Heartgrove

Thank you Rich, thank you Tina, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need today. - Jack

Always a possibility, but the time frame length is exactly what the 2023 Transatlantic is. We are on the MSC Preziosa in 37 days and I was hoping to book onboard.

Does anyone have an idea when these might be released and available to book? I am interested in a MSC Divina Grand Voyage for Fall 2024. There is a gap from the last European tinerary ending in Genoa on 2 November and then the first US itineary from Miami on 22 November. This should be the Transatlantic cruise. Currently I have a HAL Transatlantic booked but would rather cross in YC.

Thank you Rich, thank you Tina, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Just returned from driving my son-in-law to the car dealer to have them check something. They leave tomorrow for the drive to Chicago and we leave Thursday. The occasion is Lilly's baptism and first birthday! I have to admit that the fun of driving has left me after doing the same trip four times last year. Summer road construction and the usual congestion at the Chicago end has me thinking of continuing west from Indianapolis into Illinois. Then to go north which is about another hour but maybe less irritating. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need today. - Jack

The UK does have different pricing requirements.

It is not "hidden" but does require that you speak to someone at HAL to book - not use the website. We use our PCC for all of our bookings and the PCC has actually saved us money for offers we didn't know we had. One time we had a Mariner Advantage rate that was actually cheaper than a non-refundable (booked a Vista Suite for what we saved) plus onetime a casino offer that dropped the HIA fare $900.00.

You could just open your mouth before butting in front of someone to ask as they may be waiting as well. It isn't fair to people who are polite.

That is why you book an "Advantage Fare" instead of a non-refundable fare. Much easier to make changes if needed.

Then that is your problem. Wait until 20 or less days from your cruise.

Is Captain Noel O'Driscoll the current Master? If so, he is one of the most personable captains on HAL.

Lighthouses are always thought of being very tranquill, most of the time. But onetime during my service in the Coast Guard I was on duty at the lifeboat station in Chicago. There is a lighthouse that was manned back then at Chicago Harbor with access only by boat. Three personnel would be on duty two weeks on and one week off in a rotating schedule. It made for strange conditions as you were physically isolated in sight of the second largest city in the US. Every hour we we would contact them by radio for an update, basically making sure they were okay. I was on the mid-watch onetime when the one man on duty came back on the radio speaking some gibberish. He was having a mental crisis. We had him wake the other man that he thankfully did. At first light we removed him and I assume off for a mental evaluation. I felt sorry for the Seaman that was chosen arbitrarily to replace him as the lighthouse needed to be manned. - Jack Courtesy of Wikemedia

Thank you Rich, thank you Tina, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! We visited today's port by default. On our second leg of our Mediterranean Collector aboard the Nieuw Statendam we were scheduled to call on Piraeus but do to weather conditions it was cancelled with Heraklion substituted. That year it was not on HAL itineraries so I was pleased to go there instead. HAL did a great job with rallying together excursions. We elected to just take the port shuttle (another container port so no walking off the ship) to the HOHO bus stop. That took us to the Palace of Knossos which was rather crowded. Sue gathered more material for her art work while there. Then we took the HOHO on the remaing part of it's route to the Eleftherias Square for a snack. Then back to the ship. On that cruise I learned to carry a guidebook for the region as we had three port substitutions over our 20 days aboard. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need today. - Jack

We had a stateroom on the Nieuw Amsterdam (VC6120) in the same spot because we were traveling with a family member in the adjoining stateroom. We never noticed any additional noise - but learned to look through the peephole before opening the door. That way we weren't surprised and the passenger(s) in the hall weren't startled with us coming into the hall.. I would prefer this stateroom rather than VE7182 which is actually an adjoining room where there could possibly be more noise through that door.

Looking at the 9/29 Air Canada does a codeshare with UAL. It shows ORD-YYZ-YQB at 2:40 pm - 7:55 pm for $702/pp. With bags plus tax and fees it is $1,650.84. Probably what you found. The airfares are volatile so keep checking as they do fluctuate, especially morning to afternoon and sometimes lower on Tuesdays.

It was the port for our B2B but I can't remember if we were required to get off. We did get off and spent the morning walking around. At that time we took the shuttle from the pier to the entrancegate and just walked from there. On the return we just took the green city bus to the stop close by the entrance gate and then the shiuttle to the ship. I believe the bus routes have been changed and are different now.

Thank you Rich, thank you Tina, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Prince Chritian Sund is busy today! Besides the Volendam, the Seven Seas Voyager, MSC Poesia, Ocean Nova, Seabourn Venture, and Hurtigruten Maud are transiting through. I almost convinced Sue to last minute book the MSC Poesia. Besides it's full 21-night RT cruise from Copenhagen to Nuuk, it recently started offering a shorter Iceland/Greenland 11-night Reyjkavik to Nuuk to Akureyi. I have been conversing with a CC poster on the MSC forum and he said that the Poesia was only about 70% full with about 100 passengers boarding in Reyjkavik. We circumnavigated Iceland in 2021 so it would have been a nice addtion to our cruise history. I can always hope for next year the flight for us is just a bit longer than going to the West Coast plus we get discounted fares from MSC! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need today. - Jack

Hopefully by this time next year there will be a conclusion. However, if it stays basically the same and doesn't spread north to the Baltic region there shouldn't be a problem. In 2017 when we cruised the Baltic Sea, Russia was preparing for their Western Front War Game, Zapad 2017. The Eastern members of NATO were concerned as it was Russia's largest war game held in that area since the Cold War. Other than seeing a few NATO warships over the 12 days (one rather close!) there were no disruptions.

We are assuming you are within 20 days of departure?

You will probably dock at Frihamnen as there will be passengers embarking/disembarking in Stockholm. There was a city bus that went from here to Gamla Stan. Stadsgarden is more convenient to Gamla Stan and Djurgärden with the ABBA museum and Vasa museum. But far better than the larger ships that need to use the distant Nynashamn. The cruise through the archipelago to reach Stockholm is one of the most beautiful arrivals and departures to a port.

Thank you Rich, thank you Tina, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! I am not a big beer drinker but lately have been practicing at home drinking Guiness Extra Stout for our upcoming cruise that stops in Dublin. 🙂 I checked our booked cruises and found that on April 24, 2025 we should be calling at Hakodate, Japan. Looking forward to photos that will be posted! Sue was kidding me that here I am working on the trip for Spring 2025 when I haven't even finished planning the trip for Fall 2024. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need today. - Jack

Roy, I would guess that the FBI did the investigation and the fact that it was Classified Material. I am sure that the Navy Intelligence was involved as well.

Ray, thank you for your service! The Treasury Seal worn on our right sleeve was the only difference. We only had the leggings on as the Color Guard. Normally never wore them. That was my favorite uniform, white Tropical shirt with our dress hat. Girls used to think we were a foreign navy. ☺️ The "Bender Blues" uniforms (named after Adm. Chester Bender) were just being introduced when my enlistment was up so I was never issued the new uniform. In retrospect, I sometimes wish I had made it a career.

Thank you Rich, thank you Tina, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Happy 232nd Birthday to the U.S. Coast Guard that I was proud to serve in for six years. Many memories! Congratulations @Mr. Boston on your well earned retirement! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need today. - Jack One time during my service I was chosen to be in an Honor Guard for a parade, That is me second from the right wihen beards were allowed. That is me carrying the Coast Guard flag.

Harpa is the music hall in Reykjavik that is along the shoreline and the normal shuttle bus stop. The actual "busy" part of downtown along Hverhisgata is approximately a four city block walk SE using Ingolfsstræti.

Regarding transfers, we have done ship to airport transfers three times at other cities and the longest we may have waited is less than 15 minutes. There should have been a suggested "no earlier than ... " disclaimer line in the description. Once you get past the final payment date, you are basically locked into what you have planned fairly as it does work both ways.