Mary229

I think the lesson from FTX is that discussions of alternative energy are just marketing. Of course the primary motivation is cost savings followed closely by regulation, the rest is window dressing. Demographics and sources of revenue speak to the financial health of the industry.

The exploration cafe opens early also

I am a simple woman - crème brûlée, Pavlova and hot fudge Sunday (a recent discovery for me). In the lido - bread pudding. In Pinnacle - key lime pie. In Canaletto - the gelato trio.

I was allowed to use FCD on a complimentary cruise for the $100 booking fee. I chose not to as it was my last FCD but it was offered

Yes, but other circumstances exist where you may find yourself in need of a consulate and a digital copy of that passport will be needed. It is about timing and distance. The port agent can only do so much. In my complicated case I thankfully had my digital copy. There was recently a case on one of the islands where a woman was in a car accident and hospitalized for days. She had no passport and could not fly home. I don’t know if the port agent was called or could have helped.

Most lines will assume the responsibility if they cancel the cruise. This cruise has not been canceled . it does bring up the question of where she was flying to and hotel location, That flight may have been or will be canceled

You can use your FCD. If it is a discount, such as 5 - 30% then you pay on the normal schedule. If it is a strongly discounted cruise such as free or $99 interior stateroom you will pay all upfront.

My condolences. Many small agencies offer this service especially if they have a group offering. Also as mentioned churches, civic organizations such as senior centers. There are also agencies that specialize in senior travel who also can accommodate match ups including meeting people prior to sailing at a social where you can find someone with whom you are congenial. If you can afford it the best option may be to seek a group and travel solo cabin still having the companionship of the group for dining and shore activities

I leave the passport in the safe but I do carry a digital image, stored in the cloud, of my passport, my credit card, vaccination cards and my drivers license. You never know if you will be waylaid in a foreign port and might need consulate assistance. We were once stopped and separated from the cruise tour and it was uncertain whether we would be able to catch up with the ship prior to sailing. You never know what will happen.

There is a gal on the Holland board who knows the airlines in and out. Here are her instructions to me should I be in your same situation. I am on American Airlines bought through cruise line. Also go to the flights board, there are a bunch of experts over there. A workaround (only once tickets have been issued) can be to cancel the Oceana flights and rebook direct w/AA using the credit. The amount of credit you receive will be less change/cancelation fees, so it will be less than what you paid. I only do that if the new flight is considerably less than the original cuz it's a process. Hope it all works; safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

Which airline are you using. Most business class for US airlines is refundable in some form, perhaps by voucher but somehow creditable. Most hotels are refundable unless you accidentally purchased a nonrefundable rate, oops! Talk to the hotel and likely even if you did buy a nonrefundable rate the nonrefundable portion is likely only the first night.

There are plenty of wines onboard and you don’t have to buy from the list. The price per bottle decides which category they fit in. My point is you don’t have to buy from that prescribed list and therefore I wait until I board to see what truly is available

No, I wonder if it is truly allowed. If I was going to vape I would bring a copy of the contract with me.

🤷‍♀️. I would hope someone who has real life experience might chime in. I am not a smoker just simply curious.

There is some high level package which I don’t think allows substitutions. See Roger Jett’s page for menus. We visit with the MDR wine person (formerly known as the sommelier😉) on the first or second night in dining. We tell them what we prefer, do they have it onboard and which package level do I need to get that particular wine. We have never been turned down

The cruise contract says two things, this contract supersedes anything else written anywhere and two, vaping is allowed inside the confines of the state room. Who knew? I certainly did not. https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/legal-privacy/cruise-contract hint - search document for “smoking”

There are many wine packages. We often if not always are allowed substitutions

Yes, they get some, undisclosed benefit. We buy on ship as there is usually a broader wine selection.

Here it is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_(cruise_line) https://www.datanyze.com/companies/viking-cruises/120471635 The needle won’t move for two reasons - trends are the same (high demand and aging down) and their revenue and passenger traffic once averaged is suppressed and perhaps significant is not impactful

If you have sailed HAL’s older ships they had the ideal libraries and still do. I don’t know why they recreated Barnes and Noble on the ships when they could have simply updated the model they already had. I think that is the true consternation among us.

Here is Viking. https://www.vikingline.com/globalassets/documents/market_specific/corporate/investors/financial-reports/pressrelease-220218-year-end-report.pdf if you want to add their sales and capacities everything is there to do so. Of course being a private company those are not publicly audited results. They do not discuss their demographics. I don’t think it will move the needle.

They will simply sail somewhere else. The cruise will likely become another Med cruise in Greece and Italy. It is sad they won’t allow movement of funds.

If they will let you roll your funds to another trip I would definitely do that now. Flight credits/vouchers are usually good for one year.

I always ask them which rooms are available? That is a little different than picking your own but I usually get at least 2 if not more to choose from.

Nothing is going to pass HAL’s lips concerning revenue that isn’t approved by corporate. Most of this data is proprietary and the reports are about as good as the public will get.