Caribbean Chris

When you book your excursion online and are checking out, there will be a box to check on the shopping cart page if you want to use your $100 per person shore ex credit on this tour. Continue to the check out page, and again will confirm you’re using the credit. Your balance will be $0 for the tour(s). Be sure to finish the whole check out process, entering an email address. You’ll receive an emailed confirmation.

We called our TA office today about our 12\23\22 N. Amsterdam cruise and received the lower fare and a new confirmation. The person who took the call seemed inexperienced based on the odd answers about Crew Appreciation (If you change that, they’ll have to charge you $50 a day…etc) so we’ll try calling again. There are plenty of same-category cabins still unsold near ours on the ship.

Helpful chart. I’d add an asterisk to Pinnacle Class that the new Rotterdam has the best atmosphere of the three Pinnacle Club Orange dining rooms. It is more like a specialty restaurant than the other two, purpose-furnished to be the CO dining room. The CO perk was nonexistent when the Kdam and New Stat were built.

Half Moon Cay also now has a lobster shack where you can pay extra for a grilled lobster lunch with rice & beans. (Caribbean spiny lobster, not a Maine lobster.) It was about $20 when we were there in December. Not the best I’ve ever had in the Caribbean, but OK as a change of pace from the free buffet. I, too, like that it is a clean, pretty beach with nobody pestering you to buy stuff like jewelry - we usually walk way down and find a shady spot for a couple of loungers. Waiters stroll by often, so you can sign for a beer or other drinks to be charged to your room account. The big tenders are much easier to board and depart from versus the typical small tender experience, and it’s a quick process.

They definitely were nicer. I remember seeing a woman wearing a vest she had made from HAL canvas bags. Love that hat posted earlier!

For our last Neptune Suite cruise in 2019, we received a similar bag without “Club Orange” printed on it. I use it as a gym bag and like the zipper and net pockets for my water bottle. Unfortunately the white ”canvas” part running horizontally at the top is actually not canvas but some sort of white coating that has been flaking off.

Sure, you can refuse it. Note that if you’ve already booked the highest priced category in one meta-category grouping (such as verandahs or Vista Suites), sometimes people (including us) have been given on board credit instead of an upgrade.

Depends on the length of the cruise. Shorter ones = higher per day cost. For a 4 day cruise, it was $25 per person, per day, a total of $200. For longer 14 day cruise coming up, I think we’ve paid $15 pp/per day.

Perhaps HAL is trying out this option for now on selected cruises only? - a system for Open Seating passengers to have the option of pre-booking online for their desired times. As mentioned above, for our Nieuw Amsterdam Christmas cruise, I was able to book the times I chose for every night. FYI, in addition to an emailed confirmation (zero cost) the same way they email specialty restaurant confirmations, you can see these reservations on your HAL online account if you click "itinerary."

Grand Dutch cafes on the three newest Pinnacle Class ships where you can order Dutch foods on the menu and Dutch beers on tap, with blue & white decor and dishes. Indonesian foods on the menu in dining room, buffet, etc. aboard all the ships. Delft tiles as a gift for Mariners (repeaters) on every cruise.

As I said above, may be a work in progress.

I logged into my account on a desktop computer, selected my cruise, and clicked “make dining reservations.” I entered the desired date during the cruise and time I wanted, and it showed a square to click for the MDR below Pinnacle, Tamarind, and whatever else was available. As said in previous post, I went through booking & checkout procedures with $0 charge. I got an emailed confirmation. It was same process as any specialty restaurant. However I checked tonight and don’t see it as an option any more. I suspect this is a work in progress! Tonight I found this info pictured below - see the Navigator app FAQs. But if you select the MDR, there is no “reserve now” button to click (such as you see if you click Pinnacle in the app).

Welcome! 1. Be sure you have the dog’s up to date rabies certificate. Have your vet examine the dog right away and issue an APHIS Form 7001 Health Certificate, if you haven’t done so already. Since it is solely Mexico on the itinerary, the certificate will not need to be endorsed by any US government vet. Here’s APHIS Mexico info: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel/by-country/pettravel-mexico Even though Mexico no longer requires the health certificate, the cruise line’s check-in personnel when you embark will ask for your dog’s “paperwork,” and expect that health certificate with the rabies document. Carry extra copies of these. It’s a good idea to bring copies too of any documentation you have of the dog’s service dog training, such as an ID card. I even bring the dog’s spay certificate. The more paper, the better. The following may no longer be the case but in the past, for Cancun or Cozumel, we were asked to be in a ship’s lounge at 8 a.m, to have the dog inspected by Mexican officials before the ship could be cleared. They would look into the dog’s ears, eyes, check the skin, and so on. My dog has always been very calm, and I think most SDs are used to being touched and do fine. 2. If you are coming back into Miami, government inspectors may pull you out of line at disembarkation and examine your dog and his papers. So don’t pack them in your suitcase. 3. I Assume you have already notified Carnival we’ll in advance. You also can call their accessibility department and remind them you need that relief box. Ask the front desk where it is as soon as you board. Then go introduce the dog to it. Don’t panic if the dog refuses it the first day. But you may need to trek there first thing in the morning. Or you may re-think going ashore so the dog can visit some grass. 4. For eating on board, the buffets can be challenging, with masses of people grazing, carrying & dropping food, not paying attention. I find it easiest to get a table in a corner near the entrance first and then take turns getting buffet food, leaving the dog settled. In the Main Dining Rooms, ask the manager for a table against a wall or in a corner so you can tuck the dog away from waiters & people walking back & forth. 5. You’ll already know how this goes…Be prepared for a lot of strangers who want to meet the dog and ask a load of questions. And some who will grab at the dog when you are facing the other direction. It seems people get bolder on ships for some reason. Up to your husband how much interaction he allows, if any. It’s OK to always say “now is not a good time.” Finally just have a good time and just roll with the punches. The first cruise is the most stressful, but the dog just wants to be with your husband and will settle in soon. Report back if you have a chance.

Could be. I did it about 7 months before departure through the website log-in (not the Navigator app) but YMMV.

You don’t have to call. Reserve an open seating table for the Main Dining Room using the same online process as if you were reserving a specialty restaurant. Go all the way through check-out, which will show zero due. You’ll get an email confirmation. I did this for an upcoming Christmas cruise after I could not get my preferred fixed Early Seating. No specialty restaurants were available for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but I noticed I could book the MDR for any night. And so I reserved the whole cruise that way.

We had a very prompt reply confirming two cruises by booking number. Printed out to take along on the cruise in case front desk has an issue.

Why? Or how? Curious because I plan to book that in one of the coming years.

Infirmary? I think that charge appeared on our account years ago when DH had a minor issue.

I’m fond of this one currently in my bedroom, 38 years old so I guess it’s heading into vintage status (just like we are😀).

Your photos in the Dutch shoes are so cute! Looks like a very fun day.

Everybody knows what you look like. 😀

On the question of the Form 7001 APHIS health certificate, my vet still issues the paper one for me. I just used it in April for a Caribbean cruise. here’s the form: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/library/forms/pdf/APHIS7001.pdf

Yes, I’ve sent in the form years ago (requesting a waiver of the fee for a service dog with proof included) and eventually got the permit in the mail. The next time, I sent it and never heard another word, so ended up faxing from my vet and finally got a return fax permit. My vet’s office had no legal-length paper in their fax, so I had it printed at my friend’s law office. I was tired of this hassle and have since always paid to use the Bahamas Pet Permit service. He is very reliable and organized, and hand-carries it to the government office. I plan to use him again for a Christmas cruise. He sends updates as to your application progress and emails a link. Then I can print the permit at home (believe it or not, I searched for & bought a printer with capability to handle legal length docs and paper. It has been worth it to me to pay the fee and regain more control versus sending off paperwork and never getting a reply, then having to scurry around. Note that you should allow plenty of time, at least a month, since the permit office itself gets backed up. A permit is good for one entry, for a year from date of issue.

NCTribeFan, thanks for the report, though I’m sorry it was a hassle-filled experience instead of hassle-free. Times have changed! There are so many anecdotal reports that numerous competent employees in service industries across the board were unemployed during Covid and decided to retire or moved on. Who could blame them? Now companies are understaffed and filled with inexperienced people who can’t or won't problem-solve. Appears to be the case here and with FlightEase, based on a recent flight issue we had. I think we’re all better off these days handling our own arrangements, and having plans B & C in mind.

I used it for a downtown Seattle hotel for a two night pre-cruise stay. I was very favorably impressed with the meet & greet rep, who found us in baggage claim with a sign, helped collect our luggage on a cart, and escorted us a distance to where the shuttle van awaited in a parking garage. At the hotel there was info at check-in on how to handle bags for the transfer to the ship. On sailing day, there was a.very professional person in the lobby organizing the bus departures. Couldn’t have been better. This was pre-Covid and I hope HAL still has the same great procedures. Since Seattle is their headquarters with thousands of passengers sailing out of that city every summer, that possibly may be the best managed of any port.