ricka47

14 minutes ago, iflyrc5 said:

Interesting - when I got verified last week and put in my booking number and sailing date (6 Jan 2025) it was rejected and said to apply again in November 2024.

Try putting today as the sailing date, and it might work. Their crack IT team may fix this in a few years!

3 hours ago, highland cruiser said:

We applied for our stock credit this month for January 29, 2025 cruise and it is in our OBC  account already.   When we did get a confirmation about the stockperks being applied to our itinerary, the booking number was correct but wrong sailing date.  Go figure that out. Our TA had checked and it had been applied.  🤔

Same here - they had the sailing date wrong (it should be 1/25) but applied it to the correct booking number. TA also verified. OK with me!

We've gotten the yearly one from Allianz and have about four claims over the years, and they have always done well for us.

I always wondered about this. So, does that apply to payments for the Spa and excursions that are booked before boarding?

14 minutes ago, atexsix said:

On further thought I'm not really even interested in loyalty anymore considering all the anti-loyal moves we're seeing these days towards passengers, the fare structures are getting ridiculous. Want a refundable deposit?  That'll be $500 more.  Want an assigned stateroom?  That'll be $750 more.  Want the room on deck 7 instead of deck 6, that'll be $1,000 more.  It's becoming laughable.  Refundable deposits or an assigned stateroom should be automatic for long time mariners.  

 

Not to mention all the changes to the program itself and the messing around with the categories.  I just don't see any point to it anymore.  

 

So they can take their mariner program and toss it overboard to put it kindly. 

Yeah, I have a friend who wants to get to Pinnacle so badly on Royal Caribbean and is almost there. That's OK. I'll take a few perks if I can but we don't focus on that element of travel.

23 minutes ago, atexsix said:

Well no, lol, it's more for personal satisfaction.

I understand. I had an American Airlines number since the 80s, and they canceled it because I hadn't flown them in a while. They couldn't even bring back my old number, so I had to start over!

13 minutes ago, atexsix said:

I don't want to lose my Mariner number which is kinda like a badge of honor, the lower the number the longer you've been cruising.  

 

Yeah, ours goes back 20 years. But, does anyone really see it?

On 8/8/2024 at 9:26 AM, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

We've always set up a reserved table from anytime dining. 6:00 is too early for us and 8:00 is too late. We usually set up a reserved table for 7:15. No wait, walk right in. Same table. Same waiters. We also let them know at the beginning of the cruise the nights we won't likely be there (specialty, late tour, etc..). 

 

That's why I thought it strange that @Mary229 can't reserve a table from anytime dining on the Volendam since other cruise lines almost encourage it. The waiters prefer it also since they get to know their guests.

 

The BEST system was Carnival last January. New ships, better technology. On that ship when we were about 30 minutes away from being ready to walk in the dining room,  we checked in on the app. You don't have to go down to the hostess station at all. You can check in from your shower lol.

 

Then when your table is ready you are notified via the app. That system lent itself to true anytime dining because somedays we ate at 6:30 and some days 7:15. Every day you pick. They also track where you have sat before and try to put you in the same waiters section.

 

One of the reasons I like sailing on brand new ships is that they continue to evolve and offer better technology. I haven't found the perfect ship yet but I'm trying 😄 

While we have never sailed Carnival, some good friends do so and, as you noted, love their system. It just seems to make so much sense!

Something that some llines are doing (Oceania for one) is using a wireless system for taking orders. They take your order, and it goes right to the kitchen. No running back and forth while not making eye contact with other tables until they can return.

No changes here either.

7 hours ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

It is better than nothing, we're going to do it!  Thanks for the tips.

 

I'd be curious to hear how you like Oceania.  I've read that there have been cuts over the years, but with such competitive pricing it seems like a fair trade.  Azamara may be a one and done due to all the booking shenanigans on our first attempt to sail with them.

Not to hijack the thread but Oceania has become our favorite cruise line. Reasons: food, service, general casual ambiance onboard.

I just joined AARP, and we'll see if we get anything. Theoretically, it's supposed to be automatic after submitting the form?

We've never been on anything bigger than the Signature class but are booked on the Koningsdam this coming January. But reports like this and others reporting poor service and long lines are not encouraging. Are the problems due to the design of this class itself or something else?

24 minutes ago, Funsun60 said:

Thank you for this info. One further question (from someone who may be not smarter than a sack full of hammers). Does one go to guest services to specify/request this or is the OBC automatically deducted for your on board account?

OBC is just used for any purchases/charges on board. Once it's gone, your credit card takes over. So, it's done automatically.

42 minutes ago, 0106 said:

My experience with the Rolling Stones lounge was a set list posted outside the venue of the type of music that would be featured during the 3 sets. I’ve seen Beatles, 80s, Disco, R&B.  Unfortunately, it is difficult for one band to play such a diverse set list.  BB Kings was always my favorite because of the horn section.  It only remains on the Pinnacle class ships (NS, Koningsdam, Rotterdam)

PS It looks like we'll see you on the January 2025 Hawaii cruise!

3 minutes ago, 0106 said:

My experience with the Rolling Stones lounge was a set list posted outside the venue of the type of music that would be featured during the 3 sets. I’ve seen Beatles, 80s, Disco, R&B.  Unfortunately, it is difficult for one band to play such a diverse set list.  BB Kings was always my favorite because of the horn section.  It only remains on the Pinnacle class ships (NS, Koningsdam, Rotterdam)

Right - we enjoyed that very much as well. As an amateur musician, I appreciated their talent!

3 hours ago, 0106 said:

Unfortunately, there is no BB Kings on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  There is a Rolling Stones lounge that will probably do three different sets of three different types of music.  I do not think of the casino bar as a place to hang out but you can get a drink there.  Play hard during the day and get up early to watch the sunrise.  Enjoy Alaska!

Wow, I understood that BB Kings was still on the Nieuw Amsterdam. So, are both rock and blues in the new Rolling Stones lounge?

We have an upcoming cruise with many sea days, and I may get the pass. However, my wife and I will probably never go simultaneously. Do we need two passes?

I'm guessing that we do. But I seem to remember that we just had one in the hazy pre-Covid days, and it worked OK.

1 hour ago, RedIguana said:

From what I understand, the "local issues" stabilized a few years ago (I have made both of my scheduled stops). The 2 docks the city controls basically don't allow ships, the one they don't control does. If your ship is on the schedule at Caribe  Nautical, local issues should not affect your stop, but high winds may.

It's OK either way. We've been there a number of times and wouldn't mind an extra sea day if necessary. Thanks!

Great - thanks! We did this itinerary before, but Key West was the first stop instead of the last.

We're on a Thanksgiving cruise and Key West in our last port. I'm wondering how that works for immigration. Do we do it there since we are returning to the U.S., or when are we back in Fort Lauderdale?

1 hour ago, pontac said:

I don't think you need have any concern about noise coming from crew cabins. With the long hours they work I should imagine they want nothing more than to sleep through to their next shift.

Yup - they would probably be quieter than guest cabins!

6 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

Yep - they are in fact that.  If you wander down the stairs to the lower deck you will see a crew only door that leads to these cabins.  You don't see crew coming and going all the time from this door as they have an access also from the front of the ship.

Thanks, I'm thinking that they wouldn't be any noisier than having guest cabins below you as they need to sleep after a long day/night.

3 hours ago, pontac said:

Well, unless one has been a crew member one wouldn't know for sure but it seems a good bet as the water level windows continue all the way along. 

Right - that would be my bet as well.

On deck 2 on the Viking diagrams, some cabins show other cabins below while others show open areas. I'm guessing those are crew cabins?

6 minutes ago, pontac said:

 

Viking will book flights that get you to your ship on time. Flights from USA to Europe are mostly over nighters so you should have no problem in getting to your ship during the day even if you have to fly via some European gateway.

 

Budapest airport to the boat is about 30 minutes.

 

What puzzles me is that I cannot find any cruises that match a 14 night cruise with an overnight stay in a hotel. Grand European Tour is shown as 15 days and starts with an overnight on the boat in Budapest;  is that the one you are one?

That's the one - 15 days.