ExArkie

In Panama, or nearby, if I recall correctly. Not exactly the most turbulent portion of the ocean

I didn’t see them on a list of prohibited items…

I’m not totally familiar with all the areas surrounding Halifax, but on my trips there I have never seen any part identified as either one of those two names.

That is what I understood, but I think the key word is "usually." We booked an April 2025 transpacific on March 24, 2023 (having had two Japan trips cancelled for obvious reasons during the last few years, we figured starting planning two years ahead might work). It did include the Early Booking HIA with gratuities, upgraded WiFi and beverage package, etc. At the time we booked on HAL's Web site, this particular trip was not being shown on the various OTA sites I checked at the time, so it was pretty newly released. Being curious about the offer's timing, I checked this morning. This particular voyage is still offered with the HIA Early Booking offer, 136 days after we booked. So, sometimes it appears that the offer does hang around longer, but I don't have enough data to determine how they decide which trips get to keep it longer. Perhaps related to the rate at which the cabins are being sold? Our Signature Suite was still listed at the same price we booked, by the way...

Last December, we had boatloads (sorry, couldn’t resist) of OBC and spent some of it on the spa pass. I don’t seem to have recorded the cost, but I do recall that we booked it by going to the spa on embarkation day. The offer on that day was a combination of one massage and a full-transit pass that was priced only a bit more than the pass alone.

Thank you. I had assumed that to be the case from reading these boards, but appreciate the verification. You know, HAL could do a bit better job explaining things themselves.

Generally, we book the thermal suite on ocean crossings provided we have adequate OBC to cover it and have no other plans for said OBC. This is on the high end of the price ranges, but having the Early Booking package and a limited number of port days (i.e., fewer excursions) means there is little else we would require the OBC to pay for. Between the Mariner credit, our travel agency credit, and (eventually) the CCL shareholder credit, we should have enough OBC to cover the cost with a bit left over. If we could just get that AARP credit added, it would definitely be adequate for any extras...

They don't even have all the bases covered for what I've been listening to this morning - it's been a random rotation amongst downloaded music: country (I guess that's what John Denver is...maybe "folk"?), bluegrass (Steep Canyon Rangers), various forms of jazz (Duke Ellington, Acoustic Alchemy, David Benoit), swing (Big Bad Voodoo Daddy)...and probably some more I forgot appeared while I was writing a report. On various cruise lines, we have always loved having a string ensemble or chamber group to listen to either before or after dinner - and at random other times when we can. It is a serious deficiency that HAL has discontinued this form of entertainment.

Interesting experience. We have used FF miles for trips to Europe on the Big Three US airlines and various alliance partners many times in the past and have had some sort of glitch on all three. United and Delta took care of rebooking seamlessly - on their respective partner airlines Lufthansa and KLM - while it was a bit more work with American, but we eventually were able to rebook on Iberia. All of our experiences with having to rebook while on an award ticket occurred more than five years ago, though, so perhaps the world changed again…which always seems to be in the direction of being LESS user friendly, for some reason.

Question on pricing: I was looking at our booking for an April 2025 transpacific and saw the spa pass priced at $299 for 14 days, so that would exclude embarkation and debarkation days. There was no indication as to single versus couple prices, so am I to assume this would be the price per person, with a couples booking booking being twice that?

For one-way transatlantic flights, I have found leaving from Canada generally means paying around one-half of the round trip fare. Leaving from the US generally means paying almost the full round trip fare. Out of curiosity, I checked one-way Toronto to London in early June 2024. Several options for less than US$500 - TAP had one with an overnight in Lisbon (great city, by the way) for around US$400. A one-way for Philadelphia to Toronto (you have to get there somehow) to connect to the transatlantic flight was around US$250. Possibly not a huge difference from Jet Blue via Boston (I saw it for US$717 on June 3), but there is that 7.5 hour layover in Boston. Of course, based on my last experience at Logan airport, that was just about the amount of time needed to make the connection…it was a very bad weather day in Boston.

There are different levels of their 55+ plans, with some variations in benefits. I think all allow voice from outside the country, but charge by the minute for it.

We used them for a December 2022 westbound TA where we needed a significantly earlier pickup time than their standard. I posted the following in October last year when I had made the booking: ”I just booked Luggage Forward for our December Cunard trip. Embarkation is December 10, making this 41 days prior to getting on the ship. We are spending about three weeks traveling (some in US, mostly in UK) prior to boarding, and another few days after the TA (Christmas at our son's house), so having someone else take care of the formal wear sounded great. Details, everything in US dollars: Outbound (1) Detroit area to Southampton (QM2) = $384 for a standard bag up to 50 lbs (22 kg) (2) Included insurance coverage = $500. Additional $12 per each additional $500 coverage (e.g., $1,000 coverage is $12 extra, $1,500 coverage is $24 extra, $2,000 coverage costs $36, and so on. Additional coverage can be booked in increments of $500 only) (3) Earliest standard timing for collection of the luggage from home was November 28 for a December 10 departure (12 days prior to embarkation). Latest standard timing was (I think...didn't really pay that much attention since it didn't matter to me) 8 or 9 days prior to departure. (4) Earlier collection is possible. I was able to arrange an earlier date, which ended up being three days prior to our outbound flight. There was an additional charge of $35, since the freight company will now have to store the luggage for several days prior to forwarding it through UK Customs. I booked the service online first, then called to adjust the collection date. This is what they told me to do when I called last Spring. Seemed to work well. Return (1) Brooklyn (QM2) to Detroit area = $264 for a standard bag up to 50 lbs (22 kg) (2) Included insurance coverage = $500. Additional $6 per each additional $500 coverage (3) Earliest standard timing for delivery of the luggage to home was December 28 for a December 22 arrival. Later times were also available, up to about 8 or 9 days after arrival (as I recall, again, it didn't impact my booking, so it didn't fully register). Once the reservation is made, you need to enter information relevant to clearing Customs. This consists of passport information, travel schedule giving arrival into and departure from the UK as well as arrival into the US, a packing list, and signature. The packing list is simplistic: checklist allows you to choose clothing, toiletries, accessories, and/or electronics. Clicking on each brings up a subitem that includes prohibitions (e.g., no new clothes with price tags attached, no aerosols, no prescription medication, no "expensive jewelry," etc.). Whole thing took about three minutes to complete, most of which was sent trying to get a signature to work (laptop using a mouse). One can also click on the "having trouble signing" link and it will add an electronic signature, which you affirm is permissible for Luggage Forward to use as yours. That's what I did after trying three times to make the mouse movement look anything like my signature. One can also book a smaller bag for less money or a larger bag for more money. I did not note the specific weights nor amounts...I have to leave something for others to find out.”

I believe that the royal family, the House of Orange-Nassau for the county of Nassau in the principality of Orange, actually dates from 1544 and a different ruler named Willem. William of Orange, who was also king of England, Ireland, and Scotland, came along later. (I share a birthday with the latter, granted it is 300+ years after his.)

Since everything else was answered more than adequately, I will chime in on this, based on our total of one B2B experience. We did get another bottle for the second leg, having booked ours as two separate trips. However, we also changed cabins - really nice upgrade to QG for the second leg (transatlantic), so the second bottle was actually champagne without the quotation marks. I cannot say this would apply to a B2B as a single booking.

Obviously, you type faster than do I. Or at least use fewer words...

I found it under "My Account" at the top right of the main Web page, then under "My Profile," and then under "Future Cruise Credits." At the bottom of the list is the heading "Onboard Credits" that shows $50 expiring in July 2027. My question is: If this is for the AARP membership link, which I assume it is since the timing is too coincidental otherwise, and we book a 10+ night sailing in a Signature Suite, will that automatically update to $200 credit? According to their terms, it should, but we have already seen how nebulous their terms actually are.

Lesson to HAL: State your terms and conditions clearly and explicitly, covering at least the aspects that are most likely to be an issue. Honestly, they should have known to specify new bookings only in the first place.

If everyone orders two entrees, they can make up the cost by adding higher charges at the medical center for digestive system treatments.

"Not as blisteringly hot" might be a better way of putting it than "colder." I'd probably vote for the December one myself for reasons stated above: likely fewer school-age children than one occurring over the US Thanksgiving holiday (although the length of the trip may reduce that expectation) and the peak of the Panama rainy season is October-November. I think that the LA-Miami direction is perhaps more interesting as far as the sequence of Canal operations, but that isn't really a deciding point.

We have done the December westbound TA four times. Once, the seas were rough enough (I'm remembering 10 meter, or 30+ feet, waves, but it was several years back) to cause issues with a lot of people. Ingesting ginger and lying down briefly took care of my personal issue, but a few others were more dramatically affected. Once, the weather was sunny and pleasant enough that there were a good number of people lounging around the aft pool, as opposing the the scattered handful of hardy souls normally there in December. The other two times, conditions were somewhere in the middle. Last year, there was a lot of rain but a fairly calm ocean. If you are not especially prone to seasickness, December crossing are great.

I got T-mobile years ago when I was working for a Belgian company (posted in the US, but lots of trips over there). Internationally, it has always been pretty good service. Domestically, the service was severely lacking up until a couple of years ago. With the Sprint acquisition, it is now fairly comparable to the other big two. Living on the northeast side of Detroit, I often drive toward downtown along Lake St Clair, with Canada on the other side of the lake. At some point close to the Detroit city limits, the phone switches to the Canadian network. I have received dozens of "Welcome to Canada" messages without ever leaving Michigan.

This is what I expected, but blaming TPG for getting it wrong is a deflection. HAL's terms and conditions do not specify that it is for new bookings. The way the deal is presented sort of implies that it might be, but if that is their intent, they should state it as such.

The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island (Michigan) still offers an almost all inclusive experience - typical rates can include breakfast and dinner, sometimes special rates throw in lunch, too. There is even a dance floor and live "orchestra" - kind of like a small Big Band. You can even see the open water of Lake Huron.

I did the same for me and my wife.