Hlitner

Regarding the YC, we think it is so much more than the food/wine (which are certainly decent). On our recent Seashore cruise we went out an about (outside the YC) to check-out all the entertainment and quickly realized that, for our taste, the best entertainment were all rotating through the YC's Top Sail Lounge. We found ourselves spending much of the evening time in Top Sail enjoying the music along with amazing service. When we went to the other lounges (outside the YC) the service was not nearly as good. What has surprised us on our YC cruises is that the Top Sail is never crowded. Obviously, a majority of the YC patrons are either in their cabins or elsewhere on the ship. For us, relaxing in the laid-back YC atmosphere, not having to deal with queues, interacting with the friendly YC staff, etc. is all part of the overall experience. We thought the food, on the Seashore, was the best we have had on our several MSC YC cruises. We did think that the meats were decent quality, but were not overly impressed with the fish. On the other hand, the lobster tail in the YC was perfectly prepared (broiled) which is unusual on cruise ships where the oft undersized warm water (i.e. tasteless) tails are overcooked in oversalted water. I am not a fan of tails (I prefer eating a whole Maine lobster) but the one I had on the Seashore was among the best I have had on any cruise ship. One interesting tidbit is that they served the tails without any drawn butter on the side. When we asked our waiter to please bring us some butter he quickly responded that butter had already been added (but he did fulfill our wish and quickly returned with a small bowl of melted butter). Hank

We have done dozens of TAs and some TPs on multiple cruise lines including HAL. HAL does have a daily schedule of activities, but pales in comparison to many other lines. For most folks that is fine since they can usually find enough to keep them busy (if they want to be busy). But just understand that HAL is not an activity-oriented cruise line. I recall on HAL crossing where we had an excellent Cruise Director, an Assistant Cruise Director and a couple of other folks who helped the CD on a part time basis. We just got off the MSC Seashore (Yacht Club) where the Cruise Director introducted her cruise director staff of 18 (yes, eighteen) souls. The CD/entertainment department was huge and well run. With that kind of staff the CD was able to schedule in amazing array of activities, but we did talk to some veterans of RCI and Carnival who thought that even MSC had fewer activities than they expected based on those other two lines. HAL is somewhat unique when we compare it to other lines. It sometimes seems that the only thing the CD Staff do on HAL is host Trivia and Bingo! On all of our longer HAL cruises there has been at least 1 lecturer and the lectures are generally well attended. If I were to have any complaint about the lecturers, there does seem to be a tendency of HAL to use the same lecturers again and again! If you get unlucky and get a lecturer that you have already heard, and he/she simply repeats similar lectures, that can be a real bummer (this has happened to us on two cruises). On the other hand, the best two onboard lecturers we have heard at sea were both on HAL cruises (Dr. Alan Wright and Danny Catt). Hank

This is not even an issue for debate. There are international safety rules (SOLAS) that dictate much of what must be done (at a minimum) to ensure the safety of passengers and crew. One requirement is that items such as wheelchairs/scooters cannot be stored in the corridors since they are a constant hazard to the fast egress of folks in an emergency and an even bigger obstacle if, God forbid, there is a corridor with smoke obscuring the view (crawl along the floor and follow the floor-level emergency lighting). Bottom line is that folks who have equipment need to make sure they book a cabin of sufficient size to handle their chair or scooter! It is their responsibility since the cruise line cannot know the individual requirements of each soul aboard! One other thought. Ships do sometimes have real emergencies when folks need to change locations in a hurry! While every ship has procedures to help folks with mobility limitations, the best plans can easily fail in a real emergency! Folks need to be prepared to help themselves! If I were relying on a chair or scooter, I would certainly want it in a location where I have immediate access.... which means inside my cabin/suite! Hank

Just off the Seashore (Yacht Club) where we thought the included wines were so-so and drinkable! At most meals we were offered a small wine list and there were usually 2 or 3 reds, 2 or 3 whites, and a Rose. There were mediocre US offereings (such as Robert Mondavi Private Selection), the mediocre Clos de Bois, some mediocre Malbecs from Argentina, etc. Ironically, we were never offered a decent Italian Red on a line with its roots in Italy! There were some decent wines for sale (at very inflated prices) for the few folks that preferred to spend their money (or OBC) on some better offerings. DW and I have cruised on many lines including a few of the luxury (or ultra luxury) lines that also include wines. The included offerings on those lines was really not much better than the stuff on MSC although they did have a more diverse selection. On Seabourn, we could (and did) order excellent wines from the expansive wine list, but the cost of those items would often be in the $100 - $300 (bottle) range. By the way, we agree with another poster in that we would not consider cruising on MSC outside the YC. We enjoy the entire YC Experience and still think it offers one of the best values in the cruise world. If folks think they can pay about $400 per person day, and be served $100 wines, they are very naive about cost controls. Even on lines where you might pay $1000 per person/day, the wines are generally not exciting. Hank

We started crusiing in the mid-70s and have seen many cruise amenties/traditions come and go. The Midnight Buffets (more often opened at 11:30) were amazing (on Sitmar they had them every night) but an absolute waste of food. Chocolate Buffets only existed on a few cruise lines and I suspect will continue to be an activity on a few lines (perhaps with an extra fee). But I want to focus on the Muster Drill, as a long time frequent cruiser and ex first responder. Emergencies do happen on ships and a big emergency that involves mustering is a very serious and dangerous event. Just ask those who were on the near ill-fated Viking Sky cruise in 2019. We had family on that cruise (off of Norway) and they found themselves at their indoor lounge muster station with sea water up to their ankles (for a few minutes). Our two family members were ultimately winched off the deck, at 3am, by the Norwegian Coast guard. Fortunately the ship was eventually able to regain power and avoid a disasterous grounding/sinking. Imagine such an emergency on a ship with 10,000 persons (the newest RCI ship will carry close to that number). Those of us with experience in emergency operations know about panic and the related dangers. The best way to prevent panic and ensure orderly operations is practice, practice, practice. Cruise ship crews drill several times a week, but even they would benefit from more drilling (where would they get the time?). Passengers were traditionally asked to drill one time (more on very long cruises) and these drills generally took no more than an hour out of their embarkation day. Those drills were important, not just for the passengers, but also for the crew who gained needed experience dealing with the masses. So now, the sad lessons of the past seem to have been forgotten and muster drills have hit new lows. On our recent MSC Seashore cruise (over 4000 passengers) the passengers were not even issued any life jackets. None! There are no life jackets in the cabin nor are they to be seen anywhere around the ship. They are stored at the various muster stations (hidden out of sight). In a real emergency the crew would be expected to quickly issue over 4000 life jackets to folks, many of whom would not know which side is up! If the emergency involved smoke (a major problem on ships) there would likely be panic, the use of alternative muster stations (with the passengers not having a clue), etc. The safety systems on modern ships are amazing, but they are not perfect and cannot stop humans from panicking. I will admit that having spent far more than 1300 days on cruise ships, this recent Seashore cruise was the first time I had strong doubts/concerns about the mustering system. It is totally dependent on the crew (most of whom are not mariners) doing the right thing and much of the crew (on MSC and other lines) are relatively new to cruising with minimal training. COVID caused many of the experienced crew members to move off to new ventures and it will be years until the cruise lines can achieve a similar level of experience among their new members. In simple terms I think the new procedures (or lack thereof) are a terrible accident waiting to happen. And it will happen because emergencies always occur! It is just a matter of time. And when a major disaster does happen there will be the usual post investigations, professionals will shake their heads, SOLAS will again be modified, etc. And we will again wonder how we ignore the basic tenant that history tends to repeat itself. Hank

I have no clue about ACL not having cruised with that line. But in your situation, we would immediately call our credit card company (the one you used to charge the cruise), texplain the situation, and ask to have the cruise payments put into "dispute." Tell your credit card company that continue to make a best effort to resolve the situation with the cruise line but need to file the dispute in order to be on record and to stop the clock (there are time limits to when you can file disputes). Hank

Some love Monte Carlo and others (including DW and me) see it as a place to avoid. We love this region of France (have vacationed there many times) but never go to Monte Carlo unless we have no choice. But getting there from Cannes is very easy as the regional TER train spans the coast. So you would get on the train and pass through Antibes and Nice (among other places) before you finally arrive at Monte Carlo. Just keep in mind that the station in Monte Carlo i s some distance from many of the most popular tourist attractions (i.e. Palace, Casino, etc) so you should do some pre cruise homework if you want to use the local buses...or otherwise, plan on paying somewhat more money for a taxi (taxis in France and Monte Carlo are expensive. Hank

Honfleur is a relatively small village. Once you find a way to get to the town (usually via taxi or a bus) those who are able to walk a couple of miles can explore nearly then entire town. There are some downtown streets that have their share of shops, a few larger stores, etc. Our favorite area is across the road from the main downtown area where you find the small harbor area which is lined with cafe/restaurants and some shops. DW and I love wk around this entire area (this will take no more than 30 min) and read the menus (usually posted on chalk boards) of each of the restaurants. If it is a nice day, we love to have a long lunch outdoors (most of the places have both indoor and outdoor dining) where we soak up the atmosphere, enjoy the small harbor view and people watching, as we enjoy good French food/wine. The best Moules Frites (mussels and fries) we have ever enjoyed was at one of these places. The best description of Honfleur (especially this small area around the harbor) is charming. My hint" for eating lunch in France is to look at each restaurants posted "menu" or "formula" which is their special of the day. These "menus" will generally represent a very good value when compared to simply ordering off the regular/full menu. Sometimes the "menu" will even include a 1/2 Carafe of house wine. For folks that are not wine snobs, the house wines (usually served by the glass, half carafe, or full carafe is usually very drinkable wine at an excellent price. Cafes/restaurants often buy these wines by the barrel from which they fill the carafe or sometimes an open/cleaned wine bottle. The French take their wine very seriously, and it would be rare for a cafe to have a bad house wine! Hank

We have "done it all" from budget lines to luxury lines to river cruises (Asia and Europe) but have yet to try an expedition ship. But that will change (with a little luck) when we head to Antarctica later this year. What really excited us about expedition cruising was the recent proliferation of luxury expedition ships (Seeabourn, Silverseas, Ponent, etc). There are now lots of choices, most of which are true budget busters. But nothing ventured (our ship is actually called the Venture) nothing gained :). And I guess we are spending our grandchilen's money :). Speaking of expedition cruising, we have never bought into the idea of "drive by" cruises. You cannot experience the Arctic, Antarctic, Great Barrier Reef, etc. by simply looking out the window of a cruise ship. It would be like passing NYC on a ship and thinking you had seen NYC. Some of these newer expedition ships come with their own submarines, helicopters, etc (you do not even want to think about the cost of those toys). This luxury expedition thing seems to be the hot new trend in cruising. Hank

My issues with both HAL and Celebrity (cut-backs at both lines) goes back several years prior to COVID. Some of what we have heard (from friends and posts here on CC) post COVID are more reason for concern. I believe that most quality companies (which includes HAL) respond to their customers. When customers simply sit back and accept various cut-backs and negative changes the company doubles down with more cut-backs. The old "give em an inch" saying does apply. Those who have cruised on HAL for decades have see it all, but most do not complain. So when HAL replaced the excellent Rosario Strings with various solo/duet folks (generally of lower quality) most said, "OK." When HAL cut-back on the room service breakfast menus, most HAL fans said "OK." When HAL eliminated Production Shows (often with a live band) folks said, "OK" When HAL replaced any evening show with a BBC Documentary, some of the HAL fans said "we like movies." I will not even start to get into the changes in the MDR and Lido but most have noticed negative changes. If the HAL faithful had reacted to cut-backs, complained, made an issue in their evaluations, and posted here on CC (which is monitored by all cruise lines) perhaps the cut-backs would have stopped! Recently there were some posted complaints on the Seabourn board about some declines. Some of the Seabourn "suites" suddenly showed up on a couple of cruises and the complaints have apparently been reduced. I mention this because Keeping one's mouth shut is not always the best way to encourage quality and excellence. We have a long (42 day) HAL cruise next spring which will either reinforce our long-time enjoyment of HAL or put the nail in their coffin (from our point of view). Perhaps we cannot convince HAL to make some improvements, but we always have the ability to vote with our dollars and business. Unlike some fellow HAL fans, we also cruise and enjoy many other lines. Consumers have a choice and perhaps HAL (and some other cruise lines) need to be reminded that it is a competitive industry and once loyal customers try another product it may be difficult to lure them back. Hank

The Tequilia Factory is real :). But, if I want to go to a Tequilia Factory, I would be heading up to near Tequilia where the blue Agave grows as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately, that area is too far for a simple shore excursion. In the immediate region around PV, the drink of Racilla has a more dominate history than Tequilia. Some would say that Racilla is the true native drink to the PV area although others would warn that it tastes somewhat like moonshine (or perhaps lighter fluid). A friend of ours has actually started his own Racilla production and also planted his own blue Agave (they can take around 10 years to be ready for harvest. Tequilia, Racilla and Mezcal are all made from the Agave plant. Hank

Ouch! Improvement of basic infrastructure such as the port, airport,, roads, sidewalks, etc. are generally thought of as a good thing. The "charm" of the city is still in the city (although some of us are not happy with all the new condos). Keep in mind that port is far out in the suburbs (the downtown/Centro area is 3 miles south). But just consider somebody thinking that the port facility at Miami is representative of the city, or the Manhattan cruise terminal on 12th Ave (NYC) changes that city. One might also criticize PV for installing bike lanes, ramps for wheelchairs/scooters, etc. We are also happy to have Sams, Costco, Walmart (2 superstores) and some decent supermarkets. You might not realize that 10s of thousands of Canadian/Americans call the Bay of Bandaras region their home for some or all of the year. We like having access to Sams. Costco, Walmart Superstores, Home Depot, plus many fine Mexican offerings including several new Mexican chain Supermarkets. To us, the infrastructure is important and simply a sign of a community that continues to move ahead. While there is certainly some grumbling about over development, I have never heard a complaint (until this post) about improving the port or other infrastructure (i.e. new sewers. decent fiber optic Internet, bike lanes, sidewalk ramps to handle wheelchairs/scooters. etc. Your comment is strange. I cannot imagine a cruiser complaining about improvements to Port Everglades or the Port of Miami. Strange. When I first started living in PV (17 years ago) we still had some dirt sidewalks near our Condo in the Romantic Zone. Most were quite happy when they finally covered that dirt with concrete. We have also been happy to see some of the very bad uneven sidewalks (where too many tripped, fell, and got hurt) replaced by decent concrete sidewalks/walkways. If some cruisers are unhappy because of local improvements...well I guess they can go to places in the world that have lots of dirt, no improvements, etc. Even the old native village of Yelapa now has electricity and running water! I am sure there are plenty of tourists that preferred Yalapa before it had power, but I do believe that the folks that live in that remote village are happy to have power/water. On the other hand, the Diamonds International store in PV (and many other cruise ports) is there to satisfy cruisers...not locals. What you call a "high end" shopping center was built because there is a demand created by cruise ship passengers. It is the cruise ship passengers who take structured tours to commercial places like Las Caletas, a "Tequila Factory," "Diamonds International," etc. It is the cruise passengers that encourage companies like Diamonds International, Little Switzerland, Tanzanite International, etc. to build ugly places in most cruise ports. When I am out walking early in the morning and see the lights on in the PV Diamonds International, I know there must be some early cruise ship arrivals. No cruise ships? The lights would be off until much later in the morning. The "charm you seek" is still around, but you must leave the port and most commercial environs to "smell the roses." For years we have urged fellow cruisers to skip the structured excursions, do a little pre-cruise homework, and discover some of the local charms. This applies not just to PV, but to ports all over the world. Hank Hank

One persons great beach is another's lousy place. Cruisers tend to go to beaches popular with cruise tours and cruisers. Folks who live/vacation on the same island may avoid places just because they are overrun with cruisers. Take Orient Beach, which is on the French side of St Maarten (St Martin). It is an overly commercial beach often packed with cruisers and quite a few vacationers on the island. But when we rent a condo and stay on St Martin (we used to rent in Grand Case) we completely avoid Orient except, perhaps, on a weekend when there are no ships in the port. We might choose to go to a more remote place such as Happy Bay where one would seldom to never find a cruiser. While Orient Beach might be packed with thousands, on Happy Bay we will usually have fewer than a dozen souls. But we would not "dare" suggest cruisers avoid Orient and we have sometimes gone to that beach on a port day, simply because it was easy to get transportation. When we stay on the island we always have our own car and that is a game changer. As to Barbados there are many choices including some beaches that are relatively close to the port to better beaches on the West Coast (such as on Paynes Bay). Keep in mind that some cruisers prefer commercial beaches with multiple restaurants, beach vendors, and easy access. Others want to go to less crowded/commercial places. So I will tell you a crazy secret. DW and I have been beach lovers all of our lives, spend our winters in a condo located right on a popular Mexican beach, and a fair number of other days of the year on various excellent beaches around the USA and the world. And yet, when on a recent Caribbean cruise (last week) we did not even bother getting off our ship at most of the ports even though we do have favorite beaches in every port. Instead, we stayed aboard on a near empty ship where the ship was likely the best place to be with great service, few folks, etc. When we were young, we used to wonder about the few old folks we noticed did not leave the ship...but now we do understand the wisdom of such behavior :). Hank

We hear you loud and clear. Just two weeks ago we wanted to book a decent Miami Beach hotel (with a beach and looked at lots of options (we know the area quite well). Ever decent hotel had resort fees so we than looked at what we would get for those resort fees. The Confidene (a Hyatt property) jumped out at us because the $40 resort fee included loungers/umbrellas on the beach (among a few other things). We decided to use points (which was a pretty good deal) but the points did not cover the resort fees although AMEX gave us the usual $100 hotel credit which ultimately covered the resort fees. But it was still a pain in the behind and and went a bit against my own grain. But take a look a Vegas where these days, just about everyone charges outrageous resort fees. In fact, the first time we ever saw a resort fee was in Vegas during a stay at the Rio (about 30 years ago). In those days they did not disclose the resort fee until one checked-in and I simply refused to pay the fee because it was not disclosed on the reservation. The manager agreed to remove the fee! But that was in the early days of resort fees and now, nobody is going to remove those fees. Between excess taxes (often levyed on hotels) and resort fees, folks will often find it costs them at least $100 per day over the advertised hotel rate. :(. I once teased a hotel manager that I was going to charge them a fee to clean our own room since they only would do it twice a week. Hank Hank

slightly off topic, but after about 50 years of extensive cruising we have met (and chatted with) many crew members ranging from Captains (two are now personal friends) to cabin stewards/waiters/bar tenders/cleaners. They all had one thing in common. They were working on ships because they wanted to be working on ships. There are many "hoops to jump through" to get a job at sea and these folks went through the hassles to get those jobs. Workers on ships are NOT slaves but are simply folks doing a job because that is their choice. Some are there for economic reasons (why most of us work) and others actually love working/traveling on ships. Hank

The last post has me thinking of what has happened to room service breakfast on ships. Keep in mind that my first cruise was nearly 50 years ago when times/standards were different. Room service breakfast menus (on nearly all lines) included just about anything you could get in the Lido including eggs just about style, I still remember getting a full breakfast (n my cabin) on HAL where they would put a large heated metal device under the plate so that the eggs arrived hot! These days, most cruise lines no longer deliver hot breakfast and often limit the items to continental stuff ltke cold pastry. Just last week we ordered room service breakfast in MSC's Yacht Club. The only hot egg offering was a "breakfast egg sandwich" similar to eggs benedict without the hollandaise sauce. Mine was cold, the English muffin untoasted/unheated, and the bacon (on the side) was completely cold. And this in a section of the ship where service is top notch! I should add that the YC has excellent breakfast in both their dedicated indoor restaurant (where everything is hot and properly prepared) or at the pool deck's outdoor semi-buffet area. The comment above about Marriott is sad but very typical. Hotel chains make little secret that service is not going to be what used to be....but something very truncated. And yet these same chains continue to boost prices into the stratosphere and then often top it off with some kind of ridiculous "Resort Fee" which can often top $40 per day. And heaven forbid you want to park your car at a hotel. $50+ per day has become too normal. Hank

I do get it and l we have met a few of those types in the YC. Ironically, when we have cruised on Seabourn everyone we have met has been down to earth wonderful. So what is the difference? No doubt some in the YC and Havens are the type that relish in letting the world know they have the "biggest and most expensive house in the neighborhood." But when you cruise on one of the Luxury lines, the attitude seems to be that everyone is in the same boat :). By the way, the most snobbism we have encountered on any cruise has been on a few of our long HAL cruises when a few passengers make sure everyone knows they are in a "Neptune" Suite and/or have done a "full world" cruise. When it comes to travel/cruising we can hold our own with anyone, but there is no need to stress that kind of stuff when having friendly conversations. Getting back to the YC, we have met plenty of fantastic folks in that venue. We enjoy the "International" aspect and have made several European friends (who give us ideas for when we are doing our independent driving trips in Europe). If you were to make an assumption that 10% in the YC are better left to their own snobbism, that would still leave the other 90% who are fair game for conversation and friendship. Some folks (including us) are willing to pay more money for better service, food, and the other amenities that come with luxury. There are other folks who are uncomfortable with that kind of thing and would rather be in a queue waiting to get a drink. Simply different strokes for different folks kind of thing. Hank

LOL (about leaving YC). We just came off the Seashore and only left the YC on a few evenings to go to some of the entertainment venues. On one port day, when we were among the few who stayed aboard so we took advantage of a near empty ship to have lunch in the regular Lido where we could get pizza :). But, no question, that the world inside the YC enclave is a completely different experience from the mass market experience outside the YC. Those who do not understand the concept of "ship within a ship" should give the Yacht Club or NCL's Haven Suites a try. Hank

The benches (which are in Lazaro Cardenas Park) were only one small part of the effort. There is also an entire wall (I think it is along Pino Suarez) which has lots of tiled mosaics. It is an ongoing effort to make our part of town more attractive and fits with the "arty" atmosphere you will find thoughout PV whether it be the excellent statutes along the Malecon or the various Art Walks we have (on some evenings) which are not enjoyed by cruisers unless they are in port until very late (i.e. 11pm++. DW and I like to tell folks that when we chose it to be our winter home (nearly 17 years ago) we could have opted to live our winters almost anywhere in the world! Having traveled around much of the world we decided that PV was a good fit and we have never regretted our decision or had any desire to live elsewhere. That being said, the state of things in Mexico and PV is certainly of some concern and the situation could change very quickly if our regional cartel (Nuevo Generacion) decided to cause difficulties in our city. But until now, the cartel has not been a problem for normal tourists/expats in PV. DW and I take fantastic cruises/trips all over the world, but the day we return to PV is perhaps the most special day of the year. Hank

All the airlines that are listed under the "Flex Fare" option are candidates for grabbing lower prices. How does this work? When you book any airline with the flex air option you will not generally pay for the ticket until around the final payment date. The flights are usually "confirmed" and the prices generally honored (this is not guaranteed). But until you make that final payment, and the flight is actually ticketed (this is often as close as 60 days prior to the cruise) you have the option of cancelling or changing your flights with no penalty or cost. So if you notice that the price of your flight (or perhaps another flight option) decreases you can simply change the flight booking. Once ticketed, changes will either be impossible or expensive. Another huge advantage to Flightease is that if HAL cancels the cruise, they also cancel the air and refund the air (at least this has been the practice in the past). If you book your own air and the cruise is cancelled or changed, any air changes or penalties are your problem. Since we have had all the problems with COVID related cancellations, one could argue that the advantage of Flightease (and similar programs with other cruise lines) has vastly increased. We had 4 HAL cruises cancelled in the past 3 years (all due to COVID) and in each case did not lose a penny from the cruise payments or our Flightease bookings. Hank

Brucemuzz has been too quiet.:) I find myself getting somewhat excited (and optimistic) that things will be relatively back to normal (in Japan) by early next year. But, there is always this lingering (and perhaps irrational) doubt that Japan may impose some restrictions on cruise ships? Am wondering if Brucemuzz can further enlighten us with his thoughts and whether he has heard anything regarding cruise operations in Japan and some of the other Asian countries (i.e. Taiwan, Korea, etc). Hank

Patience grasshopper :). I think we need to consider that Japan's entire tourist system has been down for more than 2 years. Tour companies have gone out of business, lost their employees, etc. Now that the country has effectively reopened (on Oct 11) I would expect to slowly see tour companies resuming their work. You might want to watch "Tours by Locals" as that is more individual vs company based. Tour consolidators such as Viator are also starting to resume more activities. We plan on being in Japan during March for about 2 weeks prior to taking a cruise. DW and I tend to favor independent travel so we are not looking at tours even though we do plan on spending 6 nights in Kyoto. Keep in mind that Kyoto is a relatively large city that would be overwhelming to anyone planning to only spend a few hours in that amazing town. You will truly need to prioritize what is important (to you) and try to set something up that covers those priorities. I suspect that by next October Kyoto will again be packed with tourists and there will be crowds at the most popular shrines/sites. While it is good to see the world starting to return to normal the downside is that crowds mean delays and the need to further focus one's efforts. Hank

The sad answer is no, the HAL online air booking engine will not work until you actually have a booking number (and are within 330 days of the return flight). It is possible to use the Princess Cruise lines site and access their air (operated by the same folks who handle HAL) but there is no guarantee that the Princess prices will be the same as HAL (they are usually close). To use the Princess site you would need to find a cruise with dates that work with your HAL dates and once you select that cruise you can look their air options without actually completing the booking process. I will be honest and say we do not generally waste our time with HAL domestic economy since we can usually do as well (or better) on our own. Where HAL (and Princess) can offer amazing deals is on International Air.....especially Business/First Class. That being said, because of the post COVID mess with Business/First Class fares (they have skyrocketed) finding a great deal is much more difficult. Hank

I will not lecture or suggest that folks should use a PCC (we do not) or a cruise agent. But I will post some very specific facts that might give some fruit for thought. We have two HAL bookings (both made through a reputable high volume cruise agency we have used for years with many different cruise lines) The prices and amenity packages offered by HAL are exactly the same whether we had booked through a PCC or the cruise agency. But what is different is that our 14 day booking comes with $775 of On Board Credit and our 28 day booking comes with a $1675 OBC. Those OBCs are provided by our cruise agency (not HAL) and are fully refundable (if we did not use it all we would get it back from HAL). So the bottom line is that with those two cruises we are saving $2450 because we are using a cruise agency. I would also add that it is possible to book with a PCC, transfer the booking to a cruise agency, and "perhaps" get the extra OBC provided by some agencies. As a rule we do not play this transfer game because it adds steps and we see no advantage over simply booking through the agency (which we can do with a few clicks of the mouse, a phone call, or an e-mail). Just another thought. Although we always use one of our preferred cruise agencies (because it saves us money and we get amazing customer service) we handle our own Flightease Air direct with HAL. HAL's system allows us to book our own air through the HAL web site (and our HAL account) where we can look at all the various flight options and make our choice. If we have issues with the air we can call HAL and they will work with us (only on the air since anything related the cruise should be handled by our cruise agent). Once we make our air selections (online) with HAL, HAL forwards the confirmations to our cruise agency so they are aware of what we are doing and the changes in final payments (due to the air). Hank

Absolutely safe and the main means of transportation from most locals and many of us expats who live in PV. Like any tourist city (all over the world) PV does have some pickpockets so one should always take normal precautions to protect valuables. As to COVID, we agree with some of what Ashland posted. For the past two winters (we live in PV during the winter) we avoided the buses because of the heightened COVID risk (buses can be crowded). But for the upcoming winter season we will likely return to bus use when we need to get out to the Supermarket, COSTCO, etc. I should add that those using the buses, for the past 2 years) were required to be masked. I am not sure of the current masking situation on buses but imagine if folks are still wearing masks on buses you will find many of them below their nose :). I also like to post that in PV, not only do we have plenty of taxis (clean and safe) but also have a pretty active Uber presence. If you have the Uber app, you can use it in PV and make payment either by the usual account credit card or specify that you want to pay cash. Just like in the USA, the Uber App works well and you can track progress on the moving map. Hank