sandiego1

May be useful for others, not for me

I am not comfortable discussing my income on this forum.

I am aware of the subsidy.

While the Zuiderdam is about 150’ longer than the Volendam, the Volendam was already lowered when the photo was taken. So it appears much smaller.

I agree. The font is very difficult to read on my iphone. The lines all mush together.

We are bringing meds on our cruise to help alleviate symptoms of COVID to help us feel better. Not to mask symptoms or to infect others. We would quarantine in our room and notify medical. The concern is the ship doesn’t sell all of the OTC stuff one may need if ill. You can get prescriptions filled at medical, but not necessarily all the OTC you would need.

smoking is not allowed in the casino on Zuiderdam.

I have had CC compromised several times. Never has the CC been out of my immediate possession or in a safe. Nevertheless, the #s have been stolen and used for purchases by others. Just happened to my DH last wk. He has a BofA card that we keep locked up at home and only use to book flights on a particular airline. He hasn’t used the card since Sep of 2021! Yet the # was used to make fraudulent purchases and he was contacted before they went through. Entirely possible that the staff did NOT steal the CC #s. I wouldn’t accuse them automatically.

I’m not Kathi, but yes, it’s Toto

$2300/month for a Blue Cross plan with $7k deductible pp! Just turned 61 and DH about to turn 60. It’s our largest monthly expense in retirement

Yeah, I’d LOVE that deductible. As it is, we are paying $2300+ month for health insurance. Too young for Medicare

That’s a good one. HDHP are usually higher. Mine is $7K/pp 🙁

With our 50% off, the middle package is $25/bottle including the new 18% gratuity. The bottle we bring on the ship will be more than $5, so more expensive for us to pay corkage than to just buy another package

You can buy a non discounted single bottle of wine to try. I believe there are about 7 different whites and 7 different reds in each package. Typically 1 bottle of different types of wine in each package (i.e. 1 Chardonnay, 1 Cabernet…). DH will drink other reds if he has to, but prefers Pinot Noir. He’ll occasionally get a Chanti or other bottle depending on his meal. I don’t drink so don’t know much about wine 😀

We are going to bring wine on the World Cruise and buy at least 1 package. DH like Pinot Noir and there is only 1 choice in the package. It’s not cost effective to bring wine onto the ship as we are 4*. The package is cheaper than buying wine and paying corkage for us. But he doesn’t want to drink the same wine for 128 night. So we’ll schlep a bunch of bottles to augment the package.

Oh no! So sorry to hear this happened to you. I’m glad you are ok and they didn’t get your important papers. Be safe!

Not really relevant. All 5 boroughs are part on NYC. The same sales tax is charged in all 5 boroughs. Docking in any of those locations would qualify as being IN NYC. I grew up in NYC and visit friends and family regularly in several boroughs 😀 Bayonne definitely doesn’t qualify as NYC. It’s in a completely different state! It’s a bit of a schlep to get into Manhattan from there.

New York City is comprised of 5 boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island, and Queens.

HAL requires wine bottles to be in hand carried luggage, not checked bags. If they find it in your checked luggage, They will keep the luggage and you will be called to the “naughty room” to open the suitcase. They will charge you $20 per bottle.

There are usually snacks available to purchase in the gift shop

I highly recommend Steve at tripinsurancestore.com. He has been great to work with!!

Uber used to be cheaper than taking a taxi. Now we only take taxis in San Diego.

Glad you have a team to for trivia and you won’t miss out on something you enjoy!

Check out Storylines. We have friends that purchased a unit on that ship. It’s a lot cheaper than ResidenSea. I would try a World Cruise for 4-5 months before committing to a life on the sea to ensure you like it.

Command hooks didn’t work on HAL’s Zuiderdam. There was some sort of texture on the wallpaper and they didn’t stick.