2022 and it was a bit chilly for a couple of days, but once we got away from the storms we had from FLL to Mid-Atlantic it was sunny and warm. Honestly, you’re not going to need anything more than you’d wear in Chilliwack at this time of year. I’m on this sailing and am bringing sweaters and a raincoat. The sweaters are for morning and evening, and during the day in case it gets chilly. The raincoat is for, well… rain. I’m leaving tomorrow so I guess I’d better pack. lol

Thank you so much, everyone! Your posts have been very helpful. I was thinking it must be okay since there are suites right there. I had been leaning towards an Inside but then I noticed the free upgrade from OV to balcony. Now I’m thinking I might do that instead. (I am sailing solo.) Which means I now have to study which balconies would be my best choice. I’d better get a move on since I have to book it today.

The Koningsdam for me, too. Alaska.

Oh, I see what you mean! Thank you. That is very helpful!