Roz

I just applied and I was required to send a copy of my AARP membership card to a company called SheerID. What did I do wrong? I'm waiting on the confirmation email.

Thank you for the uplifting news. 🙄

To clarify, I bought OBC with my gift cards to cover crew gratuities. I wasn't able to prepay the gratuities directly using gift cards.

I wasn't able to use gift cards to purchase transfers or prepay crew gratuities.

It was the Radisson Blu when I did that itinerary. Can't remember the year. Nice hotel in a good location, and a fabulous breakfast buffet.

What is "Secondary Flow for pre-booking"?

How are other lines such as Princess doing with their WCs? Are they experiencing the same challenges and issues as HAL?

Sometimes you're bused to a hotel.

I've always found Rick Steves' guidebooks and videos to be very helpful. If that makes me an unsophisticated traveler, so be it. I use his material to get an overview of the city and/or country I'm visiting, and to get an idea of possible sites to see or activities to participate in. I think he does an excellent job with his city walking tours and art narratives.

Have you joined your roll call? What specifically are you apprehensive about?

My trips to Amsterdam have all been in connection with debarking on a river cruise in the off season (late fall/early winter). I didn't notice any crowding, but I can see where a cruise ship making a port stop in a compact old city, with narrow streets and sidewalks, could overwhelm the locals. I'll be going back to Amsterdam in December for another river cruise. I stay in a hotel for 3 nights, eat in restaurants, use local transportation, visit a museum, take a local tour of some type, and buy gifts for friends and family back home. I feel I contribute to the local economy, but local residents may see things differently. In talking with residents, the most commonly mentioned problem was "foreigners" coming in for bachelor parties and creating an unpleasant atmosphere in and around the Red Light District. I live in a tourist town (Nashville) and when I travel, try to be cognizant of what I do and its effect on local businesses and residents. Right now tourism in Nashville is out of control and people are getting fed up with everything and everyone catering to conventions and tourists.

At every elevator bank there's a map of the ship showing where each venue is located - dining, show lounges, spa, Crow's Nest, etc. Keep in mind, you don't need to know everything single thing before you leave in order to have a fun cruise. Part of it is discovering and learning new things. The buffet has various stations. Just walk up the one you're interested in and tell the attendant what you want and how much. Sometimes there will be a line. After you get your food, just go find your own table. Sometimes you have to get your own drinks, but sometimes there will be servers who will bring you water, juice, coffee, etc.

@newgirlhelpme, if you're going to build your wardrobe around shorts, be aware that churches and mosques require knees and shoulders to be covered. A skirt can be a better alternative and more comfortable, as @albingirl has already suggested. In the Lido, no bathing suits without a cover-up.

How does the smallest mailbox hold all your mail during a 30+ day cruise?

My last 4 trips to Europe have been in late fall/early winter. Much better temps for touring and fewer tourists overall.

Yes; students will be back in school. Fewer families with children will be traveling.

I believe all aboard is at least 1 hour before sail away.

Join the roll call for your cruise.

@commodoredave, I'm not sure of anything. 😁 The CNN article I read said this: "In its bid to “limit tourism and prevent nuisance,” Amsterdam also plans to restrict river cruises, convert hotels into offices and impose earlier closing times on bars and clubs." I've cruised with Uniworld and Tauck from the same dock you're referring to. When I cruise from Amsterdam, I come in 1-3 days beforehand, stay in a hotel, see the sites, book tours, and eat in restaurants. I contribute to the economy. Not sure how a city converts hotels into offices if the hotels are privately owned. And due to Covid, a lot of downtown areas have vacant office spaces with employees still working from home.

It will take years to implement everything Amsterdam wants to do. Ships still docking.

I'm surprised to see river cruise ships included. They typically carry 100-200 passengers, so there's not the visible impact that a ship carrying thousands of passengers has. A very popular itinerary is Amsterdam to Basel down the Rhine. Don't know what the river cruise companies will do if they can't start or end in Amsterdam.

On my recent 31 day South American cruise, only a handful of men wore tuxes. I agree with those who recommend setting up automatic payments. That's what I did and it made everything so easy, and less to worry about.

Did the agent check their Spam folder?

Our local seniors centers sponsor all kinds of trips, from day excursions to international travel. Have you looked into Road Scholar?

I've never had a flight to Europe or anywhere else land in the middle of the night. On an overnight flight the plane lands early to mid morning up until noon. What is MSP?