Toofarfromthesea

Could you ask your steward to just turn down the covers after making the bed in the morning, rather than having a second servicing?

The problem with not being able to log in or make payments might not have anything to do with booking through a TA. HAL's website is notoriously lousy and bug ridden. I booked through a TA and was able to log in and book an excursion, book specialty restaurants, book the thermal suite, and make payments. Some of these things I did on the app. Some on my Cromebook using Incognito mode. But it wasn't easy. It is a bit of a crapshoot, and something that works one day might not work the next. But I don't think it has anything to do with having booked with a TA. And if you want to do things online I doubt changing to a PCCC will help. You'll have to either fight through the website and app or call your PCCC or TA.

You are also new to cruise critic, so one of the first things you need to know is that it is a big no no to name a Travel Agent here, as you did when you mentioned where you purchased your cruise. As to the rest I don't have much to offer as I've only sailed on HAL once before and it was pre-pandemic, so I imagine a lot has changed. But there are lots of folks here who have sailed HAL lots of times so I'm sure you'll get some good advice. Have a great cruise.

This has got me thinking about doing something similar. On my 17 day cruise unlimited laundry costs $144.50. But then I could probably go strictly with a carry-on bag and personal item, which would save $70 in checked bag fees on my flight. And I'd walk my bag on and off the ship so I'd save the $5 tip for the porter. So the net cost would be just under $70, a real bargain. Thanks for the idea.

I'm going to be packing for the first time for a 17 cruise on HAL. My wife used to do all of the packing but now i'm on my won and have to figure it out. One thing I heard someone talk about on the HAL board is that their onboard laundry is very good, so they pack about 4 days worth of clothes and purchase the unlimited laundry package. If I were to do something similar I think I could get by without checking luggage. The savings on not checking bags, and not having to tip porters, would reduce the effective cost of the unlimited laundry. When it comes to clothes I'm a simple guy. I wear polo shirts, so I'm thinking 4 or 5. I wear lounging pants during the day and Dockers in the evening, so I'm thinking 2 of each I only need 1 pair of shoes and pool slippers. Socks and underwear complete my ensemble. I'll have to check the temp in Honolulu in Jan. because I'll be going on an excursion there. So I may or may not need to bring a jacket. Then all I need is some over the counter things, charging cords and hub, kindle, and Chromebook, which can probably easily fit in my personal item. Am I being overly ambitious? With the unlimited laundry I can literally send out laundry every day. Not having to check bags at the airport, and being able to walk my bags on and off the ship would really simplify things.

My favorite was in Juneau. We got on a float plane and flew over 5 glaciers. Then we landed on a lake and deplaned and went up to a lodge called the Taku Lodge. There we were served the best King Salmon I've ever had, perfectly grilled. The sides were excellent as was the dessert. As we were eating a bear came out of the woods and lumbered up to the grill on which they cook the salmon. He put his paw in and scooped up some of the salmon grease and ate it. The servers told us that he was a regular. The also told us that a week or two earlier a cub had tried to scoop some grease but did in a spot on the grill that was still hot. He burned himself but his momma took care of him and he wasn't badly burned. Then we got back on the plane and flew back to the pickup point, and back to the ship. It was very memorable, both for the expected excursion items and the unexpected.

If you carefully analyze the HIA package you may find it makes sense for you. In my case, a 17 day solo Hawaii cruise HIA cost 850. I'm using the 200 excursion credit for a Pearl Harbor excursion. The 2 specialty dinners are worth about $100. I'm estimating that the Surf wifi (which I will upgrade to Stream onboard) package has a value of about $200. Folding all of that in, it makes the cost of the included drink package about 350. Which, on a 17 day cruise comes out to just over $20/day. It's vacation, so I'll probably have 3-4 drinks spread out over the day. Plus I enjoy specialty coffees, so a la carte I would be spending well over 20/day. So for me, I'll come out ahead with the HIA package. It all just depends on what you will use.

Except it has been confirmed here many times by people who know. It's a little provincial (arrogant?) to think other countries might do things differently than the US.

I'll be sailing solo for the first time in January. While I do all of my reading on a kindle I plan to bring a paperback book so I can leave it at my spot when I go back up. Either that or print some 5x7 cards that say "NOT DONE YET * STILL USING".

I'm booked on a 1/13 17 day Hawaii cruise out of San Diego. I have already made my final payment and I have pre-paid my crew appreciation. With that as context I have 2 questions: 1) Does having made the final payment preclude me from being able to take advantage of price drops? 2) My cruise is one of those that now has free crew appreciation. Is that for new bookings only? And if not would the fact that I've pre-paid my crew appreciation preclude me from getting a credit of some kind for the free crew appreciation that is now available? Thanks for any info anyone can provide. I'd like some idea of what's possible before I call my TA.

MSC Meriviglia (sp?) had a couple of different Cirque de Soleil shows, pre-pandemic, when I was on a Baltic cruise. It was spectacular, and I can see why many people loved but it if I'm honest it wasn't at all my cup of tea.

Just to expand a bit, when the web description says 'enhanced' menu it just means one additional item on the menu, not a whole different menu.

And then a purist will chime in with, "real chili doesn't have beans". 🤪

I'm just guessing here, but I think what is happening is that the new fare is 13/14ths of the new, higher fare, not that they are crediting them with 1/14th of the new higher fare. That's not how OP said it, but if it is giving them very little savings I think that may be what's happening.

That is what is so frustrating. In a world where people access the internet with such a wide variety of devices, operating systems, and browsers I would think a top top priority would be to design your website around the goal of being accessible and stable no matter how it is accessed. But apparently, not so.

I missed, or skipped over, that post but have gone back and read it and the linked article, so I appreciate you directing us to that prior post. I don't have a problem with outsourcing in general, but it doesn't seem to be working in this case in the way it was implemented nor in the resulting product/service.

Lately I have been having success with the Incognito page. This is on a Samsung Chromebook running Chrome.

Just like a good tea, whether it be afternoon, high, cream, or an international version, this is a lovely thread.

Hmmm, I have an upcoming 1/13 17 day cruise where I've already made the final payment and pre-paid the grats. I wonder if I can get the free grats promotion and a refund on the grats I've already paid. I may just have to give my TA a call.

This whole thread brings back such memories of our afternoon tea at The Ritz London. One memory is of a family of eight at a nearby table. They were beautifully dressed, and there was a little boy of about age 6 who was wearing a better suit than any I've ever owned. In my head I was thinking that the dad must be in the House of Lords and buys his bespoke suits on Saville Row.

On my 17 day 1/13 Koningsdam I bought it and it said 14/20, and was $299 US, FWIW.

Is the whipped cream an Australian thing, because I hadn't heard of using that before.

You can always make it yourself: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/257734/chef-johns-clotted-cream/ I've never made this, but a few years back we did an afternoon tea for a special occasion and I made the cream cheese for some of the little sandwiches.

Hmm, on the home page screen it seems to tie the free crew appreciation to a nonrefundable deposit. It says "nonrefundable deposit offer - up to 45% off fares + Free Prepaid Crew Appreciation. Are you sure that adding the free crew appreciation didn't convert your deposit into a nonrefundable deposit? Unless, of course that was what you intended.

There is a search engine (not a TA) called Cruiseplum. If you go to that site click on Search, and then Detailed Search in the upper right corner. It will ask how many passengers and then your country. Obviously specify 1 passenger and then your country - US or Canada. Then a multipage list of cruises will appear with a column on the left where there are a lot of filters . Scroll down that list to Lines and Cabins and click the > to select Holland America. There will be suites and balconies listed, but below them is an Oceanvew category. Click the > symbol and a list will open up of the various Oceanview cabin types with their letter codes. Scroll down to the item Single Oceanview (OO) cabin and check the box, and on that big list will have been filtered down to a list of the sailings on which this cabin is available. You'll have to go elsewhere to do your booking as this is strictly a search engine. But you'll have all of the information you'll need to tell your TA, or HAL directly, exactly what you want. And if you find one you like you can click the "I" all the way to the right it will show a lot of info on that sailing including the base fare, port charges and tips with a total and per day, not just for (OO) category but for all categories. There will also be a lot more ship/sailing info. And if you click on the Book link it will take you to the page on HAL's site for that cruise. You don't have to book there - you're free to see if your TA of choice can give you a better deal. I hope you find this helpful. As a newly solo traveler this will become my first stop in picking a cruise.