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mobilemac

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Posts posted by mobilemac

  1. My experience is that calling for a price adjustment basically means cancelling and rebooking for a lower price.  Then the question becomes ... does the lower price make up for the bennies you will lose from your cancelled booking.  Example ... I just rebooked to take advantage of the Black Friday sale price and "free" gratuities.  Making this change meant I lost the $400 OBCs I'd gotten when I originally booked on board, but the value of the included gratuities exceeded the $400 OBCs.  The only OBCs {I think) that always stay with you are any bennies from your cruise agent and the CCL stock ownership OBCs.  

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  2. Yes, you can find the Sommelier Wine packages listed on the HAL website ... Cellars 1, 2, or 3 ... think good, better, best.  Each package is available with 4, 6, or 8 bottles, and includes a selection of reds or whites.  You can have as many bottles open at one time as you want ... they are yours, prepaid and available to drink while dining or taken back to your stateroom.  BTW, an 18% gratuity will be tacked onto the price of the package ... the gratuity is not included in the package price.

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  3. No pre-planning required ... simply tell the Canaletto wait staff when you arrive that you already have an opened bottle of red or white stored at the MDR, deck 2 or 3.  They will send one of their staff for it and it will be back to you in 5 - 6 minutes.  We dined in the Canaletto several times and that's the process we followed earlier this month during our TA to FLL from Barcelona.  The same applies for dining in the Lido.

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  4. I have to admit we haven't visited the CT in 10 years, so I'm disappointed to read it has changed so much.  Depending on your viewpoint, I guess you can either thank or blame Rick Steves, who has promoted the CT in his Back Door books.

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  5. La Spezia is a great jumping off point for a day of visiting the Cinque Terre.  La Spezia Centrale is a short train ride to the 5 villages, all of which are connected by a walking path.  Each of the oceanside villages has their own character and would be a wonderful way to get away from the crowds for a relaxing day.  

  6. My wife and I also used the ship's shuttle from the Rotterdam (at the Rotterdam dock) to AMS last week after the 16-day 150th Anniversary crossing.  The ship's shuttle cost $39 USD per person.  We had luggage tag Pink 1, which was called at 8:30 am.  Since we had cleared EU customs and border patrol the previous day when we arrived in Rotterdam, it was a quick shot off the ship to pick up our luggage and proceed to the double-decker coach.  Yes, it did take more time than using a taxi, but on balance was pretty efficient.  Traffic was not a problem, and we were off the coach and on our way with our luggage by 10:30.  Hope that helps.

  7. My wife and I are 4 * Mariners with an upcoming cruise on the Rotterdam.  We have a particular night and time we need to reserve dinner, but I am concerned that if we wait until we board ship, like we have always done in the past, we might not get the time slot we need.  If I reserve now, however, I'll need to pay the full price for two people now, and the system won't recognize our 4* 50% dining credit.   Question ... once we are onboard and go to dinner, will the shipboard accounting system then recognize our discount and return the overpayment to our onboard account?  Thanks.

  8. We have always gone directly from the ship to the airport for our return flight home.  For our upcoming T/A to Rotterdam in April we would like to take one of the ship tours to Delft and The Hague that finishes at the Amsterdam airport.  The tour description says this tour is only for flights after 3 pm.  Does this normally mean we'll arrive at the airport in the 12 - 1pm range? or closer to 3pm?  Thanks.

  9. We just returned from the Oosterdam, cabin 5108, an "A" portside veranda.  It was an inset cabin.  Granted, we did not have a full sightline view up and down the side of the ship, but by being inset we had a bit more overhang from the balcony above, helping cut down on the amount of full sun streaming into the cabin in the afternoon.  We were very happy with our selection and would book it again. 

  10. I was the OP for this topic and have been closely following everyone's responses.  I'm pleased to read everyone's positive experience with OnPoint's zoom testing process since we would like to use it next month from our hotel in France.  Although we will have a 6-hour time zone difference in France from the Eastcoast US, it sounds like OnPoint has reps available throughout the day.  I debated making our appointment before we leave the US but now think I will wait until we get closer to the actual testing date.  Who knows (fingers crossed), HAL might change the policy again and remove the testing requirement from our cruise.  I doubt it, but I can always hope 🙂

    Again, thanks to all for your responses.

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  11. My wife and I are crossing from Barcelona to Florida in November on the Oosterdam.  Our cruise is one of the cruises that requires a pre-cruise negative covid test to board.  We arrive in Barcelona the afternoon before we board and will be in Perpignon FR before Barcelona.  I can't find a testing clinic near Perpignon so we need to complete an emed test.  Has anyone used OnPoint for your testing?  I'm attracted to them because they allow us to use the iHealth tests we received from the US government a few months ago.  Your experiences with OnPoint will be appreciated. 

  12. My understanding ... Medicare will only cover one on-demand proctored covid test per year.  The 2nd, 3rd, etc., will be covered by Medicare only if it is medically prescribed by your physician.  So if you only cruise 1/year, you're covered by Medicare.  For your 2nd, 3rd, etc., you'll have to pay CVS, Walgreen, or an on-line proctored service like the Optom Store's Binaxnow emed proctored test kit.

  13. Suggestion ... download the Navigator app from your app store to your phone.  Your boarding pass will be on Navigator and you won't need a printed copy ... it will appear when it's ready.  With Navigator, you really won't need any printed materials once you're aboard ship.

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  14. My wife and I cruised from San Diego on the KDAM Feb 27 - March 6.  The check in process was 100% different from all our prior cruises.  Yes, make sure to download Navigator from your App store to your phone before you board ... it will include your boarding pass and confirmation that you completed the Health Questionaire.  The check in agent scanned our boarding pass UPC code off our phone Navigator with a handheld device and also hand scanned the Covid test results that had been emailed to us by CVS.  Don't rely on copies of the Covid vaccination card, however ... have the real thing.  It will be scanned into the system with the check in agent's handheld device.  The agent printed a boarding receipt from their handheld device that we used to board the ship.  Our keys are waiting in the mail slot by our stateroom door.  Bottom line, very slick and very fast.  We were impressed how quickly we were processed and onboard.

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  15. My wife and I were also on this cruise and echo everything said above.  Staff, service, food, entertainment ... all were great.  We arrived in San Diego Saturday afternoon and spent the day on Coronado.  We shuttled to the ship on Sunday at 12 noon for check in and were in our stateroom in 15 minutes.  A really fun and relaxing week.  In fact, we return to the KDam next month for the April 3rd sailing to Vancouver.  

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  16. CVS is very easy ... the hard part is getting a reservation so book as early in advance as possible.  Their online system allows booking up to 13 days in advance.  Assuming you have Medicare, there is no cost.  Answer Yes to the first question (future travel or recreation) and No to all the others, and you will have no problems.  Good luck with your travels!

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  17. I've always used a local cruise agency to book our cruises rather than shopping around.  Although we normally pick a stateroom when we book, I'm looking at a February cruise and am OK going for a guarantee veranda option on the Koningsdam.  This seems like a good time to at least consider using one of the national TA firms or a HAL PCC.  Compared to a local TA, your thoughts or recommendations about the three booking options? ... pricing, benefits, OBCs, etc.  Thanks

  18. The boarding pass won't download on Microsoft Edge (Internet Explorer).  Since HAL and Microsoft share Seattle as their home towns, it seems strange that HAL doesn't make the effort to support a homegrown product.  Regardless, I download and print using Chrome - works every time.  

  19. Alaska Airlines provides one piece of "free" checked luggage when we book our ticket using our Alaska credit card. Returning from FLL to Seattle last fall, we signed up for Luggage Direct and were surprised that the ship still charged us for all our checked luggage. According to the front desk, they didn't have access to information from Alaska about allowing for "free" luggage.

     

    Has this glitch been fixed? Does the Luggage Direct program recognize "free" checked luggage, or does the ship still charge for all checked luggage. This question really only applies to Alaska Airlines.

     

    Thanks.

  20. You've already received a lot of good tips for Key West. The drive down can be more interesting if you know something about how the road was built. I'd recommend reading "Last Train to Paradise" by Les Standiford. He tells the story of how the original railway from Miami to KW was built between 1906 and 1911. Since you have limited time, it will help you better appreciate the drive and the unique history of KW.

     

    Another idea, just south of Miami on the water, is Villa Vizcaya. It's a fascinating, restored estate from the same era (early 1900's.) At the same time wealthy northerners were building estates in Newport, RI, for their summer fun, they were also building estates in the south to get away in their northern winters. Villa Vizcaya is one of those southern getaways.

  21. My wife and I were in a Main Deck cabin (1062) on the Eurodam this fall. Bad news ... BB King was loud, no way around it. Good news ... we always attended the 10 pm show, so were gone from our cabin until around 11. BB King always wrapped up around 11:15, so it never ended up being a problem for us. Also Good news ... their music is good, and if you like the thump, thump from the drums and the bass guitar, you'll really enjoy it :)

  22. I'm probably being dense, but could someone clear up my question ...

     

    I'm deciding between getting a NEXUS card or Global Entry. Everything I read indicates that the NEXUS card has all the benefits of GE at half the price. Nexus is harder to get (fewer interview stations - we live in Seattle so no problem for us). My question ... coming off a HAL ship, I've seen the GE line at Port Everglades and they are much shorter than the "normal" line! I believe a NEXUS card entitles us to accessing the GE line ... true?

     

    Thanks.

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