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But if you have the HIA it's not that hard to stop by a bar or two and take glasses of wine to your stateroom. Put the wine or other beverage in a container if you want. I like golden rum and tonic so would get cans of tonic from the bars and double shots of golden rum. Took it back to our cabin and enjoyed it. They would also give us limes. Hope you have a great cruise. Cherie

One other thing we realized a few years ago is that if there is a problem with flights the airline will help you if you booked directly with them, otherwise you need to go thru your 3rd party. Have a great cruise. Cherie

I would never do that. I hope your flights work out for the price you are hoping for and you have a fabulous cruise. Cherie

I totally understand a price looking great, but I no longer go thru a 3rd party. Many times booking with the airline direct gives you the same price. There have been good and bad experiences posted with Flight Ease. If I am going on vacation and know my itinerary I do not want a 3rd party deciding when I get to my destination and how many stops I make. Vacations and cruises are expensive and peace of mind is important. You're going to have a great cruise and will decide on the flights that you are comfortable with. Cherie

BadgerRedux, I just looked at Skyscanner.com for flights from DTW to ANC on July 18. United has several combinations listed but none that match your details, United definitely has flights from DTW to ANC on the 18th, possibly just not thru ORD now. Of course skyscanner does not list all flights but I use it as a start. Hope you work it out soon so you can relax and enjoy the planning. I would probably book my own flights unless you are obligated to Flight Ease. JMO. Cherie

0106, I'm with you on minimizing our footprint on the world and support your post #7. But if there is already a paper charge slip but you will not sign...how does this stop the charge slip from being printed? It won't be signed and the bar tenders deal with it but it does not eliminate the paper printed. Hopefully HAL will figure this out. Cherie

LAFFNVEGAS - when will we next be invited to your dinner table? Such a fun thing to look forward to. Cherie

We're like you and were able to bring some nice wine on in Chile for the cabin. I think the question has been asked if you can substitute so many drinks a day for a bottle of wine. Can't remember what the answer was, I'm not 35 any longer. Have a great cruise. Cherie

I don't remember. All I remember are posts about how horrible it is so we just put it in the closet. It might have been fine for adding to OJ in the morning for a mimosa. But, in a Neptune Suite, the mimosas are complimentary. Sorry I cannot help you more. I think on our next cruise we will request a white, rose(not sure if this is an option), or red. Cherie

I have read that we could request this but with the HIA we just left our sparkling wine in the closet when we left. Next time we'll do that. Cherie

0106 - I respect both of your reasons for not signing. I hardly ever carry a purse, if it doesn't fit in a pocket I don't have it. And a good solution for not using a common pen is putting a plastic glove in your pocket. This comes in handy in many situations on a cruise ship. The HAL staff, including the bar staff, are always happy to accommodate passengers' preferences. It is amazing how wonderful they are. Cherie

We did a drift snorkel on Taha'a and loved it. Are you close to the coral? Yes. Should you just float and enjoy the ride, yes. I think a very large person may have to be careful. Just our experience. Cherie

It wasn't a big deal to us in January. Sometimes we signed and sometimes we did not. It just wasn't a big deal. And as previously posted this inconsistency has been talked about so we were prepared. If I didn't want to sign with a "common" pen I would have had one in my pocket. Inconsistency was just part of the cruise for us. Cherie

But...if your goal is to be invited into the President's Club your free or discounted cruises apparently do not qualify. They may give star status but not President's Club status. Cherie

I understand that, but if it's a goal to achieve why worry about why or how anyone else has it? Just enjoy it. If it's a casino cruise and HAL is benefiting somehow from this and makes your cruise price more reasonable, who cares. Let them lose money in the casino and benefit everyone else. As has been said on this thread numerous times... casino freebees are not really free for most. As has also been said, why would you know how much someone pays for their cabin? Cherie. p.s. I agree that free laundry is HUGE.