richwmn

Yahoo news http://news.yahoo.com/u-cuba-restoring-diplomatic-ties-54-years-111528712--business.html has a video announcing the establishment of a Cuban Embassy in Washington and a US Embassy in Havana - possibly by the end of July.

One reason that this is a difficult question to answer is that while the corporate policy of HAL may be that individuals may keep any tips above and beyond the HSC and/or the automatic gratuity on bar purchases the individual policy by particular servers and bartenders and housekeeping staff may vary.

It is my understanding, based on conversations with several bar tenders, that tips may be shared various ways depending on the servers involved. Bartenders may share tips only with the bartenders at each individual bar - or with the entire staff of bartenders. And it requires that they all agree. The type of sharing may change each time the staff changes.

I forget how much the daily hold is pp on my cc, but if I pre-purchase on board credits say for 1000, do they still need a hold on my cc?

I hope I'm getting what's in my brain across. lol:confused:

If you have obc that is close to or exceeds the amount of the hold, do not register a cc - just tell them you are doing cash. At check in they will mention that you don't have a cc registered, remind them that you are doing cash and go on your way.

You should check after boarding to insure that all obc exists.

At the end of the cruise they will refund to you - in cash if you wish - any remaining credit that is refundable.

Just remembered - from what several people have said on these boards, if you register a cc at all, they will hold the full amount even if you have obc

richwmn - what branch ct were you?

CTM 1973-79

email me at my screen name here at either yahoo or gmail

Unfortunately this is a question that the answer can change from day to day. While I don't remember seeing any USB ports on any TV, I wasn't specifically looking for them.

However, if someone were to answer that on ship X in cabin Y on date Z the TV had a USB port, it could be that the TV in that particular cabin was a replacement for a damaged set and even cabins adjoining, or the same cabin on previous or later cruises, would not have the same set.

If you don't have a problem with the 5% loss, the front desk will advance you money against your onboard account as well. This is true even if you don't have OBC to offset it.

Just remember that it doesn't matter when the money is spent, the days don't get credited to your Mariner Account until after the cruise ends.

You won't be able to buy a few excursions to up your Mariner Level prior to a cruise if you are short a day or two from reaching the next level.

Well, I guess I cannot say for certain that it is HAL "policy", but on my last 3 cruises I have been told by the future cruise consultant that they no longer give out the forms for FCD, but rather I would get it in my cabin mail the last day (or two).

 

On my last cruise the future cruise consultant was very curt about this and really gave me the heavy brush off. Further, several other members of our CC board on this cruise had the exact same curt response from her, so it was not just me.

 

So, given my experiences and those reported by others, HAL must be instructing these FCCs to do this (hand them out only in the mail). I can see where it is easier for the FCC to do them all at once at the end of the cruise, but clearly this is not working properly. Further, they must figure that by selling the FCD they may be reducing their onboard cruise sales, thus reducing their commissions.

that's been what they did on my last few cruises too Dave. I think they are missing the boat. If it's a form, then give to me early so I get confirmation on board.

 

It's easier to get an FCD than to even find a time with the FCC on board. If they had more hours or were more accessible then they might find people would book. I have better things to do than sit and wait for an undetermined amount of time to talk to them. ( In fairness, the FCC's on the Prinsendam had pretty good hours on one cruise and were very accessible ).

On my last cruise, Maasdam March 27th, the same thing happened to me. On about the second day I walked by while the Consultant wasn't doing anything. She might have been ready to leave from that session. In any case, I asked her for the form and was told to wait until I got the form in the mail.

It seems to me that if she was interested in service, she would have at least asked if she could help with something.

I did turn in the form at the end and got confirmations before I left the ship.

Rich

Do you mean that Windows 8 will no longer be supported but Windows 8.1 will be? What about Windows 7?

For Windows 8, Microsoft wants everyone to update to 8.1 which is a free upgrade which corrects several things that users complained about. Since 8.1 is an incremental upgrade, no one is expected to stay with Windows 8.

For Windows 7, from ZDNet - a tech site: On January 13, Microsoft's mainstream support for Windows 7 Service Pack (SP) 1 ends.

for the full article see This article

As to the lack of a Windows 9, the story is that the version check utility which programs use to determine which os is in use points WIN9 to Windows 95 and 98, which are totally unsupported at this time. They are very different then the Win NT group of which everything past Win XP is a part.

Check this article for some additional information

The website for the cruise is here - http://countrymusiccruise.com/

From a quick look at the site, it appears to be a charter.

January 16 - 23, 2016

Pretty impressive list of entertainers from the Country Music World, 3rd year of the cruise

When I was on the Noordam in January, I attended a couple of the workshops and found them to be informative. I asked the techspert who actually employed her and she told me that she was a HAL employee and not Microsoft. I now wonder if this is true.

 

With this news, sounds like another reason to delay buying a Windows 8.1 computer and wait for Windows 10.

If you need the computer now, there is really no reason to delay. All computers with Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 get a free upgrade to Windows 10 if requested within the first year after the release of Windows 10.

Windows 10 previews have been available for several months, beta copies even longer. I would suspect that all the techsperts have one that they downloaded themselves if Microsoft didn't provide them one.

I would also suspect that Microsoft has already provided the techsperts with official "talking points" about Windows 10. After all, from the standpoint of Microsoft these sessions are sales opportunities, a way to keep people on Microsoft products rather than moving to Apple, Linux or the other possibilities.

Some things to think about.

1. You Flight is to early for luggage direct so you could carry off your own luggage proubly not a option with elderly parents.

2. If your in a suite you'll get your choose of departure times. But will then have to collect your luggage.

3. A town car or limo service will be slower because you have to call them when your off the ship. Depending on traffic it could keep you waiting. The taxis are lined up and waiting.

 

Not sure what day your traving but weekends at Sea/TAC TSA is a zoo!

I would check into a later flight.

 

Just a side note: last year we were at the airport gate 9:30am using luggage direct & taxis.

I disagree with your #3. While it was quite a bit ago and at the old pier, when I returned to Seattle after an Alaska Cruise I called the limo and he arrived within a minute or two. We had arranged a time, and I was pretty close to the time arranged. The driver told me he had a place to wait nearby.

There is also the question of liability. If HAL provides written confirmation that the ID is acceptable and for some reason it is not, HAL could be held liable.

As Randy said - a passport is recognized by everyone.

Many of us remember what went on a while back when someone was told a birth certificate and ID was good for US citizens. Unfortunately for him, having a German Birth Certificate, he needed additional documentation which he didn't have. It took a while, but it was finally settled to his satisfaction.

Wish we had known that the movie was being shown last night.

 

Love it!!

here is the schedule (HDNet) for the rest of the month

Out to Sea

PG-13 - 1:46 - 1997

Cast: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Dyan Cannon Director: Martha Coolidge

Retired friends masquerade as dance instructors on a cruise ship in order to

meet rich widows.

Air Dates:

Tue, Jun 9th - 3:30 PM ET

Wed, Jun 10th - 1:30 AM ET

Mon, Jun 15th - 9:30 PM ET

Tue, Jun 16th - 1:45 AM ET

Wed, Jun 24th - 5:30 PM ET

Wed, Jun 24th - 10:00 PM ET

I couldn't find it on Encore in our area, but it is on HDNet Movies all month, so I've got the Tivo set to record. Thanks!

My apologies - I thought I was looking at Encore, it is in fact HDNet Movies.

Dish gave me a free preview of Encore and I didn't realize HDNet was part of the deal.

Out to Sea 1997 a movie that has been discussed on this forum several times because parts of it were filmed on HAL ships, is on Encore tonight at 7:45pm and I believe 11:30pm

I corrected the times, sorry they were wrong to begin with

It is also possible that his Pinnacle Dinner was the result of a "Gift" from a travel agent.

you talked me into it

Nov 16, 2015

Oosterdam

11-DAY SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN WAYFARER

Completing the Vistas

Amazed that richwmn has a photo of all the stiff at the back of the TV - and can find it!

I took it because of having this question come up many times over the years. In all honesty, I took it in late March and it is still on the memory card in the camera.

That made it easy to find.

Rich

Are the TV's in the Staterooms monitors that I would be able to hook my Mac Mini up to?

Maybe. There are flat screens in every cabin but the ability to hook up laptops, cameras, etc., has been a mixed bag of success to failure. Problem is that there is no standard model used throughout the fleet so what works on say the Oosterdam may not work on the Maasdam. To make things even more complicated it's quite often the case that the exact same model isn't even used throughout a given ship. Makes saying what connection points/inputs are available and accessible hard.

To add to what Randy said - most of the TVs are mounted in such a way that getting to the back of the TV is nearly impossible and even when you can, you would need a mirror to find the plugs you would need.

Back of the TV on the Maasdam recently.

My take on the customs/immigration question. Going thru US customs and immigration in Vancouver was worse than what I encountered entering Canada.

I have entered Canada 3 times - Ship (Montreal), Plane (Ottawa) and Train (Vancouver). Each entry was quick and uneventful save a small fau pas on my part.

US c/i was a long line but once you got to the officers it was quick.

My DW and I are planning a retirement cruise on HAL in about two years. Can't wait! I know this may be something asked before, but is there any difference east to west vs. west to east. There are some great itineraries either way, but I thought some of the seasoned cruisers may shed some light on the differences.

 

We live about an hour and half from Port Everglades, so we can make it work either way, but I'm also curious if it's easier to leave/return from Seattle rather than Vancouver due to immigration issues, additional expense for international air travel and baggage restrictions.

 

Many thanks for your thoughts and help!:)

I recently did the Vancouver to FLL Panama Canal trip. I flew to Seattle a couple of days early and did some tourist things there and in Vancouver before boarding the ship. It was a very relaxing way to start the vacation and gave some time for the problems that show up some times.

On the other end, it was nice to have just a (relatively) short trip to get home.

As to the ports - only you can determine which ports are important to you. For me, the east bound trip included a day in Panama which the west bounds did not which made the east bound a better fit for me.

I'm trying to convince DH that we should buy 100 shares since we have 3 cruises booked with HAL at the moment, all 14+ days so we're looking at $750 in OBC between the 3 of them. On a good note, the stock dropped over $4 since I first broached the subject about 10 days ago so in "my" mind anyway, we're up $400 already. :p

 

My question is - do they limit the amount of OBC they'll pay you per year or is it unlimited?

Impossible to get $750 OBC for Carnival stock.. You have to be misreading the post..

 

But if you had two cruises of 14 days each Back to Back & you paid full fare for both, with two different booking numbers you might be able to get $250 X 2 Total $500 but not sure..

 

Also depends if your cruise was on one or two booking numbers: If it is on one booking number you should receive $250 OBC..

 

No one would ever get $750 in OBC from Carnival Stock, but they could have carnival stock OBC of $250 & HAL & Travel Agent OBC of $500 more which would be a total of $750..

 

For each cruise under one booking number the OBC is as follows:

 

On board credit per stateroom on sailings of 14 days or more it is: $250

On board credit per stateroom of sailings 7 days up to 13 days is $100

On board credit per stateroom of sailings of 6 days or LESS is $50

 

You have to apply for it at least two weeks prior to departure..[/B]

 

Since we purchased our Carnival Stock in 2010 we have collected over $1600 in OBC's for 7 cruises & Over $400 in dividends..

the post that talked about $750 in credits was for 3 different cruises at $250 each

Thru a variety of promotions, I have $700 in OBC for an upcoming 11 day cruise.

Rich

Jude is the current cruise director and I believe she just started her contract.

Thanks