GeezerCouple

If you are considering NCL because of the Haven, please keep in mind that the Haven, as nice as it may be with the extra services, is still on a large regular cruise line ship, and possibly on a very large ship. That is, if (when!) you leave the Haven, you've left all of those special features and services behind. Depending upon the particular cruise and how crowded it is, as well as the general ambiance of the full ship, there could be quite a difference indeed. If your thinking about that is something like, "Well, we'll just stay in the Haven", then you might want to rethink sailing on a large ship with the "ship within a ship" experience. A smaller premium or luxury line ship may be more toward your liking. You wouldn't feel restricted, that you (or your parents or even just your mother) might not feel comfortable "anywhere on the ship". On a smaller premium/luxury line ship, you'll likely get the services you desire without the possibly disruptive situations outside the Haven. And you are less likely to feel that you can't make full use of all of the ship's amenities, etc. GC

"...and no new classical group is coming on..." What a shame! We had belatedly "discovered" HAL just before Covid (our cruise ended mid-December, 2019; we had made some reservations on board for the future, but nooooo.... they weren't to be...). We fell in love with LCS. Amazing! What a wonderful surprise that was. We were genuinely impressed with the quality of the musicians. The room was way too small for the number of people who wanted to watch, so I would arrive very early, with a good book, and peacefully sit there in a prime seat (first row, center... that was me 😉 ), with a seat saved for DH. We absolutely *love* classical music, and we help support our local world-class Symphony and also a period chamber orchestra. I had read here on CC when LCS was announced, but I never thought it would have such good musicians... or we *would* have booked with HAL sooner! To be at sea with an excellent chamber group? Heaven indeed! HAL would have found us on quite a few of their cruises (except for the horrible misfortune of Covid, in so many ways). Now? Okay, we are often itinerary-driven, which is how we found ourselves on HAL, on the Noordam in NZ and Australia in late Nov/Dec 2019. But there is often more than one cruise line in a particular area, if one is flexible on dates, and we certainly are. If there are other "classical music cruises", we sure hope to find them... Yes, LCS will be greatly missed. I guess we should feel fortunate that we had that one special cruise, with some very special musicians. We may end up spending more of our "cruise dollars" on more of our Opera, Symphony, Ballet, and Theatre trips to NYC, with some to London. But we'd both rather enjoy good classical music on a ship... the best of both worlds! We are glad we had those two weeks once, at least. Thank you, Lincoln Center Stage musicians! 🥂 👏👏 🥂 And serious complaints to HAL, which we will absolutely send along separately! You had something very, very special with LCS, and the quality of the musicians and the music selected was a very nice surprise! GC

Your link *still* shows personal information. GC

Many ports/countries have strict regulations about what foods, if any, may be brought into the country. This may not be a possibility regardless of whether a cruise line would be willing to help out. GC

We were just a very few balconies further from the Bridge. When the officers were on the wing extension, we could see them very well, and they us. We'd occasionally wave, and then the novelty wore off... for us/me. I'm sure it was very "old" for them long ago, unless there was something unusual to look at...! After all, we had the ocean and just that Bridge wing to look at. They had almost the entire side of the ship, and all of the decks, plus the front of the ship and everything else in front of that... Plus they did have work to do. GC

Yup, this would have been THE place all the kids in my neighborhood would have insisted on going... all the time (or whenever the parents agreed or could afford a meal out, etc.). I'm surprised it didn't take off as a national chain, or was that before the big chain times? GC

Not all states use raised seals. GC

What would that accomplish? The notary would certify... what... that "This is the piece of paper put in front of me today"? How would they authenticate anything? (It could have been created and printed at home half an hour earlier.) GC

And I certainly wouldn't consider any of the land WiFi or even Internet we've used to be "perfected". Not yet, anyway...! GC

It's already happening on land, with some hotels: https://hoteltechnologynews.com/2022/09/how-hotels-are-using-robots-to-reduce-costs-improve-operations-and-enhance-the-guest-experience/ They can deliver towels, coffee, other supplies... I don't know what the "latest and greatest" (?) is. They were also used when Covid hit, supposedly to add more distancing. (Were those same robots already ordered, but the hotels just had another "explanation" for using them?) And some are being used to disinfect hospital rooms (or at the least, being tested for that): https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/robots-disinfect-hospital-rooms-with-ultra-violet-light GC

Can you find the actual tour operator and ask them? It's likely to be very difficult, unless you can climb up and down a bit, to get into and then off the catamaran, even IF you could manage once on board. (Also keep in mind that the toilet may be several steps down, if it's one of those large catamarans with some rooms in the hulls. (We chartered these a few times, and invited others on our Roll Call to join us. But I have no idea if the catamaran is the same as the types we chartered.) Depending upon your abilities, having some friends nearby for assistance may be of significant help, too. But the first thing is... you want to be *safe*! Good luck! GC

This is a real treat for us: Having *our* breakfast delivered in *our* sleep! 😉 We do this most mornings. We leave a note with what we want (and it's usually a *big* breakfast!), and the time. We tell our Butler at the beginning, in the "Butler Letter", that the "privacy" notice is NOT for them; it's for everyone/anyone *else (e.g., the Steward). So IF there is a reason the Butler needs to come in, they should just knock/ring, and then come in. IF we do actually want privacy, we'll bolt the door. So, at the designated time in the morning, the Butler arrives, and it is *so* pleasant to wake up to the aroma of coffee and bacon, and perhaps the very gentle clink of some china. If we are awake, we'll greet them, and they will return the greeting. If we are asleep, the Butler will soon quietly leave, and we'll get up whenever we get up. Usually the breakfast arrival does rouse at least one of us enough to notice there is coffee and bacon nearby... (The Butlers are professionals. They can deal with someone sleeping as well as with someone sitting and watching TV or out on the balcony watching the ocean.) We also have some dinners served. In that Butler Letter, we also mention that we are usually *very* flexible time-wise. Therefore, if we have a request at a time that is otherwise busy, they should let us know and we can almost always easily reschedule. And if not, we'll say so, but that is really rare. We also let the Butler know what types of snacks we like. Mostly, those are fruits of various sorts, with fresh pineapple being a favorite. Also, what snacks we do not want (they'd just be wasted) and we remind them about food allergies, etc. We very much appreciate all of the help the Butler provides; it makes our trip so much more pleasant. ... and we tip generously. 🙂 GC

We prefer Deck 11, so we try to get PH suites that are under the Oceania Suites. That way, there are suites on each side, and also below *and* above. It's worked very well. GC

Call them soon. IF I recall correctly, if you are before final payment, it might *not* be too late to get that waiver of the pre-existing condition exclusion, at least with some policies. But ask *them*! 🙂 GC

We really missed balcony/balconies on the Dawn DOS, although the views were exceptional, with the full floor to ceiling wall of windows across the full forward view, the side, and a bit down the back to see the side of the entire ship. (This is the same view the Bridge has.) Our avatar is of "us" lying on the bed, looking forward, over our feet, at the glorious wide forward view. This was DH's first (and very, very belated) cruise, and the first morning, he was hooked! The only thing like that thus far was the OS on the Sun... and that definitely should be classified as a DOS. It had the same wide forward view (no side), but a huge (huge!) balcony the entire way across, plus a private hot tub. 🙂 And we had this for an Alaska cruise. We snagged it not too long before sailing; someone must have cancelled. We got a great price, and we were just lucky that it was the starboard side for a Northbound sailing. So we had all of the wonderful snow-topped mountains much of the way. So far, that Sun OS was our favorite. We had almost all of our meals served, and sat there in front of those windows (if we weren't on the balcony!). GC

Your choice is a less expensive F PH vs. a more expensive Aft PH? NO contest, in our minds!! 😉 However, I know (from reading, not personal experience) that some people prefer/enjoy an Aft cabin/suite, and some report enjoying watching the wake. We prefer "looking ahead!", but again, that's personal preference. About the wind... the real problem with an F facing balcony door is >> if the interior door to the hallway is also open. Then you'd really have a wind tunnel effect, and probably a pretty bad wind tunnel. IF the interior door to hallway is closed, there's still some air that will escape and there might be a small "tunnel effect", but it's nothing like if that door is open. We've never noticed any "tunnel" problem when opening a forward balcony door when the interior door was closed, but that may also be due to the speed of the ship relative to wind speed. The one time we had a nice large aft suite, we usually went to a forward observation lounge, but that's just us. That's why there are choices! 🍷 GC

The Deluxe Owners Suites on the Dawn are not the ones with the two balconies. Those are OS (regular Owners Suites, although there's nothing "plain and regular" about those, either!). The DOS on the Dawn have huge forward windows, but no balconies (alas). I'm mentioning this so no one reads the post and decides to get a Dawn DOS to have those two balconies. GC

We agree with BirdTravels: "We love forward facing suites, they are the absolute best rooms on the ship." They are The Very Best! We LOVE the views. We prefer to see "where we are going", rather than "where we have been", or what is often just side views. Those are great, but not as good as that precious forward view. As for the lights, we tend to just keep our lights off and the curtains open, all night, rather than keeping the curtains closed. GC

There is lots of information and discussion here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/ We use www.TripInsuranceStore.com - and we purchase policies through them from Travel Insured. Importantly, we've had several claims, including some big ones, and all were paid without any nonsense. Additionally, Steve and his associates at TIS have been helpful beyond the important decision of "which policy for our needs". He helped with our first claim, which was big and I was worried about whether I'd "screw it up somehow", etc. And then he helped with alternate planning when I landed in hospital overseas, and we preferred to try to recover the final week of our trip rather than return home early. GC

It's VERY important to check the actual ingredients. Cruisemom42 has provided some important information. "Sudafed" has two formulations (with a couple of extra letters for one of them, I think). It is "pseudoephedrine" that is prohibited, and only one form of Sudafed contains that: The original formulation. That's why they created the "new" version, so it didn't have the problemmatic ingredient. That caused difficulties here in the USA, too. The "old version" is now (usually? always?) sold from "behind the counter", even though at this time, I don't think any prescriptions are needed. The newer version, without pseudoephedrine, is usually right on the shelves next to the other cold/allergy meds. I don't think Lomotil is prohibited in Japan, or it wasn't a few years ago. We emailed them *every* med, Rx or not, that we'd be traveling with, and they told us what we could bring, what had limitations on quantities, and what were prohibited. Only the original formulation of Sudafed was completely prohibited. They knew we were arriving with Lomotil, and no one questioned us at any time, including upon entry, when we were handing over our advance med permission forms. They were very easy to deal with in advance by email. Note: It is possible that the requirements/restrictions have changed since we were there, perhaps 5 years ago (pre-Covid). GC

When we got extra keycards for other family members, they would *only* work on the specific door and nothing else. They couldn't be used to charge anything. We wrote something like "Grandpa" on each, but not the suite number, in case it got lost. GC

We never arrange dining times/seating in advance. We show up whenever we are ready, at whichever restaurant appeals (except for the occasional Specialty that does usually require reservations). We have never had a problem requesting a two-top when we show up. A few times, we were told there might be a few minute wait, and it's never been long at all. And sometimes, we were told that IF we wanted to, we could be seated immediately at a larger table. We've done that just a few times, and had a delightful dinner. However, like you, we would *not* do that these days. (We also aren't quite ready to return to cruising, either, however.) GC

You should each ask this exact question of your own travel insurer. Chances are there will be differences in the policies (!), but that may be only in the procedure to make the claim. Best to find out in advance, though, including how to make the claim should it happen. That can make a difference. And good luck... hope you both go and there are no untoward events! GC

The *original* formulation of Sudafed is prohibited in Japan. That's the one that is probably only available "behind the counter". That's in our state, anyway. The "new" Sudafed doesn't have the "objectionable" ingredient, and is allowed. That's probably the one that is on the shelf along with other cold/allergy meds. GC

We slowly developed a relationship with a housecleaner. She would stop by to attend to the cats. Then we moved into a much larger house, and felt uncomfortable leaving it unattended (not just people, but a tree down, etc., water damage...). So we started paying her to housesit, and she would "be here", although she was free to come and go as she pleased. There was a time when one cat needed IV fluids, so we changed that such that one of the vet techs at our veterinary clinic would come by to administer the fluids, and then just attend to the other cats as well. We no longer have any warm fuzzies, and we miss them. A lot. GC