Josie201

15 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

I checked the second leg of my B2B, sailing 7 Jan '23, yesterday and was quite surprised. 9-day Sea of Cortez+Mex.Riviera on 29 Dec has no vaccine nor testing requirements but the 7-day (to three of the same ports) has both! 

 

I don't know if that might change, or if it is that way because the second leg can also be booked as a Collectors Cruise going on to Hawaii.

 

The testing can be self-administered (!) so we will just bring our vaccine cards and two extra self-tests. 

Hi.  I’m on the Collectors cruise Jan 7-31 and now see the vaccine and testing requirements.  Have never used Verifly but downloaded it today.  It doesn’t recognize my reservation number.  So I assume I can bring paper copies of required docs?  Wonder why they don’t incorporate this into Navigator app.  Also have to test three days ahead so I guess take a picture of the negative result ?   What a pain, and a farce.  

Just to close off on this.  I did a chat with HAL this morning.  They gave me a number to call.  I called.  After 20 minutes waiting for a chat person, 20 minutes waiting on hold, I was told their system  was down and to try again later ..... hahahaha.  But, I just tried, and everything is showing now in my Navigator app. 

I had to call re specialty dining problem - they said the site was down and to try again later. 

I booked our three complimentary specialty dinners on line today.  It noted on my screen as confirmed but I didn’t receive any email confirmation.  Maybe I will over the next day or so.  I also wondered if it would automatically show up in my Navigator app like reservations do on the Celebrity app.   The Navigator app for the January 7 cruise is still blank other than the basic itinerary.  

Wow that’s terrible.  
 

what’s so frustrating is they have changed carriers and flights and routing a half dozen times.  Better options exist but I can’t change it?   I may try to call again but have been disconnected so many times on hold for a supervisor …. 

I know many have posted with various frustrations, etc. over the years.  Here's our tale...

We booked using Flight Ease in the Summer of 2022 for our January 23 cruise from San Diego.  Of course, at the time, we had many flight options, prices, routes, etc.  We chose what worked best for.  Then, changes started happening.  I recognize that air carriers are continually changing their flight schedules. 

We are in Canada, so that tends to make our routing options less than ideal for most locations.

Our latest change was sent to us a few weeks ago.  We are now flying down through Washington DC with a 45 minute layover.  We will need to de-ice before leaving our place of origin, so will for certain be late arriving and even if we were on time, 45 minutes is never enough time for a connecting flight.  In fact, if I try to actually book this flight the website will not allow me to as it is not enough of a layover time.  Anyway, there are other flights that day from Washington to San Diego so although its a pain I assume we'll get there eventually, with or without luggage.  We have three days pre-cruise in San Diego so I also assume our luggage will find its way to us .... 

On our return flight, they have now moved us to a 10:30 p.m. flight which flies overnight to Newark and then we connect back to our home at a flight at 9:00 a.m. the next day.  Less than ideal to say the least.  There is another flight, on another carrier, that departs San Diego at 11:40 a.m. and gets us home through Toronto at about 10:00 at night (when we would still actually be in San Diego). 

Flight "Ease" wants to charge us over $1000 to change to this flight, as it is prevailing rates.  Also, they claim that since I want to change carriers, there are extra fees.  I thought using Flight Ease gave me access to choosing from various carriers.  I have spent a number of hours on the phone with Flight "ease" reps, been dropped, been disconnected, been transfered to "Princess Cruises" to book a new cruise, and other such fates.  Haven't actually been able to speak to a supervisor or someone who understands that its not "Newark" I object to, its not the carrier I object to, its the overnight flight I object to which I never would have selected. 

Does this explanation of increased fare and lack of ability to change the flight sound right?  Does anyone have any other suggestions of who and how to call to get someone who actually has the ability to assist me? 

4 hours ago, Travelexpert35 said:

Just received my husbands renewal card in the mail a couple of days ago. It was approved on Nov 8 so it was 14 days. No interviews required for myself or my husband on these renewals. Now I have to think about my passport renewal which expires in Aug 23. Not sure when I should start that process.

Same process for us and same message about no interview required.  As I said, US border official told us differently.  

17 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Did you validate the card online when you received it?

Yes we did.  
 

we went on line today and submitted a query.  Will see if we get a response.  

That was with our new card.  

On 11/18/2022 at 2:28 PM, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Just got an email that my Nexus has been renewed until  2027 , did not have to do a interview 😁

We renewed ours as well until 2027.  However, we have just returned from a cruise, flying out of YUL to FLL.  Our Nexus card would not work at the kiosk.  We had to see a US Border Services Officer who told us it was not in fact officially renewed and could not be without an interview.  She did a bunch of stuff in the computer and told us we were good to go.  However, on our return, we could not get the card to work at the kiosk, and again had to see a Canadian customs officer.  Luckily most of them are "nice" enough to recognize we have tried, and allowed us still to use the shorter Nexus line.

2 hours ago, kwokpot said:

*Photos of the Sunset Bar. It's a huge space, with multiple seating areas and levels. On the Port side there's a ramp off of the main pathway to the actual bar that goes to lower level seating areas, with further steps that lead to the outdoor seating area of the Oceanview Cafe. The Starboard side leads to the Rooftop Garden Grill and the Garden itself.

 

The Sunset Bar itself is covered with a solid roof overhang. There have been reports that it still gets sun. What people don't understand is that there's no way to control the angle of the sun and how and when it's going to hit the bar. If designers compensate for every sun angle you'll have a bar and seating areas that's covered 24/7.  

Great shots!   Can’t wait to be there!  

We are on the Edge starting next week.  A few days ago I reserved for night 1 at 8 pm.   Now for all other nights the only times available show as 930 or 10!  

We have always loved the Silent Disco.  That said, if it’s not held on the open decks we’ll be giving it a pass on our upcoming cruise on Edge.  

We have an extended family cruise.  Currently I have six sunset verandas booked, all with AI.  One cabin will also have a three year old.  That family may also have a baby by the time we sail.  Does anyone know, if I want to get them some additional room to manoeuvre, can I book an inside cabin nearby, cruise only rate, and have one adult and one child per room?   Or would I need to book the AI rate to keep the other adult all in ?   Recognizing I’m already paying AI for the first room.  

6 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Take a look at the attached link.  Cabanas may or may not be available when you board

 

https://rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/HAL-Cabanas.pdf

Thanks.  I’m not interested in the full cruise package so I’ll look into it when I board and take my chances.  

Where can I find information on renting a cabana?  We’re on Koningsdam in January with a lot of sea days and a lot of OBC to use.  This might be nice.  

I've recently booked six cabins, with a three year old in one and a one year old in the other.  It wasn't full fare as per the first two adults, but yes there was a "substantial" charge for the third passenger.

As per the above, is there a charge for Room Service?   Both the food and a service charge ?  

18 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Most people who take the time to post a review Do so because they have a complaint or ten. So I remind myself to take them with a grain of salt. 
 

Before cruising resumed to a sense of normalcy that was comfortable for us (no mask mandate or social distancing) we did a few all inclusive Vacays in Mexico. The resorts were great. We enjoyed the food, the drink, the beach, most of the entertainment but at the end of the day it wasn’t a cruise. September marked our first cruise since March 2020. It was pure perfection. To say it sparkled would be an understatement. It was pure brilliance. I think you have to lose something you enjoy in order to appreciate what you once had. I will never again take cruising for granted. 

We’ve only been on one cruise post 2020 but going on the Edge in November.  Can’t wait.  Throughout the shutdown I echoed your comments continuously - I will never take cruising for granted again.  

I had a voice mail (and an e-mail) yesterday from my "new Celebrity Vacation Planner".  He was reaching out to say that he could see that I had recently cancelled plans to sail with Celebrity next November and he wanted to offer his services when I was ready to start planning again.

Problem is, I did not cancel any sailing for next November, and in fact am knee deep in planning an extended family vacation with six cabins booked.

I called him back and explained this.  Oh, he said, maybe his information was incorrect.  He had the ship right (Beyond) and the right date and said his system said it was cancelled on February 12 2022.  Besides the fact it seemed to take six plus months for them to reach out, this was not cancelled.  I explained this and said he now had me very concerned for this group of bookings.  We went through each booking number and he assured me they were all bookings in good standing.  I asked him how this could have happened (he had a different booking number) and he didn't really know - said it could have been a glitch!

Just sharing this for others for a heads up if it happens to you.  It was an unnecessary 20 minutes of panic for me but all worked out in the end.

They may be staffing up and training new people.  I envisaged Celebrity giving these new hires a stack of files and saying - reach out and offer help to all these people ....  

I should also confirm - can I use this OBC towards Crew Appreciation on-board, i.e. the daily charge?

Hi, its been several years since we cruised on HAL (usually we cruise on  Celebrity).

Am getting ready to make final payment next week and requested an updated invoice since I had added flights recently.  Everything looks good, except for a "mysterious" $250 pp OBC that was only $100 pp in my original booking.  We have the HIA package.  No complaints at all but am wondering if this OBC is likely to be non-refundable (like Celebrity's from the cruise line directly normally is) or refundable?  We were planning to pre-pay crew appreciation (since we are paying in Canadian funds this would save us buying this additional US cash as our exchange rate is currently underwater) but if the OBC is non-refundable I'll just wait so that it can be applied towards the crew appreciation.

Any insight from regular HAL cruisers would be welcome.  Thanks. 

Stunning shots.  I bet many of us are now checking itineraries for next year … 

We have the Marriott Marquis booked for four nights in January because I liked the look of the place, the balconies and the pool area.  I know its a few more blocks away from the pier but any warnings to pass along?  Thanks. 

Love your live reports and this one already sounds amazing !  Enjoy!