Steamboatin

We normally purchase cancel for any reason insurance.

Have use it multiple times. Twice reason was - "Cat was ill."

So when you say for any reason it is really for any reason.

Full refund every time.

We are using a PC for first time. We have used one agent with a national travel agency for around 35 completed bookings. There were other bookings that were cancelled that are not in the above count.

Problem we have been having lately is that our TA's national agency is offering less and less to where now they are offering ZERO extra benefits. TA if offers any benefits that this national agency does not offer it comes out of their pocket.

On branch of this national agency bought out the other branch. The new national agency kept their same name but operate under new rules for both staff and clients.

Our first time with a PC has gained us a lot of OBC, meals and pending extremely hopefully sweet ultimate upgrade.

So until recently we would always say go with a local TA. But now we are thinking the other way because the PC is providing benefits our TA could never match at the same low price.

To p598738 and Retiring Soon,

Glad you were able to verify that am consistent in what I stated about bathroom shower flooding.

Glad also to hear that apparently they have corrected the bathroom flooding problem since we cruised on her.

Of our nearly 30 cruises the funniest thing to happen to me was on our cruise on the mv Cristal. At lunch one day I and the guy nest to me really enjoyed the chilled strawberry soup. The guy next to me asked our waiter to find out how the chef made the soup. Our waiter came back to our table laughing his butt off. The chilled strawberry soup was actually melted strawberry ice cream. Now that is one soup that I can make.

We have previously sailed on Louis Hellenic Cruise Lines' MV Cristal in Cabin 4029 on Deck 4 which is a Premium Outside with window cabin.

Really do not expect that cabin to be a "Premium" cabin by any decent cruise line's standards. And the "other" cabins are worse.

When we and everyone else used the cabin's bathroom shower the bedroom portion of the cabin flooded from the shower's water.

Hope by now the MV Cristal's problems that were present on our cruise have since been corrected. If not be prepared for very damp to wet carpet for your entire cruise.

As long as you are not stopped by a sniffing drug dog you are OK.

If the pup hits you positive expect to be "invited" to go to a nice quiet room to explain what each pill is for. Hope you remember because if not that is when the fun starts. Naturally you will miss your flight and maybe miss some freedom as well.

There is a really easy solution to your question. Simply call a Holland America Line rep and ask them.

Bad tour guides are everywhere. There is no escaping them.

We were on a Holland America Line's tour in St Croix and our guide insisted and ranted on how we should never take chemo to cure cancer but only eat the natural fruits and vegetables that she was constantly recommending.

Sometimes you just have to constantly fight back with asking questions about what you are now passing to side track their rant.

Most mini-suites have no roof so in the sun you bake and in rain/drizzle you get wet. Thus you end up using balcony very little. Only a few mini-suites have a roof cover. So do your homework.

It is the end of the winter cruising season would be a good guess to me.

Have you looked at for how long the repositioning cruise has been scheduled?

 

............HAL has a reputation (somewhat deserved) of appealing to an older demographic, but don't get tied up with ages..........

 

This is so very true. HAL has a lot of kids on board their vessels.

The 90 year old parents bring their 60 & 70 year old kids with them.:D

We went to the ruins from Costa Maya within the first year or two that the port opened up. Ruins in Belize are better but those in Costa Maya are worth seeing.

Our bus driver for the ship excursion was asked by a passenger why all the military check points along the highway. Mexican Army troops everywhere with one at each checkpoint manning a 50 caliber machine gun on each side of highway.

So our Mexican bus driver states over the bus PA in an attempt to explain to everyone on the bus the reason for the many check points.

He says do you not know Mexico has a big problem with illegal immigrants.

Everyone on the bus breaks out laughing. Bus driver is wondering why everyone is laughing.

His reasoning being that Mexico was having a big problem with a lot of people crossing their border coming North.

When we toured Greece in August 2007 with a major escorted tour company we took the optional cruise after the tour of the Greek Islands.

Our tour director had been doing this escorted optional cruise tour of the Greek Islands for years. While our chartered bus was driving to Oia we passed a local bus. She stated that if we came back on our own to consider just taking the local bus to and from Oia as it would be the least expensive and at that time the bus schedule would easily accommodate your cruise ships arrival and departure schedule.

Something to think about. But first verify if it still available, cost and if the bus schedule will be to your comfort level. Also if interested make sure you have the exact amount of Euro coins available for your round trip.

Also the day we were in Oia in August the temperature was 106 degrees. A little on the warm side you may say.

Personally would look at this subject matter in a totally different way.

My question to myself would it be worth $20 to get away from kids and Mickey Mouse and his friends.

Now that may be something for me to consider.:D

Now of course this would not apply to a HAL vessel. It would only apply to a Disney vessel naturally understood.

But on a Disney vessel certainly a question I would ask myself.

No

Bring old clothes and throw them away once worn a couple of times aboard the ship.

Bring empty suitcase home.

We were at our Ft. Lauderdale hotel waiting for everyone to be taken to the cruise port in the hotel shuttle.

This lady sitting next to the wife mentioned that they were leaving Ft Lauderdale today on their world cruise.

She was extremely proud that she and her husband were going on the world cruise with only 1 suitcase of clothes apiece and 1 carry on apiece.

She and her husband had packed just enough clothes for 7 days each. They plan to just keep washing clothes on board and wearing the same clothes over and over and over again.

She stated that she will never see these people again and could care less what they thought about her. She was going as cheap as possible in an interior cabin with 1 week of clothes to wear.

She planned on removing their cabin from auto tipping and tip as little as possible.

She planned on taking no ship excursions but that her and the husband would just walk around each port of call on their own and spend no money in any port. Eat on board all meals in MDR.

Now there is a passenger we would not want to travel with. But the whole ship had the "honor" of sailing with them on their 100 plus day voyage as they wore there 7 days of clothing over and over.

Reckon that was one cruise for everyone to remember, but maybe not for the right reason.

Not always. :)

 

Sometimes they upgrade or upsell, to free up less costly cabins that are easier to sell than the higher priced ones. There are cases where people get a great 'freebie' but, of course, that is not the rule nor should anyone come to expect it.

 

Once on HAL we received the ultimate upgrade.

HAL sold our cabin twice.

After wife did some fine negotiating HAL gave us a FREE 10 day cruise in place of a 7 day cruise. HAL refunded us in full, rebooked our air and gave us OBC too boot. The other individual(s) HAL sold our room to had to cruise on that specific date and the wife knowing HAL was in a bind called HAL's bluff and won.

A couple of times we were upgraded. On my first cruise' date=' we ended up with an upgrade that should have been considered a downgrade -- under a dining room and we heard vacuuming every night around midnight.

 

The last few cruises we have booked a specific cabin and marked it "no upgrade."[/quote']

 

Exactly the point I was making in my previous post.

Remember that if you are upgraded you will be getting a cabin that no one else wanted.

Thus, probably an inferior location.

In our case you forgot a very important item.

Pet sitter at a minimum of $20 per day for a routine day. Goes up rapidly if pet gets sick while you are on vacation.

You are in the Lido Restaurant with food in hand and there is no table to sit at.:D

Following are things we do BEFORE any trip or cruise.

Check credit card expiration dates to make sure they will be good until we are back home.

Check Driver's License expiration dates to make sure they will be good until we are back home.

Cancel the newspaper while we are away from home. Have it started day after we are back home.

Put in a stop mail delivery form with the Post Office to hold our mail until we are back home.

Arrange to have all due bills pre-paid or put bills on auto-pay while you are gone from your home.

Check Passport to make certain they will still be valid 6 months after you return to your final home airport.

Make sure you have enough current medication with you on your trip.

Charge all batteries we are taking on our trip days before we leave.

Make sure our cell phone can be used in cities we are visiting. May sometimes add coverage to cell phone plan and microchip to cell phone.

Things that we do prior to our trips.

OK first off this is not what you all want to hear and I know that.

To me he should STOP wasting his time in ports looking for free WIFI just to send emails out.

Start enjoying himself.

He can still continue cruising but start enjoying himself and STOP putting his health at risk getting wet and cold going to free WIFI spots. On bad weather days stay onboard. Stop putting himself at risk in traffic trying to avoid an auto accident just in the name of free WIFI to post on this board.

World will survive without his posts.

His health is his only thing he has to protect as with bad health or a bad accident any cruise line will quickly put him off of the ship at the next port.

He could start looking for a cruise line employee booking agent for musicians and find employment with a cruise line. Play a limited amount of time per week for waiver of single supplement at least is a good start.

OK now you all can start the bashing.:D

Anytime during your tour of service with the US Navy.:D

Here is a little secret.

There is no deck numbered Deck 13.

So Deck 14 is really Deck 13.

Hope you are not superstitious.

It is a great idea.

However as a past Amtrak rider train delays can be a common thing.

Going a day early would be a MUST do.

Train depot to port is NOT walkable.

Any hotel down town would be OK to the port the next day via a cab.

Problem would be trying to return via train upon end of cruise. Cab drivers at the port only want to go to the airport and no where else most of the time. So getting from the port to the train station will probably be a big problem at the end of the cruise.