Mary229

47 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Our TA constantly asks HAL about senior discounts -- never got one.  And we are way over 65.

Yes, but if HAL gave a senior discount the whole ship would be discounted

***I am a big HAL fan but just saying****

I look for ships below 1500 passengers, the costs are usually at least a bit higher but the rooms are larger and the population density is lower.  Of course there is a trade off.  Smaller ships usually have fewer entertainment/amusement venues.  

For me, probably not but for my husband absolutely.  Flying is boring.  There is nothing to do and no where to go.  If I could get there in 6 hours or less I would travel a lot more.   

I have not used those tags since the days of printing tags.    When I get to the port I get some dockside tags and attach them to my luggage.  Additionally I add the cabin number to  the business card I have in the built-in luggage tag.  

This cruise critic article covers the packages

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=45

The few times I used Flight Ease I was very happy with the prices and the flights.  For domestic flights I always have enough points to cover.   I look forward to checking their business class prices for international 

I am a big fan of HAL because of the ports and itineraries.  It is definitely not a party ship in my opinion.   

I have always been given the cabin numbers when the offer is made, sometimes I have to ask. 

There are some locales where rental is not available.  On a cruise to Greece last year it was not.  I ended up buying a lightweight wheelchair from Walmart for $125.  My mother was pleased and it did just fine over the cobble stones and elsewhere. She still uses it, it was remarkably sturdy.  Call the airlines ahead of time and you will get escorts throughout the airport and your chair will either be stowed in the cabin or in baggage at no cost 

For an 11 day cruise there are usually 2 gala nights which will be the evenings of sea days generally 

On every HAL cruise I have been on there is both a specific bar with an appetizer spread plus a wine tasting with canapés.  Check the daily planner for before dinner activities 

Sometimes the big cruise agencies reserve big blocks of rooms for popular cruises when the itinerary is first announced.  Later they release many of those rooms. I had that experience last cruise with Oceania.  That said HAL may not have as many 4 person rooms as other lines with larger ships.  The HAL new larger ships do. They actually have family rooms that are affordable too.   You may actually have to call for the family rooms - they are not advertised very well 

I always use the deck plan and type in the cabin number I want or that are acceptable.   Even when not using the numbered system I go through the deck plan for desired decks and that shows availability.  It is a bit tedious since you have 3 pages for each deck - forward, back, mid

Here is the shareholder benefit page

CCL shareholder benefit

i prefer yahoo finance for stock quotes 

I like the refundable deposits with shipboard bookings and the deposit is transferable to another cruise if you change your mind.  And yes you get the credit 

Just now, clo said:

No.  This very wealthy Thai woman got bored when she retired so started inviting a particular tour company to bring their small groups out to her lovely home.  Gave us a tour of her home made completely out of some special wood, redwood perhaps.  Then a great dinner that her staff had prepared.  A laminated card with a recipe and a small bottle of the main seasoning. And hen outside where we released these lanterns.  You make a wish as you release your lantern.  It was stunning and I'm sorry he missed it.

That would be different.    A lovely hosted evening event - that is worth doing. 

(Aside:    I am a very adventurous eater but I don't worry if I miss a meal.  I am strictly itinerary driven in all of my travel choices and I am far more interested in national parks, gardens, archeological sites, geology than I care about food and beverage. Just explaining my responses.  )

1 hour ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

When we book a cruise, our TA requests a dining time and a specific table that we want.  It listed on our confirmation -- but HAL keeps it as a request.  Once final payment is made , our TA calls HAL and at that time HAL usually confirms our dining time and table number request.  99% of the time we got what we requested.

 

Once you check in, your dining time and table number will be listed on your ID card.  There is a chart set up near the dining room doors or in the Explorer's Lounge where you can go and see where your table is located and how large it is.  There are quite a few tables for 8.

 

If you don't like your table, there will be a time and place listed on the daily program where you can talk to the maitre'd.

Thank you for that, I never considered doing that.  Off to Halfacts to look at my next dining room?  Do they allow you to pick a specific time or are you locked into the early/late format?  

6 hours ago, clo said:

Oh, I totally agree.  I commented somewhere here about a person on a tour with us in SE Asia.  He would eat nothing but 'Murican food.  And he missed an extraordinary 'event' in Thailand because of this.  It actually took me a couple of years to figure/accept that people travel for different reasons.

An extraordinary event?  Are you saying he missed the opportunity to eat.  Some people don’t define pleasure and recreation by gastronomic events 

Someone posted how to do this a while back.  All I wrote in my notes was to contact ship services. There is information on Halfacts.com about dining.  

That said I always go directly to the dining room when I board and make my reservation 

We love the table for two at dinner.  I have noticed that the dining rooms are offering more table for 2s.  It used to be a rarity now it is quite common. 

Yes, some people travel to eat and some travel to drink but it is not a measure of someone’s worldliness.  If you like Micky’s by all means enjoy it and enjoy the cultural variations worldwide.  

The Koningsdam was too big for me.  Have also been on a large Princess ship only to be part of a family reunion.  I would quit cruising if there were not an under 1800 passenger ship 

17 minutes ago, Louise245 said:

I reserved our cruise with HAL and then transferred to a big box TA.

Following this I reserved our flight on HAL site. I have to pay the flight when I do the final payment.

My question is to which company do I pay the flight when it comes due.

HAL, the bog box TA or in my case Air Canada.

I do exactly the same as you.  The Flight Ease appears on my final invoice I receive from my TA and I pay all through the TA

After a recent Florida cruise I advise checking how many other ships disembarking the same day.  The lines were incredibly long. 

2 hours ago, adelaidefc said:

 

Wow really cool breakdown of costs, Alaska was already pretty high on my list of 'possible cruises to do'. Now it's up even higher. Especially given there are easy 14 hour flights straight from Aus to SFO - a city I already want to check out, and could make a nice trip of it. 

The places cruises visit in Alaska are an example of why cruising works as an economic option.  Not many people live in Alaska and lodging is limited and expensive. Sure if there were only 10,000 people a year wishing to visit it could be done but cruise lines have opened Alaska to the world.  Travel is even more difficult and is usually by biplane.   As an example the capital city, Juneau, is only approachable by sea or air and is the access to the popular Medenhall Glacier.