vms

Maybe... my 7 day Western Caribbean for January 2021 was on the Veendam and was cancelled too. This is the second time I've tried to cruise to Costa Maya and been denied. LOL

I was scheduled on a September sailing to Alaska that was cancelled by Princess in April, but had only paid the deposit at the time it was cancelled. I received the money back on my credit card on June 17, 2020.

I had no idea you could apply for it so early. I have a cruise scheduled for January and wondering if I should do it now, so that if there are issues, I'll have more than enough time to resolve them. OTOH, now that I'm working from home 100% of the time for the foreseeable future, I don't have easy access to a fax machine any more. Decisions, decisions... 🙂

Since I have a hard time sleeping in, even on vacation, I miss early mornings watching the sea go by with a drink from Café al Bacio, followed by eggs Benedict for breakfast (which I love but only ever get on cruises). I miss exploring new places. I miss Murano. I miss the Martini bar and the Silent Disco. And I miss getting an amazing night's sleep every night as I'm gently rocked to sleep.

I loved your deaf coffee story! I gave up caffeine 11 years ago, but sometimes still want a cup of decaf after a meal, and it's very cool to know that would be how you would ask for it in sign. It's so interesting how languages evolve and clearly ASL is no different. My perception is that technology has provided many improvements for deaf & hard of hearing people- do you agree? Your TDD story vs the ability to text, as an example. Not being a computer programmer, it seems like it should be easy to use the cruise line's mobile app technology to have you be able to message to your cabin stewards, or room service. Although I'm sure it's much more difficult than I would think. The wrap around promenade decks are one of my favorite things about HAL ships compared to other lines I've been on, so I can see why you're so in love with them. Thanks for continuing your review- it is so interesting!

What an experience! Cheers to you for being so calm about the whole situation. And how nice of HAL to send a little pick-me-up after your ordeal.

I have very much enjoyed your review so far, and I'm so glad you've come back to finish "the rest of the story". The Panama Canal is on my cruise bucket-list.

I booked one for late January 2021 and one for March 2021. Hopefully one will be a go. If I'm really lucky, both will be a go.

You're correct. The CCL brands do not offer any shared loyalty status. Each one runs its loyalty program separately.

Summit, April 2016 A different view of St. Lucia.

Infinity Pacific Coastal- September 2017 Got up extra early for the sunrise sail under the Golden Gate bridge.

I almost missed the ship twice on ship sponsored tours- both on the same cruise! Once when our boat touring Phang Nga Bay scraped into the pier and gashed a hole in the side of the boat at our shopping stop. It was 30-45 minutes while they radioed for a new boat to come and pick us up. That delayed our dinner, which meant we hit traffic going back to Phuket. They rushed us down the pier to the tender and we were the last tender to return to the ship. The second time was coming back to the port from Kuala Lumpur. There was some type of festival happening which snarled traffic horribly and our guide kept trying to insist on making all the stops so he wouldn't get in trouble with his company. All of us on the tour had to write a letter and sign it with our names & cabin numbers that we had agreed to have him cut the tour short. It had been hours since we had a bathroom stop and I begged someone from X that I saw in the terminal to be allowed to stop for a bathroom break because I wasn't going to be able to make the long walk out to the ship. They were very kind and said that I could take my time. Turns out there were a couple other ships tours stuck in the same traffic so we weren't the last ones to arrive, but I still jogged my way out to the ship in case anyone was watching. On a different cruise, in Kona, Hawaii, no one came close to missing the ship, but I ended up on the last tender which turned into the crew tender. The last passenger tender was supposed to be 3:30 pm, and I arrived at 3:08 to discover I was one of about 10 people who hadn't come back to the ship yet. They were checking off everyone's cabin numbers and radioing back and forth to security onboard to confirm the list of the "missing" and who had arrived at the tender. Once the last person arrived about 3:20, they loaded the 10 of us on the tender, then loaded all the crew & materials and we all came back together.

I don't belive the pandemic will change my cabin-choices. I'm a typically solo-cruiser and I won't hesitate to continue to book inside cabins when traveling solo, although I'm always willing to book a higher-level with a great deal or a reduced single-supplement. When traveling with others, I prefer a balcony and will continue to book that.

James Bond Island, Thailand. Millennium, November 2015. The view was stunning, but more memorable was the adventure trying to get back to the ship. The small boat we were touring Phang Nga Bay with sprang a leak when the pilot did a bad job of coming alongside the dock at a snack stop and ripped a hole in the side. We had an extra 30-45 minute wait for a new one.

RCL had a big bump also. It was at 35ish at the beginning of the week and now is up to $48.