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4 hours ago, BeasleysMom66 said:

 

I made that mistake on my first cruise ever.  I was on the Equinox with Celebrity and I knew I was reaching my limit on my credit card so I went down on the last night and paid in cash and got a zero balance receipt.  Next morning I go to disembark and get the loud warning bell that I am denied leaving because I have a balance.  WHAT????  It was SO humiliating.  I had to go back to the "front desk" and asked them to explain why I was denied leaving.  They told me I had a balance and I asked for the folio.  When she printed it it was identical to the zero balance sheet from the night before.  I asked how much cash was needed to pay zero?  The purser looked at me sheepishly and offered no apology.  I was finally cleared to leave.  

 

That said on the next cruise with 2 friends from the first (all in separate cabins/reservations) one of us always had a money problem.  After Friend 1 and I left the ship we passed Friend 2 leaning on a pillar with a cruise employee standing there.  We didn't pay much attention at first but asked if she wanted to share a cab to the airport with us.  She said no she had some "business" to take care of.  As we waited to get our luggage we were talking about what could be wrong and another passenger said they had heard her talking to the employees and she had a balance she couldn't pay.  We lost touch with her and I don't know how it was handled but she was off the ship but an employee was standing there next to her for what purpose I don't know.  My guess is they had her sign a promissory note before she could claim her luggage and go home.

Interesting. I had a casino comp cruise also on Celebrity recently where they never got a credit card on file because it was booked through a casino host. They did not ask for a card at check-in and I thought for sure they weren’t gonna let us disembark because I had a balance.

I also did not get to play because the casino would not let me (long story). So I  had no points to take care of the bill and was positive they wouldn’t let us disembark as I had about a $300 balance but was not stopped.
 

As a lawyer they definitely cannot keep you on board against your will. If they do so, it amounts to unlawful detainment, and possibly kidnapping and you’d have a civil suit against the cruise line.

They have your credit card, and they can bill you or send you to collections. They can’t keep you on the boat until you pay. 

10 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Did you sail on the same ship from Seattle to Vancouver, then from Vancouver onward? If so, you will be in violation of the PSVA, if you disembark in San Diego.

 

There was a thread here this summer where someone violated the PSVA, and they were changed the fine to the credit card on file with the cruise line.

Well then it’ll be what it’ll be. Thanks for letting me know.

1 minute ago, RD64 said:

If everything is standard on other lines, then why did you not just travel with other lines?

None of them had an itinerary like this that was as long and convenient leaving from Seattle going to a destination my father lives. I learned my lesson that this line isn’t for me.

I don’t know what you want me to say?

I’m not a troll. 
 

I got off in Vancouver, saw the city, and I got back on in Vancouver .

12 hours ago, rodndonna said:

 

6 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

Nope.  When traveling between 2 different US ports (in this case Seattle to Ft Lauderdale), you must stop at a DISTANT foreign port.  A distant foreign port is any port NOT in North America, Central America, the Bermuda Islands, or the West Indies (including the Bahama Islands, but not including the Leeward Islands of the Netherlands Antilles, i.e., Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao)." 19 CFR § 4.80a(a)(2).

 

Vancouver doesn't satisfy the PVSA requirement for such a cruise.  The earliest you can debark the ship and not be fined would be in Mexico.

 

You indicated in your initial post that the cruise was Seattle to Ft Lauderdale.  Seattle to San Diego would fall under the same requirements.

So if I get off the boat and don’t get back on, a warrant for my arrest will be issued?

How are the Canadians getting off?

We stopped in Vancouver, so I can get off. Technically it would be Vancouver to San Diego. Many are getting off that I spoke to last night. I assumed others were getting on too? 
 

In any event people can sneer at me and say I’m crying and my expectations are too high, but it’s really not. Asking to have craps open during the day is pretty standard on other lines. Having 3,4,5x odds is standard on all the other lines (as opposed to double).
 

I had no issues with Celebrity, who I assume has access to the same provisions. The food they’ve served at the Buffett on Lido is embarrassing. The dinners have been great. The staff has been very nice and delightful. 

11 hours ago, rodndonna said:

 

I probably won’t be continuing on the boat to Ft. Lauderdale. I think I will be getting off in San Diego. There just isn’t enough redeeming qualities about the food, the boat, activities, and especially the gambling which is why I am here. 
 

I don’t like the food, except in the evening dining room. The rest of the food is just plain not good. The ingredients are not good, not fresh, and low quality. The selections are not good. I’m supposed to be comped a dinner to pinnacle, and maybe others and that’s great. I’m looking forward to trying those outlets. But I haven’t enjoyed the food on here outside the dining room at all. The gambling, and casino are the worst odds and games I have seen (I think this is more a Carnival issue) compared to RCCL and MSC. The casino is empty, and nobody on this ship is playing in the casino. People who are playing, are playing for extremely small stakes. My play really stands out and is garnering a crowd. I don’t mind people watching me play, but it just feels weird because the staff hasn’t seen this kind of action and it’s obvious. It’s not their fault, but it just makes me feel uncomfortable. It would’ve been nice to get a heads up that I’d be more comfortable on ship X, which caters more to gamblers. 
 

Not to sound overly harsh or dramatic, but in my experience thus far on my fourth day there are no redeeming qualities on my experience on HAL. It’s very lacking in my experiences to the Carnival and Celebrity ships I have taken. I guess I should’ve known that it’s a cruise ship that happens to have a casino, not the other way around. That being said I thought they would cater to my gambling, but that really hasn’t been the case. For example craps is my main game, but they refuse to open it until 8pm. When it is open, nobody is betting more than $5. Again, not their fault, just the overall cruise isn’t my scene, coupled with the fact I don’t like the boat or food, I don’t think I should continue. 
 

Perhaps I can find a different itinerary outside of San Diego? I think more elegant lines like Virgin and Celebrity are more my style. I guess you live and learn. 
 

As I’ve mentioned, I’m just starting to get into the whole cruise scene as I find it really relaxing. Do others know of ships/itineraries/lines that are specifically catered towards gamblers?

9 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Real eggs are used for fried eggs, eggs benedict and poached eggs.  You can watch them break open a real egg shell.

Thank you for that. Even at the buffet? I was at the omelette station. This is why I’ve come here, to learn the idiosyncrasies of HAL.

50 minutes ago, Laminator said:

I assume since you received a casino offer it was from a land based casino as you have not sailed HAL in the past. Would that assumption be correct?
I am a little confused regarding the quality of the food. It's not too often people on the HAL boards complain about the quality of the food. And these folks have hundreds of days sailing HAL. 
It's even more rare that the Lido breakfast is an issue. What is not up to par with the breakfast offerings? 

I have an independent casino rep that’s been in the business for 40 years. He was able to speak to a representative at Carnival and get them to comp the cruise, and I paid $860 in taxes and fees (as well as the gambling I will be doing). 
 

The breakfast buffet’s ingredients just were not fresh. It was an egg mix, not real eggs. Even the people at lunch yesterday who were serial cruisers said the food was awful. 

33 minutes ago, Roz said:

In fairness to the OP,  I think the mac and cheese and chicken and waffles are pretty bad. 

 

I wouldn't give up on the entire cruise though.  

Thank you. Yeah dinner last night was actually very good. The quality of ingredients is just not very high. I’m at the breakfast buffet, and you can just tell they’re trying to cut costs so much that the ingredients aren’t fresh. It’s the second day. So far not great, but it’s not terrible. Let’s see once we get on the cruise after San Diego with the long term guests if it improves.

Im new to serial cruising. We use to go when I was younger, 15 years ago. So I don’t have the experience a lot of people on here do.

5 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

The onboard accounting system seems to be a mess.  

They assigned two parties to the same room. How is that even possible? When we finally got it straightened out at the front desk they didn’t even apologize. 

Dinner was really good, so I suppose that lunch was a one off. I don’t know why the lunch was so bad, but I’m never going in the dining-room for lunch again. 

1 minute ago, canadianbear said:

If you have the HAL Navigator App you can comment on it.

 

Thank you! I appreciate constructive feedback. I know nothing about these apps, and new cruise lines I’ve never been on. 

For those who don’t gamble, nothing is free in life. I had to put up (and am expected to play) a lot of money which will pay for the cruise. Hence why I said I got it “comped” not free.

I’m not a cruiseaholic. I don’t know where to go for things like this. If the meal is as bad as lunch, I will speak to the maitre’d. Thank you

3 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Since you paid nothing and it is unbearable make arrangements to disembark.  I would never stay in a situation that would be so unbearable. 

I didn’t say unbearable. We got off to a rocky start, I just hope the cruise doesn’t continue like this and it was a one off. Also, read the reviews on here. The food on the Eurodam is rated 1 star out of 5, so I’m not exactly alone here. 
 

Listen, I am not a foodie. I’m not someone who complains about food or treats dining as some “gastronomy activity.” I’m actually quite easy to please and I’m not picky. Frankly, the food wouldn’t even have to be great, or gourmet. But this was served was absolutely unacceptable. 
 

All I’m asking is who I speak to about this issues?

Through the casino I was able to get a 21 day comped cruise from Seattle to Ft. Lauderdale through the Panama Canal. 
 

I just got off a Celebrity ship to Alaska which was absolutely wonderful. The food was delicious, and terrific service. 
 

The first bit on this HAL ship has gotten off to a really bad start. First they assigned another unrelated party to my friends cabin. How that’s even possible I don’t know. They showed up, and had his room assigned on their ticket too. They were so embarrassed, it was extremely awkward, and the guys girlfriend of the unrelated party started crying. 
 

Then we had lunch in the dining room. The “beechers” mac-n-cheese was not beechers, and was watered down Kraft that tasted like leftovers from an uneaten Hungry-Man’s TV dinner. The Chicken and Waffles was two unrecognizable pieces of chicken. The waffle was a stale waffle. I’ve been on a lot of cruises in my lifetime, and frankly I’m surprised they aren’t embarrassed to serve food like that. If dinner is just as horrendous, who I speak to? I can’t put up for 21 days with dog food.