TiogaCruiser

Looking forward to this- and thanks for taking us along again! So what’s this WC’s special souvenir going to be? ( My DH knows you as the “magic carpet blogger”.)😁

You have had some amazing weather. Thanks for sharing. When I went in January 2013 we had heavy fog every morning and heavy clouds when it all lifted. But our wildlife sightings were off the charts: hundreds of whales, thousands of penguins. A colleague went 6 years and a month later and saw a handful of whales and penguins.

It was a Mariner private sale. I think HAL occasionally targets specific demographics that they think might help them in the long term. My guess is that DH got the offer because he had not booked a cruise ( under his name) in many years ( I normally book us, and I’ve done some solos) and he reached a particular milestone age that makes it likely he’ll have or has more free time on his hands ( and perhaps more likely to book more cruises).😉

On the Pacific side of SA you will spend the majority of your time in the Inside Passage- so BOTH sides experience really close up land. (Take a look on a good map of South America and see how huge their archipelago is. It makes Alaska’s seem like a small backyard.) On the Atlantic side you will be far enough from land that at best it will be on the horizon. Once you get to Antarctica your Plan A route will quickly become Plan L, or later. So select your cabin based on your favorite amenities.

I think they were white pumpkins or squash.

It sounds like this program is a good match for you. (It’s also something I would consider. ) Perhaps it’s not the best fit for OP and others.

Thanks for the clarification. Having never been to The Retreat I pictured the work being done on folding table set up under a tent. I didn’t realize there was a food prep area.

Totally agree.

That’s a strange place to do food prep. I wonder if that is approved by Public Health. Are there appropriate hand washing stations nearby?

My husband received my copper on my behalf when he answered the knock on the door and our steward handed him the box and said it was for me. That was April on a 17 day Panama Canal on Volendam. We were not invited to any Mariner lunch either, but there was at least one towards the beginning of the trip. Adding- DH is now interested in when I will get my 4th star: he has taken a liking to the laundry.😜

Safe travels to you and thank you for taking us along.

My DH got one also and when I logged in using his credentials the cost showed as $100pp. At the bottom of the invoice it showed $200 OBC- which I assumed was a mistake. A few days into the cruise we both received $100 OBC. It was not a “casino” offer but internally it was coded as such. DH has never been in a HAL casino, and the last one on land was in the 90s. DH has gotten these a few times. Me- never. But then, I’ve sailed more frequently than he has- as a solo. And I normally book us under my name- so it was a good 10 years since he had a cruise booked under HIS name.

Tulip vase as in meant to specifically hold tulips?

I usually do that also. But this time, other than various iterations of potatoes, parsnips (😜) or candied carrots- there were none on other dishes.

Thank you both. I’m filing those bits of information away for our next cruise. We were both very disappointed that there were almost no vegetables on the menu on our Panama Canal cruise. And the night they had peas the serving was about a dozen of them. We periodically saw a veggie sautéd in lots of oil or smothered in a sauce in the lido. (Poor veggie.)

Bon voyage and thanks for taking us along!

So if one gets this to work, is there something that they should do before disembarking to return the TV to its former state?

I’m SO tired of this. In so many places. The only people I tip are waiter/waitresses and the lady who does my hair. I’ll give additional money to people who work on my house occasionally- ( we had a tree trimmer who we felt didn’t charge what his work was worth). On vacation, usually extra for our stewards, a few others, guides/drivers and Uber if we use the service. It’s bad enough that so many retailers around here are also asking for donations for the Cause d’Jour. My answer is no- I choose which organizations I donate to and support- no need to go through a third party to donate on my behalf.

oh my gosh! And I thought @kazu was joking. Chocolate covered Cherrios - are Lucky Charms next?😜

Interline is for travel professionals who want to book as available at a deep discount. When booked, it’s understood that reservations are subject to cancellation or change into a different level cabin if there’s too many cruisers. Users are not supposed to talk about specifics. Over the years we’ve had a number of posters come onto CC to complain they “got bumped” or downgraded without mentioning they were interliners. That, of course, has caused anxiety in others who then think THEY too could be “bumped”. Yet, that is what they had agreed to.

Might the thread have been taken down? ( Was a topic getting out of hand?) Or moved?

Just because a cabin isn’t showing as available doesn’t mean it’s booked. There may have been other cabins in inventory that were not yet booked.

I’m wondering if it would be helpful and encourage more people who use scooters to cruise if HAL offered a “reservation” for a parking/ charging space at the time of booking. (With regard to what Ruth said earlier in this thread, the service is available.) It could be offered with the reminder that scooters cannot be left in hallways.

I wish I had known that when I was on Veendam in 2015. My neighbor had a very large scooter which took up about 3/4 of the hall. (We were in the bow.) It was doable for me to get past, but anyone using a walker, chair or scooter would not have been able to get past. And I think the door was actually smaller than the width of his scooter. Had there been an emergency…..🥴 I didn’t say anything because I was pretty sure he was solo.