Mary229

The thread perhaps assumes that we don’t know what we want. I first draw a list of the things I value - itinerary, hours in port, cleanliness, safety, security and graciousness, ambiance then I start looking at price. DH often says it “costs what it costs, just buy what we want” I drink very little so I don’t want to pay for that, I live in a large city and frequently travel to other large cities and have access to fine dining and excellent entertainment venues and don’t really expect that quality on a cruise. And finally I don’t want to be on a crowded, large noisy ship. It is not about the money spent. my ultimate question is where are you going and for how long? I agree about methods of booking but similarly what I value in an agent isn’t driven by the dollar, it is driven by the service and expertise

For US citizens you can check here to keep current with Visa requirements. HAL cannot be expected to keep up with this as it is always a fluid situation https://www.state.gov/travelers/

Oops just noticed you are in UK

Sales tax is 3 miles

There is also a feedback button on the left margin of website pages - use it often.

I agree. Shows and dining used to be later. The 5 dining and its cousin the 7 pm show is a failure in my opinion . It feeds into the idea that HAL is a nursing home ship

No , flights and other precruise items such as hotels do not count. Picking seats depends on class. If you pick economy you may only be given limited choices. Once ticketed you can upgrade your seats. It depends on if the seat is upgradable in its class. For example, I fly American most times and American offers all kinds of tiers of economy seats some of which may not be available without an upgrade fee

Flight ease is 330 days from departure

This file was sent to me by HAL, for Koningsdam. It is not a complete tour but my be a nice addition to your library KODM_ArtFAQ_Jan2019_lores.pdf

I like the Ocean bar pre dinner. There is usually live music, not so loud that you can’t talk either. It is usually well attended and a great place to meet up for dinner

I think the state limit is 3 miles

I never considered it a morality issue and I think most people over 55 do not either. They are simply trying to simplify and likely to truly downsize living quarters. I don’t need to read books or articles on how to get rid of things😉

I always plan on the 7 pm show and dine accordingly shows are only about 40 minutes now.

Flight Ease is NOT insurance and is not even a guarantee. They only promise to assist you if you do not get in town soon enough to catch the ship and as Terry said they will assist you if there is cruise caused diversion from schedule. This would not cover a personal reason. Terry was covered because 1. He sailed during the Covid guarantee and 2. He booked through flight ease. if however the cruise ends early due to weather or other reason they will assist you with ticketing of a new flight at the best possible rate possible. they are supposed to assist you if there is a flight change but you may do better working with the airline. You may have to pay the difference that said, why use them. Lots of people used them during Covid as so many cruises were cancelled and they would buy back the airline ticket if the cruise was cancelled. The other current reason is access to consolidator rates - some of their international rates are excellent

My best advice from experience is that FE is a consolidator and their inventory changes, sometimes daily! I always book something as soon as it is available, watch for a sale or better flight. At the same time I set up fare alerts on google. A nonstop flight from the west coast to Europe is not going to have as many options as a flight with a single stop. If United has a refundable fare option you might want to consider choosing that and book that too. one last thing sometimes HAL will have business class fares very little above economy especially from Amsterdam

I disagree. Decluttering reduces household cleaning not just by the object’s cleaning but it having to be moved. Also without cleaning fabrics and paper harbors molds and minute pests. Secondly getting rid of items that require maintenance or energy to run reduces time and expenses. Third donating items when they are still useful helps others and reduces landfills.

I would recommend using The trip insurance store who you will find in the insurance forum of this website. Their team will answer all of your questions and if there is an issue help you navigate the claim. I purchase an annual medical policy through them in addition to any other insurance we may buy

If you want the quasi tour experience you could book your own hotels, your own transfers (Rome cabs mentioned above has an excellent reputation among cruise critic members) and then book private excursions through the various websites. The Rome forum here on cruise critic has tons of resources too. I have used the HAL experience in South America and have been very pleased with the value and quality but South America is a totally different experience with many more safety concerns. I do Europe on my own.

Please not these busses are NPS concessionaires. It is the only available option.

Love Little Havana. My grade school had Cuban refugee nuns teaching and our cafeteria menu reflected their heritage. Even DH was especially taken with visiting . Our next visit to south Florida will include at least one night in an Airbnb in Little Havana.

I get that on a daily basis. I play musical chairs with different devices and different browsers to accomplish the simplest of tasks. The It department needs a clean out

One of our regulars @Alphen did a great live report last year, it helped me prepare for the tour I did like the food and portions everywhere were large but the plan would require 3 full meals a day to be beneficial

Once and only once did we take a walking tour billed as tapas and wine. We had already walked the town on our own all day but this was an evening adventure. It actually was a hoot, I called it speed dating for couples as at each bar/restaurant we would sit with someone different. I don’t know that I would do it again but I did find social value in the exercise.

I haven’t figured out a way to make them swivel. I hope someone can educate us. I agree, I don’t like watching TV from bed

I think it is a perfectly good and valuable discussion on this forum but , yes, once on the ship it is all water under the bridge and people should only look forward in their discussions about travel arrangements