tallyho8

I always uncheck the dining options so that I don't have to pay the gratuities on that offer as I am Sapphire and already get 2 free special meals on a 7 day cruise and like to spend a few days eating the meals in the regular dining room or Buffet or other choices.

I missed my self booked flight to Fort Lauderdale on November 13, 2022 on Holland American, therefore missing my cruise. My next stops were Puerto Rico and St Thomas. Holland American said there was nothing they could do about it and that I could not board at another port and also, sorry, no refund.

Just remember that you do not get the shareholders OBC if you had a casino discount or several other discounts.

I don't even see Meyers on the new menu. If not, the best substitute for it is Gosling's Black Seal rum.

Try Paradise carts. I had one booked and missed the cruise last month and emailed them and they made an immediate refund. I have one booked for next month now.

We took the semi-sub excursion a few years ago and really enjoyed it. The water was calm and we saw no one with anxiety issues. But we took one in Roatan a few years ago and the water was rough and a couple of people had to go up on deck during the cruise.

When we cruised the Nieuw Amsterdam last year we got the letter saying they were out of the tiles and would mail them to us but they never did. We wanted to add that ship tile to our collection and, luckily, one of our friends, who does not collect them, cruised on the Nieuw Amsterdam last month and brought us 2 of them. We did get ones on the Rotterdam and Koningsdam since then. We have never received them on the Zaandam, Oosterdam or Veendam but if they had them maybe we can trade one of our extras to someone for one of theirs.

If you purchase the package while in a port, they may charge you taxes on it, but if you just have a couple of drinks while the ship is in the port, they will only charge taxes on the value of the drinks if it is a port with VAT.

I refer some of you to CC policy on Covid discussions. CC Help Jenn 4.2k June 27, 2011 Member Title: Senior Community Support Specialist NJ Members #1 Posted June 21, 2021 Effective immediately, COVID-related discussion should be limited to actual policy on board ships (and other forms of travel) and its practical application. Discussion should NOT veer into opinion or debate. Every one of us has experienced the unprecedented restrictions, disruptions and changes to our cruise travel, work, shopping, schooling, social interactions and so many other aspects of our lives since the global pandemic began in early 2020. Frankly, we have been inundated with news, information, mis-information, frustrations and opinions. We’ve heard them, we’ve shared them, we’ve argued about them. Over the past few months, we have heard from many of you that the discussions, debates and arguments about the virus, distancing and masking policies, various politicians’ statements and actions have been overwhelming and divisive. Many topics have derailed or devolved into arguments. Cruise Critic understands the passion you all have – we have it too! -- and we are confident that we’ve moderated with a light hand and most discussions have run their course. However, there simply are better places on the web to learn about -- and debate -- scientific, medical and political issues. The good news is….we now have a great deal to look forward to! Cruise (and travel) is beginning to open up again and it is time to refocus on why we are here: our love of cruise! So, here are the specifics: We will NOT welcome debate or opinion about medical, scientific, or political aspects of the pandemic. There are a few often repeated trigger items that won’t be allowed: No statistics about infection rates, no discussions about where the virus may have started, no ranting about individual rights, no commenting about after-effects of vaccinations, no debate about whether vaccinations or masking are effective, no anti-vaxxer comments of any kind, no discussions about which governor or politician or news personality did or said what. We will welcome information on COVID policies RELATED TO CRUISE. Things like: vaccination policies issued by individual cruise lines, venues or destinations, cleaning or distancing procedures in use, practical tips for cruisers or things they might need to know that are different from ports of call to embarkation ports are all valid topics. official policies issued by cruise line, travel destinations, airlines, etc. regarding requirements for boarding or shore excursions can be shared. This information needs to be on-topic for the specific forum and thread where posted. We understand that you may be passionate in your opinions on this topic and want to discuss or debate them, and appreciate your understanding that there are more appropriate places than the Cruise Critic Community to do that. If, however, you are here to talk about the most passionate of vacation travel -- cruising -- let's get on with it! Please note that the above is not all-inclusive and that Cruise Critic reserves the absolute right to reject any and all content, in our sole discretion, without notification to its author. All of our Community Guidelines are in effect. Any questions, comments or concerns regarding the above should be addressed to us at: community@cruisecritic.com using your email address of record. Please include your member name.

Thank you both for your responses. It seems that the more cruise ships that go to Costa Maya, the more it drives up the price of real estate there, knocking the little guy out of business and only allowing the big ones to remain. I think if Tropicante is open when we go there next time we will try it out with the new owners since we really don't want to go to an AI and it seems like there is really no "special place" to try at this time. I just wish I could find another back roads 100% Agave type place again where the main clientele is local and without the touristy prices. At least I can still go to Fernando's store and get a good bottle of tequila at a good price.

I have been to Costa Maya many times and often went to all of Fernando's places, Crazy Lobster, Tropicante, Blue Kay and a couple of places I can't remember the names of. I thoroughly enjoyed most of them but my sense of adventure begs me to try others on the Melacon that I have not tried yet. We are a retired couple who like to sit in a chair in the shade on the beach, that has wifi, have a few drinks and a few snacks, trying out different local food items that we don't get at home, and not be completely ripped off. No loud music though we don't mind a few peddlers coming around now and then. We have a couple of upcoming cruises booked going there and would like to hear some of your recommendations.

I've lived in the New Orleans suburbs for over 70 years and cruised many times out of New Orleans but I enjoy reading your posts because I always seem to learn something new.

But the snacks, bitterbalen, etc. are only open from 4:30 to 8pm.

Now I have to ask this question. If you miss your cruise that was paid in full and they tell you no refunds, do you get your Mariners points for it?

Two of my friends who were docked at Grand Turk Tuesday on HAL just called me and said they saw no one, anywhere, checking vac cards. Everyone just got off and on the ship the normal way.

I had some good news today to report. After speaking to representatives at HAL and being denied any type of reimbursement for the cruise I missed, I decided to call the casino department as this cruise had been booked with a casino discount. Our PCC in the casino department talked to managers on HAL and made a deal for us. We were able to book the Nieuw Statendam on 1-7-23 going on the same itinerary and he applied all the money we spent for the missed cruise to this cruise. This was a much more expensive cruise and without the casino perks but on a newer ship that we really like much more and we only had to pay about $1000 more. We were able to move our Southwest flights to those dates and did not have to pay any more for airfare. The downside was that we don't get to cruise with our best friends that were booked on the original cruise with us. It's hard to wait 2 more months for a cruise we were really looking forward to but we have a short local NCL cruise in December to help us get through this tough waiting period. And our friends on the cruise right now phoned us from San Juan and told us that shortly after they left Fort Lauderdale some people must have upgraded and moved into the cabin that we had booked. Maybe that is why they refused to let us board in San Juan.

That goes to show that HAL makes exceptions to their rule if you book your flight with them.

Were you on an HAL closed loop cruise when the passengers got on at a port call? And do you know if the ones who got on had booked the air from HAL?

Since I live 15 minutes from the airport and the flight is less than 1 hour and 50 minutes and it is in the South where we don't have to worry about freezing conditions, I always fly in and out right before and after the cruise. I have been on 11 cruises just since the pandemic ended and never had problems with these short flights. This flight went off with out a hitch but my problem was the 15 minute drive to the airport which took over an hour and 15 minutes. It takes many of you longer to just drive to the airport than it takes me for the drive and flight combined. Also, since I wanted to board in Puerto Rico and since it is exempted from the PVSA, I didn't think it would be any problem on a closed loop cruise. I knew I had read about people doing this before but evidently it was before HAL changed their rule. Even if I flew to the embarkation city a day in advance, I may have had the same problem taking the taxi from the hotel to the port. Maybe traveling on the 13th had something to do with it! My luck wasn't good that day because even after I got home and turned on my computer, the monitor burned out. The friend who drove my car home from the airport went into a ditch and caused me a $350 tow truck bill. Some days you just can't win.

Since I have been on about 60 cruises, and am an avid reader of Cruise Critic, I should have known this beforehand but I am sure that at sometime I had read about someone who did this on some cruiseline. I had a cruise booked on HAL for 11-13-22 and on the way to the airport for a short flight to Fort Lauderdale from New Orleans, we got detained by a traffic condition for over an hour making us miss our flight. With no other flights getting there in time we missed our cruise. I wanted to catch a flight to one of our ports of call and embark there but HAL said that is against their rules and I forfeit everything. The purpose of this post is to remind everyone that this can not be done and if you think there is a possibility of not getting to your cruise on time, be sure to purchase insurance that will cover that condition. On a second subject, our friends booked this cruise with us but went to Fort Lauderdale 2 days early to celebrate their anniversary. When we notified them we were not able to make it, they went to our cabin and got our key card and checked out the cabin. Seeing that our large balcony cabin was much larger and better than their cabin, they were wondering if they could just move to our cabin instead but continue using their key card for charges. They sailed and turned off their phones before I could answer them.

I've been on about 60 cruises on 6 different cruise lines and 10 of them have been since the pandemic ended with 4 of them on HAL. The pandemic hit all of the cruiselines in the pocketbook and the first thing they cut down on was expenditures on food. Even though the cutdown, I have had good meals on all 10 ships I have sailed on since the pandemic. Out of the last 4 on HAL I enjoyed the Rotterdam and the 2 seven day cruises on the Koningdam the most due to the fact they had the Grand Dutch Cafe. I was still very pleased with my last cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam. Entertainment in all has been very good, especially in the Rolling Stone Rock Room, B B Kings and the Lincoln Center Stage. The few short 5 day cruises I have been on always seemed like they had less entertainment and fewer good food choices than the longer cruises, not to mention larger and rowdier crowds than the longer cruises.

You aren't supposed to drive on the Malencon. Many get by with it but if you are one of the ones who doesn't, how would you like to spend the night in a Mexican jail?

Does anyone know if the museum is open yet and if it now has an elevator to the 2nd floor restaurant?

Yes, many people go to the lighthouse with golf carts.

We have mobility issues as my wife can not walk far and uses a scooter. We were a little late getting to Native Choice and their main bus had already left. They arranged for us to get there on an alternate ride and we met up and never missed a thing. Native Choice deserves 5 stars.