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mkl55

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Everything posted by mkl55

  1. You probably had the same beverage package as your cruise ten months ago. However, in the meantime a price increase went into effect. Therefore, beverages that were covered before are now just above the "allowed" amount resulting in the silly overages. Previously, when beverage prices were raised, HIA minimums were also raised so it went unnoticed. Under the old pricing, if you chose a beverage that went over the "allowed" amount, you had to pay the full charge. Now you just pay the overage so perhaps that is why the HIA allowance was not raised. I still found it quite annoying. The reason I purchase the package is so I don't have to think about it. Instead I had all these silly slips to sign and small charges (and the occasional full price charged in error) to look at. I hope this policy gets reconsidered as it does impact "the feel" of the cruise.
  2. I recently called to find out where I was on a wait list. Unlike my previous experiences, that information was unavailable per the rep(s) I spoke with. Once aboard, I had a notice in my cabin citing "good news..you have been ticketed for your waitlisted shore excursion" The onboard shore excursion folks were most helpful in letting me know about our positions on other wait listed excursions and we were actually given better information and made different selections for some ports based on the info provided onboard re: size of the tours and probability for adding additional buses based on demand, etc. I would hop on waitlists and pursue private tours with generous cancellation policies and see how it pans out for your must dos. I think HAL is using online demand and adding tours very carefully. But, they are adding tours!
  3. Welcome! A couple of quick thoughts come to mind. Perhaps you are trying to book into a restaurant that is not covered in your HIA package? The restaurants that are part of your package are usually specified on your booking paperwork. The other possibility is that you did not see the itty bitty box that you can check to say that you would like you use your complimentary dinner. Try doing a booking in a different venue and see if that behaves differently. If all else fails, give HAL a call and let them get you booked.
  4. I am not a math wizard but we have used our points primarily for statement credits against paying off cruise balances. We wait until after the final payment double points have posted and then cash in our points. In the early days, they had a very different system. I was able to get an $8,000 points credit (wedding and reno project expenses that year) toward a cruise. It's not that generous anymore and somehow I feel responsible. From the site:
  5. This is interesting as it reflects a change in direction for Celebrity toward a more family friendly approach. We booked on a 2025 Cruise specifically for Mardi Gras. We got this notice of a major change in itinerary based on this change in approach. Also noteworthy, we received the change notice with a date for cancellation but no firm info as to pricing adjustments or info on when this info would be available, which makes decision making quite challenging. This is our first experience with Celebrity and based on both this change in approach and the less than stellar handling of this matter, it will be our last. This is not really relevant to OP's general question, but it provides a data point for reflection. Dear Guest, At Celebrity Cruises, we are passionate about providing award-winning vacation experiences. As we position our brand for continued success, we constantly seek opportunities to elevate our already incredible offerings. With this goal in mind, Celebrity Cruises will be redeploying Celebrity Constellation in January 2025, with shorter itineraries to better serve family travelers out of Tampa, Florida. As a result, your Celebrity Constellation Mardi Gras sailing, embarking on March 1, 2025 will be necessarily adjusted, as reflected below. No action will be required on your part to sail on this modified itinerary. Your cruise will automatically be adjusted, with your embarkation date and stateroom assignment remaining the same. Your cruise fare will be pro-rated to the shortened voyage length. Additionally, in appreciation for your flexibility and for continuing to remain on this sailing, you will receive an onboard credit of $200 per stateroom, $400 for Retreat accommodations. An updated invoice will be sent once this process is complete. Any onboard amenities booked with your current promotion or purchased pre-cruise via the Celebrity Cruise Planner (such as internet or beverage packages) will be adjusted and pro-rated automatically. If you have pre-booked any shore excursions, specialty dining or other onboard items scheduled on days that have been removed from the itinerary, you will be refunded in full to your original method of payment. Guests with independent hotel or shore excursion arrangements in Tampa will need to contact providers directly to make required travel modifications. Guests with hotel reservations booked through Flights by Celebrity will automatically be re-accommodated (you will not need to call in to initiate the process). If you do not wish to accept this sailing modification, you will have the option to cancel and rebook a new itinerary or receive a 100% refund from now through August 29, 2023. If you do choose to cancel your reservation and have pre-booked any shore excursions, beverage, internet, specialty dining, other onboard packages or hotel stays through Celebrity Cruises, you will also receive a 100% refund for these items. Please note, any reservation paid with Future Cruise Credit will not be eligible for a cash refund; however, the Future Cruise Credit will be reinstated. Please contact us or your travel agent for alternative sailing options and your reservation will be shifted at prevailing rates. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Celebrity Cruises at 1-844-418-6824 in North America or (316) 554-5961 worldwide. We look forward to welcoming you aboard soon for an amazing Celebrity Cruises vacation. Sincerely, Celebrity Cruises
  6. During an ill fated cruise, my DH wound up in COVID quarantine in another cabin. I had to move to a different cabin while they treated ours. In the midst of this upheaval some clean laundry was returned. I put it in the closet without even looking at it. A couple of days later, no less than 6 cabin stewards showed up with some freshly laundered items I knew to be my husbands while on the hunt for some items that another cabin was missing. I don't know how they figured it out but they were quite committed to solving they mystery. Hang in. Hopefully your friends' cabin stewards will be as helpful. They are quite amazing in dealing with so many situations.
  7. Thank you so much for your thoughtful responses. It sounds like a case can be made for either staying on the ship or enjoying a carefully selected excursion. I very much appreciate the insights and advice regarding timing and elements of shore excursions to consider. I think reading The Path Between the Seas is a wonderful suggestion and it will help to clarify what we are particularly interested in seeing. Many, many thanks.
  8. This will be our first Panama Canal experience. I've read mixed opinions regarding staying on ship for the experience vs the relative hassle of taking a shore excursion (heat, waiting for the ship, etc.) Could you share your advice/experiences for first time, not particularly adventurous Panama Canal cruisers? Thank you!
  9. I did this fairly recently as a retired teacher (US). I was unsuccessful with the first document I submitted which was a tax document. I thought that should be the gold standard, but apparently not. Someone else suggested taking a screen shot of my profile page on my state's teacher retirement webpage. That was done and accepted. Hope it works for you. It sure saved me a lot of time plowing through old records.
  10. We also have this card but we "save up" and use it for statement credit after the cruise. Since double points are earned for Holland America line spending, one suggestion is to earn the double points for your on board spending and then apply your greater number of points as a statement credit when you return from your cruise. I hope this make sense!
  11. We had the same experience as did Kazu. We were traveling with another couple. Both couples had HIA. I called Ship Services well ahead of boarding with both booking numbers and reserved a table for four with our HIA dining credit. The reservations appeared and were charged on each of our accounts but with no indication that it was a reservation for 4. We showed up at the appointed time and a table for 4 was reserved for us. I'm sure you can check once onboard and get confirmation from the "podium dude"
  12. Native Bostonian here. No! No! A thousand times no! There are way too many areas where unexpected and often inexplicable traffic issues arise. Clearing the port is merely the first hurdle. Please don't do that to yourself. Get a later flight or perhaps stay overnight and enjoy our beautiful city.
  13. I am a retired teacher. I applied and submitted the form with my pension information from our state teacher's retirement board. I got an email stating that my organization's name is missing. I don't have anything else but my retirement board info. What worked for you retired teachers?
  14. Hello, Would someone be kind enough to explain (like I'm a five year old!) the Request Early Ticketing option for Flight Ease. The context is that my final payment just posted for an October cruise. With the recent discussion about failure to ticket on some Flight Ease flights, I'm trying to explore my options for ensuring that there are no hiccups. If I'm understanding correctly, this request can be made after final payment and this somehow ensures that flights have been paid for so no unexpected cancellations occur? We've used Flight Ease with no problem many times but the times, they are a changing. Thank you in advance.
  15. Hello, I am booked on a flight Boston to Naples connecting in Newark. I am before final payment. Given the current travel concerns, I wanted to switch the Boston to Newark leg to an earlier flight without changing anything else. Is there a way to do this online through FlightEase without having to cancel out the entire trip? There is no price increase for the first leg, however there is a $500 difference if I cancel and rebook the whole trip. I believe I could do it with a phone call to Flight Ease but 6 hour hold times for something so simple seems ridiculous. Any thoughts or advice is much appreciated.
  16. I've been having this issue for months. I initially thought it was because I had two different cruises booked and that the wires had gotten crossed. Nope. Cruise #1 has long since been completed and still getting the error message. I've tried every browser, deleting and reentering info, clearing cookies and history etc., etc. The only thing that works for me consistently is trying very, very late or very, very, early (thank you insomnia). I've also had occasional success going through the navigator app. There I've gotten an error message that says my flight schedules are being updated and gives me an option to choose different flights. I can do this without impacting existing flights. It just lets me see what flights are available. It is extremely frustrating. Since so many folks are experiencing this and calling about it, it's pretty hard to believe both that HAL could be unaware of the issue and that no effort to correct this has been made.
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