sandiego1

The MDR hostess, the wonderful Josephine, on the 2023 WC remembered my name from the 2019 WC. Not only that, she said she could hear me talking with my friends in the hallway and she recognized my voice!

Multiple waiters did this on the 2023 WC. Maybe we are just messy eaters??!! 😀

Also, we were told to bring newer bills without any tears or writing on them. In Chile, our guide asked us to swap out a $5 bill he received in the past that had a corner missing. His bank wouldn’t accept it to exchange. I also found that in some West African countries, they wouldn’t accept $1 bills. They said the exchange rate was lower than on $5 bills. Of course the item I wanted was $13 so they wanted me to give them a five and a ten. I combined my purchase with a friend’s purchase so we didn’t have to pay extra. The guide told me the story about the exchange rate was true so I didn’t think the vendor was trying to rip me off.

We found that most street vendors in West Africa will take US or Euro. HAL ships typically have foreign currency that you can buy. Their rate is less than the bank rate but it was handy. Before our WC, we got about $50 per port per day in the major foreign currencies. We had too much cash as most places took credit cards. I won’t bother to get as much for our next cruise. Many of our tour guides accepted tips in US or Euros too.

Ahh, I don’t have a Target cc. You don’t need to be a member of AARP to purchase HAL gift cards. You can buy up to 5/month with a 10% discount. You can buy $500 GC for $450 each.

How do you get gift cards at Target at a reduced price? I see them at full price. I know AARP sells them with a discount.

I tried but it didn't work. HAL often adds an insignificant item to their tour to ensure it's impossible to have an exact match. For example, for the Flam, Norway train ride, they offered a waffle and a "host" to escort you to the train station. The price was more than double the price to buy the train ticket independently. When I tried to get the "best price guarantee," I was informed that the tours weren't identical because of the waffle and the host. That was one very expensive waffle! We declined the tour and did it on our own. The train station was visible from the ship and a very short walk!

I’ve never seen one, but then again, I wasn’t specifically looking for one.

#2

The measurements listed above by TheInsideCabin are accurate for the Zuiderdam.

Yes if both of you qualify for 5*

No. Book 2 cabins.

When you apply for the passport, I suggest checking the box for the large book. There is no additional costs flans you get more pages. I neglected to do that last year when I renewed (stupid error). Now I have very few completely blank pages. Immigration clerks don’t stamp in order as they are in a rush and just look for a blank page. I have many pages with a single stamp. When we go on a long or World Cruise , we need at least 6 blank pages before starting the cruise. Between that and Visas which will sometimes be attached to your passport, I will definitely run out of pages before my passport expires.

I have purchased and used the cards on prior cruises. This is the way HAL deals with them.

You get a card worth $500, not $450. Again, any credit is returned directly to the AARP gift card. if you only want to use $200,why don’t you buy a $200 card instead of the $500? Then your problem is solved.

Yes.

Asked and answered. HAL credits it back to the AARP gift card, not to the credit card used to purchase the gift card.

Didn’t you already ask a similar question on another thread? If you don’t use all of your AARP gift card, the balance remains on the card (or is refunded back to the card if you buy OBC).

We have used Costco for our travel vaccinations too. We were very pleased with the service. Prices are considerably cheaper than going to our regular Dr or local clinic. I noticed that they recently added additional states. I don’t believe it was previously offered in Florida.

There is a TA site that displays all cabins available per deck. I find it much easier to scroll through that site than the HAL site. I don’t need to select aft, mid ship, or forward. That site is considerably more user friendly. Since it’s a TA site, I can’t share it.

Officially, HAL charges $20 corkage fee on every bottle. Unofficially, they sometimes forget to do it. You are supposed to carry the wine or champagne in your carry on luggage, not checked bag.

I have often ordered an entree in an “appetizer “ size and switched the sides that go along with an entree. The waiters and chefs in the MDR are very accommodating.

Me too!

HAL has the same guarantee. They just add an insignificant item to their itinerary to prevent you from making an exact match to an outside tour. For example, there’s a brief stop at a hotel for a waffle on the train ride in Flam, Norway. That waffle cost over $100 per person compared to booking the train online! And there’s an escort from the ship to the train station (line of sight from the ship). Those are the 2 differences that eliminate the possibility of getting a refund using their guarantee.

HAL definitely incorporated regional cuisine on the World Cruises in many ports.