tutumomickey

Clarence from Daktari, One of my favorite shows

We heard less than 7 days out for a 16 day cruise

I think you misunderstood. It is not just their bid that is listed as pending but their actual cabin number. They previously had an assigned cabin number that has now been replaced with pending. This does not happen to everyone. It does not mean, your bid has been accepted but, it could. Or they could be in the process of finalizing cabin assignments especially at 72 hours out.

The only place they cannot be is seated at the bar (or any bar) on the ships. Lounges are perfectly fine. Our granddaughters sat at the bar at Vines and Outrigger always with an adult with no problem. They were allowed to walk through the casino to get from place to place but we tried to avoid it because of the smoke.

Forgot to mention they made friends with the bartenders who always wanted to hear about their day and made them their very own special cocktails (without alcohol ) We never ordered them anything, the bartenders just made them spontaneously )

Our grandchildren often accompanied us to the lounges to listen to music until the kids club opened. They are closed for dinner. Then they couldn't get upstairs fast enough. 15 days to Hawaii and they never stopped looking forward to their time in the clubs.

March 2023 16 day Hawaii bid was accepted 7 days before depature. Cruise sold out. Don't give up hope

We were totally surprised when it arrived. I'm not sure you could even classify my husband's approach as polite. At one point, every time we checked our statement, another gift card had been charged. The total just kept going up and up without any cards showing up. However, we did finally have a supervisor promise resolution and it did come. We had disputed the additional card charges with the bank and they ended up cancelling ALL the AARP charges, even the valid ones so then we had to reverse the reversed charges. The gift card was a nice gesture on their part. They also sent a trunk organizer.

AARP web site crashed once when purchasing gift cards. It took a couple days but they were aware of the problem. A few weeks later we received a 50$ VISA card and an apology letter from AARP.

We have done 11 transits total, both directions. Everything else aside, the time changes always made Westbound, from Florida far more pleasant. Hard to not be sleep deprived on an Eastbound unless you are willing to miss some activities. The bridge view is also best Westbound if it is not obscured by pouring rain. We far prefer old locks to the new. Old locks are a fascinating engineering marvel with lots of history and beautiful landscape. Plus the mules-no mules in the new locks. New locks, for us, were boring by comparison and without jungle views, only lots of concrete and gravel.

We also planned to pay as we ordered for our granddaughters on 15 day Hawaii. Never paid for any drinks. Ordered a lot from the bartender at Vines that was missing his daughter. He and his co worker made special smoothies, for free, every time they walked by. An officer took them from us one day in the Piazza and bought them Gelatos. Every night at dinner they head server brought them whatever they wanted to drink. Similar experience June 2022 on Discovery.

I think those without a tux look out of place. Tony, you look sharp! You can join us at our table any night.

Exactly. The crew has no choice but we do. So when we follow 'suit' , we are supporting them. Not sure why but their smiles always seem even warmer on formal night.

We always receive compliments on our tuxes and ball gowns from both other passengers and crew. I think the crew especially appreciates the effort since they are all in formal dress.

My husband always wears a tux every formal night and especially anniversaries. We appreciate the elegance and the way it makes us feel. We may be in the minority but, we are never alone.